The Song of Faith: Singing Before the Victory

SPEAKER 01 : 0:05

Greetings, friends and new listeners. Welcome to our program. I’m Sharon Knotts, thanking you for joining us today because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I think you will truly be blessed, maybe even tickled by our message today, the Song of Faith. I know I had fun ministering it and the congregation was right there with me, including the children. We found out that not only does faith speak, but it also sings. So be blessed by the Song of Faith. So you see, they all were, Moses started off singing with the people, and I have noticed this in the Old Testament. This is just something I’ve picked up on. A lot of times, if not the majority of times, in the Old Testament, when it says, and the people did this, and the people did that, and the people did this, do you know what it really means? The men did. Because the women didn’t get to do all the stuff the men did. Especially when you’re talking about they went to war and the people did this. They don’t say it. The women didn’t go to war. A lot of times when you get into the worship in the tabernacle and they’ll say the people did, the people didn’t. you know what translate in your mind that he’s talking about the men because the women weren’t in that but you see moses and the people which would have been the men they got up because you know how many know the israeli men they like to dance too we know all the stuff they do they dance put people on chairs and do all this sort of thing amen and so when the moses and the men were done the women were like wait a minute He’s our God too. We walked over too. We came through too. He delivered us too. So that Miriam and the women began to sing, only they began to sing and to dance. Amen? And I love this verse. If you want to, you can turn there. If you just want to write it down, you can. But Psalm 106, 11 and 12 says… The waters covered their enemies, because the whole psalm is a testimony. But I love these two verses. The waters covered their enemies. There was not one of them left. And what did we read about Pharaoh and his horse? He went in, and here in Psalm 106, 11, it says, There was not one of them left. Now I want you to pay attention to verse 12. Then they believed his words. They sang his praises. How many got that? After they came over on dry ground with the Red Sea walls on either side, after they got over safely, after God then released the waters and drowned Pharaoh and all of his men, and they were not one, not one was left. They all sank to the bottom like lead. Then, somebody said then, They believed. Then they believed His Word. Then they sang his praises. Then Moses and the men sang. Then Miriam and the women began to sing. Then, after the great miracle, after the great victory, after the great deliverance, choir, we used to sing a choir song on William Street. It was, he brought me out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock to stay. He put a song in my heart today. Now, Now I can sing hallelujah. I can sing hallelujah now because he brought me out. I can sing hallelujah now because he put my feet on a rock. I can sing now because what he did. And I believe that, you know, being an ex-Sunday school teacher of little children, I kind of believe that when Miriam and the women got done, we had the men first, and we had Moses and the men, then we got Miriam and the ladies. I kind of feel like the little children didn’t want to be left out. Yes. I kind of feel like the little children would have said, well, he brought us out too. He delivered us too. Because see, when I taught Sunday school, when I taught the little ones way, way back when I first started out, I had to start off with the two-year-olds. I finally made it up to the adults over a period of time. But I started with the little kids. And we used to, on Sunday morning, we used to come up and we’d sing our song. Do I have any little kids that want to come up and help me sing? I got any brave little children, you know, you’re about five, six, somewhere in there, you want to sing? Come on, what kids like to sing? Come on up here and help Sister Sharon. You like to help me, won’t you? Come on up here and help me. Come on, I need two more. I need a couple kids who want to come help me sing. You want to come up, Molly? You want to come up, sweetie? Molly’s not here. You want to come up, sweetie, and help me sing? Come on, let’s come on up and sing. Don’t make her sing all by herself. Here he comes. I’m going to tell you, I’m going to help you what to do. Here comes another one. Okay. we got another one he went the other oh here he comes all right that’s what I want I want that’s what I mean whoa okay guys all right okay we got four that’s good here’s the thing we’re going to sing this song I know you don’t know the words okay but when I point to you when I point to you I want you to say oh no what are you gonna say You going to say it louder than that? How loud are you going to say it when I point to you? Let me hear so loud. Oh, no. Do it again. Oh, no. Oh, wow. That’s great. Now, don’t do it until I point to you. You ready? Because I know you don’t know the song, so I have to sing it. And then when I point, you say, oh, no. How did Moses cross the Red Sea? How did Moses cross the Red Sea? How did Moses cross the Red Sea? How did he get across? Did he run? Well, did he hop? Well, how did he get across? I’ll tell you what. Now, this time when I point to you, I want you to go hop, hop, hop.

SPEAKER 1 : 6:18

Can you do that?

SPEAKER 01 : 6:20

Well, the Lord made the wind go… Oh, loud, real loud. Well, the Lord made the wind go, huff, huff, huff. And the wind did blow, ee, nuff, nuff, nuff. You going to do it again? OK. Well, the, sure you are. This is your practice. Now you’re going to do it without Sister Sharon. Huff, huff, huff, nuff, nuff, nuff. Can you remember that? Put on your thinking cap so you can remember. Come on, get it on. Put it on. Put on your thinking cap. All right. See, he already remembered, but you guys got to help him. He don’t want to be all by himself. Well, the Lord made the wind go up, up, up. Good. And the wind did blow. And it opened up the red sea. That’s how he got across. Give him a clap offering. All right, guys. You can go sit down. Thank you. You did great. Thank you. That’s how you get the story of Moses into their hearts when they’re little. They’ll remember that huff, huff, huff. I mean, they’re up here looking at a bunch of people. I mean, they did a good job considering all you people are looking at them. So when God gives you a great victory, when God brings you out of the wilderness, when God takes you through the Red Sea, and when God socks it to your enemy… Of course you’re going to sing and dance and shout the victory. Amen? That’s celebrating after the victory. But let’s turn to Numbers 21. And we’re going to find out what it means to sing the song of faith. To sing the song of faith. They had gone now. They were from one wilderness experience to another because we know they wandered for 40 years. You all know their history. I need not labor on this. Think about being in the burning sands and the blazing sun. Now, we had a very, very hot summer here. We had, I forgot now how many days it was in the 90s. And then in the middle of those, we had some in the 100s. Day after day after day with no rain. And I’m a summer lover. I love hot weather. I never complain because I don’t like cold weather. So usually no matter how hot it is, I won’t complain. But even I had to come in a little more Amen? And think about them trekking through all this for 40 years. Now they had come to a point, and this is well up the road. We’re fast forwarding here. They were dehydrated, they were exhausted, and they were desperate for water. Now let’s take up the story in 21, and let’s look at verse 10. And the children of Israel… set forward and pitched in Obath. And they journeyed from Obath and pitched in Ijerabarim, in Moab, towards the sun rising, or towards the east. From thence they removed and pitched in the valley of Zered. And then they removed and they pitched in another of Arnon, which is the wilderness that comes out of the coast of the Amorites, for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. Wherefore it is said in the book of the words of the Lord, what he did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon, and at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab. And from thence they went to Beer, that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together. and I will give them water. So let’s stop here for a moment. We see they have gone to all these places, and they are now at a point of exhaustion, dehydration, and they want water. And saints, this was not the first time they got in this position. In fact, what we just read is the third time that’s recorded And we may even go out on a limb and assume there were other times. But these times were recorded because of the situation was so noteworthy. Not don’t go there, but the first time was in Exodus 17. Remember, it was very early, right away. The people said, man, we’re out here. We don’t have no water. What are we going to do? What did God tell Moses to do? Take that miracle rod, strike the rock, and what happened? water came out and the people had to drink isn’t that right and then the second time unfortunately that’s recorded is the time when they did the same thing again but this time they really murmured and whined and complained and at this point they had gotten on Moses last nerve I mean, literally. Literally, they got on his last nerve. Up until that point, he had been patient with them, even when they had done so wrong. And God said, Moses, get out of the way. I’m going to kill them all. And God said, oh, God, you don’t, you don’t, Moses said, God, you don’t mean that. You don’t mean that. Don’t talk like that. Your enemies will say you killed them because you can’t take care of them out here. And, you know, and do you think that God didn’t, you think Moses thought something that God didn’t think? You know what? God had to be enlightened by Moses. Oh, they’ll think that. Oh, I better not do that. No, he wanted Moses to say that. He knew Moses would say that so that he could say, okay, you interceded. I’ll have mercy. That’s why intercession is so important. That’s why when you see a rebellious, rebellious sinner or backslider and you are so vexed with them and aggravated with them, you almost feel like throwing them in hell yourself. And God’s up to here too. But he wants you to say, Lord, have mercy. Have mercy, Lord. Open their eyes, Lord. If you’ve got to put them through the fire here, better to go through the fire here than the fire there. He’s looking for an intercessor. And you’ll read throughout the rest of the Old Testament, it says again and again that Moses interceded for the people. But they got on Moses’ nerves so bad, and I forget what psalm it is. It might be 106, 107, because they’re all the history. It said that they provoked Moses and he spoke ill-advisedly. I’ve got that underlined in my Bible. Because I think the way it’s worded is so powerful it makes an impact on me. Because I know sometimes I get provoked. I get provoked. And I want to say something. And I know I’ve got something to say that will sting. I’ve got something to say that, okay, I’ll put you down. But I always, this verse comes to my mind, they provoked him to anger and he spoke ill-advisedly. He would not have done it had he thought about what he was saying or doing. Now, we don’t know what he said altogether, but here’s the thing. He took the rod and this time, instead of smiting the rock once, he smote it twice. And when he did that, he spoiled the perfect typology because 1 Corinthians 15 tells us, and that rock in the wilderness followed them to give them water. It followed them. A rock followed them, and that rock was Christ. Smiting him once was to typify Jesus on the cross. Smiting him twice ruined that perfect type because Jesus is only going to be crucified once for all. And because of that, God said Moses would not go into the promised land. I don’t know how many times you read it. It actually really pulls at my heartstrings. Moses was begging God, please, God, please let me go in. Until finally God said, shut up and speak to me no more of it. Speak to me no more. The answer is no, and I’ll not change my mind. I cannot change my mind. You will not go in. I will take you up on a mountain and give you a panoramic view and Supernaturally, God allowed him to go up on the mountain and see it. But he never stepped his foot there because of that incident. And let me tell you something. After that, many times Moses threw it up in their face. He’d say, remember when I’m going, do this, don’t do that, do the other. Because remember, because of you, I can’t go in. Because he spoke ill-advisedly. Now we’re at the third time. that they need water. And I’m telling you all that because I want you to see the mindset prior to the mindset now. Because in the past, when they needed water, they murmured, they whined, they complained, they just pouted and threw a fit. They quickly would forget all about the mighty works that God had done. Don’t you know a lot of Christians like that? God has done so many things in their life, you could write a book. But let them get in one tight spot. Let them go through one bad place. And they forget all the victories God’s done for them. And they just start whining and charging God foolishly. I’m afraid to do that. Because I know when I do that, I’m cutting off all future blessings and may lose the reward for the ones I already got. I’m talking about the eternal rewards. Amen? Some people say they work for God and all they do is complain about everything they do. I got to do this. I got to do that. You know what? I think that’s pitiful. You know why? Because you’re not going to get your reward in heaven. I mean, if you’re going to do God’s work, then be happy about it and get your eternal reward. Amen? I never gripe. You say, well, the machine broke down and this happened and that happened. You get frustrated? Absolutely. You get aggravated? Absolutely. Take it out on the devil. Don’t accuse God. Amen? Because you’re going to lose your reward. So they had just gone through it. Now, let me tell you this very quickly before we go on. You can read it later when you go home. In this same chapter, because you notice I jumped to verse 10. What happened prior to this? Prior to this, they had been murmuring and complaining against God and against Moses. Let’s just read two verses. Let’s read five and six. And the people spake against God, against Moses. Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water. And here’s the thing that makes me, I get nervous. And it says, and our soul loathes, our soul hates this light bread. They said, we hate the manna. Miracle angel’s food. The Bible says miracle angel’s food. He rained down every day fresh manna from heaven. And the Bible says it tasted sweet like honey. And they say, we hate this light bread. Verse 6, so what happened? And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people. And much of the people died. So they had just come through this experience. And it was only then that they began to cry out to God and say, oh God, we’re sorry, we’re sorry. And who did they run to? The same person they were just talking about. They ran to Moses and said, please pray for God because he listens to you. Please intercede for us. And you know Moses, even after they had provoked him to strike the rock and now he can’t go in, you know he prayed for them. He prayed for them. That’s why God chose Moses. He had the heart of an intercessor because he knew he sent him to a stiff-necked and rebellious people. And he needed somebody that knew how to lower the rod when it needed to be lowered. And he needed somebody that knew how to pray for the people when they needed to be prayed for. And that is the earmarks of a true ruler, a true pastor, a true man or woman of God. Some people, all they know how to do is get the Bible and beat you over the head with it. They’re so legalistic, you can’t sneeze, and thou shalt not, and you da-da-da-da-da. But they never can go and compliment a person and say, you’re doing a good job. I notice how you’re doing this for the Lord. Keep up the good work. I appreciate it. A real leader knows how to do both and knows how to do what and when and for whom. Knows when to encourage someone and give them a break, give them a chance. If they mess up, oh well. Everybody will know, they’ll know, and then they’ll realize, oh, you know, it’s not all that easy. Anybody can do great one time or two times or a few times. But if you’re going to be great all the time, you’re going to have to have the real thing. And you can have the real thing if you go after God because he’s no respecter of persons. Amen? And so that’s why God had called him. And so what did Moses do? He said, God, please don’t let any more people die from these fiery serpents. If I’d have been there, I’d have just died of a heart attack. They wouldn’t have got a chance to bite me. Fiery serpents, I’ve been, whoa. And so God said, make a pole, put a brass serpent on it. When the people look on the serpent, they will live. And I’m not going to preach a sermon on that because Brother Hardy has one. He has one and you all know it. But here’s the point. This just happened. We’re in the same chapter. This just happened. And now they’re back to the test. Because when you fail your test, God is going to make you go through it again. And if you fail it the second time, he’ll bring you to it the third time. I know some people been going through the same test, I do not know how long. You know the truth. We have put people up in the past years ago, not so much now. I’m way back, so don’t anybody say, what is he talking about? You don’t know who I’m talking about because I’m going back so far. There are people we put up to preach. And they were good preachers, and everybody loved them. They could only go so far, and then they would have an occasion in their flesh and quit. And then they would get right with God, and because of the gifts and callings of the Lord without repentance, put them back up again. And this didn’t happen once or twice. It happened over and over. Or they would decide to go across town and open up their own church, which lasted about a few months most of the time. Amen? And so this is what happens. Amen? This is what happens because people don’t come under the discipline of and the word of the Lord and the law of God. So now these people had just come through this, but this time was different. Having come through the serpent saga, They had their lips zipped. And this is where we’re going to pick up the story now. And we are in, let me turn the page back where I was. Okay, we stopped at verse 16. Now let’s see what happens in verse 17. And this is, I said everything I said today, believe it or not, to get to this verse. Somebody says, I believe it, Sharon. That’s par for the course for you. Verse 17. Then Israel sang this song. Somebody say then. Israel sang this song. What did they sing? Spring up, oh well, sing ye to it. Then. Did they get any water yet? You see anything there about getting any water? Had they drank water yet? No. No water. I don’t see no water in there. I don’t see no miracle. I don’t see no God doing something miraculous. These people don’t have any water yet. These people haven’t won the victory yet. These people haven’t gotten answers to their prayer yet. Their tongues are hanging down. Did you ever see a dog on a hot day? That’s how their tongues are. They want water. But instead of opening their mouth to murmur, gripe, and complain, they decide, you know what? Instead of singing after we get the water, let’s try singing before we get the water. Instead of waiting until we get the victory to sing, instead of waiting until God moves, instead of waiting until our prayer is answered to sing, to shout, and to dance, how about trying singing? How about trying shouting? How about trying dancing before you get your prayer answered? So here they are. The people began to sing. And look at verse 18. The princes, hey, the princes means the leaders of all the tribes. They didn’t say, hey, somebody go back there and get little Johnny and get Joe and get that guy. No, the princes. began to dig the well, and the nobles, the nobles of the people dig the well by the direction of the lawgiver, which would have been Moses, with their stabs. They took their stabs. They didn’t have shovels. They didn’t have shovels. They didn’t bring shovels out of Egypt. They had stabs. Do you know how hard it is to dig with a stick? No. Amen? They took their staffs and they began to dig and they began to dig and the whole time they’re digging, they’re singing. They’re singing and a digging. They’re digging and a singing. And they’re singing to the ground, that blistering sand that’s burning their feet. They’re singing, oh well, spring up, spring up. Oh well, spring up, spring up. Hallelujah. Somebody said, don’t wait till the battle’s over. Shout now. Hallelujah. Don’t wait till the battle’s over. Sing now. Don’t wait till the battle’s over. Dance now. You see, the other was a song of celebration, a song of thanksgiving, a song of praise. You ought to thank God. When he gives you the victory. But this is the song of faith. Because faith not only speaks. Faith sings. Amen. I trust you’re being blessed by this delightful message, the song of faith. In Old Testament times, God instructed Moses and later David to put his word to music. This made it easier for the people to remember. Even today, we teach our kids their ABCs in song. The song of Moses was sung by the people after their glorious Red Sea crossing. Miriam and the women sang and danced. The horse and the rider are cast into the sea. You know, it’s easy to sing when you’ve just won a huge victory like that. But unfortunately, the Israelites fell into chronic murmuring each time they faced a hardship such as having no water. On one incident, it resulted in God sending fiery serpents that bit them and some died. This left an indelible mark on their memory, and the next time they needed water, they began to sing before they received their answer. While the men were digging, the women were singing, and the water burst forth. There is a great lesson here for all of us. Don’t wait till the battle’s over. Sing now, shout now, dance now. God will send angels to chase the enemy like the chaff before the wind, like he did when Jehoshaphat and the choir went out to face the enemy. They sang the victory song while the angels won the battle. Don’t miss out on an anointed blessing for yourself and others. Why not order the Song of Faith on CD for a love gift of $10 or more for the radio ministry? Request offer SK168. That’s SK168. Mail to R.G. Hardy Ministries, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. or order online at rghardy.org, where you will also find many other anointed sermons by my father, Brother Hardy, and myself. But to order by mail, send a minimum love gift of $10, request offer SK168 to P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Till next time, this is Sharon Knott singing, Maranatha.