I would this morning as we begin this course and this journey for these days of revisiting the call of God Upon Our Lives whether that be in music in preaching in Ministry or simply in serving I would that you turn with me this morning to what in my mind should fall within the definition of Katie Cannon's texts of Terror there is a text that troubles and terrifies me and allow me prayerfully cause it to terrify you this morning comes to us in the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament the 20th chapter of the Book of Numbers there is an incident recorded that ought to cause us to pause and pray as we seek to be about the business of our God numbers the 20th chapter want to begin reading in verse number one out of the new King James version of the Bible prayerful that you can keep long as long as your book says Bible numbers CH 20 beginning in verse number one then the children of Israel the whole congregation came into the Wilderness of Zen in the first month the people stayed in cadesh and Miriam died there and was buried there now there was no water for the congregation so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron Aon and the people contended with Moses and spoke saying if only we had died when our Brethren died before the Lord why have you brought up the Assembly of the Lord into this Wilderness that we and our animals should die here and why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place is it not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates nor is there any water to drink so Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tabernacle of meeting and they fell on their faces and the glory of the Lord appeared to them the Lord spoke to Moses saying take the rod you and your brother Aaron gathered the congregation together speak to the Rock before their eyes and it will yield its water thus you shall bring water for them out of the Rock and give drink to the congregation and their animals so Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he commanded him and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the Rock and he said to them here now you rebels must we bring water for you out of this rock then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod and the water came out abundantly the congregation and their animals drank then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron because you did not believe me to hallow me in the eyes of the children of Israel therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them this was the water of miraba because the children of Israel contended with the Lord and he was hallowed among them the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron because you did not believe me to hallow me in the eyes of the children of Israel therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them I want to talk very briefly from the time that is mine about Crime and Punishment the year was 1968 American society was still recovering from the deep racial divides that just begun to make progress Civil Rights Act a few years earlier in 1968 the Summer Olympics that year were held in Mexico City Mexico and it was great anticipation that these Olympics the first since the moving of civil rights do a great deal in healing our nation over the racial divides that it separate us for centuries Summer Olympics were held in 1968 Mexico City Mexico and on October 16th the final round of the 200 meters was run and according to plan we took both the bronze and the gold medal led by two African-American athletes from San Diego State University John Carlos won the bronze Tommy Smith Smith won the gold setting a then world record at 19.83% [Music] around his neck and they mounted that metal platform to receive their gold and their bronze medals the star spangle Banner began to play and rather than putting their hand over their heart they simply bowed their heads and lifted up fists that had on black gloves symbolizing their Unity with the black power movement that gesture caught media tension around the world world and when the star spangle Banner had finished playing the crowd immediately began to boo John Carlos and Tommy Smith they were quickly escorted out of Olympic stadium and Avery brund who was the chair of the international Olympic Committee the same brother who was serving on the committee who raised no objection to the Nazi salute being given during those Olympics said that these two young black men made a political statement that was inappropriate for the apolitical Olympic Games and by the power invested in him he suspended them from the Olympic team removed them from the Olympic Village they were given 48 hours to gather their property before their visas were turned in and they were arrested as trespassing on Mexican soil these two young brothers who had won the gold and the bronze medal were booed by the crowd suspended from the team ejected from the village and given 48 hours to get out of Mexico before they were arrested and trespassing when they arrived back home to the United States they were met by an angry white crowd that not only threatened their lives but demanded that their medals be taken from them these two young black brothers who won the gold and the bronze medal were booed by the crowd suspended from the team ejected from the village given 48 hours to get their possessions lest they be arrested on charges of trespassing came home met by a violent crowd that not only threatened their lives but demanded that their medals be taken it was Tommy Smith in reflecting over that moment in his book called Silent gesture says in the opening pages of his Memoirs that the punishment did not really fit the crime and my brothers and sisters I came by early on a Monday morning to suggest that there ought be something deep inside of each and every one of us that is deeply Disturbed whenever we see a blatant miscarriage of Justice whenever you see a penalty that is too severe a punishment that is too stiff and a price that is too steep something inside of you ought to be disturbed some holy righteousness ought to be discontented whenever you see somebody suffer something that is greater than the crime they committed right you ought to be disturbed when you read the new Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and find out about the blatant discrimination that incarcerates black and brown men for the same crime with a severe punishment than their white counterparts that ought to upset you you ought to be troubl when you find out that an ounce of crack will get you in jail longer than a pound of cocaine something about that ought to deeply disturb you and if there's anything inside of you that gets deeply Disturbed when the scales of Justice are unbalanced and when you receive a punishment that doesn't fit the crime then you ought to have issue with what goes down in Numbers Chapter 20 any of us who are serious about the kingdom of God ought to pay particular attention to what happens in this 20th chapter of the Book of Numbers let me give you the context so you can appreciate the content Moses been leading the children of Israel on their Journey to the prop promised land and in the 20th chapter they arrive at a little place called miraba and when they get to miraba there's a problem because there's no water there for the children of Israel or their animals so they come to Moses and they do what they know to do best complain they come to Moses saying mo why did you lead us here there's no water here and we're going to die if this were the case it had been better for us to die in Egypt than to come all this way and die in the wilderness now you need to know that Moses really is in a place to deal with it right now the Bible says that this is also the place where Miriam dies Moses sister who's been with him from day one and in the midst of personal grieving he's got to deal with some church mess of complaining folk who are upset and don't even allow him time to process his personal pain and so in the midst of grieving these children of Israel start complaining and Moses goes off he's tired of these folk cuz these are the most rebelling complaining fussing and arguing folk you didn't ever want to meet in life as a matter of fact the Bible calls him stiff necked and Moses is tired of stiff necked folk he's frustrated and fed up and angry with them so the Bible says that he goes to the Tabernacle of meeting he falls down before the Lord the Lord shows up this is what God tells Moses Moses don't worry about this I got it you see that rock over there go outside say what's up to the Rock step out the way and let me be God Mo Moses this is a easy problem you you ain't got to lose your head your blood pressure don't have to go up you ain't got to be frustrated go outside talk to the Rock step out the way and let me be God all right all right and the Bible says that old brother Moses goes outside he's still angry and in blatant Disobedience he takes his rod and he doesn't speak to the Rock he hits the rock not once but twice and the grace of God is that even in his blatant Disobedience the water began to flow freely out of the rock let me pause to just tell you why somebody missed their first amen because you don't realize that there have been some times when we have been blatantly disobedient to God you mounted the pool pit having done no exegetical homework you grabed the microphone having never prayed before the Lord and when you sang and when you preach as disobedient as you had been the grace of God was so good yes sir that the water began to flow anyway Souls got saved the church began to grow folk gave glory to God cuz his grace was greater than your Disobedience right take your time take time right in his Disobedience the water still flowed and it seems as if everything is fine but God ain't done yet God comes back after the water says to Moses and Aaron because of what you just did you will not enter the promised land Paul stop rewind press did y'all hear what God just said to Moses you will not go into the promised land y y'all I can understand God saying this to some of anybody else in the congregation of Israel but to say it to Moses Jameson as much as Moses has gone through as much as Moses has endured as many times times they called a church meeting on Moses and he had to live through iter it seems to me that if anybody deserved a pass it was Mo Lord I didn't ask for this I was minding my business on the backside of Mount horab I was happy doing what I was called to do and you called me to this and now you telling me I can't go into the promised land I'm come on God you know these people I'm dealing with you know how stiff neck they are as a matter of fact God you wanted to kill him a few chapters ago [Applause] and now I can't go in because I got mad with them because they frustrated me because I showed that I was Human After All y' y'all please Lord let it be more than the fact that Moses got frustrated with them I needed to be more than that because I came by honestly to admit on a Monday morning in safe space that church folk can wear you out no come on come on close the doors we we we safe in here church folk can get on your [Applause] last I gave up cussing till I start pastoring I'm telling you [Applause] cuz can't nobody frustrate you yes sir like church folk and if God would punish Moses like that simply out of frustration I come by tell you that you and me ain't got no [Applause] hope Lord why punish Moses like that why did die your manservant the promise you made simply because he got mad and hit the rock Lord says it's much deeper than getting frustrated with church folk that what happens here with Moses is a grievous crime that you and I must identify with lest we wind up with the same verdict over our ministry and our message that Moses had lord said listen here here's why I had issue with Moses number one because Moses wasted his worship with God that that he was rejected because he wasted worship y y'all watch the movement of the text the children of Israel complain Moses gets angry he goes to the Tabernacle of meeting he falls down on his face the glory of the Lord shows up God speaks and Moses leaves mad and hits the rock okay I'm going say it again the children of Israel complain Moses gets mad he goes to the Tabernacle of meeting he falls down in worship the glory of the Lord shows up God speaks and Moses leaves and hits the rock okay okay my pastor friend Cosby said third times it's charm here it is the people complain Moses gets mad he goes to the place of God he worships God God shows up God speaks and Moses leaves as mad after the benediction as he was before the call to worship yeah yeah and the problem is that he dwells in the place and the presence and the power of God and he is never transformed in the moment of [Applause] worship can I slide down the street to your church real quick that's what hurts a lot of our churches that we got folk who by the time they get in the sanctuary they're mad mad that life hadn't turned out the way they want mad that buo didn't say what buo needed to say mad that they got laid off of the job mad that they quiet wasn't singing to day mad that their preacher wasn't in the pull pit mad that they had to go to overflow mad that they had to drive around for a parking space and when they get in the sanctuary the only song they want to sing is I shall not be moved and the glory of the Lord shows up they won't say Amen they won't shout amen they won't wave a hand they won't nudge their neighbor they won't Shake somebody's hand like they about to shake it off cuz they're mad and they leave the same way they came in Mad bad attitude nasty disposition ugly spirit and got the nerve to tell folk on Monday they went to [Applause] church now the challenge it's about to get quiet is I'm not just talking about church folk I'm talking about us who've been called to lead in worship c c c c c can I tell you why musicians and ministers and singers and preachers are some of the most triflers Christians you didn't ever want to meet come come on come us just close the door don't let nobody go here because on Sunday we grabbed the mic and we press play play on that song you've been rehearsing play play on that sermon you've been writing play on that hoop and illustration you've been working and waiting to get out all week long and when it's over we leave the same wretched folk we were before we came because we LED worship but we did not worship and so worship becomes a performance for us rather than a transformative time time with God because when you bow in the presence of God and when you humble yourself and allow the glory of the Lord to touch your heart it ought to change some things in your [Applause] life I don't care how big your title is I don't care how well you can sing that song I don't care how well you can bump that ham and organ you ought to be in a place where the spirit of God is able to touch you like it touches anybody else that the longer you've been around God In Worship there ought to be some signs of it in your life um um I was preaching a little while ago and the pastor had a deacon come pick me up from the airport and and and cause when the Deacon picked me up he he blew my mind cuz we got in the car and he start are smoking a cigarette in a car with me now you you know that's Politically Incorrect you ain't supposed to do that I'm a guest preacher you ain't supposed to be smoking in the car and he smoked one and he put it out and I thought that was the end of it he lit up another one and I'm sitting in the car you know trying to give him signs and signals it bothered me cuz rolled window down and and said he just kept on smoking in the car with me when I got to the church I met the pastor I gave him a handshake you know gave him the brother hug and he he looked back at me he said Wes I ain't know you smoked I said I don't smoke but I've been locked up in a car with your Deacon who does smoke and I've been so locked up and tied up with him that now I smell like him wherever I go because that's how close I got to him let me talk to us worship leaders who don't smell like God on Monday who don't look like the Lord on Tuesday who don't act like God on [Applause] Wednesday part of the problem is that we're not truly worshiping God we're just performing our little solos and preaching our little sermons and going through the motions of worship but not actually worshiping God says to Moses listen your problem that you wasted your worship with me wow he says but there's another problem I have with Moses not only did he waste his worship it says watch this number two he was a wrongful witness of God now not only did he waste his worship of God but he was a wrongful witness of God can we have a little bible study early on Monday morning the children of Israel come to Moses and verse number three says they contend with Moses that word contemned in in Hebrews the word re uh it literally means watch this it doesn't mean to complain it means to raise a legally valid case they come to Moses with a valid issue ain't no water here we're going to die the animals going to die what you going to do it is a legally valid issue and you will note that God is not upset about it God shows no displeasure or disgust God doesn't threaten to destroy them as a matter of fact here's what the Lord says Moses don't trip over this I got it I will provide the Lord is going to be merciful the Lord wants to meet the need the Lord Lord wants them to have water now here's the issue at this moment the children of Israel Ralph they cannot go to God themselves they are directly dependent upon Moses to correctly convey to them what the Lord has said so they raised a legally valid issue God is is not upset but when Moses comes out of the Tabernacle of meeting and he hits the Rock in Anger he leads the people to believe that God is angry with them that the problem with Moses is that the ministry of Moses did not match the message of God that the witness of Moses was not congruent with the word of God God said I'm going to be merciful god says I'm going to provide God says I got it don't worry about it and Moses comes out and allows the people to believe that God is angry with them when God is not upset at all and there is is a problem when our ministry does not match the message that God has given us c c can can I take my pastor hat off and just tell you that I am deeply concerned and conflicted as a Christian by a lot of what I hear portraying itself as gospel music I am concerned and conflicted about some sermons I hear purporting themselves to be the good news of Jesus Christ I've got concerns with songs that have no biblical boundaries I have concerns about sermons where the Bible is unne necessary and extraneous I have concerns about us who grab the microphone and try to minister in the name of God but what we sing and what we Proclaim and what we preach does not match the message of what we received in God's holy word sounds good may win you a stellar award may cause folk to join your church but it is not accurate or authentic to the word of God that's proclaimed from the mouth of God and God says I did not call you to tell folk what you thought and how you felt and what ran across your mind I called you to be a witness of my word I knew it get quiet there wow the question I ask Moses at what point did you decide that what God Said was insufficient at what point did you determine you needed to doctor it up a little bit what point did you decide you needed more than what God Said at what point did the word of God become insufficient I I dropped that question on your lap for theological reflection this week at what point did for God so Lov the world that he gave his only begotten son become insufficient at what point did the Lord is my light and my salvation become insufficient at what point did God demonstrate his love toward us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly when did that become insufficient come by to preach here at hapton that there's a lot of good preaching in this here book there's a lot of good Inspirations for songs in this here book there's a lot of good news in this here book there's a lot that folk need to hear in this here book and you ain't got to doctor it up you don't have to add to it you don't have to Veer from it all you got to do is share what the Lord said but but but but Joe I figured it out I figured out out why our messages don't really match what God has said it's simple at least Moses spent time in the Tabernacle meeting preacher and could the problem be that we have a whole lot of preachers yeah whole lot of musicians whole lot of choir members who try to Minister without first stopping by the Tabernacle of meeting my God ain't spent no time laying before the Lord haven't been digging and studying in God's word have not stretched out prostrate before the Lord to hear the Lord speak to them they just get up and go through the motions of what they feel and how they think and I just want to tell you if you haven't stopped at the Tabernacle meeting please don't stop at the pull pit if you haven't been by the Tabernacle meeting meeting please don't sing the solo if you haven't been by the Tabernacle meeting don't try to represent god wow do me a quick favor n somebody on your row I'm ask them have you been to the Tabernacle meeting have you met with the Lord before you try to minister for the Lord I got to go it's time to get out of here he said listen the problem is that Moses wasted his worship of God God he was a wrongful witness of God and God says finally Moses withheld The Wonder of God look at the indictment that God brings when he speaks to Moses comes a Moses he tells him around verse number 12 he says Moses here's the problem you did not hallow me that word hallow same version of the word we get in Lord's Prayer Hallowed be thy name the word hallowed is connected intimately to the word to sanctify term sanctify means to set apart so here's the indictment of God against Moses you did not set me apart you didn't set me apart from what God from you Moses that you did not separate me from you cuz when you went out I heard what you said you went to the children of Israel and asked them how long must we bring you water out of this rock how long must we bring you water out of this Rock God look back at Moses who's [Applause] we cuz I got news for you Moses if water comes out of that rock you ain't got nothing to do with it if water comes out of that rock it's cuz I am a wonderful God if water comes out of that rock it's cuz I can do marvelous and miraculous things that no other man can do God says every now and then you better give credit where credit is due and realize that it wasn't your cute solo it wasn't your wicked amen it wasn't your powerful sermon but it was nothing other than the power of a one Wonder ful God that was at work in your life says Moses I need you to hallow me I need to let the people see my glory through you not blocked by you I don't need you operating in a way that allows people to think it's you but they never see see through you to see that it's me working in you okay so here it is the word that's so relevant is that too often the only time we allow the glory of God to be seen through us is when we have the microphone you can get Happy When It's Your Song [Applause] you shout when it's your sermon but let somebody else get the people standing up and let somebody else begin to give God glory and we sit like a bum on a LW as if the only glory god can get is when it comes through yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah got it C can I just say what I want to say it's a sad soloist who can't stand up when another sister [Applause] singing no no it it's a pitiful praise team that after they done singing They High tell it out the exit and can't stay for the rest of worship it's a pathetic preacher that get mad when the choir get the people standing up and take 3 minutes off of his sermon time I can't stand musicians who after they get playing they got to leave during the sermon and show back up at the call to [Applause] discipleship how dare you withhold The Wonder of God that when you see someone else giving God glory and when you witness someone else being used of the Lord that ain't the time to get jealous that's not the time to get upset that's not the time to leave the sanctuary that's your time to stand next to them and start Clapping Your Hands and thanking God what we sometimes fail to understand and done is that God uses other people and them giving God glory as a way of encouraging us so rather than running and rather than getting upset and rather than leaving you ought to find someone who knows God is good you ought to find someone who's not ashamed to lift their hands you ought to find someone who knows that God has brought them a mighty long way and when they stand up and when they lead the song and when they preach the sermon stand right next to them and thank God for what God has done through them okay I I see I see y'all make a brother preach on Monday morning uh I was read in my bio I need to let you know uh I I was raised on the south side of Chicago yeah yeah me me me me and Dr Cosby raised together on a prodigious prolific found Southside of Chicago Illinois we grew up in the streets and and growing up in the streets is where I learn to play basketball I learn shoot hoops on the south side in the streets now on the south side of Chicago when you go to a park there are two basketball courts there's a court for the little kids and there's a court for the big boys for most of my life I played with little kids but when I turned 12 I decided I ain't playing with the little kids I'm going to the big boy court and I'mma play with the big boys and I went over to the big boy court and I saw a game going down I like what I saw they were shooting jump shots they were slam dunking they was talking trash they were getting it in and I like the game that I saw cuz they were shooting jump shots they were slam dunking the ball they were talking trash and they were getting it in and I stood on the sidelines waiting to get in that game when the game was over another game began and nobody picked me up so now I'm on the sideline again watching a game that I want to get in cuz they shooting jump shots they slam duck in the ball they're talking trash and they getting it in and I'm standing on the sideline waiting to get in that game that game ended another game began and nobody picked me up so now I'm on the sideline watching another game where they shooting jump shots slam dunking the ball talking trash and getting it in my brother came up to me he said boy what are you doing I said I'm watching a game that I I want to get in but nobody's picking me up he said boy if you see a game that you want to get in and you want a piece of what you've been watching you got to learn to holl three words I got next and when you holler that it's your turn to be next on the court goodbye Hampton but the next time s the shout lot begins to bless God run over next to her start jumping and holler I got next if God does it for you I got next if he's blessing you I got next hey hey hey somebody holler I got next I got next I got next next next yeah yeah yeah [Music] w [Music] w [Music]