Sermon Central
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No Unbelievers Please
Contributed by William R. Nabaza on Jul 12, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: To show that GOD made us His vessels so that we can "hold" or present GOD to this dying world through, in, for the sake of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
I. EXORDIUM:
Are you GOD's vessel?
Yes. Romans 9:21
Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same mass (lump) one vessel for beauty and distinction and honorable use, and another for menial or ignoble and dishonorable use?
II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:
Believers
III. OBJECTIVES:
To show that GOD made us His vessels so that we can "hold" or present GOD to this dying world through, in, for the sake of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
IV. TEXT:
To be a memorial [a warning forever] to the Israelites, so that no outsider, that is, no one not of the descendants of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, lest he become as Korah and as his company, as the Lord said to Eleazar through Moses.
V. THESIS:
Praise, worship and thank You very much LORD JESUS for You are my Perfume and my Potter, you shape me according to Your likeness and appearance.
In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.
VI. TITLE:
No unbelievers please
VII. EXPLICATION:
A. Name : derived from the numberings of Israel
B. Author: Moses (commonly accepted)
C. Date written: 1446 - 1410 B.C.
D. Purpose: To relate the discipline of the wilderness generation, delivered from Egypt, and its purging, in order to prepare its children for a victorious entrance into The Promised Land.—Thompson Chain - Bible Book Outlines
E. To whom written: children of Israel
F. Main Theme: Unbelief bars the entrance to abundant life, Hebrews 3:7-19 — Thompson Chain - Bible Book Outlines
G. Key word: wilderness
H. Key verses: Numbers 14:20-23 (Amplified Bible)
14:20 And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to your word.
14:21 But truly as I live and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord,
14:22 Because all those men who have seen My glory and My [miraculous] signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tested and proved Me these ten times and have not heeded My voice,
14:23 Surely they shall not see the land which I swore to give to their fathers; nor shall any who provoked (spurned, despised) Me see it.
VIII. MAIN BODY:
A. No outsiders please
"To be a memorial [a warning forever] to the Israelites, so that no outsider, that is, no one not of the descendants of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord,"
Incense or "qetoreth" in Hebrew word meaning: fumigation, incense or perfume.
For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:
To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things? [Who is able for such a ministry? We?]
But those to encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, before the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were to be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the full charge of the rites of the sanctuary in whatever was required for the Israelites; and the excluded [one not a descendant of Aaron and called of God] who came near [the sanctuary] was to be put to death.
But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,
The fragrance of CHRIST is spread because of the LORD JESUS CHRIST leading us always in triumph (CHRIST's victories) and spreads these knowledge of GOD everywhere. If a CHRISTian believers stops (for example) witnessing and sharing GOD's WORDS, he will be nothing and will not be able to spread GOD's knowledge to everyone. We are fragrant or perfume holders, we are the clay and the LORD JESUS CHRIST is the Potter and also He is the Perfume (a fragrant incense before GOD) inside of us. If we fail to spread this perfume in this dying world, yes, this world will die because of their sin, but GOD WILL HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE for it. So do our job here on earth as fragrance holder.
O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does? says the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
