Title: Spiritual Leadership/ Numbers 17:1-13
Content Introduction
1. A society with leaders is a happy society. A country with leaders is a happy country.
2. But leaders are precious. In Korea too, a new wind is blowing in the public service society for the first time in a long time, so it feels like a leader only now exists.
3. True leaders are established by God. So it is said that all authority comes from heaven.
4. "Leadership" is absolutely necessary for a leader to be recognized as a leader. Until now, the leaders around us have exercised leadership by force. So few leaders were recognized by the crowd. Even within the church, such things have happened.
5. The text is about the tribe of "Aaron" who performed the duties of "priest" among the twelve tribes of Israel.
1) Korah a Levite and Dathan and Abiram belonging to the tribe of Reuben led the rebellion against Moses. They brought in 50 prominent Israeli chieftains. They protested against Moses' religious as well as political leadership.
2) Naturally, they considered even Aaron, Moses' older brother, as an enemy.
3) They were displeased with Moses and Aaron acting like kings toward the people. They thought that Moses and Aaron were just people just like them, and that they could do the same.
6. Moses did not respond emotionally or forcefully to the strong opposition of the congregation, but bowed down to God. Literally, he laid his stomach down on the ground.
7. God heard Moses' prayer in crisis. And he gave them unbreakable leadership.
8. Through these words, we come to understand the providence of God who established leaders. And we learn how much God loves our leaders.
I. Leaders need leadership (1-5).
A. God grants authority.
1. Numbers 16 describes in detail the revolt of the people and the response of Moses and Aaron. These are common sights in the society we live in today.
2.Actually, Moses and Aaron are ordinary human beings who are no different from other people. So, authority can be challenged.
5. God has shown that the ideas of the patriarchs are never right. So the chief chiefs of each tribe were to bring one staff.
6. Of the twelve staffs, God made them sprout only from the staff of the leaders that God had set up.
All. Although they may look the same, it was a sign that in God's eyes it could never be.
7. Authority can never be established by human power. God must establish it.
B. God does not defend today's leaders as he did Moses and Aaron. So we need to be more careful with God's leaders. Rather, if you would defend the leader of this time as if you made Aaron's staff sprout, we would obey him blindly. But God never wants to repeat it that way. Only through the spiritual discernment that has been given to each of us, He helps us find leaders to serve. "Sheep know the voice of the shepherd"
II. Leadership is given by God (6-11).
A. A bud sprouted from the stick.
1. This was an incredible miracle, as if a flower bloomed from an old tree. God performed these miracles to establish the authority of Moses and Aaron.
2.If any of the twelve chieftains had guessed that this would happen, they probably would not have brought the staff.
3. God had Aaron's budded rod displayed in front of the ark as a warning. This was to ensure that such a thing would never happen again.
4. Rebellion against Moses and Aaron was a challenge to God's authority. That is why God gave such powerful punishment, never because they were simply leaders. Therefore, we must not misunderstand or misuse these words.
B. I feel sorry for the true leader.
1. How many leaders are there like Moses and Aaron in this age? We admire their leadership. They applaud the fact that they never responded emotionally to the rebellion of the people.
2. Also important is that, despite such a great leader, there were dissatisfied forces. No matter how well you do, there is no way to stop dissatisfied people.
3. We say, "Isn't there a smoke in the chimney?" and say that there is something wrong with it. But in Aaron and Moses we find no fault. They were flawless and excellent leaders. Only human greed created the sin of rebellion.
III. God makes obedience (12-13).
A. There was an atmosphere of fear.
1. So far, freedom has been guaranteed to do things on your own. However, through their rebellion, God mobilized force.
2. It is an undeniable fact that God directly intervened and made Aaron's rod sprout. Moreover, God had Aaron's rod that budded in front of the Ark of the Covenant, so they had to feel fear whenever they saw the rod that sprouted.
3. Now it is a situation where you have to obey, not obey. In the end, human greed created more complex institutions and bridles.
B. God wants us to obey the authority of our leaders.
1. It makes sense for Christians to cooperate and submit to the power of the state or the leaders of all levels of society. God will judge them.
2. The same is true of leaders within the church. But sometimes there may be friction with unprepared leaders. However, you should know that friction has no benefit to each other.
3. So, the Lord told us to listen when the other person is forcing us. If you ask to go with the duck, you should be able to go even ten miles.
conclusion
1. There is a lot of room for misunderstanding that this statement only enhances the authority of the leader. But it is not.
2. Jesus said, "You should not be many teachers." Being a leader is something you have to contemplate.
3. If both of you become pastors and leaders in the same way that the mullet jumps and the mochi jumps, an undesirable and tragic situation will arise.
4. But how can there be a perfect leader in the human world? The only leader is Jesus Christ.
5. All problems will be solved if we remember the words of ?쐔reating Christ??to even the smallest of people.