Sermons 2026

Text: Numbers 11:24–30 
Theme: “Lord’s Sprit on His People”

Outline
1.    People are angry, dissatisfied with the Lord’s provisions
a.    We often dissatisfied, complain as well
2.    Lord’s response? Continues to be merciful, pours out Spirit
a.    Still does so to us
3.    Joshua angry, thinks more worthy then 2 men still in camp, get Spirit as well!

Sermon

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation today is the Old Testament reading from the book of Numbers chapter eleven verses twenty-four through thirty.

Beloved Lambs, I pray that you are doing well today. Do you know what I have here? I have a candle. Specifically, it is a baptismal candle. This is a candle that is given to your dads and moms at your baptism. It is lit from the really tall candle, called a Paschal Candle. The Paschal Candle is a picture of Jesus presence with us every day. The Baptismal candle lit from it, shows that Christ lives in you. Christ lives in you as a dear beloved child of Him. We do the same thing on Christmas Eve. We light a bunch of candles from the Paschal candle that glow more brightly than a single flame. A similar thing happens in our Old Testament lesson for today when the Lord takes the Spirit given to Moses and gives it as well to the elders of the people. How do the people of Israel react to this? How do we shine brightly like candles with the Spirit and Christ in us? Ponder those questions as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.

1.    People are angry, dissatisfied with the Lord’s provisions

How would you feel if you gave someone a great and expensive gift, only for them to respond with anger, outrage, and a ton of complaining? How many of you would be happy? Angry? Wanting them to pay for their outburst?

Just before our text, the Lord has given to the people of Israel many gracious provisions. The people of Israel were gifted with freedom from slavery, with God’s visible presence with them on their journey to the Promised Land in the fire by night and cloud by day. He has given them bread every morning that appeared like dew on the ground. The Israelites called it Manna, what is this? Bread that tasted as sweet as honey and dissolved in their mouths. The Lord gave them meat in the form of quail every night. As the psalmist saying, “These all look to you, to give them their food in due season” (Ps 104:27). God did not withhold his hand of blessing to the people of Israel but provided for their physical needs as they followed Him.

How do the people of Israel react? They grumble and complain, the meat is not enough for them. They complain about this worthless bread that they have. They desire meat, fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. Granted, any simple meal would be more appealing if it was accompanied by juices from roasted meats and seasoned with savory vegetables. Ungrateful hearts see not what they need and have but what they want and lack.

How often our hearts are ungrateful to the provisions our Lord blesses us with today! Our Lord continues to give us daily breath. He blesses us with jobs so that we can earn a living and be a blessing to our spouses and children. He blesses us with technology, intelligence, and wisdom that we can have a better life than our forefathers. He blesses us with an abundance of food and drink, to the point that our fridges and freezers are bursting. 

What is our reply? Often, it is the same as the Israelites. We grumble and complain because the grass always looks greener on the other side. It seems like my neighbor has better things than I do. They have a prime rib steak, why should I be happy with this Mcdonald’s hamburger and fries? They are not always sick. I am in the hospital yet again for the third time this month, why should I be happy with this type of health that the Lord has given? They have a new car or Television. They are going on an extravagant vacation with beautiful pictures and here I am stuck at home with this old beater that burns oil and gas like it’s the sole cause of climate change. Complain, complain, complain.

2.    Lord’s response? Continues to be merciful, pours out Spirit

The Lord’s reply is not one of anger or disappointment as the people deserve. Rather, in our text, the Lord continues to pour out blessings upon His people. He gathers Moses, as well as the seventy (70) elders of Isreal, those who were appointed to help Moses in ministering to the people. The Cloud descends on the tent of meeting, not with a crack of thunder and lighting, to sweep them out of His sight. Rather, He gives them a gift. The Lord takes the Spirit that He had gifted to Moses, and places it on the elders as well. Moses loses none of his gift, but as one candle lights another, the Spirit is given to each and they all begin to prophesy. This is God’s gift to his people to be a blessing to others. The Lord gives of His Spirit to the Elders that they can minister to the needs of the people well. That everything that they do can be done to the praise and glory of God.
 

3.    Joshua angry

The Lord’s gift extends to more than just the ones gathered with Moses. We get the note that two of the elders are missing from the gathering. Eldad and Medad are in the camp. We do not know why they were not with the rest. But the Lord gives of His spirit to them as well. They prophesy in the camp. Joshua gets word of this. He complains to Moses that something should be done to stop them. Joshua is mad because they were missing. He thinks that since he had served since his youth and he was there, that he was more worthy than the two elders who were not present.

Moses stops Joshua’s outburst. “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Moses desires that it was not only himself and the Elders that had the Spirit, but all of the Lord’s people that they might truly be His people and the Lord their God.

This is fulfilled in our Second Reading for today from the Acts of the Apostles. We see the Holy Spirit fill the disciples, the same as He filled Moses and the Elders. They were filled so that they could witness, in languages of nations foreign to them, about the Wonderous working of God in and through Jesus Christ, especially about His death and resurrection from the dead. Jesus died and rose again, not only for Jew or Gentile, but for everyone across all of time and space. Jesus takes our anger, our complaints, all our sins upon Himself. Jesus dies our death, sheds His blood, that He might showers us with constant blessings as He gives us new life through His resurrection of the dead.

This new life is given to us in the waters of Holy Baptism. In Water and the Word, the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to you as well. Just as the Lord pours out His Spirit on Moses, the Elders, and the Disciples, so too He does upon you. The Holy Spirit gives you faith that clings to Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit connects you to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Here, you die with Christ and are raised to newness of life. 

It is the Holy Spirit in us that curbs our complaining mouths and tongues. He enables us to see the blessings we have rightly. Rather than complaining because we do not have this or that gift, we can be thankful for what we have.  We obey the ninth and tenth commandments, be content and happy with what we have. Content that we still draw breath in spite of our sinful flesh. Joyful that God has blessed us with food and drink. Overjoyed that God has given us doctors and nurses, people who are not fools, but skilled and intelligent, so that we can be restored to health according to His good and gracious will. Content that even in the midst of our weaknesses, the Lord’s love, mercy, and strength prevails. That we can FROG. Fully Rely On God in all things. Just as the Elders used their gift to minister to the people of Israel, so too, we minister to the needs of those around us. We take of the blessing and provisions God has given to us and share it with those around us, especially the gift of faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. We are blessed to be a blessing to others.

Today we celebrate God’s faithfulness to the Israelites, to Moses, to his church throughout the ages. We rejoice that God continues to gift His people and church with all things needful. We repent for being ungrateful when God’s hand stretches forth and provides abundantly all that we need for body and spirit. We repent for the times we look at other baptized brothers and sisters and become jealous of how God has blessed them. Today, on a day of great celebration, and renewed by the Spirit, we pray God will use each of us to tell of his marvelous blessings.

The Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus. Amen.