God's Kingdom is Designed to Grow - Numbers 7-8 and Mark 4:21-41
There are several kingdom principles in Numbers 7 and 8. I believe they apply to us today, as well as they applied to Israel in the Old Covenant. God has always been concerned about the growth of His kingdom. His kingdom was not an earthly kingdom in the Old Covenant. He made a covenant with Israel, so that He could bless them, and then, the people of the world would be drawn to Him. His kingdom was not just Israel, but everyone who trusted Him. Therefore, Israel's role was vital in the process of building up God's kingdom.
The first principle presented here is the principle of leadership. The leaders were to be examples to the rest of the people. They were to go first. They presented their sacrifices to set the example. They gave what was needed for the Levites to do their work. This showed their foresight. They saw the needs and met them. They worshiped God in sincerity, and their worship paved the way for all of the people to worship. We need to see this principle of leadership. Do you realize that the other people are looking at you, if you are a leader? What are they learning from you? Do they see your sincerity? Are you seeing the needs and meeting them? All of these things are important.
Then, comes the special servants of God. The Levites belonged to the Lord. They were to be clean before Him. This is a principle, too. God hates sin. He hates uncleanness. He will not accept the service of an unclean servant, when it comes to His kingdom service. His kingdom work is to be done by those who are clean. This is not just an outward cleanliness, but the outward cleanliness symbolizes and inner cleanliness. I believe this speaks volumes to pastors, teachers, deacons, and other spiritual leaders today. We must be clean to be used by God.
Mark 4 has a lot of kingdom principles, too. God will not allow anything to be kept secret. He will bring the hidden things to light, so the evil can be exposed. He will bless us according to how we hear and obey. If we only obey a little, we will only be blessed a little. Of course, He is talking about spiritual blessings, not material blessings. We see this as He tells the parable of the growing seed and the mustard seed. God is all about growing His kingdom. In the process He uses those who are obedient to Him. We can't trick Him. He sees our hearts. We need to trust Him as the One who rules the wind and the sea. We need to give ourselves to Him in complete obedience, so He can use us to build His kingdom.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 9-11 and Mark 5:1-20.
The first principle presented here is the principle of leadership. The leaders were to be examples to the rest of the people. They were to go first. They presented their sacrifices to set the example. They gave what was needed for the Levites to do their work. This showed their foresight. They saw the needs and met them. They worshiped God in sincerity, and their worship paved the way for all of the people to worship. We need to see this principle of leadership. Do you realize that the other people are looking at you, if you are a leader? What are they learning from you? Do they see your sincerity? Are you seeing the needs and meeting them? All of these things are important.
Then, comes the special servants of God. The Levites belonged to the Lord. They were to be clean before Him. This is a principle, too. God hates sin. He hates uncleanness. He will not accept the service of an unclean servant, when it comes to His kingdom service. His kingdom work is to be done by those who are clean. This is not just an outward cleanliness, but the outward cleanliness symbolizes and inner cleanliness. I believe this speaks volumes to pastors, teachers, deacons, and other spiritual leaders today. We must be clean to be used by God.
Mark 4 has a lot of kingdom principles, too. God will not allow anything to be kept secret. He will bring the hidden things to light, so the evil can be exposed. He will bless us according to how we hear and obey. If we only obey a little, we will only be blessed a little. Of course, He is talking about spiritual blessings, not material blessings. We see this as He tells the parable of the growing seed and the mustard seed. God is all about growing His kingdom. In the process He uses those who are obedient to Him. We can't trick Him. He sees our hearts. We need to trust Him as the One who rules the wind and the sea. We need to give ourselves to Him in complete obedience, so He can use us to build His kingdom.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 9-11 and Mark 5:1-20.