God will preserve His people

I'd like to read with you from the book of Numbers, and we'll commence reading in chapter 22. Numbers chapter 22 and verse number 40. The way things are looking, maybe I should be reading from the Exodus.

Anyhow, we'll speak to the ones that are still left. Chapter 22 verse 40, And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and to the princes that were with him, that came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that since he might see the utmost part of the people. Now verse 1 in the next chapter, And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me seven oxen and seven rams.

Now for sake of time, we'll just read a few of the verses. Verse number eight, How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Verse 11, And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and behold thou hast blessed them all together. Now verse number 21, He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the son of a king is among them.

God brought them out of Egypt. He hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel.

According to this time, it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought? Now the next chapter, 24, and verse number five, How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the riverside, as the trees of lyne-allows, which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. And his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

Verse 17, I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

Now we know that God will bless his word with that which we have already heard. The simple thought I have in my mind should be an encouragement to each one of us, and that is that God is going to preserve his people, and God will preserve his testimonies as well. He preserved the nation of Israel all through the wilderness.

That's really what we were reading about, and that's what we want to speak about first of all, because that should be an encouragement to us today. We know that there is a future for Israel. Some people believe in replacement theology, that the church will come into all the blessings that Israel have forfeited.

And while God has brought us into many blessings that we have heard already, we know this, that Israel is going to come into great blessing in the future. God still has his eye on his earthly people, and we can see that today when we look on the Middle East and see what is transpiring. We don't have to fret about it or worry about it.

God is going to preserve his people. It doesn't matter who our president is or who rules in those Middle East countries. Well, you see, the children of Israel had been brought out of the land of Egypt, and the first Passover, you'll all remember one of the great truths of the Passover, maybe that we often forget is this, that God's people, the people that he brought out of the land of Egypt, they all belong to him.

The truth of ownership. We are occupied maybe in our own minds with the truth of salvation and so on. We're glad we were saved and so, but the great truth is the truth of ownership, and God owned his earthly people, and he's not going to let anybody curse his people.

Here we read of Balak and Balaam, and they went into the high places of Baal, we read, and they brought sacrifices, and you might have thought that this man, Balaam, well, really was almost, we'd say today, a Christian, but he was an enemy of God's people. And while there were sacrifices that were offered, I think they were offered in the high places of Baal, they weren't offered on altars really unto the Lord, and he went away on his own with the Lord. But the Lord showed him some wonderful things about his people.

Hope I don't want to go too fast, but anyhow, don't want to take too much time. We all say that, don't we? And you know what, an optimist is a person that believes a preacher is going to finish when he says, this is my last point. I think it's over, but it's not always like that.

But anyhow, what was the first thing I want to point out about, what did he see? He said, who can count the, no, sorry, the verse before, he said, I behold him, though the people shall dwell alone. He saw their separation. God had separated them, not because of the greatness of the people, but because they were on his heart and they belonged to him.

And he said, I have separated them from the nations. I know they failed, but this is what Balaam saw when he looked upon them from the height. And that's how God saw his people in that day.

There are people that are separate. God always wants a people that are separate. You can see that away at the beginning of the history of the, of Israel.

You can see that with Abram. Abram had to be brought out of the caldees, away from his people, from his family and from his nation. God wanted to separate them.

And that's a truth that we have here as far as the children of Israel are concerned. Why did God ever take them down to Egypt in the first place? Well, I think because he wanted to separate them from the nations. You say, well, how do you get that? Well, you know, Judah had a friend, and he was Hira the Abdullamite.

And you read that chapter right in the beginning of the history of Joseph, that beautiful story. You might wonder, why does this come in the sin of, of Judah? Why is that brought in there? Well, he had a friend. He was outside the, the, the pale of the, the, the family.

And as well as that, you remember the awful sin that he committed? And what did he do? He gave Kamar his signet. And he gave her a staff. The staff is easy.

You know, that's just pilgrim character. And Israel was losing their pilgrim character. They were starting to mix with the nations.

And the signet really was his identity. And they were losing their identity. So God took them down into the land of Egypt to separate them.

And he said, when they ask you what you do for a living, tell them you're shepherds. For the shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptian. So that they would be dwelling alone.

And God ordered it that they dwelt alone really in the best part for the flocks and so on. Sad to say there was a mixed multitude came up. But nevertheless, that was God's intention to separate his people.

And he brought them out of Egypt. And he brought them into the land. But they're coming through the wilderness.

So you can see, he says, Balaam says, they're separate people. And then not only then, but not only would they have separation, but we have multiplication. And he said, who can number the fourth part of Israel? God is preserving his people today.

And while we might think in some ways, and we are maybe in our own land here, we might be losing a little bit of ground. And assemblies aren't as big as they once were. But you know, we shouldn't just be occupied with what's going on in this country.

Thank God there are other countries. And the people of God are being multiplied. And I'm one of those people, I believe that the Lord will have all things in preeminence.

I think there's going to be far more in heaven than what there'll be in the lake of fire. And you can see that you say, well, aren't so many being saved today? Well, I'll tell you, with all these abortions and things like that, all little innocent children, they're all going to be part of those that will be praising God in the future. So it's not all, it's not all, all ended.

We don't want to give up, take courage. God is preserving his people. He wants them, want them to be separate.

And he multiplied them. And this is the same with the nation of Israel. Think of all the times that they were tried, Hitler and others tried to exterminate them and the Arab nations all against them.

But you see, God is multiplying his people. And we have their blessings, their beatification, I'll call it, if that's the right word. It says, what hast thou done unto me? Verse 11.

I told thee to curse them, but thou has blessed them all together. And think of the blessings that God brought these people into, into a place of nearness for them. And God dwelt in the midst of his gathered people.

And I'm still thinking of the nation of Israel. He has blessed them. And even though the nations are against them in many places, they're going to be brought safely through.

And they have an identity today. If people, they look at me or hear me talk and they say, where are you from? I say, well, I'm an American. I'm glad to be an American.

Well, they say you don't have an American accent. Well, I said, I could say I'm an Irish American and there's German Americans and Swiss Americans, but there are no Jewish Americans. They're American Jews.

I wonder why that would be even in ordinary circles. They're distinct. And God is keeping them distinct.

Well, quickly, we must go on quickly because we have in verse 21, the shout of the king is among them. That's a proclamation that Balaam could speak about these people. There was no king.

Sad to say later on, they wanted a king. They wanted to be with the nations, like the nations. God wanted them to be separate from the nations, but they wanted to be like the nations.

But when Balaam looked upon them, he said, the shout of a king is among them. There was no king. But he's saying it's a shout of joy and battle.

They're going to triumph. And that is still true of the nation of Israel. And then we read about what hath God wrought.

That would fit in with what our brother Driver was bringing before us. What hath God wrought? What hath he wrought for the nation of Israel at that time? To bring them into a land of milk and honey. To bring all those thousands through a wilderness and to feed them and to give them water to drink.

That was a marvelous thing that God had done for them. And then we read in the next chapter about their beautification. How that when they were looked upon from the height, how goodly are thy tents, O Jacob.

If Balaam had only been close enough to hear their murmurings and all their complaints, would have been a different story. But you know, it's a good thing, isn't it, for us as well to look at things from the heights. Look at things from God's, as God looks upon his people.

And he said, how goodly are thy tents. He saw the order among God's people. That's very important.

And on that day, he saw the way the tents were all pitched and so on that they were just traveling through the wilderness. And yet in the wilderness, he says, the valleys are spread forth and as gardens by the river side. You say, but that's a wilderness.

Ah, but that's the way God looked upon his people and the provision that he had made from them and the perfume that ascended from those lying aloes and so on. And the cedar trees and their stateliness. That was a different way that they could have been looked at if you're right down where they were.

But God saw them from the heights. And then when they come down, the chapter we see and his kingdom, verse seven, shall be exalted. They're going to be brought through and there's a kingdom that's going to be set up in the future.

And first of all, the rapture, of course, will maybe touch that a little bit. But we're thinking of the nation of Israel. And I don't seem to be much today, do they? You wonder, maybe you've heard me say this before.

I worked for a Jewish company in Detroit for quite a few years, and I worked for them when that war took place between the United Arab Emirates, not Emirates, but the armies and Egypt. And you remember, it only lasted a few days. We had a salesman from, who was Lebanese.

The company I worked for, they didn't care what nationality you were. You could be Egyptian. We had Egyptians and all kinds of people.

And I was just an Irishman. And they said, imagine an Irishman working for Jews in America. I said, we work for them in Ireland too.

The God's earthly people are everywhere. They're tremendous people. You ever get to know them? They're very interesting people, I believe.

But Michael, the Lebanese fellow, couldn't understand, where are our armies? Where are our armies? See, he didn't realize that God is going to preserve his people. But now, a little word for our own encouragement today. And this should be for our encouragement, because we know if God's going to preserve them, he's going to preserve his heavenly people.

And what should be seen when we're looked upon from the height? Would they see our separation? Would they see that we are separate from the world? I think we're becoming a little bit complacent, and we're letting things slip a bit. And it's so easy. There's so many things in the world that are attractive, and especially the younger people.

And while many would never go to a denominational place, they would stay separate from that. Well, that's not the only aspect of separation. That's not the only way.

The religious world is only part of it. What about all the other aspects of the world that were so prone? You know, I'm not going to spell them out for you, but you know what part of the world that could be an attraction to you? Maybe it's the sports in the world. I love sports.

And you know, Alec won't mind me saying this, but you know what, Mr. Maxwell, he said there's so many Scotsmen when they told how they could save, told what great soccer players they were. They said if God hadn't saved them, Scotland would have won the World Cup every four years. Well, a lot of us were interested in sports, not just the Scotsman.

Thank God we appreciate them, especially the men that we know that have come among us to teach us. I'm not saying that, you know that, I'm not like that. But you know, it's hard for some of us to be weaned away from some of that stuff.

You might just see it in the front page of the paper, and then you know, well, anyhow, that's the world, isn't it? And all those things of the world, God said I've separated you from them. When it comes to the very end, and when it comes to the end of our lives, you know, we're not going to be interested in who's winning the World Cup or the Stanley Cup or any other cup. Wasn't it Mr. Harry Bell? I think it was when he was on his deathbed.

Man, it was tremendous in the word. And he was moving, his lips were moving. And they wondered what he was saying, and they bent over.

And the story is that he was just singing, Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. That's what really matters. We need to be separate.

That's the only thing. And then what about multiplication? Well, I've said God is still working. And we still should lay hold on him for our loved ones.

And there are things that come into their lives that are speaking to them. And while God may not be working in a big way here, that shouldn't discourage us in one way, at least. It makes me glad that he ever reached me.

When there weren't too many being saved, maybe even in my day alone, it has gotten quite a different now from when some of us went preaching in the 70s and so on the early 70s. But God is still working. And then we have the blessings of God's people.

I don't need to go through all those things. Think of the, well, the old hymn writer says, count your blessings, name them one by one. Somebody said it should be count your blessings, name them ton by ton.

Think of all the blessings. It's so easy for us to be occupied with negative things, and with things that aren't just right. Count your blessings.

I was in an assembly, and there was a man in there that, well, he was a different sort of a fella. Maybe he thought I was too, but I wasn't involved with him. And some people said, man, what about this man? Look at him.

And one of the little older brethren, he says, well, just think what he would have been like if God hadn't saved him. So you see, we need to look on the positive side. And God has blessed us.

And he's blessed us not only with spiritual blessings. We all enjoy that, but most of us, if not all of us, have been blessed with temporal blessings. Wonder do we appreciate it? Though you're good sometimes to go to some places and some countries where the people are very poor, but you should hear them singing the songs of Zion.

They don't have very much, but that's not what's important to them. They just have two meals a day, and that's all. So it should make us very thankful.

Of course, if you go to another place where they're living in big mansions, I have nothing against that. I have a fairly nice house, but what do you think of that? Well, I say, I'm glad I'm not paying their heating bill. So be content with what things as we are, as we have.

That's a great thing, isn't it? And accept things from God that he sends into our pathway. But then I thought of that verse, the shout of a king is among them. And I suppose I should have, first of all, referred that to the nation of Israel.

What came to my mind was the Lord Jesus on the cross. And you know, he shouted with a loud voice, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. And he shouted, finished.

It is finished. The shout of a king was among them. They didn't recognize it.

But for us, we should be content to follow the scriptural patterns gathered onto the name of the Lord Jesus. We don't need to be like the nations or the denominations that are around us. We want to go by the simple scriptural pattern.

You know why? That's the best pattern there is. God is the best for his people. Why would we try to add on to something that is absolutely perfect? Did God make a mistake when he laid down the principles of the local assembly? No.

And the Lord is among his people. And it's like the shout of joy and battle or of a warlike trumpet. He's defeated all our foes.

And now he's in the midst of his people. We're gathered onto him. We shouldn't want anything else but to be occupied with the Lord Jesus.

That will affect our lives, of course, in a very practical way. We need devotional ministry. But it's often been pointed out, Israel, they had the upper springs.

They're smitten rock. But like Aksha, they had the lower springs. That's what you would have when the princes dug with their staves, with their pilgrim character to get water for God's people.

That would be more like the practical thing down to earth. We need that. But we need the devotional ministry.

It's all based on on on our love for the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, we have done in verse twenty-three, what has God wrought? I don't need to go through all the blessings that God has given us and and how he brought us so near to himself. You realize how far away we were with no claim on the God of Israel.

No hope of a coming Messiah. Far away and like the prodigal. You know, the disobedient son in the Old Testament was taken out and he was stoned.

Of course, the contrast of that in a way would be the Lord was at a stone's cast in the garden of Gethsemane. He was the obedient son. But I have thought the disobedient son should be stoned.

But when we come to the gospel of Luke and the gospel of God's grace, what do we find? We find a prodigal received home by the father. Not taken out and stoned because of his disobedience and leaving the father's house. But a warm welcome to bring him back.

What has God wrought? Marvelous how God could ever reach you, isn't it? How marvelous how he would ever reach me. I know he can do anything and I'm glad I was included in the work of Calvary and you all sinners can come into the value of that work. I'm not preaching a limited atonement but I'm just thinking of myself as an individual.

God could have let me go many times. I heard the gospel hundreds of times preached by the cream of preachers over in the old country. God could have given me up but he didn't.

And likely he could have, well, he could have given you up too but he didn't. What hath God wrought? Just think of all the blessings, the reconciliation and justification and well, the atonement. There's so many blessings that we need to get into the word of God to learn these things so we can really enjoy them.

And then we come to the beautification and the hardly need to apply these things. We were tent dwellers, aren't we? I hope we are. How goodly are thy tents and thy tabernacles, thy tents, O Jacob.

The valleys there spread forth. Think of all the joy and the fruitfulness and the fragrance that God has brought us into. Gardens by the riverside.

You know, the assembly is, well, I like in the assembly, that garden in the song of Solomon. And you know, sometimes we forget that it's his garden. It's his assembly.

I heard someone, they said, I don't get much out of the assembly. And I maybe shocked them. I said, I'm really not interested what you get out of it.

I'm more interested in what the Lord gets out of it. See, it's his. And the gardens for him, the fruit is for him.

And the fragrance is for him. And it's up to you and I to see that that would be right in our own lives. If we're going to hire the tone of our assembly, we need to hire the tone of our own lives.

But it's by the riverside. Think of the Holy Spirit that leads and so on. And then his kingdom shall be exalted.

And I just wanted to point this out. Verse 17, Balaam says, I shall see him, but not now. You know, Balaam will see him.

He'll see him in a future day. But it will not be in salvation, be it the great white throne judgment or at that time. I shall see him, but not now.

Thank God we can say we have seen him. And we appreciate the beauties and the glories of the Lord Jesus. And it says he shall come, there shall come a star out of Jacob.

Some have thought this would relate to the star that they saw in the east. The New Testament begins with a star and it ends with a star. But I want to apply it to the to us today.

The star, that's what we're waiting for, isn't it? The star, the bright and morning star. When does this morning star appear? When things are at their darkest. When is the Lord coming? When things are at their darkest.

You think they can become more dark than they are today? Not very much. We are living right in the last day of the last days and our eyes should be on the horizon. The Lord is coming.

He could come today. He's coming for us as a bright and morning star. And then, thank God, he's coming again to reign.

He's going to take up the scepter and the scepter shall rise out of Israel. They shall smite the corners of Moab. He's going to defeat the very nation that this man was from, from Moab, that he's going to come back to reign.

Not going to be a marvelous day. I'm glad I'll be caught up in the rapture. But what a tremendous day that is going to be when it comes to reign.

Can you imagine the glory of that day? And we'll not be occupied with the those that come with them. Oh, we'll see them and we'll appreciate all that are going to be there. But I'll tell you, we'll see the king in all his glory.

Not going to be marvelous to despise and reject at one. Oh, Balaam was able to mix the people with Moab. Sad to say.

But I don't want to be occupied so much with that. There is a danger. We know there's a danger.

But I want to be occupied with how does God see his people. And God is going to preserve them. And he's going to bring us safely through.

There's nothing can thwart the purposes of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. So we're going to be brought safely through.

Perhaps today we'll be caught up to meet him in the air. And then later on to come out with him when he'll be seen in all his glory to set up his earthly kingdom. And you know, going to be marvelous in that day.

And you know, the greatest marvel of all is that you and I are going to be with him. What a glorious day that will be. So may the Lord encourage us.

Keep on going on. Everything's not lost. It's brighter on before.

Keep looking up. The Lord is coming. And he's going to preserve us right through to that very day.

He is an inheritance, Peter says, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by his power. It's reserved or preserved for us. And we are going to be preserved for it.