Hope For The world - Sunday, January 22, 2023
2023-01-22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzlQoCChAJA

I've been kind of angry about it. Like, God, come on, you know? We really need somebody. And a couple months ago, actually, I think it was in the spring, I actually sent this to my brother-in-law, Brent, if Derek wants to put it up. It's a little meme. I thought you said your church needed a worship leader. And then a couple weeks after that, Dave showed up, and I was like, well, that's not quite it, but it's okay. But we love Dave. But for me, personally, it's been a weird three years, just for me not wanting to do what God, I guess, wants me to do for now and to stop being annoyed about what I think our church needs and what I think would be better, because worshiping God through music is one of my favorite things to do, just not in front of a group of people.

So, one Sunday I was up here, I think it was last month, and I was looking at my kids. Usually I'm looking at my kids to make sure they're not being crazy, and I happened to see little Penelope, and she was singing really loud, and she was like, had her arms out like this, and I don't know where she learned that, because she didn't learn it from me, because I grew up in a very conservative, you don't do this, you don't do this, you don't do this, you just do it and be done. And she was singing really loud, and she was just worshiping God, and I didn't really say anything to her, because I didn't want to embarrass her, but I did say something to her last week, and I said that it was really encouraging, like her showing me how to worship God without anyone caring about what you think, because it's just between you and God, and, you know, God's taking care of our church so much, and, you know, each of us could probably sit here for a long time and talk about how each one of us

individually has been taken care of, but there's even things we don't even think about, like this building, and how we're able to pay the bills every month and still help people, and cleaning the building is a form of worship, and it's just, you know, one of the things I could honestly say about our church, everybody here, which not a lot of preachers' wives can say at all, but I truly do love everybody here, and you know, just thinking of that and dwelling on that has started to help me with my anxieties, and helped me to just kind of recheck my focus on what am I actually doing when I'm worshiping God, and is it about, it's not about me, and all I do, it's what, how between that time with me and God is, and so I just wanted to encourage, that's just my little snippet that I've learned so far this year, the year's still young, and so I

would just encourage you to worship however you feel you want to worship, if you want to sing really loud, you should do it, if you want to raise your hands, you should do it, if you just want to sit there quietly, and not do anything, and just watch everybody else, and make fun of them, without singing in your head, do that, but we do draw the line at bringing snakes, don't bring the snakes, or if you do bring them, keep them in a box, we don't, we're, we don't do snakes, but, but, you know, I would just encourage you to worship however you want to worship, and it's not about what other people think, about what, if you've been taught differently when you were younger, how you should worship, if you feel you should worship a certain way, please do that, and please feel like that you can do that, and thank you for your patience with me, every time I'm listening to my ramblings, and general anxieties of the day, and just thank you for being an awesome church, and just showing me faithfulness, and trust, and, and just the gospel, how it can change us, and how it can help us to be what

we need to be for other people, not just here, but in our communities, and those who don't believe. So, with all that said, let's go ahead and stand up, and we're gonna release the snakes from the ceiling. Just kidding. We're not good either. We're gonna be reading out of psalms together. Psalm 85. And we're gonna do this six through nine. And it says, "Will you not revive us again, that you show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us salvation. Let me hear who the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land." This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for the opportunity to come and gather and worship you, and to be able to just be reminded of how amazing and wonderful you are, and how you saved us from our sins, but from death and from just things in life that get in our way.

We thank you so much for this church, and for everyone here, and the encouragement that each of them are to each other, and to me and Brandon, and our family, and we just thank you so much for taking care of us, and taking care of our building, and taking so many different ways. Be with our service today, and just allow it to glorify you, God, in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. We're going to be doing what we did last week. We're going to be singing two songs, "Our God Saves," and "Who You Say I Am," and then we're going to be moving into our prayer and share time right after that, and we'll be muted during that time for the livestream people, so just after that, we'll be back, and then we're going to be singing the song we learned last week together on a different program, and hopefully it works, so we'll see how it goes. All right. Let's get started. We're going to be doing "Our God Saves."

To fall on your grace. Hear the joyful sound. Saints bow down, as you'll see. We will rise with lifted on your wings, and the world will see that our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope in your name. Morning turns to songs of praise. Our God saves. Our God saves. In the name of, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Spirit, Lord, we come. We are gathered together to lift up your name, to call on our Savior, to fall on your grace. Hear the joyful sound of our offering. As your saints bow down, as your people sing, we will rise with you, lifted on your wings, and the world be that. Our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope. There is hope in your name. Morning turns to songs of praise. Our God saves. Our God saves.

Hear the joyful sound of fame. As your saints bow down. As your people sing. We will rise with you. Lifted on your wings. And the world will sing. Our God saves. Our God saves. There is hope in your name. It turns to praise. Our God saves. Our God saves. Our God saves. Our God saves. We're singing "Who You Say I Am." Who am I that the highest king would well be? I was lost, but He brought me in love for me. Oh, His love for me. Oh, the sun sets free. Oh, it's free indeed. I know as I am. For at last He has ransomed me. His grace runs deep. While I was a slave to sin, die for me. Die for me, who the sun sets free. Who is free indeed? I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. In my Father's house, there's a place for me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am.

I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. Help me, not against me. I am who you say I am. Who the Son sets free, who is free in me. I'm a child of God. I am. In my Father's house, there's a place in me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

All right. As we go into our time of communion, we're going to be singing the "How Majestic Is Your Name?" based on Psalm 8, and we watched the video last week, and so the words will be on the screen, and if you'd like to sing along, you can, or if you just want to learn it, that's great. It's a really good song, and I'm excited for us to learn it together and to learn this new program, and hopefully I do it right. Did it right. Awesome. And the words, I believe, are they in the paper? Never mind. Yeah. Sure. Halfway? Okay.

We sing all glory and honor. Oh Lord, our Lord, oh how awesome are your ways. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh Lord, our Lord, may we see your kingdom come. Father, may your will be done in all the earth. In all the earth you gave dominion to your children, and you crown them, oh God, with glory and honor. So sing of your name if I liked for your greatness, oh God. In your glory and honor, oh Lord, our Lord. Oh, how awesome are your ways. How majestic is your name in all the earth, oh Lord, our Lord. May we see your kingdom come. Father, may your will be done. With all the earth. The earth is full of the glory of God. Come lay my child, a name above all names. Creation cries out, and every knee bows. Jesus, we crown you.

Oh, Lord, I want the earth is full of the glory of God. Come lay my child, a name above all names. Creation cries out, and every knee bows. Jesus, we crown you. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. How awesome are you. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord, I want to walk your way. How majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh, Lord, I want the Lord. May we see your key, I'll call forever me, oh my God, and I'll be alive.

Oh, how awesome are your ways, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Oh Lord, oh Lord, may we see your kingdom come. Father, may your will be done in all the earth. In all the earth.

. . . . . . . . . . . in the 8th Psalm, we have the wonderful, encouraging picture of the greatness of God that isn't simply His greatness, but greatness that is displayed throughout all the earth, so that you and I would see Him and draw near to Him. And the psalmist, in a moment of worship, as he looks at the greatness of creation, then looks at himself and says, "In my smallness, how wonderful it is that the greatness of God, the God who created, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the mountains, and the seas would look at somebody like me." And the psalmist is overcome with worship as he considers the greatness of God, but God's care for us small people. In Hebrews, the second chapter, is the book designed specifically for Christians who are struggling. And they need to see God's goodness.

They need to see God's grace. They need to see God's glory. We find that the 8th Psalm isn't just about God's glory and about our smallness and our love for us, but that it ultimately points toward the goodness of the Gospel. And in verse 9, it talks about Jesus, and it will say this, "But we see Him," that's Jesus, "who for a little while was made lower than the angels," namely Jesus, "crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." And the writer of Hebrews quoting from the 8th Psalm about the smallness of mankind says that Jesus, the Son of God, who in chapter 1, he talks about how God has spoken through Jesus. How He created all things through Jesus. That He is the radiance of the glory of God.

the universe by the word of His power. And in chapter 2, He says, "Jesus, God in the flesh, comes, and He sets aside that glory. He becomes lower than the angels who serve Him, and He goes to the cross. He tastes death for us." The chapter ends like this, "Therefore, He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation, to pay the price for the sins of the people. For being suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted." And chapter 1 starts with this very simple, simple call. "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession." The purpose of Hebrews is to turn our eyes toward Jesus, who in His glory sets it aside, comes into our world, He dies in our place, and because He has lived like we have in the flesh, He understands our struggles and our hurts, He pays the price for our sins, He rises again, and the writer of Hebrews calls us to look to

Him. That's what the Lord's Supper is all about. The purpose of this meal is that we would turn our eyes toward Jesus, to see the glory of God, to see the love demonstrated through the cross, and to find hope in the good news of the Gospel. Let's pray and then we'll partake together. Father in Heaven, thank You for the Gospel. Thank You for the good news. Thank You that Jesus came. Thank You that He lived the perfect life, that He died in our place, and that He has risen for our victory. So as we eat this meal, help us to look back to the cross, and to see Your grace and mercy, and to see Your justice that is poured out there that we might have hope. As we see the resurrection, take away our fear, and as we look forward to the future, remind us that the victory is in You.

the bread and this cup. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you would take the bread with me, as Jesus did with His disciples, and He gave them this command, which we also follow. He says, "Do this in remembrance of me." In the Passover, you have four cups remembering the promises of God, and as they're remembering the promise that God would redeem them with an outstretched arm, Jesus will take the cup and will say, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me." He will say, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."

This morning's reading is from Joshua 22. "At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them, 'You have kept all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charges of the Lord our God. And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore, turn and go to your tents in the land where your possessions lie, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you on the other side of the Jordan. Only be very careful to observe the commandments and the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you.

To love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cling to him, and to serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul. So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given a possession in Bashan. But to the other half, Joshua had given a possession besides their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, he said to them, "Go back to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers." So the people of Reuben, and the people of Gad,

and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land, of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through Moses. And when they came to the region of the Jordan, that is, in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben, and the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. The people of Israel heard it, said, "Behold, the people of Reuben, and the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it,

the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them. This is the word of the Lord." Praise be to God. Kind of took a turn there at the end, didn't it? Go ahead and pray and dive right into it. Father in heaven, help us this morning as we see your glory and your goodness, as we see the conflict between brothers, as we see faithfulness and we see righteousness. We see those who will stand up for righteousness. Help us to see that you are the God who brings peace between you and us, between us and our brothers in Christ. Encourage us this morning. Point us to Jesus. In his name we pray. Amen. So it was the end of December, I think it was December 30th, 1952, and there was a man by the name of Albert Gunter, and he was a bus driver.

He was a bus driver in London, so he drove one of those sort of iconic red double-decker buses. And on this particular day, he was crossing the Tower Bridge in London. And all of a sudden, for him, it's a drawbridge, the road in front of him, as he's driving down this bridge, the road in front of him just sort of seems to drop away. And what had happened was, the guy who was supposed to be ringing the bell and stopping traffic wasn't at his post. And so as he is driving, the bridge begins to open. And so this guy, quickly realizing that the bridge is opening, he will, like rational people will do, slam his foot down on the accelerator. And he will manage to jump that gap between the two bridges in 1952 with a double-decker bus. He got all of his 20 passengers to safety. One of the passengers who was interviewed

after the incident said, "It happened pretty, pretty fast." And then the driver was like, "Hey, everybody, get out of the bus and see what we just did, right? Look at the gap that we just jumped with the bus." Which I guess if you just jumped the double-decker bus over a drawbridge, it seems like you would probably want to brag about that a little bit. And this is what Gunter himself said about the experience. He had been a tank driver. I guess he had told this witness that he had been a tank driver during World War II, and he knew that a tank would have no trouble getting across that gap. And so I guess as he'd been driving his bus for quite a while, he had been thinking, "I wonder if I could do that with a bus," right? And so that's kind of a logical conclusion. It's like,

"Well, I could do this with a tank. Maybe I could do it with a bus." Let me show you just a quick video, Derek has, of the interview with this guy. Congratulations, too, for 46-year-old London bus driver, Albert Gunter, who when faced with a wide edge, jumped his bus to safety. At London Transport Headquarters, he received a 10-pound reward for averting a serious disaster, and when asked how he'd spend it, replied, "Oh, far for me and far for the missus." Kind of seems like a guy who might try to jump his bus over a gap in a drawbridge. Now, as I was reading this story this week, and I originally saw it, I said, "This can't be true," right? And then I looked it up, and it turns out, Reuters even did a small news clip about it in London. Imagine you jump a bus over a drawbridge,

you get 10 pounds and a day off, it seems like maybe the reward could have been a little bit bigger for saving all of his passengers. But can you imagine for a moment that you're a passenger on this bus, realize what is happening, right? It's going to happen fast. All of a sudden, you're just going to go about your day, and the guy just floors the accelerator on the bus, and the next thing you know, you have just leaped over this gap that has sort of appeared to you in the middle of the road, and then, thankfully, you land safely. This is kind of the picture of what happens in Joshua, the 22nd chapter. We're going to begin with this sort of wonderful example, and this call to encourage these two-and-a-half tribes who have now fought for at least five years, maybe as long as seven.

They're getting ready to go home. It's like, "Hey, everything's great." They get ready to go home. It's an exciting, wonderful thing, and then we read that last verse by verse 12. The rest, the ten-and-a-half tribes, are now ready to declare war upon them. And so we begin with this wonderful picture of faithfulness, right? The land has been conquered. Battles have been won, for the most part. The inheritance has been divided. And the two-and-a-half tribes that live on the eastern side of the Jordan River get to go home. Joshua will send them home, and he's going to do two things. First of all, he's going to praise their example. He will talk in verses 1 through 4 about how they had been faithful to the promises they had made. And this is an important thing, because back when they first take this land, while Moses was still leading the people,

these two tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they have a lot of livestock. And so they will come to Moses, and they will say, "Hey, we just conquered this strip of land right next to the promised land. Is it okay if we settle there?" And Moses immediately responds with, "Absolutely not." He said, "That's not a good idea, because we're going to need your help taking the rest of Canaan, and you're all going to be living in your cities and your flocks, and you're going to be too comfortable, and you're not going to want to come help." And they will make a promise to Moses at that time that when Israel is ready to enter the land, they will leave behind their families, and they will march with Israel across the Jordan into the promised land to fight for them.

You can read all of that in Numbers, the 32nd chapter. And here we find in Joshua 22, they have been faithful to that promise. The promise they've made to Moses, the promises they have made to Joshua, and ultimately this promise has been made to God. But they've also been faithful in patience. We read through Joshua, and we see these battles. They're happening quickly. You've got Jericho, Ai, the problems back to Ai. All the kings gather, and they fight them in the south, they fight them in the north, and we're all done, and the battles seem to be over. But in reality, these battles probably take somewhere between five and seven years. So can you imagine already having a home? Already being established. Having your flocks and your herds and your family, and you leave for five or seven years.

It would be hard to not say at some point, "I've been here long enough. It's time to go home." But they faithfully have patience through the entirety of this campaign. And I think the testimony of their faith radically differs from what many of us think when we are faced with these situations. For example, patience. "I've been here long enough. I've waited long enough. I've done enough." But these tribes are faithful, not just at the beginning, but they're faithful to the end. And they're radically countercultural. Because many of us, when there's something that is being passed out, the goal for us is to get what we want and we deserve. And we've seen this so clearly. Every time there's a shortage, what do we all do? We run out and stock up on stuff. During the pandemic, when there was no toilet paper on the shelves,

what are people doing? "Well, I've got my toilet paper." And as eggs sometimes are in short supply now, "Well, I've got some here." We think about, "What can I get for myself?" But these two-and-a-half tribes, in their faithfulness, and this is part of what Joshua is commending them for, is they didn't simply look at themselves and say, "Hey, we got our portion of the land. Everybody else is on their own." But rather, unselfishly, impatiently, and in keeping with their promises, they went to find it. Then you'll find that Joshua will remind them that faithfulness is not just simply end at the end of this battle. Right, for so many of us, when we get done with something, our thought is, "All right, I'm all finished. Let me sit down. Let me rest. The work is done."

And what Joshua will say to them next is that the work for you is not finished. Hear what he says in verses 4 through 6. In verse 5, they'll say, "Be careful to observe the commandment and the law of Moses, the servant of the Lord, commands you to love the Lord your God, to walk in on His ways, to keep His commandments, to cling to Him and serve Him with all of your heart and soul." And quite simply, he says, "I want you to see what God has said. I want you to love God. I want you to obey Him, but not in your own strength." That in this, you cling to God. So when things get difficult, when you get tired, when you get frustrated, when you get fearful, you cling to God. He doesn't just simply say, "Obey." He says, "See what God has said. Love the God who has said it. Obey the authority of God and hold on to Him in the midst of that obedience."

And so with these very, very encouraging words, what they do is they begin to journey home. And Brent read about this journey, right? It has to be an emotional moment. You're leaving the men that you have fought with for five to seven years, but you're also filled with anticipation because you get to go home. And if you've ever been away from home for an extended period of time, we know this feeling, right? I miss my house. I miss my dogs. I miss sleeping in my own bed. Sometimes I miss my kids or my wife, right? There's a lot of things we look at when we've been away for an extended period of time. We say, "I wish I just was home." These guys have been feeling that way for quite a while. This has to be an emotional moment. And so they leave their brothers

with whom they have fought, and they head home toward their families. And they don't come empty-handed. Livestock, gold, silver, bronze, all the clothes. And then this is where the bridge, I think, begins to rise. Where we begin to see the gap that is ahead of these two-and-a-half tribes. Things have been going well. They've been blessed for their faithfulness. They've been encouraged in faithfulness. They have a whole bunch of loot, and they're getting to go home and see their families. What can be better? And here the gap begins to approach. In verse 10 it says, "As they were approaching, before they have gone over the river to their land, they will stop on the side of the Jordan, and they will build an altar of imposing signs." And very simply, the returning tribes, as they build this giant altar, the tribes who stayed behind in the land, take a significant

exception to this. And every tribe gathers at the house of God to come and to make war against these two-and-a-half tribes. And so this next section, and the section I want us to see this morning, we're going to see this accusation, this response, and then hopefully as we unpack it, we'll learn something about resolving conflict and being faithful peacemakers. And so they begin with a delegation. I want you to hear this, verses 13 and 14. "Then the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben, and the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and the land of Gilead, Phineas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, and one, every one of them, head of a family among the clans of Israel." So just a quick note about Phineas. We're going to talk about him in

a moment. He's a pretty interesting individual, and it's a pretty big statement that he is the priest leading this delegation, and we will see why in just a moment. So what I want to do, just briefly, is I want to read sort of the two sides of this confrontation, and then we'll spend just a few moments looking at it. And so these delegation arrived, and here is what they will say. "Thus says the whole congregation of Israel: "What is this breach of faith you have committed against the God of Israel, in turning away from this day, following the Lord, by building for yourselves an altar in this day in the rebellion against the Lord? Have we not had enough in the sin of Peor, in the rebellion in which we have not yet cleansed ourselves,

and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord? That you too must cause a plague upon the congregation of the Lord? That you too must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if you too rebel against the Lord today, then tomorrow he will be angry with the congregation of Israel. But now in the land of your possession, now if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord's land, where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take for yourself a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or make us rebels by building for yourselves an altar. Other than the altar of the Lord our God, did not Achan, the son of Zerah, break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel.

He did not perish alone for his iniquity. Here's the response a few verses later. The Mighty One, God the Lord, these are the people being accused. The Mighty One, God the Lord, He knows, let Israel itself know, if it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. Or if we did so, to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings upon it, may the Lord Himself take vengeance. No. We did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, "What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad.

You have no portion in the Lord." So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord. Therefore, we said, "Let us build an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, peace offerings, so that your children will not say to our children in the time to come, you have no portion in the Lord." And we thought if this should be said to us or to our descendants in the time to come, we should say, "Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but to be a witness between us and you.

Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn away this day from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, sacrifice other than the altar of the Lord, of our God that stands before his tabernacle." First thing you see is this is fueled by fear. For the Eastern tribes, it's uncertainty about what the future holds. It's uncertainty about their place in Israel. In verse 24, they will literally say, "We're afraid of what will happen in the future. We're afraid of how you will treat us. We will be afraid because we will be separated from you." The reality is their fear has some basis. If you go back to verse 11, it will say, "This is on Israel's side." The other tribes say, "This is on Israel's side of the river." Right?

People on the other side of the river are Israel too. But the people coming to accuse have already in their minds kind of said, "It's us over here and them over there." And so this fear that those two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River have sparked them to build this altar as a witness to who they are and where they came from. And the western tribes are afraid as well. Right? They're afraid of what this altar symbolizes. Are they straying from the Lord? They're gone. They will talk about the sin of Peor. It's in Numbers 25. And what will happen is Midianite women will come down to the men of the Lord, and they will engage in immorality. God will send a plague upon the people. And during that plague, 25,000 will die.

And the people who are saying this are pretty familiar with what is happening. Because Phineas, the current high priest, and we'll see this more in a minute, was sort of the tip of his spear in the midst of this rebellion. But then they also say, remember what happened to Achan? In his rebellion, he wasn't the only one to suffer. Everyone around him suffered. And so they, in fear, approach the tribe and say, "We don't know what you're doing, but we don't like it. And we are afraid because we knew what happened in Peor. We knew what happened with Achan. And we're afraid." And what do you see when people get afraid, right? Oftentimes it leads to arguments and confrontations. And one of the things that has to happen when we begin to face conflict is not just what the surface conflict is.

On the surface it seems like you built an altar and our son were coming to attack you. But underneath all of it is this fear that we're going to be pushed aside, and this fear that we're going to get in trouble for something that you have done. And also this text serves so beautifully to illustrate the wisdom of what is happening in Proverbs 18:17. Proverbs 18:17 says this, "The one who states his case first seems right until the other comes along and examines him." And so we hear these joyful, faithful soldiers going home, and they decide to build an altar on the west side of the Jordan. We might think, "Well, Abraham built altars. Jacob built altars. Isaac built altars. This might be a good thing for them to do." And in the next couple of verses we read that all the tribes are about to declare war.

We go, "Oh, we've heard more of the story. Maybe things aren't what they seem about that altar." And when the tribes on the west side of Jordan begin to express their doubts of their strength, they go, "Oh, yeah. Maybe it's not a good thing. They deserve to have this war brought upon them." And then the tribes on the east will go, "Hey, we're not able to get a sacrificed witness." And we realize these guys are wrong, and it goes back and forth. And what I'm saying is that when conflict comes, oftentimes we are so quick to jump right into the middle of it. And as Proverbs says, "The one who states his case believes right until the other comes to examine him." And my point with this is that we don't just simply ignore fights.

We don't ignore accusations by simply saying that the people will do this. They say, "We don't know the whole story. I'm not going to get involved." That's not the point. The point is that these tribes do is the right thing. They dig into. Here is our concerns. Here is our response. They dig into the fact of the matter. They expend energy, emotional and physical, to get to the bottom of this. They seek to solve this problem. And what we find is that at the heart of all of this, the tribes in the East, they didn't communicate what they were doing, and the tribes in the West simply assumed that these men they had served with for the last five to seven years had somehow turned into raging pagans. And even though in these verses we see some kind of unflattering accusations from both the East and the West about each other,

the way that they go about resolving this conflict is a wonderful model and a wonderful help to us. You see, the Western tribes, as they come, they are seeking to stand and to fight for righteousness, and they do so together. If you read through these words, it's not this is my opinion, this is what my group thinks, it's this as a congregation where we stand, and as they stand for righteousness, and I think this is so important, they stand together and they stand united. They are serious about battling sin. And one of the reasons we know that is because of this high priest by the name of Phineas. Remember the situation that the Moabite women have come down, the Israelite men have gone and begun to engage in immorality. God sends a plague, and what we find in Numbers is that a group of the righteous have gathered outside the tabernacle, and they're calling out to God.

And at the time Phineas was a priest, but he was not the high priest. And as they're doing this, a young man and a Moabite woman just walk right by everybody, and Phineas at this point has had enough. And I don't know where he gets the spear, maybe from one of the guards of the tabernacle. Maybe he brought it with him. But for whatever reason, he grabs a spear, he goes, follows these two, and he takes care of business. And the plague of God stops in that moment. Phineas has a reputation for being rather pointed in how he handles conflict. And this is who they send in their delegation. Right? So when they show up, and the delegation is aware of that, right? They come and they say, "You guys are about to engage in the sin of Peor." And they bring the guy who ended God's wrath against his people.

And they're kind of like maybe going, "Hey, remember how that ended? We have that guy with us right now." But there's more to Phineas' story. He doesn't just stand for righteousness by taking a direct action. Listen to the call that God puts upon the life of Phineas. This is God speaking to Moses about Phineas. "Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and his descendants after him, the covenant of the perpetual priesthood." Because he was jealous for his God and he made atonement for the people of Israel. God doesn't say, "You're going to be a priest because you're good at spear." God says, "I am making you an instrument of my peace." And so they come serious with a guy who has seriously dealt with situations in a serious way.

But also, the leader of this delegation is one who brings peace. He's been sent as an emissary of peace. You see, to the western tribes, sin is not a joke. It's not a challenge to see how close we can get. It's not a game. It's meant to be dealt with and dealt with decisively. And they wisely come to investigate beforehand in a serious but also peaceful manner. Now I think the biggest part of these western tribes, the most surprising part, and the part that I think startles me the most is what happens next. You see, their ultimate goal is to restore, not to punish. And these western tribes will look at the eastern tribes and say, "If you're building an altar on this side, and the land you live in is unclean," what they will say, "It's so remarkable."

They will say, "Come over into the Lord's land, where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves possession among them." They say, "Come live with us." Now, that may not seem like a big deal. It's a big land. But remember, in order to bring these tribes into their land, they're going to have to give up a significant portion of their own land. You see, they are coming, not just at the threat of war, but they're trying to plead for peace by saying, "Look, if this sin, whatever it is you're involved in, if you need to get away from it, come to us. We will sacrifice our land. We will sacrifice our inheritance for you to come and to be with us." Think about how revolutionary that is in terms of sin, right? We're really great at condemning sin. Here's how bad you're doing.

Here's all the bad things you're doing. Here's a list of why God is angry at you. But how many of us will do like this delegation, and not simply condemn, but seek to make peace and to bring people out of sin and close to us? Dr. Eric Mason said this this past week, "The difference between a divisive person and a unifier is one points out real or perceived issues without a desire to aid in change, while the other has a heart for comprehensive resolution." All this sin, it's easy to mutter and talk about and gossip and separate from them, but that's how this delegation does. What do they do? They call them into their lives and closer. The eastern tribe could have responded like maybe we would with anger, maybe with denial. Sometime it was attributed to the CIA, maybe not, right?

It's a church that says deny everything, admit nothing, and make counter accusations, right? They could have done that in the midst of this, right? Well, you did this, and you did this, and we didn't do anything wrong, and they could have shifted, but they don't. The people being confronted, what they do is they humbly respond, right? They could have said, "Hey, we know what we're doing. Why didn't you ask us?" But they don't. They appeal to God's judgment. They appeal to the judgment of those who are hearing. They are open and honest and vulnerable, and they look at the tribes and they say, "We're afraid of what the future holds." And you see this picture of conflict, where one group takes sin and righteousness seriously, not just in judgment, but in restoration. And another group who pours out their hearts in a vulnerable manner, not putting up a mask, not hiding behind a wall,

but lovingly saying, "This is where our heart is." And the end of this is restoration. Right? Imagine the conflicts that we find ourselves in, whether it's in the church or in our families or in our life, where if we took a stand for righteousness, but not with the idea to punish, but the idea to restore. How can I bring you out? How can I help you? How can I bring you? And when we're confronted, instead of immediately becoming defensive and angry, that we pour out our hearts. Maybe saying, "You've got this wrong. I'm not doing anything wrong." Or pour out our hearts, saying, "This is where I'm struggling and where I'm afraid." Despite the fact both sides have gotten a little confused about what's happening, the way that they deal with the struggle is beautiful and wonderful.

And you hear Phineas, son of Eleazar, the high priest, say this, "Today we know that the Lord is in our midst." Right? They've talked a lot about God. But Phineas, in this situation, his response is that in this reconciliation, God is in the midst. When you stand for righteousness, when you pour out your heart to your brothers, that God is in the midst bringing about this reconciliation. God has been and His hand has been in this the entire time. How can you and I address sin? With courage. Only if God is in our midst. How can the accused be humble and vulnerable? God has to be in our midst. How can we work at restoration? God has to be in our midst. Because God is in the middle of this all. It has a happy ending.

It has a safe landing on the other side. And what's remarkable is that God has been at work through a merciful and faithful high priest named Phineas. I love that in the middle of all of this is Phineas, a high priest with both judgment and peace. And he comes pleading for peace, not through the threat of force, but by saying, "Let us reconcile." Listen to Hebrews 3. Therefore, holy brothers who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the apostle and high priest of our confession. Jesus, as he begins his ministry, comes to the Jordan, right in this area, is baptized in this river that serves as a dividing line, and crosses over into the other side, into the wilderness to battle for righteousness. He comes in his first sermon, he says, "I will preach good news to the other side according to the prophecy to those on the other side of the Jordan."

He doesn't come with a spear for judgment, but he is pierced with a spear for our judgment. He doesn't come to refute accusations, but he comes to pick up your accusation and to pay the price for your sin. In Ephesians 3:16, the purpose in this is that he might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. Jesus makes peace, not by bringing a spear, but being pierced by a spear, not by leveling accusations, but taking the true accusations leveled against us and paying the price for our sins. And in doing so, our High Priest makes peace between us and God, and he makes peace between you and I possible. Christians, Jesus has called us to be this delegation of peace. Just as Phineas brings a delegation to speak peace and restoration to those they thought are going astray,

Jesus has called his church to be his delegation in this world to speak the peace of the gospel into a world that is filled with accusation. If you are not a Christian this morning, Jesus comes to the cross to take your sin and to bring you into that peace. Let's pray. Father, thank you for grace and for Jesus, for hope. Thank you that we have a great high priest who has suffered the blow of justice that we deserve and has poured out his grace upon us. He did not come to accuse us, but to save us. May we as a church be his delegation of peace in this world. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'm going to sing a song. We're going to go ahead and sing "This is Amazing Grace." Let's be standing.

Who breaks the power of sin and darkness? Whose love is mighty and so much stronger? The king of glory, the king above all kings. Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder? Who leaves us breathless in awe and wonder? The king of glory, the king above all kings.

Who brings our chaos back into order? Who makes the orphan a son and daughter? The king of glory, the king above all kings. Who rules the nations with truth and justice? Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance. The king of glory, the king above all kings. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. That you would bear my cross. You would lay down your life. That I would be set free. Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. You would lay down your life that I would be. Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. You chastised for trying to come up too soon. All right, so yeah, I've got a couple announcements, and then we're going to pray, and I'll read a verse of Scripture, and we'll sing the doxology.

So, two announcements. Wednesdays at 7:00. We're going through the book of James, so that's here. It starts at 7:00. And then, like it's been said several times, we've got the men's breakfast coming up this coming Saturday. It's at 9:30. And then we'll have a little video that we'll watch, have a little discussion, because what guy doesn't love to sit around and talk about their feelings? So, we're going to do that a little bit. Looking forward to it. I know, personally, I've got several friends that are coming that are not part of this congregation, several of them that aren't even Christians, but, you know, they're my friends. So, when I said, "Hey, I'm doing this," they're like, "Sure, I'll come and get free breakfast." And I actually do have some friends that do like to sit around and talk about their feelings, so they'll actually enjoy that.

So, yeah, I mean, if you're able to come, it's great. It should be a good time. We're going to have some good food. We will have sausage gravy, Neal, so we are going to make sure we have that now. So, come talk to me, talk to Brandon. We're doing a really awesome job planning it, and next time we'll let the ladies plan it, and it'll be a men's breakfast, and it'll probably be even better. So, yeah, that'll be this coming Saturday at 9:30. Alright, so I'm now going to read from Psalm 29:10-11, and then we'll sing the doxology. The Lord sits enthroned over the flood. The Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people. May the Lord bless his people with peace. To whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Let's pray. Let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Let's pray. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Let's pray.