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."
3 "Pastor, I’ll pray for the Hobabs."
a That’s good, but you’ve been given the opportunity to do more.
b I’m glad people were praying for me, I’m more glad someone invited me to hear the gospel, someone told me!
Hobab was given an invitation to go through an open door (transitional sentence).
II We can’t use the excuse of lack of purpose.
A Moses told Hobab, 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. (V.31)
1 "We’ll do you good" is not told to the unchurched much today, is it? (There is a blessing in going, being a part of a healthy church).
a The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10 (NASB)
b We are offering people Jesus! Bread of Life, Living Water, peace for today & hope for tomorrow.
2 We’re also offering fellowship (come with us).
a "We’re not perfect, so I fit in." Say it with me!
aa If I did find a perfect church & joined it, it wouldn’t be perfect anymore.
bb "Your church is full of hypocrites!" Yes, thanks for noticing, & we’ve got room for many more.
b The town you live in/people you work with have their best shot by what God is doing through this church.
aa As a rule, we don’t dismantle marriage, condone injustice, trample morality, cripple character, push aside the poor.
bb "Come with us & we’ll do you good."-PURPOSE!
B Moses also said, "...and you’ll be our eyes." You can do us some good.
1 Hobab was a desert rat (he knew where to camp, people who could help, skills).
a Hobab, you’re not going to do us any good if you stay here.
b Come & help us! You can help us on the journey!
2 If your church’s not what it ought to be, you don’t do it any good by staying away.
a Criticizing & throwing rocks doesn’t help, withholding tithe doesn’t help.
b Teach but not teach, sing but not singing, pray but not praying, give but not giving, encourage but not encouraging...come and help us!
C Purpose illustration
Conclusion
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).
1 God is inviting us to go on an incredible journey with Him (essence of the sermon in a sentence).
2 We’ve looked at two excuses we can’t realistically use to stop (or slow down) the journey that God is leading us on:
a Lack of opportunity
b Lack of purpose
B I pray you’ll be actively committed (or recommitted) to the journey that God is taking this church on (objective).
1 Are you seizing the opportunity?
2 Do you know the purpose?
C What stops us (or slows us down) from the journey God desires to lead us on? (Probing question)
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My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
