Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20120108.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Numbers: Lessons From Spiritual Casualties And Conquerors
Part XXIII: Learning To Accept God's Calling Over Selfish Ambition
(Numbers 16:1-40)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    A great need exists today for people to be motivated to do what God Biblically calls them to do versus performing selfish ambitions:

    (1) This need is huge among husbands and fathers in America:

    The editorial, "It's school reform season" in the December 26, 2011 Waterbury, Connecticut Republican-American, p. 4A claimed: "The release of the Nation's Report Card" shows "(d)espite decades of big-ticket reforms, fewer than half of America's students are proficient in reading and math, three years before they are supposed to reach 100 percent proficiency under . . . [the program] No Child Left Behind."

    The cause of this problem "is obvious. A recent Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau statistics found a record low 51 percent of adults are married vs. 72 percent in 1960 . . . Together with the explosion of promiscuity, cohabitation has led to record out-of-wedlock births. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 41 percent of children today are born to unwed mothers, up from 5 percent in 1960."

    A key cause of this huge problem, then, is a failure of men to fulfill their roles as husbands and fathers. The article adds: "Children of single mothers, especially teen moms, suffer disproportionately from stunted intellectual, emotional and academic development. Nearly a third drop out or don't finish high school in four years; their dropout rate is higher in cities overall and higher still in urban neighborhoods dominated by high school dropouts. The uneducated children of the uneducated are more likely to shun marriage as adults, adopt their parents' irresponsible behavior toward the children they bring into this world, and share their apathy toward education."

    (2) Along with such men, many women put their careers over motherhood with their children increasingly bring left in daycare facilities to be raised with little value for family life and responsibility.

    (3) Putting personal ambition above God's Biblical will occurs in even conservative Christian churches: we regularly hear of churches where the pastor has resigned amid problems in the congregation due often to selfish personal ambition and resulting conflict issues. Indeed, in the last few months, I've heard of three different Gospel-preaching churches where such problems exist.

    So, we ask, "How can one be motivated to do what God wants him to do versus performing his own selfish ambitions?!"

    Need: "How can I be motivated to do God's will over my ambition?!"

  1. Korah led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron in dissatisfaction with God's will and selfish ambition, Numbers 16:1-14:
    1. Korah led Dathan, Abiram and On with 250 "well-known community leaders" in Israel to rebel against Moses and Aaron, charging the latter with assuming too much authority over Israel, Numbers 16:1-3.
    2. These rebellious men were motivated by dissatisfaction with God's calling for them and by selfish ambition, Numbers 16:1, 8-11 et al.:
      1. Korah along with the other Levites had already been assigned lofty ministry roles from the Lord, Numbers 16:8-9:
        1. God had chosen the Levites over the other tribes to serve Him in the tabernacle before the rest of the nation, Number 16:8-10a.
        2. Korah as a Kohathite in particular had a key role to play (Num. 16:1): (1) the Kohathite clan cared for and bore what epitomized God's very presence with Israel -- the ark of the covenant (Num. 10:35-36), (2) besides the holy furn iture of the altar of incense, the golden candlestick and the table of shewbread, Num. 4:4-20! (3) In bearing the ark, the Kohathites also led all Israel in her journeys (Num. 10:33), what Moses and Aaron did not do!
      2. However, Korah led a group that was dissatisfied with their calling to lust after even more position and power, Numbers 16:10b, 1:
        1. Moses said Korah lusted after the priesthood, Numbers 16:10.
        2. The historical context validates this charge, and shows how the rebellion rose: (1) Dathan, Abiram and On lusted after political power for feeling "bypassed" for political leadership: they descended from Jacob's first son Reuben who was not blessed by his father due to Reuben's sin (Num. 16:1; Gen. 49:1-4), but they felt they should rule anyway for descending from Jacob's eldest son! (2) Korah lusted after religious power for feeling "bypassed" for religious oversight: (a) Exodus 6:18-22 reveals Aaron and Moses were born to Korah's oldest uncle, Amram, and that Elzaphan, the second son of Korah's youngest uncle, Uzziel, was chosen by God to oversee the Kohathite ministries, Num. 3:30 with 3:14. So, much like the men of Reuben, Korah felt "bypassed" for the role cousin Elzaphan from his father's younger brother had over the whole Kohathite ministry through his other cousins, Moses and Aaron who came from his father's older brother (Ex. 6:18-20), so Korah sought religious power over all the Kohathites and the priesthood! (B. K. C., O. T., p. 234) (b) Another issue was that of birth order: Korah came from Kohath's second son Izhar (Ex. 6:18, 21), and there are repeat precedents of God's exalting the second over the first son (Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Moses over Aaron) . So, Korah felt overlooked in not seeing his father, Izhar, Kohath's second son, lead the priests! (3) The Kohathites also camped next to the Reubenites (Ibid., p. 218), with the priests, Moses and Aaron just north of them, making the rebellion easily rise!
  2. The pressure of Korah's rebellion was great: Moses could only fall on his face and relay God's response to Korah that the Lord would show whom He wanted to be Israel's human leaders, Num. 16:4-5.
  3. God severely judged this rebellion that all the people might stay content with their divine assignments for blessing, Num. 16:15-40:
    1. The 250 Levites who followed Korah (Numbers 16:35b) were to bring priestly censors with fire before the tabernacle where the Lord would identify the party He wanted to head up the priesthood, Num. 16:5-7a.
    2. This order was followed by a warning from Moses that Korah's group was taking undue religious authority upon themselves, Num. 16:7b.
    3. Then, when Moses called for the Reubenite rebels to come to the tabernacle to be tested for God's approval, they arrogantly refused, charging Moses with misleading the people in the wilderness for his own personal ambition of power over all Israel, Numbers 16:12-14.
    4. Moses asked God not to accept their offering as he had not profited at their expense as did many other leaders of that era, Num. 16:15; Ibid.
    5. God's judgment on Korah's company and the Reubenites was severe, and it vindicated God's calling of Moses and Aaron, Num. 16:20-40:
      1. God caused the Reubenite rebels and their rebellious families and goods to fall in a hole that opened up in the earth, Num. 16:24-34.
      2. The 250 Levites under Korah who offered incense were consumed by God's fire, and their brass censors became coverings for the altar to warn all Israel not to approach the tabernacle furniture like the Aaronic priests in critique of Korah's lust, Num bers 16:35-40.
Application: If needing motivation to do God's will versus heeding our own ambition, (1) recall God's severe judgment on Korah, and, revere God, (2) heeding His will to trust in Christ as Savior, Acts 17:30; John 3:16. (3) May we stay content with God's assignment!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 An event that is part of the history of our Church illustrates this sermon, an event I wish to share it with you now:

Over the years, the Nepaug Bible Church congregation has taken very gracious Christmas Eve offerings for my wife and me.

However, my first Christmas at Nepaug Church, there was no such congregational offering! A new set of Board elders had been elected between the time I agreed to the Church's call to be its Pastor and the time I arrived in Connecticut to assume my duties here, and the new Board was so occupied with handling the issues it faced and adjusting to their newfound roles that they mistakenly overlooked the past Board's practice of leading the people to take such a love offering!

I will never forget one of the Board elders then coming to me and apologizing for the Board's mistake in the matter! I understood his feelings: the lack of a love offering in view of its past practice was a glaring omission to the congregation, making it an embarrassing event for the Board and an awkward and humiliating one for me! However, since I had learned in a past pastorate under God's severe discipline to put His will above personal pride and selfish ambition, I knew I had to support the new Board before the congregation without making trouble over this missed offering. I told the apologetic elder that the Board's mistake was very understandable given the circumstances, that the matter was "water under the bridge," and that he need not worry that I would make trouble over the matter! [He and the other elder then privately gave my family gifts of their own incomes!]

Since then, each Christmas Eve, I have received a gracious love offering from the congregation!

The point is this: in line with this sermon, I have had to learn from being severely disciplined by the Lord in a former pastorate that to be blessed of God and for Him to make us a blessing to others, we can not yield to selfish ambition and pride, but rather serve God as He wills in respect for Him no matter what occurs in our service efforts!



So, REVERE the LORD so as to be CONTENT to bloom performing God's will versus your own pride and selfish ambition in your God-assigned marriage, family, church, job or community roles! God will then bless and make you a blessing to others!