Have You Been Crucified?
Scripture Reading: Number 16:1-14
1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the
sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2 and they rose up before
Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation,
representatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3 They gathered together against Moses
and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is
holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves
above the assembly of the LORD?”
4 So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company,
saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause
him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him. 6 Do
this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; 7 put fire in them and put incense in them
before the LORD tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the LORD chooses is the holy
one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”
8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Is it a small thing to you that the
God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself,
to do the work of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to serve
them; 10 and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of
Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? 11 Therefore you and all your
company are gathered together against the LORD. And what is Aaron that you complain
against him?”
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not
come up! 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and
honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us? 14
Moreover you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us
inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come
up!”
There is so much going on in this passage. These men, all sons of Levi; first
cousins to Moses and Aaron, had a problem. Their problem seemed to be with
Moses and Aaron, right? Wrong. Their problem was actually with Yahweh. That’s
right! They are speaking as if He is with them, even like they may truly believe He is
leading them but we find out not too long into the account that’s not the case; they’
re being deceived. They don’t like the way things are. They’re pretty much saying
to Moses and Aaron, who do you think you are? God is with us too; or at least that’s
what they thought. You see, they were being led by a spirit, but it wasn’t by the
LORD. It was the spirit of self. They were being led by the need to elevate self.
That was what was important to them, their own self-interest. (Moses didn’t even
want to be in charge, God put him in that position)
You know, God doesn’t like us in conflict and He doesn’t like us complaining, but it’s
not because He wants to keep us under His thumb or something. He ‘gave’ us
freewill so why would we think He’s trying to take that away. God doesn’t like us in
conflict or complaining because He knows it’s not good for us. Now, doctors, secular
doctors will tell you that people who are bitter and complain a lot, are more likely to
have serious health issues. I don’t usually quote secular sources but for this
purpose I think it’s worth doing.
The fact that anger and aggression can lead to sickness first came into the limelight in the
1950's. Experts discovered a connection between driven, harried, irritable, competitive Type-A
behavior and increased risk of heart disease. Recent studies, however, suggest that it may
actually be suspicion, anger, mistrust, cynicism, low self-esteem and hostility--reactions to
stress--that make you sick. The link between anger and illness can be traced to a basic
animal response. When an animal feels threatened or endangered, the central nervous
system responds and the fight-or-flight survival mechanism kicks in. "Rage and fear are
emergency emotions," says Dr. Willard Gaylin, author of the book Rage Within: Anger in
Modern Life. "The pupils are dilated or constricted. Palms become sweaty. The heart rate and
respiration are altered. Adrenaline is pumped into the blood and the blood is then redirected
from one part of the body to another." But repeatedly activating this defense system over time
may lead to long-term problems. "When we are angry or enraged, the stress hormones that
are released cause the heart to pound, cholesterol to increase and blood pressure to go up,"
explains Dr. Johnson, who is coauthor of the forthcoming book The Deadly Emotions.
"Happening time after time, this can lead to cardiovascular disease, stroke and other
problems related to hypertension. The stress hormones also cause an increased metabolism
of socalled dirty lipids, or 'bad' cholesterol," adds Johnson. "When this cholesterol begins to
collect, it can damage the veins, heart, liver, kidneys and even the brain." Along with physical
wear and tear, anger can also cause people to indulge in bad habits that lead to a mountain of
negative health consequences. "Angry people do angry things to themselves," sums up Dr.
Johnson. "they smoke, they drink, they do drugs; they slowly do things to destroy
themselves."
That was from an article called ‘The Angry Heart – Rage Kills: How to Use Optimism
to Stay Healthy’ click the link if you’re interested in reading the whole thing. The
point I want to make is that although scientists just began to study this issue in the
1950s, God knew that these negative emotions were bad for us long ago. So, here
is this congregation being led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and they’re angry with
Moses and Aaron. Moses asks them, isn’t it enough that you’ve been separated to
be brought near to God. Now, this is important to know. These men were sons of
Levi who God had already separated for His service; they were already sanctified.
That’s important to know because it means that the Father had already given them a
purpose, a job to do. So, you see, they weren’t rebelling against Moses and Aaron.
They were rebelling against the Father. They weren’t satisfied with their lot. They
wanted more for themselves. It was about them, not about Yahweh.
What we didn’t read about today was that this rebellion cost, not only, the lives those
who led the rebellion; but also the lives of their families and also thousands in the
congregation who looked up to them. Now, I’ve watched a church split and I’ll tell
you, it’s not a pretty thing when egos rise up and begin to take precedence over
God’s will. It basically comes down to a lack of trusting in God. You can see clearly
that the people didn’t trust God because in verses 12-14 they say that they’ve been
brought out of a land flowing with milk and honey, into the desert to die. They’d
obviously forgotten that they were slaves in that land. I stayed in a church for quite
a while and I didn’t agree with some of the decisions from those in authority, but I
knew that God had put me in that place, and I knew that He would never want me to
go against the authority. That’s not His style. There were many time I had to focus
on Philippians 4:8, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is
anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. I needed to remember all the
positive reasons God had put me there. I think in any group, whether it’s a church,
or a job, or even a family; you’re going to have some things you like and some
things you don’t like. So, we have to focus on the things we like.
We were talking on Tuesday during Bible Study about how David would not go
against King Saul even after he’d lost his mind and been trying to kill him for years.
He said that he would not touch God’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:6). But even if we’re
not talking about going against authority, if we’re talking about just conflict between
each other as believers, we have much of the same issue. God does not want His
people in conflict with each other, especially over petty things. It has to stop being
about us. We cannot be the issue. Our egos cannot be what are important to us. It
has to be about the kingdom of heaven. Period.
Jesus made His position clear in Matthew 20:20-28, 20 Then the mother of Zebedee’
s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand
and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to
drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with?”
They said to Him, “We are able.”
23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine
to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it
shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him
be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your
slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give His life a ransom for many.”
It was important to John and James to have a place of honor. The other ten were
upset because it was obviously important to them too. But in God’s Kingdom it’s not
about who’s in charge; it’s about who serves. The key is that our self should be
gone. It should not even be in the equation. Paul says in Galatians 2:20, I have
been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me. That pretty much sums it up for me. I’m dead! I died eight years
ago in a little wooden house in Greenville, South Carolina. Now, I’ll be the first one
to tell you that as long as we live in these bodies of flesh, we’ll have to deal with that
flesh trying to take control. I’ll tell you that whenever I let myself get angry and try to
control the situation, it ALWAYS makes things worse. In my relationship with my
husband or my children, it’s only when I trust God enough to let Him handle it
because I know I can’t, that things get better. That may sound very simplistic, and it
is. It’s just that simple. If my ‘self’ is dead and the life I now live is for Yeshua, then it
would make sense that I would let Him handles His business.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: October 22, 2006
Scripture Reading: Number 16:1-14
1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the
sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2 and they rose up before
Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation,
representatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3 They gathered together against Moses
and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is
holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves
above the assembly of the LORD?”
4 So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company,
saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause
him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him. 6 Do
this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; 7 put fire in them and put incense in them
before the LORD tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the LORD chooses is the holy
one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”
8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Is it a small thing to you that the
God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself,
to do the work of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to serve
them; 10 and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of
Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? 11 Therefore you and all your
company are gathered together against the LORD. And what is Aaron that you complain
against him?”
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not
come up! 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and
honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us? 14
Moreover you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us
inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come
up!”
There is so much going on in this passage. These men, all sons of Levi; first
cousins to Moses and Aaron, had a problem. Their problem seemed to be with
Moses and Aaron, right? Wrong. Their problem was actually with Yahweh. That’s
right! They are speaking as if He is with them, even like they may truly believe He is
leading them but we find out not too long into the account that’s not the case; they’
re being deceived. They don’t like the way things are. They’re pretty much saying
to Moses and Aaron, who do you think you are? God is with us too; or at least that’s
what they thought. You see, they were being led by a spirit, but it wasn’t by the
LORD. It was the spirit of self. They were being led by the need to elevate self.
That was what was important to them, their own self-interest. (Moses didn’t even
want to be in charge, God put him in that position)
You know, God doesn’t like us in conflict and He doesn’t like us complaining, but it’s
not because He wants to keep us under His thumb or something. He ‘gave’ us
freewill so why would we think He’s trying to take that away. God doesn’t like us in
conflict or complaining because He knows it’s not good for us. Now, doctors, secular
doctors will tell you that people who are bitter and complain a lot, are more likely to
have serious health issues. I don’t usually quote secular sources but for this
purpose I think it’s worth doing.
The fact that anger and aggression can lead to sickness first came into the limelight in the
1950's. Experts discovered a connection between driven, harried, irritable, competitive Type-A
behavior and increased risk of heart disease. Recent studies, however, suggest that it may
actually be suspicion, anger, mistrust, cynicism, low self-esteem and hostility--reactions to
stress--that make you sick. The link between anger and illness can be traced to a basic
animal response. When an animal feels threatened or endangered, the central nervous
system responds and the fight-or-flight survival mechanism kicks in. "Rage and fear are
emergency emotions," says Dr. Willard Gaylin, author of the book Rage Within: Anger in
Modern Life. "The pupils are dilated or constricted. Palms become sweaty. The heart rate and
respiration are altered. Adrenaline is pumped into the blood and the blood is then redirected
from one part of the body to another." But repeatedly activating this defense system over time
may lead to long-term problems. "When we are angry or enraged, the stress hormones that
are released cause the heart to pound, cholesterol to increase and blood pressure to go up,"
explains Dr. Johnson, who is coauthor of the forthcoming book The Deadly Emotions.
"Happening time after time, this can lead to cardiovascular disease, stroke and other
problems related to hypertension. The stress hormones also cause an increased metabolism
of socalled dirty lipids, or 'bad' cholesterol," adds Johnson. "When this cholesterol begins to
collect, it can damage the veins, heart, liver, kidneys and even the brain." Along with physical
wear and tear, anger can also cause people to indulge in bad habits that lead to a mountain of
negative health consequences. "Angry people do angry things to themselves," sums up Dr.
Johnson. "they smoke, they drink, they do drugs; they slowly do things to destroy
themselves."
That was from an article called ‘The Angry Heart – Rage Kills: How to Use Optimism
to Stay Healthy’ click the link if you’re interested in reading the whole thing. The
point I want to make is that although scientists just began to study this issue in the
1950s, God knew that these negative emotions were bad for us long ago. So, here
is this congregation being led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and they’re angry with
Moses and Aaron. Moses asks them, isn’t it enough that you’ve been separated to
be brought near to God. Now, this is important to know. These men were sons of
Levi who God had already separated for His service; they were already sanctified.
That’s important to know because it means that the Father had already given them a
purpose, a job to do. So, you see, they weren’t rebelling against Moses and Aaron.
They were rebelling against the Father. They weren’t satisfied with their lot. They
wanted more for themselves. It was about them, not about Yahweh.
What we didn’t read about today was that this rebellion cost, not only, the lives those
who led the rebellion; but also the lives of their families and also thousands in the
congregation who looked up to them. Now, I’ve watched a church split and I’ll tell
you, it’s not a pretty thing when egos rise up and begin to take precedence over
God’s will. It basically comes down to a lack of trusting in God. You can see clearly
that the people didn’t trust God because in verses 12-14 they say that they’ve been
brought out of a land flowing with milk and honey, into the desert to die. They’d
obviously forgotten that they were slaves in that land. I stayed in a church for quite
a while and I didn’t agree with some of the decisions from those in authority, but I
knew that God had put me in that place, and I knew that He would never want me to
go against the authority. That’s not His style. There were many time I had to focus
on Philippians 4:8, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is
anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. I needed to remember all the
positive reasons God had put me there. I think in any group, whether it’s a church,
or a job, or even a family; you’re going to have some things you like and some
things you don’t like. So, we have to focus on the things we like.
We were talking on Tuesday during Bible Study about how David would not go
against King Saul even after he’d lost his mind and been trying to kill him for years.
He said that he would not touch God’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:6). But even if we’re
not talking about going against authority, if we’re talking about just conflict between
each other as believers, we have much of the same issue. God does not want His
people in conflict with each other, especially over petty things. It has to stop being
about us. We cannot be the issue. Our egos cannot be what are important to us. It
has to be about the kingdom of heaven. Period.
Jesus made His position clear in Matthew 20:20-28, 20 Then the mother of Zebedee’
s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand
and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to
drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with?”
They said to Him, “We are able.”
23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine
to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it
shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him
be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your
slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give His life a ransom for many.”
It was important to John and James to have a place of honor. The other ten were
upset because it was obviously important to them too. But in God’s Kingdom it’s not
about who’s in charge; it’s about who serves. The key is that our self should be
gone. It should not even be in the equation. Paul says in Galatians 2:20, I have
been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me. That pretty much sums it up for me. I’m dead! I died eight years
ago in a little wooden house in Greenville, South Carolina. Now, I’ll be the first one
to tell you that as long as we live in these bodies of flesh, we’ll have to deal with that
flesh trying to take control. I’ll tell you that whenever I let myself get angry and try to
control the situation, it ALWAYS makes things worse. In my relationship with my
husband or my children, it’s only when I trust God enough to let Him handle it
because I know I can’t, that things get better. That may sound very simplistic, and it
is. It’s just that simple. If my ‘self’ is dead and the life I now live is for Yeshua, then it
would make sense that I would let Him handles His business.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: October 22, 2006
