Hobab:the Slave To The Second Best Series

Who Are You? Best Supporting Roles in the Bible Series (Part 2 of 4)

Hobab: A Slave to the Second Best

(Sermon original to Clovis Gillhan Chappell {1882-1972})

Num. 10:29-31

Mar. 11, 2007 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor

Introduction:

A Journey is part of the gift

B Dissecting next Saturday, show bay

1 2,300 households in Chester, 5,000 residents

a About 8 churches in town (about 600 members per church).

b Our goal is to put a doorhanger on every residential dwelling.

c 9:00-3:00, 6 hours, 30 people with each one hanging 80 doorhangers over a 6-hour period...no problem! (1 every 4.5 minutes).

2 Many have helped so far, & today I’m going to ask more from you. Because it’s so important, because the stakes are so high, & because it’s a journey I believe God is blessing.

C Hobab was invited to journey with Moses & Israel (beginning of 38-40 years).

1 Hobab was Moses’ brother-in-law & was the son of Jethro (also known as Reuel).

a Hobab, along with the other Israelites, had been camped at Mt. Sinai for nearly a year (he had made a life there, got comfortable).

aa Tabernacle, Shinknah Glory Cloud over it

bb Sinai was a fine place, but it wasn’t the promised land, Canaan.

cc The cloud would lead them by day, pillar of fire by night (day, weeks, or as long as a year in one spot).

b Whether it was by day or by darkness, God was the one leading their journey.

c Hobab didn’t want to go with his brother-in-law.

2 Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, "We are setting out to the place of which the LORD said, ’I will give it to you’; come with us and we will do you good, for the LORD has promised good concerning Israel." 30 But he said to him, "I will not come, but rather will go to my own land and relatives." 31 Then he said, "Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will be as eyes for us. Num 10:29-31 (NASB)

a Hobab was given a great opportunity to get in on the journey God was going to bless (essence of the text in a sentence).

b God is inviting us to go on an incredible journey with Him (essence of the sermon in a sentence).

3 I pray you’ll be actively committed (or recommitted) to the journey that God is taking this church on (objective).

a What stops us (or slows us down) from the journey God desires to lead us on? (Probing question)

b Let’s look at two excuses that we can’t realistically use to stop (or slow down) the journey that God is leading us on (transitional sentence).

c Pray

I We can’t use the excuse of lack of opportunity.

A If Hobab was going to miss out on what God was going to do, it wasn’t because he hadn’t been given an invitation.

1 Moses invited Hobab to "come with us".

a His invitation was given personally (one-on-one).

b His invitation was given with concern (God was going to bless us where He leads us...come with us).

2 Hobab had the opportunity to say "yes" or "no" to where God was leading.

B I believe we must give folks the same opportunity that God, through Moses, gave Hobab.

1 Next Saturday (9 a.m.-3 p.m.) we’ll canvass Chester with doorhangers, inviting every household to "come with us".

2 We’ll do this for at least three reasons: We are...

a Commissioned Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...Matt 28:19 (NASB)

b Sensitive to the heart of God The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NASB)

c Aware that Hell is hot & none are without excuse For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20 (NASB)

aa (IL) A preacher led a wayward man to Jesus, the man’s father had written him off as unreachable, but Jesus did through this preacher. The father gave the preacher $1 million as a show of his gratitude.

bb If the church/you were paid to bring people to Jesus would we be winning more souls to Him? Invite more people to church? Share our faith?

cc Money is not what we’re trying to save & reach, souls of men & women are in the balance, & we have an opportunity to say, "come with us."