Sermon Central
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Your Moral Provision—2 Series
Contributed by Byron Sherman on Aug 17, 2001 (message contributor)
Summary: Part 2 of a 2 part sermon. The 3rd installment in the 5-sermon series describing God’s Provision for the people of Israel as it applies to His Church today. This installment deals with God’s provision for the Moral integrity of His people.
YOUR MORAL PROVISION—II—Joshua 20:1-9
A little boy was attending his first wedding.
After the service his cousin asked him, "How many women can a man marry?"
"Sixteen(16)", was his prompt reply.
"How do u know that?" asked the cousin.
"Easy," the little boy said. "All you have to do is add it up."
Preacher said, "4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer!"
The boys were setting themselves up for moral corruption.
God’s people must be morally pure.
God established Cities of Refuge within Israel.
God insured that the moral uprightness of His people was established.
How is virtue established in God’s people?
Virtue/Moral excellence is established among God’s people.
4—Virtue/Moral excellence is established among God’s people...
Thru PRINCIPLE(:3, 5, 6)
—Explanation:(:3, 5, 6)
:3—“that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, & they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood.”
“Kills”—Life is precious to God
Gen. 9:5-6—““And surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.”
“Unintentional”—Not on purpose
“Premeditation”—Plotted & planned beforehand
“Avenger of Blood”—Officially sanctioned/recognized
:5—“‘Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor without premeditation & did not hate him beforehand.”
“If the avenger pursues”—Possible Avanger would not!
“They shall not deliver”—Protection against wrongful murder
“Hate”—Self-justification
:6—“ ‘And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer shall return to his own city & to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’””
“until the death of ... high priest”
Self-imposed imprisonment upon the mere touching of sin to show its utter sinfulness.
‘partly because the public grief for the loss of so public a person was likely to assuage the private griefs & passions of men,...
The death of the Type of Christ (the true High Priest) is the only mean whereby sins are pardoned, & sinners are set at liberty.
“Then the manslayer shall return”—To his rightful place! In full fellowship with both God & man
—Argumentation:
Ps. 119:15—“I will meditate on Thy precepts, And regard Thy ways.”
Ps. 119:27—“Make me understand the way of Thy precepts, So I will meditate on Thy wonders.”
Ps. 119:45—“And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Thy precepts.”
Ps. 119:104—“From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”
Mat. 15:8-9—“‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’””
Col. 2:8—“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy & empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”
Col. 2:20-22—“If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)--in accordance with the commandments & teachings of men?”
Jn. 15:19—“If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Heb. 5:12—“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, & you have come to need milk & not solid food.”
—Illustration:
Heath left message for Matthew/I forgot to give message/2 days/I apologized to Heath/Principle
Abortion after conception is murder/Based on Christian Principle that the fertilized egg apart from human interference will produce a person & people are made in God’s image.
Smoking-Drinking-Drugs-Excess eating-Pornography/Avoided on Christian Principle that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit & these things hinder & taint God’s temple.
—Application:
?You uphold PRINCIPLES that establish virtue in others?
?Is Moral Excellence established thru you?
5—Virtue/Moral excellence is established among God’s people...
Thru ACCESSIBILITY(:7-8)
—Explanation:(:7-8)
:7—“So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali & Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, & Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
:8— “And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, & Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, & Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.”
