Join us, if you would, in the
gospel according to numbers. The book of Numbers chapter 9.
The book of Numbers chapter 9. We read some of this passage
last week and we looked at some of the issue that had come up
with some men that had touched a dead body and that they would
be prevented. And when we get to that point,
we want to bring out they were not complaining about They were
not complaining about it. They just wanted to know what
the Lord's will about them participating. But we're going to look at that
at a later time. But I do want to look here again
today at Numbers chapter 9, verse 8. Numbers chapter 9, verse 8. Moses, when he got word from
these men that had touched a dead body and they'd not be able to
participate in the Passover. He did something that was very
wise. He went to the Lord. He asked
those men, stand still right here, wait. Let me go talk to
God about this matter. And that is such an instruction
for every believer. Wait, I say, wait on the Lord. Here in the book of Numbers chapter
nine and verse eight, the scripture says, and Moses said to them,
stand still. And I'll hear what the Lord will
command concerning you. Now that's a wise decision on
Moses's part. And yet this is not the first
time, nor will it be the last time that he will ever give those
instructions. Because he was like we, needed
to know the will of God. And I'd like to spend some time
on that today. How do we know the will of God?
How does God show us his will? Now, I mentioned last week that
God spent time during the writings of the Old Testament and the
writings of the New Testament in speaking personally and individually
to people. He used prophets to do that.
He used other men to do that. Ministers, he did that. Moses
did that. And in fact, he spoke directly
to Moses. And it's recorded often in the
book of Leviticus and here in the book of Numbers. But in our
time, we find out that God speaks to us through his word. This
word and our description of what he has said to us needs to agree
with this and not this agree with what we say he said to us. So we want to be careful about
that. And we find that the will of God is way beyond us. And sometimes we say, that is
a hard saying, God's will is just hard, but it is his will. Now in the book of Acts chapter
13, we find this message with regard to David. We could go
back to the books of the Old Testament and we could read the
life of David, but in this verse of scripture, his life is summed
up. And he is there. He is the king of Israel by divine
decree. He is the king of Israel by God's
divine appointment. He's the king of Israel because
God chose him to be the king of Israel. And he was anointed
king before he actually reigned on the throne. It so speaks of
our glorious Lord. He was the king in the eternity
past. He's the king today, and he'll
forever be the king. We're not waiting for him to
sit down on the throne. He's already been sitting down
on the throne. But in the book of Acts chapter 13 and verse
36, we have these words, for David After he had served his
own generation, notice this now, by the will of God, David had
served his generation by the will of God. Now he did some
things that were displeasing to God, but his reign and where
he reigned and how he reigned was by the will of God. fell asleep and was laid upon
his fathers and saw corruption. But he whom God raised again
saw no corruption." It goes on and talks about the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ that he did not see corruption as
David saw corruption. But we want to notice here that
David ruled by the will of God. God put him there. He was the
king because God established his kingdom and put him there
and he was only responsible for his generation. That's all we
can be responsible for is our generation. We cannot be responsible
for the generation behind us, and we cannot be responsible
for the generation in front of us. Now, we need to be faithful
to the generations that's in front of us, but what happens
during that period of time is God's will for that period of
time. Now, many years ago, Brother Mahan
was asked to preach a funeral. And I have a copy of his outline.
And his first statement at this funeral was, and we know this
is the will of God. Now that seems strange, doesn't
it? The death of a person is the will of God? Yes, it is.
When it happened, how it happened, everything about it is the will
of God. because everything is carried
out in this world according to the will of God. God is going
to express his will. Sometimes he reveals his will
to us, and sometimes his will is hidden from us, but his will
will be carried out. History declares the will of
God. From this moment backwards is
the will of God being carried out. And people will say, well,
that can't be. Well, if we're going to argue
with the teaching, we're not arguing with the teaching, we're
arguing with the teacher. And don't argue with the teacher.
The Teacher is God Almighty, and when He declares and decrees
that His will will be carried out in all things, that's exactly
what He's going to do. Now, we read a passage of Scripture
over here, Brother Craig just read it, in the book of Romans,
Chapter 8. Would you turn there with me in Romans, Chapter 8?
In Romans chapter 8, there in verse 27. Now, I've expressed
myself several times to people about, you think that the easiest,
most easiest thing for a Christian to do would be to pray. We think
that's just a conversation. Yet, we find here in the scripture
that we know not how to pray as we ought. and we depend upon
the Holy Spirit to present our prayer acceptable and having
it in the will of God. Well, the mixed verse here in
verse 27 of that chapter, chapter eight, verse 27, we just heard
this read, and he searches the hearts, knoweth what is in the
mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God. Now, when we pray, we may not
be praying in the will of God, but thank God that His Holy Spirit
intercepts that, takes care of it, presents it in the will of
God, and then He lets us know. God is so merciful to prevent
us sometimes from going contrary to his will. He intercepts it. He makes intercession for us
according to the will of God, and the saints are thankful for
that kind of interception on our behalf. that he would give
us the will of God. In Romans chapter 12 in verse
2, Romans chapter 12 we have this, as Moses stepped aside
for a moment and said, Lord what would you have us do here? What
would you have these men do? There in the book of Numbers
chapter 9, what would you have us do here? An honest question
to an almighty God about some men that had been by necessity,
no doubt, touched a dead body. What will you have us do? Well,
we'll find out what the Lord's going to do over there, but notice
with me here in the book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 1, it says,
I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service, And be not confounded
to this world, conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good
and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now that word perfect
doesn't mean the opposite is imperfect. This word perfect
means complete, to brought to conclusion, to the end, might
know the end of God's will for us. We might understand it so
that we may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect
will of God. This is what God is doing with
the church. He's allowing the church to know
the perfect will of God or the end result. You know what the
end result of the church is? Sitting before the throne of
the Lord Jesus Christ and God Almighty, worshiping Him and
crying out, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. That's his will
for his body. This is what he is going to do.
Now in 1 Corinthians, if you'll turn there with me, 1 Corinthians
chapter 1 and verse 1, we have a wonderful statement made here
by the Apostle Paul because he understood something about the
will of God and his salvation, Paul's salvation. He understood
something about this that he was not a contributor to this. He was only a recipient of it. He was not a participant of it.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 1 it says, Paul called to be
an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God. He understood,
and let me back up here for just a moment, God is never frustrated. God is never frustrated. God
is always even keel. He is always straight ahead. He has never been frustrated. He's never come to a conclusion
says, I don't know what to do. He has always been forthright
knowing exactly what he's going to do because he purposed what
he's going to do before the world was ever created. And the Apostle
Paul, in retrospect, looked back at all those things that he had
committed and all those things he had done in his life, and
he said, when he came up to the road to Damascus, he saved me
because it was God's will to save me. Now, the Apostle Paul
had resisted that before. He didn't want to hear it before.
He, in fact, had a man that was a preacher of the gospel shut
up permanently. had him taken out of this world,
had him killed, had him stoned to death because he didn't want
to hear this anymore. Well, thanks be unto God and
Saul of Tarsus and later Paul, the apostle, understood that
God saved him because it was God's will that he be saved. When religion says that God wants
everybody to be saved, then we have a frustrated God that doesn't
have any way of ruling over his own creation. But when the scriptures
teach us that he's going to save whom he will, not by our will
and not by our strength, but by his grace that he's going
to save, then we have a God that's never going to be frustrated.
And God is never frustrated. He's not frustrated with our
actions. He has override over them. He has the oversight over
them. He has the oversight over this entire world at all the
same time and has had it from beginning and will have it till
the end. So Paul called through the will of God. Were you saved
on purpose or were you saved by mistake? That's what it boils
down to. And we find out that the word
of God says he saved every one of his lost sheep on purpose
at the right time, at the right place, and they were met with
the right gospel. They were met by the word of
God. So this will of God, Moses went aside, he's done it. He
will do it some more. Other of the old saints, others
those in the days of the apostles, down to the dark ages, up to
this point, God's people stop for a moment and say, God, reveal
me to your will, if you would. Now, if he doesn't, that's his
business too. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Galatians chapter one. Galatians chapter one. You know, the Lord has promised
here in the book of Galatians chapter one about his will. He's going to do something because
it's his will to do this. And I'm thankful that anytime
God is wanting to do something, he does it. He's decreed it. It will be carried out. He never,
he's not like we are. And that's, we find in the Old
Testament, a number of places that you think I'm like you are. And that's a statement he makes
against natural man. You think I'm like you are. And that's why we have all the
idolatry going on, because they think he's like they are. We think he's like we are. And
God said, I'm not like you are. As far as the heavens are above
the earth are my ways above your ways. And that's a long ways. We sometimes get so bound up
in trying to get something done and God never gets bound up in
trying to get something done. He's always had his purpose,
and he will carry it out to the very end. And his purpose will
be carried out to the point that everyone that was chosen in the
Son by the Father, and everyone that Christ died for on the cross,
and everyone that the Holy Spirit goes and gives regeneration to,
will meet with him in glory. All of them. Not one will be
lost. Well, here in the book of Galatians
chapter one and verse four, just think about this. It says, who
gave himself for our sins, this is Christ, gave himself for our
sins. That's the only reason we can
be presented and come into the presence of the Lord. People
without having sin dealt with will never be in the presence
of God. Someone asked me the other day, why did that man go
to hell? He's a sinner. That's it. That's the reason.
Well, he wasn't a great sinner. Everybody's a great sinner in
the eyes of God. We're that by nature. Who gave himself for
our sins that he might deliver us from this present... Did you read that next word?
Evil. Had it back then. Had it in the
days of Abel. Had it in the days of Noah, had
it in the days of Moses, had it in the days of David, Solomon,
had it in the days down through all ages. It's here too, present
evil world. Galatians chapter one verse four,
who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from
this present evil world according to the will of God and our father. God has a purpose to deliver
us from this present evil world. We used to raise calves. Dad
would go get these calves for $10 and maybe 90% of them would
survive. And that was good. But there
came a day when we had to break them from sucking milk out of
a bucket and put them on grass. What's God do for His children? When He saves us, He begins that
glorious, glorious way of His will being carried out. What
does it say there? To deliver us from this present
evil world. Did He begin it when He saved
us? Oh my, no. He was interested in us before
we were ever born. He was interested in us when
we were in the loins of Adam. He had it all set out that there's
going to be a time, in the process of time, in the country that
I have them born in, to the parents that I have them born to, they're
going to hear the word and they will be delivered from this present
evil world. Turn with me, if you would, a
couple more places. One in the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians chapter six. The Lord wants us to know His
will, and sometimes His will is so apparent. Yesterday I was
visiting with a young lady. Well, she's younger than I am,
let's put it that way. And she just lost someone in
her family, her brother. And I said, you know, we just
don't know how things are going to work out for the glory of
God and His will. But I can tell you this, I met
some dear, dear folks at a funeral. They're sitting on the front
row right here. And they're part of the reason
I'm here. So I never can second guess what
God is doing because He's going to do it right. He's going to
accomplish His purpose. He is going to reveal His will.
Now, when you folks asked me to pastor about the second Sunday
I came, I simply said, and you know, in my heart, I knew I was
coming, but I wanted you to get to know me and I wanted to get
to know you. So it was about a year that we just came and
met together. But it was not a hard decision.
I knew the will of God when you said, finally, we want you to
come. Sure. Now there have been other
times that discovering the will of God has not been near that
easy, but we just have to rest in the Lord that He will carry
it out according to His good purpose. In the book of Ephesians, chapter
6, Ephesians chapter 6, in verse 6 it says, not with eye service, as men
pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of
God from the heart, with good will doing service as to the
Lord and not to men. Now what does it say there? Doing
the will of God from the heart. You know there's only a group
of people that can do that. doing the will of God from the
heart. We have to have a new heart to
be able to do that. We cannot substitute an old evil
heart and expect to know the will of God. It is a heart that
God has created in us. It is a new heart that God has
given us that we're able to ascertain the will of God for us and to
understand it. I know it's the will of God that
I read this. Do I read it as much as I could?
No. I know it's the will of God that I pray. Do I pray as much
as I could? No. I know some things about
the will of God, and yet I am slack concerning it. But he's
pleased to reveal, even in that time, the purpose of God and
his grace. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Philippians for just a moment. Philippians chapter
2 and verse 13. Philippians chapter 2. And verse
13, we read this about the will of God, as Moses turned aside
for a moment and said, Lord, show me what you want me to do
with these men. They have a valid reason to come. Now, if it's
your will they don't participate in it, let me know it. If it's
your will that they do participate in it, let me know it. And I
wonder if Moses wasn't just a little bit shocked when the Lord came
back and says, well, wait a month and we'll have it again. the 14th day of the second month.
Well, that was a good answer. Sometimes we're unable to figure
out what God wants us to do, but he figures it out for us
and takes care of the business. Philippians chapter two and verse
13. For it is God which worketh in
you both to will and to do of His
good pleasure. Isn't that an interesting verse?
It is God that worketh in you. I am thankful for that Holy Spirit
that works in us, that it is He that is responsible He works
in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. That's
what he did when we cried out for mercy. He worked in us both
to will and to do of his good pleasure. It is he that moved
upon us to bring us under the sound of the gospel. It is he
that worked upon us. When we heard it, we may have
said, oh, not for me, but he kept us persistent to come and
hear it again. It is he that worked in us all
of these things. He takes people that are dead
in trespasses and sin, that don't have any ears to hear, they don't
have any eyes to see, they don't have any mouth to praise, they
don't have any feet to come, they don't have any hands to
worship, and God raises us and gives us all of those qualities,
spiritually speaking, and says, I'll make you both to will and
to do of my good pleasure. Now, if someone wants to call
me a puppet, I just have, I answered one person one time, I said,
it just depends on who's the puppeteer. If it's Almighty God,
it's good. He can take care of it as he
pleases. So he is the one that makes his people both to will
and to do of his good pleasure. And sometimes it grates us, but
he's going to make us to do will and to do of his good pleasure.
Moving just a little further in First Thessalonians chapter
four, God has a purpose and he's carrying it out. And, you know,
I was in a religion that We called it progressive sanctification. That was a doctrine, progressive
sanctification, that we were getting better and better, that
we were getting more holy and more sanctified. And it happened
by the clothes you wore and where you didn't go and what you didn't
do and what you didn't eat and on and on it went. And then,
you know, the Lord saved me and I found out Christ is my sanctification. He's all of it. Now, he will
change our attitude about many things. He will make us both
to will and to do of his good pleasure. But it's he that's
doing it, and he's the one that is producing it, not us. And it's not changing our sanctification
because our sanctification is set in Christ. But in Philippians
chapter, excuse me, 1 Thessalonians chapter four, there in verse
three, the scriptures share this. For this is the will of God.
Oh, I want to know this. I love to run into verses of
scripture that have it. This is the will of God. He's
got it laid out for me. For this is the will of God,
even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. Now, you know, there's more said
in the Bible about spiritual fornication than there is any
other kind. And that is agreeing with those
who do not know the gospel. That is fornication. That is
spiritual fornication. Agreeing with those who do not
know what the gospel has to say. Agreeing with those who say,
well, you know, everybody's doing a good work and they're doing
a good work. Not if it is contrary to the word of God and contrary
to the gospel. The will of God for us is our
sanctification and that we would be responsible to hear his gospel
and hear it every time we possibly can. The gospel is not everywhere. I've had people tell me that
there are saved people in this group, and I'll tell you, I have
to tell them if they have to take the mass to identify themselves
as believers, then that is not the gospel. It's over. Now, God saved me out of religion,
but I couldn't stay there. And God has saved some of the
other of us out of religion, but we just could not stay there.
We cannot stay there. God is interested and has a will
of our sanctification, and that is being with God's people. All
right, over here in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter five
and verse 18. 1 Thessalonians chapter five
and verse 18, the scriptures say, and everything give thanks.
What does it say then? For this is the will of God. In everything give thanks for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. In everything
give thanks. This is, the Lord showed me some
more about his will. My sanctification, thank him,
thank him, thank him. Now sometimes that's difficult
when things come along that we just rather not have in our life. And then we come around and find
out, well, Lord, look at that. You just worked it out for your
glory, your honor, and your praise. Thank you. In the book of 1 Peter
chapter 4, Peter says here, as he's led by the Holy Spirit,
1 Peter chapter 4, don't quit,
because things don't go well. Don't quit. 1 Peter chapter 4
and verse 19. Wherefore let them that suffer
according to the will of God. Those that suffer according to
the will of God. Now that suffering can be several
ways. We suffer in this present evil
world with our own bodies. Our bodies of affliction. They
ache and pain. They grow weary. We suffer there,
but that is the will of God. Did you know it says that sinners
will die? And that is the will of God.
And then we find out here in verse 18 there, Excuse me, 1
Peter chapter 4 verse 19, it says, Wherefore let them suffer
according to the will of God. Have you ever had someone say,
don't you ever bring that up to me again? I will not go along
with that doctrine you call election. I will not go along with God's
sovereignty. I will not go. Therefore let him that suffereth
according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls
to Him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator. He is our
Creator. Discussing this with this lady
that just lost her brother last night. Romans chapter 8 and verse
28. You know, that isn't a flippant verse of scripture just to throw
around anytime. That's a verse of scripture to
meditate on and consider because sometimes it's very difficult
that the plate that the Lord gave us is sometimes a difficult
plate. Here it says there, and we know.
We come to the conclusion, though, that it is the will of God. We come to the conclusion, as
Brother Henry said at that funeral, we know this, this is the will
of God. God's will was done. It's not
by mistake we're having this funeral. It is on purpose that
we're here. And as it says here, and we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God. Now the church, it works out
for their good. To the church and everybody in
it, it works out for their good. To the church of the living God,
it works out for their good. to them who are called according
to his purpose. It works out. Now, we may not
see it, but it works out for good because God has purposed
it to take place. Now, let us go back over there
to the book of Numbers again for just a moment. Numbers chapter
nine. In the book of Numbers chapter
nine, as Moses, a wise man, a man that was He was the meekest man that ever
lived. I read that definition one time
in a book. Meekness is power under control. He was the meekest man. You know,
he interceded on the behalf of Israel in some of their worst,
most miserable times. It is recorded that he stood
between God and them and pled their case." Now God wasn't going
to wipe them off the face of the earth, but we certainly learn
a lot about Moses during that experience. Here in the book
of Numbers chapter nine and verse eight, Moses said unto them,
stand still and I'll hear what the Lord will command concerning
you. Now notice verse nine, and the
Lord spake unto Moses saying, speak unto the children of Israel,
Now this seems to be pretty spontaneous, pretty quick. I'm thankful for
when that happens. Sometimes it takes longer. How
do we know the will of God? Sometimes it's just so apparent.
Things just turn out so quickly. Things just work out so finely.
There's just no problem. And sometimes, what in the world
is going on in my life right now? Here in the book of Numbers 9-10,
speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you, or
of your posterity, shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or
be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto
the Lord the fourteenth day of the second month at even, they
shall keep it, and eat it with leavened bread and bitter herbs.
And he goes on to explain, this one is to be exactly like the
first one. The first month, 14th day of
the first month, the description is not given here like it was
in this passage, but he wants them to understand you're going
to observe it exactly like the first one. Now, it goes on to
tell us here, if somebody says, well, you know, I just don't
feel like doing it today. I'll wait till the next one comes
along. The Lord said, they shall be cut off. I'll do it in my way. They shall
be cut off. Well, we'll look at this as our
time is up. But we'll look at this later.
And we're going to find out that the Old Testament and the New
Testament Every era of every age, every eon that has ever
taken place since the gospel is being preached, it is going
to be exactly the same. Those people that are going to
have the Passover, the second month, 14th day of the second
month, it is going to be exactly like the 14th day of the first
month. The people in the Old Testament are going to be saved
exactly like they're saved during the New Testament economy that
we're in. Exactly the same. Same lamb, same blood, same sacrifice,
same work of grace, same, same, same, same. So we have a wonderful
illustration of that here, as we look at them observing the
Passover the second time. Now in the book of Chronicles,
we'll get over to that point, in the book of Chronicles, the
whole nation of Israel couldn't eat it on the first month. They had to all wait till the
second month, because they were all defiled. What a statement
is made, but they got to eat the Passover. Just like all of
God's people will be able to participate in the sacrificial
lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ at his good bidding. As we heard this morning in that
lesson. That is the appointed time. And
he will open our mouths and we will eat. Brother Mike, if you'll
come.