Transcript Numbers 23:19-23 - Asheville church of Christ

Numbers 23:19-23
19 “God
is not a man, that He should lie, Truthful
Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Unchanging
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Faithful
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
Absolute
Authority
has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.
Two
Present
Possible
The LORD his God is with him,
And the shout of a King is among them.
Meanings
22 God brings them out of Egypt;
Conquering
He has strength like a wild ox.
Powerful
21 “He
God Not With Them Otherwise
• Joshua 7:1-9 Israel was defeated at AI
“Israel has sinned, and they have also
transgressed My covenant which I
commanded them.” (Joshua 7:11)
• 1 Samuel 4 Israel defeated by Philistines.
“And when the ark of the covenant of the
LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted
so loudly that the earth shook.” (verse 5)
• “…the ark of God was captured.” (verse 11)
God is with His people ONLY when they are with Him!
Isaiah Foresaw a Visible King
• “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,
and shall call His name Immanuel (Is. 7:14).
• “For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end.” (Is. 9:6-7)
Zechariah Foresaw the King
Among His People!
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
Birth of the King
• Promise: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb
and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the
Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of
His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of
Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
(Lk.1:31-33)
• Announcement to Shepherds: “Then the angel said to
them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For
there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)
In the Flesh He Proved His Power:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Over Nature by stilling storms, etc.
Over Disease by His Healing
Over Satan by casting out Demons.
Over Sin by His sinless life.
Over Death! Apostles
But He
Died! Him.
Recognized
But He was raised from the dead “and
declared to be the Son of God with power
according to the Spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead. (Rom. 1:4)
He Lives as Our Reigning King
• [God] “raised Him from the dead and seated Him
at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far
above all principality and power and might and
dominion, and every name that is named, not
only in this age but also in that which is to come”
(Eph. 1:20-21).
• Before He ascended, He promised to be with His
people “till the end of the world” (Mt. 28:20)
• “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he
who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1
John 5:5)
He is a Conquering King!
Three Great Battles we Face
1. Against Satan
2. Against the Flesh
3. Against Death
1. Our Battle Against Satan
• While we are citizens of Heaven, “the whole world
lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 Jn.5:19)
• We must “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12).
• 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places. (Ephesians 6:12)
• Satan seems to be winning!
Our Changing Culture
How can we hope
Alcohol
Gambling
for victory in this
Fornication
war?
Fashion
Abortion
Divorce
The End
Movies
Television
is Not Yet!
Homosexuality
2 Tim. 3:13
Profanity
Theology
“The Shout of a King is Among Us!”
• As Stephen died he saw “the heavens opened and the
Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
(Acts 7:57)
• In Corinth Paul saw Him in a vision saying, “I am with
you, and no one will attack you to hurt you” (Acts 18:10)
• Facing death, Paul wrote, “At my first defense no one
stood with me, but all forsook me.…But the Lord stood
with me and strengthened me” (2 Tim. 4:16-17).
• The book of Revelation reassures those who overcome
and it climaxes with the “shout of a king” (Rev. 19:11-16)
11 Now
I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.
And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and
in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes
were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many
crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except
Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood,
and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the
armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,
followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth
goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the
nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of
iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe
and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND
(Revelation 19:11-16)
LORD OF LORDS.
2. Our Battle Against the Flesh
• “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary
to one another, so that you do not do the
things that you wish” (Gal. 5:17).
• “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but
to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace”
(Rom. 8:6).
• Satan is constantly finding new ways to
strengthen the flesh!
Paul Experienced the Conflict
For I delight in the law of God according to the
inward man. 23 But I see another law in my
members, warring against the law of my mind, and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is
in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death?
“The Shout of a King is Among Us!”
“I thank God—
through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Our King can Deliver Us!
• ”For in that He Himself has suffered, being
tempted, He is able to aid those who are
tempted” (Heb. 2:18).
• “The Lord is faithful, who will establish you and
guard you from the evil one” (2 Thess. 3:3).
• Romans 8:35-37; Philippians 4:13
• The surest way to overcome is to keep our eye
on our King, but the surest way to fail is to lose
sight of Him.
3. Our Battle with Death
• But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul
lives, there is but a step between me and
death.” (1 Sam. 20:3)
• “LORD, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am. (Psalm 39:4)
• “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after
this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27).
• Death is an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26)
• Unbelievers see it as the ultimate tragedy.
Robert Ingersoll’s Speech
“Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks
of two eternities. We strive in vain to look beyond the
heights. We cry aloud, and the only answer is the echo of
our wailing cry. From the voiceless lips of the unreplying
dead there comes no word; but in the night of death
hope sees a star and listening love can hear the rustle of
a wing.
“He who sleeps here, when dying, mistaking the
approach of death for the return of health, whispered with
his latest breath, ‘I am better now.’ Let us believe, in spite
of doubts and dogmas, of fears and tears, that these dear
words are true of all the countless dead.”
The Believer’s View is Different
• “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
• “…the righteous hath hope in his death” (Prov.14:32 KJV)
• Paul: “…the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought
the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that
Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His
appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:6-8)
Why the Difference?
“The shout of a King is
Among us!”
The Shout is Heard in Scripture
• “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of
sin is the law.
•
But thanks be to God, who gives us
the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Shout is Heard in Scripture
“If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that
we who are alive and remain until the coming of the
Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
• When Jesus stood at Lazarus’ tomb
And none believed He had the power,
Despite their grief and their disbelief,
He commanded, “Take away the stone.”
• When Jesus lay in Joseph’s tomb
And none believed He had the power,
True Love spoke forth in a Father’s voice,
And the angel took away the stone.
• When I shall lie within my tomb,
And none believe He has the power,
The Lord, Himself, will descend from heaven
with a shout…
to take away the stone.
Robert L. Morrison
When the King comes, He will
punish those still in Satan’s
kingdom.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-9
“…it is a righteous thing with God to repay with
tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give
you who are troubled rest with us when the
Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance
on those who do not know God, and on those
who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and
from the glory of His power,