July 14, 2025 • 25 mins
A study in the book of Hebrews, chapter 9.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to K Wave's Pastor Spotlight featuring the preaching and
teaching ministries of our local Southern California pastors. This week
we're pleased to bring you the Bible teaching ministry of
Bayless Conley, founding pastor of Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos.
Bayless and his wife Janet started Cottonwood Church over 41
years ago. Today the church is led by their son Harrison.
(00:22):
And is located at 4505 Cottella Avenue in Los Alamitos.
More than 40 years ago, an action adventure movie came
out that you've probably seen. It involved pursuing and discovering
the treasure that is the Ark of the Covenant. Well, today,
Bayless kindly invites us to look at Hebrews chapter 9
for a look at the treasures in the ark. Here's Bayless.
(00:45):
If you brought a Bible with you, Hebrews chapter 9,
we're gonna begin in verse 3 and be reading about
the
Tabernacle of Moses that was erected in the wilderness after
the Israelites made their exodus from the land of Egypt.
(01:05):
Hebrews 9:3.
And behind this second veil, the part of the tabernacle
which is called the holiest of all, which had the
golden censor and the ark of the covenant overlaid on
all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot
that had manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets
(01:27):
of the covenant, and above it were the cherubim of
glory overshadowing the mercy seat.
Now they had made this tabernacle. Later on, it was
incorporated into a temple in Jerusalem, but in this tabernacle, they,
they had the holy place where there was, you know,
certain things and then this veil or this huge curtain
(01:50):
behind it was the arch.
Of the Covenant. It was basically a, a box that
was overlaid inside and outside with gold, maybe 4 ft long,
2.5 ft high, 2.5 ft wide.
And on top of it, there were two angels, their
wings touched, and they, they looked at the, the, the
(02:11):
lid of this thing that was made out of pure
gold called the Mercy seed.
And um the high priest could only go in one
time a year and behind that curtain to offer a sacrifice,
the blood of an animal to cover his sins and
the sins of the people. One person one time a year.
It was significant because above this mercy seat that the angels,
(02:33):
you know, these two golden angels looked at was, it
was called, it said the, the glory of God overshadowed it,
literally God's presence.
In the Old Testament, his shikina glory rested above this
ark of the Covenant. This, this ark was sort of
the carrier of God's presence. But interestingly enough, when Christ
(02:55):
died on the cross, there was a great earthquake, and
this curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom.
It was 30 ft high, 4 inches wide.
It was torn from top to bottom by invisible hands,
symbolizing that God was no longer separated from people, but
(03:16):
now it wasn't just the high priest once a year. Now,
everyone had access.
To God. The ark will no longer be the carrier
of His presence. So what is to become the carrier
of God's presence after the death and resurrection of Jesus? Well,
(03:37):
the scriptures are clear. 1 Corinthians 3:16 asked the question,
do you not know that you are the temple of
God and that his, and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19, or do you not know that your
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is
in you, whom you have from God and you are
(04:00):
not your own. And again, 2 Corinthians 6 and 16,
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For you are
the temple of the living God. As God has said,
I will dwell in them and walk among them. I
will be their God and they shall be my people.
(04:21):
We are now His temple. We are now His tabernacle.
We are now the carriers of God's presence.
And looking back on that Old Testament tabernacle,
There were 3 things inside of that ark, that golden box.
(04:41):
That had the mercy seat on it, and that thing
that carried God's presence. There were 3 things that God
very specifically told Moses to put inside of it. It
was a pot full of manna.
Aaron's rod that budded.
And the tablets of stone they had a copy of
the 10 Commandments inscribed.
(05:03):
Upon them, and they each point to truths that are
extremely relevant to us. There's a reason God had Moses
put these three things inside of this thing that carries
my presence. They are symbols. There are lessons there that
every generation needs to know. We're gonna talk about them
(05:27):
sort of one by one. First of all, there was
the manna.
This, this jar or this pot that had manna. We
read about it in Exodus 16, and by the way,
in case you don't know what manna was when Israel
left the land of Egypt, they're going through this desert wilderness.
They've got no food, there's no stores to buy food at,
(05:49):
and so God provided for them. Every morning they would
go out and there would be bread.
Something like bread on the ground that they would gather
up just enough, you know, for the day, and they
called it manna. It was God's supernatural supply that sustained
them in the wilderness. And in Exodus 16, we read
about it beginning in verse 31. Pay attention.
(06:13):
Says, and the house of Israel called its name manna.
And it was like white coriander seed and the taste
of it was like wafers made with honey.
Then Moses said, this is the thing which the Lord
has commanded. Fill an omer with it. That's a jar
of about 2 quarts. Fill an omer with it, to
(06:33):
be kept for your generations, that they may see the
bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when
I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot and put
an omer of manna in it, and lay it up
before the Lord to be kept for your generations as
(06:54):
the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before
the testimony to be kept, and the children of Israel
ate Manna 40 years until they came to an inhabited land.
They ate manna until they came to the border of
the land.
Of Cana
Notice God said, when I brought you out.
(07:17):
I
Fed you. When God guided.
He provided
When they followed his lead.
He would meet their need.
They followed the cloud by day, and the pillar of
fire by night, which are both expressions of the Holy
Spirit who now dwells within us. They followed and they
(07:41):
were fed.
You know, leaving Egypt and passing through the Red Sea,
according to the New Testament, those are types and shadows,
those are metaphors that point to salvation and to baptism.
That they, they point forward to what Christ would do
for us, and God provided for His people. He provided
(08:05):
for them then, and he wants every child of his
today to know that he will provide for them now.
He said, look, lay this up so every generation.
We'll know and have a reminder.
Of how I took care of them when I guided them.
And just like that pad of that, that pot of
(08:26):
manna was tucked away in the heart of that golden
box called the ark, so tucked away in the heart
of every child of God should be a deep inner
knowing that their Father in heaven will take care of them,
that he will provide for them even if they're going
through a wilderness time in their life.
(08:48):
Here's some thoughts just about this. As they traveled through
the desert to the promised land, God sustained them supernaturally.
There were no farms, no vineyards to work, no crops
to harvest, you know, no markets to, to work in
or to buy from, no stores to tend. So God
(09:08):
did the remarkable and the unusual. But as soon as
they got to the border of the promised land, that
supernatural supply of manna.
Ceased
Once they entered into the promised land, they had to
work farms and vineyards and olive groves. They had to
(09:29):
open markets and work in them and tend shops, and
from that point, God began to bless the work of
their hands, but they had to work. Everybody say work,
you know, work is God's idea. Work's not bad, work's good.
So he says, but, but didn't Jesus say not to
(09:49):
worry because, you know, your heavenly Father even feeds the birds. Yes,
Jesus said that, and it's true. God feeds the birds,
but he doesn't throw seeds and worms into their nest.
They still have to go out and work to obtain
God's provision.
You're listening to Kwave's Pastor Spotlight featuring Pastor Bayless Conley
(10:13):
of Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos. For more information, visit
their website at cottonwood.org. Once again, here's Pastor Bayless Conley
with more of his message titled Treasures in the Ark.
The part of manner reminds us of God's provision, and
he basically does it three ways.
Through work.
(10:35):
Through our work, through wisdom, and through windows.
He will bless our work. He will, he will give
us favor. He will prosper us through our work.
And then he'll give us wisdom. You know, I'd like
the old King James, that, that God gives us knowledge
of witty inventions. God can show you a million ways
(10:56):
to create revenue streams and to bring blessing into your life.
God's not short of wisdom, my friend. Somebody, I think
it was back in the 1940s wanted to close down
the patent offices. Well, everything that's been invented has already
been invented.
Not hardly.
God will give you wisdom if you'll seek Him. In
(11:17):
the book of James says, if you lack wisdom, ask
God and he'll give it to you liberally and he
won't find fault. And then windows, you know, there's several
references to windows in heaven that God pours blessing out of.
In the scripture, and by that, I mean, God bringing
provision through holy supernatural means. He'll do it through your work,
he'll do it through wisdom, and if he has to,
(11:38):
he'll do it through windows. All right, the second thing
that was in that, that golden box, that golden chest
called the ark, upon which God's presence rested was Aaron's
rod that budded.
The story about that actually opens up in the Old Testament.
There had been much rebellion in the camp.
(12:01):
Some very influential men had been sowing seeds of discord
and dissension about the leadership of Moses and Aaron. They
accused them of being self-appointed and claimed that anyone
Had just as much ability to lead.
As they did, that anyone was just as qualified as
(12:24):
they were, and there was much accusation and much complaining
flying around the camp.
So at God's direction, Moses asked the leader from each
tribe to present a rod or a staff to him
and to have their name inscribed upon it. And we
picked the story up in number 17 and verse 6.
(12:46):
So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each
of their leaders gave him a rod of peace. For
each leader according to their father's house is 12 rods
and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And
Moses placed the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle
of witness.
Now it came to pass on the next day that
Moses went into the tabernacle of witness and behold, the
(13:08):
rod of Aaron of the house of Levi had sprouted
and put forth buds and produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.
Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the
Lord to all the children of Israel, and they looked,
and each man took his rod. And the Lord said
to Moses, bring Aaron's rod back before the testimony to
(13:30):
be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you
may put their complaints away from me lest they die.
A rod represents authority, and God does appoint spiritual leaders
in his house, and he does gift them and give
(13:50):
them authority.
And God's heart today is just as it was then.
He doesn't want people to murmur and complain and dismiss
those that he has ordained because to do so is
to invite trouble. Did you notice God's motivation? So, let
this be a sign that that will stop them from
(14:11):
complaining lest they die. They'll bring trouble upon themselves.
You know, it's interesting.
That Aaron's rod blossomed.
And produced almonds. You know, the almond was the first
of the flowering plant to come to life after a
(14:32):
long cold winter.
Its flower came first. It was the first one.
That would experience rain, first one to feel the breeze
on its pedals.
The first one to feel the warming sunshine.
It came out before all the other flowering plants, and
(14:53):
they even had a name for it.
They called it the Watcher.
Because it came out first that since things ahead of time.
Hebrews 13:17 says, obey those who rule over you and
be submissive, for they watch for your souls and once
(15:13):
they watch.
They watch. God gives them insight. They watch for your souls.
Paul had a group of pastors gathered together, and he's
admonishing them. This is Acts 20 and 28.
He says to them, take heed to yourselves and to
all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made
(15:33):
you over seers, to shepherd, the church of God which
he purchased with his own blood. Not they didn't appoint themselves.
The Holy Spirit made them overseers to shepherd, and that
literally means not to dominate, it means to lead and
to feed.
The flock of God, which Christ purchased with his blood.
Verse 29, for I know this, that after my departure,
(15:57):
savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse
things to draw away disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch.
And remember that for 3 years I did not cease
to warn everyone night and day with tears.
You know, a true shepherd has a nose for wolves.
(16:21):
God's appointed them to watch, and he gives them both
insight and oversight for leading the flock. And to oppose
or to try and undermine those that God appoints is
harmful to others, and the truth is it's dangerous.
To those that are behind such things. My question, how
(16:42):
can you tell if someone has got appointed and empowered today?
I think there's a real lesson in this, this rod
of Aaron's. You know, his rod didn't just blossom, it
wasn't just pretty.
It produced fruit.
It produced ripe almonds. Christ ordained leadership produces fruit.
(17:06):
It brings forth.
Life
Anyway, let's, let's move on for the sake of time
to our 3rd item in that ark, in that, that
golden chest there. There were the stone tablets upon which
were written the 10 Commandments. It represents God's word. They
(17:29):
were in the very heart of that golden chest called
the ark.
And God's words need to be in the heart of
every believer if they're going to flourish in the things
of God. And we could say much.
About this, and it's actually one of my favorite subjects.
But I'm gonna limit it to 3 things, and Paul
(17:50):
sort of summed it up very, very well. 1 Timothy 1:5.
He said, now the purpose of the commandment.
I love from a pure heart, from a good conscience,
and from a sincere faith.
All right. The, the purpose of the commandment, other translations
say that the goal of my instruction.
(18:11):
The purpose of my teaching you God's word.
The purpose of the commandment.
It's threefold. First, it's love from pure heart.
Secondly, a good conscience.
And thirdly, sincere faith. God's word when it enters a
(18:32):
person's heart.
Its ultimate goal is to affect them, to affect me
in 3 ways.
It affects it, it affects these three things and how
I live them.
Out
Number one,
It affects my relationship with God. It affects how I
(18:54):
see it and how I live that out. Number 2,
it affects my relationship with myself.
And how I see that and how I live that out.
And number 3, it affects my relationship with others and
how I see that.
And how I live that out.
All right, the purpose of the commandment, the purpose of
(19:15):
God's teaching, first, he said, sincere faith, that deals with
my relationship with God and how I see that and
how I live that out. The Bible says, without faith,
it is impossible to please God, not hard, not difficult.
It is impossible. We walk with God by faith. This
(19:37):
is a faith relationship.
Faith defines my relationship with my unseen creator, and it's
not just about exercising some principle, it's about trusting in
a person.
All right, the, the second thing it does is it
Helps me understand my relationship with myself and how I
(20:00):
live that out, and that has to do with having
a good conscience.
That, that is the purpose of the commandment, the purpose
of teaching God's work deals with my relationship with God,
and helps me understand my relationship with myself. Conscience is
the voice of your spirit.
And once your spirit is born again and reinforced with
(20:21):
the word of God, your conscience is a safe guide.
Once the truth of God's word entered my heart, I
had clear guidelines to live by, and as long as
I stay within those guidelines, my conscience is clear.
And I'm, I'm talking about there, there is stuff that
(20:42):
I used to do repeatedly and publicly. Never thought twice
about it. I can't do those things now. Why? It's
a matter of conscience.
It's a matter of God's word abiding in my heart.
It's affected my relationship with myself.
The apostle Paul, Acts 23:1 said, I have lived in
all good conscience before God until this day. Acts 24:16,
(21:08):
I myself always strive to have a conscience void of
offense toward God and toward men.
And then the third purpose, the 3rd result of, of
God's word being preached of, of the commandment abiding in
our heart, it helps me understand and express my relationship
with others, and that is love from a pure heart.
(21:32):
Love when it's expressed usually comes out two ways forgiving.
And giving. Now, you can subcategorize that, you know, 1000 times, obviously, but,
but just use those two as headings. When God's love
through us is expressed toward others, love from a pure
heart generally comes under the category of forgiveness or of giving.
(21:56):
You know, when things are given to me that I
don't want by others.
Injury
Insult, unkindness.
God's love in me compels me to respond with forgiveness.
And as well as when things that I don't want
(22:18):
are given to me.
Love compels me to give others things that I do want.
My preferred seat.
Compliments, encouragement, favor.
Material resource.
God's love compels us.
(22:40):
When we're giving things, we don't want to respond with
forgiveness and to give away things that we do want,
and even to give away those things sacrificially. Why? Because
God's word causes me to see others as valuable and precious.
All right, in, in the Old Testament tabernacle in this
(23:01):
Covenant box over which that the presence of God dwelt.
So it's 3 things. Manna reminds us that our father
will continually provide for us, no matter what kind of
a season you're in, no matter what stage of life
you're in.
God will take care of his children.
(23:22):
Second thing that was in there was that, that, that
rob that but God does ordain leadership and it always
produces life. It always produces fruitfulness.
And the third thing that was in there was those
tablets of stone, the 10 Commandments. His word needs to
abide within our hearts. If we're going to flourish as
believers and be effective as we carry God's presence to
(23:45):
a lost and a dying world, we need to have
the word abiding in our hearts.
You've been listening to Pastor Bayless Conley, our featured Bible
teacher this week here on Kwave's Pastor Spotlight. If you've
been blessed by Pastor Bayless's teaching this week, we invite
you to reach out to him at his home church
through their website at Conwood.org.
(24:05):
Again, Bayless Conley and his wife Janet founded Cottonwood Church
over 41 years ago with a commitment to faithfully and
consistently teaching the word of God. Today, Cottonwood Church's mission
statement remains bringing a living Jesus to a dying world.
They're also known in the community for the regular community
outreach events. Cottonwood Church is located at 4505 Cottella Avenue
(24:27):
in Los Alamitos. Sunday worship services are at 9 a.m.
and 1.
11 a.m. with the holidays approaching, you'll want to check
out Christmas at Cottonwood, be here for the Christmas Eve
and candlelight services, and to ring in the new year,
you're invited to the New Year's Eve service and worship night.
You and your family are welcome at Cottonwood Church in
Los Alamitos. They're located at 4505 Cottella Avenue. For directions
(24:50):
and information, visit Cottonwood.org. That's Cottonwood.org.
Be sure to look for Cottonwood Church on Instagram, Facebook,
and YouTube. We invite you to join us right here
at the same time Monday for another time of growing
in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ here on
Kwave's Pastor Spotlight, we'll feature the preaching and teaching
Speaker 2 (25:10):
of
Speaker 1 (25:11):
another one of
Speaker 2 (25:11):
our wonderful pastors
Speaker 1 (25:12):
from here in the Southern California area.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
We hope you'll join us. Pastor Spotlight is a production
of Kwave Radio, sharing life, delivering truth, giving hope.
Welcome to K Wave's Pastor Spotlight featuring the preaching and
teaching ministries of our local Southern California pastors. This week
we're pleased to bring you the Bible teaching ministry of
Bayless Conley, founding pastor of Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos.
Bayless and his wife Janet started Cottonwood Church over 41
years ago. Today the church is led by their son Harrison.
(00:22):
And is located at 4505 Cottella Avenue in Los Alamitos.
More than 40 years ago, an action adventure movie came
out that you've probably seen. It involved pursuing and discovering
the treasure that is the Ark of the Covenant. Well, today,
Bayless kindly invites us to look at Hebrews chapter 9
for a look at the treasures in the ark. Here's Bayless.
(00:45):
If you brought a Bible with you, Hebrews chapter 9,
we're gonna begin in verse 3 and be reading about
the
Tabernacle of Moses that was erected in the wilderness after
the Israelites made their exodus from the land of Egypt.
(01:05):
Hebrews 9:3.
And behind this second veil, the part of the tabernacle
which is called the holiest of all, which had the
golden censor and the ark of the covenant overlaid on
all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot
that had manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets
(01:27):
of the covenant, and above it were the cherubim of
glory overshadowing the mercy seat.
Now they had made this tabernacle. Later on, it was
incorporated into a temple in Jerusalem, but in this tabernacle, they,
they had the holy place where there was, you know,
certain things and then this veil or this huge curtain
(01:50):
behind it was the arch.
Of the Covenant. It was basically a, a box that
was overlaid inside and outside with gold, maybe 4 ft long,
2.5 ft high, 2.5 ft wide.
And on top of it, there were two angels, their
wings touched, and they, they looked at the, the, the
(02:11):
lid of this thing that was made out of pure
gold called the Mercy seed.
And um the high priest could only go in one
time a year and behind that curtain to offer a sacrifice,
the blood of an animal to cover his sins and
the sins of the people. One person one time a year.
It was significant because above this mercy seat that the angels,
(02:33):
you know, these two golden angels looked at was, it
was called, it said the, the glory of God overshadowed it,
literally God's presence.
In the Old Testament, his shikina glory rested above this
ark of the Covenant. This, this ark was sort of
the carrier of God's presence. But interestingly enough, when Christ
(02:55):
died on the cross, there was a great earthquake, and
this curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom.
It was 30 ft high, 4 inches wide.
It was torn from top to bottom by invisible hands,
symbolizing that God was no longer separated from people, but
(03:16):
now it wasn't just the high priest once a year. Now,
everyone had access.
To God. The ark will no longer be the carrier
of His presence. So what is to become the carrier
of God's presence after the death and resurrection of Jesus? Well,
(03:37):
the scriptures are clear. 1 Corinthians 3:16 asked the question,
do you not know that you are the temple of
God and that his, and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19, or do you not know that your
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is
in you, whom you have from God and you are
(04:00):
not your own. And again, 2 Corinthians 6 and 16,
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For you are
the temple of the living God. As God has said,
I will dwell in them and walk among them. I
will be their God and they shall be my people.
(04:21):
We are now His temple. We are now His tabernacle.
We are now the carriers of God's presence.
And looking back on that Old Testament tabernacle,
There were 3 things inside of that ark, that golden box.
(04:41):
That had the mercy seat on it, and that thing
that carried God's presence. There were 3 things that God
very specifically told Moses to put inside of it. It
was a pot full of manna.
Aaron's rod that budded.
And the tablets of stone they had a copy of
the 10 Commandments inscribed.
(05:03):
Upon them, and they each point to truths that are
extremely relevant to us. There's a reason God had Moses
put these three things inside of this thing that carries
my presence. They are symbols. There are lessons there that
every generation needs to know. We're gonna talk about them
(05:27):
sort of one by one. First of all, there was
the manna.
This, this jar or this pot that had manna. We
read about it in Exodus 16, and by the way,
in case you don't know what manna was when Israel
left the land of Egypt, they're going through this desert wilderness.
They've got no food, there's no stores to buy food at,
(05:49):
and so God provided for them. Every morning they would
go out and there would be bread.
Something like bread on the ground that they would gather
up just enough, you know, for the day, and they
called it manna. It was God's supernatural supply that sustained
them in the wilderness. And in Exodus 16, we read
about it beginning in verse 31. Pay attention.
(06:13):
Says, and the house of Israel called its name manna.
And it was like white coriander seed and the taste
of it was like wafers made with honey.
Then Moses said, this is the thing which the Lord
has commanded. Fill an omer with it. That's a jar
of about 2 quarts. Fill an omer with it, to
(06:33):
be kept for your generations, that they may see the
bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when
I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot and put
an omer of manna in it, and lay it up
before the Lord to be kept for your generations as
(06:54):
the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before
the testimony to be kept, and the children of Israel
ate Manna 40 years until they came to an inhabited land.
They ate manna until they came to the border of
the land.
Of Cana
Notice God said, when I brought you out.
(07:17):
I
Fed you. When God guided.
He provided
When they followed his lead.
He would meet their need.
They followed the cloud by day, and the pillar of
fire by night, which are both expressions of the Holy
Spirit who now dwells within us. They followed and they
(07:41):
were fed.
You know, leaving Egypt and passing through the Red Sea,
according to the New Testament, those are types and shadows,
those are metaphors that point to salvation and to baptism.
That they, they point forward to what Christ would do
for us, and God provided for His people. He provided
(08:05):
for them then, and he wants every child of his
today to know that he will provide for them now.
He said, look, lay this up so every generation.
We'll know and have a reminder.
Of how I took care of them when I guided them.
And just like that pad of that, that pot of
(08:26):
manna was tucked away in the heart of that golden
box called the ark, so tucked away in the heart
of every child of God should be a deep inner
knowing that their Father in heaven will take care of them,
that he will provide for them even if they're going
through a wilderness time in their life.
(08:48):
Here's some thoughts just about this. As they traveled through
the desert to the promised land, God sustained them supernaturally.
There were no farms, no vineyards to work, no crops
to harvest, you know, no markets to, to work in
or to buy from, no stores to tend. So God
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did the remarkable and the unusual. But as soon as
they got to the border of the promised land, that
supernatural supply of manna.
Ceased
Once they entered into the promised land, they had to
work farms and vineyards and olive groves. They had to
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open markets and work in them and tend shops, and
from that point, God began to bless the work of
their hands, but they had to work. Everybody say work,
you know, work is God's idea. Work's not bad, work's good.
So he says, but, but didn't Jesus say not to
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worry because, you know, your heavenly Father even feeds the birds. Yes,
Jesus said that, and it's true. God feeds the birds,
but he doesn't throw seeds and worms into their nest.
They still have to go out and work to obtain
God's provision.
You're listening to Kwave's Pastor Spotlight featuring Pastor Bayless Conley
(10:13):
of Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos. For more information, visit
their website at cottonwood.org. Once again, here's Pastor Bayless Conley
with more of his message titled Treasures in the Ark.
The part of manner reminds us of God's provision, and
he basically does it three ways.
Through work.
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Through our work, through wisdom, and through windows.
He will bless our work. He will, he will give
us favor. He will prosper us through our work.
And then he'll give us wisdom. You know, I'd like
the old King James, that, that God gives us knowledge
of witty inventions. God can show you a million ways
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to create revenue streams and to bring blessing into your life.
God's not short of wisdom, my friend. Somebody, I think
it was back in the 1940s wanted to close down
the patent offices. Well, everything that's been invented has already
been invented.
Not hardly.
God will give you wisdom if you'll seek Him. In
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the book of James says, if you lack wisdom, ask
God and he'll give it to you liberally and he
won't find fault. And then windows, you know, there's several
references to windows in heaven that God pours blessing out of.
In the scripture, and by that, I mean, God bringing
provision through holy supernatural means. He'll do it through your work,
he'll do it through wisdom, and if he has to,
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he'll do it through windows. All right, the second thing
that was in that, that golden box, that golden chest
called the ark, upon which God's presence rested was Aaron's
rod that budded.
The story about that actually opens up in the Old Testament.
There had been much rebellion in the camp.
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Some very influential men had been sowing seeds of discord
and dissension about the leadership of Moses and Aaron. They
accused them of being self-appointed and claimed that anyone
Had just as much ability to lead.
As they did, that anyone was just as qualified as
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they were, and there was much accusation and much complaining
flying around the camp.
So at God's direction, Moses asked the leader from each
tribe to present a rod or a staff to him
and to have their name inscribed upon it. And we
picked the story up in number 17 and verse 6.
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So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each
of their leaders gave him a rod of peace. For
each leader according to their father's house is 12 rods
and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And
Moses placed the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle
of witness.
Now it came to pass on the next day that
Moses went into the tabernacle of witness and behold, the
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rod of Aaron of the house of Levi had sprouted
and put forth buds and produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.
Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the
Lord to all the children of Israel, and they looked,
and each man took his rod. And the Lord said
to Moses, bring Aaron's rod back before the testimony to
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be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you
may put their complaints away from me lest they die.
A rod represents authority, and God does appoint spiritual leaders
in his house, and he does gift them and give
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them authority.
And God's heart today is just as it was then.
He doesn't want people to murmur and complain and dismiss
those that he has ordained because to do so is
to invite trouble. Did you notice God's motivation? So, let
this be a sign that that will stop them from
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complaining lest they die. They'll bring trouble upon themselves.
You know, it's interesting.
That Aaron's rod blossomed.
And produced almonds. You know, the almond was the first
of the flowering plant to come to life after a
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long cold winter.
Its flower came first. It was the first one.
That would experience rain, first one to feel the breeze
on its pedals.
The first one to feel the warming sunshine.
It came out before all the other flowering plants, and
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they even had a name for it.
They called it the Watcher.
Because it came out first that since things ahead of time.
Hebrews 13:17 says, obey those who rule over you and
be submissive, for they watch for your souls and once
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they watch.
They watch. God gives them insight. They watch for your souls.
Paul had a group of pastors gathered together, and he's
admonishing them. This is Acts 20 and 28.
He says to them, take heed to yourselves and to
all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made
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you over seers, to shepherd, the church of God which
he purchased with his own blood. Not they didn't appoint themselves.
The Holy Spirit made them overseers to shepherd, and that
literally means not to dominate, it means to lead and
to feed.
The flock of God, which Christ purchased with his blood.
Verse 29, for I know this, that after my departure,
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savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse
things to draw away disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch.
And remember that for 3 years I did not cease
to warn everyone night and day with tears.
You know, a true shepherd has a nose for wolves.
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God's appointed them to watch, and he gives them both
insight and oversight for leading the flock. And to oppose
or to try and undermine those that God appoints is
harmful to others, and the truth is it's dangerous.
To those that are behind such things. My question, how
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can you tell if someone has got appointed and empowered today?
I think there's a real lesson in this, this rod
of Aaron's. You know, his rod didn't just blossom, it
wasn't just pretty.
It produced fruit.
It produced ripe almonds. Christ ordained leadership produces fruit.
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It brings forth.
Life
Anyway, let's, let's move on for the sake of time
to our 3rd item in that ark, in that, that
golden chest there. There were the stone tablets upon which
were written the 10 Commandments. It represents God's word. They
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were in the very heart of that golden chest called
the ark.
And God's words need to be in the heart of
every believer if they're going to flourish in the things
of God. And we could say much.
About this, and it's actually one of my favorite subjects.
But I'm gonna limit it to 3 things, and Paul
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sort of summed it up very, very well. 1 Timothy 1:5.
He said, now the purpose of the commandment.
I love from a pure heart, from a good conscience,
and from a sincere faith.
All right. The, the purpose of the commandment, other translations
say that the goal of my instruction.
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The purpose of my teaching you God's word.
The purpose of the commandment.
It's threefold. First, it's love from pure heart.
Secondly, a good conscience.
And thirdly, sincere faith. God's word when it enters a
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person's heart.
Its ultimate goal is to affect them, to affect me
in 3 ways.
It affects it, it affects these three things and how
I live them.
Out
Number one,
It affects my relationship with God. It affects how I
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see it and how I live that out. Number 2,
it affects my relationship with myself.
And how I see that and how I live that out.
And number 3, it affects my relationship with others and
how I see that.
And how I live that out.
All right, the purpose of the commandment, the purpose of
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God's teaching, first, he said, sincere faith, that deals with
my relationship with God and how I see that and
how I live that out. The Bible says, without faith,
it is impossible to please God, not hard, not difficult.
It is impossible. We walk with God by faith. This
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is a faith relationship.
Faith defines my relationship with my unseen creator, and it's
not just about exercising some principle, it's about trusting in
a person.
All right, the, the second thing it does is it
Helps me understand my relationship with myself and how I
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live that out, and that has to do with having
a good conscience.
That, that is the purpose of the commandment, the purpose
of teaching God's work deals with my relationship with God,
and helps me understand my relationship with myself. Conscience is
the voice of your spirit.
And once your spirit is born again and reinforced with
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the word of God, your conscience is a safe guide.
Once the truth of God's word entered my heart, I
had clear guidelines to live by, and as long as
I stay within those guidelines, my conscience is clear.
And I'm, I'm talking about there, there is stuff that
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I used to do repeatedly and publicly. Never thought twice
about it. I can't do those things now. Why? It's
a matter of conscience.
It's a matter of God's word abiding in my heart.
It's affected my relationship with myself.
The apostle Paul, Acts 23:1 said, I have lived in
all good conscience before God until this day. Acts 24:16,
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I myself always strive to have a conscience void of
offense toward God and toward men.
And then the third purpose, the 3rd result of, of
God's word being preached of, of the commandment abiding in
our heart, it helps me understand and express my relationship
with others, and that is love from a pure heart.
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Love when it's expressed usually comes out two ways forgiving.
And giving. Now, you can subcategorize that, you know, 1000 times, obviously, but,
but just use those two as headings. When God's love
through us is expressed toward others, love from a pure
heart generally comes under the category of forgiveness or of giving.
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You know, when things are given to me that I
don't want by others.
Injury
Insult, unkindness.
God's love in me compels me to respond with forgiveness.
And as well as when things that I don't want
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are given to me.
Love compels me to give others things that I do want.
My preferred seat.
Compliments, encouragement, favor.
Material resource.
God's love compels us.
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When we're giving things, we don't want to respond with
forgiveness and to give away things that we do want,
and even to give away those things sacrificially. Why? Because
God's word causes me to see others as valuable and precious.
All right, in, in the Old Testament tabernacle in this
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Covenant box over which that the presence of God dwelt.
So it's 3 things. Manna reminds us that our father
will continually provide for us, no matter what kind of
a season you're in, no matter what stage of life
you're in.
God will take care of his children.
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Second thing that was in there was that, that, that
rob that but God does ordain leadership and it always
produces life. It always produces fruitfulness.
And the third thing that was in there was those
tablets of stone, the 10 Commandments. His word needs to
abide within our hearts. If we're going to flourish as
believers and be effective as we carry God's presence to
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a lost and a dying world, we need to have
the word abiding in our hearts.
You've been listening to Pastor Bayless Conley, our featured Bible
teacher this week here on Kwave's Pastor Spotlight. If you've
been blessed by Pastor Bayless's teaching this week, we invite
you to reach out to him at his home church
through their website at Conwood.org.
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Again, Bayless Conley and his wife Janet founded Cottonwood Church
over 41 years ago with a commitment to faithfully and
consistently teaching the word of God. Today, Cottonwood Church's mission
statement remains bringing a living Jesus to a dying world.
They're also known in the community for the regular community
outreach events. Cottonwood Church is located at 4505 Cottella Avenue
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in Los Alamitos. Sunday worship services are at 9 a.m.
and 1.
11 a.m. with the holidays approaching, you'll want to check
out Christmas at Cottonwood, be here for the Christmas Eve
and candlelight services, and to ring in the new year,
you're invited to the New Year's Eve service and worship night.
You and your family are welcome at Cottonwood Church in
Los Alamitos. They're located at 4505 Cottella Avenue. For directions
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and information, visit Cottonwood.org. That's Cottonwood.org.
Be sure to look for Cottonwood Church on Instagram, Facebook,
and YouTube. We invite you to join us right here
at the same time Monday for another time of growing
in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ here on
Kwave's Pastor Spotlight, we'll feature the preaching and teaching
Speaker 2 (25:10):
of
Speaker 1 (25:11):
another one of
Speaker 2 (25:11):
our wonderful pastors
Speaker 1 (25:12):
from here in the Southern California area.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
We hope you'll join us. Pastor Spotlight is a production
of Kwave Radio, sharing life, delivering truth, giving hope.
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