SPIRITUAL CONTINUITY-II
—Josh. 21:1-45(13:14, 33; 14:3-4; 18:7)
Three guys were pulled out of detective training for special attention, because they were not very bright.Police chief interrogates them to see if they should be on the force.
He tests their skills in recognizing a suspect
Shows a picture of a criminal for 5 seconds & asks to give distinguishing features.
Chief to 1st Guy—"This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"
The 1st guy answers, "That’s easy, we’ll catch him fast because he only has one eye!"
The chief says, "Well...uh...that’s because the picture only shows his PROFILE."
Chief to 2nd guy—"This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"
The 2nd guy laughs, rolls his eyes & says, "Ha! He’d be too easy to catch because he only has one ear!"
The chief says, "Well...uh...that’s because the picture only shows his PROFILE."
Chief to 1st Guy—"This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?" & think hard before giving me a crazy answer like your 2 buddies."
The guy looks at the picture intently for a moment & says, "Hmmmm... the suspect wears contact lenses."
The chief is speechless—He really doesn’t know himself if the suspect wears contacts or not. "
Well that is an interesting observation... Wait here while I check this file & I’ll get back to you on that." He leaves the room & goes into his office, checks the suspect’s file in his computer, & comes back with a beaming smile on his face.
"Wow, I can’t believe it..it’s true! The suspect does in fact wear contacts.
Good Work! How were you able to make such an astute observation?"
"That’s easy," the guy replied. "He can’t wear regular glasses because he only has one eye & one ear."
God insured the presence/establishment of the priesthood & its continued support in Israel.
God established spiritual continuity among His people.
How is spiritual continuity established in God’s people?
Spiritual continuity can be established in God’s people thru....
1. Administration Consideration
2. Divine Consideration
3. Collective Consideration
4. Family Consideration
We are always only one generation away from paganism.
13:14—“Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He spoke to him.”
:33—“But to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had promised to them.”
14:3—“For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes & the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but he did not give an inheritance to the Levites among them.
:4—“For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh & Ephraim, & they did not give a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for their livestock & for their property.”
18:7—“For the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance....”
“The tribe of Levi”—Spiritual—Levites representatives of God & His presence in midst of people. Bivocational servants in ministry at Temple.
5—Spiritual continuity is established...
Thru ADEQUACY CONSIDERATION(:2-3, 12, 42)
—Explanation:(:2-3, 12, 42) Appropriate/Needs/Suitable/Stability
:2—“And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “The LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.”
:3—“So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, according to the command of the LORD.”
“Cities” listed—:11-:40
Cities consisted of that within the walls plus various villages associated with it.
“Pasture Lands/Suburbs”—3000 cubits(>.85mi.) on either side of the city walls.(Num. 35:2-5)
:12—Caleb was given the fields & villages of Hebron.
“Fields”—the wild places outside of the suburbs.
:42—“These cities each had its surrounding pasture lands; thus it was with all these cities.”
Those who are involved actively/directly in God’s service are to be adequately provided for.
Suitable...Living quarters—Wages—Tools—Freedoms— Expectations—
—Argumentation:
1Tim. 5:17—“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching & teaching.”
Lk. 12:42-43—“And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? ““Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.”
—Illustration:
Catherine Babysitting/?Pay adequate?
Adequacy Consideration establishes Spiritual Continuity
—Application:
?Is Continuity of Spiritual truth maintained thru Adequacy Consideration?
*?Is our provision Adequate to maintain the particular ministry?
?Do we insure Suitable support of Continuity of Spiritual truth?
?You aid the Spiritual Continuity/Awareness in your community?
6—Spiritual continuity is established...
Thru ASSIGNMENT CONSIDERATION(:13, 20, 27, 34)
Explanation:(:13, 20, 27, 34) Duty/Calling/Task/Job/Assignment
Num. 4:1-49—Details duties of each clan of Levites.
:13—“So to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, & Libnah with its pasture lands,”
“Sons of Aaron”—Priesthood
Num. 3:32—“& Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief of the leaders of Levi, & had the oversight of those who perform the duties of the sanctuary.”
:20—“Then the cities from the tribe of Ephraim were allotted to the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, even to the rest of the sons of Kohath.”
“Rest of the sons of Kohath”—
Num. 3:31—“Now their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, & the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, & the screen, & all the service concerning them;”
:27—“And to the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, ....they gave Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, & Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities.”
“Sons of Gershon”—
Num. 3:25-26—“Now the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle & the tent, its covering, & the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, & the hangings of the court, & the screen for the doorway of the court, which is around the tabernacle & the altar, & its cords, according to all the service concerning them.”
:34—“And to the families of the sons of Merari, the rest of the Levites, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands & Kartah with its pasture lands.”
“Sons of Merari”—
Num. 3:36-37—“Now the appointed duties of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its equipment, & the service concerning them, & the pillars around the court with their sockets & their pegs & their cords.”
—Argumentation:
1Cor. 12:11-12, 18, 29—“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ....“But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired....“All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?”
—Illustration:
Mathhew/Mowing/Age appropriate/Desires it/Assignment
Assignment Consideration establishes Spiritual Continuity
—Application:
?Is Continuity of Spiritual truth maintained thru Calling Consideration?
?You aid the Spiritual Continuity/Awareness in your community?
7—Spiritual continuity is established...
Thru LINKING CONSIDERATION(:13, 21, 27, 32, 36, 38)
—Explanation/Argumentation:(:13, 21, 27, 32, 36, 38) Moral Maintenance
Each of the Cities of Refuge was also a Levitical city.
Morality is absolutely linked with spiritual truth!
We should always link together right living with God’s truth!
:13—“So to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, & Libnah with its pasture lands,”
:21—“And they gave them Shechem, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, in the hill country of Ephraim, & Gezer with its pasture lands,”
:27—“And to the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, & Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities.”
:32—“And from the tribe of Naphtali, they gave Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands & Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands & Kartan with its pasture lands; three cities.”
:36—“And from the tribe of Reuben, they gave Bezer with its pasture lands & Jahaz with its pasture lands,”
20:8—“And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, & Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, & Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.”
:38—“And from the tribe of Gad, they gave Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands & Mahanaim with its pasture lands,”
The ones charged with maintaining morality should be those burdened in that regard. A hunger for righteous living.
—Illustration:
Public schools/Input from parents/Tempers curriculum
Child in charge of cookie jar/
Salesman in charge of purchases/Linking Consideration establishes Spiritual Continuity
—Application:
?Is Continuity of Spiritual truth maintained thru Linking Consideration?
?You aid the Spiritual Continuity/Awareness in your community?
8—Spiritual continuity is established...
Thru COMPLETE CONSIDERATION(:43-45)
—Explanation:(:43-45) Fulfillment/Cooperation
:43—“So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, & they possessed it & lived in it.
?Do you possess & live in the ‘good land’ God offers?
:44—“And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, & no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand.
Enemies present but powerless!
:45—“Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.”
?Can anyone truly say God hasn’t fulfilled His promises?
*We have everything needed as a body of witness for Christ!
—Argumentation:
Series on God’s provision for Israel— Faith—Physical(autonomy)—Follow-thru— Moral— Spiritual provision
—Illustration:
Hamster/Cage-Bedding-Water bottle-Running wheel-Hiding places-Food-Chew sticks
God’s Complete Consideration establishes Spiritual Continuity
—Application:
?Are we cooperating in the manner in which God desires?
?Is Continuity of Spiritual truth maintained thru God’s Complete Consideration?
?You aid the Spiritual Continuity/Awareness in your community?
—Conclusion:
?You aid the Spiritual Continuity/Awareness in your community?
—Action:
Spiritual continuity is established thru...
ADEQUACY CONSIDERATION
ASSIGNMENT CONSIDERATION
LINKING CONSIDERATION
COMPLETE CONSIDERATION
ADMINISTRATIVE CONSIDERATION
DIVINE CONSIDERATION
COLLECTIVE CONSIDERATION
FAMILY CONSIDERATION
Presented 05/06/01pm to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
TOPICS IN THIS SERMON SERIES:
Your Faith Provision
Your Physical/Territorial Provision
Your Follow-thru Provision
Your Moral Provision
Your Spiritual Provision
