Today we'll be reading from Numbers 27, verse 1 to 11, and Numbers 36, verse 1 to 13.
! So if you need the church Bible, you can find them on either side of the stage or at the back.
So in the church Bible, our reading can be found on page 126 for Numbers 27, verse 1 to 11,
and page 134 to 135 for Numbers 36, verse 1 to 13. So we'll start with Numbers 27.
Let's listen and open our hearts to God's word for today.
Then drew near the daughters of Solophehad, the son of Hephaer, son of Gilead, son of Macher,
son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were
Malah, Noah, Hogla, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest
and before the chiefs and all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying,
Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves
together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin, and he had no sons.
Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a
possession among our father's brothers. Moses brought their case before the Lord, and the Lord said to
Moses, The daughters of Solophehad are right. You should give them possession of an inheritance
among their father's brothers, and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. And you
shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his
inheritance to his daughter. And if he has no daughter, then you shall transfer his inheritance
to his brothers. And if he has no brothers, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his father's
brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman
of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule,
as the Lord commanded Moses. Let's continue to Numbers 36.
The heads of the father's houses of the clan of the people of Gilead, the son of Macher, son of Manasseh,
from the clans of the people of Joseph came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs,
the heads of the father's houses of the people of Israel. They said, The Lord commanded my Lord
to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel. And my Lord commanded by the Lord
to give the inheritance of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters. But if they are married to any of
the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the
inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be
taken away from the lot of our inheritance. And when the jubilee of the people of Israel comes,
then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry.
And their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.
And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the
people of Joseph is right. This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughter of Zelophehad.
Let them marry who they think is best. Only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father.
The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another.
For every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife
to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess
the inheritance of his fathers. So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another.
For each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.
The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses.
For Mala, Tirzah, Hogla, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad,
were married to sons of their father's brothers.
They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh, the son of Joseph,
and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father's clan.
These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses
to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Let us believe and respond to God's true and living word.
On button. Oh, yes. Hello.
Good morning, Watermark.
If you don't know me, my name is Oscar.
And if you do know me, my name is still Oscar.
That was an old Chris Thornton joke, if you know Chris.
I serve as one of the elders here at Watermark,
and I feel very privileged and honored to be sharing God's word with Watermark today.
Come join me. Let's pray as we dive into God's word.
Father God, Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus,
please come now and illuminate our hearts.
We don't want to hear my opinion or some ideas that I have.
We want to look at your word,
the word of the sovereign God of the universe.
Come speak to us, Lord.
I pray that as we receive your word and listen,
help us to understand,
help us to conceptualize,
help us to respond
as you desire us to, Lord.
May we come away here, Lord,
not just full of ideas and interesting thoughts,
not just with a pep talk or an encouraging word,
but changed by the power of God
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
May we adore Jesus and love him more today.
We give this time to you in your name. Amen.
If you spend even a little bit of time in church,
you would probably hear this word faith quite a bit.
Christians are people of faith is a common phrase.
We must live by faith is another.
If you're not a Christian here this morning,
maybe you're friends with Christians
and you've heard Christians say that
we must believe in Jesus.
But what does believing actually look like?
Is it just believing that Jesus existed
as a historical person?
And what does faith actually look like?
Today, we are in the seventh
out of an eight-part sermon series
on the book of Numbers,
the fourth book of the Bible.
Numbers is all about God rescuing his people
out of slavery in Egypt
and bringing them into the promised land,
the land flowing with milk and honey,
the land of Canaan.
But before entering the promised land,
Israel goes through a long journey
in the wilderness.
It's a striking illustration
of the Christian life.
Once, we too were slaves to sin.
But now God has rescued us,
given us a new life,
a new worldview,
a new hope,
a new future.
But before we get to glory,
before we see Jesus face to face
on that special day,
we too are wandering
and going through
our own little wilderness.
And that wilderness,
this journey,
has its ups and downs,
temptations and uncertainties,
brokenness and suffering.
And life often does feel like
being in the wilderness.
For some more background on numbers,
numbers can be broken down
into three sections.
The first section,
chapters 1 to 10,
is this epic buildup.
It's the bottom of the map there.
At Mount Sinai,
God speaks and provides
clear instructions for Israel
as to how to live well
with God and with each other
on the way to the journey,
on the way to Canaan,
the promised land.
The second section,
chapters 11 to 25,
Israel leaves Sinai
and is on the move.
And here,
we've seen story after story
of God's people rebelling
against Him,
complaining,
grumbling,
wanting to go back to Egypt,
outright rejecting God,
shaking their fist at God.
At the heart of it,
what drove this rebellion
was unbelief
in here,
in their heart.
Israel did not believe
in the promises of God.
And the third and final section
of Numbers
is from chapters 27 to 36.
And connecting the second
and the third sections
is a sort of bridge,
which is Numbers 26,
the second census.
We didn't read it today.
Right before today's reading.
And if you recall,
back in chapter 1,
the very beginning of Numbers,
God instructs Moses
to count every male
above the age of 20,
and that number came
to about 600,000,
including women and children.
Israel was about 2 million
at the beginning
of the journey
in the wilderness.
But by chapter 26,
about 38 years later,
most of the old generation
had died out
in the wilderness
because of their unbelief.
And so this second census
in Numbers 26
counts the new generation
of God's people.
And so as we look now
at this third and final section
of Numbers,
today and next week,
Israel has clocked in
close to 40 years
of desert wandering,
and now they stand
on the plains of Moab,
right on the border
of the promised land.
And now the big question is,
what will the new generation
be like?
Will they be a copy
of the old generation,
those with unbelieving
and hardened hearts,
whose bodies were buried
in the wilderness
because of unbelief?
It's kind of like
at the company you work at.
The old management
were not very good,
created a bad culture,
and they basically
ran the company
into the ground.
But fortunately,
they've retired,
and the new generation
has stepped up,
and now they're leading
the organization.
And the question is,
what will the new generation
be like?
So as we open
this third section
of Numbers,
we'll look at
these two passages
today that center around
these five daughters
of Zelophehad.
These two related stories
serve as bookends
of the third
and final section
of Numbers,
chapters 27 and 36.
This is a deliberate move
by the author of Numbers
to put a spotlight
on these women
as great examples
of the new generation.
In many ways,
these two passages
are mirror images
of one another,
with the first
leading to the second.
both passages
have three components.
First,
family members
from the tribe
of Joseph
approach Moses
with a petition
related to land inheritance.
Second,
God, through Moses,
responds and agrees
with both petitions.
And then third,
after granting
each petition,
God codifies
these rulings
into permanent
statutes and rules.
Kind of like God
uses these examples
as case law.
Let's look at
these passages now.
In the first one,
number 27,
the five daughters
of Zelophehad,
Machla, Noah,
Hogla, Milcah,
and Terza,
approach Moses
with their petition.
Let's look at our Bibles
in chapter 27,
verses 3 and 4.
They say,
Our father died
in the wilderness.
He was not among
the company of those
who gathered themselves
together against the Lord
in the company of Korah,
but died for his own sin.
And he had no sons.
Why should the name
of our father
be taken away
from his clan
because he had no son?
Give to us
possession
among our father's brothers.
Our father has died.
He wasn't part
of that particular group
led by Korah
that shook their fist
against God,
rose up against God,
and as a consequence,
the ground swallowed them up
and they were buried
right away.
But we admit,
our father was
of the old generation
who did not believe
in the promises of God.
He did not believe
that God would bring us
into the promised land,
and because of
father's unbelief,
he died in the wilderness.
But we're not like
our father's generation.
We believe
in the promises of God,
that God will carry us
into the promised land.
The daughters believed,
but something was
in their way,
and this was the catalyst
that drove their petition.
Again,
part of the reason
for the second census
in the previous chapter
was so that
land could be allocated
according to the size
of each tribe.
Larger tribes
were allocated
a bigger amount of land,
and smaller tribes
were allocated
a smaller amount of land.
But because Israel
was not yet
in the promised land,
land inheritance laws
were still being worked through.
More clarity
was still needed
as to how the laws
would be implemented
as they were still theoretical
and not yet put
into a real-life scenario.
It's like when we first
considered moving here
to, moving Watermark
here to Viva.
We began some
preliminary discussions
with our landlord
on preliminary terms
by which we may move here,
but nothing was finalized
nor legalized
until we signed
a tenancy agreement.
And so when the five daughters
approached Moses
and Israel's leaders
in the current draft
understanding
of land inheritance laws,
only sons would share
in land inheritance.
The expectation
was that daughters
would marry
into land ownership
if they got married
on their husband's side.
Now the five daughters
did not have a problem
with this.
What their petition
was about
related specifically
to their own family.
Our father has died
because he has no sons.
Our father's allocated land,
the land allocated to him
as his inheritance
will now go to his brothers
and our father's descendants.
us,
and if we get married,
possibly our children
and our children's children
and so on and so forth,
our descendants,
we will lose
our inheritance forever.
Imagine your parents,
they have a treasured heirloom,
maybe a piece of jewelry
or a watch,
you know,
that Patac Philippe commercial
where you've got to hand
that thing down.
Your parents give that to you
and they say,
pass it down to your children,
which you want to do,
you want to pass it down
for many generations to come
but somehow you lose it.
Moses brings the petition
to God
and amazingly,
God responds.
Can you imagine,
you think about that,
God responds
to the petition
directly.
The daughters of Zelophehad
are right.
You shall give them
an inheritance.
Transfer the inheritance
of their father
to them.
And then in the next
three verses,
8 to 11,
God takes this case study
and commands it
into permanent law
for all Israel
going forward.
The man dies,
has no sons,
inheritance goes to daughters.
Has no daughters,
goes to his brothers.
No brothers,
goes to his uncle
and so on and so forth.
Now we get to chapter 36
and this is where
it gets a bit spicy.
The statue and rule
that God had just
put in place
where daughters
would inherit land
if the father
had no sons
has caused a stir
among other members
of the family,
other members
of the tribe.
In chapter 36,
the members
of the clan of Gilead
who are likely
the second cousins
of the five daughters,
they approach Moses.
They're also part
of the new generation
and they approach Moses
with their own petition.
Look at chapters 36
verses 2 and 4.
Essentially,
they come and they say,
if our second cousins,
these five daughters,
if they marry men
in another tribe,
the tribe of Judah,
a different tribe,
then that land
which was supposed
to be ours
for our tribe
to inherit,
the tribe of Joseph,
that would be transferred
to a different tribe
and our tribe's
land ownership
over a long period
of time will shrink.
What happens?
Again,
God responds,
verse 5,
the tribe of the people
of Joseph is right.
The five daughters
can marry
whom they think best.
Only they shall marry
within the clan
of the tribe
of their father.
And then God goes on
and commands this
into a rule
and statute.
Okay,
everyone with me?
That was a lot of narrative.
No?
So does like confused?
Sorry.
Chat later.
So what does this,
what does all this narrative
tell us
about the new generation?
What does this tell us
about the new generation?
They had faith.
They believed God
would honor his promise
and deliver them
into the land.
That is why in faith
they asked for an inheritance.
Let's compare them
to the old generation.
Back in chapter 11,
what happened back then?
They grumbled
and complained
for they hated
the manna
that God provided.
They preferred
the combination
of slavery
plus cucumbers
versus freedom
plus manna.
Chapter 14,
when they heard
about giants in Canaan,
they cried out,
God,
why would God
take us out of Egypt
just to kill us
in the desert?
Chapter 16,
the men,
led by Korah,
they rose up,
they shook their fist
against God.
They wanted
to overthrow Moses.
In spite of all
God had done for them,
rescuing them
from slavery,
sustaining them
in the wilderness,
they did not believe
that God would honor
his promise.
You see,
the old generation,
they had no faith.
And this is in spite
of the fact
that they were Israelites,
covenant members
of God's chosen people,
descendants of Abraham,
God's friend,
circumcised.
On the surface,
they looked pretty good.
If you asked,
they would have said,
yeah,
we're people of faith.
But numbers shows us
the old generation
had no faith.
It's a mirror
into our own lives.
We can attend church,
join a CG,
even read the Bible
and pray.
And when the sun
is shining high,
when we're making money,
getting married,
having children,
when our health is good,
yeah,
we believe God is good.
But in the wilderness,
when life gets uncomfortable,
and it always does
at some point,
when storms come
and the future
is a bit cloudy,
we too may be
full of unbelief.
We too may realize
we actually have no faith.
But here we have
these five young women
of the new generation,
women of great faith
as they held on
to the promises of God
and looked to their inheritance.
But faith is not
just some passive idea.
They didn't just sit back
and observe and wait.
Faith is active.
They took steps forward.
So what were some marks
or signs
of their faith?
Remember,
at this very point
in Numbers,
Israel is camped
on the plains of Moab,
still in the wilderness,
and as she looks
into Canaan,
those giant enemies
are still there.
And these are not like
the giants
from the movie Shrek.
The Bible describes
in detail
the weakness
and the violence
of the people
of Canaan.
They would burn
their own children
as sacrifices
to their false gods.
Only by the hand
of the sovereign God
could Israel
defeat her enemies.
And yet,
she couldn't just
stand still.
The new generation
would have to go in
and take the land.
The men of Israel
had to physically move in
and face their enemies.
And to do all this,
all those
in the new generation,
including the five daughters
of Zelophehad,
had to have
great courage.
But the daughters
also needed courage
not just to enter Canaan,
but to face Moses
and their own people
as well.
Remember the challenge
at home?
Their father's inheritance
would go to their uncles.
The daughters
and their descendants
would lose their inheritance
forever.
Can you imagine
being in their situation?
They were not like
the older generation
who died for their unbelief.
The daughters,
they were faithful
young ladies.
They believed God
would carry them
into the land.
They wanted to safeguard
their inheritance
for generations to come.
That's why they asked
for a possession.
But life is complicated
and this obstacle
is now standing
in their way.
And so they took
a bold and courageous step
in front of all God's people
and directly to God's
chosen representative,
Moses.
Not just any leader.
Remember in Numbers 12,
God said,
to prophets,
I make myself known to them
in a vision or in a dream,
but not with Moses.
With Moses,
I speak mouth to mouth,
clearly,
not in riddles,
and he beholds
the form of the Lord.
In my very first job
when I was 23 years old,
I met the CEO
of the bank
that I worked at
and I met him
and shook his hand.
I didn't ask him
for any land or anything.
I was so nervous
meeting him.
The daughters were meeting
God's appointed CEO
and yet they approached Moses.
Give to us a possession
among our father's brothers.
What is your reaction
to the petition
by the daughters?
Do they seem
greedy?
Self-centered?
Should they read
the room better?
How dare they question
God's prophet Moses?
Or,
are they taking
a bold and courageous step
to grab hold
of what God
had promised them?
To grab hold
of what God
had promised their family,
their clan,
their tribe?
Are they stepping out
at great risk
of being rebuked
by Moses
and Israel's leaders
to take hold
of the promise
that God made
to Israel's forefathers?
As a brief aside,
isn't this
a wonderful illustration
that in the Bible
women
and young women
at that
could petition
God directly
bypassing
social norms
where in ancient times
and perhaps
even today,
women would have
to keep quiet
or perhaps go
through a clan member
or a tribe member
and not go directly
to God
through Moses?
I think it's a very
encouraging word today
for the ladies
at Watermark.
Your voice is important.
The five daughters
took that step.
They didn't grumble.
They didn't complain.
They didn't feel
sorry for themselves.
They didn't try
to overthrow
the leadership of Moses.
They did not shake
their fist at God.
They believed
in the promises
of God
and they took
an active
and risky step
and that took
some serious courage
because one mark
of faith
is courage.
Throughout the Bible,
every individual
who labored
for God
exhibited
faith-led courage.
Moses
leading God's people
out of Egypt.
Ruth
caring for her
mother-in-law
Naomi
in a foreign land.
How about
all the disciples
of Jesus
following him
amidst
great persecution?
How about
for you?
How about
for you today?
Where is God
calling you
to act
with faith-driven
courage?
At work?
Standing up
against unethical
business practices?
Speaking up
to protect
those who are
oppressed
that can't
speak up
for themselves?
Sharing the gospel
even though
we don't know
how our friend
or loved one
will respond?
See,
one mark
of faith
is courage.
What is another
mark of faith?
Well,
in the second
passage
in chapter 36,
it's now
the second
cousin's turn
to make
their petition.
They petition.
God agrees
with it.
And in verse 6,
God commands
the daughters
of Zelophehad.
You can marry
whom you think
best,
but your husband
must be
of the same
clan
as your father.
No more
marrying
outside your
tribe.
I wonder
if the daughters
struggled
with this
command,
given the
pool of
potential
husbands
would have
been diminished
quite a bit.
The math
looked a lot
worse.
11 out of
12 tribes
were no
longer
in the
pool.
Well,
how do
they respond?
In verse
10,
the daughters
of Zelophehad
did as the
Lord commanded
Moses.
They lived
out their
faith
by obeying
God's command
so that
the land
that they
would inherit
would remain
not just
within their
own family
but within
their own
tribe.
and through
their
faith-led
obedience,
their tribe
would be
blessed
with
inheritance
from God
for many,
many,
many generations
to come
because a
mark of
faith
is obedience.
Well,
let's be
honest.
It's tough
to obey
God,
isn't it?
It's just
me.
It's just
me,
I think.
I used
to think
that obeying
God was
like getting
handcuffed
versus
experiencing
freedom.
Following
the world's
gospel,
you know,
in the short
term at least,
it's a lot
easier.
It's much
more attractive.
But what I've
been learning
through many
mistakes and
lessons over
the years is
that what may
seem like a
limitation is
actually the
path to
blessing.
And I don't
just mean
material,
physical
blessing.
The numbers,
everything God
commanded Israel
to do,
wasn't because
God wanted
to put
handcuffs on
her.
God wanted
Israel to
stay on
course in
the wilderness
so that they
would get to
their destination,
their inheritance,
the land where
they would live
with God
and be blessed.
And today,
God urges us
to obey him,
not to remove
our fun.
By the way,
if you recall,
quite a while ago,
Kevin reminded
us that when
Jesus turned
water into
hand sanitizer,
no wine,
right?
That joke
didn't land
very well.
God urges us
to obey him,
to help us
safeguard our
inheritance,
our home
in heaven.
You see,
in the wilderness
of life,
we'll have good
days and bad
days and ups
and downs.
There will be
complications,
disappointments,
and temptations.
Through faith-driven
obedience,
God carries us
through to
receive our
inheritance.
Living a life,
honoring God,
finishing well,
meeting Jesus
face to face,
that is what it
means to be
blessed.
The writer of
Hebrews reminds
us in 4 verse
8,
for Joshua,
Moses' successor,
had given them
rest.
God would not
have spoken of
another day
later on.
See,
Joshua would
ultimately guide
the new generation
into the promised
land.
But the promised
land was never
the final destination.
There will be
another day
where Christians
will inherit
our eternal
home and
finally find
rest.
And like a
will which is
only enforced
upon death,
our inheritance
in heaven is
only possible
because of the
death of Jesus
Christ on the
cross.
It's through
him.
Christ alone
that we can
receive our
inheritance.
Let's not be
like the old
generation who
recalled the
people of God,
but in fact
they had no
faith and did
not finish well.
Let's keep our
eyes on the
certainty of
God's promises.
Remind yourselves
about God's
promises daily by
reading your Bible.
Pray for more
understanding.
Teach these
promises to your
children so they
too may inherit
promises.
Share God's
promises to your
friends who may
not know him
yet.
And today if
you're here and
you're not yet a
follower of Jesus,
this inheritance that
we're speaking about,
the eternal inheritance
to Jesus is open
to you as well.
It's really open to
you.
Come talk to me or
Colin or another
elder or leader.
We'd love to talk to
you about receiving
your inheritance.
Okay, so what does
all of this mean for
us here today?
Well, maybe some of
us think that living
by faith means that
it's all on our own
shoulders.
It's all up to us.
We just have to
persevere and grit
our teeth.
It's true that the
Bible never says,
the Bible never says
the wilderness of
life will be easy.
But consider this.
This is sort of what
living by faith is
like.
You're standing at
Central Pier and you
need to swim across
Hong Kong Harbor.
It looks impossible,
it's so far.
But you take the step
to ease into the
water.
You start swimming.
It takes courage,
what you do.
It's tough.
But as you focus on
the destination,
which is TST,
we're going to have
a delicious dinner
with your friends,
before you know it,
you're there.
You've made it.
Or,
living by faith is
like you have a
10,000 word paper
that you must finish
to graduate
this course.
It's so much work.
You don't know how
you're going to do it.
You must sit down
in front of that
laptop and put pen
to paper.
And when you do,
you start writing
with an eye on
graduation and your
summer holiday to come
on the beach,
you write a few lines,
you write a few paragraphs,
and before you know it,
you finish that paper.
It's like in the wilderness
in Numbers.
It was tough.
The Israelites
didn't have a stable home.
They lived in tents.
They weren't in control
of the basic necessities
like food or water.
They had to rely on God.
But the new generation,
they kept their eyes
on the promises of God.
And time and again,
God carried her through.
We too, today,
must take steps
by faith,
with courage,
and obedience,
remembering that Jesus
has already done everything.
And as we trust God,
by the power of his spirit,
he will carry us through.
As Paul reminds us in Romans,
he who did not spare
his own son,
but gave him up for us,
how will he not also
with him graciously
give us all things?
So church,
where is God calling you today
to take that step of faith,
to live by faith,
with courage,
and obedience?
We're all unique
and different,
facing different challenges
and obstacles
in the wilderness of life.
Here are just
four application questions
for us to consider.
First,
if you take stock
of your daily routine,
would you admit
that you've been cramming
everybody and everything
into your schedule,
but Jesus,
he's actually very much
secondary in your life.
What does it look like
if by faith
and obedience
you reprioritize
your life
to put God first?
Or for singles,
like with the daughters
of Zelophehad,
within God's people,
the church,
the possible marriage partner
seems limited,
and you see more possibilities
outside church.
In light of this,
what does it mean
to protect your inheritance
through faith
and obedience
in relationships?
Or maybe you have tension
with a friend,
a CG member,
or a family member.
You're tempted
to walk away
and not deal
with that conflict.
You want to distance
yourself from them
and not properly
care for them.
What does living by faith
with courage
and obedience
look like?
And finally,
perhaps you have a friend
who's going through
a tough time
who doesn't know Jesus.
You feel led
to share the gospel
with them,
but you're worried
that your friend
may think less of you.
How is God calling you
to have faith-led courage
to share your inheritance
with your friend?
In closing,
two books later,
in the book of Joshua,
the new generation
of Israel,
those that had faith,
finally enter
the promised land.
And in Joshua 17,
the five daughters
of Zelophehad,
they are mentioned
one last time
in the Bible.
Now in the promised land,
they approach Joshua
and Israel's leaders
and remind them
of the promise
that God made them
in number 27.
And in Joshua 17,
verse 4,
the Bible says,
according to the mouth
of the Lord,
God gave them,
the daughters,
an inheritance
among the brothers
of their father.
God made good.
God made good
on the promise
he made
to the five daughters
of Zelophehad.
They would receive
their inheritance
and pass it on
for many generations
to come.
God always honors
his promises.
And so,
Watermark,
as we journey
through the wilderness
of life,
with all the ups
and downs,
let's do this
as a community.
Let's fix our eyes
on our inheritance,
heaven with Jesus.
And like the new generation
of God's people,
may the promise
of our inheritance
embolden us
to live with courageous
and obedient faith.
Let's pray together.
Father,
let's pray.
Thank you,
Father,
for speaking to us
today through your word.
Thank you for the entire
book of Numbers
and all the examples
that you have
shared with us
to guide us
and lead us,
to warn us
and to encourage us.
I do pray,
God,
that as we
continue on
in the service,
may your spirit
be working in us,
illuminate our hearts,
help us to digest,
understand what you
want to say to us
today.
May we,
Watermark,
be a people
with faith-led
courage and obedience,
God.
Not like the old
generation
who suffered
from unbelief.
May we be people
who believe
in the promises
of God.
and thank you
for your son.
You can only believe
in the promises,
we only have a promise
of God because of you,
Jesus.
So thank you
for your son
as we continue
the service.
Help us to fix
our eyes on him,
to love and trust him.
In Jesus' name,
amen.
Amen.