Now we're going to be parked right there in Number 25 for most of the morning, but before we get started, I want to just bring us up to speed on where the children of Israel are at this point in their history. If you would just turn back again, and keep something there in Number 25, just turn back a few pages to Numbers 22. Now just very quickly, you're turning to Numbers 22, but if you would recall in Numbers 21, we saw that the children of Israel had just come and brought great victory in that side of Jordan. They had slain several kings. They had slain Sihon, king of the Amorites and Og, the king of Bashan. They had experienced great victory.
As a matter of fact, if you look down there, Number 22 and verse 2, we see that Israel also had the heathen of the land on the run at this point in the story. The Bible says in chapter 22, verse 2, "And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time."
Then of course we know the familiar story of Balak and Balaam in chapters 23-24. That's where we find Israel in chapter 25. We find them, and if you're still there in 22 verse 1, I want to point out one thing there, chapter 22 verse 1. We find them on the course of going in to the promised land. They are literally on the edge of crossing over Jordan and going into the promise land. That is where we find Israel. The Bible says in 22 verse 1, "And the children of Israel set forward and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side of Jordan by Jericho."
If you recall when they crossed over Jordan into Jericho in the land of Canaan, Jericho was the first city that they took on and defeated. That's how close the children of Israel are to entering into the promised land. Their 40 years of wandering are coming to an end, and we can prove that further there. If we looked at, back in chapter 25, and I won't take the time to beat this thing too long. The Bible says that Israel abode in Shittim.
We won't turn there, but if you were to go over to Joshua chapter 2, and chapter 3 and look at the first verses of those chapters, you would see that that Shittim is where Joshua sent our the spies from to go into Jericho. They are literally just a few day's journey. They can throw a rock into Canaan. This is how close they are. They were nearing the end of their wandering. This really is a really sad story in chapter 25. This is probably one of the saddest stories you'll read in the Bible, in my opinion, simply because of the fact of what Israel had gone through at this point, how close they were to victory in their lives, and then the great sin that they just fall into.
We can almost become careless at this point to the sadness of the story, because it's just become common place with Israel. They see a great victory for God, and they fall back into scene and it happens over and over, and it continues to happen in Canaan. This seems to just be another instance. The first thing I want us to notice there in verse 1 is the Bible says that Israel abode in Shittim. They were idle. They were not moving forward for God. They were idle. They were standing still. It was at that time that Israel began to notice the inhabitants of the land. They started. They had time to stop, taking the sites of Moab and they began to notice the daughters of Moab.
The Bible says in verse 1, "The people began to commit whoredom." You see sin always has a start in your life. There is always a start to sin. There is always a point of origin of sin. It has a beginning. That's the way it was here for the children of Israel, it had a beginning. They had a start to sin. They began to commit whoredom.
You might be sitting here tonight, we're in Faithful Word Baptist Church, oh this morning excuse me, and you may to yourself, "Well I have never committed such and such a sin, well I have never done this sin or that sin." Let me remind you that every sin has a beginning. The Bible says, "He stands take heed lest he fall." That's what I want to remind to do today that this is just to take heed. You see when you're bored today, what you said, "I'd never to that," you might adore it tomorrow. The children of Israel are just slain kings, they are just slain the heathen and now they're committing whoredom with their daughters.
There is always a first to everything and sin is no exception. There is the first step. There is the first path. There is the first web search. There is the first innocent conversation with somebody else's wife. There is that first white lie. There is that first petty theft. There is a first to sin. The children of Israel began to commit whoredom.
Verse 2 the Bible says that they began to commit fornication. They called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, and the people did eat and bowed down to their gods. Children of Israel are bowing down to their gods, that's where we find them this morning, after having great victory. You see sin has a start and sin always has a progression. Sin always leads you down the path it wants to take you. It started out as them just committing a little whoredom, a little fornication, they move right on into idolatry, full-blown idolatry, bowing down to these gods of the heathen.
That's the way it goes. Sin has a progression. Even a little child's white lie will lead them down the path to where all liars go, Washington D.C. A little remedy for this morning, that's about as political as I'm going to get though. The Bible says in verse 3, "Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel." Sin always has a start. Sin always has a progression and sin always brings the same results, the anger of God, the wrath of God, the punishment of God. The chastisement of God is what sin will bring in your life.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall reap of the flesh corruption, and when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. Sin always brings forth death. That's exactly what we see happen here. They committed little fornication, they got into sin. They got into adultery, and it brought God's wrath, and it brought death.
Chapter 4, oh verse 4, excuse me, "And the LORD said unto Moses, 'Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.' And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, 'Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.'" Sin brings death this morning, that's what it brought to the children of Israel's lives.
Moving on in our story in verse 6 the Bible says, "And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." That's really something, isn't it? Who is this ungodly couple in verse 6? Who are these two? Who do they think they are?
The Bible tells us who they are. It tells us exactly who they are. Look at verse 14. "Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri," that's his name, "the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian."
Now my question is, why does God take the time to tell us who these people are? Who cares who they are? They didn't do anything great for God. They were committing whoredom in the midst of the children of Israel. Israel is being plagued for their sin and they are taking part in it. Who cares who they are, but God has put it in there. The question is why, why would God do that? I believe it's because God wants us to understand one thing, he is no respecter of persons. See these were the children of princes. These were the children of important people in their lands. Their parents were the heads of households.
God doesn't care who your mummy and daddy are. He doesn't. You'll answer for your sin. God is no respecter of persons. In God's eyes ... The world said, "Oh these are important people. These are children of princes." In God's eyes it was a whoremonger and it was a whore. That's what God saw. that's why I think God put that in there, just to let us know, I don't care who these people are, I'll still judge them.
My friend in verse 6, what Zimri and Cozbi were doing this was not just bad timing. This was not just him going on out, getting his whore and coming back and saying, "Oh what's the matter guys? What is everyone so upset about? What's the problem? Why is everybody weeping?" That's not what happened. It wasn't bad timing. What this was was [brush bold 00:09:54] sin in the face of God. That's what it was. It was brush bold sin.
The Bible says in verse 6 that they did in the sight of Moses. There was no attempt to hide their sin from the man of God. It says they did it in the sight of the congregation. There was no respect for the purity of the minds of others. The Bible says they did it in the sight of those who were weeping. There was no remorse for the dead. There was no remorse for the mourning. The Bible says they did it before the door of the tabernacle. There was no reference for God's house. The Bible says there was no reference for God's house. They did it in the sight of all these people, in front of God's house.
We would say here in this morning that's terrible. We would never do anything like that. We would never see anything like that happen here. What if I told you I have? What if I told you I have seen it? What if I told you I sat out there while the man of God was preaching from God's word, and I watched a young man stare at a young lady's thighs because she had a skirt on that was just a little too short. I'm not saying passing glance. I'm saying sitting in this church staring at at ladies. What if I told you that? It never happened here. It's happened. We can have a Zimri in our house. Israel did. Israel saw great things for God, still had a Zimri. You don't think we can have here? Sure we can.
Zimri and Cozbi they had no restraint, they had no remorse, they had no reference, and as a result they were shown no mercy. Verse 7 and 8 the Bible says, "And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly, so the plague was stayed from the children of Israel." There was no mercy for these two. I don't think Gandhi read that part. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Congregation:
Yeah.
Corbin Ressl:I think a lot of Christians haven't read that part. It's true. How does it go, "hate the sin, love the sinner." That's what they say, isn't it? It makes me sick. I used to hear people say that, how sick they got of hearing that. I'm said yeah, that's pretty bad, then I can't believe how many times I've had heard that and now I'm sick of it. Hate the sin love the sinner. From what I'm reading there, Eleazar didn't subscribe to that philosophy. He had a pretty strong disdain for both seeing as he slain the sinner and the sin, all in one thrust.
I don't know where they get that. Christians say that and they don't even know what they are saying. Where do you get that? They don't even ... Or it's in the Bible. Is there a book with a second opinion somewhere? Is the gospel of Gandhi in the new testament. "Oh love the sinner, hate the sin." I move on.
The Bible says in verse 8 that he thrust both of them through, both of them through her belly. I'm not going to get any more detailed about the situation that the Bible does, but I believe this, he got them both in one shot. I believe he stuck that thing in them, went in one and out him and into the other and out the other, like the a little sinner [shish kabob 00:13:41]. Wounds can be one of the most painful ways to die?
Congregation:
Yeah, right.
Corbin Ressl:Do you know getting stubbed to the belly is probably the worst ways you can die, especially if it gets you in the stomach. Do you know your stomach is the only organ in your body that can handle the acids that bring it? What do you think is going to happen when it spills all those acids out in your body? Eew, that's what happened potentially. He definitely got them right through the belly the Bible says. Worst way to die.
That's why all the old westerns when the guy got shot, I'd all sit around and say, well there is only one thing you can. Give him a flask of whisky and make sure his revolver has got one good bullet in it. Take the letter to his mama out of his pocket, wish him well. See you in the great pasture above, brother. It's a terrible way to die. It can take five minutes. It can take five hours. You can live for days and die of the infection. Getting shot, getting stubbed ain't no way to die. It would take a while, and I believe Zimri had a little while to think.
People say that your life flashes before your eyes, now I don't know how anybody knows that. If it's true, everyone that's had that happen to them are dead, but that's what they say isn't it, that your life flashes before your eyes. Let's go with it. Let's say that Zimri is there, pinned to this woman, bleeding out in his tent, and he starts to have his life flash before his eyes. I wonder what are some of the things Zimri saw. What did Zimri see? What flashed before his eyes before he slipped off into eternity?
I wonder if maybe he certainly had been around, and there is a very good possibility that Zimri could trace himself all the way back to Egypt when he was just a little boy. What if that was the case? What if Zimri was just a little boy in Egypt? I wonder if [inaudible 00:15:40] dying, if you remember the time when he was playing with his friends out in the sands of Egypt and he looked up and he saw a man coming out of the desert walk by him, eyes cast down. He didn't know it was the mightiest, meekest man that ever walked the face of the earth outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moses came to town. What if you saw that? What if Moses might have passed a little glance as he walked by?
I wonder if Zimri was lying there and his warm blood was running out of his gut and down his legs, if he was reminded of the time he saw the River Nile turn into blood and run red. I wonder if maybe the birds or the insects in his tent reminded him when he saw the plagues and lies and the flies and the locusts come upon Egypt. I wonder as Zimri was lying there if he could hear the people or the congregation before the Tabernacle outside his tent weeping before God. I wonder if it reminded him the morning he woke up and heard the cries of Egypt mourning over the firstborn dead in the land.
I wonder as Phinehas' footsteps made the sound as he walked away from his tent, if old Zimri was reminded of the time his own footsteps were led out of Egypt once and for all. I wonder if the javelin in his belly reminded him of Moses' stuff when he stretched it out over the red sea to part the waters. I wonder if his dry-patched mouth desiring to drink water, reminded him of how those waters came down and crushed Pharaoh's army and delivered them from the hand of the enemy. I wonder if maybe the smoke of the altar in the camp rolled off and came on down into his tent and reminded him of the time he saw God decent upon Sinai in a pillar of fire.
I wonder if the shivering of his body reminded him how the ground shook under his feet when God came down. I wonder if his vision fading the black reminded him of the thick cloud and the darkness that encompassed the mountain. Last of all, oh I can't forget this one, I wonder if the last thing Zimri saw, as his vision finally faded out and he died, I wonder if the last thing he was was that golden earring hanging off the face of that dead whore in his tent. I wonder if it reminded him of the calf Aaron made. What a last thought to have before you die because of your sin.
I'd like to ask Zimri, "How do you like your sin, Zimri? How is it treating you? Is that whore breathing out with her last breath on dying devotion to you, or she cursed the day she met you?" The Bible says for unto whatsoever much is given, off him shall much be required. Truly Zimri had seen and had much of the Lord, and it's a sad story but I don't feel so bad for him. He got what he deserved. As bad as that all sounds, the worst thing that happened to Zimri, in my opinion, is he never got into the land of Canaan.
Think about it, come out of Egypt, dodge God's wrath all those years, came so close the first time, got turned back, managed to make it up to the plains of Moab, just outside of Jericho, sorry. You messed up. That's the saddest thing of all in it. Do you know what's sadder than, a lot of you are the same way. A lot of you are the same way. You're never going to see Canaan. You're never going to make it.
When I say Canaan, I ain't talking about heaven. That's not what Canaan is in the Bible, because you don't have to do anything to go to heaven rather than believe in Jesus Christ. You can be the whoremonger. You can be the fornicator. You can have all that sin if you want it, and if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you'll still make it, because it's not about the power of a changed life. It's about the power of the blood of Jesus Christ that saves us. I'm sick of these baptists and the repentance of your sins doctrine. I'm sick of it.
Every time I hear one say, I want to slap them and say, "You sound like a Mormon." They do, and you saw it there is no one right. How many Mormon doors have you knocked on? "Oh yeah, well you've got to repent your sin." That's what they say. It's in their book. Baptist, once you just convert, once you fly off to Zoloft or wherever they are going on. I think that's a psychiatric drug. It's what I call it, because you've got to be crazy to believe that.
That's a sad story, and that's where a lot of us are headed. We're never going to make Canaan. You're never going to see the power of God work in your life. You're never going to see the victory God wants to give you. Never. You're going to live your whole life, you know web. Just right there, Jordan is right there and that's where you're going to stay. You're never are you going to make it, you're going to die in Moab like Zimri. You're never getting all victory. Why? Same reason. You've got a whore in your tent. That's why you're never going to make it.
You have a whore in your tent. I'm not saying to everybody. I'm saying to everybody probably at some point if we're all honest. I'm saying, I'm not so foolish to think that there aren't people even in this room this morning that are just a little too much like Zimri and they've got a whore in their tent.
What do you mean? What whore? What whore Brother Corbin? I've got to get specific, right? I've got to get up here and starting naming sin, and as long as I don't name your sin, you're good. Come on, get specific. I want to know if I got that whore or not. Tell me. Tell me if that's the whore I'm thinking of. Okay. I'll get specific. I'll get specific on one, okay, just one. I'm only going to do one and I'm going to do it the best way I've ever had it done. I'm going to make a proposition to you. I'm going to make you an ungodly proposition this morning.
What if I came to you after service and I said, "Hey, I've been committing adultery on my wife, and we finally got divorced and I'm looking to check up with the floozy I've been running around with and we need a place to stay. If you don't mind I'd like to come in with you. Oh another thing, she and I we like to curse, drink, dress modestly, carry on, do all kind of ungodly things. We're going to need a whole room of your house. By the way, I'm not going to work. In fact I'm just going to stay home all day while you go to work, but I'll be there when you come home and you can spend all the time you want with me. Do you know when I'm going here?
As a matter of fact I'm not going to work and I'm not going to even pay rent, me and my floozy here, my adulterous whore, we're going to come and live in your house. As a matter of fact, you're going to pay me 100 bucks a month. It's not too expensive, is it? It sounds pretty cheap." If I came to you this morning, after service, and made that proposition you'd think this is crazy. You go run to the pastor. "Oh pastor, do you know Bro Corbin is committing adultery. He wants to come into my house. He wants to bring her over." That's what you do, and you should. Does anyone know what I'm talking about. Raise your hand if you think you know. What do you think it is. Just shout it out.
Congregation:
Affair.
Corbin Ressl:Who? I thought I ...
Congregation:
Affair.
Corbin Ressl:No, that's a good one though. We're going to next one. Television, your TV. That's the whore a lot of you got in your tent. "Ooh I can't believe you would say that? My television?" I can't believe you have a whore in your tent. You want to me to get specific, there you go. "Oh we would never do what Zimri did." Yeah, you pay somebody to pipe Moabite whoredom into your living room. You'll watch all the fornication, and the adultery, and the cursing, and the pornography, and the drinking, and whatever ungodliness they want to bring in your life and you're paying for it. That's the whore in a lot of people's tents. There I said it.
Congregation:
Amen.
Corbin Ressl:What else? I'm not going to carry on, because I've got a lot more notes. With the Bi ... Just generally speaking you want me to help you pinpoint the whore in your tent this morning? You want me to help you find her out? I'll tell you what it is. It's that sin you're thinking about right now. It's that what's got your stomach flipping and your palms sweating. You're just openly praying I don't say it. That's the whore in your life. It is. I've been there. I've been in a service like that, "Oh don't put my whore," that's the whore. I'm not going to stand up here and name every whore in your life. You know who it is.
The Bible says if our hearts condemn us, God is great than our heart and knoweth all things. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open under the eyes of him with him we have to do. It's that sin you think you can hide, that's the whore in your life. What's the name of your whore this morning? What's the name of your whore that you think you can hide? What sin is going to keep you on the wrong side of Jordan for the rest of your life? What sin is going to rob you victory? Hopefully you figure it out.
The next question is how do we get rid of that whore? How do we get rid of her? How do you get that whore out of the tent once and for all? I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. Before we talk about that, let's talk about how that whore got in there to begin, because that's going to help a lot of you, because some of you don't even realize that person in your tent is a whore. You think it's a member of the family, because she's been there so long. I mean she'd have to slap you and say, "Hey, damnie, I'm a whore!" "Oh yeah, that's right. I remember I went down to the corners of Moab and Midian and picked you up one night."
How did she get in there? Idleness, boredom, abiding in the plains of Moab. Abiding in the world, taking a little too long to soak it all in, not focused on where God was leading you. For that there is a remedy, and I want to get specific with one group of people, and that's young men who are not married, because you're sitting darts from the web. I've been there, and I feel sorry for you to a certain degree. "Oh I'm just waiting for God to send me a wife." You need to go find her. Oh this one doesn't like this about me. Change it.
You think I mean just some young girl, just some young Christian what makes you just well [inaudible 00:27:37]. Do you think that's what she wants? If there is something that is wrong with you as a Christian young man to the point where it's keeping you from getting married, change it. Otherwise you're just going to be out there, walking alone in the web. Sitting dart.
Congregation:
That's right.
Corbin Ressl:The devil is going to draw a big fiery dart, pooh, get you. Stay busy young man. Stay busy single young man. Stay busy. Work one job. Work two jobs. Work three. Pray, work, read, stay busy. In all labor there is profit, the Bible says, it's pretty profitable to keep the whore out of your tent, because she will cost you more than you want to give. Another way the whore gets in your tent this morning counting on yesterdays victories, coasting on the victories of the past. Thinking hey, the enemy is beat, we got him. Isn't that what happened here?
They defeated those two kings, got a little easy. They were pretty close to victory. They started kicking back, taking it easy. We shouldn't that. Coasting on yesterday's victories is assuming that the enemy is beat not considering, not walking circumspectly and considering the fact that the devil has more than one mode of attack. Not every enemy is going to meet out in a battlefield and ranking fire with mask hats drawn. In a war there is all kinds of attack. The devil has got gorilla warfare, he's got psyops. He's got propaganda, and that's what happened here, propaganda, psyops.
They said, "Boy, we cannot beat them on the battlefield, how are we going to get them? Let's get their God angry at them. We've seen what their God will do. No one can stand against their God including them. Let's get their God angry at them." How are they going to do that? The Bible says in verse 2 that they called to the people. They called. They started to call. They did not false them to come commit whoredom and bow down to their gods. They did not take their gods and the whoredoms to them. They called them. Come on over. They got Zimri, didn't they? "Zimri, Zimri, oh Zimri? Look at the ladies over here Zimri. Look at our daughters. You don't have to worry about a committed relationship over here. You don't have to worry about having kids," and we'll go into that.
They allure you to their calling. The Bible says in Proverbs, "For by means of a whorish woman, a man is brought to a peace of bread and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life." They are hunters, isn't that right? They are hunters. They are hunting down. Now any good honor doesn't go trumping out in the woods, making all kinds of noise. Where I am from in Michigan, we have turkeys year rounds. We don't see them just one day a week or one day a year. When we see them they still have the feathers and they are walking around. They will cross the road. You'll have to stop your car and let turkeys go in front of you.
How many people know turkeys can fly? You're still there. You know they sleep in trees, right, how do you think they get up there? A ladder, they jumped. No, they can fly, not very long. Where I come from we have turkeys and we have turkey hunters. When I say you're having turkeys where you live, you can go hunt a turkey, and every decent turkey hunter has a call. You've got to have a call. You've got to have the turkeys come in. The real good ones, and I'm not one of them, they don't even need to get one of the store bucks calls. They can just ololo. Now you know why I always got to go to Costco to get my turkey.
Every good turkey has a few good calls and they know how to call them in, and what's how my Moab did to them, and that's what the devil wants to do to you. He wants to call you in. He is calling, and I didn't live in the past. I don't have a time machine, but I have to imagine that Moab is calling pretty hard today, maybe a little bit more so than he has in the past. If we look around, the world is just calling everywhere we look. Every billboard, every advertisement, every commercial, on our phones, on our TVs on our tablets, it's all around calling us away from our God though we might incur his wrath upon in.
He's calling some of you in, you big old turkey. That's right, you are a turkey. He's calling you in. Devil is sitting out the bush and he's got all the warm clothes on. He's insulated, he's got his his plenty ammunition and he can wake you out. He's just olololo calling you in and you're just standing there pecking away in Moab, and you hear that call ololo. That sounds like Tom. That's a name of male turkey by the way, Tom. That sounds just like Tom. Did you hear that? Ololo, there it is again. I swear that's Tom. I thought they got Tom.
I thought he got served up last year, but that sounds just like him. The whole time you don't know, it's the devil. It's the hunter waiting in the bush. I'm going to say hi to Tom, it's been so long. You get all puffed up. You get the tail feathers out. Tom, mama coming and you come running right in, the devil just sitting there, "You sucker." You come in and the devil is well prepared for you.
When you are a turkey hunter, you figure out where you're going to sit, and then you cut what's called lanes of fire, and you take out all the branches and the twigs that might get on the way of the bullet. You get a nice, clean, line of sight on your target. He calls you in. He just, ololo, ololo. You are coming in. He puts that bean on your, pal, who got him? You're served up on Satan's platter, getting devoured to the bone. The whore is a hunter and she is hunting us. The world is after us today, and she is in our tent and we're in the congregation of God, and we've got a whore in our tent this morning. How did she get there? She called. See what Lord can deal with sin.
Now we can get to that other point, how do we get that whore out? "See, Bro Corbin I've got a whore. I know what her name is. She's been there so long. She nags me all the time. She won't leave. I keep paying her, paying her. She won't leave. She is taking everything I've got. I'm brought to a piece of bread. How do I get her out? Let me tell you what you don't do. You don't kill the whore. That's right. You don't kill the whore. The whore is not the problem. It is a problem but it is not the problem. Do you know who the problem is, Zimri. You need to kill Zimri. You don't need to kill the whore, you kill Zimri, the whore won't be there.
See killing a whore is no good because there is always another one to take her place. If Phinehas had gone in there with his javelin and ran the whore through and left Zimri to live, you know what he would have done? He would have drag out her carcass out in the wilderness, buried her, gone back to Moab and brought another.
Congregation:
That's right.
Corbin Ressl:That's what happens. You need to kill Zimri, not the whore. See, the whore is just sin, that's sin. It's everywhere. It says the dark paths, plural. There are so many of them, so many sins in Moab, so many daughters, so many whores they want to call and get in your tent.
If you're just going to go around slaying all the whores in this world, all the sin and whoredom in this world, you'd be slaying to a kingdom come. Nobody wants to do that. The good news is that's not what you have to do. You need to kill Zimri. Who is Zimri in your life? Your flesh, that's Zimri. Zimri is your flesh, and the whore is the sin that appeals to your flesh. Zimri is the source of the problem caused by would have stayed where she was in Moab with all her whore girlfriends, if she had not gotten taken away and brought to the congregation by Zimri.
Since he brought unto his brethren, Zimri ... Turn over to Romans, chapter 8, keep your pen there in Numbers but turn over to Romans, chapter 8. We'll spend a little time in the new testament for those that prefer it. Romans, chapter 8, beginning in verse 5. The Bible reads, "For they that are of the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
You cannot please God, according to the Bible if you are in the flesh. It doesn't please God that you have a whore in your tent, but you know what, it pleases him even less that you let Zimri live in your life. Zimri has set up camp in your life, and you're content to let him stay there, and God isn't pleased with you. You are not going to make one step closer to Canaan until Zimri is dead. You will not go one step closer. God has stopped you and said you will go no further until Zimri is dead. The Bible says, whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. Zimri is your flesh, he brings in the whore.
It sounds like Zimri has got a death sentence on his head, doesn't he? It sounds like there is a war out for Zimri. Zimri is not going to make it. He is dying one way or another, and if it's going to take God to do it, it's going to happen. God will judge the whoremonger. God will judge your flesh. Ye shall die if you live in it.
My question for you is this, why don't you just beat God with a bunch this morning? Why don't you just save God the trouble of having to come down and kill Zimri in your life? Why don't you get your hands dirty and kill Zimri? I don't want to, I kind of like Zimri. He is a good friend. Why don't you just be content to live in Moab for the rest of your life then, in the rocks with the bugs and the heat with no shade. You can have your whore, there is plenty of them. You'll get tired of them too, and you'll start to miss your old friends, as they pack up and you watch them leave and they go over to Canaan.
Maybe every now and then you'll hear a story about them about the great things that they have done for God, and you can talk to Zimri about it. Why don't you just put Zimri out of his misery this morning. It's easy than you think. I think this is the problem, I just can't. I can't. I just cannot get Zimri out of my life. It's easier than you think. "But you don't understand, my sin has been there so long. I can't let it go. It's my sin. I'm so accustomed to it. It's part of me." It's easier than you think to kill Zimri. It took Phinehas one javelin. He didn't array an army and go charge the tent. He stood up, grabbed a javelin, and went after him. He got the element of surprise.
Do you know if some of you turned on your sin this morning it would shock the devil? "Uh, I didn't see that coming. Yeah, neither did we." Why don't you get the element of surprise on your sin. Why don't you go in that tent and slay Zimri? It's easier than you think. All it took it was a javelin. The Bible says I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.
Congregation:
Amen.
Corbin Ressl:There is no sin that's going to have dominion over me unless I let it. Zimri is a weakling. It's your flesh. The flesh is weak. We let it rule us. It's easier than you think. It just took a javelin. Zimri didn't put up a fight, did he? He just died. One thrust, done. Once you've got Zimri dead, I just want to make this point before I move on, once you've got Zimri dead in your life, because some of you are like, well I don't have Zimri. You've done a pretty good job as far as everyone can tell.
You know what, I'm think in a lot of our minds, we have grave for Zimri. After we slew Zimri, we dug a little hole, in a nice little plot in a graveyard somewhere, right next to mama, and we put him in there and we bring him flowers every year. We think about all the fun times we had with Zimri and this whores. Zimri doesn't deserve a burial. Zimri isn't worth the sentiment.
I tend to think that the children of Israel, after Phinehas got done slaying Zimri, that he just walked away and left that flat door to the tent open, and they packed up and moved on, and said, "Let's the buzzards eat them. Hey, whosoever mocketh his father, the eagles of the valley shall plug out his eye, something like that. Let the buzzards eat Zimri, birds have got to eat Zimri's worms. Let them go in there and feat on his carcass. He doesn't deserve a burial, why don't you quit moaning Zimri. Some of you will just need to straight up slim.
You see the weapons of our warfare are mighty through God. All it took to get Zimri was a javelin. Just one javelin. That was easy. Do you know what the hard part of slaying Zimri is? You've got to Phinehas. Not just anyone is going to go slay Zimri in their life. You've got to get Phinehas. Some of you this morning need to get up and be like a Phinehas, and go slay Zimri. That's the hard part, being Phinehas. Slaying Zimri is easy. Zimri isn't going to kill himself, you have to do it, and in order to do it, you have to be a Phinehas. That's my challenge to you this morning. Be Phinehas, it's the only way to slay Zimri.
The Bible says in verse 7, "He rose up from among the congregation." Let me ask you, how do you become a Phinehas? You get in church. That's the first start. If you cannot get in church, and I'm saying get in church, "Well I'm here once a month." Ain't going to cut it, ain't going to cut it. That's why you have a whore in your tent. You've got to be Phinehas. If Phinehas was in church, he rose up from among the congregation. He was in God's house. Listen to that, God's men with God's people. Every chance he had. When they were weeping there, do you think that was like part of the scheduled services? That was a special service.
I think we ought to be in church every time the door's ... Hey, if being in church helps a whole lot more church helps a whole lot more. The Bible says iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friends. You need to give it God's people. Good luck killing Zimri with door instrument. Good luck killing him with a door weapon. Imagine Zimri going in that temple with a spoon. Ridiculous. That's what some of you are doing. I'm sick of Zimri. I want to get him, and you pick up your spoon and you go in there, and Zimri is just looking at you like, "Can't you see I'm busy. Come back later and I can help you."
The best you're going to do is bruise him. You'll certainly annoy him and he might slap you. Get out of here, I don't want to get beat up by no weakling like Zimri, a weakling of the flesh. I don't want a spoon. I want that javelin. I want it to be sharp. That's why I get in church with God's people, because God's people sharpeneth each other as iron sharpens iron. I'm looking at you right now and I can tell some you are getting a little sharper. Do you know what it takes to sharpen something? It takes a file. It takes a grinder, sparks fly, material gets thrown off cut.
A file is rough my friend. I'll tell you what, it might be a little rough this morning but you need it. You need it. I've been at it 15 years. I've seen him come, I've seen him go, and the only way I made it is I let him file on me. You'll think I've had a few javelins land in my lap over a decade than I have taken. So many preachers today all they want to do is get up and just annoys Zimri. Taste, taste children. Get your little spoon out. Stop it. That's not what is best for you now now, now. We need some preachers to stand up, pull out a javelin, and through to Zimri through. Amen!
Congregation:
Amen.
Corbin Ressl:It's getting quiet in here. Is this Faithful Word? Where am I? Amen preacher!
Congregation:
Amen.
Corbin Ressl:Slay Zimri, kill him. He deserves to die. The Bible says in verse 7, he took a javelin in his hand. Do you want to be Zimri or do you want to be Phinehas? Do you want to slay Zimri this morning? You get in church, and do you know what need next, you get your Bible. You need to get that javelin out. What's a javelin? It's a weapon. The Bible calls it a sword. What's a sword? It's a weapon. He took a javelin in his hand. Zimri, excuse me, Phinehas reads his Bible on a regular basis all the way through, cover to cover, not just the portions that he likes that tickle his ear.
You see the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. He took that javelin in his hand. It was in his hand when he went after him. Let me ask you, what's in your hand you wake up? Before you go to bed, what's in your hand? What have you got in your hand? When you have a few minutes in your day, like most people these days you're on your phone. It states in the text reading. I love doing that.
Someone is like, huh, it's got a slider. I don't remember that one. That was a range back in the day. That's what a lot of us got. When we wake up, the first thing oh I have to check Facebook, before we go to bed, in the dark laying in our bed, I care to look at the screen. Let me dig it down, wasting your time. Maybe that's a remote control, may that's what you have first thing in the morning. You've got to get that cup of coffee, watching the news, what's going on in the world, what the results say? Who is entering the race, who is falling out? What's the next devil that's going to be in the White House. Amen!
Congregation:
Amen.
Corbin Ressl:Maybe it's a tablet, some kind of device, Xbox controller, it's a computer mouse. I don't know, but it ain't the Bible, that's for sure. We got a real update on Facebook and I'm not against Facebook. I have a Facebook account, so I know what I'm talking about here, but the fact is some of you need to get your face in God's book and get your face out of Facebook.
Congregation:
That's right.
Corbin Ressl:That would help you so much. I've got a computer. I've got a Facebook account. I fold up my little laptop, I put my Bible on it. I put my memory card on it. I put my little composition notebook with all my little hard to read notes, and I say I'm not opening that thing up until I've done all this. There is nothing wrong on getting on Facebook. It's when it's the only thing that's on your hand it becomes a problem.
The Bible says in verse 11 that Phinehas turned God's wrath away from the children of Israel. The Bible says in verse 13 that he made an atonement for the children of Israel. Phinehas was a soul-winner he got in the way of God's wrath and stopped it. He made atonement. He went out like we do and preached the blood of Jesus Christ, the atonement. He was a soul-winner. You want to get the Zimri out of your life, get busy soul-winning. You won't have time for Zimri. You won't have time for Zimri reading your Bible. You won't have the time for Zimri praying. Zimri will get bored. He'll go somewhere else.
Last of all about Phinehas that's what you need to be this morning if you're going to get Zimri out. You need to be a Phinehas. He was zealous as it says in verse 11. "He was zealous for my sake among them. He was zealous," in verse 13, "for his God." He had zeal on how we're missing zeal today. We need some zeal among God's people. We need some zeal among God's preachers today that will get zealous for God's sake. We're zealous just not in a good thing. We're zealous about this and that and every other thing except God's sake. We're not zealous for God's people this morning. Get some zeal in your life. Be a Phinehas and go slay Zimri.
You see, the Bible says he zealous among them. He didn't care what everybody else thought. He stood up, grabbed that javelin and nobody was going to stop him. He didn't care about what you thought, about what he should or shouldn't do, what you thought about what he should or shouldn't say. He was zealous among the people, and he was zealous for his God, the only person whose thoughts he cared about and what they thought of him was God. He had some zeal.
I have no idea how long I've gone, but it looks like most of you are still with me. I hope I haven't bored anyone this morning. Allow me to review and conclude the sermon. Moab is calling to you today, and he wants you to stay forever. He knows how close you are to closing over Jordan. The devil knows just how close or far away you are from Jordan, and he knows just how hard he needs to call you, and Moab, make no mistake, he's calling for you today. If you linger in Moab, you will have a whore in your tent. You will. It's bound to happen. How long are you going to hold up onto the call of Moab in your flesh?
Now this day I am not listening to this. You're going to take those fingers out of your ears sometimes, but you know what, God is calling too. God is calling you out too, and he wants you to come over. He's ready to lead you into Canaan and he's promised you the victory, you have God's word on it. You have God's word that victory can be yours today over the whore. You have God's promise that you can go into Canaan land and see the walls of Jericho come down, every high thing which exalted itself against the knowledge of God, brought down by the power of God in your life.
The Bible says, ye are of God little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Do you have faith? You have victory, once you claim it. So many people are so close to Canaan today and they are so far away. They are so close, but they are so far. Why? Because they don't want to kill Zimri, because they like the whore in their tent.
Let me just end by saying this. If you're ever going to cross over Jordan, if you're ever going to go live in that promised land, that flows with the wholesome goodness of the milk of God and his care, if you're going to go over there and taste that sweet honey of victory, you must understand one thing, as Phinehas understood it, Zimri must die! Let's pray.
Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for the instruction that we can receive from it. Father I pray that everyone of us would examine our lives. Lord, that we would look for ways that we might have that Zimri in our life. I pray you would help every one of us to do as Phinehas did and to be zealous for our God get rid of him. We thank you, and we love you, and we praise you. We pray again for our pastor and ask that you would heal him, comfort him that he would be back behind the pulpit soon, in Jesus name. Amen.
