Author: evangelist_breland

Numbers 27:1-11

God does all things in His own time and way to accomplish His purposes. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

The old generation of Israelites had mostly died out, and now the new generation was being prepared to enter the long-awaited promised-land. God ordered Moses and Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, to take a census of the entire congregation of Israel twenty years old and up that were able to go to war (26:1-2).

Five sisters, who clearly exemplified faith and courage: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, daughters of a deceased man named  Zelophehad who had no sons, stood together before Moses, other leaders, and all the congregation of Israel and made their request known (vv.1-3). The old adage says “together we stand; divided we fall.” Scripture says “ye have not, because ye ask not.” These sisters asked, “Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son” (v.4)? So “Moses brought their case before the Lord” (v.5). The first step to accomplishing anything is to take it to the Lord; God does answer prayers. Their request for the possession of their father’s inheritance was unchallenged; they were granted the desires of their heart. In every generation God has used women to impact change against all odds.

1Peter 1:3-5

Peter continued addressing these Jewish and Gentile believers, who were scattered throughout the world because of persecution. He declared to them that they were the “elect” (v.2), the chosen of God. While on his way to the garden, Jesus told his disciples,“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” (John 15:16, NRSV). In spite of persecution, believers are kingdom builders and have many reasons to praise God. If we had ten thousand tongues, we could never give Him the thanks He deserves for His infinite mercy.

He has given us a living hope. Our former hope, the worldly hope, was dead and offered us no chance of eternal life. God’s gift of a new birth through the resurrected Christ is to an “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (v.4). Believers, the heirs of the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus Christ, have an inheritance that is imperishable. The Amplified Bible describes it as being “beyond the reach of change.” All “thanks go to the Father, who has made us suitable to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints” (Colossians 1:12). Peter further describes this glorious inheritance as being undefiled, which comes from the Greek word amiantos. There is no bodily imperfection and nothing unbecoming in his life and conduct. “It does not fade;” it’s everlasting and “reserved in heaven for you, who are being protected and shielded by the power of God through your faith for salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time” (v.5, Amp Bible). What a blessed assurance this is!

1 Peter 1:3 (NRSV)

God’s elect – both Jewish and Gentile believers – were scattered throughout the world because of persecution on every hand. As a result of their persecution and dispersion, the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread throughout the world. The reality is we will suffer since Christ suffered and died for us. Yet, even in the midst of our suffering, we have the blessed assurance of his comfort – “the God of mercies and the God of all consolation” (2 Corinthians 1:3b). We’re reminded in 1 John 3:13 that we are not to marvel if the world hates us. Recall that Cain showed no love for his little brother Abel. He killed him out of jealousy because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected his. As peculiar treasure, we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44) and count our trials and tribulations all joy (James 1:2). They are to strengthen us so we can encourage someone else who may be going through the same thing.

He goes on to say that all praise goes to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” for His abundant mercy by which He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (v.3). Thank God for His mercy; He is worthy to be blessed. We have been spiritually transformed to live because he lives. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Thank God for having mercy on us. Not only are we born again, but we also have living hope. Through faith in the resurrected Jesus, “all things are possible for those who believe and trust” (Mark 9:23), and with him “there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 24:14b).

Psalm 46:1-3, NRSV

Can I get a witness that God is a well proved help in trouble? The longer we live, the more seasons we experience. Therefore, we have a testimony; it should be that God is a well proved help in trouble. We have experienced seasons of good and evil. There may have been seasons of fear, uncertainty, joblessness, financial lack, anger, disappointment, sickness, and other cares that cause us uneasiness and doubt. Whatever our seasons of need are – mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual – God is our supplier, and He never runs short. Because He knows all about our troubles, there is nothing too hard for Him; we just have to trust Him. We must “be still, and know that He is God” (v.10)!

Here the psalmist begins by telling us “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble or a very well proved help in trouble” (v.1). He is our   fortress that the enemy cannot breach. The hymn writer asks “Where Could I Go? Oh, where could I go seeking a refuge for my soul? Needing a friend to save me in the end, where could I go but to the Lord?” There’s no other who can save us. He is our strength that the Goliaths of the world cannot out muscle. When we face the troubles of life, He gives us strength to carry on. Oh, what joy it is for children of God to know that no matter what season we’re in, God is here through thick and thin! “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth (Psalm 145:18, AMP). “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

The psalmist concludes these three verses, writing, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, the mountains shake in the heart of the sea (v.2); its waters roar and foam, and the mountains tremble with its tumult, Selah” (v.3). Troubles may come on every hand in every way, but we are not to be afraid   because we have the assurance that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble or a very well proved help in trouble.”

Hebrews 11:5-6 (NRSV)

Our relationship with God is rooted and grounded in faith. “We walk by faith, not by sight.” We are not saved by the things that we see for they are temporary. We are saved by those things that are not seen – those things that are eternal. That’s why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen (2 Corinthians 4:18). Isaiah says that the grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever (Isaiah 40:8).

Enoch is an example of one who walked confidently and steadfastly with God. His relationship with God spanned a 300-year period. As he walked with God every day, I can imagine that he shared much with the Father – many happy times and sad times, many successes and failures, many times of peace and times of trouble, and etc. No matter what the circumstances were, Enoch didn’t break his faith-stride; he continued to walk with God. His living by faith was a testimony that even before he was taken to heaven, that he had walked with God and pleased Him. It was by faith that Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him” (v. 5).

 Just as Enoch walked by faith and pleased God, so must believers today. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him” (v. 6). The promise is that if we seek for Him with all our heart, we will find Him. So not only is faith a necessity, but it is the only means of pleasing Him. He is a jealous God, and it’s all about Him, the object of our faith.