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E-pistle

                                      Dr. Curt Scarborough, President        FreeWay Foundation              June 15, 2007

Plague Busters

(Numbers 16)

Dr. Curt Scarborough

"Black Death . . . "

        ------The Bubonic Plague of the 1300's ------ killed one-fourth of the entire

population of Europe.  Although this was not history's most deadly pestilence,

it is the most infamous.  The deadliest plague since time began occurred in

India at the turn of the Twentieth Century.  This plague lasted 20 years and

killed 10 million people . . . an average of 500,000 annually.

        (Although this is not a sermon on alcohol or other drugs, it is revealing to note

that alcohol and other drugs have killed an average of 600,000 Americans every year . . .

for the last 30 years.  This is one-fourth of all United States deaths from all causes).

        Number 16 records a deadly plague which swept Israel because of their

disobedience: 

                "So Moses said to Aaron, 'Take an censer and put fire

                in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly

                to the congregation and make atonement for them; for

                wrath has gone out from the Lord.  The plague has begun ,'

                Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the

                midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun

                among the people.  So he put in the incense and made

                atonement for the people.  And he stood between the dead

                and the living; so the plague was stopped," verses 46-48 NIJV)

        This text lists three essentials for stopping a plague.

I.  Censer (Vessel)

        The first essential is a censer.  The censer was a metal container with a handle,

but it represents you and me in the midst of people dying from the plague of sin.  Paul

was spoken of as a "chosen vessel," Acts 9:15.  Timothy was characterized as a "vessel

for honor," II Timothy 2:21.

        This Timothy passage describes three attributes of an honorable vessel.  First,

"sanctified" . . . set aside for a holy purpose.  Second, vessels of honor are "useful"

to the Master . . . useable, yielded, serviceable, and profitable.  Third, they are vessels,

"prepared" for every good work . . . equipped, ready, and fitted.

II.  Fire ( Holy Spirit)

The second essential is fire.  Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1) paid with their lives

because they offered "unholy fire."  Isaiah describes his life-changing experience in

the temple, where fire took away his iniquity, purged his sin, and cleansed his lips,

(Isaiah 6:6,7).  The Old Testament closes with a picture of the refiner's fire being used

to purify God's chosen spiritual leaders, Malachi 3:2,3.

        Jesus fulfilled all these foreshadows, these prophetic pictures.  He came to

"baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire,"  Matthew 3:11.

III.  Incense (Prayer)

        The third essential for stopping a plague is incense.  David wrote, "Let my

prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening

sacrifice," Psalm 141:2.  John's vision on the isle of Patmos included " . . . golden

bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints," Revelation 5:8.

Exodus 17 contains a beautiful picture of intercessory prayer as Moses, assisted by

Aaron and Hur, kept his hands raised unto God until Joshua defeated the Amalekites.

        Exodus 30:34, 35 describes the preparation of the incense to be burned before

the Lord God.  The incense was to be salted:  useful to the Master . . . powerfully

and personally applied.  It was to be pure:  prepared for every good work . . . sincere

and without any hidden motive.  It also was to be holy:  sanctified . . . from a chosen

vessel:  a separated life committed and dedicated to the service of the Almighty God.

IV.  A Censer Filled with Fire and Incense Brings Life

        Notice these results as recorded in Numbers 16:47-49:  Aaron, the High Priest,

acted with urgency . . . he ran!  In fact, he ran into the midst of the sinning congregation.

There he made atonement (as our Great High Priest does), bringing man and God back

together (Leviticus 16:12, 13).  It is written that he "stood between the dead and the

living; so the plague was stopped."

        The application to those of us who are ministers of the Gospel is obvious.  We

are to become and remain "vessels of honor."  We are to be scantified (holy), useful

to the Master (salted), and prepared for every good work.  A chosen vessel, filled with

the Holy Spirit, offering up effective, fervent intercessory prayer . . . "avails much,"

James 5:16.  In the hand of Jesus, our High Priest, we become "Plague Busters!"

        The old gospel song "Rescue the Perishing" challenges us to be "Plague Busters!"

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,

Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

Weep o're the erring one, lift up the fallen,

Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying;

Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Stir Up The Gift Of God

(II Timothy 1:6-7, 11-14)

Dr. Curt Scarborough

I.  Concentration:  on "the gift of God" (v. 6)

        1.   The gift is an undeserved favor . . . a present for which man has not worked;

              not a wage.  (See Acts 2:38; II Timothy 1:14)

2.      It is blessing from God and "OF" God . . . meaning that the gift is God, the

Holy Spirit.  (For example:  a "gift of money" does not mean that the gift

is "FROM" money, but that it "IS" money.

3.      It is possible for the gift to be "stirred up" . . . encouraged, revived,

rekindled . . . implying that it is also possible for the Holy Spirit's work

within a believer to fade and become practically dormant.

4.      It is possible for one Christian to bestow the filling (baptism) of the Holy

Spirit upon another believer . . . "through the laying on of my (Paul's)

hands," v. 6, or "by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the

eldership," II Timothy 4:14.

II.  Meditation:  on the characteristics of God's gift (v. 7)

1.      Not a spirit of fear . . . but of courage and faith.
2.      Not a spirit of weakness . . . but of almighty, resurrection power.
3.      Not of indifference or hatred . . . but of love for God and man.
4.      Not atheistic foolishness of intellectual pride . . . but a "sound mind"

. . . one enlightened to perceive God and to understand His destined

purposes for a believer's life.

III.  Revelation:  on the "Blessed Assurances" of this gift of God (vv. 11-14)

1.      The assurance that God has a definite purpose to accomplish through

my life, v. 11.

2.      The assurance that God will sustain His saints through suffering and

persecution, v. 12.

3.      The assurance of intimately and personally knowing and experiencing

God, v. 12.

4.      The assurance of eternal security of the believer's soul, which Christ is

able to keep until that (judgment) day, v. 12.

IV.  Applications:  as a Christian, I need to . . .

1.      Praise and thank God for His gift of Himself to me.
2.      "Stir up" my spiritual life in the Holy Spirit by Bible study, prayer,

meditation, and unselfish, God-honoring service.

3.      Exercise my "Holy Spirit gift" with courage, power, love, and spiritual

perception.

4.      Live with the blessed assurance that God holds me and my future in

His almighty hand.

This is by Harvey Mackay from Mackay's Morals:

        The wind and the sun were having a conversation one day, which turned

into a friendly competition about who was better at making things go their way.

The wind said, "I am so strong, and so good at what I do, that I can blow the

coat away from that man down on the ground."  So the wind blew hard, bending

the trees and rattling windows.  But the stronger the wind, the more the man

clutched his coat.

        The sun waited patiently for the windstorm to end, and then took a turn.

With a smile, the sun beamed down its warm rays, until the man took off his

coat voluntarily.  What the wind couldn't do with brute force, the sun accomplished

with warmth and charm.  It's a valuable lesson for anyone who has contact with

people – wouldn't that be just about all of us?

        In a perfect world, a course on personality development should be part

of a business school curriculum.  Why?  Because no matter how advanced our

technology becomes, personal interaction often seals the deal.

        Like the wind and the sun, there are different approaches to getting

results.  You decide whether you want to be known for being a blowhard, or

making someone's day brighter.

        Mackay's Moral:  Charm is the ability to make someone think

                            that both of you are quite wonderful. 

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