I would ask that you would join
me once again in the book of Numbers. In Numbers chapter 9. Numbers chapter 9. Moses is going to be dealing
with people like we deal with every day. He's going to be dealing
with people that don't understand, and yet he's going to be dealing
with some people that do understand and have questions. And that's
always a good thing. An honest question is a good
thing. A question that we already know the answer to and we ask
it, that might not be a good thing. Maybe we need to be humbled. I am convinced that there is
only one that can spiritually humble us. It's not something
we go about practicing on our own. It's something that God
has to do for us. And I've been dealing with a
young man for a couple of years now, visiting with a young man,
I should say, visiting with a young man for a couple of years. And
everything on his side has always been his part. He just is unable
to see that God is in charge of salvation, God is in charge
of revelation, God is in charge of the word of God, God is in
charge of humbling, God is in charge of exalting, God's in
charge. And he's brought up a number
of times passages of scripture that begin like this, I know
a man. Now that's not found in the scripture.
And you know the only thing that I can do is I have to go right
back to the Word of God. That's the only authority I have,
is God's Word. So let us go there this morning
in the book of Numbers chapter 9. I would that you'd read the 14
verses sometime. We've read part of it, but I'd
like to start in verse 5. Now, the Passover comes up. We
have a time here, a timeline. It has been exactly a year since
they left Egypt. During that year, they've been
camped out here at Mount Sinai. Here, they have built a tabernacle
and all the curtains and everything has been, all the gold stuff
has been cast. I think about what they did and
in a year doing it, they had a lot of help from above to do
that. Wisdom had to be given to people
to comprehend how to do that, casting gold, pounding gold out
there in the desert. Well, it says they kept the Passover,
in verse five, they kept the Passover on the 14th day of the
first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai, according to all that
the Lord commanded Moses. So did the children of Israel.
What a wonderful statement is made there. And they observed
the Passover just like they did in Egypt. the first time that
they were not in that kind of bondage that they observed the
Passover, and they're going to observe it a number of times
as the scriptures declare it. Then we find that the Lord seems
to have attended at least four Passovers, and his parents always
went for the Passover. As I mentioned when we looked
at this, people asked me today, do we still observe it? No, it's
over. The children of God were looking
for the end of the Passover and that was the cross. They were
looking for the finality of this and it would not be carried on
just as we look for the end of communion service or the Lord's
Supper and that's going to happen when Christ returns and takes
his church with him and so shall we ever be with the Lord and
will not observe it anymore. No need to. We have him. So there's
no need to observe the Passover today, and people do. It's just
a mockery. It's just an idolatry. He went
to the cross. He's the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. He exercised that right upon
the cross. He died in the place of his people. He laid down his life for ransom
for many. He entered into the tomb and
came out victorious, and the Passover is over, even though
people wanted to continue to do it and still do it. Well,
now there's a question comes up because there are some men
here that have noticed that they have put themselves in a position
where they cannot keep the Passover. That is, they had defiled themselves
by touching a dead body. Notice here in verse 6, and there
were certain men who were defiled by the dead body of a man that
they could not keep the Passover on that day and they came before
Moses and before Aaron on that day and those men said unto him
we are defiled by the dead body of a man wherefore are we kept
back that we may not offer an offering unto the Lord in his
appointed season among the children of Israel so there's a question
brought up now I am going to drop down to verse 11 and says
the 14th day of the second month at even so we are moving a month
and they're going to have a second Passover for these guys that
had defiled themselves by touching a dead body. You know, it takes
the grace of God to understand that we were defiled in the fall.
Not everybody knows that, and nobody wants it, but God reveals
it to us and says, you were defiled in the fall, and I'm the only
one that can bring you out of that defilement. I am the Lamb
of God, that by my blood, I will remove that defilement from you. And then we realize that we were
defiled, but now we're clean. Okay, and it says on the 14th
day of the month of the second month that even they shall keep
it and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs They shall
leave none of it until morning nor break any bone of it according
to all the ordinances of the Passover They shall keep it but
the man that is clean and is not in a journey, and forbeareth,
or doesn't keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut
off from among his people. Because he brought not the offering
of the Lord in his appointed season, that man shall bear his
sin. And if a stranger shall sojourn
among you, and will keep the Passover unto the Lord according
to the ordinance of the Passover, and according to the manner thereof,
so shall he do. Ye shall have one ordinance both
for stranger and for him that is born in the land. Now, there's
some really blessed blessings in this passage of scripture
about and on our behalf. We have this great privilege
of seeing that God is going to make concession to these people
and they're going to be able to take the Passover on the second
month of that year. They're going to do that. Then
he warns people, all right, if you skip out, and you're not
interested, just like we are by nature, there is not going
to be a Passover for you. Now, the part of this I want
to look at is the answer in verses 9 and 10. Now, we're going to
cover those other two passages of scripture in due time, but
this morning I'd like to look here in the book of Numbers chapter 9, And
verse eight, these men come with this question. There's a question
mark. Now Moses said unto them, stand
still and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning
you. Moses said, do nothing till the
Lord gives me directions about you. Moses said, wait here until
I have received instructions for you from the Lord. Now, it
is a blessing to find out what the wisdom that Moses shared
with the children of Israel at that time. When he had a question,
he needed to go to the Lord for an answer about that. There's
two parts I'd like to look this morning. Number one, consider
what it is to stand still. And number two, what it is to
come to the conclusion about the Lord's will for us. Now in religion, I had all kinds
of ways to discover the Lord's will. You know, there is an account
in the judges about a man that said, you know, I'm just not
sure I'll put out this fleece. And then the next day he put
out the same fleece. In religion, I practice that
all the time. I resigned a church one time
because a person didn't show up. That was my fleece. So what could I do? I remember
being on a creek bank one time fishing, and I was down in the
dumps and wondered whether I was saved or not. And I said, Lord,
if I catch a fish, it means I'm saved. Can you imagine a preacher doing that? I can,
because I did it. I was a lost man in religion. and trying to decipher the Lord's
will. Well, after the Lord saves somebody, that isn't an issue
anymore. Well, let's look at this. Moses
told these people to stand still. Now, this is a little bit different
word than we find over there when they cross the Red Sea,
stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, but the impart is
the same. He's telling the children of Israel as they come up against
the army behind them, the mountains on one side of them, the Red
Sea on the front of them. What are we going to do? What
are we going to do? And Moses just simply said, stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. Well, that is the command
I give to everybody. Stand still. Don't work your
way into heaven because you can't. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. If he's pleased to save us, Well,
there's this word is used a number of times. This particular word
is used a number of times in the Old Testament, but I'd like
to pick out a few of just in the Book of the Psalms. So would
you turn with me to the Book of the Psalms for just a few
verses of scripture that illustrate this point that Moses is sharing
with these that came defiled, and they recognize the fact that
they could not participate in the Passover, the second Passover,
no doubt they had participated in the first Passover, but because
of their caring for a dead body, they have eliminated themselves,
they have defiled themselves to the point that they can't,
and they recognize that. God had given them wisdom. Now,
Moses is going to give wisdom in saying, you stand right here
until I have a word from the Lord about this matter. So turn
with me if you would to the Psalm, Psalm 33. Psalm 33, the same
word is used here and it is used in such a powerful way. It is
wonderful when God says stand still and it happens. When God
orders it and it happens, it would be terrible if God ordered
something and it didn't happen. What kind of God would that be?
The God of natural man is what that would be. God isn't able
to do what he said he would do. Well, here in the book of the
Psalms, Psalm 33, and there in verse 9, the scripture says,
''For he spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast.''
That's what that word means. It stood still. When the Lord
commanded, it was in position. It was placed. And that is the
authority of Almighty God when He does anything. When He does
it, it is done. There is no quibbling about it.
No resistance to it. Have you ever resisted the Holy
Spirit? Well, of course we did in our
lost condition. until the Lord came in his power,
when the Holy Spirit came in his power, when he came and said,
you will be willing in the day of my power, when the Lord came
to us in the power of the Holy Spirit and said, I will turn
you and you shall be turned, and then we were turned, but
we walked away from God a number of times in hearing the gospel
and said, no, no, no, no, no, and then that day. when God worked
his power and we found out that it was God working his power
and not us, then that we stood still. All right, let's look
at another verse here in the Psalm about these words that
Moses shared with these men that came and were defiled. In the
book of the Psalms, there in chapter 33 and verse 11, it says,
the counsel of the Lord standeth, there it is, that word. The counsel
of the Lord standeth, what? Forever. This is God's ordination. This is God's power demonstrated. We make a monument and it doesn't
last. Nancy and I, we had the privilege
of going to some cemeteries, 500, 600-year-old cemeteries
there in Europe. At one time you could see plainly
the names and the dates, but over time, over all the weather,
over all that, those monuments are becoming unreadable. Our monuments become unreadable. They stand for nothing. But as
we read here, the counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the
thoughts of his heart to all generations. This is this God
that we read about in the Bible. He's not the God of human creation.
He's the God of creation. He's the God that created the
heavens and the earth. He's the God that ordained all things.
He's the God that makes things stand still. What was it that
stopped Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus? God ordered
him to stand still. What is it that God does for
every one of his lost sheep? He commands them to stand still. And you know what? He gives us
the heart and he gives us the ears to hear that, to stand still
and see his great salvation. Turn with me again here in the
Psalms in Psalm 111. Psalm 111. In Psalm 111 and verse 3, we
read these wonderful words about this great word of standing still. What is it that causes God's
people to rest in Him? What is it that causes God's
people to be assured of Him? What is it that takes the concern
away? What is it that causes us to
be settled? He tells us that he'll take us
out of a horrible pit and set us on a solid rock. That's what
God does for his people. He settles his people down. He
causes them to look to him and not to every wind of doctrine
that comes around. Everything that flies by, they're
settled on him. Well, here in the book of the
Psalms, 111 and verse 3, it says, his work is honorable and glorious
and his righteousness. Now, here's the word, endureth.
What does it do? Endureth forever. Now, that's
why we can rest in Christ. His righteousness imputed to
us is going to endure forever. We don't have to worry about
it. When he saves his people from their sins, he imputes his
righteousness to them. Now that righteousness was promised
before the foundation of the world. That sanctification was
promised before the foundation of the world. It's ours, but
we just don't know it until he gives us eyes to understand it.
And then we realize we've always had this in Christ. Well, it
tells us here, it says, and his righteousness endureth. All right,
guys, he's telling those two that had, or those folks, men
that had defiled themselves, you stand here. Just like this
word means. You stand here, you wait. Till
I get a word. Well, God is so rich in defining
that word for us. All right, another place or two.
Let's turn to the book of the Psalms, Psalm 122. Psalm 122. Here's this wonderful, we're
not put on slippery places. When God saves his people, we're
not put on slippery places. We're not put into a position
that we've got to hang on with one hand and the other foot is
on a banana peel. He settled us. He's satisfied. He's been satisfied. Therefore,
he's satisfied with us. Here in the book of the Psalms,
Psalm 122, verses one and two. I was glad when they said it
to me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand. Where is it going to stand? Within
thy gates, O Jerusalem. Our feet will stand in thy gates,
O Jerusalem. Where is that? That's in Christ,
that's in the blessings of the church that he has foreordained
would be able to stand in his righteousness. So we have this
wonderful statement made by Moses to those men that were defiled
and could not take the Passover. You just stand right here. I'm
gonna go talk to God. We're gonna look at that in just
a moment. One other place over here in Psalm 130. Psalm 130
in verse three. This is God's action in us. We cannot hold still on our own. We will not hold still on our
own. And here in the book of Psalms, Psalm 130 in verse 3,
if thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities. Now, what does that
mean? Lord, if you keep track of my sin, even after I'm saved,
if you're going to mark it down and keep it in the book, Who
shall stand? Not one. Not one will stand. That's why
this has to be under the blood. That's why this has to be taken
care of by the Lord. Nobody can stand. There is no
standing if he marks iniquity. But since iniquity has been paid
for by our Savior, the Lord Jesus on the cross, then we can stand
firm. We can stand firm. upright, we
can stand before him and plead the blood and righteousness of
Jesus Christ as all our hope, not of works, thus anybody should
boast. We find there, as it's mentioned
in the first chapter of the book of first Corinthians, the reason
he goes out through all the long list of his choosing that no
one should glory in his presence. Now, as we heard in that lesson
this morning, nobody that's brought into the kingdom is demanding
to sit in the lap of the Lord Jesus. We're willing to sit before
his feet. Now we have every spiritual blessing
in Christ Jesus. We have more than we could ever
think about, come up with, conclude, but to sit at the feet of Jesus,
that's where we will. All right. These are just a few
verses and these are only the ones that I picked out of the
psalms. There's a lot more in the psalms that share with us
what Moses told those men when they came and said, we can't
take the Passover because we have just buried a body. Now let's examine Moses' words. They're in the book of Numbers,
chapter nine. Moses said unto them, verse eight,
stand still, and I'll hear what the Lord will command concerning
you. You know, there's a lot said
in the Bible about the will of God. Move ahead just one book, if
you would, to Deuteronomy chapter 29. I will find out what God
says about this. There's a lot said in the Bible
about God's will. There's a lot said in the Bible
about God having his will performed in us. Here in the book of Deuteronomy
chapter 29, and I wrote down here, I was gonna read the whole
chapter, but I'm not. I'm just gonna read verse 29.
This whole chapter deals with Israel and God telling them,
you're gonna go into that land and you're gonna forget all about
me. And this is the judgment that will be brought. Well, here
in the last verse of Chapter 29, there in verse 29, we read
these words. Now people were saying, how can
that, how can God do that? How can God do that? Well, why
would God do that? Why would God even mention that?
The secret things belong unto the Lord, our God. But those
things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever
and we may do all the words of this law. The secret things belong
to God. You know there's some of God's
will we will not discover. We will not come to the conclusion
of and we are thankful to have a God that we knew all about
and understood everything about is not a God at all. He's a creation
of our own imagination, and that's what we have in religion, is
a God of our own imagination. But this God that mentioned all
of this to Israel there before they entered into the promised
land, the word of God to those folks was, the secret things
belong to the Lord, and he's going to keep them secret. There
are things that we can understand. Why did God choose Jacob and
not Esau? The secret things belong to God
because we find that God chose Jacob over Esau before they had
done any good or evil, before they were born, before they hadn't
gone to school and the teacher hadn't had to get after one of
them and the other was a good kid. You know, my brother, oh
my goodness, he was always the goody two shoes. My twin brother,
he never created any trouble. And guess what? Everything was
blamed on me. My mother, my teachers. And even when I was employed,
we were picking strawberries, and I got into a fight with a
kid that was throwing rotten strawberries at me, and I whooped
on him, and the lady in charge says, he, Gordon, has such a
different disposition. Well, Jacob and Esau, before
they were even born, before they could do any good or evil because
of God and because of what God does and he has his secrets that
he's going to keep, he chose one. And as one old preacher
said, he could understand not loving Esau, but how in the world
could he ever love Jacob? You know, that's a mystery known
to God. And that's the way it will be
with every one of his sheep that are gathered before him. When
did we do that? The secret things belong to the
Lord. Turn over with me to the book of the John chapter 15.
John chapter 15, as we find Moses said, I must go inquire. Let
me go find out what the Lord has to say about this. And then
we read, this is what the Lord said about it. In John chapter
15 and verse 15. He mentions there's a difference
between servants and friends. There's a difference. Now, in the Old Testament, there's
a passage that I often use, particularly when I'm riding on an airplane.
People say, fly safely, and I say, pray for the pilot. I have nothing
to do with this. I'm just in a seat. Pray for
the pilot. and pray as we find here in the
Old Testament, there was a group of people that they became hewers
of wood and drawers of water for the children of Israel. These
guys that fly the planes, they generally have no idea in the
world who God is, but they're hewers of wood and drawers of
water for the people of God. They take them there and God
grants most of our trip safely. Now here we find there's a difference
between servants, hewers of wood and drawers of water, and friends. In the book of John chapter 15
and verse, John chapter 15 and verse 15, henceforth I call you
not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. It's not up to servants to know
what the Lord does. Why are you doing that? your business. I do it because I do it. But I have called you friends. Now what does that mean? He saves
some people from their sins. The servants, those outside,
those that will never hear. They're servants, but he doesn't
have to explain a word to them. For all things that I have heard
of my father, I have made known unto you. What a glorious thing,
I've made it known. Now, we're discovering that as
time goes on. We're growing in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He withholdeth
nothing from the church. He has it there, but he reveals
it over time. But the servants, it's none of
your business. If you'd look with me in Acts
chapter 1 and verse 7, as Moses illustrates the point to us here, In the book of Numbers, let me
go ask God. Now we find that the scriptures
are how we know the will of God. I don't go into my study and
wait for a voice to talk to me from the back of my head. I don't
go out in the woods and say, God speak to me. The only place
that God speaks to his people is out of his word. and he shares
with us out of his word his will. Now sometimes we are absolutely
certain God's will on a matter and what do we want to do? The
Bible expressly says this is not my will and what do we want
to do? Well, we have a problem. It's
God's Word that we must deal with. It's God's Word that we
must take people to. We cannot give them opinion.
We must give them the Word of God. Sometimes it just it rankles
me to be around some of my family members who are just religious
to the core and the only thing they can talk about is their
church and their feeding people and their all of their their
outreach and their stuff like that and not one word ever comes
out of their mouth about Jesus Christ and their relationship
to him. It's all what they're doing. Well, Sorry, servants,
I don't have to explain a thing to you, but my friends, I will
give you the inside scoop. Here in the book of Acts chapter
one, verse seven, Acts chapter one and verse seven, the scriptures
share this. And he said unto them, now they're asking, when
are you gonna establish the kingdom? You know, even believers have
sometime a warped view of things until the Lord explains it to
us. They had a warped view. These guys had been raised from
kindergarten, oh preschool, excuse me. Preschool to... doctorate's
degree, they had been raised with the idea that God was going
to raise up the physical kingdom of Israel once again. They had
taken Old Testament scriptures out of context and applied it
to real things when he's really speaking about the church. He's
really speaking about spiritual things. So he said, when you
bring up that question, this is the answer. It is not for
you to know the times nor the seasons which the Father hath
put in his own power. But ye shall receive power after
that the Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost come upon you, and ye shall be
witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and
unto the uttermost parts of the earth. What is their responsibility?
Preach the gospel, preach the gospel, preach the gospel, preach
the gospel, and forget about this thing that you keep asking
about. When are you going to set up the kingdom? Forget it.
Preach the gospel and his kingdom will be set up. He will move
people into his kingdom from Lodibar. He'll bring them in.
They will be his kingdom. So that's the words that he gave.
Another passage of scripture that we want to look at is found
in Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11. We read this. Romans chapter 11 verses 33 and
34. It says, I'll owe the depths of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Can you get your arms
around that? Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
his judgments and his ways past finding out. We'll never discover
them on our own. We'll never discover them by
our own study. They must be revealed. He must show us the truth of
them. Flesh and blood hath not revealed
this unto you, but my Father which is in heaven." And you
know what? Peter was glad. For who has known the mind of
the Lord or who has been his counselor? What a statement the
Apostle Paul writes here to the church at Rome when there were
people in that body that believed that God was an insignificant
Peon God, peanut God. I'll never forget those words
that Brother Henry shared about a preacher when he was listening
to a sermon on the radio and he let out a cry and his wife
came in, thought he was having a heart attack. And she said,
what's wrong, honey? And he said, they just put God
in a wheelchair. And that's what religion does,
puts God in a wheelchair. He's incapable without our permission. So, and in Romans chapter 16,
would you look there with me? In Romans chapter 16 and verse
25. Romans chapter 16 and verse 25,
now to him, that is of power to establish you concerning my
gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation
of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began
but now is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets according
to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all nations
for the obedience of the faith to God only wise be glory through
Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Why did Cain offer an incorrect
sacrifice, one that did not please God? Because it was a mystery
to him that he couldn't see through. And why did Abel offer a sacrifice
that was accepted? Because it had been revealed
to him, this is the picture of the Savior, the Lord Jesus. one
couldn't see the other was revealed and that's what he's talking
about the mystery from the since have been kept secret since the
world began servants it's a secret friends it's a revelation servants
just keep doing what you're doing take care of my people friends
let me tell you the mysteries of the kingdom now I have just
a little bit left, and I would like to read a couple or three
verses that always come up that we read about knowing the will
of God. How did Moses know? Well, God
spoke to him directly, and we have the record of it. That's
something he doesn't do now. He speaks to us through his word.
That's the only way he communicates with us. That's why it's important
I come and listen to the Bible taught. He speaks to me out of
his word. I hope that's why you come. Hear
what the Bible has to say. He speaks to us out of His Word.
And sometimes we just don't like it. It hits us crossways. Hallelujah! It's a good thing. In the book of John, chapter
10. Would you turn there with me?
John chapter 10. And I can tell right now that
this is going to be like one of those trains. We're going
to have to unhook it and hook it back up next Sunday. In John
chapter 10 verse 27, Moses said, you wait right here, stand still,
be secure, don't move. I'll go inquire of the Lord.
Here in the book of John, how does God lead his sheep today? How does he do it? In John chapter
10 verse 27, our Lord said this, my sheep,
hear my voice. And I know them, and they follow
me. They follow me with their life,
they follow me with their salvation, they follow me with their, they
follow me, they follow me. My sheep hear my voice. Now sometimes,
knowing The will of God is not the difficult thing. Facing the
will of God. Man, I hated it when I heard
the gospel. One side of me says, it's got
to be. And the other side says, I don't want it. Facing it. God humbles. God kills us that we might live.
Brings us low that we might be exalted. God does it. So my sheep
hear my voice and they follow me. We find that David did the
will of God, served his generation by the will of God, and then
fell asleep by the will of God. Scoundrel. Oh, read about him. And yet, God said, he is a man
after my own heart. Why? I created that heart, a
new heart. I gave him a new heart. So we'll
continue here, the Lord willing. Next time we'll pick this up.
And then we want to look at that defilement that they had. And
then we want to look at the second Passover. The glory of God to
permit that. He could have just said, nope.
Nope. That's why I'm thankful the Lord
didn't come back yesterday, because He still has sheep to save, and
then He will come back. Brother Mike, if you'll come.