Read Deuteronomy 21,22,23
Pastor Daniel reminds us that God‘s desire is that we be set apart and pure, unique and distinct in Christ. The assembly of the Lord was the religious assembly of the children of Israel. This was their worship. God wants us to worship in specific ways. God has preferences. Don’t we all?
The idea of being emasculated had to do with worshiping foreign gods. That was not acceptable in the assembly of the Lord. In our day, gender confusion is normalized. Whatever you were before you knew Jesus, God forgives. God knows exactly what He’s doing with your life. Choosing to change genders misses the point, in the flesh we are all confused. In Christ, God shows us what is real and what isn’t. God differentiates the sexes. Worshipers of God couldn’t choose to be emasculated.
When someone had sexual relations outside of marriage, it was punishable by death. Sex outside of marriage is common today, but more uncommon then. So, a child born illegitimately could not enter the assembly of the Lord. God is setting a standard of purity in the dynamics of family. This is still God‘s ideal. What if this is not your story? There is grace in Christ. This is why He sent Jesus. The world we live in is not ideal. If you’re in Christ, no matter your heritage, you are forgiven and acceptable in Christ. We still must seek to live and move within that ideal.
God wants to redeem the world. God loves you and everything that happens, ultimately lines up with God‘s purposes and plans. What people can mean for evil, God can use for good. God can turn cursing into blessing. You may be deep in a trial and think that this isn’t possible. With God all things are possible. Consider the cross. Give the Lord room to work and He will bring beauty out of it. When you see God do that, it changes your life. God changes opportunity for inclusion into His family. In Christ, we are all acceptable and beloved. You’ve made mistakes, but you choose to accept the Lord, you are accepted by grace in Christ. God makes provisions for outsiders to become family members.
We must keep a clean camp. Pastor Daniel details, nightly bodily fluids and going to the bathroom. Stay away from what is wicked. This would save us from so much heartache and trouble. In our rebellious nature, we kind of like the wicked stuff and seem enticed by it. So, when you have natural, biological, bodily fluids, there is potential to carry diseases. God not only wants His people to be spiritually healthy, but physically healthy as well.
Go outside the camp to do your business. The Lord walks in our mists to deliver us and give us victory. What can keep you from victory? Could there be uncleanliness and unholiness in your camp? In the midst of that, God can’t abide. A carnal Christian is someone living out in the flesh. If you are abiding in victory, you can’t abide in refuse.
Every day we are confronted with the question, am I going to be set apart and honor the Lord? Am I going to walk in the ways of the flesh? There are people that give their lives to Jesus and later they are out doing something that is all messed up. What happened? Except for the grace of God, any of us can do the same thing.
God is in our presence. He never leaves us, but our awareness and sensitivity to him start to dull. If this is you, you need to repent and turn to God. Keep your eyes fixed on Him. Turn your heart. Is there junk in your camp? Jesus is waiting for you. The Lord celebrates when we turn to Him. Wherever we are, God is with us. We want the camp of our lives to be a place representative of the Lord.
In the final versus, miscellaneous laws are addressed. The Lord frees the enslaved. There shouldn’t be sexual or immoral practices like our culture. The world wants to warp it, and it can creep into the church. We should not be charging interest to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Don’t oppress people. Don’t make money on someone’s poverty. If you make a vow, God wants you to keep it. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. This is about integrity. Our word should be our bond. God takes care of us so we can take care of others. If someone being is taken care of, don’t take advantage of that. God desires that we live in such a way that we take care of people’s needs. And taking care of their needs, we don’t find ourselves being taken advantage of. Let’s seek to be generous. And in times of need, be humble to receive it and not expecting.
https://youtu.be/yuXh197-2VE?si=xlRLV4zflmiLzmkB
https://biblenote.topmusetech.com/shared/e8664f1f51514400b9de5ce2672e0131
Leave a Reply