Sermon Notes | Sermon Video

2022-06-03 | Numbers 1-4 | Re-Fund the PoliceThe imagery is striking. Your job is to uphold the law; you establish yourself in a well-defined precinct and you serve and protect those around you, as they all maintain their own property. You are like the glue that holds the community together and you are provided every resource to perform your duties.

Service is your name and protection is your game. Things are constantly in motion and you are right in the midst to ensure all goes according to plan. You look up and serve the leaders of your community and you look out to serve every member.

You are completely dedicated to preserving property rights and the rights of the people. In some regards you are members of the most practical side to governance. The more compliant each member of your community, the easier your job. It gets substantially more difficult when the people would rather violate the laws than uphold them. They are not your laws, but those created by your leader and universally adopted by your society. You serve the people and maintain order, so that life for everyone who obeys the laws is not disrupted by those who would rather break them.

And that leads to your final role—protection. You protect the people and their property from those who violate the laws. And equally as vital, because you serve everyone, you even desire to protect violators from themselves. You do so by setting an example and by emphasizing the benefits of living within your supreme leader’s legal parameters and accepted standards. You consistently point to the one from whom the law originates. Your mission is to serve and protect. Who are you?

I am sure you recognize this imagery. You see it within modern day law enforcement—the police! Biblical law enforcement officers are called priests. Today’s spiritual police force or priests are often called pastors! Calling all pastors…are you serving and protecting your flock? The Chief of Police is coming soon to check on His police force. Are you pointing your flock toward your own laws, or toward the One from whom the supreme law originates?