Sermon
27 "God’s Will God’s Way" Numbers 27:1-11 | Thursday, April 16, 2026
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Numbers 27 as we continue here in our
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series God's way in life's wilderness.
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Uh last time we covered the uh second
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census in the book of Numbers that marks
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the uh death of the entire previous
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generation that was faithless in the
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wilderness and a new beginning so to
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speak. starting where they left off
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where in this final section uh God gives
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them a census. God gives them some
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instructions. There's some narratives
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sprinkled through as we've seen
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throughout the book of Exodus and or
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Numbers. And as you go through uh
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Numbers, that's what you notice is it's
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like Israel is in God's classroom and
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he's teaching them and then they have
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some exercises and they fail some tests
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and he corrects them and begins teaching
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them again. And and that's what you see
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patterned throughout the book of Numbers
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from location to location. And now we're
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at the plains of Moab near Jordan by
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Jericho. That's where they're at here
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for the remaining part of Numbers as
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well as the entirety of the book of
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Deuteronomy. They're ready to go into
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the promised land. And uh I want to just
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remind us from the census in Numbers 26.
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If you'll look back at Numbers 26:52,
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it says this, "And the Lord spake unto
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Moses, saying, "Unto these the land
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shall be divided for an inheritance
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according to the number of names." And
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so I want to start off with this just to
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to pry this into our minds here as we
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come to Numbers 27.
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God had promised to give that generation
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that came out of Exodus an inheritance
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in the land of their fathers
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because of their faithlessness and their
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rebellion. However, they did not get to
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receive or experience that inheritance.
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But you know what God did? He promised
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then that their little ones would
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that all of that their so in other words
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the fathers didn't actually lose their
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inheritance
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their inheritance was just transferred
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to their children
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and what we come to in numbers 27 is a
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unique case that God needs to settle
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with the children of Israel as to how
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this land will be divided in this
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special circumstance. stance. So let's
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look at numbers 27 beginning verse one.
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Then came the daughters of Zilofahad,
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the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead,
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the son of Manasseh, the son of Meir,
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the son of Manasseh, of the families of
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Manasseh, the son of Joseph. And these
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are the names of his daughters, Mala,
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Noah, Hogla, and Mila, and Tza. Now this
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should be familiar to us because they
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were mentioned back in numbers 26 verse
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uh 33. It mentions that he had no sons
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but he had these five daughters. So now
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once the census is completed it's
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bringing us back to these women. So look
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at verse two.
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And they, the daughters of Zilofahad,
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they stood before Moses and before
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Eleazar the priest, and before the
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princes and all the congregation by the
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door of the tabernacle of the
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congregation, saying, "Our Father died
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in the wilderness, and he was not in the
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company of them that gathered themselves
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together against the Lord, in the
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company of Kora, but died in his own
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sin, and had no sons.
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Why should the name of our father be
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done away from among his family because
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he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a
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possession among the brethren of our
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father. And Moses brought their cause
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before the Lord. And the Lord spake unto
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Moses, saying, The daughters of
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Zilofahad,
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speak right. Thou shalt surely give them
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a possession of an inheritance among
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their father's brethren, and thou shalt
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cause the inheritance of their father to
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pass unto them. And thou shalt speak
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unto the children of Israel, saying, If
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a man die and have no son, then ye shall
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cause his inheritance to pass unto his
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daughter. And if he have no daughter,
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then ye shall give his inheritance unto
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his brethren. And if he have no
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brethren, then ye shall give his
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inheritance unto his father's brethren.
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And if his father have no brethren, then
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ye shall give his inheritance unto his
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kinsmen that is next to him of his
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family, and he shall possess it, and it
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shall be unto the children of Israel a
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statute of judgment, as the Lord
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commanded Moses. And so what what's
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going on here is that God promised the
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inheritance would be passed to the
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children. And the question now is you've
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got these five daughters that are very
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zealous about this. They don't want
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their father's name to be cut off. They
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don't want him to lose his inheritance.
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Not because he was not a sinner, but
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because he simply had no son. It doesn't
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seem right that his name would be erased
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just because he doesn't have a son.
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That's really the problem that's being
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brought here. And so what you what we
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can gather from this is that Israel,
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these ladies in particular, they want to
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know God's will for their family. They
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want to know what happens to their
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father's inheritance in light of the
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fact that he has no son. But this
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transcends only this family because
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there going to be others who have no
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sons. So, does the man's name get cut
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off? Does he lose his inheritance? This
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is what it's dealing with. God wants the
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inheritance to continue to go within the
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family line. That is God's will. But
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they must make sure they get God's will,
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God's way. And so, the title of our
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message tonight is God's will, God's
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way. Let's pray one more time and ask
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God to help us. Father, I pray that
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you'd please speak through your word
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tonight and give us clarity and
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understanding that we may know that this
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is not just a message for Israel, but
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it's a timeless truth for us today. So,
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we ask for your help in Jesus name.
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Amen.
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How devastating is it to come so close
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only to fall short?
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to come so close but fall short. To get
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to the conference championship
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only to break your ankle on one of the
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final plays and miss out on the chance
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to lead your team to a Super Bowl. So
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close.
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or to get to overtime of game seven of
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the Stanley Cup finals only to give up
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the cup clenching goal in overtime.
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You're just a split second away from
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glory and you'll never be remembered
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after it. It's just a split second. Or
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what about getting to the marriage altar
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only to be left standing alone?
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so close.
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I think of men in ministry who are
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faithful their entire lives and within
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months of retirement
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commit a moral failure lose their
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marriage and lose their ministry.
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You're like, they're they're in their
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70s.
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They're this close. They've been
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faithful for a lifetime. But somewhere
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along the line in these last months, in
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these last years, they fell short. It's
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tragic. It's devastating to come so
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close to winning, so close to finishing,
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and so close to achieving your dreams
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only to fall just short. It's got to be
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an immensely devastating feeling.
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I can't help but imagine that that's
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what it felt like for a teenager when
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Israel first came to Kadesh Barnea when
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they were there on the borders of
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Canaan. They've made their way from
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Egypt through all the plagues. They've
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they crossed the Red Sea as like a 15 or
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16year-old and saw God do all these
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amazing things and they've heard about
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the promises and they've seen the hand
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of God and now they're right there on
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the cusp at 18 years old. But their
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father's faithlessness
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caused them to be turned away from the
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promised land and to wander for 38 years
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as their grandparents and their parents
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and their uncles and their aunts
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perished in the wilderness.
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You were so close only to be turned
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away.
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One thing, if you are part of that
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group, one thing that's been solidified
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in your mind is probably this. I'm not
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living like my parents did.
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I don't want to make the same mistakes
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that they did. I I don't want my
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children to be turned away and to suffer
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as I have and to watch me and my
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brothers die in this wilderness. I'm not
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going that way. We're going to trust
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God. We're going to do what he tells us
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to do. He's going to lead us in. He's
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going to fight our battles. And he's
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going to divide the land to us. This
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next generation we're going to see is a
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generation of great faith. Though they
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themselves are not perfect, while their
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father's generation has been
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characterized by sin, evil, and
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rebellion, their generation will more or
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less be characterized by righteousness
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and faithfulness to do what God tells
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them to do. And they are the ones who
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inherit the land. They have faith. They
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have passion. They earnestly desire to
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lay hold of the promises of God to their
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fathers. That's really what we see here
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in Numbers 27.
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These five daughters, they are coming
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before Moses and the leadership with
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full confidence that the land is coming.
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And they said, "Give to us a possession
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among our father's brethren to carry on
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his name."
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And so what we find here is that they
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are diligently pursuing the promise that
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God had given them. They they are
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passionately seeking after God's will.
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They want to lay hold of God's will for
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their life. But what God makes clear is
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that the promised land is not theirs to
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take. It is God's to give.
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He determines who gets what. He
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determines where they inherit and how
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much they inherit. He is the one who
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divides the inheritance. And so God's
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will is for them to enjoy the land, but
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they must get God's will God's way. And
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I want to say to you that the same thing
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is true in our lives. That just as God
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had great things in store for Israel, he
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has great things in store for your life.
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That doesn't mean that life's always
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going to be easy. Just like we've seen
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with Israel, there are going to be
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battles to face. There going to be
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struggles they go through. There going
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to be times of doubt. There going to be
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tests of their faith. And and there will
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be in yours as well. But I hope you
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understand that God wants you to have a
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great relationship with him. One that is
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not clouded by fear, doubt, and guilt,
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but one that is immensely filled with
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joy, gratitude, and love.
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I hope you understand that God wants you
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to have a great marriage. That's his
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will for your life. He does not want
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your marriage to be miserable. He does
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not want every day to just be a
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miserable fight. He wants that marriage
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to be filled with joy. He wants it to be
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lifegiving.
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He wants you to have a great
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relationship with your kids. He doesn't
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want you to be alienated from them. He
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doesn't want you to struggle through
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that relationship. He wants you to have
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a good relationship with them.
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Can I say to you if you're in ministry
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that he wants you to have a fulfilling
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ministry.
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He doesn't want ministry, whether you're
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a pastor, missionary, or if you serve
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here in this church, he doesn't want
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your service to be a drag. He doesn't
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want it to be that every Sunday when you
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come to teach the kids, you're like,
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"Ah, here we go again. I don't want to
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do this." You know, that's that's not
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what he wants. No, he wants you to enjoy
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serving him. There are great things that
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God wants for you. Can I say to you that
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he has just the right job for you in
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just the right place at just the right
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time? He does. God wants us to enjoy his
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will. But just as Israel had to get
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God's will God's way, so must we. His
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will is not something we take for
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ourselves.
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It's something he gives to us.
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How do we get God's will God's way?
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That's the big question.
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As this new generation of Israelites are
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preparing for the conquest of Canaan, it
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begins with the new census. And God
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makes it clear that the land is going to
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be divided up to individual families
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based on the names of their fathers and
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the size of their family. That's what we
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read in Numbers 26. That's God was not
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not just uh counting the men for war,
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but he was counting the size of their
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families to know how to divide the land
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amongst their fathers. And so that's
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what is going on. But then of course
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this problem comes up with this man
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named Zofahad who had died in the
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wilderness with no sons. And yet God
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promised that their that that faithless
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generation, their little ones would
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inherit the land. But now because he has
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no sons, how can that promise be
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fulfilled? That's the big question. If
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God promised Zoofahad
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that his little ones would inherit the
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land, but he has no sons, will God's
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promise fail? That's really the question
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being brought to mind here. And so it
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presents this problem that will no doubt
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come up again with other men who do not
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have sons. What happens to their land?
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Is it a free-for-all?
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Is it first come, first serve? Who gets
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to claim that man's land? And the Lord
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resolves this problem by giving them a
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new law. A new law. And what it shows
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them is how they can have God's will as
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they inherit the promised land. And how
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they can do so God's way. I want you to
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see first of all that to have God's
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will, you got to want God's will. That's
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the first thing that we notice here
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about these five daughters. They wanted
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it. They they they come to Moses and
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Eleazar and bring their case uh before
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them and and they they want to uh they
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want to understand what's to happen with
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their father's inheritance. If you
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notice there in verse number three, they
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said this before Moses and all the
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congregation. our father died in the
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wilderness and he was not in the company
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of them that gathered themselves
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together against the Lord in the company
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of Kora but died in his own sin. And so
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what they recognize here that what this
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does it echoes back remember the
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rebellion of Kora and in the census it
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calls that back to mind again that you
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had those sons of Reuben um uh Dayan and
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Abram who gathered with him and remember
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how God judged them because of the
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rebellion. The earth opened up and it
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swallowed not only them but their wives
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and their children and all they had.
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That was God's judgment saying, "Because
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of this brash, high-handed rebellion
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against my leader Moses and my priest
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Aaron, you will not have an
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inheritance." He cut off Dayan and
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Abram's names from the inheritance of
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Israel.
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And so that's what happened with them.
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And these these ladies come before
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Moses. They say, "Our dad wasn't
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involved in that. He did not sin in such
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a way that that God judicially cut his
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name out. Rather, he died in his own
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sin. It was his own faithlessness just
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like the rest of the generation." But
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here's the problem. He had no sons. And
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so the risk now is that his name will be
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erased from the people of Israel.
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And yet God had made this promise that
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his little ones would inherit the land.
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And so they asked in verse number four,
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why should the name of our father be
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done away from among his family because
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he hath no sons? Give unto us therefore
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a possession among the brethren of our
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father. And so what's going on here is
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culturally the sons would carry on the
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name of the father. that the inheritance
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it would be known as Zafahad's
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Zealafahad's land and then the sons
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would carry that on. But when it comes
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to the daughters, they would marry into
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another family's inheritance. And so the
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the father would give a dowy an an
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abundant gift to his daughter and then
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his financial responsibility over her
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would cease. She would come under the
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care of her husband and her husband's
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father and their inheritance. And so
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that's normally how this would work. So
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if these five ladies are to marry
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someone else, you know what it means?
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They get to have inheritance still
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through their husband, but their fathers
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dies off. And that's what they're
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worried about. The word when you see why
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should the name of our father be done
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away? It literally means to trim. The
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idea is that that you've got the list of
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names here and his name gets snipped off
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the bottom. And so they're saying
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there's a real problem here of and but
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notice this that they're not on a power
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trip here. They're not saying, "Well, we
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we want something for ourselves."
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They're concern about the name of their
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father. It's about the fulfillment of
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God's promise to their father. What you
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see in these women is a heart of faith,
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believing the inheritance is coming, but
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also a passion for God's will to be
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done. It's for God's will to be done.
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It's for their father. And because then
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what would happen is if they receive the
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inheritance of their fathers and then
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they have multiple sons, then they could
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give that their father's inheritance to
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one of their sons and then he could
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carry on his name. And you know what
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ends up happening? Zilofahad's name is
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mentioned again in the Chronicles. That
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means that his name was not cut off
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throughout all of Israel's Old Testament
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history. It was preserved by what God
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does here. But what I want to point out
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to you is that these ladies want what
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God had for their father and for his
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family. That unlike their father and his
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unbelieving generation, they are
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speaking of the land as if it's already
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conquered. That's that's faith. It shows
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this generation is is built different.
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It foreshadows a generation that wants
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God's will. Unlike the previous
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generation who wanted to go back to
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Egypt, they want to go forward. And so I
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just want to say to you first of all
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that you ought to want God's will for
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your life. You ought to want God's will
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for your family to strive for and long
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after the kind of fulfilling marriage
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that God wants you to have. You ought to
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long for that. One that is loving, one
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that is selfless and lifegiving. Now,
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because we are fallen, we know that it's
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not going to be perfect. But God wants
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you to have a marriage where joy is the
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norm and conflict is rare. See, many
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times we've got that backwards. I want
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you to understand clearly today, that's
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not what God wants for you. He wants you
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to have a a marriage that is joyful. If
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you're single, let me just say that you
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don't want to settle for a a guy that's
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anything less than what God wants for
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you. Because if you settle for less than
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what God wants for you, uh you are going
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to have a hard time in that
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relationship. That man will not treat
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you right. He will he will try to
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control you rather than try to lead you
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according to God's word. But the kind of
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man that you want is one who will
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reflect Jesus to you. And if you're a
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single man, the kind of lady that you
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want is one who will respect you like
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Christ, like the church does to Jesus
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Christ. That's what the Bible speaks of
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that makes marriage work, a selfless,
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lifegiving relationship. And so you want
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to make sure that you want God's will
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for your life and not just yours. You
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want a job that not only meets your
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needs, but one that fully enables you to
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serve the Lord, to faithfully give to
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his work and to meet the needs of the
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gospel. I would also say that you want
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to serve in the ministry that God has
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for you. The place where you can find
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great joy in serving the Lord and
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edifying your church and reaching the
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lost. that there's no greater
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fulfillment than being in the Lord's
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will. That doesn't mean that that it's
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always that, you know, I grew up, you
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always hear that the safest place to be
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is in God's will. Well, sometimes God's
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will will lead you to the guillotine if
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you ask people like the Apostle Paul.
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And so, I'm not just going to say that
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if you're in God's will, everything's
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going to be perfect. Everything's going
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to be dandy. Everything's going to be
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rosy. But what you do have is the
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promises of God that you can cling to.
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That he'll be everything you need. that
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his grace will be more than sufficient
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for you. That he'll provide for your
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needs and he'll make sure that you don't
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go hungry and he'll make sure that you
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don't go thirsty. He cares for and
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provides for his own. You want to have a
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place that God has for you. You want
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God's will. I want to say that God is
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leading you into what's best and his
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will is worth pursuing just like it was
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for the daughters of Zilofahad. It was
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worth pursuing but also for the rest of
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the Israelites. Now understand that
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while what we have here is a ruling for
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the sake of these five daughters. Who is
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reading this all together? The children
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of Israel. And so God is even confirming
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here. The land is coming. And when it
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does, here's how you need to handle it.
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He wants them to pursue his will. But
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God's will is not something you can get
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your own way. It's something that we
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must get God's way. And so that brings
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us to number two, that to have God's
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will, you also need God's revelation.
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You need God's revelation.
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And the daughters of Zofha had it says
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in verse 5 that that Moses brought their
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cause before the Lord and the Lord spake
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unto Moses. You speak right. How nice
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would that be? If you're these ladies
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and you come before the Lord and this is
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beyond cultural norms. This was would
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have been very abnormal for women to
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come and demand an inheritance from
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their father. And so they come and then
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to hear God's approval. They're right.
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My will is not for this man's name to be
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cut off. My will is for it to be
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continued on. My will is for his little
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ones to inherit his possession. And so,
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yes, I want you, he says, give them an
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inheritance among their father's
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brethren, and thou shalt cause the
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inheritance of their father to pass unto
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them. And so, he he gives direction here
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that they are to receive the
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inheritance. They are to carry on their
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father's name. But then what we notice
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is that this doesn't just go for this
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single case. God gives a new revelation
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of how he wants them to handle the land.
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It says in verse number eight, "And thou
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shalt speak unto the children of Israel,
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saying, if a man die and have no son,
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then ye shall cause his inheritance to
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pass on his daughter. And if he have no
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daughter, then ye shall give his
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inheritance unto his brethren. And if he
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have no brethren, then ye shall give his
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inheritance unto his father's brethren.
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And if his father have no brethren, then
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ye shall give his inheritance unto his
-
kinsmen that is next to him of his
-
family, and he shall possess it. And it
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shall be unto the children of Israel a
-
statute of judgment as the Lord
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commanded Moses.
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And so the re
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the reason that they need this law is
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because the land is coming. And because
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the land is worth pursuing,
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but it's a land that they want, but it's
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not a land that is theirs to take, it's
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God's to give. Therefore, to have God's
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will, here's what Israel must do. Follow
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God's word. That what God is saying here
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is that when a man dies without sons,
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his land is not up for grabs. His land
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is not to be sold to the highest bidder.
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You don't steal it. You don't cast lots
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for it. You don't auction it off. The
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only way to have God's will is to follow
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God's word. Anything outside of what God
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commands here will be considered theft.
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It'll be considered rebellion. It'll be
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considered sin.
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And so, the truth of the matter is this.
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To get God's will, God's way, you must
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follow God's word. That's what he's
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given us.
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Can I say that it starts with salvation?
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God is not willing that any should
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perish, but that all should come to
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repentance. The Bible says that God will
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have all men to come to the knowledge of
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the truth. And so that means that God's
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will for everyone is to be forgiven. And
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God's will for everyone is to be saved
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and to have eternal life. That is God's
-
will. Listen, that is God's will for
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every single person in the city of
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Boulder and every person in the state of
-
Colorado and in the United States of
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America and in Germany and in every
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country around the world. God's will is
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for every man, woman, and child to be
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saved.
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But that salvation and that forgiveness
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and that eternal life is no man's to
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take. It is only God's to give. And you
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can only have God's will if you follow
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God's word. He sent his son Jesus to die
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on the cross to atone for our sins. He
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raised him from the dead and he ascended
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into heaven and he seated Christ on a
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throne to rule and reign forever. And he
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commissioned his disciples to go into
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all the world and preach this gospel to
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every creature. That if you repent of
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your sin and believe in your heart that
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Jesus died for your sin and rose again,
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if you will call upon the name of the
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Lord, you can and will be saved. That is
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God's word. That is how you get God's
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will. God's way is through faith in
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Jesus Christ.
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He is the way, the truth, and the life.
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No man cometh unto the father but by
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him. He is the only way. We must then
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proclaim that one way that neither is
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there salvation in any other. For there
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is none other name under heaven given
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among men whereby we must be saved. as
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the apostle Peter said. And so we need
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to be sure that the message that we
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preach is not deviating from God's word
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because there's a lot of uh Christian
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circles that have perverted the gospel
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just as they had in Paul's day and why
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he had to write to correct it that they
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have said there are other ways to God.
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There are some who say that in the end
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God's love wins. And so it doesn't
-
matter in this life if you place your
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faith in Jesus Christ when you die and
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when we all are gathered before him then
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everybody's going to see Jesus and
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they'll believe at that time and God's
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love will win out over his justice. I'm
-
telling you that is not what the Bible
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teaches.
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Some are saying that you can get to God
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through all kinds of paths through Islam
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and through Buddhism and through
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Hindism. We're all just trying to find
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the same God in different ways. That is
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not what the Bible says. Jesus is the
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only way. And so, church, if we want to
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help people get God's will, we must
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bring them God's way. And that's through
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Jesus Christ.
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And so, to have the Lord's will, you
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must follow the Lord's word. And the
-
same thing is true in your life as well.
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That if you want to truly have what God
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has in store for your life, you must
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follow his word.
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Let me just give a few examples that
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we've been talking about tonight. If you
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want to arrive at the marriage altar
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with your purity intact, then you need
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to set up some guardrails in your life.
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Guard rails that are patterned after
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God's word. You need to guard your eyes
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from wicked things. You need to keep
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yourself pure and flee fornication, as
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the Bible says. You need to set up some
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good boundaries for your relationships.
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If you want to be married, then like
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these five ladies, you need to bring
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your case before the Lord and you need
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to seek him and you need to follow his
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revelation, which by the way says, "Be
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not unequally yolked together with
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unbelievers." If that's true in
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business, don't you think that's
-
certainly true in marriage?
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And so, if you're going to seek God's
-
will, you must seek it God's way. And he
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has given us plain revelation for the
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kind of man, the kind of woman that you
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ought to look for in your life. And so
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if you want to have God's will, seek his
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face and follow his revelation.
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Can I say that if you want to have a
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fulfilling marriage, you might start by
-
looking to God's word. It might do us
-
well to seek what the creator of
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marriage says about marriage. Right? It
-
sounds so simple and yet so often we
-
want what we want no matter what God
-
says.
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See, here's the truth. If your marriage
-
is struggling, almost every single time
-
it boils down to at least one, but more
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than likely both are failing to follow
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God's word. That's what it boils down
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to. She might be hyperritical of him and
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he might blow up at her. Neither of
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which, by the way, is a godly response.
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It might be that that he's selfish, full
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of pride. It might be that she
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constantly resists his leadership and
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treats him like a child.
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I don't think there's any man that likes
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being treated like a child. I don't
-
think my son at seven years old likes
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being treated like a child. You know, no
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man likes that. And yet, sometimes after
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a wife has kids, she starts treating her
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husband like her child.
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Sometimes he probably acts like a child.
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But regardless, listen, regardless
-
of how your spouse acts,
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God calls you to follow his word.
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And when both a husband and a wife are
-
following God's word, you can have God's
-
will. God's will is for you to have a
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wonderful, joyful, life-giving, faithful
-
marriage. And you can know that God
-
wants you to have it. And or you can
-
know that you can have it because of the
-
fact that God wants you to have it. God
-
doesn't give us things that he wants for
-
us without making a way for it to be
-
attained. But he makes it clear to us
-
that if we want to lay hold of his word,
-
we can't just get it however we want to
-
do it. We've got to follow his word and
-
trust his word to guide us into his
-
perfect will. And that's just as true in
-
marriage as it is in anything else.
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It starts with following the Lord's
-
word.
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If you want to have the kind of ministry
-
that God wants you to have, it sure
-
helps to follow his word.
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That as preachers of the gospel,
-
it's helpful to base our preaching on
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the Bible.
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Because if we preach the word, we're not
-
going to come up with twisted truth.
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We're not going to preach heresy. Why?
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Because we're going to be following what
-
the word of God says.
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And by the way, if you follow the
-
Bible's guidelines and qualifications
-
for a pastor and a deacon, it's going to
-
set up some things in your life that
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keeps you from stepping outside of those
-
lines.
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And then sometimes our mind just goes to
-
immoral issues. But the Bible says,
-
"Don't be a striker either and not a
-
brawler." Brawler doesn't just mean
-
duking it out. Sometimes there are
-
pastors that are harsh and mean and
-
angry toward their congregation. But if
-
we look at the qualifications of what a
-
pastor is supposed to be, it'll keep us
-
from lashing out at our members. It'll
-
keep us having a loving relationship
-
with them. It'll no doubt keep us from
-
running off with other women than our
-
spouse. It'll keep us within what God
-
wants us to have in that ministry if we
-
follow his word. It's true.
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I think every pastor and every
-
missionary wants to have a successful
-
ministry.
-
We want to reach as many people as we
-
possibly can for Jesus Christ. But if we
-
have to depart from God's word to get it
-
done, then we have really inherited
-
something
-
that we have taken for ourselves
-
rather than inheriting it from God.
-
Sometimes you might get a little
-
impatient and take a job for yourself
-
because it's the one that you wanted
-
because it pays more because it's the
-
one that's available and because you
-
gave up on waiting for God to give you
-
the right one at the right time.
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It's hard when you're struggling
-
financially. I mean, we've got several
-
people in our church right now that are
-
looking for work, and sometimes you can
-
just get to the point where it's like,
-
man, I I got to have something. I got to
-
have something. And so then you can just
-
take the first one that's there. But I'm
-
just calling our people that are seeking
-
jobs right now to diligently pray and
-
seek God's face and bring it before the
-
Lord and trust his revelation in the
-
process that he can bring you to the
-
right place the right time that'll meet
-
your needs that'll enable you to
-
faithfully serve God and be able to
-
continue to give to missions and things
-
like that.
-
See God to have God's will, you must
-
follow God's word. His will will never
-
lead you in a way that contradicts his
-
word. And so that tells us that his word
-
is always the place to start.
-
If you're ever seeking God's will and it
-
goes against his word, you can know it's
-
not right.
-
Here's the problem for these daughters
-
of Zilafad. There was no ruling on this.
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If if God had made it clear that if a
-
man doesn't have any sons, then you give
-
the inheritance to his daughters, that
-
they could have just trusted that right
-
then, right there. But because they
-
didn't, they brought it to the
-
leadership of the congregation and he
-
brought it before the Lord. There's a
-
principle to be said there that
-
sometimes it's good when you're in a
-
bind and you're not sure exactly what to
-
do and when God's word is not very clear
-
to seek pastoral help, to seek pastoral
-
counsel. The pastor is not the Holy
-
Spirit of God in your life. God gave you
-
the Holy Spirit to discern things. And
-
yet, God gives pastors a certain unique
-
gift to be able to lead God's people.
-
And so, sometimes it's helpful to get
-
pastoral counsel on that and to have
-
them bring it before the Lord as well.
-
They had Moses bring it before the Lord.
-
And you know what the Lord? Did he gave
-
them revelation. And you know what he
-
called them to do? To follow it. To
-
follow it. And God does the same thing
-
in our lives. I genuinely believe that
-
all of us truly want God's will.
-
But sometimes we don't always have the
-
faith to wait or the faith to seek it or
-
to pursue it like Zofahad's daughters
-
had. But what we notice is from the very
-
start, this generation displays great
-
faith in what God will do. They trust
-
that God is going to allow them to
-
inherit the land by his own power. And
-
God is careful careful to show them
-
through this example that to have God's
-
will, they've got to follow God's word.
-
And so must you. And that's true whether
-
it comes to your salvation or if it
-
comes to marriage, work, or ministry.
-
God knows what is best for each of us.
-
And if you'll bring your case before the
-
Lord and seek his face and follow his
-
word, you can have God's will, God's
-
way. Follow his word. Father, we thank
-
you for your word and I am thankful that
-
you have given us sufficient revelation
-
and your word is always the place to
-
start. But we also recognize that
-
sometimes there may be things in our
-
life that your word does not give clear
-
instruction for.
-
But you have given us your Holy Spirit
-
who causes us to walk in your ways and
-
to obey your statutes, your judgments,
-
and your commands.
-
And I pray that as your people, we would
-
diligently bring every case before you,
-
starting with what is plainly revealed
-
in your word, and for the things we may
-
not be so clear on, to seek your wisdom
-
through the help and leadership of the
-
Holy Spirit, to know and to seek godly
-
counsel as well.
-
I truly believe every person in this
-
room wants your will.
-
And I pray that your word would just
-
help us a little bit tonight to show us
-
how we can have it by your leadership.
-
Help us to follow your word. I pray in
-
Jesus name. Amen.