0:00 You meet me in the book of Joshua chapter 22. If you've been with us, you know that we are approaching the end of this book within the next two, three weeks. What a precious journey through this amazing book. And it seems like the course that we're gonna be taking for the next few months and years is the Old Testament. We're just gonna keep plowing through book by book, verse by verse, chapter by chapter.
0:26 And what's amazing about this book is if you were with us in the beginning and were reminded throughout, it is beautifully structured in such a way that we are given themes in the sections that they are divided in. And generally, it is agreed upon that the themes are as such. The first few chapters you and I have been discovering how the people entered into the land. The chapters following have been focused on the people conquering the land. And what we just concluded last week was the people dividing the land, and where you and I find ourselves tonight is the people receiving instruction on how to remain in the land.
1:11 Now why is this section important? Though this is a historical text, again, we are looking at through spiritual lenses by the New Testament, and we understand that the promised land is a picture of the will of God, and the Israelites going in is a picture of the Christian today trying to take a hold of what Christ has purchased for him through the cross. And we've heard over and over in different ways from different angles of how you and I can and are able to conquer the very enemies that come against us inheriting what God had purchased in Christ. But now we're gonna talk about how to stay in that place. All of us in here know that it's easy to start.
1:54 And all of us, if you've been in this thing long enough, know that it's not so easy to stay the course. It's very easy to start a race. It's not so pleasant to continue in a marathon, especially when you're unprepared. In fact, it's exhausting, but the Bible says it doesn't have to be exhausting. It's only exhausting for those who do not know how to run the way Christ called them to run, who doesn't know the resources or doesn't know how to be trained for that race.
2:23 Instead of exhausting, Christ told us in so many different ways that it's actually exhilarating. It is a joy. It's light. It's it's a marathon with challenges, but it's also a marathon with beautiful views and graces and conversations, and testimonies along the way. You and I, in these next two, three weeks, are gonna discover how to remain in the will of God through these texts.
2:48 And so we read from Joshua 22 verse one and two. At that time, Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and said to them, you have kept all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. Here's what's happening. You and I last week discovered that every single tribe, including the priest, have received their inheritance, and now it's time to demobilize. It's time to put down the weapons and go and cultivate what God had purchased for you to enjoy and to now rest in his will for your life.
3:26 That's exactly what's happening. But when we come to this chapter, what we realize is that there are two and half of one tribe, as we've known throughout the Old Testament, that decided before entering into the promised land to stay beyond the Jordan. The Jordan River was the border. Here's the promised land. This is where they're at right now, and these two and a half tribes says beforehand, when Moses was still alive, Moses, we really like it here before the border.
3:57 Is it possible for us to stay here? Moses wasn't pleased with the request, but Moses agreed to it according to the Lord's permission, but upon one condition. You can stay beyond the Jordan, but you have to come into the promised land with your brothers and help them receive what God had promised them. That was the deal. Moses dies, they kept the promise, they went in.
4:27 They're in, and now what we read up is that they were faithful to the assignment that they've received from God. And they are about to now be commissioned. They are now gonna receive the green light. Reuben, Gat, half tribe of Manasseh, you can go back. I want you to understand from this point on, and we've known this, but we're gonna be reminded, them going back, even though God allowed it, was not God's plan a for them.
4:54 It was not God's plan a. God's plan a for every tribe was to be tucked into that territory crossing the border. But what we are going to see at this point is something worth considering, something worth exemplifying because we read something special in verse three. He says, Joshua to these tribes, you have not forsaken your brothers these many days down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. He's commending them.
5:30 He's praising them. He's affirming them. And what you and I see, though, we're about to find out how their ultimate decision to go back was not the best decision. In this section, at this part, in this assignment, they're worthy of exemplifying. Why?
5:48 Because what we read here is through these tribes, the potential of obedience. The potential of obedience. I want you to see what he's saying here. You what? Have been faithful.
6:00 You haven't forsaken your brothers these many days down to this day. Can you imagine that? The stretch of faithfulness, the length of their commitment. You and I know that when he says many days, we're not talking about three weeks. We know that it took seven years to conquer the land.
6:19 Seven years. And so when we read many days, we go seven years. Seven years of what? Just military campaign? Not just that.
6:27 Let let's feel what those seven years were like. These men from these tribes were called to go into the promised land, but they left back their wives, their children, their property, and there was an email. There wasn't social media. There wasn't FaceTime to keep in contact with them. Here they are, seven years not just going to war, but being separated from their loved ones.
6:51 Putting a pause on life, so to speak. And think about this, helping people do something that they're not gonna really directly benefit from. We're here to help you conquer the land. This has nothing to do with us. So you can imagine being one of these men of these tribes being tempted, especially through the ups and downs of saying, why don't we just go back?
7:14 Why are we here? Do you think they knew that it was gonna take seven years? There was no promise of how long it was gonna take or how fast it was gonna be. You just gotta go in no matter how long it takes. Yes, Lord.
7:25 We will obey. And day by day, through the victories, through the pains of failure, they stuck with it. They stuck with it. And what's amazing about them sticking with it is that it proves to us that no matter what God asks of us, you can know longevity and obedience. I'm not talking about sporadic obedience.
7:52 I'm not talking about seasonal obedience. I'm talking about you have been faithful these many days down to this day. Down to this day. Do you know it's possible let's use the seven year time frame that these tribes were working with. Do you know it's possible for you to live for the Lord seven years without backsliding every three months?
8:15 You're saying, I don't know about that. I'm saying, the Bible says you can. Do you know it's possible for you to remain sexually pure year after year after year, and not be immoral with your body down to this day, meaning your wedding day? I don't know about that. Well, I'm telling you the Bible says it's able, and you're able.
8:39 Do you know it's possible that you can actually fight with your brothers and sisters in Christ for seven years and not slander and gossip and divide throughout that and fight each other? You know it's possible? It's possible. Now as I'm saying this, if you're feeling weight, you're hearing it wrong. You should feel lighter and lighter.
9:01 It's possible. It's possible for you to be so focused in the mission of God. Yes. Not saying you're gonna be sinless, but even when you fall, you fall forward. You pick yourself back up and you move on ahead.
9:14 It's possible to not have to veer off continually and consistently, but stay on course no matter what's thrown at you. It's possible. Here's what I'm concerned about is that people in the church magnetize themselves more towards the men and the examples of failure in their in the Bibles in order to comfort them in their inconsistencies rather than going to examples like this to actually fuel their faith to remain consistent. Why do we do that? Sure, there is comfort when we fail, and that's why the Bible left those things in there.
9:53 But I hear more about people drawn to the failures in the bible than the successes, than the examples of what's possible for your Christian life in the positive instead of trying to just lower the bar and lower the standard and say, I'm just gonna stay here because, well, David committed adultery, so, you know, I can mess around. Yeah. David also had several wives. You don't use that as an example either. And so we have to understand that the scriptures, yes, give us comfort in our failure, but don't just magnetize towards that.
10:26 Here's an example in the Old Testament of what's possible in longevity and obedience to God. In the old covenant, not in the new where you are empowered by the Holy Spirit forever. And so, how is this possible for them though? Well, it says here, you have not forsaken your brothers these many days down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. You've been careful.
10:54 You've been careful. This is where we begin to slip in our walk with the Lord, when we're not careful with our walk with the Lord. When we when we go on autopilot mode, and we just kinda go with the flow, and we're not attentive, and we're not watchful, and we're not disciplined. That's where it all starts, when we begin to be too relaxed, Not resting in grace, too relaxed in the grace that is available for you to be who you are called to be, and then we just go along with it. But that was not the case for these tribes.
11:26 Day by day, they made it their ambition to be careful. And the commitment that they made initially was possible for seven years because every day they made a decision to simply be careful. That's it. You wanna know how you can be spiritual from now and ten years from now? Just be careful day by day.
11:52 That's all you have to do. Isn't that freeing? Isn't that wonderful? Just day by day. Today is a new day, and I'm gonna be careful to obey the Lord today.
12:04 Too many people are looking ahead and wondering if they're gonna be whatever they wanna be down the road when the strategy is day by day before you see consistency year after year. That's all it is. He commends them because they were careful, and this is what they saw. Listen. They saw victory in their relationship with their leaders.
12:24 He says you obey what Moses said and what I have commanded you. They saw victory in their relationship with their brothers. You have not forsaken your brothers. And ultimately, they saw relation they saw victory in the relationship with the Lord. You did not forsake what the Lord commanded you to do.
12:40 You can know victory in every aspect of your life like they did. And now in verse four, he continues. And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers as he promised them. Therefore, turn and go to your tents in the land where you your possession lies, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you on the other side of the Jordan. Notice that when he commends them oh, Joshua is such a wonderful leader.
13:10 He commends them. He praises them, and you and I have the permission to commend one another for faithfulness to the Lord. But what Joshua does is he does not fail to include and remind these men that the Lord ultimately is the one who gets all the glory. He says in verse four, and now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers. You were faithful to your brothers.
13:33 You contributed to this whole thing being possible. But as you leave, I want one thing to ring in your minds. God did it. God did it through you. God did it through your brothers.
13:47 God is the one who energized you and empowered you and gave you the patience and the great grace and the steadfastness. God did it. God did it. There are many dangers in the Christian life, and there's even dangers for those who are consistently faithful to the Lord. There are unique dangers for those who obviously go back and forth, and there are unique dangers and temptations for those who know how to remain the course for years on end.
14:15 You know what that danger is? Here's one of them, that you begin to think that the good that happens in and through you and around you is because of you. It's because of you. This church wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for me. What would the spirituality of this church be if I wasn't here?
14:33 What would happen to this place if they told me to leave? And you begin now to see that you are a source of blessing, and people even commend you that you're a source of blessing. And Joshua subtly but faithfully reminds them, hey, you are faithful, but you can't be faithful without God being faithful to you. You remember that, guys. You remember that.
15:01 No matter how much you think you bless your church, no matter how much you think you bless your friendships, no matter how much you might even be praised for your godliness, it's God himself who brings good through you. Don't ever forget it. Joshua doesn't fail to remind them. And then we come to verse five, and what do we see? Only be very careful.
15:24 This is the ESV. Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord commanded you. To love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cling to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. God brought victory through you. God is ultimately faithful.
15:48 Now as you head back, I want you to remember this. Be very careful. Be very careful to keep the commandment. Now when we go back, what do we read? We read that they were careful to keep the charge of the Lord.
16:08 Didn't we just cover that? They were just praised that you were careful to keep the charge of the Lord for seven years. But now in this transition as they move on, he doesn't say be careful. He says be very careful. Be extra alert.
16:29 Be extra vigilant. Be on guard. Now, why would he say be very careful? I mean, didn't they prove themselves for the past seven years that they can they can be faithful to God? They can remain passionate for the Lord?
16:43 That they don't have to go through these up and downs, and and some days they come to church, and months they don't come to church, or whatever it may be. They've proven it, haven't they, Joshua? Can't you just let them walk with that, and you've commended them? It's enough? No.
16:55 Joshua had an understanding and a revelation as a leader. What you're about to face, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, is gonna be unique to what you've faced over these past seven years. These past seven years had their own challenges, but you're gonna face greater challenges. You've went to war with giants. You stood in the shadows of fortresses, but there's something ahead that's gonna call for a greater grace in your life.
17:23 Greater than Jericho, greater than AI, greater than the deception of the Gibeonites, you are going to face some things that will call you to be on guard. I believe there's two things that Joshua had in mind, and one of them is in verse eight. He being Joshua said to them, go back to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Sounds like the American dream. Right?
17:56 Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers. There it is. That's where you're walking back to. Prosperity, peace, the good life. You're not gonna be as disturbed.
18:13 You're not gonna be almost weighed down so that you come to your knees and cry out to God. You're gonna know a new height of provision, of blessing that you have not known these past seven years. You're gonna know a promotion. You're gonna know a comfort. You're gonna know a grace and a natural that will be so powerful that it can actually loosen your grip and you fail to cling to God for the rest of your days.
18:43 So what I'm telling you to do, guys, is that as you move on in life and God does bless you with good things, don't forget to cling to God. Don't forget to love God and worship God. Do you see this? Like wherever you turn, there's a danger. Right?
19:01 No matter what spiritual state you're in, there's a danger in that state. And this was for them. They were faithful for seven years, but just because they were faithful for seven years doesn't mean that they'll be faithful for the remainder of their years. You are going to face something, and it's something that you and I face in America. This is the challenge of this generation in the West.
19:26 What's killing spirituality more than anything? Persecution? Give me a break. Give me a break. We haven't seen anything yet, but it's coming.
19:34 Just a reminder. It's coming. May maybe I need to say it again. It's coming. And it's gonna cost you to be a Christian in America, the promised land.
19:45 Right? Yeah. It's coming to America. But up to this point, what have we been dealing with? The newest and the latest, the brightest, and the most expensive.
20:00 What is the ambition for most Christians in our generation? I'll tell you what it is. I wanna be as comfortable and as prosperous as possible. Nothing to do with the kingdom of God. Nothing to do with advancing the gospel.
20:12 And we've convinced ourselves that Christianity is about having the most while still holding on to our religious conscious by attending some local church and barely contributing anything to that. That's the danger that we face day by day. Much clothing, gold, silver, even family life. Even family. We can make idols of our families.
20:36 We can make comfort for our families an idol. When we should be people who partner in marriage with those who are kingdom minded and disciple kingdom minded kids. To, yes, provide, and, yes, enjoy life, but ultimately to be mission minded. Be careful. You're going back to much ease.
21:01 You're not gonna have giants in the land where you're going back, guys. You're gonna be surrounded by flock and your businesses and great times, and be careful. Never thought that was a danger, It is. And here's the second thing I believe Joshua had in mind when he says be very careful. What's happening here?
21:21 These tribes are separating themselves from the rest of the tribes. They are actually distancing themselves and crossing the border, and they are more isolated than they would have been if they stayed. Here's the danger, distance from the people of God. Distance from the house of God. I can tell you what will be a great test to your spirituality and devotion to God.
21:46 Go away for a traveling trip for a few weeks. Go away to school out of state. Do an exchange program. Go get a job where you're not part of your local church anymore and see what will happen. See what will happen.
22:06 There's a danger in that alone. And Joshua felt that danger. He says, I want you to realize that when you're going back to not let up, to not get easy, Just because you're good now doesn't mean that it can't turn for the worse if you don't move forward with this in mind. Go out with the same mentality that you came in with, to love him and obey him with everything within you. And we're gonna discover how that distance wasn't God's plan, God's will.
22:35 And no matter where you go in this life, no matter where God takes you, God always calls you to be a part of a body. And there's unique dangers when we don't. That's why we praise God that we are here together. We praise God for that because virtual church wasn't God's plan a. It's not.
22:54 This is what God planned for, his church. Person to person, where two or three are gathered, that's what God had in mind. Now what's gonna happen here is that as their blessings in life increase, they must keep their hearts in check that God and their love for God would not decrease. And after these words of commendation and commands, these tribes pack their bags, their head and back. I love to read these things sometimes, even though they might not have direct application, just to feel what they felt.
23:27 Can you imagine the joy and the thrill of knowing that they're gonna go back home to their families? We're gonna see our wives. We haven't heard from them. We haven't seen them for seven years. What do our children look like now?
23:41 How much have they grown throughout this time? Think about the healthy dreams of building your home, and being with your family, and growing in the presence in the word of God. Think about all the dreams that they had, and you can imagine the excitement. We're going back to our promise. And so they get the green light, they are commissioned, and as they're walking back, though we are not explicitly told, there must have been a conversation.
24:13 There must have been a conversation between them. Perhaps as they were walking back, they began to feel the chill of being distanced from the people of God. And so you can imagine realizing the potential danger and even responding to what Joshua said, they do something. What did they do? Let's look at verse 10.
24:40 And when they that's the tribes, Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, what happens? The people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. In other words, an altar that grabbed your attention. Now we read this, and we go, what's the big deal? But if you and I are familiar with the Old Testament, there should be an alarm.
25:12 This should disturb us. This should actually concern us if we're familiar and if we're students of the Old Testament. Why? Turn your Bibles to Deuteronomy 12 and go to verse 13. This is Moses's instructions to the people of Israel when they would come into the promised land, and he gave a good portion of his sermon to the house of worship that would be dedicated within the land of Canaan, and here's one of his instructions to the nation when they would go in.
25:43 Deuteronomy 12 verse 13. Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see. But at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you. In other words, they had no right to replicate any piece of the furniture from the tabernacle. They had no right to copy paste nor do they had the right to burn an offering outside of the central place of worship that was designated by God.
26:24 When God had created the tabernacle, the place of worship of the Israelites, there was a unifying factor to that. This is where they all came and congregated three times a year especially to celebrate God and his faithfulness. And there are many dangers of taking that altar that sacrifice will be made on and and doing that somewhere else. It would divide the people. And there are many other reasons for this, but it was it was a straight act of disobedience as we just read.
26:55 And it potentially could cause the people even to use this altar to sacrifice to other gods, being inspired by the other nations and using God's form of worship really to worship what they wanna worship. And so if we know, like, a text like this and we understand the seriousness of what's happening here, then we realize that they're they're doing something that they shouldn't be doing. And we should say, uh-oh. You haven't even left one minute, and you're already potentially disobeying the Lord in idolatry. And this is this is our reaction because this is the reaction of the tribes when they hear about this.
27:42 What happens in verse 11? And the people of Israel heard it said, oh, the dangers that come when you hear something about somebody else. And the people of Israel heard it said, behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan in the region about the Jordan on the side that belongs to the people of Israel. So here they are ready to settle in their promise, and they get the news, they get the report. Brothers, unfortunately, it has been told to us that our brothers have built an altar in direct defiance to the word of God.
28:27 They have potentially apostasized. They potentially turned their backs on God. They heard, it said. And they heard it, and what's their reaction? We read on in verse 12.
28:45 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them. We haven't even finished the book of Joshua, and already we are about to potentially face a civil war. For all these years, they have been fighting side by side by side. And for the first time in the promised land, they're gonna turn against one another, and there's gonna be an all out battle. And what's amazing is, these tribes are doing it at a sincere conviction and a zeal and a passion for God's honor and God's name.
29:31 This is something to applaud. There is a disturbance, and they are not going to just let it pass by. They are going to tackle this head on, and this is their team. Look at verse 13. And the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the priest.
29:51 Phineas, you don't see Joshua mentioned anywhere. So here they are at Shiloh, the headquarters, the place of worship, and they said, we're gonna send Phineas and one leader from every tribe to go. And you and I are thinking they're gonna go to war. And if you're also familiar with Phineas, you're thinking surely there's gonna be a war. Remember Phineas?
30:19 Do you remember Phineas? Phineas is the grandson of Aaron. You have Moses, Aaron. Aaron had four sons. Eleazar is one of them.
30:29 Phineas is his son. Phineas is the grandson of the high priest. And Phineas is not just important because he is amongst and from the priestly tribe. Oh, no. Phineas was a character in the Bible that proved his holy jealousy for the name of God.
30:48 At one time, before all of this, we rewind and we come back to the wilderness. What happened with Israel, the first generation? We have the Moabites that come and seduce them. The men sleep with the woman, and the woman convince them to worship their gods. God in his holy judgment sends a plague and is destroying them, and the people of Israel are weeping and are broken before God.
31:12 And think of this, in the middle of that crushing scene, you have one of the leaders of the Israelites holding the hand potentially of a Moabite, and they're waltzing around giggling and talking, and he's probably being inappropriate with her, and they're going into a tent to have intercourse. In the middle of a plague, while people are dying, don't tell me that lust isn't powerful. It can blind you to so much. If lust gets a hold of you, you could care less what's happening around you. And here you see this man and this woman going in, and the people, the leaders are weeping.
31:46 They're broken. People are dying. And here's a young man by the name of Phineas. He stops crying. There's a time to cry and there's a time to act.
31:58 He gets up, unannounced. He grabs a spear. He goes into the tent potentially while they are in the middle of sin, and he takes that spear and he pierces them, the center of who they are, killing them both. And after that happened, I want you to hear what the Lord said about Phineas in Numbers 25 verse 10. And the Lord said to Moses, Phineas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel.
32:34 Why? In that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. God praised Phineas. God commended this man for this act. You're saying for murder?
32:51 No. For the heart behind this act of justice. He was a priest. He was a leader. He had the authority to do such a thing because he was the spiritual guard of Israel, at least a descendant of one.
33:04 And God stops the whole thing, and he speaks to his servant Moses, and he says, Phineas had my jealousy in him. I read that today. You know what I asked myself? Lord, do you see your jealousy in my heart? You know what we often pray for?
33:27 Lord, give me humility. You should. We should. Lord, give me your love. Absolutely.
33:31 Can I ask you the last time you asked God to make you jealous for him? You know what that means. Right? I hope so. There's a right kind of jealousy.
33:43 If you're a husband in this place and you see a man approaching your wife and flirting with her and trying to attract her to himself, if you don't feel jealousy, I have some questions for you. If you don't feel something within your heart that's saying, hold up, she's mine. She's not yours. Translate that into your relationship with God. Phineas had that feeling toward the Lord.
34:07 When he saw the Israelites being seduced by sin, by the world, by the flesh, you know what he felt within him? Hold on. You belong to God. God purchased you. You represent his name.
34:21 You've made a covenant with him, and the same kind of combustion of emotion that you would feel towards your spouse is the same thing that you feel, I would argue, even greater when you see people committing committing spiritual adultery on the Lord. There's a burning sensation within you. There's a zeal. There's a passion that grips you, that almost makes your stomach turn in sickness. When you see the people going off course, when you see the people beginning to compromise with the world, when you see the church beginning to listen to false teachers, when you see the church beginning to listen to the message of the world and it's trumping over the word of God, you feel a jealousy for the glory of God.
34:58 You think it's just available for priests and pastors? No. Phineas had it. Paul had it. And any person who wants it can have it.
35:07 But let me tell you this, it'll make you stand out. Can I ask you this this bible study? Do you feel a jealousy for the glory of God? What do you feel when you see Christians compromising? What do you feel in your heart when you see a lack of the proclamation of the whole truth of God's word?
35:28 What do you feel? Are you undisturbed? Are you unmoved? Are you unconcerned? You do not have the jealousy of God in your heart.
35:41 This jealousy will consume you. That zeal that possessed Jesus's heart made him move in that temple. It says you can't turn this place of prayer into a den of robbers. Unfortunately, more people are concerned about what's happening in the political realm. I'm concerned about it.
36:02 Sure. More concerned about this and this and that. And what about the glory of God? The name of God, the gospel, the church of Jesus Christ. Phineas had it, and Phineas was a man for the job when it came to this scene right here.
36:18 If there's anybody that's gonna confront idolatry, it's gonna be Phineas. Phineas, we need you. Because Phineas had come to a point in his relationship with the Lord that even if the closest ones to him would defy God, he would stand by God regardless. He was the man for the job, and so he led. And when you understand Phineas's background, you know the impression that you probably get, he probably has a spear ready in his hand, and he's probably gonna act upon what is happening here, no questions asked.
36:51 Or does he? Does he do this? Verse 14. And with him, 10 chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel, and they came to the people of Reuben, the people of God, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and the land of Gilead, and they said to them hold on. Didn't they get ready to go to war?
37:20 Weren't they ready to go to battle? If you've been impressed with Phineas in numbers 25, realize that there is all the more to praise this man for in this chapter, because he does something. The Holy Spirit shows and teaches us something extremely valuable when it comes to those who possess a zeal for the name of God. Phineas could have gone in there and created bloodshed. And you can be sure of this.
37:54 Phineas in his heart was burning when he heard this news. But Phineas is gonna demonstrate to us how even though you might possess a zeal for the Lord, a a holy passion, a righteous indignation for him, even though you have that, it can be dangerous if you do not allow it to be framed with wisdom and humility and carefulness. And so I want us to see at least a few lessons from Phineas' zeal here with these leaders. Because it's one thing to say, Lord, give me those feelings, give me those emotions for you, But if we're not careful with them, we can do more harm than good. And that's what Phineas is gonna show us.
38:35 Look here. Firstly, in verse 15, what does this man do? When he hears the news about compromise, he acts quickly. He gets up and he's ready to go. We read two verses prior, he's gonna go to war, but he doesn't.
38:51 He goes to inquire. He goes to clarify. He goes to ask questions. He goes to investigate. This is the danger.
39:01 There can be much assumption and even accusation upon hearing the news of some other brother or sister in Christ, and failing to inquire in humility and with great urgency, things can go wrong in your own mind. Things can get dangerously wrong. When something is heard about somebody else and you are not careful to protect your heart and move on to seek clarity. It's gonna happen in your life, brothers and sisters. You're gonna hear things about other Christians even within your own church.
39:40 You might even observe things. If you're a part of a church that's close knit, that's extremely possible. And you might have a zeal and a holy passion for God's name to be honored amongst God's people, but be careful with that zeal. Be careful with that zeal. Don't act quickly and make decisions that you will later regret.
40:06 Do you know what I'm saying by that? Much war has been caused by hearsay. Much battles have been created in the church especially because of a failure to receive clarification, and wanting to simply act upon the emotions that you feel, even if they're holy ones. You might not understand this now, but just remember these words. Okay?
40:32 I'll never forget the example that I heard from another preacher that perfectly exemplifies what I'm speaking of here, I believe. Hopefully, he will bless you. He tells the story of how he would receive information of a fellow spiritual man within his own church. Somebody else had come up to him and said, brother so and so or pastor so and so, do you know so and so within the church? Yes, of course.
40:57 I need to let you know something. He's in grievous sin. He's in deep sin. And he's not repenting of it. He's been hiding it, and he begins to, in detail, describe what this man within the church is doing in the dark.
41:13 From that moment on, the pastor never saw that man the same way again. He would come to church, and he would see this man with his hands lifted praising God, and his heart would be angry. What a hypocrite. Look at this guy singing, praising God. When he is in sin, he would see him talking to other Christians, he would burn inside, a Phineas type of zeal.
41:37 He is a person living in this way and thinking that he can fool other people, and it burned within him. It burned to the point where he could not contain it anymore. This pastor could no longer seal it. He calls this man to his office and he says, I have to have a meeting with you. So he sits down with him, and almost immediately, he turns to this man who he received information from.
41:57 And the pastor looks at him and he says, confess your sin. The Holy Spirit exposed you. I know everything. Cough it up. The man looks at him in confusion and says, what are you talking about, pastor?
42:09 And he says, I know what you are doing. Now confess it and let's move on. Give it up. It's over. You can't live this way.
42:20 The man stood up offended and looked at the pastor and says, you've gone too far. I have no idea what you're talking about, but you can be sure of this, that you're not gonna see me again, and walked out of the door. And in that moment, the pastor felt, this is a person that doesn't wanna confess their sin. And would you know it, a few days after that, he had heard that what that person initially told him was all a lie. It was an attack on his character.
42:51 It was a personal attack upon his reputation, and he got the pastor to believe something that wasn't true only to ruin his relationship with that man. Don't act too quickly even if you have a zeal in your heart for God's name. Be careful. Phineas proves to us here that you can be concerned and you can move to action, but don't make judgments, don't begin to speak about somebody, don't begin to tear other people down, or don't even confront with a a tone of accusation until you make an investigation. What do we read of in verse 19?
43:32 Verse 16, excuse me. Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, what is the breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel and turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the Lord? He's questioning. He's examining. He's conversing.
43:51 And Phineas tells us something wonderful. There are moments, very rare moments like he did in numbers 25, where you confront Sid head on, especially as a leader. That you don't need to ask much questions. It's clear, it's obvious, you act upon it there. But more than anything else, what he is presenting here is the protocol.
44:15 That you're patient and listen, not even with your actions, with what you feel towards that person in your heart, in your mind. If you wanna know something about counseling in general, And this is important for all of us because we counsel one another. If you haven't learned it yet, you will learn it soon enough. Oftentimes, you can easily make a judgment based on one side of the story. And then when you hear the other side of the story, you realize, wow.
44:51 Don't make judgments in your heart, don't make judgments in your mind until you hear the full story. This is very practical. Isn't it amazing that the Holy Spirit gave us so much practicality? It must mean a lot to him to give us almost half a chapter in the Old Testament of a clear example how to do this. Must be important to the Lord.
45:14 And something else happened. Thirdly, when we come down to verse 19, after warning them, listen, having you learned about what happened at Peor and and giving these exhortations, look what they say in verse 19. But now, they're still speaking to them. But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord's land where the Lord's tabernacle stands and take for yourself a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God.
45:50 Phineas was quick to respond to what he had heard, but he was slow to make judgments and inquired and asked. But Phineas, with all that zeal pent up in him, Phineas, the man that was known for having a jealousy in his blood for the glory of God, with that passion. And you know what we think of when we think of passion and zeal for the Lord? You know what we think of? A man who is jealous for God, we think of a man who rebukes, a a man who preaches the truth, a man who's willing to stand alone, a man who's willing to correct, a man who's willing to shed blood.
46:26 Right? That's what we think of. But you know what Phineas is showing here? If you really have a holy jealousy for God, you will desire for the person who you think is outside of the will of God to be restored. That is the true evidence that you possess a jealousy for God's name.
46:46 Because you know what he's saying here? Guys, if you being across the Jordan is causing you to do this, if the land is defiled and you're seeking cleansing for it, if you're being influenced by your environment, come to the land of Canaan. Just cross the border. Come back to where God originally called you. What are you doing?
47:06 And you know what's significant of that? That wasn't an easy thing to say. Because you know what that would mean for those in the land of Canaan? What would it mean? Does anybody know?
47:14 Yeah. Less land for them. If you come two and a half tribes, that means it's gonna be a tighter space for us, but I'm willing to pay any price for the sake of God's name being glorified. Any price, self sacrifice included. See, this is the this is the quality of a man who is really jealous for God's name.
47:36 He's seeking restoration in other people. He's seeking an answer, and he's willing to give himself at whatever cost to make sure even his own comfort, even his own pleasure for the sake of God's name being exalted and praised. So don't confuse a man who is passionate for the glory of God as somebody that's easily able to go up on YouTube and rebuke a bunch of people. A man who truly feels a pain in their heart for God's name will look at people who are living even in blatant disobedience and say, oh, God. Use my life to steer them in the other direction.
48:13 Use my counsel. Use my example as a means to show them there's a beauty in being in your will. And Lord, whatever I need to do to sacrifice myself for them, I'll do it. That's difficult. That's true zeal though.
48:27 We look at people and we say that we see them saying harsh words and taking spears, and sometimes we need to do that. Phineas proves that, but that's not the true mark of it. That's not the only mark of it. To be able to make a plea with a compromising generation, with compromising friends, to sit them down and say, listen, man, whatever you need to be helped in your walk with the Lord, I'll do it. Do we need to meet once a week?
48:57 What is it that you need from me? I want to see you in the will of God. Do you see the difference? Let me tell you what's easier to do, rebuke and turn your face from them and see them as hopeless cases. Reprobates.
49:12 Right? Damaged goods. Right? They weren't really saved in the first place. Right?
49:21 Come to the promised land. We'll make room for you. I'll make room for you in my life. That's what true zeal is. And what we see here is a response in verse 21.
49:34 Finally, after this long plea from Phineas, a man who teaches us much about having a jealousy for God's name, be careful with that jealousy. It can burn people rather than bless them. Verse 21. And the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, the mighty one God the Lord, the mighty one God the Lord, he knows. And let Israel itself know if it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord.
50:09 Do not spare us today for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. See what they're saying? They called God as a witness. We're inviting God to testify in this moment that what we did here had nothing to do with us disobeying. Can you imagine the war that would have been caused based on a misunderstanding?
50:38 Can you imagine the regret? And I wanna tell you today that many relationships, many ministries, and many reputations have been sabotaged based on those who made decisions from a place of misunderstanding. You know what the Lord is trying to teach us? That war can be avoided from one simple practical rule in life, clear communication. And that's not easy to do.
51:10 Right? Or else we wouldn't receive so many commands to do it, and I can testify to that. So they respond. There's no way that we're doing this as a means of proving our idolatry. No.
51:23 Now I can explain why they're doing it, but the verses are so clear. I'm just gonna read it, and now we're gonna understand without any confusion why they did it. Let's hear it in verse 24 down. Read with me, please. No.
51:36 But we did it from fear that in time to come, your children might say to our children, what have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the Lord. So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord. Therefore, we said, let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings.
52:11 So your children will not say to our children, in the time to come, you have no portion in the Lord. I hope we understand what's happening here. You can imagine Phineas and these 10 men coming, their blood boiling maybe. What are you guys doing? You haven't even took a step before committing this gross sin.
52:33 And here they are hearing this. God almighty. God forbid. The very reason why we're doing this is because we do want to obey the Lord. We don't want, after this time, because of this natural barrier for your kids to look at our kids because of this border saying you have no portion with us.
52:51 So so Phineas, this is what we're doing. We've created a replica of the altar and made it big enough so that when you and your generations following would come, you would see, oh, they do worship the lord. Oh, they are with us. They aren't pagan worshipers. This is why we're doing this, Phineas.
53:12 And when they heard this, they agreed upon it. And when I read this, I can't help but think that there is more to this story than just simply learning about not making a judgment from a misunderstanding. We can talk about that in so many practical ways, but I believe there's something else just as important. We can't end there. Because so far we are impressed with Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
53:41 Right? I mean, their faithful obedience for seven years and even their consideration for their generations to come. I mean, we can close the book and we can say, wow. But I wanna make a case tonight. And the case that I wanna make tonight is that, this and so many other things that they're experiencing, All of this could have been avoided if they had simply done one thing, gone into the promised land.
54:11 Right? If they had simply gone into the promised land. They wouldn't have to prove anything. They wouldn't have to build anything. They wouldn't have to experience the anxiety that they're feeling right now.
54:25 Because what's their anxiety? We fear for our kids. We fear that our kids are gonna be pushed back from the temple, from the tabernacle, from the people of God because we are physically distanced. We're afraid. But that fear didn't have to be there if you just obeyed God in the first place.
54:44 You know what's amazing is that how many parents are concerned about their kids' holiness and their Christian walk when their own lives prove that there's no concern for themselves. I'll never forget the time where a mother actually approached me with these words, make my daughter a Christian. Make my daughter believe in God. Now with that question, I had a strong feeling that this person probably didn't know God herself, because you don't make a Christian. And I can't make anybody a Christian.
55:22 So naturally, I asked her, I said, what about your relationship with God? What do you believe about God? And this was the answer. This was the answer from somebody that wanted me to make her daughter a Christian. I believe that all things lead to God.
55:40 I believe that there are different gods and they all lead to the same one. And this is what I said. You want me to make your daughter believe in the true and living God when you don't know the true and living God? I can't help you. What am I supposed to do when the home, your home, doesn't even understand truth?
56:05 Didn't see her again. But that's the mentality of a lot of people. They're concerned about the next generation, their generation, when they themselves are not fully in the will of God. Do you see that? The fact that they're beyond the Jordan proves that they are not fully in the center of God's call for them, and yet they're concerned for the next generation.
56:34 Isn't it amazing how our minds think? Isn't it amazing how we deceive ourselves? This anxiety that they're feeling was created by them. This isn't just a holy desire out of you doing all that you can do, but I still want my kids to be godly. This is them not giving everything to the Lord and still wanting their kids to know everything about the Lord.
56:54 How does that work? And so, we see here that anyone who desires to live their Christian life, like these tribes did, not fully in the will of God. That's what the picture is. This is what these tribes represent. We're distanced enough to enjoy what we wanna enjoy, but we're close enough to be associated with the true and living God.
57:20 This is what it looks like. This is what it looks like. And you know what they're experiencing? What every half hearted professing Christian will experience. You ready?
57:33 Misery. Misery. Can I tell you who are the most one of the most miserable people in the world? Half hearted Christians. Pay attention now.
57:46 Do you wanna know why? Because a half hearted Christian knows enough about Jesus to feel guilty, but they haven't gone far enough with Christ to know true joy. Can I say that one more time? A halfhearted Christian knows enough about Jesus so that when they're out in the world, they feel guilty. Right?
58:09 But they don't know enough about God to know true joy that will keep them in that place of holiness and godliness. What a miserable way of living. And that's true for these tribes. You will not know full peace until you know full surrender. Here are these people being frantic and making decisions and doing some things.
58:33 Why? Because they are not comforted. They're not comforted by their way of life. They're not at ease. And what was their reasoning for even being beyond the Jordan?
58:43 Look at all this space, and look at all this land, and look at all the things that we can build, completely materialistic. When they weren't considering that the house of God, the will of God is beyond the Jordan. No. They they've conjured up some thought. We can do this, and then are they supposed to be surprised when they're lacking peace and assurance?
59:06 You'll never know peace or assurance. You'll never know true stability in life until you are fully surrendered in your heart to say, Lord, wherever, however, whenever, I'm yours. Won't happen. And here's the second point. With these half hearted tribes, not only do you reap misery for yourself, you also reap confusion for others.
59:39 So they build this altar, and who is confused? The faithful tribes. Who who who is the one that was staggered by this? The ones who were in the will of God. And so when they heard, they didn't understand where these half hearted tribes stood.
1:00:06 Like, where are you guys at with the Lord? Because they were outside of the will of God. I can tell you what will happen in your life if you choose to walk that way in your Christian existence. You're gonna cause people to be confused. Your testimony will be marred.
1:00:23 It won't be clear cut. It won't be concrete. Your life will not testify to the house of faith and even the world that this person is fully sold out for the Lord. That's another miserable place to be. You're not Christian enough for people to know if you're a Christian, and you're not worldly enough to know if the people know that everybody's wondering, like, where are you?
1:00:50 Determine within yourself that the world will know that you are sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ. Determine that within yourself. And you won't have to say much. You won't have to convince the world with grand things. You just be in the will of God, people will know.
1:01:11 What could have prevented the worry? What could have prevented the confusion? What could have prevented all these things that these tribes are experiencing? One simple truth, crossing that place of total surrender to the Lord. What ended up happening to these tribes?
1:01:31 I mean, they have a great concern. They seem to be trying their best, like so many. It's amazing how much effort people put into this way of life instead of putting that effort into just surrendering. Right? People are exhausted living a double life when you can just simply give all that energy to the Lord and just surrender and know a peace and a joy.
1:01:55 I'm telling you, you you will you will be shocked to know how many people are pounding their head against the wall, wondering how to figure out life. And they are exhausted because they're professing Christians that are trying to navigate this way when the only answer is give up. And fall at the feet of Jesus? Here's what happened. Turn your Bibles as we close this Bible study in first Chronicles five.
1:02:27 First Chronicles five twenty six to 27. This is a record of the different tribes of Israel after the exile to Babylon, and we get a testimony of these different tribes. And look at the testimony of these three tribes or two and a half tribes. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Paul, king of Assyria, the spirit of Tilghath pileser, king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Hellah, Habor, Hara, and the River Gozen to this day. You know what happened?
1:03:13 Because these tribes were outside of the promised land, they were more exposed to the enemy. And so when it came for an invasion, guess who were the first ones to be arrested by the Assyrians? The tribes that we've been talking about. See, in the long run, that wasn't in the beginning, but in the long run, you may not see dangers now. You may try your best to reconcile this way of life.
1:03:43 But in the end, you you will find yourself in a place that you never thought you would be. I can guarantee you that. Because you cannot know an abundant life until you have surrendered your life. And the privileges and the promises of protection and provision are for those who have determined in their hearts that the Lord Jesus has my all in all. You might be wondering, well, why did Reuben and Gad and how did they even get to that place?
1:04:18 Well, they wanted it so bad that the Lord gave it to them. If that's how you really wanna live, then take it. It's yours. Yours. And it's so sad that even through this moment, they had a chance to pack their bags early on and to be within that place of the will of God, but they chose not to.
1:04:40 This is my plea tonight. What are you waiting for? To give your life to the Lord completely. Do you wanna wait like them until everything is taken from you? Where life completely crushes you to the point where you can't even breathe and you barely have even enough breath to cry out to the lord?
1:05:03 That's possible. You know? There are people out there that have refused over and over and over the hope of the message of Jesus Christ. And right now, as I speak, they are so overwhelmed with sin. They are so darkened by their own decisions that they can't almost even sense the freedom, though it's possible to cry out to the Lord.
1:05:23 It's so scary. Here's my plea. Where are you? Where are you? In your Christian life right now, what defines your life?
1:05:39 Is it defined by what I said concerning the tribes, like Phineas, the leader of those people, a holy jealousy for the name of God? Are you trying to figure out how to navigate this half in half out thing? Let me build a facade so that people can see and be convinced, instead of simply giving everything so that you don't have to try to convince anybody. I want this, but I also want God, you have a life of misery ahead of you. Anxiety and fear, not just for your own life, but even the future.
1:06:22 That is the inheritance for those who have not completely let go and say, Lord, just take it all. Strong message, but important one. Here's our cry to the Lord tonight. Lord, I don't want my heart to be defined by those tribes that have spent their energy and effort in convincing themselves of something that is not your will. Lord, I want my heart to be defined by that holy jealousy that Phineas had.
1:06:55 I wanna know what it's like to feel that pain, to feel that conviction, to feel that concern, to feel what what it's like to be so in love with you that when somebody who claims to be for you is not for you, that it hurts me. That it hurts me. It's a wonderful thing because this kind of jealousy can only be experienced. How? The same way that jealousy can only be experienced between two spouses when it is rooted in love.
1:07:27 That jealousy can only be known in love. It's it's just not like, here's some jealousy. No. It's a love for God that is so deep that when others claim to love God, prove otherwise, it triggers something within you. And it'll bring you you know what it'll bring you?
1:07:45 It won't bring you to judge and condemn and think that you're holier than that. It will bring you to your knees to pray. Lord, open their eyes. Lord, please don't let me think that I'm better, but oh God, if there's anything I can do in my life to be an example, to show this world that it's possible to remain loving Jesus year after year after year until this day, until this moment, and let my life be so, and God will do it. You know why?
1:08:15 Because God is jealous for you. God is jealous for you. God is jealous for your love. God is jealous for your fellowship. God is jealous for you.
1:08:27 Yes, you. God is not some divine boss that's looking to fire and hire people to make his business be more successful. He's a bridegroom looking for a relationship. A relationship so rich and so real that the only way the Holy Spirit can describe what's possible in God is to take the most intimate form of relationship on this side of heaven and say, this is what it's like to be in relationship with God. This is what you can know, the ecstasies and the joys and the testimonies that you have with that person you call your wife or your husband.
1:09:05 What God is calling you to is a lifelong relationship with him filled with wonderful things filled with wonderful things that will have you thinking, Lord, why didn't I do it earlier? Why didn't I say yes to you earlier? That's yours tonight. God wants to give it to you tonight. Let's bow our heads.
1:09:58 Father, in Jesus' name, give us this zeal, Lord, but give us wisdom with it. Give us humility with it. Give us a love and a concern with it, Because we know that this jealousy will move us to action. It'll move us to intercession. It'll move us to discipleship.
1:10:25 It will move us to reaching out. Help us be jealous for your name. Lord, we ask that not one person in this place tonight would find themselves just at the border of the fullness of your will for them, But that they would know, they would know that their hearts have signed off to all that you have for them, saying, Lord, I'm completely yours. And so, Lord, you know by your spirit through the word who needs to hear this tonight. But, Lord, we can all answer it by saying, just give us what you want to give us.
1:11:29 Put in us what you put in this man that we read of today. Lord, we just sit in your presence tonight communing with you. We know that you've spoken to us through your word. Now we speak to you from our hearts. Help us believe that you are a friend to us.
1:11:51 Help us believe that you are a bridegroom. Help us believe that like a jealous husband, you want us to be completely yours. And, Lord, let us feel that same jealousy. In your name we pray. Amen.
