0:00 In a few weeks, I'll be, joining a conference in Michigan. And a few weeks ago, we had an opportunity to be on a conference call to speak about what the meeting will be about, and I had no idea what the the conference theme was, but they had told me the title of it. And the title of it was something that I've been chewing on really since we had that phone conversation. And the title of that conference is, I'm saved, now what? I love it.
0:31 What is your purpose now that you're saved? Or let's ask it even more precise question. What is the point of this Bible study? What are we doing here tonight? What's the you guys came from work, some of you came from school, some of you rushed to be here, and you're sitting in a chair.
0:51 Why are you here? What's all the preparation about? Why do we do this on a week to week basis? I'm saved. Now what?
1:04 And I think one verse is so clear. You don't have to turn there. We're about to stand in a moment to pray together. First John three three, therefore, everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Hoping in him concerning that salvation work in the future tense that he's gonna redeem us.
1:28 And until that moment, my hope is in that. You know what your purpose of mine is? That we purify ourselves as he is pure. Not because you need to get to that place to be redeemed, but because you have been redeemed, now your mission in life, if you claim to abide in Christ, is that you desire to walk as Jesus walked. That's first John two six.
1:50 Everyone who says that he abides in him listen to how profound this statement is. Everyone who thus says that he abides in him must walk as he walked. Stand with me as we pray. There's no scripture reading. We're gonna pray together though.
2:08 So we're here. Why? Because we wanna purify ourselves through the sanctifying power of the word of God to saying, Lord, I wanna be found faithful when you return. Father, in this place tonight, as we've chosen to be here, because we know what our life purpose is now that we're saved, we wanna be pure as Jesus is pure, and we wanna leave a mark on the lives around us. And so we pray that this bible study, by your grace, would contribute to that mission that is above any other pursuit in our life, any other plan, any other dream.
2:41 We have one desire to walk as Jesus walked. Lord, with this bible study, help us do that tonight. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. You may be seated.
2:52 And this is what the book of Numbers is all about in the old covenant sense, that God has redeemed his people. And from Numbers chapter one to Numbers chapter 10, the camp, the Israelites are in one location receiving instruction after instruction after instruction, and none of them have mobilized yet. This camp does not move forward from the wilderness of Sinai to the promised land until Numbers chapter 10. And so what is the Lord doing from one to 10? He is giving the necessary commandments and laws for his people in the present tense.
3:29 Yes. In that moment as they're going through the wilderness, but more importantly, for their future investment in the promised land to know how to live so that they can live as long as possible in that place called the promised land. And so here's this nation in their infant stage and here's the Lord investing in them with all these commandments saying, listen, the reason why I'm doing this is so that when you get to the promised land, you would be able to sustain the promised land. You'd be able to sustain the blessings that I want to pour out on your life. And so that's what this is all about.
3:58 And up to this point as we've covered chapters one to four, we're on a good start here. Look at the end of chapter one verse 54 of Numbers. Thus did the people of Israel, they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. So when God had given instructions in chapter one, they did it. They they obeyed.
4:21 Now look at the end of chapter two in verse 34. Thus did the people of Israel, according to all that the lord commanded Moses. So they camped by their standards, and so they set out each one in his clan according to the his father's house. So they're obeying again. Then you come to the end of chapter four verse 49.
4:41 According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses, they were listed each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus, they were listed by him as the Lord commanded Moses. This is amazing. There is no record of failure up to this point with the Israelites, and that's gonna continue even into this chapter in chapter five. And so we read in verse one as the Lord continues to usher in more commandments for his people to represent him and to live with him in a state of blessing.
5:10 The Lord spoke to Moses in chapter five verse one saying, command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp that they may not defile their camp in the midst of which I dwell. Here it is again. And the people of Israel did so and put them outside the camp as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did. It's this amazing track record of obedience.
5:49 And this specific command is not as easy as it sounds. Really, put yourself in a modern day Israelite shoes. As the Lord gives out this command, remember, all of this, all of these things are symbolic of what the Lord desires from his people in order for them to advance in his purpose. And this is one of those investments. He's saying, I want you to get rid of every single lepers person.
6:09 I want you to get rid of every person who's at discharge of bodily fluid. I want you to get rid of every person that has touched the dead, have come in contact with anything that is dead. Why do you think that would be a difficult thing to do? Yes, Isaac? Exactly.
6:27 So you're talking about, here's the Lord giving the commandment through his prophet, and you know what people are doing right after they hear that they're scanning and they're looking around, they're saying, oh, mom has leprosy. Our good friend, he he's he's touched the dead before. You can just imagine what that was like to pile up all these people and to exit them out into the outside of the camp. This is a difficult thing, but we see a quick obedience to such a thing. Because all those things represent something of uncleanness, of sin, of death, everything contrary to the character of God.
7:04 And he says, I need you to expel these things. And for some, it would be a permanent reality. For others, if they got themselves to be clean, especially if there was a discharge of fluid, they would be able to come back. But what was the reason? The Lord says it so clearly here in the end of verse three, in the midst of which I dwell.
7:23 The people of Israel needed to come up with this conclusion in their own hearts concerning their dwelling place. Are we going to do and are we going to set up this atmosphere to make God comfortable or to make others comfortable? That is the ultimate question they had to ask ourselves in that moment. Are we going to set up an environment that would make God pleased, that would make him dwell here comfortably, or are we going to do this for our own benefit and for our own comfort and for others to feel like they can stay? And listen, that is a question that every single believer has to ask themselves.
8:04 That if they want to know God's advanced purposes for their lives, this is a question that every single Christian needs to ask themselves. Am I willing to make God comfortable or others comfortable, including myself? Because we're not talking about a physical land anymore. We're not talking about Jerusalem being the holy city in the sense where that's where God dwells alone. It is the holy city.
8:26 God will come back in Christ and reign in that city. All those great things. But in New Covenant sense, you're the temple. In the New Covenant sense, you're that holy land. I'm that holy land.
8:36 In the new covenant sense, this church is the temple of the living God. And we have to ask the same question that these Israelites probably have to ask themselves when this command was given. Are we willing to make God comfortable here? Or are we gonna arrange things for people in their state of uncleanness to remain? And when you ask yourself that question and you've determined within yourself that you wanna make God comfortable, the second question is this now, Lord, what makes you uncomfortable?
9:04 Can I tell you something? You wanna advance in sanctification. If you really wanna be pure as he is pure, if you really want to be found faithful, as Jesus gave so many parables, do you notice that although so many parables are different, a lot of them have the same theme, talking about a master who has gone away for a long while? How many parables are like that? And what is that whole mindset that he would come back and find a people that are faithful?
9:27 If you and I have determined within ourselves we want to make God comfortable in this temple, in this temple, the next question is, Lord, well, what makes you comfortable? What makes you uncomfortable? And if you really sincerely ask that question, watch how you will in a moment, I'm telling you in a moment, leap in your sanctification. If we're not asking that question, then what are we really doing? And God has given us specific instructions as personal individual hostess of pres of the presence of God and as a corporate body.
10:01 I remember hearing an interview just a few days ago and it grieved my heart because it was two mega church multi campus pastors interviewing one another. And one asked the other, what was your philosophy before you started your ministry? What was your what was your mindset before you planted your first church and now you have all these churches? And you know what this man said? He said, well, I asked myself this as a pastor.
10:21 If I was a businessman with three children and my vocation was not full time ministry, what kind of church would I want to go to? I asked myself this, and it meant so much to me. That if I was not a pastor, what kind of church would I want to go to? And that was the church I was gonna build. Here's the problem with that philosophy.
10:46 It's in direct contradiction to the word of God. Because Paul told Timothy who was left in Ephesus, in first Timothy three fourteen and fifteen, you don't have to turn there. He says, listen, I'm writing these things to you because if I delay, you might know how you ought to behave in the household of God. We have the prescription for what God wants from us in this church. And we have that same prescription for what God wants from us in this life.
11:12 You've heard me use this example before, but this is a great question to ask even in those gray areas, especially in the gray areas of life. But we don't know if it's right or wrong and and there are some cultural influences on certain habits or decisions that we make. Just ask yourself this question, Lord, does this make you comfortable? And watch how you will have an answer. If the spirit of God dwells in you, you will know that nudge.
11:36 A teacher once said this, he went into a place in India, a Bible teacher, and he was in a specific place where culturally it was acceptable even amongst Christians to smoke. So he went into a church and as he pulled up he saw all the men outside smoking. He thought to himself, well the Bible doesn't say anything about smoking. What am I gonna do though? Because this is harming the body.
12:00 It's not a good thing. Some of you have heard this but I'll share for those who haven't. And he got up on the pulpit and he had a translator because it was a specific type of language that they were speaking in a specific part of India. And he said, I wanna today teach you how you can smoke like a Christian. And so this is what you need to know if you wanna smoke like a Christian.
12:23 Next time you pull out a cigarette, ask Jesus if he wants to smoke with you. And he left it at that. That's wisdom. That's wisdom. And the next day after he had shared that message, he was preparing to share another message.
12:41 The translator came up to him before he went up to the pulpit. He says, I have to I have to tell you something. He said, why? He says, I stopped smoking. He says, well, I didn't tell you to stop smoking.
12:49 He says, I know, but I pulled out a cigarette after the message and I asked Jesus if he won one and I knew he didn't, so I quit. I remember it was a couple youth conferences when I was first going around doing these things from time to time, and it was amazing. You would see young 13 year old boys after a message that wasn't even on the specific subject. I don't even know if it was mentioned behind the pulpit, but you have these young kids come up and they would say, excuse me, and and I have a question. I said, what's your question?
13:15 He goes, well, I'm playing this video game, and he would tell me the name of the video game. This is young. He's 13, 12 years old sometimes that would be in the meeting. And he would I knew what video game he was talking about. There was gore, nudity, violence, body parts being chopped up, all these different things.
13:30 And it was a simple answer. I I'm not gonna give him a yes or no. I just asked something along the lines of, next time you play, ask if Jesus wants to play with you. The week after, one of those kids came back with that video game. He says, I'm not playing this anymore.
13:50 And he looked at me and he says, can you break it? I'm like, I'm not breaking your video game. Then you go tell your mom that I broke it. You go break it. I'll watch you.
13:57 And so he went into the bathroom. What did he do? He started breaking up, and I was just cheering while he was doing it. It was very we were in the bathroom, locked door, everything was just it was amazing how he did it. And I just said, that's awesome.
14:06 And I think I recorded it too, but I don't know where it went. It was on my old phone. And then and that's it. Ask yourself this question if you wanna advance in your sanctification. Lord, does this make you comfortable?
14:18 What makes you uncomfortable? And watch how things will pop up in your life that you thought did not mean anything to the Lord where he says, thank you for asking. This does make me feel uncomfortable because there's something better I have for you. And they had to make that decision, and they did make that decision. Now we come to verse five and nine to nine where there's another set of instructions given.
14:43 And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel. When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess his sin that he has committed, and he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him whom he did the wrong. But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest. In addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. Let's just stop here.
15:17 We're kinda going fast. What's the idea here? Now God is giving and he's revisiting this understanding of a sin that is committed to another brother or sister and how that ought to be figured out and how that can be cleaned up. And this is what the Lord is giving concerning instruction. We've seen this before.
15:32 Where have we seen this? We've read this somewhere before in just the past few weeks. It was in a specific book that dealt with a specific offering. Does anybody remember the offering that dealt with this? The trespass offering, the guilt offering in Leviticus five and six.
15:51 This is one of the offerings that were was catered towards a a person who has sinned against another. And part of that process was that if you have wronged the brother by either taking from him or harming him even physically or damaging his property, this was the Lord's mindset behind. This is his wisdom. He goes, not only are you gonna make full restitution, you're gonna add a fifth to it, 20%. And the the idea behind God doing this is so that people won't do it because they're gonna not only how many things in the law today if we had this mindset would not be done by people?
16:23 That if you took something or I don't know what the laws are, I'm not professional all these things, you have to make full restitution and add a fifth to it. And there's a beautiful understanding there because even in the new covenant sense, though this is not required for salvation, it is a healthy response to somebody who understands grace. And we talked about Zacchaeus, how when he realized that the Lord wanted to sup with him and eat with him and he knew his name, he stood up and he says, I'm gonna make a fourfold restitution to those I've robbed. I wanna do this. It's just a response of wanting to make things right to those that you've wronged in the past as a normal healthy response to wanting to represent Christ in that.
17:01 And it's amazing we talked about that in Leviticus, and somebody had come up to me after the Bible study made a great point. What happens if you even as a believer wanna make restitution, but it's just not possible? It's just not possible. Circumstances, the timing of it, that person doesn't doesn't exist anymore in my life. That person doesn't live actually anymore.
17:22 How do I go about making restitution? I I'm a firm believer that the Holy Spirit will convict a person concerning this area of restitution in their life. That there isn't a a law about it that's written across all believers' lives, but that is a normal response that you you the Holy Spirit will don't be surprised that even after you get saved, he'll he'll just put something on you saying you you have to go make things right with that person that you wrong before you got saved. Sometimes it's not possible when that person asked that. It's not possible even in a financial sense.
17:54 Anything, property, anything, even emotional damage. How do I do this? And you know what? God is so realistic because he expands on that. In Leviticus, we have the same instructions concerning the guilt offering.
18:06 Add a fifth to it. And here in Numbers, he expands on that principle. And he says, look at verse eight. But if the man has no next of kin, so if that person does not live anymore, you gotta go make restitution to a family member. And if that family member doesn't exist or that person doesn't have family members, you know what you have to do next?
18:24 He says go and give it to the priest. And I I believe that out of this Old Testament text concerning the understanding of restitution, that if even in a new covenant, we wanna make things right with a person that we've wronged, and we don't know where they are in life, or it just it just does not make sense, there's no wisdom in going to that person again, or that person's family, whatever, that the best thing next to that is making it right with God. And that's what the Lord is saying here. Saying if you can't deal with that person, if you can't deal with a family member, just make it right with me. Let me see in your own heart that you desire.
18:58 You desire to make things right, but you couldn't. Lord, I I I I would love to show that person that I'm a a changed man, changed woman, but I can't. But Lord, you know my heart. Help me to live in light of your character for the rest of my days. This is the principle here.
19:19 And I just love the wisdom of God. I love his realistic standards here concerning us. It's a beautiful thing. And so in your own life, let that be true. Let that be true that you desire to do it and if you can't do it, God knows it in your heart.
19:39 Now we come to an interesting passage from verse 11 actually to the end of the chapter. And the reason why this is such an interesting portion of scripture is because from one to five and five to nine, we've seen these things before. We've seen these things in other places of scripture. But now we're coming to a law, we're coming to a ritual that is unique to the book of Numbers. It is not found anywhere else.
20:07 It's just here. It's just here. And it's a test that God has instituted. And this test deals with validating whether somebody has actually committed adultery or not. It's a ritual that would reveal whether a husband's jealousy for his wife with suspicion towards her being an adulteress or committing an adulteress is actually something that is true or not.
20:39 And what's so surprising about this portion of scripture when I came about and read it is how much detail God has given this text. Look at your Bibles from verse 11 down to the end of the chapter. All of the rest of this chapter is dedicated to describing how this thing will go about. And to us, it's very strange, especially in our Western context. As you read it, if you have read it, you're like, this is kind of mystical.
21:05 And so again, whenever we come to a portion of scripture, what is the rule that we have concerning our application in these verses? What's the question that we always ask? What is God's heart behind this? What is God's heart behind this? What do I know about God through these texts?
21:23 Now instead of just going and touching on verses, I want us to actually all read it. So I need I need a few volunteers here that you're able to vocalize and and and you have strong voices so that everybody can hear. So I need a person to read from verses 11 to 15. Any volunteers? Verses 11 to 15.
21:38 Barrett, verses 16 to 22. Evan, verses 23 to 28. Tamara. And lastly, verses 29 to 31. 29 to 31.
21:54 Matt, go for it. So So whoever's starting, please read that loud and follow through your bible and just imagine this in your mind as we're this is bible study. This is not a sermon, so we're going through the scriptures together. Whoever can start us off, whoever took the first few verses, please start us off.
22:08 The Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel. If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, if a man lies with her sexually and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, though she would has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her since she was not taken in the act, And if the spirit of jealousy comes over him, and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remember. Okay.
22:53 So stop there for a moment. So this is what what we have up to this point. This is not dealing with a sin. This is dealing with suspicion. And so up to this point, if a husband is suspicious of his wife who has it's not clear yet, but there's evidence of perhaps that she's committed an act of adultery.
23:17 He would come to the priest and and notice the language. We'll get to this in a moment. It's unknown to anybody else. The whole idea here is that the Lord would expose it. The Lord would expose whether it is true or not true, and we'll get to why this is important.
23:33 Whoever has the next portion of scripture, please read.
23:35 And the priest shall bring her near and sit her before the Lord. The priest shall take the holy water in the earth and vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it on into the water. Then the priest shall stand the woman before the Lord, uncover the woman's head, and put the offering for remembering into her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings the curse. And the priest shall put her under oath and say to the woman, if no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanliness while under your husband's authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.
24:18 But if you have gone astray while under your husband's authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than yourself, other than your husband has lain with you, then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse. And he shall say to the woman, the lord makes you a curse and an oath among your people. When the lord makes your thigh rot and your belly swell and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach and make your belly swell and your thighs rot. Then the woman shall say, amen, so be it.
24:51 Alright. So here's the next part. So you have the husband bringing the wife. They come into the tabernacle. They bring it before the priest.
24:57 The priest says, okay. You're you're under suspicion. So we're gonna I'm gonna lay out what this is gonna look like to you. And he has her unbind her hair. Now why is that?
25:05 Because there's an instruction early on that the lepers had to unbind their hair and let it loose. They had to let it loose. It was a state of uncleanness. It was a state of uncleanness. And so she would do that, then he would what?
25:16 He would take dirt, put it in water, and it would be a bitter taste, really. It would be obviously dirt and water doesn't taste very good. And he would lay out these consequences to what was about to take place. And she was hearing all this and now she's hearing all of this. She has to come to the point where she says amen amen.
25:33 In other words, alright. Let it be so. Let it be so. That if I did do this after I drink the water, then it and what would happen as a result is that there would be an infection, there would be a disease that would cause her not to be able to have children anymore. But if she wasn't guilty of it, then she would be clear of all such infection.
25:51 Next portion of scripture.
25:53 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off with a bitter water into a Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off with a bitter water into a bitter water. And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings a curse shall enter her to become bitter. Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman's hand, shall wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. And the priest shall take a handful of the offering as it is a memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be if she has defiled herself and behaved unsaidfully towards her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her value will swell.
26:36 Her thigh will rot, and the woman will become curse among her people. But if the woman has not defiled himself and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.
26:47 So here's the next thing. Not only is he putting dirt in the water, he's gonna write out these curses on material and then put it in the water. Let the ink go in, whatever whatever needed to go into that concern, and then that would just add to the bitterness of it. And then again, it's re the the Bible is reinforcing what would come about if she actually did this. That there would be a visible and there would be a reputation for the rest of her days in that camp that she had actually done this act.
27:12 It's a very this is a very weighty and serious thing. Very weighty and very serious. And then finally, the last two verses.
27:20 This is the law in cases of jealousy, when the wife go under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself. Or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife, then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.
27:42 What do you think the reason for all of this is relating to the Israelites in their immediate context? What purpose does God have in giving this specific law and ritual? What is the Lord trying to promote in the hearts of his people? Faithfulness? Yes.
28:02 Another word with f. Fear. A holy fear. A holy fear. What the Lord is trying to promote in this moment and through this through this text is that he would have a people that would have a holy, healthy fear relating to faithfulness in marriage.
28:19 And what this text is trying to show you and I about God is that he has a fierce zeal that when two become one, they stay one. Unfortunately though, his people back then and today do not have that same zeal. And so he gives these instructions to the Israelites to say, listen. What this will do is ultimately leave me to be the judge. It's a very wise thing.
28:46 It's amazing the wisdom of the Lord that the Lord will be the ultimate one that would reveal and judge and expose whatever unfaithfulness there would be. Now we read this and we kinda think this is kinda unfair because we have a husband who's kinda bringing the wife in, and and this is a this is a a template, but there is something here for the wife. You have to understand that there is something of great benefit through this law for the woman. What do you think that is? Prooffulness?
29:21 Vindication if she's right? That's that's partly true. Yeah. That is. I think there would be vindication, but there's something even more practical than that.
29:30 Giving me an opportunity to prove she's
29:33 Yeah. So this is, like, vindication is that what you meant by vindication? Like, she's gonna prove herself to be faithful through this. Yes? Yes.
29:41 So it's just another confirmation for her to be able to bear fruit. Absolutely.
29:45 Her husband's trust. So that is guaranteed through that. Yes.
29:48 One is, like, like, not having the accusation anymore.
29:53 That's right. So part of this, the way God set it up is that the woman, because of God being involved directly, would be protected from her husband or from even others around that would try to respond to her suspicion with mistreatment. What this law does is it it removes any possibility for anybody to jump the gun through suspicion and through a violent response or mistreatment or reputation being spread. God had brought this for the sake of protecting wives as well, so that they would go into this place. And if they are innocent, God would have the final word and her record would be clean before the sight of others.
30:35 So we see that this is going both ways. This is a very fair thing because if her husband did bring her in out of suspicion he was wrong, I mean she has nothing to fear in the first place. Alright. Let's just get this over with. Has God's heart changed concerning how he feels about marriage from Numbers chapter six to 2,018?
31:00 Let me read this New Testament verse in Hebrews thirteen:four. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled for God will judge this sexually immoral and adulteress. That's not found in Numbers chapter six, that's found in Hebrews. That's Hebrews chapter 13 verse four. Let the marriage bed be undefiled.
31:24 Why? Because if not, then God will judge. And how He will judge? Hebrews doesn't tell us. Number six tells us, but Hebrews does not tell us, but it does says He will.
31:35 And He is the perfect judge. He knows exactly what to give as His active discipline towards those who have been unfaithful. So here are some things that you and I can learn from Numbers chapter six. Sitting with this text going, okay, I understand God has a heart for faithfulness and marriage, but what else is it saying about the Lord? Not only what is it saying about the Lord, what is it saying about you and me?
32:03 What I'm about to say in the next few minutes, my prayer is always this, and I pray that it would be true tonight. That no matter how hard a word may be, that you would feel the love, the love of Christ in it always. And I look at you, and praying into this Bible study, I look at all of you, and I say this with a heart throbbing with love for you, with a love to see you live your life for Christ and protect it from all the deceitfulness of sin. So hear me tonight and the rest of this Bible study concerning this text that it comes from a heart of a person that prays for you. If you hear an angry person, if you hear a person that wants to see you fail, if you're hearing a person that can't wait till you fall so I can say I told you so, you do not know this heart.
32:51 So I pray in this bible study and the rest of this text you would hear somebody that truly loves as a brother. One thing I take out of this text, a very simple truth, a truth that people don't really live out and understand. Number one, God sees it all. God sees it all. Notice in verse 13 of Numbers chapter six.
33:13 If a man lies with her sexually and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, though she has defiled herself and there is no witness against her. Do you see that language there? If it's unknown to the husband, if she's done it undetectedly, if she's done it with no witness. You know what I learned here? Even though her husband didn't know it, even though the priest did not see it, Jesus did.
33:49 Jesus did. And Jesus always sees it. He sees it in great detail. He sees it better than any security camera can capture it. He sees it better than any voice recorder can record it.
34:00 He sees and He knows and He will bring it about. I need you guys to hear me very carefully that God is faithful in every single command and every single revelation of His character. But if I can personally testify, and what's more important is what the Word of God says, but if I can come under the Word and testify concerning the the commands of God, the character of God, if there is one thing that the Lord has proven in my life and what I've seen and what I've heard, that there is a certain promise, a certain warning in this very same book that I have seen come to pass not 95% of the time, 100% of the time. Numbers 3two 23. Numbers thirty two twenty three.
34:55 Brand it on your heart. But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. Be sure your sin will find you out. Let me say it this way. If you and I do not learn how to confess our sins to God, be sure of this: your sins will confess you to others.
35:32 Let me say that one more time. If you and I do not learn how to confess our sins to God, be sure of this, your sins will confess you to others. In other words, let's simplify it. Your sins will tell on you. Remember our friend Saul after the Lord had commanded him?
35:57 You get rid of all the Amalekites. You get rid of everything. When I say destroy everything, I mean everything. And in first Samuel 15, Samuel comes onto the scene in verse 13 chapter 13 verse 14. And Saul comes, and look what Saul says.
36:11 He goes, blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And Samuel said, hold on. Why do I hear the bleeding of sheep? In other words, you were supposed to destroy all the animals, and I hear them bleeding.
36:31 That text terrifies me. You know why? Because it wasn't a soldier that ran up to Samuel, said, Samuel, didn't you tell Saul that he was supposed to destroy everything? He didn't do it. It wasn't a fellow prophet that went to the same school of prophets with Samuel that came and said, the Lord had revealed to me that, your servant, Saul there, the king, did not perform your vows.
36:50 No. It was a sheep. It was a sheep. And that neighing, that exposed them. And there's another verse in Ecclesiastes ten twenty that speaks of this.
37:08 Listen to these words very carefully. Even in your thoughts do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice or some winged creature tell the matter. What is the principle of that? That whatever you do in private, even if there's nobody around, just like in Numbers chapter six, they thought that they were alone. And the Lord in a poetic fashion is saying, even if you think alone, the birds will tell on you.
37:41 Even if you think you're alone, I'll get nature to testify. You would be amazed of how God will expose somebody who is an unconfessed sin especially when it deals with another individual. Private sin is one thing, but when it deals with other people, when it deals with community, you up the ante. You up the chances of the Lord pulling the sheets. Let me say this very carefully and in love.
38:08 Don't fall asleep though your eyes are open right now. Let me make this very clear, very clear as a brother who loves you. Your sin will tell on you, And I don't want you to experience the reality of the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God by Him exposing sin. I want you to experience the reality of God by you walking righteously and Him blessing your life and you praying and God answering. That's how I want you to experience God.
38:42 Not this way. Not numbers thirty two twenty three. Not that way. Please don't let your experience of God come to a place where you see that he might not have seen, but he actually did. Don't go there.
38:55 Don't flirt with it. Your sin will tell on you. And you know what the thing about sin is is that it can stay quiet, and people think that silence silence concerning a sinful lifestyle is a way of God expressing his affirmation. Wrong. Any extension of God's silence in your habitual sin is God's extension of mercy for you to confess it before it's exposed.
39:20 I've been doing it a and God's not revealing it. Just wait. Your sin is waiting for the perfect time. And when you think that you have your hand over its mouth, it will move that hand and say, he's doing it. She's doing it.
39:33 And it will be so loud. Somebody else is gonna hear it. If you are not convinced with these Old Testament scriptures, be convinced of Luke chapter 12, the words of Jesus Christ himself in the first three verses. In the meantime, when just Jesus. This is what he preached to a crowd.
40:02 This is what Jesus preached to a crowd. In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first. So what does Jesus do in a multi thousand conference setting? This is what he does. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
40:24 Nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and whatever you've whispered in private room shall be proclaimed in the housetops. That's the new covenant. That's Jesus taking Ecclesiastes ten twenty. That's Jesus taking numbers chapter six.
40:45 That's Jesus taking numbers thirty two twenty three and simplifying it in the new covenant. If you do it in secret, it's gonna come out in public. I want you to notice that in the text that we just read in Numbers chapter six, That what would expose this sin was holy water to some degree. And we hear that and we go, that's kind of terrifying. Drink this water and if it makes you feel bitter and you have this disease and that's it, people know.
41:21 But in the New Covenant it's something else. It's not holy water, it's the Holy Spirit. And so that's even more terrifying in the New Covenant sense. Why? Because the ministers don't have to come up to you and say, Hey drink this so we can find out if you did it.
41:37 You know what happens? Ananias and Sapphira walk into church. Hey, we gave everything. Peter didn't go up and say, Drink this, let's find out if you really did it. The Holy Spirit was right there and says, You lied and you lied to me.
41:58 So we look at Numbers chapter six and go, this is severe. We're in the New Covenant, and the Holy Spirit does the work that this holy water does. Second truth, the power of confession. The power of confession. You know, I'm reading this text and I think it to myself in Numbers chapter five.
42:16 Excuse me. I kept saying six. It's actually chapter five. We'll edit that later. In Numbers chapter five, what I find terrifying is that when you look here again in verse 22, may this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away, And the woman shall say amen, amen.
42:38 What this text is showing, you and me, that there is a possibility that someone who is guilty of this sin, and it's not just this sin, it's the principle of all sin, that they are willing to go through the entire process. They are willing to go through the entire process and only be found out when they are exposed. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I wondered to myself what would have been like if that person who was truly guilty on the way to the tabernacle was like I did it? I'm wrong. I did it, and let's deal with this another way.
43:15 This person is so stubborn. The possibility of a person being so stubborn that they go through the entire process and the only way that they'll even confess and here's even the scary part. Even to this day, there are people to this day in the new covenant that even after they're exposed, they'll still deny it. You hear of this stuff. It's like, brother, there's evidence.
43:38 It's like, wow. The stubbornness of man is unbelievable. The unbelief of man is tragic. And this person but the scripture says it's possible for them to go through the entire thing. Who knows what they're thinking?
43:57 This isn't gonna work. Next thing you know, the Bible doesn't give us that kind of commentary on what they're thinking, but here's a possibility that somebody's willing to go through that entire ordeal and only be found out when they're exposed. And here's the power of confession that you and I need to confess before it gets to that place. That's a scripture in Proverbs 2eight 13, Whoever conceals his transgression shall not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Never forget that.
44:33 Never forget that. That whoever tries to hide it isn't gonna prosper, but a person who confesses it will obtain mercy. Listen, on a horizontal level, when sin is done to another and that person, that person confesses their sin and ask for forgiveness before it becomes this whole blowout, even on a horizontal level, it changes the dynamic of the future of that relationship because there's a humility there. Listen, I did wrong. I'm not gonna wait till this thing is exposed.
45:03 I'm sorry. You didn't even know it. What a difference does it make? Listen, on any level of sin, if you and I were to come to a place for whoever we sinned against or sinned with or whatever is the case, and you say, listen, you did not know this but I did this, and I I just need to ask for your forgiveness. Don't you think that that conversation would heal that relationship compared to somebody who doesn't do that and waits till it blows up in their face, and then says, yeah I did this.
45:34 What's the principle here? May we be a people who know how to confess to one another and to God. Don't conceal it. Don't hide it. Have you ever wondered what David experienced in that period of time when he had committed adultery with Bathsheba?
45:50 Psalm 51 is written in his confession, what his heart was like when he confessed to the Lord. But have you ever wondered what his life was like in that period before Nathan came and pointed the bony finger in his face? Some believe that Psalms 32 is that Psalm. It's not explicitly clear, but some believe that Psalms 32 was written after Psalms 51 where David is fulfilling his vow from Psalms 51 where he says, I will teach the transgressors your ways. If you heal me, if you restore me, if you do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
46:25 He says that in verse 13, then I will teach transgressors your ways. And in Psalms 32, some believe is that Psalm where he is teaching sinners from his own experience of what they should avoid. And look how he describes his state of unconfessed sin. Blessed is the one, verse one, whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity and whose spirit there is no deceit.
46:55 Now listen to this. For when I kept silent, in other words, when I did not confess my sin, my bones wasted away. Through my groaning all day long, for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. When a person lives an unconfessed sin, they are haunted to some degree.
47:26 They are haunted to some degree. And part of that haunting is this, you're living your life wondering if anybody will ever find out. Can I tell you in love again as a brother? Whether you confess or not, it's coming out. And you will be totally shocked to know how it gets exposed.
47:54 Confess it to him quickly that he's willing to give you mercy. Lastly, there is a holy confidence. There's three truths out of this text. Number one, number five. There's three truths.
48:12 Number one, God sees it all. Two, there's power and confession. There's healing and confession. There is restoration and confession. Number three, there is a holy confidence that comes from holy living.
48:24 Now look at verse 22 of Numbers chapter five, not from the standpoint of somebody who might be guilty, but from the standpoint of somebody who knows they're innocent. May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away and the woman shall say amen, amen. Now here's the one, possibly a possible scenario of somebody saying amen amen, and they're going, I hope this thing doesn't work. And here's another person who knows they're innocent that's going amen, amen. Let's get this thing over with.
49:03 I wanna tell you something, that a clear conscience will give you a confidence in all lifestyles, in all matters, in all decisions even when false accusations come. Can I tell you something? You should not be if anybody in here is scared, it's probably because there's something that needs to get cleaned up. If you're sitting in your chair right now and you're scared, it's probably because you need to get something out of your life that would cause you in the eyes of others to question your testimony, to question where you're at with the Lord. But if you're hearing something like this and you're living in righteousness, you're hearing this and you're saying, Yes, I do have a holy fear and I should always have a holy fear, but if I have a clear conscience before God, throw whatever you want at me.
49:47 God is my judge. And there have been situations even in life, even with people that I've talked to where they have had false accusations or accusations because of suspicious behavior in their lives or because of false, just not even out of suspicion. Because you know what this text tells us too, that you and I should avoid suspicious behavior to give people no work, to give people no evidence, to give people no firm of a grasp for us to be able to be a potential question mark. That's what that's showing us as well. But in some cases, some people like this, even a husband, might have the spirit of jealousy come over and based on nothing.
50:22 No matter what, if accusations come your way, you know what I always counsel people with? Brother, sister, did you do it? No. Then what are you afraid of? Well, they're saying this and this.
50:34 Did you do it? No. Did you? No. Okay.
50:36 Then God is your judge and He'll vindicate you. He'll vindicate you. And that's a confidence that you and I can walk in in this life. That if we know that before the Lord that in our private lifestyles there is nothing for anybody, there's nothing for the devil to use against us, there is such a holy boldness and a liberty that comes about in your life. It is so freeing to live clean and private.
51:07 It's so freeing. And this text shows me not only here, it shows me in Romans 12, it shows me in so many other places that even if accusation comes to the place where they have to cut off my head. Think of Stephen. All these false accusers, they come to Stephen and they're saying, this guy is telling us that the temple is gonna be destroyed and that they're gonna overthrow. He's teaching that Jesus is gonna overthrow the law of Moses, and it says at the end of that chapter, they all looked at Stephen.
51:34 His face was shining like an angel. And then they asked him, are these things so? And instead of Stephen going, listen, this is all fake and starting to defend himself, he preaches an entire sermon because you all need to repent. It's a boldness. It's a confidence that comes with clean living.
51:58 I pray that no matter where you go in life, you would walk in the light, that we would walk in the light. Everything changes when you live with a conscious awareness that God is here wherever you are. Do that, please. And if there's something in your life that you know that if it was exposed to others, that it would bring shame to the name of Christ, it would bring harm to your community. If I were you, the quickest thing I would do tonight is run, get before the Lord, confess it.
52:44 Lord, clean me up. Because a person that has unconfessed sin in their life is a ticking time bomb. Because part of the deception of unconfessed sin is that even if this thing does go out and people somebody finds out, it won't do that much damage. You have no idea. You might be wondering why the intensity because you have no clue how real this is.
53:13 And God in his mercy gives us verses like this to say, I see it. Don't try to hide it. Don't try to run from it. Come to me. Come to me.
53:25 And this is the beauty about Christian living in community and in ministry. I'm a firm believer that ministers don't need to play private investigator in everybody's life. It's as simple as this. Lord, you know. Lord, you know.
53:44 You're their God. You're their sanctifier. Protect this community. Protect this church. Your judgment is perfect.
53:58 Do what you need to do. He's the best private investigator. We're closing in Numbers chapter six. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when neither a man either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice or grapes or eat grapes fresh or dried.
54:32 All the days of his separation, he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins. All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, and he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of his hair of his head grow long. All the days that he separates himself to the Lord, he shall not go near a dead body, not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister. If they die, shall he make himself unclean?
55:00 Because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation, he is holy to the Lord. Now we've come to a place where the Lord wants to give a wonderful invitation. There is a vow, and there are many vows that people can make in the Bible. This vow is a unique vow.
55:14 This vow is called the Nazarite vow. What is the purpose of this vow? If any Israelite desire to get closer with God, he would take this vow. And what this vow would do essentially is it would cause a person who intensely desired a more intimate, passionate, personal knowing of God, they would commit themselves to such a thing. It did not mean that those who were not in a Nazarite vow were not wholehearted towards the Lord.
55:45 What it does mean though is that if a person wanted a greater intensity, a time of consecration to seek God, this is what they would do. And this is the instruction for that. And what's amazing here is that there are three guidelines. The first guideline is no wine or any fruit of the vine should be eaten. The second guideline was as long as your vow is, no matter how long you want it to be for, you're letting your hair grow.
56:10 And it's it's just showing. It's an outward external expression that you're you're consecrated unto the Lord, and people can see that. And lastly, no contact with dead bodies, even if it's your family member. And so specific is this to the Lord that these we won't read it in the next few verses. He gives instruction if somebody just happens to die right before you in that moment and the process to go about that.
56:35 And I look at this and I go, well, Nazarite vow, I mean that's old covenant and and does that apply to you and me as a believer? But again, the ultimate question, what does it reveal about God's heart? Look at verse one and two again. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite. You know what Nazarite means in the original language, consecrated or dedicated one.
57:06 Number one truth from this as we close concerning the Nazarite vow and what it reveals about God's heart, what it reveals about you and me, is that the Nazarite vow was given as a possibility for anyone who was willing to do it. It was not just for the priest. It was not just for the Levites. It was not just for a specific tribe. He goes, whether a man or a woman, whoever wants to take this upon themselves, I'm making it available to you.
57:32 And this is a cry from God's heart that he longs for a people to say, I'm gonna pursue God in this season of life in a way that I haven't before. That's his heart. That's what I see there in the Old Testament. The Lord's saying, would you would you, in the busyness of your life, find it, whether it's a day or two, just you take that vow, you take that season, however long you need, and you just give all the focus to me and you just drive yourself to know me. And he goes, anyone.
58:04 Whoever's willing to take it. Here. Here. This vow is for anybody that wants it because I want all of you, not just some of you. And the second principle is this, is that there are three guidelines, and they're very specific.
58:18 And we could talk for the next ten, fifteen minutes of why these specific guidelines, and we won't. But the principle is still there. The overarching principle is there is that if I do take a vow of consecration to seek the Lord in my life, whether it's a day, whether it's a week, whether it's a month, whether I don't put a timeline on and say, Lord, I'm gonna do this until I see you and know you in a way that I've never known before. There's always a price. There's always a cost.
58:44 For the Nazarite in that day, it was these things. For you and me, it might be different, but there's always a price. If you and I desire to come closer to him, there has to be some separation that occurs. It might be a separation from activity. It might be separation from association.
59:06 It might be separation from even good things like maybe a meal a day. But I'm telling you the Lord will customize that in your life that if you've said it within yourself to say, God, in the new covenant sense, I want to take a Nazarite vow and I want to pursue you desperately. Know this, that God gives that invitation to everyone here like he did back then. And for them, there was a price, and for you and me, there's a price. And the rules haven't changed, though the prescription has.
59:44 We're closing this chapter in verse 22 of Numbers chapter six. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to Aaron and his sons saying, thus you shall bless the people of Israel. You shall say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
1:00:13 So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them. Notice the nature of this blessing, the Aaronic blessing it's called. Notice the nature of it. Read it very slowly and notice what blessing means really in life. 24, The Lord bless you and keep you.
1:00:33 That's a blessing for God to keep you and me, to keep you close, to keep you protected, to keep you from harm's way, not just physically but spiritually. The Lord keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you. Not just his face be towards you, but for it to shine upon you. Glistening favor, a smile on his countenance upon you, and be gracious to you.
1:01:04 The Bible says that the Lord opposes the proud and he gives grace to the humble. Listen, it's one thing for Satan to fight against you and me. It's a whole another thing when God fights against you and me. And that word oppose is literally to fight against. He fights against the proud.
1:01:25 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. I don't know about you, but I can use some peace in my life every day. With all the chaos in the world, I can't even take ten seconds on the news without feeling nauseated because there's so much chaos. Would you stand with me and let's pronounce this ironic blessing? You know, as the worship team comes up, We'll read this in closing after the music, but Just in your own heart, don't look to the left, don't look to the right.
1:02:33 You know if the Holy Spirit spoke to you through his word. But to say, Lord, give me a clear conscience. Let me walk in the revelation that even if I walk in the dark where nobody sees, You're right there. And Lord, let not my life be anywhere near that place where I would discover how real you are because of unconfessed sin. But Lord, I pray that any interaction that you have in my life, any intervention that you would have in my days would be the result of a life that is lived out for your glory.
1:03:47 How many disasters could be avoided if people lived in light of that text? It's true love for somebody to say these things behind a microphone. It's true love. If anybody were to see you walking off a cliff with you having blindfolds on, they would not love you if they did not yell even to say watch where you're going. Take off the blindfolds.
1:04:23 Just stay in that place of prayer. This is between us and God. Let it ring in the corridors of your conscience tonight. Whoever conceals his transgression will not prosper, but he who confesses it and forsakes them shall obtain mercy. Isn't it amazing that as strong as the warning is, just as strong is the reward?
1:05:00 That the moment I confess to the Lord, he's willing to shower mercy upon me. Do you know why God exposes things? There are many reasons why, but sometimes and oftentimes it's in his mercy too. Even at the expense of someone's ministry. Why?
1:05:27 Because God cares about his relationship with you more than your service for him. As the music's playing, just bring your heart before the Lord saying, Lord, I want that confidence that comes with a clear conscience. I wanna live in such a way that if anybody were to pull out my private records, there'd be no hesitation. Are you afraid to give people the password to your computer? Are you afraid to give people your web browser history?
1:06:16 Can you say yeah. Go for it. I'm telling you this because there is such a freedom that comes. I'm struggling. Man, if you're struggling, you struggle in the light.
1:06:29 Don't struggle in the dark. You know what that means? You keep coming before the Lord. You find an accountability partner and you confess it. But there is no room for somebody to portray a spirituality or to remain in some kind of a state of everything's fine when it not really is and even trying to do some kind of thing for the Lord when your character is not lining up with it.
1:06:54 Just live in the light. That's all the Lord requires of us. Walk in the light. Walk in the light. Walking in the light does not mean being perfect all the time.
1:07:03 It means being honest all the time. Big difference. The Lord requires honesty from you and me. And when we do walk in that place, he walks with us graciously. God is not looking.
1:07:20 If you heard this in this bible study, you've heard the wrong God. God is not waiting for you to sin, and the moment you mess up in secret, nobody hears me, it goes, I can't wait to pull the sheets on you to show you that I'm God. Wrong God. Wrong God. I believe that.
1:07:36 I believe this with all my heart because in light of scripture, that God in his wisdom knows when to expose it at the right time for your benefit and mine. And I'm not going to play God to tell you how that timeline works. It can happen tonight. It can happen. I don't know when, but I believe it's one of his final solutions.
1:07:55 I mean, the way God pursues a person is unbelievable for them to confess and in the smallest setting possible before it becomes something that is public. It's amazing. I've I've I've read and heard in sermons way too many times in this in the pastoral ministry that pastors who were living in secret sin, God had pursued them way before it became public. Waking up other pastors in the middle of the night to pray for them, even giving people prophetic insight to say, listen, Brad, I don't know what's going on, but you need to confess and get right with God. It's amazing what the Lord will do before he gets to that point.
1:08:35 It's unbelievable. And even in that act, so that he can protect you from greater disaster. Imagine living in a state in which you don't confess your sin and because you don't confess your sin and you don't see it being exposed, you continue in sin. When God exposes, it's always to put a roadblock in your lifestyle. I can ramble on and I won't.
1:09:00 Just look to the one who hates our sin but loves us and worship him and confess to him. And you can walk out of here feeling like a weight lifted off your shoulders. Lord help me walk in the light. Help me walk in the light. Give me that holy confidence that comes from clean living in private.
1:09:21 I need it. God is willing to give.
