WTFMT 34 (HGM 26 JUL 16)

Teaching note for HGM on 26 Jul 16

WILDERNESS TRUTHS FOR MODERN TIMES-34 (NKJV) TEXT: "These are the statutes and judgements and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses." (Leviticus 26:46)

I. KNOW AND LIVE
       A. God gives direction that we may know His ways. WE need to pay attention! Here are the instructions, not for the Israelites only, but also for us today. This is the setup, in shadow for them, in reality for us today.
       B. "That you may live," is the purpose of God's commandments. "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:1,3) Experience is to teach that the Word which God gives is life to man.
     C. The law was not given to kill the people. God said this in "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and mu judgements: which if a man do, he shall live in [by] them: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 18:5) All that God gives His people is designed to lead them into the fulfillment of life. Both the path leading to life and the path leading to death were revealed to His people.
    D. The path which we follow will be the path of our own choice. The blessings of life are set in the path of God. "And all these blessings of life shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shall hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God." (Deuteronomy 28:2) "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not [your choice] hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee." (Deuteronomy 28:15)
    E. God's choice and provision are that we might have His life and benefit from its blessing. But our choice is that which determines our final outcome. We determine the path which will lead us to our eternal dwelling place, whether in God's glory or in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)

II. HIS DWELLING PLACE
     A. Dwelling places are very important to God. Numbers 1:1, Exodus 25:8, I Chronicles 17:5-6, and many more verses speak of God's desire for a dwelling place. God was willing to live in the wilderness for forty years without complaining about the provisions or about not having a dwelling place. (I Chronicles 17:5-6)
    B. In the wilderness God gave Moses the plans for His dwelling place. This dwelling place was built and set up in the wilderness. And in the wilderness God inhabited it. If the wilderness is good enough for God to live in, it should be good enough fro His children.
    C. I would like to live where God lives. If He lives in Heaven, I want to be there. If He is living in the wilderness, I want to be there. If He is living in the valley, I want to be there. If he is living on top of the mountain, I want to be there. Location is very immaterial to me. It always has been in this earth. It doesn't matter where God is; that's the place for me. Many believers sing C.F. Butler's hymn, "Where Jesus is, 'tis heaven there." But very few will believe it.

III. PARTING THOUGHTS A. God wants to get as close to His people as possible. First He wants to dwell "in" them. That will not be accomplished over the entire population. There will be some that will be suitable only for God's dwelling "with."
      B. God does not always get the entirety of that which He seeks. He is not willing that any should perish, but some do. He will be content to get what He can. He looks to certain quality people for His dwelling place, forever.
     C. Some people want to live in Heaven forever. But the forever situation is you in God and God in you. Even the new earth may not be a forever situation. The geographic location is of no importance. God could camp in Hell. Even in that place He would be your shield. The powers of Hell have no adverse affect upon the God.
      D. There is no power greater than God!! There is no power which can burst into God and wreck everything there. Earthly circumstances cannot destroy that arrangement of God in you and you in God.
      E. In this present world, in tribulation, in distress, in anguish, in despair, in trouble, God wants to live in you, and wants you to live in Him. He intends this to be a constant and permanent arrangement. He does not want you to leave Him. He says, "I'll never leave you."
      F. Some individuals whom God brings into the wilderness will leave God because of the situation. God doesn't want that. He wants you to stick with Him, for He has brought you into the wilderness in order to make you His dwelling place. Be content to live where God lives, so that He can live in you.