OPEN: In Winchester, Ohio there’s a church called the Bethlehem Church of Christ. It’s been in existence for over 150 years, and over the years different events have been recorded in their “history” book. One of their recent ministers was reading back over the different entries in this book when he ran across the following item from the year 1840:
“We had fighting right here at home. The Democrats and Republicans were so bitter against one another, it broke the church up.”
One eyewitness reported a fist fight over the issue: “Two of our best men fought to a finish. One wanted to know if the other had enough. He said he had, so he let him up.”
(Tom Claibourne, Restoration Herald. Sept. 07)
A fist fight on the church property?
That hardly seems right, does it?
You wouldn’t think such a thing would happen at church.
These people are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ.
They should be the kindest, gentlest, most understanding people you’ve ever met. (pause) But they aren’t always.
ILLUS: According to a survey conducted in 2004, preachers from across the nation were asked what topic they felt hadn’t been properly covered in their Bible college training and the top answer was:
Conflict management - 31%.
(John C. LaRue, Vice President of “Online Services for Christianity Today International”)
Now, why wouldn’t Bible colleges cover that topic?
Well, in a PERFECT church, you wouldn’t expect to have a lot of conflict. But throughout my life, I’ve heard of churches that have had:
· Power struggles
· Church splits
· And people who would come to church for decades and wouldn’t talk to one another. Who wouldn’t shake hands with each other. I’ve even heard about a church that had people so mad at each other that they would sit on opposite side of the church building and would refuse to ever sit on the same side of the aisle as “those others”.
Why would this happen?
Why would Christians act like that?
Well often times it occurs because of something the Bible calls “the root of bitterness”.
Hebrews 12:15 warns the church to “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
That’s what has happened here in Numbers 16.
There’s a whole of bunch of really bitter people in the camp of Israel and their anger has reached the boiling point.
What’s made them so bitter?
Well, for one thing, a couple of weeks before (according to Numbers 13 and 14) they had been on the verge of entering the Promised Land. To prepare for the invasion, Moses selected 12 spies and then sent them into Palestine to scout out the territory.
Two of the spies (Joshua and Caleb) were excited by what they saw, and said God had given them a great gift. They looked the beauty the land and at the bountiful crops of its fields and said
“If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.” Numbers 14:8
But 10 of the spies came back filled with fear. All they could see were powerful giants, imposing city walls… and death. And their doubt and despair infected the rest of Israel so that the people refused to enter the land.
So, God essentially said “Fine, you don’t want to go in… you don’t have to. You’ll spend the next 40 years in the wilderness and when you’re all dead, I’ll let your kids go in your stead”
Hearing this, the people suddenly changed their minds and literally rushed across the border into Palestine... but God didn’t go with them. And they ended up being chased out of this wonderful land with their tails between their legs.
Now, that was about a couple of weeks ago. And there are people who are still angry about what happened… and they blame Moses.
There’s a whole laundry list of complaints they have against Moses and Aaron, but the one criticism which lies at the heart of it all is: “… you HAVEN’T brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards…" Numbers 16:14
“It’s your fault Moses (they say) You broke your promise!”
And so now they’re upset.
More than that, they’re mad. They’re angry. They’re filled with the root of bitterness… and it’s eating them alive.
So they form a “committee of the concerned” and select some leaders to confront Moses.
Now, most of these folks are Reubenites. Reubenites are from the tribe of Reuben, the first born son of Jacob/Israel. According to the culture of that day, the 1st born of a family was the leader. He was the person who was entrusted with taking care of the rest of the family in case of difficulties.
Moses, however, isn’t from the tribe of Reuben… he’s a Levite. Levi was the 3rd born of the 12 sons of Israel.
So, these Reubenites get to thinking… hey, who put Moses in charge?
They say to themselves: Not only has he broken his promise to bring us this Promised Land filled with milk and honey, but he shouldn’t even be in charge.
WE SHOULD!
But they’ve got a problem. Moses may not be from the first born tribe of Israel, but he does have the priesthood of God on his side. That carries a lot of weight with the people, so Dathan and Abiram decide to even the playing field. They enlist their own “religious card”. They approach Aaron’s cousin – Korah (the Levite) – and get him to back their play. Now, they have their own “priest”.
So, once they get enough people on their side they confront Moses and Aaron and challenge their leadership. The end result of this “power struggle” in the wilderness is that over 14,000 people’s lives are ruined (they died).
In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul lists a number of punishments God brought down upon the Israelites because of their sinful behavior in the wilderness. Then he writes:
“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11
In other words, the story here in Numbers 16, was recorded for our benefit. There’s something God wants us to see here.
But what?
Well, one of the lessons is – be careful about getting into “power struggles” in the church.
It’s not healthy.
You can usually tell a power struggle kind of person when they say “This is MY church” (or something similar). Or they keep on talking about how no one is listening to what THEY want done.
Power struggles in church aren’t real healthy. In fact, they can be down right deadly because God tends to take it kind of personally when people struggle for power in the church.
Why?
Well, who owns the church? (God does)
Who supposed to be “in charge” of the church (God is)
It’s HIS church… not yours or mine.
Another lesson is: don’t let bitterness (over problems you encounter in church) take root in your soul. Bitterness/ anger/ venting your frustrations isn’t healthy. And if you let yourself get caught up in these emotions, they can lead you to act in ways that will cause you to sin against God. And if we let that happen - God will punish you… and He will punish me… for that.
But there’s a different angle I want to take on this passage.
I could spend years talking about the sins of Israel in the wilderness.
Preachers could build entire careers around their failings and foolishness.
But this morning I don’t want to look so much at what Israel did wrong as I want to focus on what Moses did right.
What Moses did that day is a template of how to handle church conflict.
His is an example of how church leaders… and how church members… should deal with difficulties in church.
The first thing I want you to notice is that he dealt promptly with the conflict.
He didn’t let the problem drag on for time at all. He didn’t let it go on and on for a couple of months or a couple of years. He immediately confronted the challenge.
However, in a lot of churches, that’s the management style of the Elders or the Board. These folks often live by the adage:
“Let sleeping dogs lie”.
Have you ever heard that one? Of course you have.
But the problem with “sleeping dogs” is that eventually they wake up.
Then they bite you.
Moses refuses to let that happen.
Now, look with me to Numbers 16:3-4
“They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, ‘You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?’
And what does Moses do????
Vs. 4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
Why on earth would he do that?
Well, when faced with conflict… body language says a lot.
If someone is angry with you - they’ll frown, fold their arms, clench their fist and hold their heads in a certain way. You can tell from the way they hold themselves that they’re looking for a fight.
By contrast, Moses’ body language was intended to show humility and humbleness.
He fell on his face before his accusers because he’s not looking for a fight/ doesn’t want to fight he just wants to resolve the problem.
Have you ever seen a dog when it wants to show that it wants to make up to you?
Have you ever seen them roll over on their backs and expose their tummy to have you rub it?
That’s essentially what Moses is doing here.
He’s saying: “Hey, I don’t want to fight. I just want to straighten all this out. I didn’t want this silly job to begin with anyway. It wasn’t my idea. It was God’s”.
He’s NOT taking this personally.
Even more than that, not only is Moses not taking this personally, he’s reacting to these people the way he does because he actually cares for them.
Throughout this passage Moses prays for these folks.
He reasons with them.
He goes the extra mile.
It’s only when they show that they have no intention of being reasonable that he starts getting tough. Look at Numbers 16:12
“Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab.
But they said, ‘We will not come!’”
By their behavior they show they’re not open to reason.
And so – in verse 15 it says “Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, ‘Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.’" Numbers 16:15
ILLUS: Years ago I preached in a church where the piano player of the congregation had this “root of bitterness” toward me. During the sermon, she’d sit in the 2nd row - she’d fold her arms, clench her fists, and glare at me throughout the sermon. I couldn’t get the Elders to address the issue, and I really didn’t dislike the woman so – on the advice of the Elders – I ignored her and just did my job.
One day, however, she decided to up the ante.
She was holding her granddaughter in her arms, and the child fussed, and cried and yell. All thru the sermon I end up competing with this child for the attention of the audience. After the sermon was done, she got up and took the child to the nursery.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what she was doing… but I couldn’t prove it. And so I pressed the Eldership they had to talk to her before next Sunday. This could not be allowed to happen again.
But she REFUSED to talk with them. Now it had gone beyond speculation, this woman was in rebellion to their authority, and I told the Elders they needed to take care of this. If they didn’t, I would – from the pulpit the next Sunday.
That’s what happened with Moses. He told God that these people are in rebellion… and he asked Him to take care of it. And of course – God did!
So, let’s revue:
Moses loved these people. He cared about them.
He didn’t want to fight. He wanted to help these people deal with their anger.
And so he did everything he could to resolve the conflict.
In fact, he even proposed a solution to the conflict.
Look with me to Numbers 16:5-7
“Then he said to Korah and all his followers: ‘In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him.
You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!’”
They had gone too far. Essentially, Moses rebukes Korah for handling this whole situation wrongly. But how should Korah have handled this? How do you deal with a brother that has something against you?
Well, Matthew 18 says if I have a problem with a brother I am to:
1. Go to him one on one
2. If that doesn’t work - if they won’t listen to me – take two or three witnesses along and try again.
3. If that doesn’t resolve the conflict – take it before the church
4. Then – if that fails – then God gives us permission to walk away.
But the whole objective is to win my brother
But Korah hadn’t done that.
Instead, he had joined with the Reubenites to stage a full scale rebellion.
ILLUS: Now, several times during my ministry here I have asked you folks to join me in a vow. It’s a vow that we – as a church - will always do things the way Jesus instructs us in Matthew 18. It is a biblical teaching that if you are upset with someone you are to go to THEM first.
If you have a problem with me, or one of the Elders, or a Sunday School teacher, or someone back in the sound booth, etc. etc.
You will not talk behind their back.
You will not enlist people to back your play.
You will go to them… and seek to win them over.
How many of you agree that that is something every Christian should do?
Well, I’m going to ask you to make a vow that YOU will always try to do that.
If you are prepared to make that kind of vow before God, I want you to stand right now and publicly make your agreement known.
So there is a proper way to deal with conflict – And Moses attempted to do it that way.
First he talked to Korah… then he tried to summon Dathan and Abiram.
Then he proposed a solution - let’s take it to God.
Fill your censers, we’ll take them before God and let Him decide.
Now, notice, Moses doesn’t ask to have this settled by a church vote.
He doesn’t ask for a show of hands to see who approves of how things are.
Israel isn’t a democracy… it’s a theocracy.
The only vote that’s going to count (particularly on a doctrinal matter) – is God’s
Whenever God’s people voted in the Bible the result was rarely a good one.
Why? Because people tend to vote their emotions and what they want to have done… rather than focusing on what God wants. Thus, the outcome of some church votes is that the people end up trying to “outvote God”.
That’s not really a good way for a church to receive His blessing.
Now – wise Church leaders WILL listen to their people. And when there is not a direct Biblical command being considered they should take the feelings of the people into consideration, and they should it do that way because the church doesn’t belong to them either.
The church belongs to God… and God is the one who has to be pleased with what they do.
CLOSE: Back when we decided to go to two services – we didn’t put it to a vote. We were crowded back then and the Eldership decided that this was the best thing to do so that we could continue to make room for more people.
But now there were some people who weren’t happy with the idea. These were people I loved and cared for, and they were upset.
Without realizing it – I followed Moses example in dealing with this problem. I explained that the idea meant the staff had to work twice as hard. I had to preach two times a Sunday morning.
There had to be a people in the sound booth, at the piano, leading singing for two services.
But we felt this was the only way – short of building a new building (no money).
But then I gave folks an option: I said let’s let God decide. I said “I give you permission to ask God to make this project fail”. If God doesn’t want 2nd service – if not enough people show up to make it worthwhile - then we’ll kill the project.
And to the credit of those who were upset… they were willing to let God decide. And the early service has been going on now for about 3 years… and those who attend that service give us room for new people to come to the 2nd service.
The problems in most churches begin when people get upset… but having people who are upset doesn’t have to end up in fist fights, power struggles, or church splits.
When those problems are handled in love/ and in obedience to God most churches can work their way thru the problems.
But even when those problems can’t be solved when WE think they should and in the way WE want them to… if we’re patient with God and allow Him to work in ways we cannot…
in time, God can heal what we cannot.
in time, God deals with the sin in people’s hearts
and in time, God can root out the root of bitterness and heal those who have been wounded through the conflict.
