14 "A Shameful Contest Against God-Given Honor" Numbers 12:1-16 | Thursday, December 4, 2025

Let's take our Bibles and go to Numbers

Numbers 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12.

Numbers chapter 12. And then you'll also

Numbers 12 · chapter mention

hold your place in Hebrews chapter 3.

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

We'll come to that toward the end of the

message. So, hold a marker or a finger

or something in Hebrews chapter 3. And

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

our text will be Numbers 12. Once you're

there, if you'll stand as we give honor

in reading God's word. Numbers chapter

Numbers 12 · chapter mention

12.

All right, let's read together. Numbers

Numbers 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12, beginning in verse one.

And Miriam and Aaron spake against

Moses.

That has a very bad start to this

chapter, doesn't it?

Notice that Miriam's name is mentioned

first.

That's very rare in the Bible and it's

supposed to stand out to us

because she's the instigator.

It

>> says it's always the sister, right?

And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses

because of the Ethiopian woman whom he

had married, for he had married an

Ethiopian woman. And they said, "Hath

the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses?

Hath he not also spoken by us?

And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses

was very meek above all the men which

are upon the face of the earth. And the

Lord spake suddenly unto Moses and unto

Aaron and unto Miriam. Come out ye three

unto the tabernacle of the congregation.

And they three came out. And the Lord

came down in the pillar of cloud and

stood in the door of the tabernacle and

called Aaron and Miriam. And they both

came forth and he said, "Hear now my

words. If there be a prophet among you,

I the Lord will make myself known unto

him in a vision and will speak unto him

in a dream. My servant Moses is not so,

who is faithful in all mine house. With

him will I speak mouthto mouth, even

apparently, and not in dark speeches.

and the similitude of the Lord shall he

behold. Wherefore then were ye not

afraid to speak against my servant

Moses? And the anger of the Lord was

kindled against them, and he departed.

And the cloud departed from off the

tabernacle, and behold, Miriam became

lepous, white as snow. And Aaron looked

upon Miriam, and behold, she was lepous.

And Aaron said unto Moses, "Alas, my

Lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin

upon us, wherein we have done foolishly,

and wherein we have sinned. Let her not

be as one dead, of whom the flesh is

half consumed," when he cometh out of

his mother's womb." And Moses cried unto

the Lord, saying, "Heal her now, oh God,

I beseech thee." The Lord said unto

Moses, "If her father had but spit in

her face, should she not be ashamed

seven days? Let her be shut out from the

camp 7 days, and after that let her be

received again." And Miriam was shut out

from the camp 7 days. And the people

journeyed not till Miriam was brought in

again. And afterward the people removed

from his ear and pitched in the

wilderness of Piran.

Very unique story here. But what we've

seen is that Israel is prone to

rebellion. And it was from the bottom of

the nation to the top of the nation.

And um what we've seen here is that God,

remember in chapter 10 as Israel set

out, he established that Moses is the

kind of leader that Israel really needs.

And then right as they get into the

wilderness, they rebel against God. They

complain. They start whining. And what

this is showing us in chapter 12 is it's

not just all the people. But Miriam and

Aaron had their own gripes, their own

complaints.

But what God is doing here is he is

establishing before Israel the fact that

Moses is the one he has put in this

place and therefore they need to give

heed he heed to him.

And so the title of our message tonight

is a shameful contest

against God-given honor. So may God

bless his word. We'll consider what

that's about tonight. You can be seated.

ESPN is known as the worldwide leader of

sports. It's the channel that most

people turn tune into to watch their

favorite sports teams compete.

But on August the 8th, 2017, ESPN

temporarily rebranded ESPN 2 as ESPN 8,

the OO.

It featured the most unseen sports live

on TV, like disc golf, dodgeball, and

roller derby. things you wouldn't

normally see on ESPN were aired on the

OO. Well, the ratings skyrocketed so

quickly that they decided to uh redo

this every single year on 88 August the

8th. They would turn ESPN 2 into ESPN 8

OO. and they decided to start airing

even more ridiculous contests like stone

skipping

uh like a Tetris championship.

Uh yeah, airing that live. Think about

that for a second. I like this one. A

Norwegian belly flop competition called

Death Diving. I mean, tune into that,

right? And then of course the World Air

Guitar Championships

that my wife and I briefly tuned into

this year.

What this solidifies, I mean there's a

lot crazier stuff, too. Trust me, just

look it up. But what it solidifies with

is that is the reality within each and

every one of us that we love contests.

It doesn't matter what kind of contest

it is. If it's a contest, uh, whether

it's one of these ridiculous sports or

if it's a talent contest, you know what

an election is, a contest between two

politicians. And yet, when we come to

election season, aside from all the

commercials, we love the debates. Not

just on TV, but at work and with our

friends and with our family, there's

something in us that just wants to win

those debates. Those contests. It could

be a contest of rock paper scissors

between the kids over who gets to ride

in the front. Remember doing stuff like

that? Who gets shotgun?

There could be sales contests to see who

can generate the most sales and take

home the prize. Contests often determine

who is best, who wins, who collects the

prize. It's about who gets to be in

charge, who gets the honor, the

accolades, and the recognition. It's

about who others must look up to and at

times who they must submit to. It's a

contest. And as we come to Numbers 12,

we have come to what Middle Easterns

Middle Easterners would call an honor

contest. There are things about the

Middle East that are different than our

western individual mindsets where when

we consider things like honor and shame,

a lot of times we view like honor as

very uh proud and boastful and those

kind of things and we see shame as like

embarrassment. But it's very different

over there that what it is is there's

usually an established state of honor.

And if somebody wants to prove

themselves more honorable than that

person and therefore more worthy of

their submission, then they'll have

what's like a face off, an honor

contest. They'll they'll pick at each

other. And you really see this in Jesus

ministry. It makes a lot of sense out of

the competition between the Pharisees as

they were always trying to find

something to trip him up on. They were

trying to prove that they were more

honorable than him. was an honor contest

trying to win the hearts of the people.

And that's what's going on here in this

text.

Miriam and Aaron, Moses siblings, are

contesting that he is not worthy of the

supreme authority and leadership over

the nation of Israel. They're claiming

that they too have some skin in the game

and that Moses has no right to absolute

authority.

But instead of Moses defending his own

honor, we read that God defended his

honor.

That that God came in and he explains

that Moses is not like other prophets.

That he's different. His privileged

standing with God separates him from

Miriam and Aaron and any other prophet

that might be in Israel.

God tells them, "You should have been

afraid to speak against Moses because of

his privilege standing before me."

But the risk is actually greater than

just Miriam and Aaron.

Because the reality is that if they will

rise up against Moses,

what will the rest of the people do

against Moses?

They're already on edge in this

wilderness.

They've already proven that they will

complain their way even unto death.

And yet if Miriam and Aaron turn on

Moses, there will be utter anarchy.

And so what God does is he shames

Miriam.

He shows by giving her leprosy

that she has stood in the wrong, that

she is not on the right side of God.

And the reason that God did that was to

bring not just Miriam and Aaron, but all

the nation of Israel back under

submission to Moses leadership.

But the question is why? Why does God

want Miriam and Aaron to get back in

place? Why does he shame her in such a

way that it delays their journey by

seven days and shows everyone that Moses

is the one that you must submit to? Why

does God do this?

Perhaps a better question for us even

tonight is this. In a day when Moses is

no longer around,

what in the world does this have to do

with you and me? An honor contest

between siblings and between a nation

and the man that God appointed to lead

them through the wilderness. What does

that have to do with me and my Christian

life and my family and my day-to-day

life today?

Well, just as God had promised, he

raised up a prophet like unto Moses,

and his name is Jesus Christ.

And that prophet is different than even

Moses.

There is no one like him. There is no

one beside him. And God has given all

honor and glory to him. And we are

called to bring everything in our lives

under submission to Christ's authority.

But some I contest.

Why should Jesus be in charge of my

life?

Why should he be over everything that I

do and everything that I say and how I

spend my money and how I raise my family

and whether or not I go to church and

how I handle my finances? Who what gives

Jesus the right to have authority in my

life?

Why should you as a Christian live in

full submission to Christ?

We find the answers in this honor

contest between Miriam and Moses.

Miriam and Aaron, they contest that

Moses is not worthy of supreme honor

over Israel.

They give two reasons.

The first one is that Miriam is

contending that Moses is not worthy

because he married a foreigner.

It it says in verse number one, "And

Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses."

Now, this sounds like Miriam and Aaron

are coming after Moses,

but because of what God does to Miriam

at the end of this text,

>> and because the fact the word spake in

the first verse is in the singular

feminine,

not the plural masculine, it tells us

that Miriam is leading the charge

against Moses, and she's dragging Aaron

along, just like the people did with the

golden calf.

And so Miriam is coming to him and and

and it says that they spake against him

because of the Ethiopian woman that he

had married. It says for he had married

an Ethiopian woman. Now there's a lot of

debate about what in the world this

means because Moses' wife Zapora, she

was the daughter of Jethro who is a

Midianite priest. And so he has been

married to her. He has had two sons with

her, but he sent her back with Jethro to

Midian along with the two boys and we

never hear about her again. And now it

says that he married an Ethiopian woman.

So does this mean that Moses remarried

or is there a connection between the

Midionites and the Ethiopians as you

would find in the prophecy of Habach? As

he's using parallel poetry, he uses them

in the same parallel lines. Is that what

it's talking about? Well, we really have

no clarity on that. So, I don't know if

Moses remarried or not. I don't know if

this is speaking about Zapora. But

because that's not clear, that's not the

point. The point is this. He married

someone who is not an Israelite.

Why would that be a problem?

Well, how is Moses

going to judge and rule in the best

interest of the Israelites

if his allegiance is divided with his

Midionite or Ethiopian wife? And so

there's all kinds of questions here.

What she is saying is that you have you

have compromised yourself and and you

have disqualified yourself of this

superior position of authority because

of the woman that you married. Now, I

don't know if any of you have watched

the the Promised Land on YouTube yet.

kind of a comedy spoof on the wilderness

journey. We watched it. It's rather

hilarious. And it it talks about the

buildup of this strife between Miriam

and and Zapora. And there's the, you

know, just sisters-in-law fighting. If

you got sisters-in-law, you might know

what a struggle that is. Uh but we don't

really know what the reason for the

strife is. But what it really shows us

is that the problem is really in verse

number two

that now as it says they said now this

is the masculine plural and so now Aaron

does have a little bit of say in this.

They said hath the Lord indeed spoken

only by Moses. Now we get to the issue.

You married an Ethiopian woman. What

gives you the right to be in charge?

But then notice their second reason

here. Hath he not spoken also by us?

See what you find is in Exodus 15,

Miriam is referred to as a prophetus

that she wrote this song inspired by the

spirit given this prophecy to celebrate

the the overthrow of Egypt in the Red

Sea. And so she led the women in temples

and dances as they sang praise to God.

She's called a prophetus. In Exodus

Exodus 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7, God identifies Aaron as a

prophet who would speak on behalf of

Moses to Pharaoh and to the people. We

saw in Numbers 11 that God put his

spirit on the 70 elders of Israel and

they all prophesied. And Joshua was

there saying, "Hey, Moses, these two

guys are still prophesying. You need to

forbid them." And he said, "Don't be

jealous for me. I wish that all of God's

people were prophets."

And so as Miriam and Aaron come, they

say, "Who died and made you king?" is

essentially what they're saying. God's

spoken by us. Who are you to tell us

what to do? Who are you to lead the

charge? Who are you to exercise this

supreme authority? See, there's a

contest of honor here. Who deserves more

honor in Israel, Moses or all of us?

That's what she's saying.

And then at the end of verse two, you

have these very ominous words, "And the

Lord heard it."

Last time we saw that phrase is back in

chapter 11:1 when it says, "And the

people complained at displeased the Lord

and the Lord heard it and his anger was

kindled and the fire of the Lord burnt

among them and consumed those who were

in the uttermost part of the camp. The

Lord heard it." But what it points out

is that Moses says nothing in response.

See, Moses cannot defend his own honor.

Why? His meekness will not allow him to.

And so it says in verse number three,

now the man Moses was very meek above

all the men which were upon the face of

the earth. He was the meakest man the

world had ever known. This word meek is

a word that literally means to be bowed

over. That it's a word that they would

use to describe the poor and the

wretched and the lame and the crippled

who who would walk over hunched with

their head down. That that they were

humiliated and and that's the kind of

man that Moses was. He was humble

because he recognized that that he was

on the back side of a desert for 40

years hurting his father-in-law's sheep.

an insignificant nobody. When the God of

all the earth showed up in a burning

bush and said, "Take your shoes off your

feet. The place where you're standing is

holy ground."

When God called Moses to go and deliver

his people, he said, "I I can't talk. I

can't I can't speak before Pharaoh." He

had killed a man. I mean, there was all

kinds about Moses, all kinds of things

about Moses that he knew he was not

worthy. He was a humble man. And because

of his humble beginnings and his

humility before God, he could not bring

himself to try to defend his own honor.

But that's okay because God takes up his

case. And God's going to defend his

honor. Here in verse number four, it

says, "The Lord spake suddenly unto

Moses and Aaron and Miriam." Suddenly

means quickly, shockingly, without

delay. The the idea is that no more were

the words coming out of her mouth than

God spoke. They heard it. He tells them

to go to the door of the tabernacle of

the congregation. And the cloud comes

down and he says, "You you say you've

heard from me, you're going to hear from

me now." And he says, "Miriam and Aaron,

come forth." They come forth.

And God explains that he speaks to

prophets in visions and dreams. Would

you look with me at verse 6? And he

said, "Hear now my words. If there be a

prophet among you, I the Lord will make

myself known unto him in visions and

will speak unto him in a dream."

You see, uh, what God is doing here is

is he's talking about all the prophets

that have been before him. He tells them

that that he he reveals himself to them

and he speaks to them through figures,

through dreams, through visions. Think

about all the visions that Abraham

received. All the visions that Isaac and

Jacob received. The visions and the

dreams that Joseph received about his

brothers and his mom and dad bowing down

to him. He says, "If there's a prophet

in Israel, I speak by visions and

dreams." Indications are that he had

done so with Aaron. He had done so with

Miriam. He had done so with the 70

elders of Israel who prophesied. They

all heard from God in strange visions

and dreams.

But notice what God says in verse 7.

My servant Moses is not so.

He's different.

I treat him differently. First of all,

notice he says my servant.

My servant.

This particular word servant refers to a

household servant or a bond slave. This

would refer to one who enslaved himself

to somebody to serve in their house.

that they were not coerced, they were

not sold, they were not forced into

slavery, but rather he brought himself.

So that means because he was not forced

because nobody made him begin to be a

slave to this man that he could be

entrusted

entrusted with the man's most sacred and

and precious and prized possessions.

Things like his property, his finances,

his family, his other servants, his

heirlooms. I mean, everything in this

man's house can be entrusted to this

kind of servant. God says, "That's who

Moses is. He's my servant.

I trust him and I've entrusted my whole

house to him being the house of Israel."

>> And it says in verse number seven, "My

servant Moses is not so who is faithful

in all mine house." Moses has proved

himself as I have entrusted him with

this people to not use this people for

his own gratification to not use them to

just exercise his power. He has been

faithful over them even when Aaron was

making a golden calf.

Even when Miriam was standing silently

by,

even when all Israel was rebelling

against God, Moses was in the mountain

with God. He's different.

It says in verse number eight, with him

will I speak mouthto mouth.

I don't speak to Moses in visions and

dreams.

I speak face to face with him

in the door of the tabernacle of the

congregation up in the tops of Mount Si.

God spoke directly with Moses. I don't

speak with Moses in dark speeches,

riddles, and proverbs. He says, I speak

to him apparently,

plainly, clearly. That's how I speak to

Moses. Oh, and by the way, it says, "And

the similitude of the Lord shall he

behold."

Moses

has seen my shape,

the shape of my glory.

I put Moses in the clif of a rock and I

put my hand over him and as I passed by

I took my hand away and he saw my form

is what that means.

What other prophet has seen me?

What other prophet have I spoken to

plainly and clearly rather than riddles

and proverbs? What other prophet have I

spoken to face to face? There's only one

and it's my servant Moses.

You know what God's saying here? The

honor that Moses has was not pursued.

It was not taken. It was not won. It was

not earned. It is an honor that I, the

living God, chose to give him. I put him

in this position. I entrusted him in my

house. Why? He's a meek man and he's a

faithful man and he's a selfless man.

And that's the kind of man that I can

entrust with everything in my house.

So he says at the end of verse eight,

"Wherefore then were ye not afraid to

speak against my servant Moses?"

You see the honor contest here

on this side. You've got Miriam and

Aaron saying, "Moses, who do you think

you are? You married an Ethiopian

woman."

Got him.

Are you think you're the only one that

God has spoken to or through whom God

has spoken? No. He's spoken us. He's

spoken to all of us. Number two, got

him.

The Lord hears it and he comes to Moses'

defense.

And he said, "There is an honor that

Moses has that I have given him that you

could never have unless I gave it to

you. You should have been afraid to

speak against him because I have chosen

him to be a faithful servant over all my

house."

over all my house.

See, there's no contesting the honor of

the one whom God has given it to.

Rather than speaking against him, they

should have submitted to him. God is

saying, "I have appointed him a faithful

servant. I have entrusted to him all my

house and therefore all my house must

bring themselves under his authority

just like the master would tell everyone

in his house to his servant. You submit

to him."

God goes on to punish Miriam for

instigating this rebellion.

It says, "And the anger of the Lord,

verse 9, was kindled against them, and

he departed. And the cloud departed from

off the tabernacle, and behold, Miriam

became lepous,

white as snow.

She attacked

some say the skin color of Moses'

Ethiopian wife

that she was black

and now she has turned pale and

flesheating white as can be.

It says and Aaron looked upon Miriam and

behold she was lepous.

This is a very serious situation. And

some people say, "Well, you got Miriam

and Aaron here. Why is it just Miriam?

Why isn't Aaron being punished here?"

Well, I I think because God is holy and

God is just, that he understands what's

going on in human hearts. That Aaron may

be there very well against his will, uh,

cooperating with his crazy sister, his

older sister. And now she is going

gung-ho about Moses and and trying to

grasp and usurp authority from him. And

God realizes that Miriam is the one who

started this. She's the one who

instigated this and therefore she is

plagued with leprosy.

But Aaron also accepts responsibility

for his complicity. In verse number 11,

it says, "And Aaron said unto Moses,

"Alas, my Lord, I beseech thee." Do you

think he got the message when he calls

Moses his Lord,

I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us,

wherein we have done foolishly, and

wherein we have sinned. Let her not be

as one dead whom the flesh is half

consumed when he cometh out of his

mother's womb.

Moses cried to the Lord saying, "Heal

her now, L. Oh God, I beseech thee." You

still see the selflessness of Moses

here,

begging for the healing of his sister

who just who just resisted and rebelled

against his God-given authority, who

just dishonored him, who might as well

have spit in his face or slapped in his

face.

And yet, he pleads for her pardon.

But God is going to let her temporarily

deal with this.

It says in verse 14, "And the Lord said

unto Moses, if her father had but spit

in her face, a sign of deep shame and

humility, if a father spits in the face

of his daughter,

it says, should she not be ashamed

seven days?"

See what you have now here is another

another Middle Eastern cultural thing

that they used constantly and that was

shaming someone.

When we use the concept of shame, we

think of embarrassment.

They were going to humiliate someone.

But over in the Middle East, even to

this day, when they use shame, what

they're doing is they're not trying to

distance and put somebody out by

embarrassing them and humiliating them

out of the crowd. What they used shame

for was to restore and to turn them

back. Think about church discipline that

uses this Middle Eastern concept of

shame. that it's not to drag a a fallen

believer through the mud, but it's that

they might recognize their sin and mourn

and return and be restored to usefulness

to God. That is what is going on here.

God is saying, "Look, what she has done

is wrong.

She should be shamed into submission."

But it's not just her that this shaming

is for. It's going to affect the entire

camp. Because while she is put out of

the camp for seven days, Israel must

stay at Hazerro for seven days. Seven

days longer than they probably would

have. So it delays their journey by

another seven days. And they all knew

why their journey was delayed. It was

because Miriam

opposed the leadership

of the one God had given it to.

And what it's designed to do is to shame

not just Miriam and Aaron, but all the

nation back to a place of submission to

their God- ordained authority.

See, God shames them all, calling them

to submit to Moses. Why?

Because he was appointed by God to be

the faithful servant over all his house.

Because God honored Moses, so should all

Israel.

So what does that mean for us today?

Because Moses isn't around anymore.

We're not under the law, but under

grace.

So what can a passage like this say to

us today? Let's go to Hebrews chapter 3.

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

And I believe you'll see very plainly

the connection here. Hebrews chapter 3.

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

Would

you actually look back at chapter 1 and

just read a couple verses here in verse

one? God who at sunundry times and in

diverse manners spake in time past unto

the fathers by the prophets, hath in

these last days spoken unto us by his

son, whom he hath appointed heir of all

things, by whom also he made the worlds,

who being the brightness of his glory,

and the express image of his person, and

upholding all things by the word of his

power. When he had by himself purged our

sins, sat down on the right hand of the

majesty on high, being made so much

better than the angels, he as he hath by

inheritance obtained a more excellent

name than they. You know what? Hebrews

is an honor contest between everything

and Jesus.

>> And it's saying Jesus trumps them all.

So now go to chapter 3 and notice his

argument here as he turns his attention

away from angels and to Moses.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of

the heavenly calling, consider the

apostle, the sent one from God and high

priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.

Notice the wording here. Who was

faithful to him that appointed him as

also Moses was faithful in all his

house. Do you see the con the comparison

or contrast that he's setting up here?

Moses was God's faithful servant over

all his house. Just like we read in

Numbers 12. And he is setting Jesus

beside him in yet another honor contest.

And he is about to say that the glory of

Christ is far better than the glory of

Moses. Would you look at me with me in

verse number three? For this man Christ

was counted worthy of more glory than

Moses. In as much as he who hath builded

the house hath more honor than the

house. For every house is builded by

some man, but he that built all things

is God. And Moses verily or truly was

faithful in all his house. Watch this.

As a servant,

but that was a testimony of those things

which are to be spoken after concerning

Christ. Because now it says in verse

six, but Christ not as a servant but as

a son over his own house whose house are

we if we hold fast the confidence and

the rejoicing of ho the hope firm unto

the end. Do you get what the author of

Hebrews is getting at here? That we are

called to submit to the authority of

Jesus Christ. And the question that we

would ask is why? And Jesus or he says

here that Jesus is worthy of greater

glory than Moses.

Because think about it, the glory of

Jesus is seen not in that he speaks face

to face with God, but that he is the

very face of God. That Paul said in 2

2 Corinthians 4:6

Corinthians 4:6, "For God who commanded

the light to shine out of darkness, hath

shined in our hearts to give light of

the knowledge of the glory of God in the

face of Jesus Christ." When the world

beheld the face of Christ, it beheld all

the glory of God contained in him.

Hebrews chapter 1:3, we read it. It

calls Jesus the brightness of God's

glory and the express image of his

person. Jesus is the very face of

almighty God. But Jesus does not behold

the similitude of God. He reveals the

similitude of God. He is after the

fashion and the shape and the likeness

of God himself. Jesus is not just a

faithful servant over God's house but a

faithful son over God's house which is

identified here as the church that the

son is not just an appointed servant who

is entrusted with everything but he is

an heir who owns everything. He says

that he built his own house the church.

How? Through his death, burial and

resurrection. He called uh people from

every kindred, tongue, tribe and nation

to be his own people, his own household.

And that makes him greater than Moses.

Why? Because he built the house and he

owns the house is what the author says

here. Well, the question is if Jesus

owns it all, rules over it all and has

supreme right to determine what is done

with all, where did he get this glory

from?

How did he get this honor or this right

to be a supreme ruler over all of God's

house? Well, it's because after he died

on the cross to atone for our sins, God

raised him from the dead and exalted him

to the right hand of God where he is

enthroned forever more. And the Bible

says that he made him the firstborn from

the dead, the head of the body, the

church, then to be heir of all things.

See, Jesus Christ has been appointed,

glorified, and honored by God as the

faithful son over all his house. As much

honor as God ascribed to Moses in

Numbers 12, he ascribes infinitely more

glory and honor to his son who has been

faithful over all his house.

Everything in the church of God has been

entrusted into the hands of God the Son

and that includes your life.

And because God has honored the Son, so

should we.

You should submit to Christ because God

appointed him to be the son who is

faithful over all his house.

First and foremost, he is to be honored

as the head of his church.

That means that what we believe, how we

worship, who we baptize, how we

administer the Lord's supper, how we

discipline, our ministry philosophy,

that everything that we do as a church

must be submitted not to the desires and

feelings of men, but to the desires and

feelings of the son, of the one whom God

has appointed as the head. And so

because God established Christ as the

head and the son over his household, the

church, it is our responsibility then

not to contest his honor, but to submit

to it.

I'd venture to say that many churches

today have wandered far away from

submission to the sun.

by allowing homosexuals to be pastors of

their churches.

By allowing a minister to come out in

the pulpit as trans and yet not

repentant thereof.

That is what churches have done today.

Churches have traded the unadulterated

word of God for entertainment and to

just try to keep things going and to try

to make things look as worldly as we

possibly can to attract a world. You

know what we're doing when we do that?

We are setting up the church according

to the feelings and the desires and the

cravings of man rather than the head

whom God appointed over it. Now, as a

church, we've got to bring ourselves

under submission to our head. Jesus

Christ. Why? God gave him that honored

position. And no man can take away honor

that God has given.

Jesus Christ is not only Lord of the

church,

he's to be Lord of your life.

That means that your lifestyle,

the movies that you watch, the music

that you listen to, the food that you

eat, the beverages that you drink, the

person that you sleep with. It's not

about what you want. It's not about how

much it makes you laugh or how good it

makes you feel. It's about what Christ

wants. And everything in your life must

kneel in submission to him.

Your family needs to be brought under

submission to Christ

to where uh they know that you're going

to church. They don't have to ask, "Are

we going to church today?" We're going

to church. It's a given in your life.

Why? because my life is under submission

to Christ. When his people are meeting,

I'm going to be there.

The the your family makes its decisions

not based on what is trendy or

convenient, but based on what God has

said.

We understand that kids are free will

beings.

And sometimes you can do everything you

can to train them right, to teach them

well, and they may still choose to go

their own way.

But parents have a responsibility

to call their children to submit to

their authority. Why? Because Christ has

given that authority to the parents

and to neglect to I'm the reason that

I'm bringing this up. I realize that

we're we're the only ones with like

young children right now, but we've got

some prospective parents and people who

would like to one day be parents, but

also for us to establish a church

culture that kids don't just run wild

and kids don't just run the house, but

rather the parents are bringing them

under submission and under control. Why?

Because if we don't do that in our home,

we are teaching them to rebel against

God. Why? Because the honor he has

bestowed upon parents is being cast

aside for the sake of whatever the child

wants. Our families have to be under

Christ's control, under Christ's

authority.

Your finances need to be under his

authority

to invest your resources in things for

eternity rather than laying up treasures

for yourselves upon the earth where moth

and rust corrupts and thieves break

through and steal. As Jesus said

that we should tithe, we should support

missionaries. We should contribute to

reaching our city for Christ and using

our God-given resources to do that. To

be sure that you're not enslaved to debt

or in pursuit of material things to be

sure that that we're not just spending

all of our money on the cravings of our

flesh,

whatever that would be.

That could be a lot of things. It could

be TVs. It could be cars. It could be

homes. It could be food. You know, I

look at a menu and I think about the

things that I used to eat as a teenager

like the Dave's triple at Wendy's

and I'm just like, "Nobody needs that.

Nobody needs that. I especially don't

need it at my age." But you you think of

that way that we can spend so much more.

You think of like I'll just use Wendy's

as an example since we're at it that

they've got their biggie bags and

they've got their you know their well

they used to be a four for four now it's

like a four for eight but you you've got

that that small you know uh cheaper meal

that you could get that would satisfy

your hunger that by the time you're done

with that you're like I'm good or it's

at least everything that you need or you

can spend the $16 on the double

baconater load it up with bacon cheese

fries and an extra potato on the side

and so you could you can order all these

things and it's just like Is that what I

should spend my money on? That's $8 more

dollars I could give to missions if I

just handled my money better. Listen,

this may sound tr. It may sound small,

but the reality is the Bible calls us to

bring every area of our life under

submission to the authority of Christ.

Why?

because God

honored him and exalted him to that

position

after he suffered for your every sin.

He perfectly

pleased his father in fulfilling all his

will for all his house. And now God has

exalted him to that supreme position of

power. And I simply ask you tonight, is

your life under submission to Jesus

Christ?

Your family,

your money, your lifestyle, your

entertainment choices, your dress

choices, the places that you go, the

people you associate closely with. We're

talking about bringing everything in our

lives

under his authority.

He's worthy of it.

>> It's not our responsibility to contest

with the honor that God has given him.

But isn't that what so many do today?

But this Christ can have control over

all this area, but not this one. That's

not what the Bible calls us to. God says

he's worthy of it all. So who am I to

say he's only worthy of some?

bring your life under submission to him.

Some people would say, "Man,

bringing your life under submission to

someone, that's like oppressive.

What if they hurt me?" I mean, humanly

speaking, isn't that a question we can

ask?

You don't have to ask that of Jesus.

You don't have to question his love. You

don't have to question if he's going to

do what's best for you. You don't have

to question if whether or not submitting

to his authority is the right move. Why?

Because even more so than Moses, Jesus

is meek and lowly in heart.

That he doesn't have to defend his honor

because the father defends his honor.

He is gentle,

lowly.

He humbled himself so much. Think about

this for a second. the son of God who is

exalted at the right hand of God, who is

with him from the foundation of the

world, who is with him in creation, who

is with him from an eternity past,

receiving the glory and the worship of

angels. He who is exalted to that

position, was so meek and lowly in

heart. He humbled himself to become a

man unto death, even the death of the

cross. Why? For your redemption.

Jesus faithfully fulfills all God wants

for all his house

more so than Moses did. Because you know

what's going to happen in a few

chapters? Moses is going to get angry

and instead of speaking to a rock, Moses

is going to strike the rock not once but

twice and totally rebel against God in

his own heart.

You know what that tells us? There's got

to be someone better than Moses, and

that's Jesus.

He never rebelss against God. He never

lashes out in anger and selfishness like

that. No, he was selfless, even to those

who opposed him, more so than Moses even

was with Aaron and Miriam. That's who

Jesus is. God has honored him, and so

should you. and so should we as a

church. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

we do want to be careful to give you the

honor and the glory that's due to your

name.

Though you could have taken it for

yourself,

you received it from your father

to show

the one God has honored. That honor

cannot be taken.

And I pray that you would help us

to recognize Jesus for who he is.

To no longer contest

with his honor and his authority, but to

bring everything in our lives in

submission to him. I ask in Jesus name.

Amen.