Sermon Tone Analysis

NUMBERS

1:1-54 - ‘Every man able to go forth to war’: This is the key phrase in verses 1-46.

God is looking for ‘soldiers’: Soldiers of Christ!

To live for Christ is to be engaged in warfare.

It is spiritual warfare.

We need ‘the whole armour of God’ (Ephesians 6:10-20).

We must remember that ‘the weapons of our warfare are not worldly’.

They have ‘divine power’.

They are ‘powerful weapons from God’.

They are ‘mighty through God’ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

The Levites were to lead worship (47-54).

The battle is the Lord’s (2 Chronicles 20:15).

We will never be strong ‘soldiers of Christ’ unless we are learning to worship the Lord.

Worship lies at the very heart of the life of God’s people.

Without worship, we are weak.

Worshipping God, we will grow ‘strong’.

We will ‘firmly resist’ the enemy.

We will ‘take action’ for God (Daniel 11:32).

2:1-34 - ‘The Lord said to Moses’: These words appear more than eighty times in Numbers.

Let your life be centred on the Word of the Lord - Listen, Read, Study, Memorize, Meditate!

God’s people were ‘facing the tent of meeting on every side’ (2).

There were to be no gaps in the ranks.

We are not to pull in different directions.

We are to pull together.

Everyone has their place.

All who are willing to serve the Lord will find a place in His service.

Let us be united in worship and witness.

Without this spirit of co-operation, the work of the Lord will fail.

Each of us needs to be ‘in position’ (17) - on the Lord’s Day for worship and on other occasions, when we are called upon to ‘serve the Lord with gladness’ (Psalm 100:2).

Let our ‘standard’ (17,31) be the Lord - not the world: We are God’s people!

3:1-51 - The Levites were to ‘minister at the tabernacle’ (5-8).

Different people were given different responsibilities.

They were not to compete with each other.

There was to be no overlapping.

One was not to interfere with the work of another.

The call comes from God. ‘Every male from a month old and upward’ (15,24,28,34,39-40,43): Long before we even thought of serving God, He was calling us to be His servants.

God is in control: He determines who will serve Him, and how we will serve Him.

Each of us has a part to play.

The important thing is the whole work of God.

Let each of us be faithful so that the whole work can move forward.

Never forget this: We serve the Lord as a ‘redeemed’ people, for whom Christ has provided ‘redemption’ - ‘we have redemption through His blood’ (44-51; Ephesians 1:7).

4:1-49 - ‘The sons... from thirty years old up to fifty years old’ (2-3,22-23,29-30...): The service of the Lord calls for maturity.

Long before we ever offered ourselves to God, He had His hand upon us.

If, however, we are to prove worthy servants of the Lord, we must press on to spiritual maturity.

Why is it that so many people upon whom God’s hand has been laid early in life never attain their true spiritual status? - They have been distracted.

‘Self’ has intruded where only God should be.

Choose God-centred blessing - not self-centred rebellion.

God is ‘holy’ (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8).

Serving Him is a ‘holy’ calling (4,15,19-20).

In all of our service, one thing must take priority: Worship.

We can ‘put on a performance’.

It can be very impressive.

Without real worship, it means nothing!

5:1-31 - ‘The Lord said...’ (1): Let us hear and obey His Word.

God is holy: His people are not to be defiled (3).

Sin is not merely moral.

It is spiritual.

It is not only a deviation from law.

It is an offence against God - ‘breaking faith with the Lord’ (6).

God is holy: ‘Atonement’ is more than a provision for our need of forgiveness.

It is a ‘restitution... to the Lord’ (8).

Christ’s atoning death does two things: (a) It meets the demands of God’s holiness.

(b) It meets our need of salvation.

We must not do ‘the wrong’ and ‘break faith with the Lord’ (6-7).

We are to obey the Gospel call for ‘faith in our Lord Jesus Christ’: This is ‘repentance’.

We obey God’s ‘command...to repent’ (Acts 20:21; 17:30).

No longer ‘trusting in ourselves that we are righteous’, we confess our sins and look to Christ for mercy (Luke 18:9,13).

6:1-27 - ‘Separate... to the Lord,... Separate... from wine and strong drink’ (2-3): These two thoughts are closely connected in the New Testament - ‘Do not get drunk with wine,... Be filled with the Spirit’ (Ephesians 5:18).

We are to be ‘holy to the Lord’ (8).

‘Consecrated to the Lord’, our whole life must be controlled by one thing: ‘Do all to the glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Motivated by a desire for God’s glory, we will enjoy God's blessing (22-27).

God’s blessing is not a ‘cheap’ thing, something that doesn’t matter very much.

Remember Esau (Genesis 25:29-34).

He couldn’t be bothered.

He couldn’t care less.

God’s blessing meant nothing to him.

He didn’t want God’s blessing.

What did God do? - He gave it to Jacob.

‘The Lord bless you...’: Do you want this?

Or must God find somebody else?

7:1-47 - Why do we bring our offerings to the Lord? - ‘that they may be used in doing the service of the tent of meeting’ (5).

We give ourselves to the Lord - ‘Love so amazing, so divine, Shall have my soul, my life, my all’ - and we ask Him to put our gift to good use - ‘O use me, Lord, use even me, just as Thou wilt, and when, and where’ (Church Hymnary, 437,485).

Why is there so much repetition here?

- God does not look only at the total offering.

He prizes each separate offering.

Each gift expresses the giver’s love for Him.

Let us ‘lay up... treasures in heaven’, bringing our offerings in faith, as an expression of our gratitude to God for His abundant grace.

Which matters most to you? - ‘earth’ or ‘heaven’: ‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (Matthew 6:19-21).

7:48-89 - At the end of this long chapter, we have Communion with God: ‘When Moses went into the tent of the meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat...’ (89).

This is what it’s all about: We ‘draw near to the throne of grace’.

We ‘receive mercy and find grace...’ (Hebrews 4:16).

Listen for God’s Word.

Speak to God in prayer.

So often, the most important things get crowded out.

We lose sight of God - His love, His grace, His mercy.

Religion becomes a burdensome, legalistic thing.

There is no joy in it.

God comes to us in mercy - ready to forgive.

In love, He offers us a new beginning.

By His grace, we can live as the people of God.