The Dwelling Place (Raymond Sloan) 11.12.25

That said, what does it mean? The Bible said that these pellets, it was almost the taste was like a honey mixture and they would scoop it up and they would feed it to their children. They'd make sure they they had sufficient. And the children of Israel found out that for whatever reason in the middle of a desert, wilderness, middle of nowhere, this what would fall. Now, when I was a child, I I remember my pastor would talk about this and he'd say, "Man, it tasted like whatever they wanted and it would taste like that." And I thought that'd be a cool food to have. Oh, I wish I had a peanut butter jelly sandwich. That tastes like peanut butter and jelly. Oh, I wish I had a brisket. That tastes like brisket. Oh, I wish I had a pork chop. Sorry, I had to throw that one in. Here's the point. God took care of them. They would complain. God took care of them. They needed water. Hit the rock. Water. He even allowed quail to come fall on the ground. All that God took care of his people. God allowed the heavens to open up as dew would fall today onto the ground. That's what mana was. God said the amount you need is what you pick up off of the ground. What you need is on the ground. Go pick it up. Now to be I mean quite honest for some households that might be this much and for other households and then the households of the men folk. You see what I'm saying? You know, it's like it's like when you go out to eat with your wife and kids and the kids get a a little small kids meal and wife gets half a meal and then I get a whole meal because it's only fair because somebody has to share with all of them, right? So, here's the thing. Listen to me. This is the box. Inside the box, there's a tables of stone. God's law is there. But God right beside that said, "Listen, this is what I want you to do, Moses. I want you to make sure that you pick up a golden pot full of this. And it needs to go into this box. And wherever you carry this box, you need to make sure this golden pot of mana is in there." Why was that so important for God to instruct his people to carry around a pot with mana in it? Listen to me. That never did go bad or sour. Why was that important? To show what he supplies. He provides exactly what you need just when you need it. Just like you have to have it and you even enjoy it and you're thankful for it. How many likes a little variety in your in your diet? Huh? Come on. If you were to eat just a bowl of cereal every morning with a half a cup of coffee and just a piece of toast at lunch and and then in the evenings you had a hamburger patty and you did that for 45 years in a row. How many think that would get pretty old? Some of y'all are like, "Wow, no. That's that's called order. That's That's cold. That's easy, huh? I I like a variety, Brother Larry. Don't you? I do. I like a variety. Now, again, it takes work. But here, God is saying to the people, "My law is going to protect you. It's going to be there for you. It's going to keep you." But you now I want you to see also in every child that's ever born through the generations needs to know that our God opened the heavens and provided sustenance for us to be able to live. I don't know about you, when's the last time, mom and dad, that you shared with your children the goodness of God and how he made a way when there wasn't a way and he provided for you. Come on. That's what this box is doing. You look at the law and you look at God's provision. Why? Because God is everything you'll ever need and so much more. I I I believe that that many in our world today, many suffer needlessly because they're not thankful for God's provision. Should I repeat that? Many are not thankful for God's provision and so they suffer needlessly. Aren't you thankful for the simple ability to blink? Aren't you just glad that you've got two feet you can stand on, as sore as they may be? Oh, come on. I'm just talking about the simple things that so many times we take for granted. The very fact that you don't ever have to tell your heartbeat, would you? It just now some the battery goes dead on. They got to redo it. But I'm telling you, go God has a way of doing things right. Come on. That's what you need to tell your children. Come on. When your child comes to you in the middle of the night sick with a fever, whatever you do, don't you jump up and say, "Let's go to the hospital." You know the first thing needs to come out of your mouth? We're going to pray. Grab my hand. Jesus, you can. Why is that to It may seem so There's a 10-month-old now that's wrapped around our hearts and our family and it's the funniest thing to do the meal time prayer. All right, let's bless our food. And he he you he did it tonight. Hold your hand. He looks at you in Jesus name. Amen. Right. He's just going and I'm like, he he's not he got it yet. He he he don't know. All he knows is that that he's not staring me down. He's not staring a hole in me, Justin. What he's doing is wondering, why is that plate still sitting there? Here's the point. Your children need to know. You know what? My life may be falling apart, but the one who loves me tells me God's a provider. Now, it may be the hospital is in their future. I don't know. What I do know is this. It better never be the exception. It better be the rule. First, pray. Lord, not sure how, not sure why, but God, you can move in this situation. And I'm asking you in faith to do so. What are you doing for the generations to come? You are instilling in them the ability that God can. Amen. God can the law and the provision of God. I believe that we have to understand the power that God has to provide for us in every situation. It's a reminder the law of God protects us and the provision of God keeps us daily. Third item, I'm trying to keep up with my clock here. Third item was Aaron's rod that budded. The Old Testament makes a situation known. Now again, I'm I'm going to reference this because there's so there's so much in this story. Why in the world would a rod Again, how big is the box? Okay, not a lot. Not a lot here. Uh maybe maybe I need to pause here and and make sure we understand. A shepherd, someone in the shephering business would have had two items, a staff and a rod. The staff was used. It was tall, taller than normally than the human because he could use it to wield and he could use it to save. He could use it to move things and so forth. But a rod was about two feet long, the longest it needed to be. And the beauty of the rod for anyone that had sheep was this. It had a purpose. As the sheep would come into the sheepfold at night, it was the shepherd's job to count the sheep. And he used the rod to do so. He would touch them on their head as they came through. They waited for the touch of the rod 100%. This is a true story. If they didn't feel the touch, listen to this. They say when they describe this that a sheep would actually stand in the gate and wait. He had to have assurance that the shepherd took account for him. Rod. All of the tribes had rods because on that rod would be information would be understanding would be instruction. grandparents or grandpa to the son to the grandson and all the instructions would happen with the staff instructions written there and with the rod how to use it and what it's for. So the reason I paint that picture is because again and when I was a child I thought man that's a that's one of them cool rods that's one of them like this tall that big and they put it in there. No, it's not what it was. It was this big. One, the Levites had a job. They were in charge of the tabernacle, the things of God. Everybody say Levites. The Levites were in charge of the things of God. One of those Levites that was in the tribe of Levi, his name was Kora. Kora, he began to complain about how things were being done by Aaron and his family. We discovered a few months ago, one of our studies that the Levites were in charge of the tabernacle, the things of God. Therefore, when the people, the other tribes would have an offense, a trespass, a sin, whatever, they would bring offerings to the tabernacle. And at that tabernacle offering, portions of certain offerings were given to the priest. It's the way the law was. Stick the flesh hook in, what comes out is yours, the rest of it burned up. She comes in, portions for you, the rest of it put there. And that's how people of God were taken care of. Listen, the Levites were not allowed to have a garden. They couldn't have animals. It wasn't for them. This was the rest of the tribes. It was their responsibility. Well, Kora decides, you know what? This is not fair. We're Levites as well, but we're not getting as much as Aaron and his family. And so, this this discussion comes up, and he begins to complain, and he begins to to to get a group, if you will. to kind of side with him in that he said that the Levites that were in Aaron's family are taking too much and then the others don't get near as much and to them Kora and his group they were upset about that and they said this is this is not how this is supposed to work. The the fact is this is that Kora literally caused a rebellion and people begin to murmur and complain against the priest, the high priest nonetheless. So God said, "All right, you you members of family of Kora, your sons, your wives, your possessions, your children, all of that. I want you to bring them to the door of your tent. Now, we'll get into some detail here in a moment. I'm just giving you the overview. And when when they brought their wives and children and possessions to the doorways of their tents, the Bible says the ground opened up and swallowed them and then closed itself. Somebody say real loud, testimony. I don't know what happened, but what I saw you. I mean, what are you going to say when you come home from work? Hey, babe. I was walking by Cora's house today and it disappeared. honey, did you get my pot back? He borrowed it last night. I'm joking. I'm joking. The ground open. Boom. Gone. What God told Moses was this. I'll not have it. It's not going to happen. I am the one who decided how this box was going to be built. I am the one who decided how the curtain and the the tent flaps and how the shidum wood would be and how things would be done with the gold and the silver and the br. I'm the one that did that and I decided it is Moses my voice and Aaron the high priest. So Kora, you are welcome to your opinion. Can I back up 2025 to someone? You are welcome to your opinion, but if it goes contrary to what God is saying, you might want to watch the ground in which you stand. Listen to me. You may want to watch the ground in which you take your family. So th this is what happened. God says, "Okay, 12 tribes. I need all of you to bring a representative with the rod that represents their tribe. Reuben and Dan and Simeon and Ishachar, all those guys. Here they come and they got the rod. Now, the rod, keep in mind, is a stick that is used for a specific purpose. It's used for protection. It's used for counting and accounting. It's it's used for multiple things. So, these sticks would not be attached to the ground. they would actually be useful in their hand. And he said, "Moses, I want you to take these sticks from the tribes, go into the tabernacle, and set these down and then leave the tabernacle." So that's what Moses did. In whatever order he put them in, and whatever way that he put them together, he laid them out in the tabernacle. And God said, "Now go away." The next day, God instructed Moses, "Call the leaders back. Go in there, bring out the 12 rods, and let them see." The Bible says that they came out. And one of the rods, because they had their names etched on each one, Reuben, Dan, Simeon, all of those were done. So, they knew who they were. And one of the rods, listen to this, had blossoms on it and had fruit, an almond. How cool is that? I mean, honestly, it is specific to Aaron. So, Moses says, "Okay, look here. Here's the rods. Which one has growth on it?" Uh, it's that one right there. I mean, I I don't know. I can only imagine what Ruben all they're looking at their rod going no ain't much on that one this catch up there from last week's I'm joking the fact that Numbers chapter 17 let's go there verse seven and Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of the witness came to pass on the tomorrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness behold the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, brought forth buds, bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel. They looked, took every man his rod. The Lord said to Moses, "Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony to be kept for a token against the rebels." against the rebels, against rebellion. Thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not. I I think that's probably why God decided, you know what? You better remember that witchcraft will overtake you because that's what rebellion does. that turns you against the things of God. God said, "You take that rod of Aaron and you put it in that box." Tablets, golden jar of mana, provision, and lastly, God's desire to always provide, always to bless, and always to protect you. But if you ever murmur and complain against the things of God, can I repeat what I said earlier? So many folk live a life of just misery because they're unthankful. They're ungrateful for the blessings of God in their life. And they don't look inside the box and decide, you know what? If God can produce blooms on a stick and fruit overnight, then God can surely take care of me and and and see my needs and understand where I am. I'm convinced that every piece every piece in the ark was for a reason. Number one, it was God's law. Number two, was God's provision. And number three, it was God's chosen leadership. God reminded the children of Israel every day when you know that that presence of God is sitting between the cherubams on the mercy seat. He is sitting in heavenly places on mercy above the law, above his provision, and above his selection. I'm convinced that this box is so valuable. That's why God said, "You make this a place that's set aside from everything else. I don't need your light bulbs. I don't need anything you bringing in here. What I do need is the day of atonement for you to bring a blood sacrifice so that I can smell what you're doing and bring incense so that I know that it's continuous before me." On that Yam Kapore, on that day of atonement, God would say, "I am repeating to you what I promised previous generations." In this box is everything you'll ever need. You'll always remember that I am that I am that I am. Now, for us today, 2000, our clock's winding down. for us today in 2025. I think that the mercy of God is resting on the law, the provision, and the promises. And I think that the Holy of Holies is a reminder to us that his presence is worth going into. I'll repeat it like I said last week. Something happened on the day Jesus died on a cross. The veil was torn. The flesh of Jesus was represented in that veil. And when Jesus died on a cross, what he was saying was, "I now give you access, human, to this." So for those of you who think that you can complain and belly ache and murmur against the things of God and live, you're lying to yourself because now you have direct access to this. You can't blame me. You can't blame your Sunday school teacher. You can't blame your youth leader. You can't. You got to look at you because you now can see this box. I don't know about you guys, but every day as I get older, I'm recognizing and realizing that the power and the presence of God is so necessary in my life. Doesn't mean that every day I shout up and jump up and down and run circles around my house and all. It doesn't mean that every time that God does something that I blink or that my heart beats that I jump up and down. No, but I do understand that what Paul was trying to teach the New Testament was this. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. Rejoice evermore. Why was he trying to teach the church that? I will say this as I close. the plan of God could actually be 2025 Chattanooga. You don't need a building at 6314 East Brainard Road. What you need is you need a piece of land that you can put up a tent and that you can bring a sacrifice and kill it, spread the blood, let the goats scream and squall. Let the neighbors complain and belly ache. The let the odor of all the wood burning. Hey, let the goats that you have to be the scapegoat. let them go out in the neighborhoods. I mean, I' I've often thought this and I know I've said it here. Can you imagine tonight you come to church and and there was a sin or there was a you touched blood or whatever you're in war and now you got and in the backseat of your car. what is that? Oh, I mean, hey honey, you ready for church? Yeah. You got to get that goat in the back. Been there 14 days. I know. I've been smelling him all. You gotta get him. I didn't see. I know I did. And I Oh, now I gotta call your goat. Trying to haul a goat in the back of your car. Amen. Yeah. Talking about complaining wouldn't mean nobody at church. I wouldn't like it. N lick. That's southern for I wouldn't like it at all. Huh? My wife would Hey, honey, look. You got blood on your jacket now. What? Hydro peroxide. Got to get it out. Right. Today, I can breathe the name Jesus and I step through that veil. I can say Jesus and I'm right next to the law. I can speak the name Jehovah and I'm right next to his provision. I can speak the name God has become my salvation and he's there. In a hospital bed, I can breathe Jesus and he shows up. In an accident, I can scream Jesus and he protects me in the car swords. Come on. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Stand with me, would you? Mom and dad, you can tell your children you're going to walk out the door today. and you're going to go to school and there are knuckleheads in this world trying to kill students. But I'm going to plead the blood of Jesus over you and I'm going to let you go out those doors and you're not going by yourself. Huh? Come on. You better know in the morning when I pray, I pray, "God, protect my wife today because I don't know who's out there. God, protect my children today. I don't know who's out there. Provide for them, Lord, and be to them what they need for today. Love them, Lord. When when I can't reach them, speak into their life, God. Come on. Don't take your salvation for granted. Don't think just because of who you are, you deserve all of this. No, it is the choice of Jesus Christ to say, "I die on a cross because I love you. I love you." And you're not even born yet, but I love you. I wish you'd lift your hands to the Lord right now. Just begin to pray. They're going to come in and we're going to change the service in a moment. But I think that when we understand what God wanted us to see and make sure was in the box in the ark in this in this covenant and this thing that God was blessing all the time, I believe that we have to wrap our arms around it and accept the fact that God knows who we are, where we are, and what we need. Come on, somebody. Put a praise in your mouth. Offer it to the Lord. God, you're gracious. You're good. You're always providing a way. You're always, Lord, opening doors. You're always making things possible. For that, Lord, I am thankful for that. Lord, I am grateful to you. Oh, come on, somebody. If you've been complaining about the things of God, you better repent tonight. Lord, I'm sorry that I I belly ache about it. I'm sorry, Lord, that I I look at what others have and I compare my I'm so Lord, I know that everything I need, you make a way for it, God. I know that you provide for me, Lord, and you protect and and your hand is upon me, God. I I know that with you, anything can happen, Lord. I I believe you, Jesus, from the morning to the midnight. I believe you, Lord. You're God. You are the one in control of my life, and I thank you for that. Come on, somebody. lean on him right now. Lord, it's midweek Bible study, but I'm going to make up in my mind that before I lay down tonight, I'm going to give you thanks. When I rise in the morning, I'm going to give you thanks. When I go about my day, Lord, I'm going to give you thanks. I'm going to love you and always consider the good things of God in my life. Come on. God's been good to you. >> God's been good to you. God's been good to you. >> Come on, somebody need to offer up one of your praises tonight. Don't save it till Sunday. God's been good to you. God's been good to you. Thank you for that, Jesus. Blessed be the name of the Lord God. >> Oh, holy one, you're so great and wonderful. I love you. >> >> praise God. Aren't you thankful that he's faithful? Thankful that he's faithful. Yeah. Thank you so much for being here.