The People Chosen by God will Sprout and Bear Fruits (Numbers 17:1-13)
Today we will share the grace of God with Numbers 17. The Israelites are continuously facing death because of the disobedience toward God. And we need to confirm through the word of God that our life is the same. And failures do not come other than disobedience to God’s word. After the spies surveyed the land of Cannan, they spread disbelief to the Israelites. The disbelief of one person can overturn the church. And the disbelief of one person can turn the entire family to disbelief. And God’s standard is not whether they have ability or not, the standard of life is only God’s word. And if we become far from God’s word then our life is a failure.
Moses’ older sister Miriam revolted against Moses. That is how she got leprosy. And Moses relative Korah raised up 250 other men to oppose Aaron. And when they are opposing they had their reasons. It’s because for, the perspective of the world, Aaron wasn’t a very good person, and also from my perspective I think he lacked leadership. In fact if anything, Korah might’ve had more leadership.
There was a time when Moses went up to receive the 10 commandments from God and when the entire Israelites wanted to make a golden calf idol, Aaron listened to them. And when Miriam opposed Moses, Aaron also opposed Moses with her. So from the perspective of Korah, who was also in the Levite tribe, he looked at Aaron and thought he was weak. So in his everyday life he didn’t really like Aaron. And the fact that he persuaded 250 men to oppose Aaron with him, means he had some basis everybody else agreed with. Because of the disobedience of one man Korah, 250 men died with him. Our lives don’t fail because of lack of education, it’s disbelief regarding God. And when the disease of disbelief enters in one person, it plows into the entire community.
So even as the Israelites saw the death of 250 men, they said that it was because of Aaron and Moses that they died, and they opposed them again. From that point on, God brings them a plague. And Aaron gave a sacrifice to God. If Aaron had not made that sacrifice all of them would have died and that was 14,000 people that died. That’s how scary disbelief is. Simply put we read this today, but there are a lot of words of resentment and God is seeing that their resentment towards Aaron is the words of resentment against God.
What’s important is who raised Aaron up. People or God. And people rarely look from the standards of God but they desire to raise a leader that is intelligent and full of leadership, these are words that are correct from humans perspective. But ultimately it is our thoughts that kill us. Our life fails because of our thoughts. If we instead had the thoughts that God raised up Aaron, things would’ve been different.
If the Israelites were left to their own devices this way, all of them would die, because of their resentment and disobedience. So God tells every tribe to bring one staff of a leader. And to write the name of each man on that staff. And Num. 17:4 says, “Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you.” Inside of the tabernacle it is split into the holy place and Holy of Holies. And that is the place that only priests can enter. Outside of the tabernacle, the levites would help along with the other work.
Inside the Holy place, there is the table of incense, the bread of life, and the light that shines the light. And then there’s a curtain that separates into the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant is, and that is the place that God resigns. And God told Moses to take these 12 staffs into the Holy of Holies. So from our perspectives God is telling us to make decisions through worship. Instead of thinking with your own thoughts whether this person is raised up by God or people, simply sort it out through worship.
People always think based on what was imprinted in them, and they’re going to think and speak in the nature that they lived and experienced. There’s no standard. Because everybody has the standard for the way they live life there’s so many words. If a person doesn’t have a lot of words, they’re always going to say, “Why do they talk so much.” People who are very active, they say, “Why is the priest talking more?” So everybody is looking from their own perspectives and their experience of what they think is good.
Then God is saying, “Come before the LORD and see what is right and wrong.” Come and see what the LORD tells you in the midst of worship. Therefore, it is not the standard from what people see, but see what God is saying. So within the midst of worship and prayer, wait and see whether this is truly someone God has elected. If we’re truly the one God has raised up, God will give us evidence.
But if we begin to lower ourselves, and think, “Maybe this is a mistake and I was elected as a fluke” you will be harmed because of our thoughts. You may have said those words thinking nothing of it, but you’re actually challenging God. We’re so used to standing before people and standing before people, that we think lightly about the work God is doing. But the very best and the only method is to confirm whether God has raised this person up within worship and prayer. Other than that, there is no other way to know.
If you listen to the words people say, this or that, they will bring you into disasters. Everybody has made their own standards of how your education should be, or how you should speak, or how you should give your messages, or how you should dress, or I don’t like their hairstyles, or I don’t like their necktie. It’s possible that people will say these words, but then you cannot receive God’s Word.
The role of the priest should destroy the curses and disasters and bring blessings, but if you look at that person as a human, then the disasters will not go away. If you look at Aaron, and say that person lacks leadership, then God uses the priest to destroy curses and disasters, but instead your disasters won’t go away. And you need to receive God’s word but you’re not able to do so.
Numbers 17:5 God says, “The staff belonging to the man I chose will sprout.” God is saying on the staff of the person I have chosen, this deadwood will sprout. And with this sign, I will stop the resentful grumbling of the Israelites. How can we know who the person God raised up is? The fact that there’s a sprout that grew from this deadwood experience staff, that means that there is life, if the works or something that was dead is brought to life, then that is the work of the one God has chosen.
In Numbers 17:8, the next day Moses entered the tent and saw that the Aaron staff which represented the tribe of Levite, had not only sprouted but had budded and blossomed and produced almonds. The evidence of the one God has chosen is that this dead wood has budded, blossomed and produced almonds. It produced almonds. It is something all of the Israelites can see. And the lampstand that is also in the Holy place, is also with almond flowers. So the sign of someone that God has chosen is that from the place that is dead there will be life and fruits. Because it’s impossible to have that work without God. Fruits is talking about life.
The Gospel must go inside of someone that was dead and they must come to life and grow continuously and bear fruit in order for this to be someone God has chosen. There is no standard who God has chosen, other than this. It doesn’t matter how renowned or great someone is if they don’t have life and fruit bearing, they’re not chosen by God. You can only come before God and see through worship who God has chosen. And you should never ever say in your own words, whether it’s like this or that. Because with your words, the disasters will not be resolved. Without the priest these people cannot go before God to sacrifice lambs.
God only does his work through Aaron whom he has chosen and if the people who are looking at Aaron’s Thinking can even do the work of God properly then do you think they would really give their sacrifice with all of their faith and heart? They wouldn’t. The words of God can never block the work that God is doing, and the standard of God’s work is that He will use people in order to spread the light movement to bear fruit. In John 15:5, Jesus is giving the parable of the vine and the branches, and He says, “You are the vine, I am the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” The one God is using will bear fruit, the fakes will lack fruit.
John 15:16. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you.” Who chose Aaron? He was not voted in; God chose Aaron. Why did He go and choose Aaron? To go and bear fruit, and bearing fruit is only possible by the Word of God, so people who aren’t chosen by God cannot bear fruit. It doesn’t matter how great your specs are, if you’re not chosen by God, then you will not bear fruit, only die.
Numbers 17:9, Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD’s presence to all the Israelites, and they saw that all the men’s names were on the staff and only the one that had Aaron’s name was budded and sprouted. Numbers 17:10, says why He did this, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.” Because the Israelites are about to continuously attack the spiritual authority of Aaron, God is telling them to put Aaron’s staff inside the Ark of the Covenant as a sign of their rebellion.
God’s Kingdom is not disorderly. If you look in the Lord’s prayer, it says, “For Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever.” God’s spiritual authority is found in His Kingdom, and as that authority is revealed God is glorified, “Yours is the power and glory and authority forever.” Jesus Christ is the authority of God. Ephesians 1:22 says Jesus Christ is the head of the church.
Only Jesus Christ has the authority, and in Ephesians 1:23, it says we are His body. Only Jesus Christ has the authority; everyone else is the body. Through that body, Jesus is doing the work he has to do. The pastor is simply playing the role of the mouth where we prophesy the Word of God. The senior deaconesses and elders are spiritual leaders whom God has raised up. The Kingdom of God is a place that has spiritual authority and order.
Satan breaks down that order and creates disorder. The work of Satan will create darkness, emptiness, and formlessness, it’s a form of complete chaos. God is giving us His authority to do His work. So, the spiritual leaders are directly controlled by God, and if people try to influence them with their power, then the one who is trying to interfere will be destroyed. If God wants to do something about them, God will change them. If it is not someone God has raised up, He will bring them down in due time. So, God is saying, “Put the budded staff of Aaron in the Ark of the Covenant so that this work will never happen again.”
The spiritual leaders are raised by God as the instrument of blessings. If they’re simply an instrument, there is no reason to say this or that about them from the standard of mankind. The way the world works is different. The standards of the world are based on people because they create organizations instead of relying on God. But God uses the people whom He has raised up as instruments of blessings.
The ones who have spiritual leadership are instruments to lay spiritual strength and blessings. So, they’re the ones who must stand before God as the very first, because if they have unbelief, that unbelief will be relayed to all people. If leaders are not able to pray, it’s best if they resign quickly. It is not possible for you to resign your position, but it will be difficult for you because you’re supposed to be a channel of blessings, but you’re not able to pray, so you keep using words of humanism, so that is why God will keep disrupting you.
Because you’re not able to play the role of the channel of God’s blessings, he will intercede for all of you. He will even sometimes order pastors and elders, because you’re a channel of blessing but you are speaking nonsense. He will even touch the senior deaconesses, because if you don’t know who you are, then you’re going to use the words of your thoughts to destroy yourself.
The Kingdom of God is a spiritual place that is a channel for blessings. The church is not a place to rule with the ways of the world. In the world, if you protest and make signs, you can make some change, but that’s not the church. The church is raised up by God and He leads it forward. If God raised you up, but this person is lazy, God will do something about them. If this person is not raised up by God and this person tries to do something on their own, God will put them to sleep.
So, there’s no reason for us to do this or that, all we have to do is pray, and if we pray, fascinatingly enough, God will take care of it. But if you fight against them then you’re both wrong; that’s not the method of God, then both of you will fall together. Why do churches today keep fighting and divide? Even if one of the two parties knew properly, they wouldn’t fight, but both of them are the same and that’s why both of them fight. If they just keep their mouth closed and pray, the things that are incorrect will be turned off but they don’t believe that.
If this person really comes at you strongly, you’ll say, “Fine, let’s look at the disasters that come upon my children and your children and see, do you have the confidence? Let’s see. Let’s look at your child and my child and see where God puts the curses and disasters. It’s in the Bible.” If you don’t have that confidence, pray, but if you do have that confidence, pray. That’s how important it is to God.
If the devil gets a foothold, it doesn’t end at once. Satan will hold onto the entire community like yeast, but if there’s even one person who stands properly, then that will end because God is alive and He will not stay still. But because everyone is the same, they’re fighting amongst each other saying who’s right or who’s wrong. Even pastors fight, “Who’s right and who’s wrong?” If you just stand before God and give it up to God, God will take care of everything perfectly.
If the members of the church are able to take the blessings they’ve received from the church into the field, they become a nation of priests. Jesus Christ is the High Priest Himself, but we who have believed in Jesus Christ have received the role of the royal priesthood. In the church, the pastor is the instrument to relay His Word, and in each of the fields of the members of the church, God gives the roles of the priest.
Then, how must you live in the world? I’m sure you have your own businesses and occupation, you have to live with spiritual strength because you’ve been called as a nation of priests. Proverbs 23:17-18. “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.” Don’t envy their success but always be in fear of the LORD. You should not envy the success and well being of the world, but you should live with the spiritual strength that comes from God, because you are spiritual priests. Then, the first role you have is to receive and relay God’s Word, that’s how you block the disasters and curses in your field.
If you lose hold of who you are, you are going to be envious of the success of sinners. Fear the LORD. Fearing the LORD doesn’t mean you are scared of the LORD, but in faith, that He is the Judge of all, respect and revere the LORD. Because of the One Who is with me, I play the role of the priest who blocks the curses and disasters wherever I am. So, instead of being envious in your heart with all the prosperity and success of sinners, do what you need to do.
Proverbs 23:18, “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” Therefore, our future is contained within the roles God has given to us. Our future hope will continuously pour out from there. That means God hopped for us for the 237 nations, and the 5000 I reached people groups and world evangelism to take place, all the way through world evangelization will continuously take place. Jesus Christ came to earth in the New Testament to give us this blessing and tells us to receive these blessings in the Old Testament as well.
If you go astray from this, the blessings will be broken off in your field, then how important is this? So, always look at the budded staff of Aaron, and the ark of the covenant and close your mouth and pray. All people are lacking, even the presidents of the world are very lacking, so that’s why they talk so much, but if someone else has many words and is told to speak, they can’t do it, either. Everyone thinks they can do a better job, but if they actually are given the opportunity, they could not, but people criticize from behind so easily.
Things will be difficult for people like this in the world, such people think they don’t need organizations. Structured people don’t like people who talk a lot from the outside. If someone comes to America and is resentful and complaining then America doesn’t like them, they say, “Go back to your own country,” it’s the same. God has given us the good thing of Jesus Christ within us and is always giving us His Word every week as our food, so instead of holding onto thoughts of resentment, hold onto the Word of God. Words of resentment will take you into death, but the words of God will bring you into life, so our walk of faith is a decision between life and death.
Our worship before God will determine the blessings and curses in our field, so how important is this position of the High Priest who facilitates worship? Everything is determined from there because God is holding onto that person’s life. We take that all the way into the fields of the world and our families.
We are so lacking and I have no choice but to repetitively live like this unless I receive God’s grace, and that’s why He tells us to come to worship. Go before God, then if this is someone whom God has raised up, they will have the life movement and bear fruit; if not, God will bring them down Himself. Jesus Christ was doing the evangelization movement through Paul and his teacher Gameliel said, “If this is not the work of God, it will go away on its own, but if it is from God, we have nothing to say because God is doing His work.” That is the church and our walk of faith.
We do not go back and forth based on people’s words, that’s how people like Korah lived his walk of faith, but for us, we stand before the authority of God’s Word and follow only his word in faith, and that must be relayed to our future generations. Every word you say to your children when you go back home will go back into them. Our nature of Gen. 3 does not go to God’s Word, but it will naturally revert to criticizing and judging other people, then without a doubt, they will die. We should be coming to life, but they aren’t; things just don’t work out. That’s the characteristic. I hope that from this point on, we will be the priests of our field who will relay the blessings of God to our fields.
Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word God has given us and pray, “God allow me to be the one to save the church, and may I be the one who saves my field and my family.” Let us pray together.
Let us pray for the field or our region and America. They don’t need people who are good at speaking; they need the ones who receive the word of God with faith and grace and relay this to their fields. “God allow me to be someone like that.” Let us pray for our field.
Our third prayer will be for missions and evangelism. At this time when we pray, God is transcending time and space, he will shine the light of the lord in those regions. Let us pray for Africa, South America, Sedona, Mongola, Karen, and Pakistan which will be next March. May the doors of 237 and 5000 unreached people groups will be open through that.
So after the worship and benediction, have your intercessory prayer, personal prayer, and go home.
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God who will take the Word they received during worship as the priest into the families, upon all the multiethnic people and the remnants, be with us from now until forevermore always, amen.