Do I encourage those around me?
Numbers 32:5-15 (NIV) / 본문: 민수기 32:5-15
5 If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”
6 Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? 7 Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them?8 This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. 9 After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. 10 The Lord’s anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: 11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or morewhen they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— 12 not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lordwholeheartedly.’ 13 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.
14 “And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the Lord even more angry with Israel. 15 If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of their destruction.”
Preface
The world is filled with different types of people. If there are those that will sacrifice themselves for others, there are also those that only pursue their own selfish desires. Our scriptures describe both types of people.
In our scriptures, we see a group of Israelites that are fighting for the good of God’s people and then there are those that are only trying to preserve their own lives and “play it safe” and thus give up on the promised land. For this reason the people of Israel fall into despair.
As we live in this world, our days are not always filled with peace and happiness. There are times of despair and it becomes quite difficult to go on. Consequently, in these times, it is more important than ever for those of Christ to encourage one another through our words and actions so that we can all continue on the path our Lord Jesus Christ has paved for us.
What can we learn from the disobedience of the two tribes of Reuben and Gad?
A. If I am to become a good neighbor
1. I must lay down my selfishness
2. I must stop complaining
3. I need to surrender my disobedience
B. The reason I must become a good neighbor
1. To seek goodness for others is to do the will of God.
2. When we encourage our brothers God is pleased.
3. When we work together for good, we will be blessed.
Application
1. Those that forget to love one another and disobey God and only focus on their selfish ambitions will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.
2. Saints must prioritize God and the Church above his/her desires and pursue these priorities wholeheartedly without complaining.
3. You must have faith in God’s promise and give thanks in all circumstances.
4. The church is where all different types of people from all different circumstances gather as one body. In order to maintain this body, we all must work for this one body.
