May 18, 2010

May 18, 2010 Numbers 27

Families matter to God. He desires a godly heritage be passed on through families from generation to generation. In the case of land ownership for the children of Israel in the promised land, that land ownership was to be passed on through the families. But how do you divide it among your children? When your children marry, to whose family does it belong? How do you trace it? The solution for Israel was to divide it equally among sons. Thus when my son would marry, he would have no claim upon the land of his wife’s family. When my daughter would marry, her husband would have no claim upon my land. Zelophehad had no sons. Was it right that there would be no one to carry on his heritage? His daughters asked a good question. Why couldn’t they receive his portion, so that he could have something to pass on. Ultimately, the land was a gift from God. It is desirable before the Lord that a man be able to pass on the gift that the Lord gives to him.

Families matter to God. He desires a godly heritage be passed on through families. It is different today. We are not passing on land. But he does desire that we pass on a godly heritage. If I pass on anything to my kids, I hope it is an experiential knowledge of the glory of the Lord. I may or may not have land of money to give them, but I hope they have experienced Him. If I can do that, I will have given them more than Bill Gates could possibly dream of passing on to his children. I serve a glorious King. I want to pass His glory on to my children, my children’s children, even my great grandchildren. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

John 6:1-21

I have a sister-in-law and brother-in-law that live in a North Philadelphia suburb. My wife's family all live in the area. We usually spend Christmas day north of Philly. I only go there once a year. I can never remember how to get there. There are so many streets, so many exits, so many turns, I get really confused. I have my brother-in-law send me directions. He knows how all the signs read at each exit. Thank goodness for signs. Without them I'd be really lost. So many streets give me a vague recollection that they might be the right one. But I often find out when I see the sign that it is the wrong one. Jesus came to show us the Father. He performed many signs with the express purpose of authenticating who He was.

The multitude followed Him because of the signs, not because of who He was. Ever thought about this meal recorded by John where He multiplied the loaves and fishes from the lunch of one boy? What was it like to break some off and hand it to the person next to you? Wouldn't it be amazing to break it and find that the broken piece grew as large as the one you gave away? How did it taste? Did it taste just as the boy's mother had prepared it? If so, I hope she was a good cook. If not, did the boy notice that it tasted better than the lunch his mom usually made for him? If you were part of the multitude and experienced this miracle and saw these signs, what would you do? You'd probably do exactly what this multitude wanted to do. They wanted to make Him the political king.

But Jesus wanted none of that. That was a much less glorious goal than that for which He came. It was a familiar street but a dead end. At this point He came not to remake political kingdoms but to remake hearts. He did not come to make a structure for a kingdom but to make people fit for the Kingdom. The signs pointed to something beyond the physical. Sure they included the physical but they pointed to a spiritual change that He required of us all. And He made it possible. The signs point to Him. The multitude is content to take that exit that says, "Easy Street". It looks vaguely familiar and it looks right. It doesn't matter to the multitude whether they find Him on Easy Street. It only mattered that the street was easy. What would it profit them to find Easy Street but not find Him? Nothing. His is the only lasting glory. His is the only worthy exit. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john