Scripture
25And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again. 26Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp. 27A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!” 28Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!” 29But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!” 30Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel. Numbers 11:25-29
Observation
Wishes really do come true! Moses wished that all the Lord’s people would be ministers. This story is a powerful precursor to what God would one day do in Acts 2 as a fulfillment of Joel 2 where He would pour our His "Spirit on all flesh" . More than the wish of Moses, it was always the heart of God that His Spirit would be “upon them all.” Not just one person, but every person. Not just one place, but every place. Not just one day, but every day. Not a competition, but a collaboration. We see a similar instance play out between John and Jesus, “49John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.” 50But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.” (Luke 9:49-50) When Christians were trying to compare the ministries of Paul and Apollos we see that in the kingdom of God it’s about everyone operating in their divine design so God gets the glory: “6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Cor. 3:6-9)
Application
Harry Truman once said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit,” I’d take it one step further and say “it’s amazing what you can accomplish when only God gets the credit.” This past Sunday I was inviting the church to our TFH Team night on Tuesday, March 1st. I asked them if they knew who was on the team and I saw blank stares. Then, I thought I would have some fun to illustrate the truth that we are all on the team. I said, “If you are a full-time minister in this room raise your right hand.” I few did because they knew where I was going with this, but most didn’t. I said something like, “If you have the Spirit of God inside of you are a full-time minister where you wake, work, and worship. So, let’s try this again. How many full-time ministers do we have in the room?” This time everyone’s hand went up. That’s what’s going on here in Numbers, in Luke, in Acts, in Corinthians. The Holy Spirit is reminding His Church that we are all “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pet. 2:9). Imagine what we could accomplish for the Kingdom of God of each of us stepped up and stepped in to our Divine Design? Lives would be radically changed, pastoral burn-out would be a thing of the past, celebrity Christianity would be tossed in the trash, the rapid expansion of the Kingdom of God would be seen in every area of our society. Moses may have wished it was that way in his day, but because of The Holy Spirit it can be, it must be in our day! Each of us must move from passive observance to active participation in the revival God is bringing. Instead of one person doing everything, every person is doing the one thing that makes them come alive!
Prayer
Moses was wishing for everyone in Israel to be filled with The Spirit. You didn’t tell us to wish it, you told us to pray for it and then to be the participate in it, “36 When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. 37 "What a huge harvest!" he said to his disciples. "How few workers! 38 On your knees and pray for harvest hands!"1 The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. 2 This is the list of the twelve he sent…” (Mt. 9:36-37, 10:1-2). I’m raising my hands Lord! I’m all in. Use these hands to reach the harvest. Help me to raise up and release others to do it with me. There are way too many people heading into a Christless eternity for us to be standing around assuming someone else will do the work.
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