FBCWest 700 | Rod Producing Fruit
Recorded On: 02/22/2026
Bulletin
Hymn # 696 “There Is a Name I Love to Hear”
SCRIPTURE READING – Philippians 2:9 - 11
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“Your Promises”
“Endless Light”
“Behold the Lamb”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Rod Producing Fruit”
“What An Awesome God”
Sermon Notes
Numbers 17:1 – 4 Collecting 12 rods with names inscribed on them and placed in the Tabernacle
Numbers 17:5 One rod will sprout so that the grumbling stops
Numbers 17:6 & 7 Moses does what God instructs
Numbers 17:8 & 9 Aaron’s rod sprouts buds, blossoms and ripe almonds. Moses brings out all of the rods
Numbers 17:10 & 11 Moses told to put Aaron’s rod in the Tabernacle as a sign and Moses does so
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
I don't believe and I don't think that miracles create faith. And that's backed up by reviewing the book of numbers where God continues to perform miracles and yet the people don't believe. After God having tolerated their grumbling for some time, God now tells Moses that he's going to perform a miracle that will stop their grumbling not only now but in the sense. Let's see how this miracle is different than the others.
One of the things you notice is that even though God has showed his powers by various miracles, the people seem never to develop. As a matter of fact, the oftentimes would regress and think that God couldn't do things and then would also blame not only God but blame those who he had appointed to represent him. And it didn't just apply to the people. We saw how Aaron and Merriam thought that they were as good as Moses. We saw how other people decided that they should be equal and that they should be able to speak for God just as much as Moses did. And then we saw those who decided to rebel against God and against this people.
And each time God was going to wipe his people out and Moses or Aaron intervened for them for the God to spare them. Now we're going to come to a point where God is going to say, I'm going to lessen this grumbling and I'm going to do something different. So if you have your Bibles, turn to Numbers chapter 17. It's a very short chapter.
Hopefully the message won't be long but I make no guarantees. So it says this in the verse verse. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, and get from them a rod for each father's household, 12 rods from all of their leaders according to their father's household. And you shall write each name on his rod. So basically is a stick. It's a fairly thick stick for things that's used for protection. You can use it as a club. It's used as in the scripture talks about spare the rods for the child.
It can be used in the way of correction. And it also is used as a symbol of authority. It's had a rod showing that they came from the household and that leader from that household had that rod. And so God tells Moses that he wants each of the 12 tribes to be represented in this. So they're to get a rod that's a symbol of power and of their name to be collected. And then they are to write down the various names. So on one rod there would be Jacob and on another there would be Joseph and another there would be Simeon and the...
Except for one thing. But when it came to Levi it says this. And right there's name on the rod of Levi. Or there is one rod for the household of each of their father's house.
So there's 12 rods, one for each. But instead of Levi being written on that at Aaron's. And the reason for that is the Levi's have been set aside to be the priests. But Aaron has been set aside to be the chief priest. He's the one who's going to represent the people and to go into the Holy of Holies, for them and that after him his family will then take on his descendants will take on the role of being the high priest.
Now it's interesting that the timing of this, because God is doing this and he wants Aaron's name written. But in a very short time and he's going to die. So he's doing this not only for Aaron's sake if you will, but for Aaron's descendants to determine and to show forth that Aaron is the one who had been chosen by God irrevocably to be that.
And so this isn't what Aaron and then Aaron dies and then what do we do? God is saying I'm making my choice now. He says, and you shall then deposit them in the tent of the meeting in front of the testimony where I meet with you.
So basically what Moses has told to do is that he is the child with the names written of each of the households and he's the place that in the Holy of Holies before the Ark of the covenant. All the various other miracles that have been performed after this has been done if you will in public has been shown forth and whatever. I want this to be done in my presence and my presence alone. It's not to be done initially to show forth that, but I want you to see my power because it's in my presence. So Moses is to take those 12 places in the Holy of Holies before the Ark of the covenant and God says this. And it will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose was fraught. Thus I will lessen from upon myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel who are grumbling against you.
So I'm going to do this miracle. This dead stick is going to sprout forth life if you will. And that is going to lessen the grumblings against me and lessens the grumbling against you. Now again, God is to be glorified, but notice not only just concern with his status, but that of his people and that of his chosen leaders.
So he goes, I'm going to lessen the grumbly. Notice he doesn't say I'm going to eliminate it because he understands who we are. We love to gripe and complain. That's why the scripture always tells you joy always. We tend not to.
Sometimes we rejoice infrequently. And so God is saying, I'm going to reduce the grumbling against me and I'm going to reduce the grumbling against you. Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel. The leaders gave him a rod of peace for each leader according to their father's household, the 12 rods with a rod of Aaron among them. So Moses does what God tells them to do and the leaders comply and they take the 12 rods.
He writes the names on them. Then it says this. So Moses deposited the rods before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. So up to this point, God told him, this is what you do. Moses and the people comply and he placed the 12 rods in the holy of holies in front of the ark of the covenant. And it says this. Now on the next day, 24 hours or less after Moses deposited the 12 rods.
Moses went into the tent of the testimony and behold the rod of Aaron has sprouted and put forth buds. Now I want you to stop there. That would be a significant miracle. This dead piece of wood that represents authority and protection and correction has gone from death to sprouting life. That's a pretty good miracle. In 24 hours, a dead stick produces buds. But not only that, it then says and put forth blossoms. Now blossoms are their generally to indicate that there's fruit that's going to happen.
We're getting close to the time where there's cherry blossoms. And cherry trees are beautiful because it has this kind of pink blossoms in what very beautiful site. I believe many years ago, Japan gave the United States a bunch of cherry trees and the planet have been Washington. And about this time after the winter, there's going to be these beautiful trees that blossom forth. These pink blossoms showing forth that cherries are coming.
So this symbol says not only has this dead stick produced new life but it has a promise if you will, a fruit to come. But not just that. And it bore ripe almonds. Or if you as some people prefer to. Now you still wonder, well, why would you pronounce the amines because there's an L? Well, apparently, for instance, salmon has an L in it, but you don't pronounce the L either. So so when I hear people talk about amines, I, whatever, because always pronounce the almonds, but whether it's almonds or amines.
Be four hours or less. This dead stick has produced new life potential of fruit and not only the potential fruit, but ripe fruit. After having been in the presence of God. I want to take a look at us. The scriptures tell us that we are dead in our sins and trespasses. But God has made us alive through Christ as we are connected to him. God, we cannot be saved. We cannot become a living being apart from the presence of God.
Jesus tells us that he is the vine. We are the branches. The way to produce fruit is to be connected. And in that way, not only do we bear fruit, we can bear much fruit. And there are times that he will prune us to bear even more fruit. But again, that production of fruit is because of our connection and our presence with God. And I think it's really significant that I'm just going to take Aaron's rod and perform this miracle out in there.
He wants to, I believe, say, it's because these rods were in my presence. I want you to understand what the change is. I want you to understand that I have been affected Aaron to be the chief priest. And I've done this so that now I'm sure, and I would have loved to have seen the Red Sea parted. That have been great.
He called by day and the filler fire by night. That have been an awesome to see. Or the banana, banana, the manor or those types of things that God did in whatever. Temporary, if you will miracles. Even when Jesus healed people, there were those who say, well, maybe he really wasn't sick or maybe it wasn't that. Or I wasn't there, so I don't believe it. God produced this miracle. But it's a miracle that is going to be because we're going to see this.
So Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel. And they looked and each band took his rods. So everybody of the 12 rods, 11 were returned. The Lord said to Moses, put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels that you may put an end to their grumblings against me so that they will not die. But I said, this isn't a one time miracle.
This miracle is going to last. I want you to play. Holy of Holies, so that when the high priest come, that they'll be reminded that I chose them and I didn't choose anybody else. That it is a permanent testimony of God's power and God's authority action. And it's remind the people for generations to come.
God's power and God's election. In the same way, God has chosen us to be his children as an eternal testimony to his grace and love and mercy and forgiveness. See, God ends just save us because life here is hard. He saved us so that in, um, we might be the glory and the proof of who he is.
It wasn't a temporary miracle. It is a permanent one because we became in his presence. So casually understand because of who we are. The awesome thing that God has done by writing his name on our hearts. He didn't write Aaron's name. The name of Jesus is written on our hearts and on our minds and our souls to demonstrate that God is still in the business of taking dead things and making them alive and taking alive things.
And that's what we've been called to do. We've been called to reduce fruit. The fruit of the spirit, love and kindness and mercy and gentleness. And all of those things that God has called us to do, we're to do to death that we are quote unquote, but that he took something dead and made it alive. Something dead and caused it to produce life and fruit. We cannot produce life on our off just as these rods cannot bear fruit. It was God who did.
Thus Moses did just as the Lord had commanded him so he did. Now we are told that this place there. Now somewhere in between this time and the writing of the book of Hebrews, that rod that budded and blossomed and produced fruit. And it's funny and all and whenever you hear about the coming year, you always say the rod that budded has only one part of the miracle. The rod that but it that blossomed and produced almonds. While it was there for a period of time, place before the arc at some point it was placed inside the arc of the covenant. Hebrews tells us he brought us inside the arc of the covenant was Aaron's rod was the ten commandments not broken but whole and a jar of mana demonstrating that Jesus is the law fulfilled. Jesus is the bread that came from heaven and that Jesus is the one produces life out of death.
And that was placed in the arc of the covenant at some point. The response of the people I'll just tell you was fear. Oh no, God's going to kill us. They should have been that worried before because God was going to kill him who was out the exception and intervention. This time God says, no, I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to lessen the grumbling and to remind you who I am and who you are.
So sometimes we think the teaching can be very clear and people just don't get it. God is a holy God. You should be honored and glorified for just that. If he did nothing else, the fact that he's holy and he is who he is should be glorified. He took us dead sticks and made us alive. He took us dead sticks and caused us to produce fruit.
We shouldn't be able to be contained in our enthusiasm for what God has done in our lives. And yet we Christians, and I say we, we oftentimes will wander around and will be sad and depressed and all of these things and anxious. Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, make a request known to God.
Rejoice always. And again, I say, we just God keeps telling us to do these things because he is with us. Now when he is with us, Emmanuel, God is with us.
Jesus in his spirit has been well, temple of the living God. The God who causes dead things to come alive is here. Oh, well, all life is hard. It's so terrible. I don't know what to do next. Brothers saying, God, if you can make dead things alive and you can make dead things produce ripe, you certainly can deal with my issues.
You can deal with my personality. You can deal with who I am. And you can make me like your son. Now we may be, but he's going to accomplish it because that's who he is. And that's what he does. But we can't experience that for not in his presence. There's a song a few years ago. So my wife used to like and the kind of the chorus was, it's a good day because I'm a child of God.
Even as a bad day, I'm a child of God. So what's the difference? Good days, your child of God, bad days, your child of God, your child of God. So if you have a good day in your child of God and you have a bad day, your child of God, the thing is on the bad days, you have hope is there. And that God will be there because you are who he said you are. And he does what he says he's going to do. Our God is an awesome God.
He's not just high and lifted up. He's just not sitting in heaven somewhere. He's saying, hmm, he helps us. It's with us.
He dwells with us, making and keeping us alive. And Jesus told us, be as branch, produce that fruit that other people might say. I see something different in your life. I know you're no different than me. What is the reason? Because I've been made alive in Christ.
And all of God's people said.