The Christian Family: Children, Fatherhood, and Generational Faithfulness: The World And Times Of Jesse James

Who's Side Are You On?

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Family Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2013-10-31

Synopsis: In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver examines Exodus 32:26, where Moses stands at the camp gate and calls, 'Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.' He explains that this call came after Israel's idolatry with the golden calf, and it demanded a clear choice between obedience to God and rebellion. Weaver emphasizes that neutrality is impossible; Christ Himself said, 'He that is not with me is against me.' The sermon traces the theme of division throughout Scripture, showing that Christ is the ultimate dividing line in families, churches, and nations. Believers must be willing to stand with Christ even against loved ones, as the Levites did when they executed judgment on the unrepentant. The message concludes with a call to examine whose side we are on and to consistently choose the Lord's side in every area of life.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bible's day to the book of Exodus chapter 32. Exodus 32 and verse 26. The title of the message today is a question. Whose side are you on? We're going to simply read one verse. We will come back and pick up the context. I can assure you. But look in Exodus chapter 32 and verse 26. Exodus 32 verse 26, the Bible says, Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.

[John Weaver] And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. Note if you would the question, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. When I read that verse, I immediately thought of an exclamation that we made as children. Especially when a number of children would get together and a game was going to be played. someone would just holler sides. And of course that means that we would all get together and we would choose sides. I hope you understand that we've chosen sides all of our lives. We've chosen sides in dodgeball, baseball, basketball, football, tag, and a dozen other games as well. More people today choose sides in politics. I've heard people say, well, I'm a Republican. Another one, I'm a Democrat. Another, I'm a Libertarian. Some say, well, I'm just with the Freedom Party. Well, we not only choose sides in politics, we also choose sides in religion. In fact, there are people who prefer certain denominations and they will choose this denomination because they believe that that is the one that suits them the best.

[John Weaver] We also choose sides in Christianity. We choose favorite preachers. In fact, I've heard people speak about their favorite TV preachers. If you would hold Exodus chapter 32, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, let me show you how the Corinthian church was notorious for choosing sides when it came to preachers. Notice if you would please, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, And let's begin reading there with verse 11. Look what the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church.

[John Weaver] He says, For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contingents among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Look at verse 14. He says, I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I baptized in my own name.

[John Weaver] So what you had in the Corinthian church was a division over preachers. Some would say, well now I like Paul, I'm going to listen to him. I'm not listening to the others. Some would say, no, I like Peter. I'm going to listen to Peter and no one else. Well, someone would say, but Apollos is a better orator. I'm going to choose Apollos. And then some would say, Well, we're more spiritual than you. We're just going to choose Christ. We will just listen to Him. And Paul says, look, is Christ divided?

[John Weaver] Was I crucified for you? And he said, I thank God I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius. Lest any of you should say that I baptized in my own name. Words Paul said, I was not trying to get a following. But notice if you would how they were divided. And people are divided like that today. We'll choose certain men that we're going to listen to, and then we'll say, well, we like this one better than the other one, and so both may be preaching the truth, but we're just going to listen to one of them. I never will forget what one of my friends said. He said, I like ice cream.

[John Weaver] He said, I don't care if it's vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate. He said, I just like ice cream. He said, moreover, he said, I like the preaching of the Word of God. He said, I don't care if the man is monotone. I don't care if he's a great orator. I don't care if he swings from the ceiling from a chandelier just so he preaches the word of God. That's what I want.

[John Weaver] Well, that should be our attitude as well. But I want you to note that we've been choosing sides most of our lives. But the truth of the matter is there are some folks who really do not like to choose sides, especially if it's going to cost them. They rather like to straddle the fence. They want to stay in the median. They want to stay in the middle of the road.

[John Weaver] They refuse to be labeled in any certain way. I have heard preachers, as well as Christians, identify themselves theologically as Calminians. In other words, they didn't want to choose between Calvinism and Arminianism, so they would just call themselves Calminians. You've heard, undoubtedly, about the man during the war of northern aggression who could not make up his mind whether he wanted to fight for the north or for the south and so he went into battle then wearing a confederate jacket and union pants well you know what happened the Yankees shot him in the chest and the Confederates shot him in the seat of the pants well you know if you are on one side at least everyone knows where you stand and you're not trying to be in the middle of the road And as Christians we have to realize there's really and truly no such thing as middle ground.

[John Weaver] And usually every issue revolves around right or wrong. And we're either going to end up standing for that which is right or that which is wrong. Especially when it comes to Christ and His Word. You see our Lord made this exceedingly clear in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 30 where our Lord said this, is against me and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad. You remember some time some years back when George Bush was president that is George jr. he used this statement in regards to I think it was the Iraq war he said you're either with us or against us. Well what he meant by that of course you're either for his administration and their war or you were against him and his administration in their war. But the words refer to Christ and truth.

[John Weaver] Now there are times, I think, when we not only choose sides, we delight to choose sides. There's one particular instance where I would love to have been around where I could have chosen a side. I would love to have been around in the palace during the times of Jehu. Now, Jehu had slain Joram, who was the son of King Ahab. He also slew King Ahaziah of Judah, who was the son-in-law to King Ahab.

[John Weaver] And if you will turn in your Bible, hold in Exodus 32, but turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Kings chapter 9. 2 Kings chapter 9. And let me show you what happens after Jehu has slain Joram and Ahaziah. In 2nd Kings chapter 9, he now comes to the palace for wicked Queen Jezebel, who was the wife of Ahab. Notice if you would, 2nd Kings chapter 9, and let's begin reading there verse 30. The Bible says, 2nd Kings 9 verse 30, And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out a window. And as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, had Zimri peace who slew his master.

[John Weaver] Now let me just stop there. What she is trying to teach Jehu is a history lesson. Zimri did slay his master the king and I forget exactly without checking I think he reigned a total of something like seven days and then he burned the palace down upon himself and so she's trying to give Jehu a history lesson said This is not going to work. It said, had Zimri Pesu, who slew his master, watch, verse 32. And he, Jehu, lifted up his face to the wind and said, Who is on my side? Who?

[John Weaver] And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs, and he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses, and he trod her on her feet, underfoot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go see now this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is the king's daughter. And when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than her skull and the feet and the palms of her hand.

[John Weaver] Wherefore they came again and told him, and he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by the servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel. And of course, that's exactly what happened. But Jehu came up and said, Who's on the Lord's side? Or who's on my side? And of course, when those eunuchs looked out the window, he said, Throw her down.

[John Weaver] and they threw her down. I certainly would have chosen sides in that particular incident. I'd have chosen Jehu's side because I'd have wanted to have gotten rid of Jezebel as well. She was a wicked ungodly woman, had murdered numerous innocent people as well as the Lord's prophets and had elevated the prophets of Baal in that kingdom. So there are times that we would be delighted to choose There are times that we absolutely have to choose, and we must choose, and we must always choose that which is right and holy.

[John Weaver] Now in our text in Exodus chapter 32, Moses, the Bible says in verse 26, cried, who is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me. I want you to understand that Moses was God's representative and ambassador. He was appointed by God. He was ordained by God. He represented God. And I want you to note in verse 26, the Bible says that Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, who is on the Lord's side? He did not say, who is on my side? He asked, who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And the Bible tells us in verse 26,"...and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto Him." Now, I want you to note, if you would please, in verse 26 the Bible says that Moses stood in the gate of the camp. Now it's very significant that he stood in the gate of the camp.

[John Weaver] Because the gates in the Bible were always symbolical of authority, justice, and judgment. Whoever had control of the gates had control of the people and also control of their enemies. God specifically promised this to Abraham. I want you to hold Exodus 32 but look back in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 22 and look at verse 17. Genesis 22 and verse 17. Notice this promise that God gives to Abraham Genesis 22 and verse 17 God said to Abraham that in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and As the sand which is upon the seashore now watch and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemy. Notice if you would, all authority was in the gates. The king sat in the gate. Notice if you would, in Genesis chapter 24 and verse 60, because when Rebecca went to become the wife of Isaac, they gave her a blessing and they said this, Genesis 24 and verse 60, And they blessed Rebekah and said unto her, Thou our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and

[John Weaver] let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." In other words, let your children be in control of the gates. And if you would turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 16, you're going to see this again, because it was the judges as well that sat in the gates. Notice Deuteronomy chapter 16 and verse 18. Deuteronomy 16 and verse 18. God said, Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee throughout thy tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. So you will find that many times when kings conquered a city, they placed their thrones in the gates. Deeds were recognized and recorded in the gates. Trials were held in the gates.

[John Weaver] It was a public place of assembly. But it was a place of judgment and justice and authority. And so Moses now stands in the gate of the camp. And he cries, who is on the Lord's side? Let him come over unto me.

[John Weaver] Now what we need to understand is this. When Moses made that request. who is on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me." That he was calling there and pointing out a simple truth. That there are two great interests at war with one another. And that men will necessarily choose sides. It's impossible not to choose. You're going to find that some are going to choose the side of the Lord, His word, His truth, His righteousness. And some are going to choose the side of sin and wickedness, disobedience and rebellion. It is absolutely impossible to be neutral. Our Lord Himself said, He that is not with me is against me. There's no neutral ground. There's no middle ground. You're either for Christ or you're against Christ. You're either for truth or you're against truth. You must choose a side. And when someone takes the attitude, well, I'm not going to choose a side, I'm going to remain neutral. In not choosing a side, you've already chosen a side. You've chosen the side of sin, disobedience, and rebellion.

[John Weaver] Because Christ once again said, if you're not with me, then you're against me. What we should be concerned about is that not only that we are on the Lord's side, but we're on His side constantly and continually.

[John Weaver] Now we may be few in number. Our Lord said of His people, fear not little flock. It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. We may be a small number, but the truth is We must be absolutely faithful and absolutely true, so that whenever God does choose to use us, we shall be ready. And may I remind you, and this is very interesting to me, that all through Scripture, God has always been pleased to use a minority.

[John Weaver] He never uses a majority. I hear people say all the time, All the Christians in this country need to get together. First of all, that is never, ever going to happen. It's never going to happen. But I will tell you this, if there are, or if there comes to be a small group or a number of small groups of dedicated, godly, obedient, faithful Christians, you better watch out.

[John Weaver] Because God will indeed use them. And you have to remember, when George Washington was fighting the King of England, I forget the exact percentage, something like 3% of the people followed him in battle. Did you know he never had over 3,000 men at one time in a battle? Now he had more men than that. But the small percentage of the people in this country originally, were those who fought for independence.

[John Weaver] Noah had to stand alone. Daniel had to stand alone. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood alone. All I'm pointing out is God is pleased to use small numbers. I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to Exodus chapter 32. And I want us to begin reading there with verse 1 so I can show you the context of Moses' call who is on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me. So let's begin reading there in verse 1. We'll read through verse 10, then we'll skip down some. Because I want you to see that this is the incident concerning the golden calf. So in Exodus chapter 32, beginning there in verse 1, And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together into Aaron and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we want not or know not what has become of him.

[John Weaver] And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives and your sons and your daughters and bring them unto me. And all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand. Now watch carefully. He received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf. So Aaron now deliberately fashioned it into a molten can. And they said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, tomorrow is a feast of the Lord.

[John Weaver] And they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go get thee down, for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made them a molten calf, and they have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

[John Weaver] Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, that I may consume them, and I will make of thee a great nation." So the people now are worshipping a golden calf. Remember, God has just brought them out of the land of Egypt. Moses has gone up to receive the law of God on the mount. He was only there 40 days and 40 nights.

[John Weaver] So he's not even back yet. So it hadn't been 40 days. And they're wanting a visible symbol of God. I want you to skip down, if you would please, beginning there with verse 17. Look what happens. Verse 17. When Joshua heard the noise of the people, and he was with Moses, as they shouted, he said unto Moses, there's a noise of war in the camp. And he said, it is not the voice of them that shout for mastery. Neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome. But the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing.

[John Weaver] And Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and he break them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink thereof. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people that there set on mischief.

[John Weaver] For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go up before us. As for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me. Then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this can.

[John Weaver] Well, that was a miracle in itself, wasn't it? Now, on one hand, he fashioned it.

[John Weaver] Now, he's telling Moses, it just came out. Watch verse 25. And when Moses saw that the people were naked, by the way, when it said they ate and drank and rose up to play, they were fornicating. That's what it means. Read 1 Corinthians 10. That's what it means. And when Moses saw that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies, then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side?

[John Weaver] Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. Now watch. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to notice what happened. Aaron has made this golden calf. The people are worshipping the calf, fornicating. God tells Moses, And I get tickled every time I read things like this. God said to Moses, the people that you brought out of Egypt, they corrupted themselves. God says, they're your people, you know. You did this, Moses. And God said, now you just let me alone.

[John Weaver] I'll kill all of them, and I'll make of you a greater nation. Moses said, no, no. We don't want to do that. But here's what happened. When he comes down, he gets so angry. He breaks the tables. He takes that golden calf, he burns it. Then he grinds it up into powder. Then he puts it in the water and he makes the people drink it. Some refuse to drink it.

[John Weaver] So you have a division. You have a division between those people in that camp, and I'll just say here's one camp of the people then, who recognized their sin, and their rebellion, and their wickedness, and they humbled themselves, and they repented, and they drank that water. You had the other group in the camp, or separate camp now, who refused to drink that water. They said, no, we stand by. our golden calf. We stand by our worship. We're not sinners. We're not going to repent. We're not going to acknowledge that we're wrong. No, no, no, no. We're not going to do this. And so you've got a division. You've got two separate camps. One camp turned from their sins and became obedient. The other camp obstinately defended and vindicated their sins. One group was willing to serve God as God ordained. The other was willing to do what they wanted to do.

[John Weaver] Now when Moses stood in the gate and he cried, who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. It was a call to separation. If you are for the true and the living God, said Moses, you come over unto me. Have you ever stopped to think about this? If true and genuine and honest Christians really and truly and genuinely lived a Christian and godly and obedient life, it would not be difficult to determine who is Christian and who is not a Christian. So Moses is saying, look, this is a call to separation. If you're for the Lord, then you come over unto me. You come over on this side.

[John Weaver] Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1 in verse 21, not 21, but verse 1 of chapter 1? In fact, Paul used this concerning himself multitudes of times in the New Testament. But he wrote this in Romans 1 in verse 1, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." Now I want you to note, he said, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. And the interesting thing is, the word servant there is through loss in the Greek, and it literally means a slave. Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ. He said, yes, I'm called to be an apostle, but then he said, I'm separated unto the gospel of God.

[John Weaver] His life was given over to truth and to righteousness and to obedience. Now I want you to watch something. When Moses stood in the gate and said, who is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me. He was now giving an opportunity for those who would refuse to drink the water to repent. Told you to drink it earlier, you didn't. But now here's this call to separation. If you're on the Lord's side, you come over unto me.

[John Weaver] He was calling them to take a stand. Now, I want you to watch something. Moses was not a hot-headed troublemaker. In fact, the Bible describes Moses as the meekest man upon the earth. Moses really, truly, honestly, and genuinely loved this people. I want you to look at it. Look in Exodus chapter 32 and verse 32. Look at Moses' prayer once again when God was going to kill them. Look if you would, verse 32. Moses says unto the Lord, Yet now thou wilt forgive their sin. If not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book, which thou hast written." Moses said, Lord, just take my life. Forgive them or just take my life. So here's a man who was willing to die for the people. And of course the Lord said, no, I'll blot out the people who sinned. I'm not going to blot you out.

[John Weaver] You haven't done anything wrong. I'll blot them out. But I want you to watch what happens. Let's go back to verse 26. Watch carefully. Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto Moses. First of all, notice all the sons of Levi. That is Moses' own tribe. Now watch verse 27. And he, Moses, said unto them, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, And every man is companion and every man is neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses and their fellow people that day about three thousand men. So the tribe of Levi now has distinguished itself by coming over unto Moses and said, we are going to fight on the Lord's side. We want Him to be our God. The 3,000 that were slain that day were men who refused to repent.

[John Weaver] They persisted in their rebellion, not only against Moses, but against the Lord. And the truth of the matter is this, the slaying of these 3,000 individuals was not an indiscriminate massacre. These individuals had not only rebelled against God and against Moses, They had also committed treason against God and were guilty of seducing God's people into idolatry. So when Moses cried, who's on the Lord's side, let him come over here. In actuality, what he was saying is this, I'm granting an amnesty to anyone who's willing to repent and become obedient.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to watch. The Bible says, the tribe of Levi came over unto him. And look in verse 27. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point this out again. The sword was only drawn against the rebellious corruptors and against those individuals who had committed treason against the sovereign God of heaven and earth.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to listen. It may be easy in one sense of the word to draw out your sword against a complete stranger. or someone that you know absolutely nothing about. But it is quite a different thing when you draw out your sword to slay your own brother, or your own friend, or your own neighbor, or your own family member.

[John Weaver] Now let me give you a good application of this. I want you to stop and think about church discipline. There are times when it becomes absolutely necessary to discipline a Christian who attends a church. I know that church discipline is not taught today by many preachers. I know it's practiced even by fewer. But when you stop and think, if you choose the Lord's side against your own son or daughter or husband or wife, or brother, or sister. The point I'm trying to make is, it's a little more difficult than you think. Let me give you a couple of illustrations. I remember one church that I pastored. There was a family, and their son and their daughter needed to be disciplined.

[John Weaver] They'd committed some very grievous sins. And so I had a meeting with the father. I explained everything, showed him the scripture, spent over an hour explaining what needed to be done and why it needed to be done. And he looked at me and he said, pastor, I know you're right. I know the word of God is true, but I'm going to have to handle this in my own way.

[John Weaver] And so what he did, he took his family and he left the church rather than have his children disciplined. I could tell you the end of those children and it is not pleasant. I could tell you the end of that family and it is not pleasant either. In the same church, I had a deacon who was a good and godly man and he called me one day on the phone and he said, Pastor, I need to talk to you. there's an issue that demands church discipline. And when I got to the man's house, he explained to me the issue that demanded church discipline.

[John Weaver] It involved his daughter, who was his only child. And you know what? Church discipline was issued against that girl. And the family stood with Christ. And the family stood and apologized to the church with the girl and asked forgiveness. And you want to see a broken church and a weeping church and one who really prayed and worked with that family to help them? I'm just simply saying, it's really difficult when it's your son or your daughter, and you know that they've done wrong, and they need to be publicly disciplined. You see, a private sin can be dealt with privately, but a public sin needs to be dealt with publicly. Now, here's what happened.

[John Weaver] The children of Levi, the sons of Levi came over. They took their swords, and they slew every man his brother, his neighbor, They slew the ones who needed to be slain. I want you to look at the blessing that God gave them. Look in Deuteronomy 33 and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Deuteronomy 33 and verse 8. I believe that's where it is. Let's see. I've got the wrong. Oh, let's see. What did I? Deuteronomy 33. Yeah. Deuteronomy 33.

[John Weaver] I was looking in Exodus 33. You knew something was wrong. Deuteronomy 33, beginning there with verse eight. Deuteronomy 33, verse eight. And of Levi, he said, let thy thumen and thy urim be with thy holy one whom thou didst prove at Massa and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah. Now watch. who said unto his father and his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children, for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant." Now verse 9 refers to this incident in Exodus chapter 32, where they went in and slew every man his own brother. Here it indicates They not only slew their fathers and their mothers, but their children. Watch verse 10.

[John Weaver] God says, They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law. And they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice before thine altar. Bless, Lord, His substance, and accept the work of His hands. Smite through the loins of them that rise up against Him, and of them that hate Him, that they rise not again. So here's a blessing that God has given to the Levites.

[John Weaver] Because they stood with Him and in standing they stood even against their own family. God always blesses obedience.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to listen carefully because I'm going to show you the real application of what I'm teaching you. The call to come over on the Lord's side is frequently enunciated in the New Testament. Moses said, whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me. There is always a division when it comes to Jesus Christ. You'll hear me say this again, but Christ is the dividing line. There's a principle enunciated by Amos in Amos 3 in verse 3 when he asks this question, can two walk together except they be agreed?

[John Weaver] And the answer is obviously no. You will not walk in truth unless you agree with truth. You will not walk as a Christian unless you agree with Christ. You will not walk with other believers unless you agree with them. Those who do not love truth and those who do not love Christ will always walk opposite to truth and opposite to Christ. There will always be a division between those who love Christ and those who do not love Christ. There will always be a division between those who will stand for His Word and those who will not stand for His Word.

[John Weaver] Oh, you should listen to what I'm about to say. Christ is the dividing line in families, in churches, in societies, even in nations. I want you to turn in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of John, chapter 7. And I want you to follow me through a number of passages. Because I want to prove this statement that I just made, that Christ is the dividing line. Look in John 7, and verse... Oh, let's begin with verse 40. John 7. and verse 40. Watch carefully.

[John Weaver] Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Had not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. Did you hear that? There was a division among the people because of him.

[John Weaver] Look in John chapter 9, John chapter 9 and verse 16. Here's where the blind man has been healed. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, this man is not of God because he keeps not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. Isn't that amazing? You see how Christ is dividing individuals? Look in John 10 and verse 19. John 10 and verse 19. When Christ says that He is the Great Shepherd, no man takes His life from Him, He lays it down. In fact, we'll read verse 18. Our Lord said, No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down on Myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.

[John Weaver] This commandment have I received of My Father. There was a division therefore among the Jews for these sayings. Some said he has a devil in his mind, others said, you know, no, he's Christ. But note if you would, there was a division among them because of these sayings. Look in Acts chapter 14 and verse 4. Acts 14 and verse 4.

[John Weaver] Once again, this deals with the preaching of Christ. But the multitude of the city was divided. And part held with the Jews, and part held with the apostles. There was a division. Look in Acts 23 and verse 7. Acts 23 and verse 7. Acts 23, notice verse 7. Paul is defending himself. And when he had so said, there rose a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, for the multitude was divided." Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to John chapter 7. I've got 3 or 4 more passages, and then we'll tie it together. But I want you to look in John chapter 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 37. John 7 and verse 37. We'll read through verse 51. John 7, verse 37. Now I want you to watch this division. In that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.

[John Weaver] He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this make ye of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Had not the scripture said that Christ cometh at the seat of David and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him.

[John Weaver] And some would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers of the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have you not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered the Pharisees, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people knoweth not the Lord. Cursed Nicodemus saith unto them, He that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou of Galilee? Search and look. For out of Galilee ariseth no prophet, and every man went to his own house.

[John Weaver] I want you to note, if you would please, there was a division among them and it's very plain and simple. Those who believed on Christ trusted Him. Those who did not, of course, did not trust Him. So our Lord is teaching us the inevitability of divisions. He knew that He would be the source of division.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back to Genesis chapter 3. And let me show you the very beginning of divisions. Genesis chapter 3. And notice if you would, verse 15. Genesis 3 and verse 15. I will tell you this up front. That Genesis 3, 15 is known as the Protei Evangelium. All that means is this. It is the first promise of the Messiah in the scripture. So if you look in Genesis 3 and verse 15, here's the first promise of the Messiah, where God said, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, he's talking to the serpent now, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel. Now I want you to note, God said specifically that he's going to put enmity, which is a strong word for hatred, between thee, that is the serpent and the woman, and between thy seed, that is His children, and her seed, that is Christ and His children, here is the beginning of this enmity. Enmity exists between the seed of the woman, Christ and His believers, and the seed of the serpent would be the devil and his followers.

[John Weaver] From Genesis 3.15 you can deduce this. It is truth against error. It is light against darkness. It is righteousness against unrighteousness. It is salvation against damnation. It is saved against unsaved. So Christ is simply saying that yes, He is indeed the source of division. I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 10. And let's begin reading there verse 34. Matthew 10, verse 34. I'm going to show you this twice. Once in Matthew, once in Luke. But I want you to look at it. Matthew chapter 10, beginning there verse 34. Look what our Lord said.

[John Weaver] Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foe shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, he is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loveth his life for my sake shall find it.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to note what our Lord said. I'm not come to send peace. I've come to bring a sword. How does Christ set a household at variance? How does he set father against mother, or son against daughter, or mother-in-law against daughter-in-law? The answer is very simple. When one believes and one does not. When one submits to truth and the other does not submit to truth. This is one reason why God forbids Christians to marry non-Christians.

[John Weaver] It should be obvious, you not only have two different gods, you have two different sets of rules, two different sets of principles. And our Lord says, inevitably, invariably, there are going to be divisions in households, in churches, in societies, and in nations. If you will turn right over to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse 51. Luke 12 verse 51. And we'll read through verse 53. Luke 12. Verse 51 through verse 53. Luke 12 verse 51. Again our Lord says, suppose you that I'm come to give peace on earth, I tell you nay, but rather division. From henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son and the son against the father and the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother and the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Why? because Christ is the source of division. What did Moses say?

[John Weaver] Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me. Whoever comes to the Lord's side will always side with the Lord. And when you side with the Lord, when you side with truth and righteousness, you are necessarily siding against all of those who are not with Christ and who are not righteous and do not adhere to truth. So in that sense of the word, Christ is indeed the source of division. Now it is true that Christ is also peace. He brings peace to us, not only individually, but He'll bring peace to families who submit to Him. He'll bring peace to communities and to churches and societies and to nations who submit to Him. But until they submit, there is division.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to know that our Lord in the New Testament verified the words of Moses. In Exodus 32 and verse 26, Moses stood in the gate and he cried, who is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me. In John 5 and verse 46, our Lord said this. He looked at those Pharisees and said, or had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. You didn't believe Moses, you won't believe me. You remember, in Luke chapter 16, our Lord talks about a rich man who died and went to hell. And of course, Lazarus died and was taken by angels into Abraham's bosom. And the Bible says in Luke 16, in hell, the rich man lifted up his eyes being in torment. He said, Father Abraham said to Lazarus, let me dip his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. Abraham answered, you know there's a great gulf between us, we can't go to you and you can't come to us. And he said, Father Abraham, send someone from the dead to go back and warn my five brothers, lest they come to this place of torment.

[John Weaver] You know what Abraham answered? He said this, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. He said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one goes from the dead, arises from the dead, they will believe him. Folks, it ain't so. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And folks still don't believe him. He's still the source of separation. Here's what Moses' call is. It is a definite, distinct, and clarion call to be constantly and continually on the Lord's side. Whatever the issues, He that is on the Lord's side, let Him come over unto me.

[John Weaver] Now I want to give you a scripture. David said this in Psalm 118 and verse 6. Listen carefully. David said, ha ha, the Lord is on my side. I will not fear what man can do unto me. The only way the Lord can be on our side is if we're on His side. And if we want Him on our side, we need to make sure that we're on His side wherever He is. One last passage.

[John Weaver] Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. And I want you to look very closely at verse 13. Hebrews 13 and verse 13. Look at this. In fact, let's read verse 12. Hebrews 13, beginning with verse 12. Wherefore Jesus, also that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate, that is, outside the gates of Jerusalem. He suffered. Now watch verse 13. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.

[John Weaver] Wherever Christ is, If He's being reproached and scandalized, that's where we need to be. If He's being praised and exalted, that's where we need to be. If He's being ridiculed and attacked, that's where we need to be. Whoever's on the Lord's side, let Him come over unto me. So the question is, whose side are you on? Your own side. You're either on the side of sin and wickedness and rebellion, or a side of Christ and submission and obedience.

[John Weaver] Is there division in your family? Is there division in your church? In your community? In your state? In your nation? If there is, you need to make sure that whatever the division is, that you're on the Lord's side. And you stand for His truth and His Word. So the question is, will you uphold His truth and His principles in every area of life? Whatever it is. Doesn't matter how it affects us. Doesn't matter if it affects our father, our mother, our brothers, our sisters, our sons, our daughters, He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me, he said. He that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. We must at all times and in all situations choose Christ and be on His side. And if we ever truly expect Him and want Him on our side, we have to be on His side. Because our side should really be His side. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for Your grace, for Your mercy, for Your goodness and Your kindness.

[John Weaver] And Lord, teach us to see that, Lord, there is a division. And we're either with Thee or against Thee. We're either gathering for Thee or we're scattering abroad. We must choose. And we must always choose the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us grace, we pray, in Thy name. Give us, Lord, obedience in Thy name. Give us faith and submission in Thy name. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

Who's Side Are You On?

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	EIOmpz8QJw4
Subject	Family Government
Course	The Christian Family: Children, Fatherhood, and Generational Faithfulness: The World And Times Of Jesse James
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-10-31
Dictation Name
Book	Book 028: The Christian Family: Children, Fatherhood, and Generational Faithfulness — Chapter 22
Source Timed Segments	79

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Question of Sides

Weaver introduces the sermon's title and reads Exodus 32:26, noting how choosing sides is common in games, politics, and religion. He warns against trying to remain neutral.

Well, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Exodus chapter 32. Exodus 32 and verse 26. The title of the message today is a question: Whose side are you on? We're going to simply read one verse. We will come back and pick up the context, I can assure you. But look in Exodus chapter 32 and verse 26. Exodus 32 verse 26, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 32:26

"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me."

And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. Note if you would the question, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." When I read that verse, I immediately thought of an exclamation that we made as children, especially when a number of children would get together and a game was going to be played. Someone would just holler "sides." And of course that means that we would all get together and we would choose sides. I hope you understand that we've chosen sides all of our lives. We've chosen sides in dodgeball, baseball, basketball, football, tag, and a dozen other games as well. More people today choose sides in politics. I've heard people say, "Well, I'm a Republican." Another one, "I'm a Democrat." Another, "I'm a Libertarian." Some say, "Well, I'm just with the Freedom Party." Well, we not only choose sides in politics, we also choose sides in religion. In fact, there are people who prefer certain denominations and they will choose this denomination because they believe that that is the one that suits them the best.

We also choose sides in Christianity. We choose favorite preachers. In fact, I've heard people speak about their favorite TV preachers. If you would hold Exodus chapter 32, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, let me show you how the Corinthian church was notorious for choosing sides when it came to preachers. Notice if you would please, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. Look what the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church.

The Corinthian Church's Division Over Preachers

Using 1 Corinthians 1:11-14, Weaver illustrates how the Corinthians chose sides based on favorite preachers, a practice Paul rebuked. He emphasizes that the message, not the messenger, should be our focus.

He says, "For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" Look at verse 14. He says, "I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I baptized in my own name."

So what you had in the Corinthian church was a division over preachers. Some would say, "Well now I like Paul, I'm going to listen to him. I'm not listening to the others." Some would say, "No, I like Peter. I'm going to listen to Peter and no one else." Well, someone would say, "But Apollos is a better orator. I'm going to choose Apollos." And then some would say, "Well, we're more spiritual than you. We're just going to choose Christ. We will just listen to Him." And Paul says, "Look, is Christ divided?"

"Was I crucified for you?" And he said, "I thank God I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, lest any of you should say that I baptized in my own name." In other words, Paul said, "I was not trying to get a following." But notice if you would how they were divided. And people are divided like that today. We'll choose certain men that we're going to listen to, and then we'll say, "Well, we like this one better than the other one," and so both may be preaching the truth, but we're just going to listen to one of them. I never will forget what one of my friends said. He said, "I like ice cream." He said, "I don't care if it's vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate." He said, "I just like ice cream." He said, "Moreover," he said, "I like the preaching of the Word of God. I don't care if the man is monotone. I don't care if he's a great orator. I don't care if he swings from the ceiling from a chandelier just so he preaches the word of God. That's what I want."

Well, that should be our attitude as well. But I want you to note that we've been choosing sides most of our lives. But the truth of the matter is there are some folks who really do not like to choose sides, especially if it's going to cost them. They rather like to straddle the fence. They want to stay in the median. They want to stay in the middle of the road.

The Danger of Straddling the Fence

Weaver warns against trying to be neutral, using the example of a man who wore both Union and Confederate uniforms and was shot by both sides. He cites Matthew 12:30 to show there is no middle ground with Christ.

They refuse to be labeled in any certain way. I have heard preachers, as well as Christians, identify themselves theologically as Calminians. In other words, they didn't want to choose between Calvinism and Arminianism, so they would just call themselves Calminians. You've heard, undoubtedly, about the man during the War of Northern Aggression who could not make up his mind whether he wanted to fight for the North or for the South, and so he went into battle wearing a Confederate jacket and Union pants. Well, you know what happened? The Yankees shot him in the chest and the Confederates shot him in the seat of the pants. Well, you know, if you are on one side, at least everyone knows where you stand and you're not trying to be in the middle of the road. And as Christians we have to realize there's really and truly no such thing as middle ground.

And usually every issue revolves around right or wrong. And we're either going to end up standing for that which is right or that which is wrong. Especially when it comes to Christ and His Word. You see, our Lord made this exceedingly clear in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 30 where our Lord said this,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 12:30

"He that is not with me is against me and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad."

You remember some time some years back when George Bush was president, that is George Jr., he used this statement in regards to, I think it was the Iraq war. He said, "You're either with us or against us." Well, what he meant by that, of course, you're either for his administration and their war or you were against him and his administration in their war. But the words refer to Christ and truth.

Jehu's Call: 'Who Is on My Side?'

Weaver recounts the story of Jehu in 2 Kings 9, who asked 'Who is on my side?' before having Jezebel thrown down. He uses this to illustrate a time when choosing sides was a delight because it aligned with God's judgment.

Now there are times, I think, when we not only choose sides, we delight to choose sides. There's one particular instance where I would love to have been around where I could have chosen a side. I would love to have been around in the palace during the times of Jehu. Now, Jehu had slain Joram, who was the son of King Ahab. He also slew King Ahaziah of Judah, who was the son-in-law to King Ahab. And if you will turn in your Bible, hold in Exodus 32, but turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Kings chapter 9. 2 Kings chapter 9. And let me show you what happens after Jehu has slain Joram and Ahaziah. In 2 Kings chapter 9, he now comes to the palace for wicked Queen Jezebel, who was the wife of Ahab. Notice if you would, 2 Kings chapter 9, and let's begin reading there verse 30. The Bible says, 2 Kings 9 verse 30,

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 9:30-37

"And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out a window. And as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace who slew his master?"

Now let me just stop there. What she is trying to teach Jehu is a history lesson. Zimri did slay his master the king, and I forget exactly without checking, I think he reigned a total of something like seven days and then he burned the palace down upon himself. And so she's trying to give Jehu a history lesson, said, "This is not going to work." It said, "Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?" Watch, verse 32. "And he, Jehu, lifted up his face to the window and said, Who is on my side? Who?" And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs, and he said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses, and he trod her underfoot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, "Go see now this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is the king's daughter." And when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than her skull and the feet and the palms of her hand.

Wherefore they came again and told him, and he said, "This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by the servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel." And of course, that's exactly what happened. But Jehu came up and said, "Who's on the Lord's side?" or "Who's on my side?" And of course, when those eunuchs looked out the window, he said, "Throw her down." and they threw her down. I certainly would have chosen sides in that particular incident. I'd have chosen Jehu's side because I'd have wanted to have gotten rid of Jezebel as well. She was a wicked ungodly woman, had murdered numerous innocent people as well as the Lord's prophets and had elevated the prophets of Baal in that kingdom. So there are times that we would be delighted to choose. There are times that we absolutely have to choose, and we must choose, and we must always choose that which is right and holy.

Moses' Call in Context: The Golden Calf Incident

Weaver provides the background of Exodus 32, describing Israel's idolatry with the golden calf, Moses' anger, and the division that resulted. He explains that Moses' call was a call to separation and repentance.

Now in our text in Exodus chapter 32, Moses, the Bible says in verse 26, cried, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." I want you to understand that Moses was God's representative and ambassador. He was appointed by God. He was ordained by God. He represented God. And I want you to note in verse 26, the Bible says that Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the Lord's side?" He did not say, "Who is on my side?" He asked, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." And the Bible tells us in verse 26, "...and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto Him." Now, I want you to note, if you would please, in verse 26 the Bible says that Moses stood in the gate of the camp. Now it's very significant that he stood in the gate of the camp.

Because the gates in the Bible were always symbolical of authority, justice, and judgment. Whoever had control of the gates had control of the people and also control of their enemies. God specifically promised this to Abraham. I want you to hold Exodus 32 but look back in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 22 and look at verse 17. Genesis 22 and verse 17. Notice this promise that God gives to Abraham. Genesis 22 and verse 17, God said to Abraham,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 22:17

"That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore."

Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 22:17

"and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies."

Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Notice if you would, all authority was in the gates. The king sat in the gate. Notice if you would, in Genesis chapter 24 and verse 60, because when Rebecca went to become the wife of Isaac, they gave her a blessing and they said this, Genesis 24 and verse 60, "And they blessed Rebekah and said unto her, Thou our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and

let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." In other words, let your children be in control of the gates. And if you would turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 16, you're going to see this again, because it was the judges as well that sat in the gates. Notice Deuteronomy chapter 16 and verse 18. Deuteronomy 16 and verse 18. God said, "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee throughout thy tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment." So you will find that many times when kings conquered a city, they placed their thrones in the gates. Deeds were recognized and recorded in the gates. Trials were held in the gates.

It was a public place of assembly. But it was a place of judgment and justice and authority. And so Moses now stands in the gate of the camp. And he cries, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come over unto me."

Now what we need to understand is this. When Moses made that request, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come over unto me," he was calling there and pointing out a simple truth: that there are two great interests at war with one another, and that men will necessarily choose sides. It's impossible not to choose. You're going to find that some are going to choose the side of the Lord, His word, His truth, His righteousness. And some are going to choose the side of sin and wickedness, disobedience and rebellion. It is absolutely impossible to be neutral. Our Lord Himself said, "He that is not with me is against me." There's no neutral ground. There's no middle ground. You're either for Christ or you're against Christ. You're either for truth or you're against truth. You must choose a side. And when someone takes the attitude, "Well, I'm not going to choose a side, I'm going to remain neutral," in not choosing a side, you've already chosen a side. You've chosen the side of sin, disobedience, and rebellion.

Because Christ once again said, "If you're not with me, then you're against me." What we should be concerned about is that not only that we are on the Lord's side, but we're on His side constantly and continually. Now we may be few in number. Our Lord said of His people, "Fear not, little flock. It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." We may be a small number, but the truth is we must be absolutely faithful and absolutely true, so that whenever God does choose to use us, we shall be ready. And may I remind you, and this is very interesting to me, that all through Scripture, God has always been pleased to use a minority. He never uses a majority. I hear people say all the time, "All the Christians in this country need to get together." First of all, that is never, ever going to happen. It's never going to happen. But I will tell you this, if there are, or if there comes to be a small group or a number of small groups of dedicated, godly, obedient, faithful Christians, you better watch out.

Because God will indeed use them. And you have to remember, when George Washington was fighting the King of England, I forget the exact percentage, something like 3% of the people followed him in battle. Did you know he never had over 3,000 men at one time in a battle? Now he had more men than that. But the small percentage of the people in this country originally were those who fought for independence. Noah had to stand alone. Daniel had to stand alone. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood alone. All I'm pointing out is God is pleased to use small numbers. I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to Exodus chapter 32. And I want us to begin reading there with verse 1 so I can show you the context of Moses' call, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come over unto me." So let's begin reading there in verse 1. We'll read through verse 10, then we'll skip down some. Because I want you to see that this is the incident concerning the golden calf. So in Exodus chapter 32, beginning there in verse 1, "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him."

And Aaron said unto them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives and your sons and your daughters and bring them unto me." And all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand. Now watch carefully. He received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf. So Aaron now deliberately fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast of the Lord."

And they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Go get thee down, for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made them a molten calf, and they have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." And the Lord said unto Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people." "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, that I may consume them, and I will make of thee a great nation." So the people now are worshipping a golden calf. Remember, God has just brought them out of the land of Egypt. Moses has gone up to receive the law of God on the mount. He was only there 40 days and 40 nights.

So he's not even back yet. So it hadn't been 40 days. And they're wanting a visible symbol of God. I want you to skip down, if you would please, beginning there with verse 17. Look what happens. Verse 17. "When Joshua heard the noise of the people, and he was with Moses, as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery. Neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome. But the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing."

And Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and he break them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink thereof. And Moses said unto Aaron, "What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?" And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief." "For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go up before us. As for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me. Then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf."

Well, that was a miracle in itself, wasn't it? Now, on one hand, he fashioned it. Now, he's telling Moses, it just came out. Watch verse 25. "And when Moses saw that the people were naked," by the way, when it said they ate and drank and rose up to play, they were fornicating. That's what it means. Read 1 Corinthians 10. That's what it means. "And when Moses saw that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies, then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side?"

"Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. Now watch. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."

Now, I want you to notice what happened. Aaron has made this golden calf. The people are worshipping the calf, fornicating. God tells Moses, and I get tickled every time I read things like this. God said to Moses, "The people that you brought out of Egypt, they corrupted themselves." God says, "They're your people, you know. You did this, Moses." And God said, "Now you just let me alone. I'll kill all of them, and I'll make of you a greater nation." Moses said, "No, no. We don't want to do that." But here's what happened. When he comes down, he gets so angry. He breaks the tables. He takes that golden calf, he burns it. Then he grinds it up into powder. Then he puts it in the water and he makes the people drink it. Some refuse to drink it.

So you have a division. You have a division between those people in that camp, and I'll just say here's one camp of the people then, who recognized their sin, and their rebellion, and their wickedness, and they humbled themselves, and they repented, and they drank that water. You had the other group in the camp, or separate camp now, who refused to drink that water. They said, "No, we stand by our golden calf. We stand by our worship. We're not sinners. We're not going to repent. We're not going to acknowledge that we're wrong. No, no, no, no. We're not going to do this." And so you've got a division. You've got two separate camps. One camp turned from their sins and became obedient. The other camp obstinately defended and vindicated their sins. One group was willing to serve God as God ordained. The other was willing to do what they wanted to do.

The Levites' Obedience and Its Cost

Weaver highlights that the Levites answered Moses' call and were commanded to slay even their own brothers and neighbors. He applies this to church discipline, noting the difficulty of standing with Christ against family members.

Now when Moses stood in the gate and he cried, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me," it was a call to separation. If you are for the true and the living God, said Moses, you come over unto me. Have you ever stopped to think about this? If true and genuine and honest Christians really and truly and genuinely lived a Christian and godly and obedient life, it would not be difficult to determine who is Christian and who is not a Christian. So Moses is saying, "Look, this is a call to separation. If you're for the Lord, then you come over unto me. You come over on this side."

Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1 in verse 1? In fact, Paul used this concerning himself multitudes of times in the New Testament. But he wrote this in Romans 1 in verse 1, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." Now I want you to note, he said, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ." And the interesting thing is, the word servant there is doulos in the Greek, and it literally means a slave. Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ. He said, "Yes, I'm called to be an apostle," but then he said, "I'm separated unto the gospel of God." His life was given over to truth and to righteousness and to obedience. Now I want you to watch something. When Moses stood in the gate and said, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me," he was now giving an opportunity for those who would refuse to drink the water to repent. Told you to drink it earlier, you didn't. But now here's this call to separation. If you're on the Lord's side, you come over unto me.

He was calling them to take a stand. Now, I want you to watch something. Moses was not a hot-headed troublemaker. In fact, the Bible describes Moses as the meekest man upon the earth. Moses really, truly, honestly, and genuinely loved this people. I want you to look at it. Look in Exodus chapter 32 and verse 32. Look at Moses' prayer once again when God was going to kill them. Look if you would, verse 32. Moses says unto the Lord, "Yet now thou wilt forgive their sin. If not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book, which thou hast written." Moses said, "Lord, just take my life. Forgive them or just take my life." So here's a man who was willing to die for the people. And of course the Lord said, "No, I'll blot out the people who sinned. I'm not going to blot you out.

You haven't done anything wrong. I'll blot them out." But I want you to watch what happens. Let's go back to verse 26. Watch carefully. "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto Moses." First of all, notice all the sons of Levi. That is Moses' own tribe. Now watch verse 27. "And he, Moses, said unto them, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men." So the tribe of Levi now has distinguished itself by coming over unto Moses and said, "We are going to fight on the Lord's side. We want Him to be our God." The 3,000 that were slain that day were men who refused to repent.

They persisted in their rebellion, not only against Moses, but against the Lord. And the truth of the matter is this, the slaying of these 3,000 individuals was not an indiscriminate massacre. These individuals had not only rebelled against God and against Moses, they had also committed treason against God and were guilty of seducing God's people into idolatry. So when Moses cried, "Who's on the Lord's side? Let him come over here," in actuality, what he was saying is this, "I'm granting an amnesty to anyone who's willing to repent and become obedient."

Now I want you to watch. The Bible says, the tribe of Levi came over unto him. And look in verse 27. "And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor."

Now, let me point this out again. The sword was only drawn against the rebellious corruptors and against those individuals who had committed treason against the sovereign God of heaven and earth. Now, I want you to listen. It may be easy in one sense of the word to draw out your sword against a complete stranger or someone that you know absolutely nothing about. But it is quite a different thing when you draw out your sword to slay your own brother, or your own friend, or your own neighbor, or your own family member.

Now let me give you a good application of this. I want you to stop and think about church discipline. There are times when it becomes absolutely necessary to discipline a Christian who attends a church. I know that church discipline is not taught today by many preachers. I know it's practiced even by fewer. But when you stop and think, if you choose the Lord's side against your own son or daughter or husband or wife, or brother, or sister. The point I'm trying to make is, it's a little more difficult than you think. Let me give you a couple of illustrations. I remember one church that I pastored. There was a family, and their son and their daughter needed to be disciplined.

They'd committed some very grievous sins. And so I had a meeting with the father. I explained everything, showed him the scripture, spent over an hour explaining what needed to be done and why it needed to be done. And he looked at me and he said, "Pastor, I know you're right. I know the word of God is true, but I'm going to have to handle this in my own way." And so what he did, he took his family and he left the church rather than have his children disciplined. I could tell you the end of those children and it is not pleasant. I could tell you the end of that family and it is not pleasant either. In the same church, I had a deacon who was a good and godly man and he called me one day on the phone and he said, "Pastor, I need to talk to you. There's an issue that demands church discipline." And when I got to the man's house, he explained to me the issue that demanded church discipline.

It involved his daughter, who was his only child. And you know what? Church discipline was issued against that girl. And the family stood with Christ. And the family stood and apologized to the church with the girl and asked forgiveness. And you want to see a broken church and a weeping church and one who really prayed and worked with that family to help them? I'm just simply saying, it's really difficult when it's your son or your daughter, and you know that they've done wrong, and they need to be publicly disciplined. You see, a private sin can be dealt with privately, but a public sin needs to be dealt with publicly. Now, here's what happened.

The children of Levi, the sons of Levi came over. They took their swords, and they slew every man his brother, his neighbor. They slew the ones who needed to be slain. I want you to look at the blessing that God gave them. Look in Deuteronomy 33 and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Deuteronomy 33 and verse 8. I believe that's where it is. Let's see. I've got the wrong... Oh, let's see. What did I? Deuteronomy 33. Yeah. Deuteronomy 33.

I was looking in Exodus 33. You knew something was wrong. Deuteronomy 33, beginning there with verse eight. Deuteronomy 33, verse eight.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:8-11

"And of Levi, he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one whom thou didst prove at Massah and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah."

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:8-11

"Who said unto his father and his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children, for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant."

Now verse 9 refers to this incident in Exodus chapter 32, where they went in and slew every man his own brother. Here it indicates they not only slew their fathers and their mothers, but their children. Watch verse 10.

Christ as the Dividing Line

Weaver demonstrates from multiple New Testament passages (John 7, 9, 10; Acts 14, 23) that Christ causes division. He traces this enmity back to Genesis 3:15 and shows that Christ brings a sword, not peace, to households.

I was looking in Exodus 33. You knew something was wrong. Deuteronomy 33, beginning there with verse eight. Deuteronomy 33, verse eight.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:8-11

"And of Levi, he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one whom thou didst prove at Massah and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah."

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:8-11

"Who said unto his father and his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children, for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant."

God says, "They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law. And they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice before thine altar. Bless, Lord, His substance, and accept the work of His hands. Smite through the loins of them that rise up against Him, and of them that hate Him, that they rise not again." So here's a blessing that God has given to the Levites. Because they stood with Him and in standing they stood even against their own family. God always blesses obedience.

Now I want you to listen carefully because I'm going to show you the real application of what I'm teaching you. The call to come over on the Lord's side is frequently enunciated in the New Testament. Moses said, "Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me." There is always a division when it comes to Jesus Christ. You'll hear me say this again, but Christ is the dividing line. There's a principle enunciated by Amos in Amos 3 in verse 3 when he asks this question,

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:3

"Can two walk together except they be agreed?"

And the answer is obviously no. You will not walk in truth unless you agree with truth. You will not walk as a Christian unless you agree with Christ. You will not walk with other believers unless you agree with them. Those who do not love truth and those who do not love Christ will always walk opposite to truth and opposite to Christ. There will always be a division between those who love Christ and those who do not love Christ. There will always be a division between those who will stand for His Word and those who will not stand for His Word.

Oh, you should listen to what I'm about to say. Christ is the dividing line in families, in churches, in societies, even in nations. I want you to turn in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of John, chapter 7. And I want you to follow me through a number of passages. Because I want to prove this statement that I just made, that Christ is the dividing line. Look in John 7, and verse... Oh, let's begin with verse 40. John 7 and verse 40. Watch carefully.

Scripture Reading — John 9:16

"Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Had not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him."

Did you hear that? There was a division among the people because of him. Look in John chapter 9, John chapter 9 and verse 16. Here's where the blind man has been healed.

Scripture Reading — John 9:16

"Therefore said some of the Pharisees, this man is not of God because he keeps not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them."

Isn't that amazing? You see how Christ is dividing individuals? Look in John 10 and verse 19. John 10 and verse 19. When Christ says that He is the Great Shepherd, no man takes His life from Him, He lays it down. In fact, we'll read verse 18. Our Lord said, "No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.

This commandment have I received of My Father. There was a division therefore among the Jews for these sayings." Some said he has a devil and is mad, others said, "You know, no, he's Christ." But note if you would, there was a division among them because of these sayings. Look in Acts chapter 14 and verse 4. Acts 14 and verse 4.

Once again, this deals with the preaching of Christ.

Scripture Reading — Acts 14:4

"But the multitude of the city was divided. And part held with the Jews, and part held with the apostles."

There was a division. Look in Acts 23 and verse 7. Acts 23 and verse 7. Acts 23, notice verse 7. Paul is defending himself. "And when he had so said, there rose a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, for the multitude was divided." Wow.

Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to John chapter 7. I've got 3 or 4 more passages, and then we'll tie it together. But I want you to look in John chapter 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 37. John 7 and verse 37. We'll read through verse 51. John 7, verse 37. Now I want you to watch this division. "In that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Had not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him."

"And some would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers of the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have you not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered the Pharisees, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people knoweth not the Lord. Cursed Nicodemus saith unto them, He that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou of Galilee? Search and look. For out of Galilee ariseth no prophet, and every man went to his own house."

I want you to note, if you would please, there was a division among them and it's very plain and simple. Those who believed on Christ trusted Him. Those who did not, of course, did not trust Him. So our Lord is teaching us the inevitability of divisions. He knew that He would be the source of division.

Now, I want you to turn back to Genesis chapter 3. And let me show you the very beginning of divisions. Genesis chapter 3. And notice if you would, verse 15. Genesis 3 and verse 15. I will tell you this up front. That Genesis 3:15 is known as the Protevangelium. All that means is this. It is the first promise of the Messiah in the scripture. So if you look in Genesis 3 and verse 15, here's the first promise of the Messiah, where God said,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 3:15

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,"

he's talking to the serpent now,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 3:15

"and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel."

Now I want you to note, God said specifically that he's going to put enmity, which is a strong word for hatred, between thee, that is the serpent and the woman, and between thy seed, that is His children, and her seed, that is Christ and His children. Here is the beginning of this enmity. Enmity exists between the seed of the woman, Christ and His believers, and the seed of the serpent would be the devil and his followers.

From Genesis 3:15 you can deduce this. It is truth against error. It is light against darkness. It is righteousness against unrighteousness. It is salvation against damnation. It is saved against unsaved. So Christ is simply saying that yes, He is indeed the source of division. I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 10. And let's begin reading there verse 34. Matthew 10, verse 34. I'm going to show you this twice. Once in Matthew, once in Luke. But I want you to look at it. Matthew chapter 10, beginning there verse 34. Look what our Lord said.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foe shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, he is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loveth his life for my sake shall find it."

Now I want you to note what our Lord said. "I'm not come to send peace. I've come to bring a sword." How does Christ set a household at variance? How does he set father against mother, or son against daughter, or mother-in-law against daughter-in-law? The answer is very simple. When one believes and one does not. When one submits to truth and the other does not submit to truth. This is one reason why God forbids Christians to marry non-Christians.

It should be obvious, you not only have two different gods, you have two different sets of rules, two different sets of principles. And our Lord says, inevitably, invariably, there are going to be divisions in households, in churches, in societies, and in nations. If you will turn right over to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse 51. Luke 12 verse 51. And we'll read through verse 53. Luke 12. Verse 51 through verse 53. Luke 12 verse 51. Again our Lord says, "Suppose you that I'm come to give peace on earth, I tell you nay, but rather division. From henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son and the son against the father and the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother and the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." Why? Because Christ is the source of division. What did Moses say?

"Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me." Whoever comes to the Lord's side will always side with the Lord. And when you side with the Lord, when you side with truth and righteousness, you are necessarily siding against all of those who are not with Christ and who are not righteous and do not adhere to truth. So in that sense of the word, Christ is indeed the source of division. Now it is true that Christ is also peace. He brings peace to us, not only individually, but He'll bring peace to families who submit to Him. He'll bring peace to communities and to churches and societies and to nations who submit to Him. But until they submit, there is division.

Conclusion: Whose Side Are You On?

Weaver concludes by urging believers to go to Christ 'without the camp' (Hebrews 13:13) and to consistently choose His side, regardless of personal cost. He calls for self-examination and prayer for grace to remain faithful.

Now I want you to know that our Lord in the New Testament verified the words of Moses. In Exodus 32 and verse 26, Moses stood in the gate and he cried, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." In John 5 and verse 46, our Lord said this. He looked at those Pharisees and said, "Had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. You didn't believe Moses, you won't believe me." You remember, in Luke chapter 16, our Lord talks about a rich man who died and went to hell. And of course, Lazarus died and was taken by angels into Abraham's bosom. And the Bible says in Luke 16, in hell, the rich man lifted up his eyes being in torment. He said, "Father Abraham, send Lazarus, let him dip his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame." Abraham answered, "You know there's a great gulf between us, we can't go to you and you can't come to us." And he said, "Father Abraham, send someone from the dead to go back and warn my five brothers, lest they come to this place of torment."

You know what Abraham answered? He said this, "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them." He said, "Nay, father Abraham, but if one goes from the dead, arises from the dead, they will believe him." Folks, it ain't so. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And folks still don't believe him. He's still the source of separation. Here's what Moses' call is. It is a definite, distinct, and clarion call to be constantly and continually on the Lord's side. Whatever the issues, "He that is on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me."

Now I want to give you a scripture. David said this in Psalm 118 and verse 6. Listen carefully. David said, "Ha ha, the Lord is on my side. I will not fear what man can do unto me." The only way the Lord can be on our side is if we're on His side. And if we want Him on our side, we need to make sure that we're on His side wherever He is. One last passage.

Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. And I want you to look very closely at verse 13. Hebrews 13 and verse 13. Look at this. In fact, let's read verse 12. Hebrews 13, beginning with verse 12. "Wherefore Jesus, also that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate," that is, outside the gates of Jerusalem. He suffered. Now watch verse 13. "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach."

Wherever Christ is, if He's being reproached and scandalized, that's where we need to be. If He's being praised and exalted, that's where we need to be. If He's being ridiculed and attacked, that's where we need to be. Whoever's on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me. So the question is, whose side are you on? Your own side. You're either on the side of sin and wickedness and rebellion, or the side of Christ and submission and obedience.

Is there division in your family? Is there division in your church? In your community? In your state? In your nation? If there is, you need to make sure that whatever the division is, that you're on the Lord's side. And you stand for His truth and His Word. So the question is, will you uphold His truth and His principles in every area of life? Whatever it is. Doesn't matter how it affects us. Doesn't matter if it affects our father, our mother, our brothers, our sisters, our sons, our daughters. "He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me," he said. "He that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." We must at all times and in all situations choose Christ and be on His side. And if we ever truly expect Him and want Him on our side, we have to be on His side. Because our side should really be His side. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for Your grace, for Your mercy, for Your goodness and Your kindness.

And Lord, teach us to see that, Lord, there is a division. And we're either with Thee or against Thee. We're either gathering for Thee or we're scattering abroad. We must choose. And we must always choose the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us grace, we pray, in Thy name. Give us, Lord, obedience in Thy name. Give us faith and submission in Thy name. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Necessity of Choosing Sides

Summary: Weaver argues that neutrality is impossible in spiritual matters; one is either for Christ or against Him. He uses Matthew 12:30 and the analogy of a man shot by both sides in war to illustrate the danger of trying to straddle the fence.

Evidence: He said, 'He that is not with me is against me and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad.' ... 'if you are on one side, at least everyone knows where you stand and you're not trying to be in the middle of the road.'

Christ as the Source of Division

Summary: Weaver shows from Scripture that Christ intentionally brings division, even within families. He cites Matthew 10:34-37 and Luke 12:51-53 to prove that the gospel creates a sword that separates believers from unbelievers.

Evidence: Our Lord said, 'Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace, but a sword.' ... 'From henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three.'

The Cost of Discipleship

Summary: Weaver emphasizes that following Christ may require standing against family members, as the Levites did when they slew their own kin. He applies this to church discipline and personal loyalty to Christ above all relationships.

Evidence: He said, 'He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.'

God Uses a Faithful Minority

Summary: Weaver notes that throughout Scripture, God has worked through small numbers of dedicated people, such as Noah, Daniel, and the Levites. He encourages believers that a faithful remnant can be used mightily by God.

Evidence: He said, 'God has always been pleased to use a minority. He never uses a majority.' ... 'if there comes to be a small group or a number of small groups of dedicated, godly, obedient, faithful Christians, you better watch out.'

The Call to Separation

Summary: Moses' cry 'Who is on the Lord's side?' was a call to separate from sin and idolatry. Weaver parallels this with the New Testament call to go to Christ 'without the camp' bearing His reproach (Hebrews 13:13).

Evidence: Moses stood in the gate and he cried, 'Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.' ... 'Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.'

Obedience Brings Blessing

Summary: Weaver points to Deuteronomy 33:8-11, where the Levites are blessed for their obedience in executing judgment. He asserts that God always blesses those who obey Him, even when it is difficult.

Evidence: God says, 'They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law. ... Bless, Lord, His substance, and accept the work of His hands.'

Key Arguments

Neutrality is impossible

Summary: Weaver argues that trying to remain neutral in spiritual matters is itself a choice against God. He uses Matthew 12:30 and the illustration of the man in mixed uniform to show that there is no middle ground.

Evidence: He said, 'He that is not with me is against me.' ... 'if you are on one side, at least everyone knows where you stand and you're not trying to be in the middle of the road.'

Christ intentionally brings division

Summary: Weaver demonstrates from Matthew 10:34-37 and Luke 12:51-53 that Jesus came to bring a sword, not peace, and that the gospel will divide even the closest family relationships.

Evidence: Our Lord said, 'I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father...'

The Levites' example of costly obedience

Summary: Weaver uses the Levites' willingness to slay their own relatives as a model for believers today, showing that loyalty to God must supersede family ties, especially in matters of church discipline.

Evidence: He said, 'Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother...'

God blesses those who choose His side

Summary: Weaver points to the blessing on the tribe of Levi in Deuteronomy 33 as evidence that God rewards those who stand with Him, even when it means opposing family.

Evidence: God says, 'They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law. ... Bless, Lord, His substance...'

The call to separation is a call to Christ

Summary: Weaver connects Moses' call in Exodus 32:26 with Hebrews 13:13, urging believers to go to Christ outside the camp, bearing His reproach, and to identify with Him regardless of the cost.

Evidence: Moses stood in the gate and said, 'Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.' ... 'Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.'

Scripture References

Exodus 32:26

Context: Moses stands in the gate and asks, 'Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.' The Levites respond.

1 Corinthians 1:11-14

Context: Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for dividing over preachers, saying some claimed to be of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas.

Matthew 12:30

Context: Jesus says, 'He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.'

2 Kings 9:30-37

Context: Jehu asks 'Who is on my side?' and has Jezebel thrown down, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy.

Genesis 22:17

Context: God promises Abraham that his seed will possess the gate of his enemies, symbolizing authority.

Genesis 24:60

Context: Rebekah is blessed that her seed may possess the gate of those who hate them.

Deuteronomy 16:18

Context: God commands judges and officers to be placed in the gates to judge with just judgment.

Exodus 32:1-10

Context: The people make a golden calf while Moses is on the mount; God threatens to destroy them.

Exodus 32:17-24

Context: Moses and Joshua hear the noise in the camp; Moses breaks the tablets and confronts Aaron.

Exodus 32:25-28

Context: Moses sees the people's nakedness, calls for those on the Lord's side, and the Levites slay 3,000.

Exodus 32:32

Context: Moses intercedes for the people, offering to be blotted out of God's book if their sin is not forgiven.

Deuteronomy 33:8-11

Context: Moses blesses Levi for their obedience in not acknowledging their own families, and they are set apart for teaching and sacrifice.

Amos 3:3

Context: The rhetorical question, 'Can two walk together, except they be agreed?' is used to show the necessity of agreement in truth.

John 7:40-43

Context: There was a division among the people because of Jesus; some said He was the Prophet, others the Christ.

John 9:16

Context: The Pharisees are divided over Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath.

John 10:18-19

Context: Jesus speaks of laying down His life, and there is a division among the Jews because of His words.

Acts 14:4

Context: The multitude of the city was divided; part held with the Jews, part with the apostles.

Acts 23:7

Context: Paul's defense causes a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the multitude is divided.

Genesis 3:15

Context: God puts enmity between the serpent's seed and the woman's seed, the first promise of the Messiah and the beginning of spiritual division.

Matthew 10:34-39

Context: Jesus says He came not to send peace but a sword, setting family members against each other; loving family more than Him makes one unworthy.

Historical References

War of Northern Aggression (American Civil War)

Context: Weaver tells a story of a man who wore a Confederate jacket and Union pants and was shot by both sides, illustrating the danger of not choosing a side.

George W. Bush's statement on the Iraq War

Context: Weaver references President George W. Bush's statement 'You're either with us or against us' in the context of the Iraq war, comparing it to Christ's words.

George Washington and the American Revolution

Context: Weaver notes that only about 3% of the population fought for independence, and Washington never had over 3,000 men in a single battle, illustrating God's use of a minority.

Important Quotes

Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.

Significance: This is the central text of the sermon, the call to choose allegiance to God.

He that is not with me is against me and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad.

Significance: Jesus' words that establish the impossibility of neutrality.

Who is on my side? Who?

Significance: Jehu's similar call before executing judgment on Jezebel, paralleling Moses' call.

I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Significance: Christ's declaration that He brings division, not superficial peace.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Significance: The cost of discipleship, demanding supreme loyalty to Christ over family.

Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.

Significance: The New Testament call to identify with Christ outside the camp, paralleling Moses' call to separation.

Discussion Questions

Why is it impossible to be neutral in spiritual matters, according to Matthew 12:30?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that Christ said, 'He that is not with me is against me,' leaving no middle ground.

How does the story of the golden calf illustrate the consequences of choosing the wrong side?

Context: The people's idolatry led to a division and the death of 3,000 who refused to repent.

What does it mean that Christ came to bring a sword and not peace, and how should this affect our family relationships?

Context: Weaver explains that the gospel will inevitably divide families when some believe and others do not.

In what ways might we be tempted to 'straddle the fence' in our Christian walk today?

Context: Weaver warns against trying to avoid taking a clear stand for truth, using the illustration of the man in mixed uniform.

How can we apply the Levites' example of obedience when it comes to church discipline or standing for truth against loved ones?

Context: Weaver shares personal stories of church discipline where families had to choose between loyalty to Christ and loyalty to family.

What does it mean to go to Christ 'without the camp' bearing His reproach, and how can we do that practically?

Context: Weaver concludes with Hebrews 13:13, calling believers to identify with Christ even when He is rejected by the world.

Applications

Examine your allegiance

Summary: Weaver calls listeners to honestly assess whose side they are on—Christ's or the world's—and to recognize that neutrality is not an option.

Evidence: He said, 'The question is, whose side are you on? Your own side. You're either on the side of sin and wickedness and rebellion, or the side of Christ and submission and obedience.'

Stand for truth regardless of cost

Summary: Believers must be willing to uphold God's truth and principles even when it causes division in families, churches, or communities.

Evidence: He said, 'Will you uphold His truth and His principles in every area of life? Whatever it is. Doesn't matter how it affects us. Doesn't matter if it affects our father, our mother, our brothers, our sisters, our sons, our daughters.'

Practice church discipline when necessary

Summary: Weaver encourages churches to follow the biblical model of church discipline, even when it involves family members, trusting that God blesses obedience.

Evidence: He shared examples of church discipline, noting that one family left the church rather than discipline their children, while another stood with Christ and saw restoration.

Identify with Christ in His reproach

Summary: Weaver urges believers to go to Christ 'without the camp,' willingly sharing in His rejection by the world, rather than seeking acceptance.

Evidence: He said, 'Wherever Christ is, if He's being reproached and scandalized, that's where we need to be. If He's being praised and exalted, that's where we need to be.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:53:40Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:09:20Z

Clean Transcript

Who's Side Are You On?

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Exodus chapter 32. Exodus 32 and verse 26. The title of the message today is a question: Whose side are you on? We're going to simply read one verse. We will come back and pick up the context, I can assure you. But look in Exodus chapter 32 and verse 26. Exodus 32 verse 26, the Bible says, "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me."
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And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. Note if you would the question, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." When I read that verse, I immediately thought of an exclamation that we made as children, especially when a number of children would get together and a game was going to be played. Someone would just holler "sides." And of course that means that we would all get together and we would choose sides. I hope you understand that we've chosen sides all of our lives. We've chosen sides in dodgeball, baseball, basketball, football, tag, and a dozen other games as well. More people today choose sides in politics. I've heard people say, "Well, I'm a Republican." Another one, "I'm a Democrat." Another, "I'm a Libertarian." Some say, "Well, I'm just with the Freedom Party." Well, we not only choose sides in politics, we also choose sides in religion. In fact, there are people who prefer certain denominations and they will choose this denomination because they believe that that is the one that suits them the best.
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We also choose sides in Christianity. We choose favorite preachers. In fact, I've heard people speak about their favorite TV preachers. If you would hold Exodus chapter 32, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, let me show you how the Corinthian church was notorious for choosing sides when it came to preachers. Notice if you would please, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. Look what the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church.
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He says, "For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" Look at verse 14. He says, "I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I baptized in my own name."
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So what you had in the Corinthian church was a division over preachers. Some would say, "Well now I like Paul, I'm going to listen to him. I'm not listening to the others." Some would say, "No, I like Peter. I'm going to listen to Peter and no one else." Well, someone would say, "But Apollos is a better orator. I'm going to choose Apollos." And then some would say, "Well, we're more spiritual than you. We're just going to choose Christ. We will just listen to Him." And Paul says, "Look, is Christ divided?"
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"Was I crucified for you?" And he said, "I thank God I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, lest any of you should say that I baptized in my own name." In other words, Paul said, "I was not trying to get a following." But notice if you would how they were divided. And people are divided like that today. We'll choose certain men that we're going to listen to, and then we'll say, "Well, we like this one better than the other one," and so both may be preaching the truth, but we're just going to listen to one of them. I never will forget what one of my friends said. He said, "I like ice cream."
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He said, "I don't care if it's vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate." He said, "I just like ice cream." He said, "Moreover," he said, "I like the preaching of the Word of God. I don't care if the man is monotone. I don't care if he's a great orator. I don't care if he swings from the ceiling from a chandelier just so he preaches the word of God. That's what I want."
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Well, that should be our attitude as well. But I want you to note that we've been choosing sides most of our lives. But the truth of the matter is there are some folks who really do not like to choose sides, especially if it's going to cost them. They rather like to straddle the fence. They want to stay in the median. They want to stay in the middle of the road.
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They refuse to be labeled in any certain way. I have heard preachers, as well as Christians, identify themselves theologically as Calminians. In other words, they didn't want to choose between Calvinism and Arminianism, so they would just call themselves Calminians. You've heard, undoubtedly, about the man during the War of Northern Aggression who could not make up his mind whether he wanted to fight for the North or for the South, and so he went into battle wearing a Confederate jacket and Union pants. Well, you know what happened? The Yankees shot him in the chest and the Confederates shot him in the seat of the pants. Well, you know, if you are on one side, at least everyone knows where you stand and you're not trying to be in the middle of the road. And as Christians we have to realize there's really and truly no such thing as middle ground.
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And usually every issue revolves around right or wrong. And we're either going to end up standing for that which is right or that which is wrong. Especially when it comes to Christ and His Word. You see, our Lord made this exceedingly clear in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 30 where our Lord said this, "He that is not with me is against me and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad." You remember some time some years back when George Bush was president, that is George Jr., he used this statement in regards to, I think it was the Iraq war. He said, "You're either with us or against us." Well, what he meant by that, of course, you're either for his administration and their war or you were against him and his administration in their war. But the words refer to Christ and truth.
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Now there are times, I think, when we not only choose sides, we delight to choose sides. There's one particular instance where I would love to have been around where I could have chosen a side. I would love to have been around in the palace during the times of Jehu. Now, Jehu had slain Joram, who was the son of King Ahab. He also slew King Ahaziah of Judah, who was the son-in-law to King Ahab.
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And if you will turn in your Bible, hold in Exodus 32, but turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Kings chapter 9. 2 Kings chapter 9. And let me show you what happens after Jehu has slain Joram and Ahaziah. In 2 Kings chapter 9, he now comes to the palace for wicked Queen Jezebel, who was the wife of Ahab. Notice if you would, 2 Kings chapter 9, and let's begin reading there verse 30. The Bible says, 2 Kings 9 verse 30, "And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out a window. And as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace who slew his master?"
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Now let me just stop there. What she is trying to teach Jehu is a history lesson. Zimri did slay his master the king, and I forget exactly without checking, I think he reigned a total of something like seven days and then he burned the palace down upon himself. And so she's trying to give Jehu a history lesson, said, "This is not going to work." It said, "Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?" Watch, verse 32. "And he, Jehu, lifted up his face to the window and said, Who is on my side? Who?"
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And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs, and he said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses, and he trod her underfoot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, "Go see now this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is the king's daughter." And when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than her skull and the feet and the palms of her hand.
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Wherefore they came again and told him, and he said, "This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by the servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel." And of course, that's exactly what happened. But Jehu came up and said, "Who's on the Lord's side?" or "Who's on my side?" And of course, when those eunuchs looked out the window, he said, "Throw her down."
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and they threw her down. I certainly would have chosen sides in that particular incident. I'd have chosen Jehu's side because I'd have wanted to have gotten rid of Jezebel as well. She was a wicked ungodly woman, had murdered numerous innocent people as well as the Lord's prophets and had elevated the prophets of Baal in that kingdom. So there are times that we would be delighted to choose. There are times that we absolutely have to choose, and we must choose, and we must always choose that which is right and holy.
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Now in our text in Exodus chapter 32, Moses, the Bible says in verse 26, cried, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." I want you to understand that Moses was God's representative and ambassador. He was appointed by God. He was ordained by God. He represented God. And I want you to note in verse 26, the Bible says that Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the Lord's side?" He did not say, "Who is on my side?" He asked, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." And the Bible tells us in verse 26, "...and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto Him." Now, I want you to note, if you would please, in verse 26 the Bible says that Moses stood in the gate of the camp. Now it's very significant that he stood in the gate of the camp.
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Because the gates in the Bible were always symbolical of authority, justice, and judgment. Whoever had control of the gates had control of the people and also control of their enemies. God specifically promised this to Abraham. I want you to hold Exodus 32 but look back in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 22 and look at verse 17. Genesis 22 and verse 17. Notice this promise that God gives to Abraham. Genesis 22 and verse 17, God said to Abraham, "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore." Now watch, "and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Notice if you would, all authority was in the gates. The king sat in the gate. Notice if you would, in Genesis chapter 24 and verse 60, because when Rebecca went to become the wife of Isaac, they gave her a blessing and they said this, Genesis 24 and verse 60, "And they blessed Rebekah and said unto her, Thou our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and
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let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." In other words, let your children be in control of the gates. And if you would turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 16, you're going to see this again, because it was the judges as well that sat in the gates. Notice Deuteronomy chapter 16 and verse 18. Deuteronomy 16 and verse 18. God said, "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee throughout thy tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment." So you will find that many times when kings conquered a city, they placed their thrones in the gates. Deeds were recognized and recorded in the gates. Trials were held in the gates.
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It was a public place of assembly. But it was a place of judgment and justice and authority. And so Moses now stands in the gate of the camp. And he cries, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come over unto me."
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Now what we need to understand is this. When Moses made that request, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come over unto me," he was calling there and pointing out a simple truth: that there are two great interests at war with one another, and that men will necessarily choose sides. It's impossible not to choose. You're going to find that some are going to choose the side of the Lord, His word, His truth, His righteousness. And some are going to choose the side of sin and wickedness, disobedience and rebellion. It is absolutely impossible to be neutral. Our Lord Himself said, "He that is not with me is against me." There's no neutral ground. There's no middle ground. You're either for Christ or you're against Christ. You're either for truth or you're against truth. You must choose a side. And when someone takes the attitude, "Well, I'm not going to choose a side, I'm going to remain neutral," in not choosing a side, you've already chosen a side. You've chosen the side of sin, disobedience, and rebellion.
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Because Christ once again said, "If you're not with me, then you're against me." What we should be concerned about is that not only that we are on the Lord's side, but we're on His side constantly and continually.
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Now we may be few in number. Our Lord said of His people, "Fear not, little flock. It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." We may be a small number, but the truth is we must be absolutely faithful and absolutely true, so that whenever God does choose to use us, we shall be ready. And may I remind you, and this is very interesting to me, that all through Scripture, God has always been pleased to use a minority.
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He never uses a majority. I hear people say all the time, "All the Christians in this country need to get together." First of all, that is never, ever going to happen. It's never going to happen. But I will tell you this, if there are, or if there comes to be a small group or a number of small groups of dedicated, godly, obedient, faithful Christians, you better watch out.
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Because God will indeed use them. And you have to remember, when George Washington was fighting the King of England, I forget the exact percentage, something like 3% of the people followed him in battle. Did you know he never had over 3,000 men at one time in a battle? Now he had more men than that. But the small percentage of the people in this country originally were those who fought for independence.
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Noah had to stand alone. Daniel had to stand alone. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood alone. All I'm pointing out is God is pleased to use small numbers. I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to Exodus chapter 32. And I want us to begin reading there with verse 1 so I can show you the context of Moses' call, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come over unto me." So let's begin reading there in verse 1. We'll read through verse 10, then we'll skip down some. Because I want you to see that this is the incident concerning the golden calf. So in Exodus chapter 32, beginning there in verse 1, "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him."
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And Aaron said unto them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives and your sons and your daughters and bring them unto me." And all the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand. Now watch carefully. He received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf. So Aaron now deliberately fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast of the Lord."
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And they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Go get thee down, for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made them a molten calf, and they have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." And the Lord said unto Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people."
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"Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, that I may consume them, and I will make of thee a great nation." So the people now are worshipping a golden calf. Remember, God has just brought them out of the land of Egypt. Moses has gone up to receive the law of God on the mount. He was only there 40 days and 40 nights.
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So he's not even back yet. So it hadn't been 40 days. And they're wanting a visible symbol of God. I want you to skip down, if you would please, beginning there with verse 17. Look what happens. Verse 17. "When Joshua heard the noise of the people, and he was with Moses, as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery. Neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome. But the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing."
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And Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and he break them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink thereof. And Moses said unto Aaron, "What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?" And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief."
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"For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go up before us. As for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me. Then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf."
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Well, that was a miracle in itself, wasn't it? Now, on one hand, he fashioned it.
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Now, he's telling Moses, it just came out. Watch verse 25. "And when Moses saw that the people were naked," by the way, when it said they ate and drank and rose up to play, they were fornicating. That's what it means. Read 1 Corinthians 10. That's what it means. "And when Moses saw that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies, then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side?"
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"Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. Now watch. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."
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Now, I want you to notice what happened. Aaron has made this golden calf. The people are worshipping the calf, fornicating. God tells Moses, and I get tickled every time I read things like this. God said to Moses, "The people that you brought out of Egypt, they corrupted themselves." God says, "They're your people, you know. You did this, Moses." And God said, "Now you just let me alone.
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I'll kill all of them, and I'll make of you a greater nation." Moses said, "No, no. We don't want to do that." But here's what happened. When he comes down, he gets so angry. He breaks the tables. He takes that golden calf, he burns it. Then he grinds it up into powder. Then he puts it in the water and he makes the people drink it. Some refuse to drink it.
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So you have a division. You have a division between those people in that camp, and I'll just say here's one camp of the people then, who recognized their sin, and their rebellion, and their wickedness, and they humbled themselves, and they repented, and they drank that water. You had the other group in the camp, or separate camp now, who refused to drink that water. They said, "No, we stand by our golden calf. We stand by our worship. We're not sinners. We're not going to repent. We're not going to acknowledge that we're wrong. No, no, no, no. We're not going to do this." And so you've got a division. You've got two separate camps. One camp turned from their sins and became obedient. The other camp obstinately defended and vindicated their sins. One group was willing to serve God as God ordained. The other was willing to do what they wanted to do.
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Now when Moses stood in the gate and he cried, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me," it was a call to separation. If you are for the true and the living God, said Moses, you come over unto me. Have you ever stopped to think about this? If true and genuine and honest Christians really and truly and genuinely lived a Christian and godly and obedient life, it would not be difficult to determine who is Christian and who is not a Christian. So Moses is saying, "Look, this is a call to separation. If you're for the Lord, then you come over unto me. You come over on this side."
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Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1 in verse 1? In fact, Paul used this concerning himself multitudes of times in the New Testament. But he wrote this in Romans 1 in verse 1, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." Now I want you to note, he said, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ." And the interesting thing is, the word servant there is doulos in the Greek, and it literally means a slave. Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ. He said, "Yes, I'm called to be an apostle," but then he said, "I'm separated unto the gospel of God."
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His life was given over to truth and to righteousness and to obedience. Now I want you to watch something. When Moses stood in the gate and said, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me," he was now giving an opportunity for those who would refuse to drink the water to repent. Told you to drink it earlier, you didn't. But now here's this call to separation. If you're on the Lord's side, you come over unto me.
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He was calling them to take a stand. Now, I want you to watch something. Moses was not a hot-headed troublemaker. In fact, the Bible describes Moses as the meekest man upon the earth. Moses really, truly, honestly, and genuinely loved this people. I want you to look at it. Look in Exodus chapter 32 and verse 32. Look at Moses' prayer once again when God was going to kill them. Look if you would, verse 32. Moses says unto the Lord, "Yet now thou wilt forgive their sin. If not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book, which thou hast written." Moses said, "Lord, just take my life. Forgive them or just take my life." So here's a man who was willing to die for the people. And of course the Lord said, "No, I'll blot out the people who sinned. I'm not going to blot you out.
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You haven't done anything wrong. I'll blot them out." But I want you to watch what happens. Let's go back to verse 26. Watch carefully. "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto Moses." First of all, notice all the sons of Levi. That is Moses' own tribe. Now watch verse 27. "And he, Moses, said unto them, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men." So the tribe of Levi now has distinguished itself by coming over unto Moses and said, "We are going to fight on the Lord's side. We want Him to be our God." The 3,000 that were slain that day were men who refused to repent.
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They persisted in their rebellion, not only against Moses, but against the Lord. And the truth of the matter is this, the slaying of these 3,000 individuals was not an indiscriminate massacre. These individuals had not only rebelled against God and against Moses, they had also committed treason against God and were guilty of seducing God's people into idolatry. So when Moses cried, "Who's on the Lord's side? Let him come over here," in actuality, what he was saying is this, "I'm granting an amnesty to anyone who's willing to repent and become obedient."
#44 | 30:28 to 31:15 | cleaned
Now I want you to watch. The Bible says, the tribe of Levi came over unto him. And look in verse 27. "And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor."
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Now, let me point this out again. The sword was only drawn against the rebellious corruptors and against those individuals who had committed treason against the sovereign God of heaven and earth.
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Now, I want you to listen. It may be easy in one sense of the word to draw out your sword against a complete stranger or someone that you know absolutely nothing about. But it is quite a different thing when you draw out your sword to slay your own brother, or your own friend, or your own neighbor, or your own family member.
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Now let me give you a good application of this. I want you to stop and think about church discipline. There are times when it becomes absolutely necessary to discipline a Christian who attends a church. I know that church discipline is not taught today by many preachers. I know it's practiced even by fewer. But when you stop and think, if you choose the Lord's side against your own son or daughter or husband or wife, or brother, or sister. The point I'm trying to make is, it's a little more difficult than you think. Let me give you a couple of illustrations. I remember one church that I pastored. There was a family, and their son and their daughter needed to be disciplined.
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They'd committed some very grievous sins. And so I had a meeting with the father. I explained everything, showed him the scripture, spent over an hour explaining what needed to be done and why it needed to be done. And he looked at me and he said, "Pastor, I know you're right. I know the word of God is true, but I'm going to have to handle this in my own way."
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And so what he did, he took his family and he left the church rather than have his children disciplined. I could tell you the end of those children and it is not pleasant. I could tell you the end of that family and it is not pleasant either. In the same church, I had a deacon who was a good and godly man and he called me one day on the phone and he said, "Pastor, I need to talk to you. There's an issue that demands church discipline." And when I got to the man's house, he explained to me the issue that demanded church discipline.
#50 | 34:41 to 35:33 | cleaned
It involved his daughter, who was his only child. And you know what? Church discipline was issued against that girl. And the family stood with Christ. And the family stood and apologized to the church with the girl and asked forgiveness. And you want to see a broken church and a weeping church and one who really prayed and worked with that family to help them? I'm just simply saying, it's really difficult when it's your son or your daughter, and you know that they've done wrong, and they need to be publicly disciplined. You see, a private sin can be dealt with privately, but a public sin needs to be dealt with publicly. Now, here's what happened.
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The children of Levi, the sons of Levi came over. They took their swords, and they slew every man his brother, his neighbor. They slew the ones who needed to be slain. I want you to look at the blessing that God gave them. Look in Deuteronomy 33 and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Deuteronomy 33 and verse 8. I believe that's where it is. Let's see. I've got the wrong... Oh, let's see. What did I? Deuteronomy 33. Yeah. Deuteronomy 33.
#52 | 36:36 to 37:22 | cleaned
I was looking in Exodus 33. You knew something was wrong. Deuteronomy 33, beginning there with verse eight. Deuteronomy 33, verse eight. "And of Levi, he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one whom thou didst prove at Massah and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah." Now watch. "Who said unto his father and his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children, for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant." Now verse 9 refers to this incident in Exodus chapter 32, where they went in and slew every man his own brother. Here it indicates they not only slew their fathers and their mothers, but their children. Watch verse 10.
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God says, "They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law. And they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice before thine altar. Bless, Lord, His substance, and accept the work of His hands. Smite through the loins of them that rise up against Him, and of them that hate Him, that they rise not again." So here's a blessing that God has given to the Levites.
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Because they stood with Him and in standing they stood even against their own family. God always blesses obedience.
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Now I want you to listen carefully because I'm going to show you the real application of what I'm teaching you. The call to come over on the Lord's side is frequently enunciated in the New Testament. Moses said, "Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me." There is always a division when it comes to Jesus Christ. You'll hear me say this again, but Christ is the dividing line. There's a principle enunciated by Amos in Amos 3 in verse 3 when he asks this question, "Can two walk together except they be agreed?"
#56 | 39:01 to 39:44 | cleaned
And the answer is obviously no. You will not walk in truth unless you agree with truth. You will not walk as a Christian unless you agree with Christ. You will not walk with other believers unless you agree with them. Those who do not love truth and those who do not love Christ will always walk opposite to truth and opposite to Christ. There will always be a division between those who love Christ and those who do not love Christ. There will always be a division between those who will stand for His Word and those who will not stand for His Word.
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Oh, you should listen to what I'm about to say. Christ is the dividing line in families, in churches, in societies, even in nations. I want you to turn in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of John, chapter 7. And I want you to follow me through a number of passages. Because I want to prove this statement that I just made, that Christ is the dividing line. Look in John 7, and verse... Oh, let's begin with verse 40. John 7 and verse 40. Watch carefully.
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"Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Had not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him." Did you hear that? There was a division among the people because of him.
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Look in John chapter 9, John chapter 9 and verse 16. Here's where the blind man has been healed. "Therefore said some of the Pharisees, this man is not of God because he keeps not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them." Isn't that amazing? You see how Christ is dividing individuals? Look in John 10 and verse 19. John 10 and verse 19. When Christ says that He is the Great Shepherd, no man takes His life from Him, He lays it down. In fact, we'll read verse 18. Our Lord said, "No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.
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This commandment have I received of My Father. There was a division therefore among the Jews for these sayings." Some said he has a devil and is mad, others said, "You know, no, he's Christ." But note if you would, there was a division among them because of these sayings. Look in Acts chapter 14 and verse 4. Acts 14 and verse 4.
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Once again, this deals with the preaching of Christ. "But the multitude of the city was divided. And part held with the Jews, and part held with the apostles." There was a division. Look in Acts 23 and verse 7. Acts 23 and verse 7. Acts 23, notice verse 7. Paul is defending himself. "And when he had so said, there rose a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, for the multitude was divided." Wow.
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Now, I want you to turn back in your Bibles to John chapter 7. I've got 3 or 4 more passages, and then we'll tie it together. But I want you to look in John chapter 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 37. John 7 and verse 37. We'll read through verse 51. John 7, verse 37. Now I want you to watch this division. "In that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.
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He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Had not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him."
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"And some would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers of the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have you not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered the Pharisees, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people knoweth not the Lord. Cursed Nicodemus saith unto them, He that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou of Galilee? Search and look. For out of Galilee ariseth no prophet, and every man went to his own house."
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I want you to note, if you would please, there was a division among them and it's very plain and simple. Those who believed on Christ trusted Him. Those who did not, of course, did not trust Him. So our Lord is teaching us the inevitability of divisions. He knew that He would be the source of division.
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Now, I want you to turn back to Genesis chapter 3. And let me show you the very beginning of divisions. Genesis chapter 3. And notice if you would, verse 15. Genesis 3 and verse 15. I will tell you this up front. That Genesis 3:15 is known as the Protevangelium. All that means is this. It is the first promise of the Messiah in the scripture. So if you look in Genesis 3 and verse 15, here's the first promise of the Messiah, where God said, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman," he's talking to the serpent now, "and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel." Now I want you to note, God said specifically that he's going to put enmity, which is a strong word for hatred, between thee, that is the serpent and the woman, and between thy seed, that is His children, and her seed, that is Christ and His children. Here is the beginning of this enmity. Enmity exists between the seed of the woman, Christ and His believers, and the seed of the serpent would be the devil and his followers.
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From Genesis 3:15 you can deduce this. It is truth against error. It is light against darkness. It is righteousness against unrighteousness. It is salvation against damnation. It is saved against unsaved. So Christ is simply saying that yes, He is indeed the source of division. I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 10. And let's begin reading there verse 34. Matthew 10, verse 34. I'm going to show you this twice. Once in Matthew, once in Luke. But I want you to look at it. Matthew chapter 10, beginning there verse 34. Look what our Lord said.
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"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foe shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, he is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loveth his life for my sake shall find it."
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Now I want you to note what our Lord said. "I'm not come to send peace. I've come to bring a sword." How does Christ set a household at variance? How does he set father against mother, or son against daughter, or mother-in-law against daughter-in-law? The answer is very simple. When one believes and one does not. When one submits to truth and the other does not submit to truth. This is one reason why God forbids Christians to marry non-Christians.
#70 | 48:53 to 49:32 | cleaned
It should be obvious, you not only have two different gods, you have two different sets of rules, two different sets of principles. And our Lord says, inevitably, invariably, there are going to be divisions in households, in churches, in societies, and in nations. If you will turn right over to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. And let's begin reading there with verse 51. Luke 12 verse 51. And we'll read through verse 53. Luke 12. Verse 51 through verse 53. Luke 12 verse 51. Again our Lord says, "Suppose you that I'm come to give peace on earth, I tell you nay, but rather division. From henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son and the son against the father and the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother and the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." Why? Because Christ is the source of division. What did Moses say?
#71 | 49:33 to 50:48 | cleaned
"Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me." Whoever comes to the Lord's side will always side with the Lord. And when you side with the Lord, when you side with truth and righteousness, you are necessarily siding against all of those who are not with Christ and who are not righteous and do not adhere to truth. So in that sense of the word, Christ is indeed the source of division. Now it is true that Christ is also peace. He brings peace to us, not only individually, but He'll bring peace to families who submit to Him. He'll bring peace to communities and to churches and societies and to nations who submit to Him. But until they submit, there is division.
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Now I want you to know that our Lord in the New Testament verified the words of Moses. In Exodus 32 and verse 26, Moses stood in the gate and he cried, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." In John 5 and verse 46, our Lord said this. He looked at those Pharisees and said, "Had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. You didn't believe Moses, you won't believe me." You remember, in Luke chapter 16, our Lord talks about a rich man who died and went to hell. And of course, Lazarus died and was taken by angels into Abraham's bosom. And the Bible says in Luke 16, in hell, the rich man lifted up his eyes being in torment. He said, "Father Abraham, send Lazarus, let him dip his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame." Abraham answered, "You know there's a great gulf between us, we can't go to you and you can't come to us." And he said, "Father Abraham, send someone from the dead to go back and warn my five brothers, lest they come to this place of torment."
#73 | 51:37 to 53:01 | cleaned
You know what Abraham answered? He said this, "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them." He said, "Nay, father Abraham, but if one goes from the dead, arises from the dead, they will believe him." Folks, it ain't so. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And folks still don't believe him. He's still the source of separation. Here's what Moses' call is. It is a definite, distinct, and clarion call to be constantly and continually on the Lord's side. Whatever the issues, "He that is on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me."
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Now I want to give you a scripture. David said this in Psalm 118 and verse 6. Listen carefully. David said, "Ha ha, the Lord is on my side. I will not fear what man can do unto me." The only way the Lord can be on our side is if we're on His side. And if we want Him on our side, we need to make sure that we're on His side wherever He is. One last passage.
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Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. And I want you to look very closely at verse 13. Hebrews 13 and verse 13. Look at this. In fact, let's read verse 12. Hebrews 13, beginning with verse 12. "Wherefore Jesus, also that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate," that is, outside the gates of Jerusalem. He suffered. Now watch verse 13. "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach."
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Wherever Christ is, if He's being reproached and scandalized, that's where we need to be. If He's being praised and exalted, that's where we need to be. If He's being ridiculed and attacked, that's where we need to be. Whoever's on the Lord's side, let him come over unto me. So the question is, whose side are you on? Your own side. You're either on the side of sin and wickedness and rebellion, or the side of Christ and submission and obedience.
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Is there division in your family? Is there division in your church? In your community? In your state? In your nation? If there is, you need to make sure that whatever the division is, that you're on the Lord's side. And you stand for His truth and His Word. So the question is, will you uphold His truth and His principles in every area of life? Whatever it is. Doesn't matter how it affects us. Doesn't matter if it affects our father, our mother, our brothers, our sisters, our sons, our daughters. "He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me," he said. "He that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." We must at all times and in all situations choose Christ and be on His side. And if we ever truly expect Him and want Him on our side, we have to be on His side. Because our side should really be His side. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for Your grace, for Your mercy, for Your goodness and Your kindness.
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And Lord, teach us to see that, Lord, there is a division. And we're either with Thee or against Thee. We're either gathering for Thee or we're scattering abroad. We must choose. And we must always choose the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us grace, we pray, in Thy name. Give us, Lord, obedience in Thy name. Give us faith and submission in Thy name. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.
#79 | 57:50 to 58:28 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:53:40Z

Who's Side Are You On?

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver examines Exodus 32:26, where Moses stands at the camp gate and calls, 'Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.' He explains that this call came after Israel's idolatry with the golden calf, and it demanded a clear choice between obedience to God and rebellion. Weaver emphasizes that neutrality is impossible; Christ Himself said, 'He that is not with me is against me.' The sermon traces the theme of division throughout Scripture, showing that Christ is the ultimate dividing line in families, churches, and nations. Believers must be willing to stand with Christ even against loved ones, as the Levites did when they executed judgment on the unrepentant. The message concludes with a call to examine whose side we are on and to consistently choose the Lord's side in every area of life.

Introduction: The Question of Sides

Weaver introduces the sermon's title and reads Exodus 32:26, noting how choosing sides is common in games, politics, and religion. He warns against trying to remain neutral.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 32:26

"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me."

The Corinthian Church's Division Over Preachers

The Danger of Straddling the Fence

Scripture Reading — Matthew 12:30

"He that is not with me is against me and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad."

Jehu's Call: 'Who Is on My Side?'

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 9:30-37

"And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out a window. And as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace who slew his master?"

Moses' Call in Context: The Golden Calf Incident

Scripture Reading — Genesis 22:17

"That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore."

Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 22:17

"and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies."

The Levites' Obedience and Its Cost

I was looking in Exodus 33. You knew something was wrong. Deuteronomy 33, beginning there with verse eight. Deuteronomy 33, verse eight.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:8-11

"And of Levi, he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one whom thou didst prove at Massah and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah."

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:8-11

"Who said unto his father and his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children, for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant."

Christ as the Dividing Line

I was looking in Exodus 33. You knew something was wrong. Deuteronomy 33, beginning there with verse eight. Deuteronomy 33, verse eight.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:8-11

"And of Levi, he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one whom thou didst prove at Massah and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah."

Now watch.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 33:8-11

"Who said unto his father and his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children, for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant."

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:3

"Can two walk together except they be agreed?"

Scripture Reading — John 9:16

"Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Had not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him."

Did you hear that? There was a division among the people because of him. Look in John chapter 9, John chapter 9 and verse 16. Here's where the blind man has been healed.

Scripture Reading — John 9:16

"Therefore said some of the Pharisees, this man is not of God because he keeps not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them."

Once again, this deals with the preaching of Christ.

Scripture Reading — Acts 14:4

"But the multitude of the city was divided. And part held with the Jews, and part held with the apostles."

Scripture Reading — Genesis 3:15

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,"

he's talking to the serpent now,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 3:15

"and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel."

Conclusion: Whose Side Are You On?

Who's Side Are You On?

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	EIOmpz8QJw4
Subject	Family Government
Course	The Christian Family: Children, Fatherhood, and Generational Faithfulness: The World And Times Of Jesse James
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-10-31
Dictation Name
Book	Book 028: The Christian Family: Children, Fatherhood, and Generational Faithfulness — Chapter 22
Source Timed Segments	79

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Question of Sides: Weaver introduces the sermon's title and reads Exodus 32:26, noting how choosing sides is common in games, politics, and religion. He warns against trying to remain neutral.
The Corinthian Church's Division Over Preachers: Using 1 Corinthians 1:11-14, Weaver illustrates how the Corinthians chose sides based on favorite preachers, a practice Paul rebuked. He emphasizes that the message, not the messenger, should be our focus.
The Danger of Straddling the Fence: Weaver warns against trying to be neutral, using the example of a man who wore both Union and Confederate uniforms and was shot by both sides. He cites Matthew 12:30 to show there is no middle ground with Christ.
Jehu's Call: 'Who Is on My Side?': Weaver recounts the story of Jehu in 2 Kings 9, who asked 'Who is on my side?' before having Jezebel thrown down. He uses this to illustrate a time when choosing sides was a delight because it aligned with God's judgment.
Moses' Call in Context: The Golden Calf Incident: Weaver provides the background of Exodus 32, describing Israel's idolatry with the golden calf, Moses' anger, and the division that resulted. He explains that Moses' call was a call to separation and repentance.
The Levites' Obedience and Its Cost: Weaver highlights that the Levites answered Moses' call and were commanded to slay even their own brothers and neighbors. He applies this to church discipline, noting the difficulty of standing with Christ against family members.
Christ as the Dividing Line: Weaver demonstrates from multiple New Testament passages (John 7, 9, 10; Acts 14, 23) that Christ causes division. He traces this enmity back to Genesis 3:15 and shows that Christ brings a sword, not peace, to households.
Conclusion: Whose Side Are You On?: Weaver concludes by urging believers to go to Christ 'without the camp' (Hebrews 13:13) and to consistently choose His side, regardless of personal cost. He calls for self-examination and prayer for grace to remain faithful.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Neutrality is impossible

Weaver argues that trying to remain neutral in spiritual matters is itself a choice against God. He uses Matthew 12:30 and the illustration of the man in mixed uniform to show that there is no middle ground.

He said, 'He that is not with me is against me.' ... 'if you are on one side, at least everyone knows where you stand and you're not trying to be in the middle of the road.'

Christ intentionally brings division

Weaver demonstrates from Matthew 10:34-37 and Luke 12:51-53 that Jesus came to bring a sword, not peace, and that the gospel will divide even the closest family relationships.

Our Lord said, 'I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father...'

The Levites' example of costly obedience

Weaver uses the Levites' willingness to slay their own relatives as a model for believers today, showing that loyalty to God must supersede family ties, especially in matters of church discipline.

He said, 'Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother...'

God blesses those who choose His side

Weaver points to the blessing on the tribe of Levi in Deuteronomy 33 as evidence that God rewards those who stand with Him, even when it means opposing family.

God says, 'They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law. ... Bless, Lord, His substance...'

The call to separation is a call to Christ

Weaver connects Moses' call in Exodus 32:26 with Hebrews 13:13, urging believers to go to Christ outside the camp, bearing His reproach, and to identify with Him regardless of the cost.

Moses stood in the gate and said, 'Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.' ... 'Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.'

Scripture References

Exodus 32:26: Moses stands in the gate and asks, 'Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.' The Levites respond.
1 Corinthians 1:11-14: Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for dividing over preachers, saying some claimed to be of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas.
Matthew 12:30: Jesus says, 'He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.'
2 Kings 9:30-37: Jehu asks 'Who is on my side?' and has Jezebel thrown down, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy.
Genesis 22:17: God promises Abraham that his seed will possess the gate of his enemies, symbolizing authority.
Genesis 24:60: Rebekah is blessed that her seed may possess the gate of those who hate them.
Deuteronomy 16:18: God commands judges and officers to be placed in the gates to judge with just judgment.
Exodus 32:1-10: The people make a golden calf while Moses is on the mount; God threatens to destroy them.
Exodus 32:17-24: Moses and Joshua hear the noise in the camp; Moses breaks the tablets and confronts Aaron.
Exodus 32:25-28: Moses sees the people's nakedness, calls for those on the Lord's side, and the Levites slay 3,000.
Exodus 32:32: Moses intercedes for the people, offering to be blotted out of God's book if their sin is not forgiven.
Deuteronomy 33:8-11: Moses blesses Levi for their obedience in not acknowledging their own families, and they are set apart for teaching and sacrifice.
Amos 3:3: The rhetorical question, 'Can two walk together, except they be agreed?' is used to show the necessity of agreement in truth.
John 7:40-43: There was a division among the people because of Jesus; some said He was the Prophet, others the Christ.
John 9:16: The Pharisees are divided over Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath.
John 10:18-19: Jesus speaks of laying down His life, and there is a division among the Jews because of His words.
Acts 14:4: The multitude of the city was divided; part held with the Jews, part with the apostles.
Acts 23:7: Paul's defense causes a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the multitude is divided.
Genesis 3:15: God puts enmity between the serpent's seed and the woman's seed, the first promise of the Messiah and the beginning of spiritual division.
Matthew 10:34-39: Jesus says He came not to send peace but a sword, setting family members against each other; loving family more than Him makes one unworthy.

Historical References

War of Northern Aggression (American Civil War): Weaver tells a story of a man who wore a Confederate jacket and Union pants and was shot by both sides, illustrating the danger of not choosing a side.
George W. Bush's statement on the Iraq War: Weaver references President George W. Bush's statement 'You're either with us or against us' in the context of the Iraq war, comparing it to Christ's words.
George Washington and the American Revolution: Weaver notes that only about 3% of the population fought for independence, and Washington never had over 3,000 men in a single battle, illustrating God's use of a minority.

Important Quotes

Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.

This is the central text of the sermon, the call to choose allegiance to God.

He that is not with me is against me and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad.

Jesus' words that establish the impossibility of neutrality.

Who is on my side? Who?

Jehu's similar call before executing judgment on Jezebel, paralleling Moses' call.

I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Christ's declaration that He brings division, not superficial peace.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

The cost of discipleship, demanding supreme loyalty to Christ over family.

Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.

The New Testament call to identify with Christ outside the camp, paralleling Moses' call to separation.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why is it impossible to be neutral in spiritual matters, according to Matthew 12:30?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that Christ said, 'He that is not with me is against me,' leaving no middle ground.

[Question]

How does the story of the golden calf illustrate the consequences of choosing the wrong side?

[Context]

The people's idolatry led to a division and the death of 3,000 who refused to repent.

[Question]

What does it mean that Christ came to bring a sword and not peace, and how should this affect our family relationships?

[Context]

Weaver explains that the gospel will inevitably divide families when some believe and others do not.

[Question]

In what ways might we be tempted to 'straddle the fence' in our Christian walk today?

[Context]

Weaver warns against trying to avoid taking a clear stand for truth, using the illustration of the man in mixed uniform.

[Question]

How can we apply the Levites' example of obedience when it comes to church discipline or standing for truth against loved ones?

[Context]

Weaver shares personal stories of church discipline where families had to choose between loyalty to Christ and loyalty to family.

[Question]

What does it mean to go to Christ 'without the camp' bearing His reproach, and how can we do that practically?

[Context]

Weaver concludes with Hebrews 13:13, calling believers to identify with Christ even when He is rejected by the world.

Applications

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