Numbers  10:1-10

The Silver Trumpets

 

The trumpet is an interesting instrument It is an instrument that is NOT only meant for making music, it was also used for communication.

A) Throughout history, the trumpet has been used for Communication

 

B) EXAMPLE: In the army the day begins with the sound of a trumpet and ends with the sound  of a trumpet

1) In older times it was used to call the troops to CHARGE OR RETREAT

 

C) Here in our text we see the trumpet being used for the purpose of  COMMUNICATION

1) There were FIVE messages that were communicated by the blowing of these silver trumpets

 

1.) VER 2-3 The SILVER TRUMPETS were used in calling the entire congregation of Israel to assemble at the door of the Tabernacle

 

    2.) VERSE 4 The SILVER TRUMPETS were used in the calling of the 

         leaders into counsel

 

3)   VERSES 5-7 The SILVER TRUMPETS were sounded to direct the 

      marching   order of the 3 million Israelites

 

    4.) V 9 The SILVER TRUMPETS were used to call the people into battle

 

     5.) VERSE 10 The SILVER TRUMPETS were to be blown over the

          sacrifices to celebrate worship

 

     So we have FIVE messages communicated in the blowing of these    SILVER TRUMPETS

1.) Assemble the people together

2.)   Call leadership together

3.) Give direction for marching

4.) Call the people to battle            

5.)   5.) Celebrate worship

You might be thinking” So what.... What do these S. Trumpets  have to do w/ me in this day of satellite communication & personal computers?"

A)Very much -You see, the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures was translated into Greek by 70 scholars... & given the name  "The Septuagint"

 

B) SO the Septuagint is the Greek version of the OT Scriptures and In that translation, the word TRUMPET is KERUX

1) It is a root word of the Greek word KERUSSO / KERUSSO = To herald or to trumpet... or PREACH

 

C) The Significance for us is this :  Our Lord is a preacher

    1) He came to HERALD or TRUMPET certain messages

 

EXAMPLE: Beg. Of Ministry – Synagogue Read from Isa 61

Luke 4:18   The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;

         

D)So  Jesus was anointed to HERALD... to TRUMPET the Good News

 

And Jesus our Preacher / our Trumpeter is wanting to communicate to us today/ He is calling us today – He has a word for us Living in this day

A)And I believe that each of these 5 Reasons that the Trumpets were sounded for the Nation of Israel has application for Believers today –

 

B)Concerning Our Lords heart & desire for His Church

1)And so in the rest of our time this morning I want us to consider the Relevance of each one of these things – For us / Individuals & as a Church

 

1st Even as the SILVER TRUMPETS were used to summon the people to the door of the Tabernacle (v.2-3),

A)the Lord is TRUMPETING to us... He is PREACHING to us... telling us that He wants us to ASSEMBLE in His presence{ come unto me …. 

 

B) Think about what an awesome WONDER That is God actually wants us to come into His presence - I don't understand it{ Hard to Comprehend

C)Think of it this way – President Bush letter official Presidential Seal – Personal Invitation from the President – Special guest – dinner meeting

 

D) Wouldn’t that be odd – I would be grateful but at the Same time I would wonder – why in the world would President want to waste his time w/ Me

1)   I have nothing to offer Him/ No insights to give Him

 

But How much more Radical & Awesome  is it that God invites me into His Presence !!!

A)Now He definitely isn’t in any need of gaining any insight from me – I have nothing to give to Him that He is lacking

 

B) And Yet That He wants me to spend time w/ Him !!! – He enjoys the fellowship & the Intimacy that we can Share together

 

C) Listen Church: I want to encourage you to not let Your Devotional life  become Mechanical or Routine { So easy to have happen -

1)   I was convicted this week in Preparing for this study of the many times that I approached my morning Devotions that way!! Vitamins

 

D) Instead of approaching it w/ this thought in mind- the Living Almighty God is waiting for me right now to spend time w/ Him

1)    The Almighty God – Right now is wanting to speak to me – as I pick up His Word

 

We need to be so careful that whether we are doing our Morning Devotions or Studying Bible Lessons men’s or women’s

A)That it doesn’t become our home work – it isn’t our Obligation / Coming to Church – isn’t our Routine

 

B) But that our hearts even this morning –would be caught w/ a new sense of AWE & WONDER – God is desiring to meet w/ Us! Speak to US

1)We would approach it that way – Expectancy – Fervency – Attentiveness and an Excitement {Lord forgive us for being Lackadaisical

Think of it this way – Some of you married couples have a date night on a regular basis – Haven’t you found this to be true

A)Husband  if you approach it w/ an attitude of oh it is Monday again – got to take the wife out { It  lacks – night isn’t that special

 

B) But when there is an expectancy in your heart & an Excitement – where maybe for a couple of days you have been thinking about it –

1)Plan to do something special – something out of the ordinary - & your wife senses your excitement/ Doesn’t it make a huge difference in every way

 

C) Sometimes I think the Lord is waiting for us – to show some excitement about meeting w/ Him{ Show some expectancy about drawing Near

1)   1)That is a reason why He so often blesses retreats so greatly – we go to those things w/ that Kind of Mindset { Same Church & Devotions

 

D) SO I a have GOOD NEWS for YOU TODAY - The Lord is trumpeting to YOU today - He wants to spend time with YOU

1) He is calling you to His Tabernacle/ Heb 4 Come boldly into His Presence

 

So First of all God trumpets to us to call us into fellowship with Himself....

A)2ndly The SILVER TRUMPETS were sounded in order to call the leadership of Israel together (V.4)

 

B) So too, the Lord is calling YOU into positions of service in His Kingdom

1)   He is opening to YOU  opportunities to make an Impact for Him in this World

 

C) I find it interesting that when we read the gospels – there was a two fold reason why Jesus called the Disciples –

1)   We are told that He called them to be W/ Him = Fellowship

2)   But we are also told that He called them to train them –

 

D) He wanted to Prepare them to make an Impact / To be leaders in this world { He calls us w/ those same TWO goals in mind.

First He wants us to be w/ Him 2nd He wants to use our Lives in Ministry.

A)According to Eph. 4 every believer in Jesus is to have a Ministry and every Believer in JC has different Spheres of Influence

 

B) Settings where God wants to use them & work thru them

1)    It might be in the ministry in the church – Teaching Children’s Ministry/ Men's group/ Women’s/ Convalescent Home

 

C) It might be in your Neighborhood { leader in community – Summer studies / Kids / It might be in work/  It might be in your family

 

D) So Whether you are a Kevin C – Chief of Fire Department / or a house wife & mother – ministering to your kids – God wants you to make impact

1) You have NOT been saved to SIT/You have been saved          to SERVE

    “True wealth is the satisfaction of talent used in Christian service.”

 

 

Many Christians suffer from loneliness & Depression because they are sitting instead of serving.{ Result Self focused !!!!

A)Ten ways to get rid of the blues: Go out and do something for someone else--then repeat nine times

 

Michelangelo started 40 statues but completed only 14. And  In a museum in Italy you can see his 30 unfinished works. There are huge blocks of marble with only a hand or a foot completed.

 

B) Are our lives like those unfinished statues? And  Is our potential for service still locked up within us?

 

C) SO The Lord is trumpeting GOOD NEWS to you today: Privilege – He says  "I want to use YOU"      "I want to make your life meaningful"

 

 

3rd Reason the Silver Trumpets were Sounded (v. 5-7)was to let the Nation Know it was time to Move – time to March { i.e. Give Direction

A)So too w/ us Not only does the Lord want to fellowship with us &  to  minister THROUGH us, He wants to provide direction for us

 

B) The Lord is declaring to us that He wants to give DIRECTION to us

 as we are marching through the wilderness experience of this life.

 1) God cares & desires to give direction to YOU

 

C) But Many times we doubt this -Oh We know theologically and theoretically that God wants to speak to us and direct us

1) But PRACTICALLY we think: "God really doesn’t care about EVERY situation in my Life”  Now Why do we do that ?

 

I am convinced that one reason is we tend to think of God in terms of other People.

A)And all of us have been in those situations where someone made us feel like our situation wasn’t very important

 

B) Your talking to someone & their attention span is like 30 seconds –

1)   Your pouring out your heart & they are oblivious / People / Pastors

  Parents / best friends – all been there all done it

 

C) Listen God is NEVER LIKE THAT - There is NOTHING insignificant to Him

         

Ps. 139:2-6; 1  O LORD, You have searched me and known me.2   You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.

3You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.

4For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.

5    You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.

6    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.    

17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!   How great is the sum of them!

18  If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

 

Listen God wants to give us direction He wants to TRUMPET to you direction

James 1: 5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

 

A)Rom. 12 Offer yourself to the Lord as a Living Sacrifice /You may prove what is that good & perfect / acceptable will of God –

 

B) God has given us His Spirit w/in us to lead us & direct us

1)    Israel would camp until – the Cloud started to move – we need to be the same – Camp until WE  know spirit is leading –

 

C) That can be hard – because we can be so impatient  - but take it from me – it is a lot easier to wait on God – than to get ahead of God

1)   Create a Mess – have to clean it up

 

D) So as God used the Silver Trumpets to lead His people/ to direct them that is was time to March –

1) The Lord thru His word & by His Spirit is wanting to direct us !!!

 

E) Question are we willing to be LED / Willing to be DIRECTED

 

4th  The SILVER TRUMPETS were used to call the people to battle

A)So too, God desires to wage war through you -IF you are a part of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, THEN you are a soldier

 

B) Christian life is not a Play ground it is a Battle ground !!!!

1)    Word uses terms like Solider / Fight / Battle / victory to describe the Christian life – Because we are in battle –

 

C) Now too often when we think of the Battle we think in terms of Defense

Not Offense / not how we can break down strongholds of Darkness

1)Christian in Public High school – My Mentality was Survive – Want to make it out of here w/ out Compromises / w/out falling {Pressure was great

 

D) But rarely was I  thinking at all about making an impact – how the Lord wanted to use me{ Affect others  – I regret that today

1) Listen there is a defense & an Offensive aspect to our Battle.

 

Matt. 16:18   I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 

E) This means that the Church is attacking the gates of hell/ because  No city would drag it's gates to the battle front

 

So The Church is to ATTACK and CHARGE the strongholds of hell

      We are to take back territory that Satan has ripped off

A)Lets recognize how the enemy is ripping people off !!

 

B) How many of us have experienced this – You share w/ someone & they seem open – you invite to Church or event – Can’t come

1)Next time you talk to them – they don’t seem as open – they don’t seem as Friendly or as interested in what you are saying or in Coming to event

 

C) What happened –were they just being polite the first time (Maybe) were they just blowing you off ( POSSIBLE)

1)More often than not – The Devil has been Playing w/ their minds between the first & 2nd time you talked to them

 

D) The Devil has been giving  them every reason in the book why they don’t want to be a Christian !!!

1)   We walk away saying Bummer I guess their not interested any more failing to realize that a spiritual battle is going on over their soul.

 

E)What do we do ? We need to Pray – 2 Cor 10:4 4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

 

 F) So Don’t give up – Keep Fighting Pressing on {Sharing & praying 

     1) Recognizing God is TRUMPETING to you and calling you into

          RADICAL Spiritual     battle { Impact for the KINGDOM                   

5th Not only does God want to have fellowship WITH you.... Open opportunities for ministry FOR you.... Give direction TO you and wage war THROUGH you.... He wants to work worship INTO you (v.10)

 

A)They were to blow the SILVER TRUMPETS over the sacrifices of BURNT OFFERING and PEACE OFFERING

1) These were NOT sacrifices for sin

 

C) They were sacrifices of love and commitment and dedication

 

So too, the Lord is TRUMPETING to YOU and calling you to worship Him

A)Some Christians are not into Worship  “I can get by without worship"

 

B)Reminded Col. 1:16   all things were created by him, and for him:

 

Rev. 4: 11“You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power;

For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

    

C) Listen You and I exist for ONE purpose -To bring Him pleasure

So  The more pleasure I bring to God, the more fulfilled I become

1)And One of the most practical ways of doing this is in worship – Lifting our voice / our hands / hearts in Praise to Him { He is Blessed / PLEASED

 

Nobody described worship better than Sir William Temple. He wrote, "To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God."

 

GOOD NEWS For you today God is TRUMPETING to YOU today

A)He wants to have fellowship WITH you / He wants to open opportunities of service FOR you / He wants to give direction TO you

 

B) He wants to wage war THROUGH you AND He wants to work worship INTO you –  that is the meaning for us of the message of Silver Trumpets

C) But here is the Tragedy Many believers don't believe that the SILVER TRUMPETS blow for them

1) They have a really hard time believing that God wants to Spend time WITH them.... Open opportunities FOR them.... Give direction TO them...

 

2) Wage war THROUGH them.... Work worship INTO them.   

 

Here is the Reason why: They have so failed in their walks that they just feel that  such things could NEVER be possible for them

A)2nd Class Christian : Therefore The TRUMPETS do NOT blow for them

   Is that True ?

 

B)Go back to v.2 “Make two silver trumpets for yourself;

 

C) Now if you have been studying through the OT with us, you have learned that the various METALS found in the Scriptures have  significance

1) EXAMPLE Gold = Divinity and perfection / Brass = Judgment

 

D)I am so thankful that these trumpets that called the people of           God were NOT made of Gold Trumpeting perfection

1) And Stating that Perfection required to deserve these callings

 

E) And I am I am EQUALLY  thankful that these trumpets were not made of brass- Trumpeting judgment

         

No They were made out of SILVER....

A)Silver is the metal of REDEMPTION - The message was to be trumpeted upon the metal of        redemption - What is redemption?

 

B) One of the New testament words for REDEEMED is agorazo - It means: to go to market; to purchase

1) The Agora was the place where slaves were bought and sold

 

C) You would go to the AGORA  and pay a price and the slave would be yours/ Now THAT is EXACTLY what God has done for you & Me

D)He went to the slave market... Where WE were once enslaved To Satan.. To sin....To our flesh He picked US – TO Be His

1)He CHOSE US & then PURCHASED US with the price of His own blood

 

 

Now  WHEN did Jesus go to the slave market and PURCHASE you?

A)Was it When you were drawing near to God and serving God and    following God and fighting for God and worshipping God?

 

B) NO - It was when you were at your LOWEST state{ Enemies of God

 

Rom. 5:6 -8  6For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

C)NOTE: IF God loved you and redeemed you when you were His enemy, THEN be assured that now when you are forgiven & Cleansed & His

1) That He desires you to be near to Him and to serve Him and to direct you, and make you a worshipper

 

Close w/ this STORY: About Little boy named Stephen

He was at his grandmothers house and he got a new sling shot. He went out into the woods and was unable to hit anything. Disappointed, he came into his grandmothers yard and saw the duck that was his grandmothers favorite pet. Without thinking he got out his sling shot and shot at it.... He hit it in the head and killed it. He       looked around and there was his older sister Sally.

He looked at her... She looked at him.... Neither said a word to each other and went their own way. That night at the dinner table the grandmother said: "Sally, it's your turn to do the dishes". Sally replied: "Oh, Stephen would LOVE to do the dishes".. Miserably, Stephen agreed.

The next day Sally was told it was her turn to clean the barn. She said: "Oh, Stephen would love to clean the barn". Frightened and frustrated, Stephen agreed.

Now This went on   for 3 days until finally Stephen couldn't stand it any more. He went to his grandmother and confessed that he had killed her duck and stuffed it in the wood box. His grandmother said:

 "I know Stephen... I saw you from the window. It's O.K. Stephen.. I love you and I forgave you immediately. I was just curious to see how long you would be Sally's slave."

 

That is the same way it is with us- We become slaves to Satan and his condemnation

A)Listening to his lies that we can't be used... That we can't worship.... That our prayers go unheard...

         "God won't give you direction because there's a dead duck in the box"

 

B) But the Father says to us: "I saw it all... I was there... I have already forgiven you"

1) But the accuser of the brethren accuses us day and night and drags out every dead duck in the box.

 

C) NOTE: What we are told in Rev. 12 10Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb & by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

 

D) Praise the Lord - The Blood has cleansed me and the Word frees me

1) I can go on and have fellowship... Be used by God... Get direction... Wage warfare... And Worship   - Why?

 

E) Because these are SILVER TRUMPETS – REDEMPTION

1)     Not Gold = Perfection / Brass – Judgment { Forgiven by God & brought into the Family of God

 

F) God is a Father who loves to spend time w/ His Kids / Give direction to / Equip for the Battle – Lead in Life !!!

1) PRECIOUS PEOPLE THE TRUMPETS ARE SOUNDING TODAY!!