Sermon(Num 17:1-11): Leadership in the church
The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025252218
>> 1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them rods, one for each fathers’ house, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods. Write each man’s name upon his rod, 3 and write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each fathers’ house.” .... 8 And on the morrow Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. ... 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their murmurings against me, lest they die. ....” <<
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Some people like to look down on the rule of grace and love and to rebel against God. Some people like to flatter and obey those who have guns and knives, but, showing their sharp teeth, oppose those who want to rule with gentle and moral character. It is a wrong attitude. You should not be rude to him who teaches you a right way with gentle exhortative words. In particular, we Christians should be more respectful of the rule of the grace of God and the leadership of the grace of the clerics. If you refuse the leadership of sword, you may lose only your life; if you refuse the leadership of grace, you can lose the eternal life. Jesus also warned that those who reject and despise the Holy Spirit who is gracious to humans would lose the chance to repent and perish forever. "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. (Mk 3:28-29)"
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Korah, Dathan and Abiram rejected Moses' rule of grace, banding together against him. The chief leader of Israel was Moses, and Aaron was a priest who helped Moses at that time. Their rejection of the leadership of Moses and Aaron was none other than the rejection of the rule of God who appointed Moses and Aaron. Many people, led by those three, formed a party against Moses and Aaron. They were so guilty because the reason why they rebelled was not because of Moses' and Aaron's corruption but because of their ambition to consolidate their position. People might be allowed to express their discontent with the pastor's sins, mistakes, negligence or incompetence. However it is a crime deserving death penalty to form a clique in the church and to threaten the leader of the church in order to be free from the leader and to occupy higher positions. The 250 key members who followed the three were all burned to death. The 14,700 dissidents who quietly supported them died of the plague later. All of these were a solemn judgment of God. When a man is ill in his soul, he hates and antagonizes the lawful leader God appointed. God judges discontented band by physical sicknesses. Some extremists full of discontent fervently defy and threaten the leaders God appointed. God sent them hot fire and burned them. All the complaints heaped up in our heart are a phenomenon caused by the disease of the soul, so our soul must be cured by the words of God. The unclean passion that burns hot in us must be controled so as not to erupt like volcano but to become a holy passion by receiving the Holy Spirit.
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My brethren, God never permits group leadership. God chooses one man who is filled with the Holy Spirit, and is meek and humble, and gives him full authority. Moses was such a man. After Moses, and when Israel became a kingdom, God appointed one man as a political king, and one man as a high priest, a religious leader. Each of them had absolute authority in politics and in religion. Why doesn't God allow collective leadership? Because the true king is the God himself, and he doesn't need counselors. God appoints a faithful man as his servant and orders him. If there are many leaders who hold power in the kingdom of God, this will make it difficult for God to govern directly, and the kingdom of God will become a human democracy. only the leadership of one man who is meek, humble and faithful like Moses is enough for the church to become a true kingdom of God. I know that the elders (of Korean churches) are trying to establish the church democracy, but it is not the efficient and true constitution of the kingdom of God.
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When the Israelites doubted that God had appointed Moses and Aaron as leaders, God told the twelve tribes to bring rods, one for each tribe, and to write each name of the tribe on each rod, and Aaron for the tribe of Levi. God ordered Moses to put the rods in the tent of meeting before the testimony. And he said, "The rod of the man whom I choose shall sprout; thus I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the people of Israel, which they murmur against you (Moses and Aaron). (v. 5)" By making the dead wood sprout and put forth buds, God showed all Israelites that God himself chose Moses and Aaron. Here the rod means the leadership in the kingdom of God. What God wanted to show by this miracle was who has the lawful leadership in the church. Therefore the rod in the biblical text represents the lawful leadership. The text teaches us what leadership of church is recognized by God.
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1. The leader God acknowledges shows the leadership of miracle.
God worked miracle on the dead dry rod of Aaron. The rod sprouted and put forth buds, and produced blossoms. A servant of Devil does miracle to make people fall into heresy or idolatry in order to destroy them, but a servant of God does miracle to show people the omnipotence of God in order to set their faith on the firm rock. The servant of God is the channel of God's power. The servant of God cast out demons and heals the sick by the power of God. God's servant delivers the church through miracles when the church is in danger. Moses brought 10 calamities into Egypt, parted the Red Sea, let the water come out of the rock. Jesus miraculously fed thousands of people only with five loaves of bread and two fish. He worked the miracle of resurrection, too. So the leader God appointed is a man of prayer. He prays like Elijah. He prays like Jesus. He receives great power from God by prayer, works great miracles, and drives out demonic power, delivers the church from crisis, and reveals God's glory.
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2. The leader God acknowledges shows the leadership of life.
"It sprouted. (v. 8)" Devil's servant does nothing but to kill the flesh and soul of man while God's servant does only the ministry of life and salvation. The servant of God saves even the dead spirit. He gives people the hope for the eternal life and help them call the living God their Father. He overthrows the power of Devil and hell, and delivers people from the power of death. He is like a grain of wheat. He may suffer death but he can exert thereby 100 times his life on the world. He lives a sacrificial life. Such a man is a leader God appointed. He who refuses to sacrifice his own interests cannot be numbered among religious leaders. How can you be a servant of God when you are a man who would destroy the church if only he can be famous, have power, and live a rich and comfortable life? only he who can nail himself on the cross of death can be a servant of God.
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3. The leader God acknowledges shows the leadership of growth.
"It put forth buds. (v. 8)" We must grow up unto Jesus. In order for a tree to grow well, it must be pruned well. The same goes for us. We must not waste our strength and time in needless places in order for us to grow well in Jesus. You should not have worthless habits or character. A servant of God prunes off saints' pride, vanity and laziness. He encourages the saints to grow in humility, love, patience, service, faith, and the holy knowledge of God. A servant of God, therefore, is one who can give the believers the spiritual milk. That's why the first qualification of a pastor has long been the ability to teach the saints well. "So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ. (Rom 10:17)" A servant of God can teach the saints well and help them grow well when he is well versed in the words of God, knows the true orthodox dogmas, and has the experience of spiritual gifts of God.
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4. The leader God acknowledges shows the leadership of glory.
"It produced blossoms. (v. 8)" A servant of Devil works for his own gains and secretly takes the glory of God to himself, but a servant of God tries to reveal only God's glory. The servant of God tries to make the church the glorious house of God, the saints the glorious brides of Jesus and the glorious children of God. He has no complaints when he is abased, if only it can enhance God's glory. He seeks only 'the glory of suffering' and 'the glory of cross'. He thinks it to be his honor that he has been loyal to God as his servant. He is glad and happy if God is exalted and glorified. He thinks it is his great honor that Jesus, the Bridegroom, is exalted. And he lives as Jesus' bride. In other words, humility is his life-style. How can you live for God's glory when you do not humble yourself?
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5. The leader God acknowledges has the leadership of fruits.
"It bore ripe almonds. (v. 8)" Who can bear fruits? He who obeys God absolutely, who perseveres to the end, who is loyal to God with all his heart and strength will yield a lot of valuable fruits. When we obey God, we can bear not Devil's fruits but God's fruits. When we endure hardships, we can bear perfect fruits. When we are loyal to God for a long time, we can produce abundant ripe fruits. God's fruits are yielded if we give up our greed. And if we always give thanks to God, all fruits become not ours but God's. Above all, the most precious fruit is the salvation of souls. The reason why the church exists is that it must yield many fruits of that kind. Therefore, the servant of God focuses all his ministry on the salvation of souls.
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What is the summary of these five? It is 'A servant of God is like a dry rod.' Yes, my brethren! How can a servant of God receive God's power and work miracles without acknowledging his incompetence, and raise others from death without dying, and live for God's glory without emptying himself, and bear holy fruits without giving up his own?
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God extremely hates believers to complain (v. 5, 10). My brethren, Complaints don't help you at all. If you give thanks and pray to God by faith and endure a little while, God will solve your problems in due course. And the servant of God, too, must keep away from self-interest, vanity and pride lest he provoke believers' complaints. Those (self-interest, vanity and pride) are the poison that kills the saints, for God severely punishes complaining people. A servant of God must be like a dry rod for the good of the church and the saints. And if a complaining faction arises in the church, the church must not let the wound severely fester. If the pastor is the cause of the dispute in the church, he must leave the church. If the members of the faction are like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, they must be driven out, or two parties must go their own way without fighting each other. Paul and Barnabas had a big argument, and each went his way to do God's work. Like this, if there is a problem in the church, the members of the church must either be reconciled or be parted as soon as possible, in order that they may work for God in peace. Foolish is the members of the church if they fiercely fight against each other in the church. If the problem is promptly settled, so each part works hard for God and bears a lot of fruits, the past incident becomes nothing but a moment of pain for the greater growth. If possessed by Devil, believers are engaged in a collective scuffle for more than a year in the church, or a pastor and an elder fight one on one. My brethren, do not fight in the church, the God's house.
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May you all be a humble and loyal servant of God like Moses.
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Chong Tack Kim
- Dongtoma Sunshine Church -
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