Matt Hagee - Following God's Lead

Welcome to this week’s Sunday conversation. Today, I want to take us to Numbers chapter 10, beginning at verse 11, and kind of give us a context for what’s happening with Israel at this very moment. This is what the Bible says in Numbers 10: 11: «Now it came to pass on the 20th day of the second month in the second year that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the testimony, and the children of Israel set out from the wilderness of Sinai on their journeys, and then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran.» So they started out for the first time according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

Here in Numbers 10, the children of Israel are on the move, really for the first time in a long time. They came out of Egypt in Exodus, they crossed the Red Sea, and a few days later, they’re up against the border of the promised land. At this time, Moses tells the spies to go into the land and see what the land has. It’s at this time that the children of Israel come back with the report that the land is uninhabitable, and they refuse to do God’s will. In Exodus 24, verse 9, they came to Mount Sinai. God gives them the Ten Commandments, God gives them the law, the Torah. God gives them the plan for the tabernacle. God gives them all of the sacrifices and the seasons, and the things that they should do that you read about through the entire book of Leviticus.

Remember Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, now Numbers. You say, «Well, Pastor Matt, why aren’t you teaching from one of the weeks in Leviticus?» If you understand Exodus and Numbers, then all of the things that are described in detail in Leviticus are to be applied in the places of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, and the ordinances of life in Israel. So Leviticus is the law. It’s the letter of the life that is supposed to be lived by those who believe in God. Here in Numbers, the reason this book is called Numbers is because we begin to see a tremendous decline in the children of Israel. Numbers begins with 603,550 men over the age of 21. Bible historians have said there were 635,550 men, that’s in the Bible, counted in the census that is given to us in chapter 1, verse 46 of the book of Numbers.

So Numbers 1:46 has 635,550; Numbers 26: 51, at the end of the book, 1,820 fighting men are left. 1,820 from 600,000 is a long way the wrong way. Why? Because the children of Israel did not obey God’s command. He commanded them to possess the promised land. They chose to live in fear; they died in the wilderness. This verse that we’ve read here in Numbers chapter 10 is where the process of walking in circles for 40 years begins. They were not fulfilling God’s plan, God’s command to all creation-not just Adam and Eve, but to you and I-to be fruitful and multiply. If you’re not being fruitful and multiplying, if you’re decreasing instead of increasing, something’s wrong.

And the reason that the children of Israel are decreasing instead of increasing is that instead of walking with God and following Him, like they did across the Red Sea, like they did to the water that came out of the rock, like they did to the border of the promised land, instead of walking with Him, they’re now wandering in circles. Sometimes your life can be an endless wandering in circles. And the question is not, «God, where are You?» The question is, «Why have you stopped walking with God?» If you’re wandering in a circle, what you need to do is stop and go back to the last place that God was clear with you, and begin again.

In Numbers 1-9, we have what is called the order of the assembly. It’s where the children of Israel become organized. They assemble. We have the sacrifices that are instituted as God gave command to Moses that this is what should be done, and when it should be done, and how it should be done. The nation is living as it should, and everything is well. However, whenever they begin to disobey and disbelieve God, they start to move in circles. They’ve got motion, but they’ve got no progress.

1 Corinthians 14: 33 tells us that God is not the author of confusion. When you are walking with God, you’re not confused. When you’re walking away from God, confusion is all you’ve got. When people see your life, and you profess to be living for the Lord, when people see your work, when people see the way that you operate, it shouldn’t be a confusing thing. They should be able to clearly see that there is a God, and He’s blessing you. Psalms 14:1 very clearly says, «The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'» And I don’t know too many people that would be brave enough to actually profess that there is no God; but I know a lot of people who live as if God doesn’t exist.

What’s the difference between someone who verbalizes it and someone who behaves as if God isn’t there? All you have to do is look around you. God is everywhere. He’s in creation. He’s in all of the elements that you see in the world. And when you recognize Him on a large scale, you need to start to follow Him in your daily life. In the book of Numbers, we begin to understand the prophetic signs and sounds of trumpets. Remember, I talked last week about there being God’s will concealed and God’s will revealed.

Well, Numbers chapter 10:1 and 2 describes two trumpets. It says, «And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Make two silver trumpets for yourself. You shall make them of hammered work. You shall use them for calling the assembly and for directing the movement of the camps. And when they blow both of them, all of the assembly shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. But if they blow only one, then the leaders and the heads of the division of Israel shall gather to you. When you sound the advance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall begin their journey. They shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys.'»

Now, what’s the purpose of these two trumpets in the context of the book of Numbers? It’s a very practical reason. You’ve got millions of people-600,000 plus men and their families and children. You have millions of people that you’re trying to organize and move. So they used the trumpets as a form of cues. If you heard both of them at the same time, everybody gathered. If you heard one, a group began to move. If you heard two, then you began to move in another direction. This was to avoid chaos. God is not the author of confusion.

So what’s the picture and the revelation in our life? The trumpets are a shadow of the two witnesses in the book of Revelation. In the book of Revelation, we read about two witnesses that are going to come back to the earth. Many Bible scholars believe that they are Elijah and Enoch. And the reason that they’ve chosen Elijah and Enoch is that both men were raptured without seeing death. The Bible tells us it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment. Well, Enoch didn’t die. Remember what we read in Genesis-that Enoch walked with God and God took him, and he was no more. God just said, «Enoch, why don’t you come up here instead of go back to your house today?»

Then, the story of Elijah and the chariots of fire. God came with a chariot of fire and snatched Elijah off the earth and took him to heaven. Neither of those two individuals have seen death. And the Bible clearly says it is appointed unto man-Enoch and Elijah, both being natural men-once to die, and then the judgment. They’re coming back to earth in the book of Revelation, and they will be two trumpets, two witnesses to the world, telling the world about what’s getting ready to happen-that Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, is getting ready to come back and set up His kingdom.

We read in Numbers 10:3 and 4 that the blast of the trumpet brought the leaders of the tribes together. We remember what the Bible says at the last trump of God. Remember Paul wrote in Thessalonians, «The trump of God shall sound; the dead in Christ shall rise, and we shall all be brought together; and so shall we be with the Lord.» This trumpet theme is not something that God is using at random or by ironic chance. This is something that He wants us to get our ears tuned to.

In Numbers 10:5-7, it says, «And you shall sound the advance and the camps that lie on the east side shall begin their journey. And when you sound the advance the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall begin their journey.» In verse 7, it says, «And when the congregation is gathered together, you shall blow the trumpet but not sound the advance.» The trumpets were used to put people into formation. The trumpets were used to tell them when to march. The trumpets were used to tell them when to stop. Moses and Aaron, the leaders of the nation, used these trumpets to help the children of Israel understand when and where to go.

Judah was the tribe of worship and praise. Issachar, Zebulun, Levi-these were the individuals that encamped on one side of the tabernacle. Why? Because they were brothers. Go back and read Genesis and see who their mother was. Levi was the priestly tribe. They were the garrison that took down the tabernacle, set it up, and did all of the work inside the tabernacle. Reuben, the eldest, was the standard of government. Simeon, Gad-they all had their place and their purpose. And yet, in order for them to come together, there had to be a common sound.

Consider Ephraim and Manasseh. They’re the sons of Joseph who were given an equal share of the inheritance. Benjamin, Joseph’s brother. You still have Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. Each and every one of them was in their own area around the tabernacle. But how do you get all of them together? When you put all of these people together, Bible historians say there were more than 24 million people in Israel. These were not just ordinary trumpets. These were some significant soundmakers. Not only did they tell the people when to assemble and when to move and when to start and when to stop.

In verse 9, the trumpets tell people when to go to war. «And when you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound the alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.» Not only were they a sound to send you into battle, but they were a sound of celebration. «And in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over the burnt offerings and over the sacrifices, and for your peace offerings. And they shall be a memorial for you before the Lord. I am the Lord your God.»

You say, «Pastor, what’s the point of telling us about all of these different trumpets?» First and foremost, if you didn’t know which trumpet you were listening to, you would do the wrong thing at the wrong time. What if the trumpet to move blew and you went to war? What if the trumpet to stop blew and you started moving? The point is, what do you do when you hear certain sounds and how do you respond according to the word of God? You have to have discernment; you have to have understanding. Otherwise, you may think you’re doing the right thing, but if you’re listening to the wrong sound at the wrong time, you’re not going to get the right result.

In Numbers chapter 10, verse 11, as we read, it’s time to move. We’re going to go from here to there. So there were seven blasts of the trumpets. The tabernacle is torn down; the ark of the covenant begins to move. Moses and Aaron are behind the ark of the covenant. What’s the message of the ark in front of the people? God leads His children. When a nation is behind God’s leadership, blessed is a nation whose God is the Lord. When a family is behind God’s leadership, when a man is behind God’s leadership, he’s going to walk in a path of righteousness. If you get in front of God, you’re going to go in circles, in chaos and confusion.

According to God’s plan, when the second trumpet sounds, Judah moves out with Issachar and Zebulun under the banner of Judah. Why? They’re brothers. Judah is older than Issachar and Zebulun. You can go back and read that in Genesis. The third trumpet sounds. Levi leaves, carrying with him the pieces of the tabernacle-all of this heavy equipment, the posts, the planks, the altars, the menorah, all of the coverings, all of the stakes, and all of the cables and ropes that are intended to rebuild that tabernacle when they stop.

Behind Levi, Reuben, Simeon, Gad, under Reuben’s banner. Reuben is the elder brother. The Kohathites are a group of people in the Bible that went with Israel out of Egypt, and it’s important to mention them because whenever you read «Kohathites» in the Bible, you think, «Well, which one of the sons of Abraham was that?» They weren’t. They were just people in Egypt that, when they saw God’s blessing on the children of Israel, they said, «We want to go with them.» So the children of Israel put them to work carrying the furniture of the tabernacle.

But then under the banner of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, all of the sons of Rachel begin to follow, and the tribes of Israel are on the march. It was an orderly thing; it was a beautiful thing. It was a revelation of how God is going to move His people in the end times. Revelation, the book of Revelation, has seven trumpets. Just as the seven trumpets moved Israel in the wilderness, the seven trumpets of Revelation are going to move the children of God in the end.

Now, people say, «Will the church go through the tribulation?» No, we are raptured before tribulation begins. 1 Corinthians 15: 52 says, «At the last trumpet.» Now, that trumpet is not the trumpet of Revelation; that trumpet is the trump of God that’s calling the leaders together. It’s calling those who have put their faith in Him up. Revelation 1:10 and 11 tells us that the Lord shall descend with a shout. And even in Thessalonians 4:16, we read, «The dead in Christ shall rise, and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up.» That’s a picture of the rapture. John in Revelation 1 says, «And I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a voice of a trumpet saying, 'I am Alpha and Omega.'» Whose voice was that? It was God’s Son, Jesus Christ. And that voice was like a trumpet. That trumpet is our call. We’ve put our faith in Him; we’re gone.

The point is this: Which sound are you following? What noise are you listening to? We sometimes want to pretend like everything that we hear is expert advice. It’s not. If it does not agree with or come in compliance with God’s word, it’s void. Moses invites his father-in-law Jethro to come along on this journey. Jethro joins Moses as he’s watching 24 million people march. It’s an impressive sight.

And one of the things that we learn in this moment in Moses’s experience is that you should invite others to walk through life with you. Moses’s father-in-law says, «No, I don’t want to go.» And he says, «Please don’t depart from us.» He’s begging his father-in-law. He says, «Because I don’t know how to camp.» Remember, Moses was raised in Egypt; Jethro was raised in the wilderness, and he’s saying, «I don’t think we can survive out here without your expertise.» But Jethro is intelligent enough to know that he didn’t cause all of these people to get together; God did that. God told them when to move. God was the one who showed them how to do it. God was the one who had brought them to this place. God gave them the directions.

Moses thinks he needs the expert advice of Jethro because Jethro is in his life. Jethro is a present person; Jethro is someone that he can follow. And God says, «You don’t need to follow him; you need to follow the cloud.» Numbers 10 says, «And the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of testimony and moved through the wilderness of Sinai to the wilderness of Paran.» Remember last week we were talking about reason. It’s reasonable to follow Jethro; it’s unreasonable to follow a cloud. However, if God is in that cloud, then that’s the one you should follow.

The Bible tells us in the New Testament that Christ is the head of the church. If we will do what He says, we’ll get to the promised land. If we will follow the cloud, if we will walk in the revelation of His truth, we won’t waste our time in circles. We’ll get to where God wants us to go. We’ll have what God wants us to have, and we’ll be who God wants us to be. If it seems like your life is going in all directions and not making much progress, ask yourself who you are listening to, what you are following, and are you living by the revelation of God’s truth or living by the reasons of others around you?

We’re going to keep making progress book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. I want you to join us on this journey. If you haven’t downloaded our reading schedule, I encourage you to do that at our website. I encourage you to be a part of what we’re learning as we walk through the Bible chapter and verse together throughout the rest of this year. If you haven’t started yet, today’s a great day to begin. And if you have begun already, keep with us. It’s only going to get better. God bless you, and I look forward to seeing you again very soon.