Numbers 1:2
“Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of
Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the
number of their names, every male by their polls;”
God wants the Christian to be a conqueror. He does not want us to
going through life meandering about doing nothing. God has given us His
power so that we can conquer on a daily basis. The verse above is the
beginning of several verses where God prepared Israel to go into Canaan
and conquer it. There are several requirements found in this chapter
that shows us what it takes to be a conqueror.
Leviticus 22:31
“Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.”
A society that has no laws is a society that is filled with chaos.
The foundation of rule and order are laws and the enforcement of those
laws. An organization that has no rules is an organization that is bound
for failure. You must have laws, rules or commandments to keep rule and
order. In the verse above, there are several principles taught that
will help keep rule and order.
Leviticus 10:19
“And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered
their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such
things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day,
should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?”
Moses made a common mistake that people do everyday by jumping to a
conclusion without getting the whole story. He assumed that Aaron and
his sons had not eaten the sin offering as they were supposed to do. His
speculation about those he led could have destroyed a relationship if
Aaron didn't have the right attitude. If Moses would have investigated
the situation and listened to the whole story, he would have never found
himself in an awkward position of walking back his assumptions.
Exodus 4:28
“And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.”
Moses had many excuses when it came to surrendering to God’s
calling upon his life. One of those excuses was valid because it was an
actual weakness in his life. Moses was not an eloquent speaker, but God
showed Moses that overcoming that weakness could actually strengthen him
and the work he had to do. Aaron was the answer to Moses’ weakness by
becoming the mouthpiece for him. Everything God told Moses, he told to
Aaron who relayed it to Pharaoh and God’s people. Certainly, there were
some pitfalls along the way, but Moses and Aaron became a mighty team
that God used to bring Israel to the borders of the Promised Land.
Acts 24:25
“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment
to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I
have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
God never said that it would be convenient to serve Him. In fact, when Jesus called people to follow Him He said, “…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
Felix wouldn't get saved because it was inconvenient. He knew if he got
saved that there were some things that would change, and he surmised
that it would inconvenience his lifestyle. There were four things that
were inconvenient that stood in the way of him getting saved. It was not
that these things were necessary for salvation, but he understood that
God expected these things of a Christian. These four things that Felix
found inconvenient are the same four things that keep most Christians
from selling out for Christ. Let me show them to you.
Genesis 39:7
“And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.”
Anytime a person experiences success, they will have to watch out
for the vultures who will take their success away. In the verse above,
Joseph had a vulture who tried to take away his purity. It says, “And it came to pass after these things…” “These things”
is talking about his success. Thankfully, Joseph handled this vulture
correctly and it benefited him in the long run. Vultures come in
different forms, but each vulture will destroy you and the success God
has given if you don't watch out for them. Let me show you three
vultures that you will have to watch out for and how to kill them.
Genesis 47:9
“And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my
pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days
of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the
years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”
The Scriptures consistently compare life to a pilgrimage. When Jacob talked about his life he said, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years…” When God talked about the heroes of the faith He said about them in Hebrews 11:13, “…that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” God encouraged the Christian in 1 Peter 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts…”
God is teaching the Christian that we are not citizens of this Earth,
but we are citizens of Heaven. We then need to live our lives in such a
manner that we make the most of our pilgrimage on this Earth. There are
four things you need to keep in mind if you are going to make the most
of this pilgrimage.
Genesis 32:6
“And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy
brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with
him.”
Jacob found himself in a situation that he hoped would never
happen. That situation was that Esau was coming to meet him. Jacob had
successfully avoided this situation for years, but now the thing that he
feared was about ready to become reality. His brother was coming to
meet him with four hundred men, and the only thing that Jacob could
think of was that he was coming to kill him. Jacob’s problem was that he
thought he could avoid his unresolved issues, but he found out that
unresolved issues must be resolved for you live a peaceful life. There
are four lessons that must be learned to resolved unresolved issues.
John 16:7
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
Several times throughout John 16, Jesus used the words, “these things.” These things that Jesus was talking about were what they would face when He left them. Jesus knew that His time on Earth was short, and He wanted to prepare them so they would continue on after He was gone.
John 9:3
“Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
The disciples asked Jesus, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”
This was the common thought in those days when someone had a physical
impairment. The foolishness of this thought was that they asked if this
man was born blind because he sinned. How could someone sin before they
were even born? To help the disciples see this from His perspective He
said, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”