Former Blackout Artist

As I was reading my Bible plan this morning, I came across a passage in the Old Testament that sounded strikingly similar to something in the New Testament. Don’t you just love it when that happens – when you’re reading something in the Old Testament and suddenly something comes to life in the New Testament? Talk about an Aha! moment!

So in Numbers 11, God instructs Moses to gather 70 elders at the Tent of Meeting to help share the burden of leading Israel—because Moses needed it!

But two men, Eldad and Medad, stayed behind in the camp.

While Moses was with the 70 elders, God took some of the Spirit on Moses and placed it on them, and they began to prophesy as a sign of their calling. And at the very same time, that same Spirit rested on Eldad and Medad back in the camp—and they began prophesying too.

Now Joshua saw this and was troubled. “Moses, my lord, stop them!” It didn’t seem right to him that these two, who weren’t with the group, were acting this way. But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and He would put His Spirit on them!”

And you can almost imagine him adding, “Then, maybe people would stop complaining and things would go a little smoother around here!”

Then we move to Luke 9, where the disciples are once again arguing about which of them is the greatest. Jesus responds by bringing a child to His side and saying, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me… for the one who is least among you all is the greatest” (vv. 46–48).

And then John takes that lesson in a completely different direction.

“Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

But Jesus replied, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you” (vv. 49–50).

So where do we go with this?

Imagine leading a Bible study outside your church’s official structure. People are gathering, sharing their lives, reading Scripture, praying—and over time, they’re growing. But some leaders grow uneasy. “Who’s overseeing this? Are they qualified? Who gave permission?” That’s a lot like Joshua’s instinct: “They’re not in the meeting—stop them.”

Or think about another church in town—different style, different denomination—but people are coming to faith, lives are changing, and Scripture is being taught faithfully. The temptation is to think, “They’re not like us. They do things differently over there.” That’s John’s instinct: “He’s not one of us.”

Both passages expose a subtle danger: confusing our group with God’s kingdom.

God is always at work. And when we see His truth bearing fruit—when lives are changing and His Word is honored—we should be careful not to become an opponent simply because it didn’t come through our circle.

At the end of the day, we are called to guard the truth, not the territory.