God's response to Christ's perfect sin atonement and sacrifice, quoted from Matthew Henry's complete commentary of the bible on Isaiah 53:
Because he has done all these good services, therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and, according to the will of the Father, he shall divide the spoil with the strong, as a great general, when he has driven the enemy out of the field, takes the plunder of it for himself and his army, which is both an unquestionable evidence of the victory and a recompense for all the toils and perils of the battle.
Note, (1.) God the Father has engaged to reward the services and sufferings of Christ with great glory: "I will set him among the great, highly exalt him, and give him a name above every name.’’ Great riches are also assigned to him: He shall divide the spoil, shall have abundance of graces and comforts to bestow upon all his faithful soldiers.
(2.) Christ comes at his glory by conquest. He has set upon the strong man armed, dispossessed him, and divided the spoil. He has vanquished principalities and powers, sin and Satan, death and hell, the world and the flesh; these are the strong that he has disarmed and taken the spoil of.
(3.) Much of the glory with which Christ is recompensed, and the spoil which he has divided, consists in the vast multitudes of willing, faithful, loyal subjects, that shall be brought in to him; for so some read it: I will give many to him, and he shall obtain many for a spoil. God will give him the heathen for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, Ps. 2:8. His dominion shall be from sea to sea.
Many shall be wrought upon by the grace of God to give up themselves to him to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him, and hereby he shall reckon himself honoured, and enriched, and abundantly recompensed for all he did and all he suffered.
(4.) What God designed for the Redeemer he shall certainly gain the possession of: "I will divide it to him,’’ and immediately it follows, He shall divide it, notwithstanding the opposition that is given to him; for, as Christ finished the work that was given him to do, so God completed the recompence that was promised him for it; for he is both able and faithful.
(5.) The spoil which God divided to Christ he divides (it is the same word), he distributes, among his followers; for, when he led captivity captive, he received gifts for men, that he might give gifts to men; for as he has told us (Acts 20:35) he did himself reckon it more blessed and honourable to give than to receive. Christ conquered for us, and through him we are more than conquerors. He has divided the spoils, the fruits of his conquest, to all that are his: let us therefore cast in our lot among them.
Showing posts with label Doctrine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doctrine. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Reflections on Isaiah 53: God's honor
From Matthew Henry's commentary on Isaiah 53:
The honor that we owed God through acts of righteousness and the resultant dishonor and hurt we brought to Him through disobedience and sin
Jesus paid it back in full and more by making His soul an offering for sin and committing His Spirit as payment to God on our behalf.
The honor that we owed God through acts of righteousness and the resultant dishonor and hurt we brought to Him through disobedience and sin
Jesus paid it back in full and more by making His soul an offering for sin and committing His Spirit as payment to God on our behalf.
Reflections on Isaiah 53: grief,sins and sorrow
Surely He has borne our griefs (hebrew Khol-ee)
Malady, anxiety, clamity, disease, grief, sickness.
Malady: webster's definition:
1. Any sickness or disease of the human body; any distemper from impaired, defective or morbid organic functions; more particularly, a lingering or deep seated disorder or indisposition. It may be applied to any animal body,but is, I believe, rarely or never applied to plants.
The maladies of the body may prove medicines to the mind.
and carried our sorrow:
Hebrew (mak-obe)
Anguish, affliction, grief, pain, sorrow.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Glorious Gospel: Part 1: forgiveness , acceptance, love
Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering, He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
The grace of God in the gift of Christ - His death, resurrection, His gift of righteousness and holiness is greater - heavier in substance and power than indwelling sin, Satan’s dominion, the lusts of the flesh and all the temptations of this world. All the problems we face with ourselves, with the world and evil can be met through the provision of grace which has been provided us in the cross, through Christ.
Christ’s death - being made sin, (1) receiving the full outpouring of wrath against all the sins of mankind in His body (2) - destroyed the power of indwelling sin in us. The purity of his sacrifice, and the ultimate symbol of His finished work- His blood has secured eternal forgiveness and escape from God's righteous wrath.
His blood cleanses us from all sin. All our sins and lawless deeds are remembered before God no more, because they were all judged but once at the cross. How much did Christ forgive at the cross? How much sin did He take upon Himself? All.
Hebrews 8:12 esv : 'For I will be merciful toward their iniquities (KJV: unrighteousness) , and I will remember their sins no more.'
As we confess our sins to Him, turn from our sins to Him and put simple faith in Him to receive what Christ has done for us, God takes of the forgiveness and blood of the cross and applies it to us. (3) He forgives us fully, being 'merciful to our unrighteousness,' because of Christ's bearing of all sin and all wrath, God's wrath will no more burn against us to judge or condemn us.
The repeated appropriating of this truth destroys the power of indwelling sin by giving the Christian a humble knowledge of God’s free, total, but costly forgiveness. The blood of Christ replaces guilt and shame with acceptance, forgiveness and a tangible experience of being loved by God 'the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit'.
‘There is therefore now, no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ From sinners and enemies we are declared ‘not guilty’ and not only that, we have Christ’s own full righteous life credited to us as to our own account, and are declared ‘highly favored in Christ and loved in the beloved,’ through the simple agency of faith.
1. 2 Cor 5:21 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2. Hebrews 10:12-18 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified...18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
3. 1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The grace of God in the gift of Christ - His death, resurrection, His gift of righteousness and holiness is greater - heavier in substance and power than indwelling sin, Satan’s dominion, the lusts of the flesh and all the temptations of this world. All the problems we face with ourselves, with the world and evil can be met through the provision of grace which has been provided us in the cross, through Christ.
Christ’s death - being made sin, (1) receiving the full outpouring of wrath against all the sins of mankind in His body (2) - destroyed the power of indwelling sin in us. The purity of his sacrifice, and the ultimate symbol of His finished work- His blood has secured eternal forgiveness and escape from God's righteous wrath.
His blood cleanses us from all sin. All our sins and lawless deeds are remembered before God no more, because they were all judged but once at the cross. How much did Christ forgive at the cross? How much sin did He take upon Himself? All.
Hebrews 8:12 esv : 'For I will be merciful toward their iniquities (KJV: unrighteousness) , and I will remember their sins no more.'
As we confess our sins to Him, turn from our sins to Him and put simple faith in Him to receive what Christ has done for us, God takes of the forgiveness and blood of the cross and applies it to us. (3) He forgives us fully, being 'merciful to our unrighteousness,' because of Christ's bearing of all sin and all wrath, God's wrath will no more burn against us to judge or condemn us.
The repeated appropriating of this truth destroys the power of indwelling sin by giving the Christian a humble knowledge of God’s free, total, but costly forgiveness. The blood of Christ replaces guilt and shame with acceptance, forgiveness and a tangible experience of being loved by God 'the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit'.
‘There is therefore now, no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ From sinners and enemies we are declared ‘not guilty’ and not only that, we have Christ’s own full righteous life credited to us as to our own account, and are declared ‘highly favored in Christ and loved in the beloved,’ through the simple agency of faith.
1. 2 Cor 5:21 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2. Hebrews 10:12-18 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified...18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
3. 1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Glorious Gospel: Part 2: death for ourselves, to the world and to Satan.
Romans 6:3-4
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Dying He destroyed our old identity, our soul's sinful state, our old man's corrupted desires and lusts- He does not deal with desires, He deals with the whole soul of the person. He takes the soul – us, spiritually and individually into His grave. We now are baptized, immersed and conformed into His death through Faith in Him. Old things have passed away, having been baptized (immersed, buried) into his death, we are dead to the state of our old selves. God delivers us from ourselves - we who have become corrupted through the fall are now rescued from ourselves- God did it through providing a death for us in Christ.
We have rich spiritual inheritances through this death and resurrection: 1 Pet 1:4 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. More on our inheritence later.
We also have security - God promises to guard us by His power until the last day - through faith, simple faith in Him, how precious and valuable is a blood washed saint in His sight. How amazing is the Grace of God?
Since we belong in heaven, in heavenly realms where we are dwelling spiritually, we should be more at home on our knees in prayer, communing with our Father in Heavenly realms than on earth, enjoying the 'unsearchable riches of Christ' in fellowship with Him.
Rising, He gives us a better, more majestic, holy, and superseding identity. ‘As He is, so are we in this world’ ‘If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creature’, a heaven born being.
Hebrews 2:14, 15
14Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
15and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
His death frees us from Satan’s dominion. Satan only has dominion over this world and the spiritually dead. Satan has no dominion or jurisdiction over beings that are dead and arisen in new spiritual life. Because we are dead to this realm of the world, we are freed from temptations in this world system and freed also from this world’s values as well. Appropriating this truth will help us in times of temptation - why would i want the riches of this world when I have incorrpuible riches in Christ and in heaven laid up for me? Why would I want the fellowship of this world when I ahve the welcome of the Father in Christ?
It is we who die, or have to die in order to be free from this world’s values. An appropriation of the truth of our death with and in Christ will make us more conscious of our heavenly affiliation with Christ and His world and His realm (heavenly places) and less and less with Satan or this world and this realm. In fact we have more affiliation with heaven than earth, being children of the Kingdom of heaven who died to this world through His cross,
We are now no longer enemies. As He rose again, He rose in us, making us His Sons, His bride, His friends, He gives us a new identity through a new life – His life. We are kingly in His Kingship, priestly in His eternal priesthood.
Our past God destroys, our future God writes with grace. ‘That in the ages to comes He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace in Kindness through Christ Jesus.’
In trials, we have new opportunities to appropriate His death to our flesh and selves though faith in His death. To realize more and more the effective working of His death in our own fleshly and selfish nature.
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Dying He destroyed our old identity, our soul's sinful state, our old man's corrupted desires and lusts- He does not deal with desires, He deals with the whole soul of the person. He takes the soul – us, spiritually and individually into His grave. We now are baptized, immersed and conformed into His death through Faith in Him. Old things have passed away, having been baptized (immersed, buried) into his death, we are dead to the state of our old selves. God delivers us from ourselves - we who have become corrupted through the fall are now rescued from ourselves- God did it through providing a death for us in Christ.
We have rich spiritual inheritances through this death and resurrection: 1 Pet 1:4 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. More on our inheritence later.
We also have security - God promises to guard us by His power until the last day - through faith, simple faith in Him, how precious and valuable is a blood washed saint in His sight. How amazing is the Grace of God?
Since we belong in heaven, in heavenly realms where we are dwelling spiritually, we should be more at home on our knees in prayer, communing with our Father in Heavenly realms than on earth, enjoying the 'unsearchable riches of Christ' in fellowship with Him.
Rising, He gives us a better, more majestic, holy, and superseding identity. ‘As He is, so are we in this world’ ‘If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creature’, a heaven born being.
Hebrews 2:14, 15
14Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
15and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
His death frees us from Satan’s dominion. Satan only has dominion over this world and the spiritually dead. Satan has no dominion or jurisdiction over beings that are dead and arisen in new spiritual life. Because we are dead to this realm of the world, we are freed from temptations in this world system and freed also from this world’s values as well. Appropriating this truth will help us in times of temptation - why would i want the riches of this world when I have incorrpuible riches in Christ and in heaven laid up for me? Why would I want the fellowship of this world when I ahve the welcome of the Father in Christ?
It is we who die, or have to die in order to be free from this world’s values. An appropriation of the truth of our death with and in Christ will make us more conscious of our heavenly affiliation with Christ and His world and His realm (heavenly places) and less and less with Satan or this world and this realm. In fact we have more affiliation with heaven than earth, being children of the Kingdom of heaven who died to this world through His cross,
We are now no longer enemies. As He rose again, He rose in us, making us His Sons, His bride, His friends, He gives us a new identity through a new life – His life. We are kingly in His Kingship, priestly in His eternal priesthood.
Our past God destroys, our future God writes with grace. ‘That in the ages to comes He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace in Kindness through Christ Jesus.’
In trials, we have new opportunities to appropriate His death to our flesh and selves though faith in His death. To realize more and more the effective working of His death in our own fleshly and selfish nature.
The Glorious Gospel: Part 3: a new life
We are in Him. When He rose again, he carried us in His bosom to reconcile us to the Father, to cause us to rejoice in the glory the goodness the power and love of the Father.
Spiritually we are in Him, the Great High Priest, before the Father, ‘seated in Christ in heavenly places, blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.’ He is our right standing before God. We have this rock solid standing before God to build a relationship with this Father because of the mighty works that Christ has done to reconcile Sinners to Himself.
Not only this, when Christ rose from the dead in power and glory, His rising has given us the substance of His own pure holy, faithful and righteous Spiritual life to our hearts and Spirits. ‘Christ in us the hope of glory’, Christ, ‘who is our life’. Christ’s living power, He Himself, dwells in us – He who is in us is mighty, the Holy Spirit who is Christ Himself, energizes and empowers our spirit.
Christ’s own pure and holy and righteous life is given to us in substance, through the Holy Spirit as a gift, not in part but fully given in its full robustness. It is our appropriation of this is that is imperfect.
Hebrews 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
As we appropriate and receive the life of Christ fully, its full outworking – changes our hearts and minds into His heart and mind, giving us power and desire to obey and follow Him, in the infilling of His love for us and for people in us. We thus are enabled to love Him with all our heart, soul mind and strength as we know that the Father loves us as He loves Christ.
Works of righteousness will automatically follow if we have 1) believed the gospel rightly so that guilt, shame, old identities and the past have no more hold on us 2) appropriated His love and work fully into our heart, 3) received the substance of all His working through the generous gift of the Holy Spirit. The person of the Holy Spirit is the only power there is to make all these things real in us – this is the supernatural stamp on the gospel – ‘the power of God for salvation for those who believe’, we cannot but change from ‘strength to strength’ and ‘Glory to Glory’ through this glorious gospel.
Romans 1: 16-
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
It is faith - the taking of these things by the heart of a man saying yes, these things are mine, the continual believing in this gospel that causes grace to abound to us in immeasurable measure.
Spiritually we are in Him, the Great High Priest, before the Father, ‘seated in Christ in heavenly places, blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.’ He is our right standing before God. We have this rock solid standing before God to build a relationship with this Father because of the mighty works that Christ has done to reconcile Sinners to Himself.
Not only this, when Christ rose from the dead in power and glory, His rising has given us the substance of His own pure holy, faithful and righteous Spiritual life to our hearts and Spirits. ‘Christ in us the hope of glory’, Christ, ‘who is our life’. Christ’s living power, He Himself, dwells in us – He who is in us is mighty, the Holy Spirit who is Christ Himself, energizes and empowers our spirit.
Christ’s own pure and holy and righteous life is given to us in substance, through the Holy Spirit as a gift, not in part but fully given in its full robustness. It is our appropriation of this is that is imperfect.
Hebrews 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
As we appropriate and receive the life of Christ fully, its full outworking – changes our hearts and minds into His heart and mind, giving us power and desire to obey and follow Him, in the infilling of His love for us and for people in us. We thus are enabled to love Him with all our heart, soul mind and strength as we know that the Father loves us as He loves Christ.
Works of righteousness will automatically follow if we have 1) believed the gospel rightly so that guilt, shame, old identities and the past have no more hold on us 2) appropriated His love and work fully into our heart, 3) received the substance of all His working through the generous gift of the Holy Spirit. The person of the Holy Spirit is the only power there is to make all these things real in us – this is the supernatural stamp on the gospel – ‘the power of God for salvation for those who believe’, we cannot but change from ‘strength to strength’ and ‘Glory to Glory’ through this glorious gospel.
Romans 1: 16-
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
It is faith - the taking of these things by the heart of a man saying yes, these things are mine, the continual believing in this gospel that causes grace to abound to us in immeasurable measure.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Exodus 14: When the enemy attacks: God's Death Trap
Exodus 14:18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
Exodus 15:6,7 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
ESV
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream,
[2] which the wind of the Lord drives.
Israel was back faced to the enemy, and the Egyptians thinking it was their hour of Glory were baited into a full frontal assault into the exposed backs of the children of Israel near the red sea. It was God's trap, His intelligent scheme to gain His own Glory over Pharoh and his 600 elite, choice chariots and all the other chariots of the house of Egypt. (6,000 to 60,000? assuming 600 choice were 1-10% of the army).
Isaiah 59:19,KJV
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
When The enemy attacks, God has a counter attack plan to gain Himself the glory and power and victory. The enemy shall regret to have ever intended to touch 'the apple of His eye, the hiding place of His power.'
It was colossal foolhardness, madness which God had given him over to, For seeing the cloud of glory standing there which in the King James says it was darkness to his army but light to the children of Israel, seeing the very presence of God with us, he still madly attacks, so as with our present day adversary Satan who sees the angel of the lord standing by us, he still accuses us before God (as In Zechariah) and attacks us seeing God's presence with us.
Exodus 14:
14:1 Then the Lord said to Moses,
2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
They were back facing the enemy on God's orders, appearing vulnerable to the enemy as God's bait and His plan. It was God's holy trap to eliminate every spritual and natural enemy to Himself which opposed Him, 2 Cor 10: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. The word Every appears multiple times, God intends to gain Himself total victory over every enemy, non-one is to survive. Matthew Hentry on Exodus 14: 'What seems to tend to the church's ruin is often overruled to the ruin of the church's enemies, whose pride and malice are fed by Providence, that they may be ripened for destruction.'
Everytime the enemy attacks us, it can be construed as God's holy trap and scheme to counter attack and totally decimate the enemy if we will obey, have faith and move forward in Him, using His authority to speak over our diffculties.
Does not the word of God say: 'He whom defiles you, I will destroy' in Corinthians? Are you tempted, facing depressed thoughts, do you sense indeed a sinister presence hindering? This message then is for you.
The Song of Moses:
1Then Moses and the people of Israel(A) sang this song to the LORD, saying,
"I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3The LORD is a man of war;
the LORD is his name.
4 "Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,
your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
7In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
8At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9The enemy said,'I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'
10You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Exodus 15:6,7 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
ESV
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream,
[2] which the wind of the Lord drives.
Israel was back faced to the enemy, and the Egyptians thinking it was their hour of Glory were baited into a full frontal assault into the exposed backs of the children of Israel near the red sea. It was God's trap, His intelligent scheme to gain His own Glory over Pharoh and his 600 elite, choice chariots and all the other chariots of the house of Egypt. (6,000 to 60,000? assuming 600 choice were 1-10% of the army).
Isaiah 59:19,KJV
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
When The enemy attacks, God has a counter attack plan to gain Himself the glory and power and victory. The enemy shall regret to have ever intended to touch 'the apple of His eye, the hiding place of His power.'
It was colossal foolhardness, madness which God had given him over to, For seeing the cloud of glory standing there which in the King James says it was darkness to his army but light to the children of Israel, seeing the very presence of God with us, he still madly attacks, so as with our present day adversary Satan who sees the angel of the lord standing by us, he still accuses us before God (as In Zechariah) and attacks us seeing God's presence with us.
Exodus 14:
14:1 Then the Lord said to Moses,
2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
They were back facing the enemy on God's orders, appearing vulnerable to the enemy as God's bait and His plan. It was God's holy trap to eliminate every spritual and natural enemy to Himself which opposed Him, 2 Cor 10: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. The word Every appears multiple times, God intends to gain Himself total victory over every enemy, non-one is to survive. Matthew Hentry on Exodus 14: 'What seems to tend to the church's ruin is often overruled to the ruin of the church's enemies, whose pride and malice are fed by Providence, that they may be ripened for destruction.'
Everytime the enemy attacks us, it can be construed as God's holy trap and scheme to counter attack and totally decimate the enemy if we will obey, have faith and move forward in Him, using His authority to speak over our diffculties.
Does not the word of God say: 'He whom defiles you, I will destroy' in Corinthians? Are you tempted, facing depressed thoughts, do you sense indeed a sinister presence hindering? This message then is for you.
The Song of Moses:
1Then Moses and the people of Israel(A) sang this song to the LORD, saying,
"I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3The LORD is a man of war;
the LORD is his name.
4 "Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,
your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
7In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
8At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9The enemy said,'I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'
10You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Israel’s complaint for food, God’s grace revealed: though we are faithless He is faithful!
1 month into the journey in the wilderness after the red sea, the word says in Exodus 15 says that the bread which was brought along was finished. A lack of carbohydrates means a lack of energy. The people likely had herds and flocks but they needed bread.
‘Why have you, Moses brought us out to the wilderness to die of hunger?’ was their bitter complaint. They were low in resources, wandering around; the promised land not in sight and lack was their portion. Are there not seasons where we are in similar situations?
The Lord’s reply was ‘I will rain bread from heaven’ He takes note of our needs and fills us with bread, blessing and strength.
Not one word about why can’t you trust me after 10 mighty signs and wonders (judgments on the world), one fearful Passover night, (the cross and sacrifice delivering us from wrath on sin), miracles in the red sea parting, miracles in the elimination of Egypt in the sea (a symbol of Christ’s elimination of every enemy at His death and resurrection), the changing of bitter to sweet waters at Marah (miracles of provision), the constant presence of the cloud and fire (symbols of His presence with us).
Not a word about the condition of their hearts or unbelief. I wonder how God must have felt in that moment: out of the massive extent of His redeeming love, He was patient with them, bearing with their rebellions, dealing with the pain of thier distrust in return for His mercies. Instead of anger, He only showed greater faithfulness, love, provision and blessing. Abounding grace!
Though we distrust Him and are unable to give Him what He wants, which is faith, trust and love in return for His great love for us, though we forget His mercies and love, and start to rebel in our hearts to think Him hard and stingy in His discipline of us, He remains faithful to bless us. He sees right through into our hearts, takes note of our needs in His tender mercies, and meets them, but He wants us to trust.
The bread the blessing that was given, was to test them, ‘to see if they would walk in His ways.’ A testing to train them in obedience.
The big test of hunger for a nation was broken down into smaller tests of faithfulness to see if they would keep the command to gather everyday and rely on His faithfulness, go to sleep in trust and wake and know that He would himself feed them day to day – Do not worry abut tomorrow, Your Father loves You and will see you through! He is faithful loving and kind to bless and provide for you.
Let us not be like the children of Isreal, though they saw mighty signs and wonders, they could not believe. The miracles only hardened them further. They could not trust God having no faith relationship with Him. Miracles and spiritual experiences can either heal our heart and make them strong in Faith to enable us to know Him more or they can work against us. For Joshua and Caleb, the display of His glory only made them more strong, faithful and bold in faith, healing thier hearts of the bondage of slavery. The rest of Israel was hardened.
Let us be like those who though we see not, still believe and have the title of 'blessed' because of this. Lord strengthen our faith!
‘Why have you, Moses brought us out to the wilderness to die of hunger?’ was their bitter complaint. They were low in resources, wandering around; the promised land not in sight and lack was their portion. Are there not seasons where we are in similar situations?
The Lord’s reply was ‘I will rain bread from heaven’ He takes note of our needs and fills us with bread, blessing and strength.
Not one word about why can’t you trust me after 10 mighty signs and wonders (judgments on the world), one fearful Passover night, (the cross and sacrifice delivering us from wrath on sin), miracles in the red sea parting, miracles in the elimination of Egypt in the sea (a symbol of Christ’s elimination of every enemy at His death and resurrection), the changing of bitter to sweet waters at Marah (miracles of provision), the constant presence of the cloud and fire (symbols of His presence with us).
Not a word about the condition of their hearts or unbelief. I wonder how God must have felt in that moment: out of the massive extent of His redeeming love, He was patient with them, bearing with their rebellions, dealing with the pain of thier distrust in return for His mercies. Instead of anger, He only showed greater faithfulness, love, provision and blessing. Abounding grace!
Though we distrust Him and are unable to give Him what He wants, which is faith, trust and love in return for His great love for us, though we forget His mercies and love, and start to rebel in our hearts to think Him hard and stingy in His discipline of us, He remains faithful to bless us. He sees right through into our hearts, takes note of our needs in His tender mercies, and meets them, but He wants us to trust.
The bread the blessing that was given, was to test them, ‘to see if they would walk in His ways.’ A testing to train them in obedience.
The big test of hunger for a nation was broken down into smaller tests of faithfulness to see if they would keep the command to gather everyday and rely on His faithfulness, go to sleep in trust and wake and know that He would himself feed them day to day – Do not worry abut tomorrow, Your Father loves You and will see you through! He is faithful loving and kind to bless and provide for you.
Let us not be like the children of Isreal, though they saw mighty signs and wonders, they could not believe. The miracles only hardened them further. They could not trust God having no faith relationship with Him. Miracles and spiritual experiences can either heal our heart and make them strong in Faith to enable us to know Him more or they can work against us. For Joshua and Caleb, the display of His glory only made them more strong, faithful and bold in faith, healing thier hearts of the bondage of slavery. The rest of Israel was hardened.
Let us be like those who though we see not, still believe and have the title of 'blessed' because of this. Lord strengthen our faith!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
1 Cor 10:14-22: Do we provoke the Lord to anger, are we stronger than He? Part 5: The indwelling King.
-Examples of people possessing a mixed spiritual influence: both the Holy Spirit and demonic spirits, both eating from the table of the lord and the table of demons: (eating of accursed things and abominations that God would have you not touch):
*New testament example: Simon the sorcerer, do you remember what Peter told him, though He was saved, though He repented and burned up all his demonic things to serve and follow Christ? ‘Your money perish with you, for you think by filthy mammon you can buy the gifts of God? I can see that you are still in the bitterness of bondage.’ Acts 8:20,23 paraphrased. Apparently the gift of spiritual discernment given to Peter worked to reveal the insight into the man’s heart. His problem was: Money He still served the God of this world, He was still materialistic and in the bondage of Sin whilst a follower of Christ.
*Old Testiment example: Balaam. This ‘prophet’ was well capable of uttering the accurate word of God from the Holy Spirit, but later in the story, God wanted to destroy Him – a destroying angel was standing on the path. The donkey had to rebuke him to ‘restrain the madness of the prophet.’ He was mad. Mad about what? Mad about money. He received bribes to corrupt his integrity to curse the people of Israel. Beloved, Flee from idolatry, ask of the Holy Spirit for Strength to fight and for the deliverance of Christ from sin’s power until you are free. Don’t stop short of total freedom.
2 Cor 6:
16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
The solution to idolatries is to seperate, seperate from sin and the ways of this world and be joined: be joined to God and His love, to know God as Your loving Father, and be filled with His excellent love, Have Him indwell you fully, the majesty, power, wisdom and infiniteness of God will make sure there is no room for other things to reign.
Galatians 5:‘1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.’
1 Cor 7:23 ‘You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.’
Romans 6:16-20
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, (the gospel)
18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
God is big on the freedom of His sons and daughters, He is mighty and powerful and might use trials and chastening out of His great love for us to cleanse our hearts. Proverbs says the man whom the lord is not pleased with will fall into the pit of the adulteress. Do not wait till it is too late, incorporate a lifestyle of repentance.
It is His great love, and a cultivation of a deep loving and fulfilling relationship with Him, that keeps us from sin’s enticements and idolatries. Beloved, flee idolatries, flee into the arms of God in prayer, into the comforts of His love and presence. God is for us and by His mighty strength, our hearts will be kept clean.
*New testament example: Simon the sorcerer, do you remember what Peter told him, though He was saved, though He repented and burned up all his demonic things to serve and follow Christ? ‘Your money perish with you, for you think by filthy mammon you can buy the gifts of God? I can see that you are still in the bitterness of bondage.’ Acts 8:20,23 paraphrased. Apparently the gift of spiritual discernment given to Peter worked to reveal the insight into the man’s heart. His problem was: Money He still served the God of this world, He was still materialistic and in the bondage of Sin whilst a follower of Christ.
*Old Testiment example: Balaam. This ‘prophet’ was well capable of uttering the accurate word of God from the Holy Spirit, but later in the story, God wanted to destroy Him – a destroying angel was standing on the path. The donkey had to rebuke him to ‘restrain the madness of the prophet.’ He was mad. Mad about what? Mad about money. He received bribes to corrupt his integrity to curse the people of Israel. Beloved, Flee from idolatry, ask of the Holy Spirit for Strength to fight and for the deliverance of Christ from sin’s power until you are free. Don’t stop short of total freedom.
2 Cor 6:
16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
The solution to idolatries is to seperate, seperate from sin and the ways of this world and be joined: be joined to God and His love, to know God as Your loving Father, and be filled with His excellent love, Have Him indwell you fully, the majesty, power, wisdom and infiniteness of God will make sure there is no room for other things to reign.
Galatians 5:‘1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.’
1 Cor 7:23 ‘You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.’
Romans 6:16-20
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, (the gospel)
18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
God is big on the freedom of His sons and daughters, He is mighty and powerful and might use trials and chastening out of His great love for us to cleanse our hearts. Proverbs says the man whom the lord is not pleased with will fall into the pit of the adulteress. Do not wait till it is too late, incorporate a lifestyle of repentance.
It is His great love, and a cultivation of a deep loving and fulfilling relationship with Him, that keeps us from sin’s enticements and idolatries. Beloved, flee idolatries, flee into the arms of God in prayer, into the comforts of His love and presence. God is for us and by His mighty strength, our hearts will be kept clean.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Biblical Repentance and the Gospel- a heart transplant, war and the divine grace of God. Part 1
Biblical Repentance and the Gospel- a heart transplant, war and the divine grace of God. Part 1
When asked what they, the masses of people coming to be baptised by John the Baptist should do to prepare for Jesus coming, he replied: 'repent.'
The general principle involves a change of heart and direction - you were following the course and the spirit of the world, now worship God and pursue walk after the Holy Spirit. Turn from the wicked, self serving direction you were living and now walk and live for God and serve Jesus your master, now seek to please His desires, not your own.
Not only is it just a heart change, it is a change in particular deeds and works as well. He replied those of you with 2 portions of food, give some to the poor, those with clothing, share it out, do not exploit people in business -take no more than is required for your living. The words of John pierced and condemned the wicked, selfish deeds of his generation, which pointed to deeper heart attitudes which needed to be corrected, that needed much changing.
How do we then proceed to change the heart? How do we obey the call to repent?
No one can change the heart, only God. Sin is so far wound up in our heart, our selfish desires do far woven in that only a surgery of His Spirit can untangle the mess. Untangling is just the first step. Tracing the chords of sin, seeing the magnitude of the problem and cutting the chords of sin – that is the beginning of repentance but we don’t just need untangling - we need a whole heart transplant. First untangle, remove heart then replace heart. Simple. Impossible with man, but entirely possible with God. This is God’s work and miracle in repentance.
It involves a deliberate act of the will.
A doubled resolve and Holy Spirit empowered choice to obey the Lord. A choice when taken will take you to war with your flesh. It is a violent, bloody, all or nothing war. Bow before the enemy of sin and the flesh and be willing to accept your state of enslavement to slave to sin for life or die on the battlefield, gloriously or win everything and triumph gloriously in Christ, thus gaining your freedom from sin and adding that final seal of God's grace that causes you to walk worthy as a child of God, prooving in undeniable experience that you are, a child of God and that God’s grace is powerful in your soul to free you of the influences of your flesh. Prooving that God’s power to destroy sin in your life is perfect and powerful and effective.
It takes nothing short of the revelation of the divine grace of God, without which there is no resolve to repent, no strength to battle, no grace to empower any kind of change. Only God's grace can show a sinner where he goes wrong and cause him to understand 1) the error of his ways- the fact that you know you are wrong is God's grace to you, 2) grace reveals sin and the depths of its wickedness to a man
With the revelation of grace comes a grasping for hope a grasping in the darkness, a desire and desperation to be free - sin is so terrible and black, how can i walk free from it, how can I be holy? A desperate cry to God: "How then can I a sinner be saved!"
When asked what they, the masses of people coming to be baptised by John the Baptist should do to prepare for Jesus coming, he replied: 'repent.'
The general principle involves a change of heart and direction - you were following the course and the spirit of the world, now worship God and pursue walk after the Holy Spirit. Turn from the wicked, self serving direction you were living and now walk and live for God and serve Jesus your master, now seek to please His desires, not your own.
Not only is it just a heart change, it is a change in particular deeds and works as well. He replied those of you with 2 portions of food, give some to the poor, those with clothing, share it out, do not exploit people in business -take no more than is required for your living. The words of John pierced and condemned the wicked, selfish deeds of his generation, which pointed to deeper heart attitudes which needed to be corrected, that needed much changing.
How do we then proceed to change the heart? How do we obey the call to repent?
No one can change the heart, only God. Sin is so far wound up in our heart, our selfish desires do far woven in that only a surgery of His Spirit can untangle the mess. Untangling is just the first step. Tracing the chords of sin, seeing the magnitude of the problem and cutting the chords of sin – that is the beginning of repentance but we don’t just need untangling - we need a whole heart transplant. First untangle, remove heart then replace heart. Simple. Impossible with man, but entirely possible with God. This is God’s work and miracle in repentance.
It involves a deliberate act of the will.
A doubled resolve and Holy Spirit empowered choice to obey the Lord. A choice when taken will take you to war with your flesh. It is a violent, bloody, all or nothing war. Bow before the enemy of sin and the flesh and be willing to accept your state of enslavement to slave to sin for life or die on the battlefield, gloriously or win everything and triumph gloriously in Christ, thus gaining your freedom from sin and adding that final seal of God's grace that causes you to walk worthy as a child of God, prooving in undeniable experience that you are, a child of God and that God’s grace is powerful in your soul to free you of the influences of your flesh. Prooving that God’s power to destroy sin in your life is perfect and powerful and effective.
It takes nothing short of the revelation of the divine grace of God, without which there is no resolve to repent, no strength to battle, no grace to empower any kind of change. Only God's grace can show a sinner where he goes wrong and cause him to understand 1) the error of his ways- the fact that you know you are wrong is God's grace to you, 2) grace reveals sin and the depths of its wickedness to a man
With the revelation of grace comes a grasping for hope a grasping in the darkness, a desire and desperation to be free - sin is so terrible and black, how can i walk free from it, how can I be holy? A desperate cry to God: "How then can I a sinner be saved!"
Biblical Repentance and the Gospel- a heart transplant, war and the divine grace of God. Part 2
Biblical Repentance and the Gospel- a heart transplant, war and the divine grace of God. Part 2
God answers. He shows the value, the power and Holiness of the blood of Christ to the sinner, He reveals the lamb, the Son, the One perfect sacrifice to take away all sin, He shows the power of that sacrifice to destroy and cleanse every trace of a man's sin. ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow,’ only through the power of the blood of Jesus.’ He also teaches the only workable condition to receive this sacrifice, 'only believe'.
The man begins then to believe and put his full hope and trust in Christ alone to save, to forgive, to renew Him, to save him from so great a death, spiritual death in His being. He looks to the mighty risen Christ, His death on behalf of his sins, His blood, His Calvary, suffering, His cross, the price that was paid for sin, the empty grave, the gift of righteousness.
His eye then sees the indestructible power of the risen Christ seated on the throne, the risen High Priest, mighty to save, his eye sees the way to the Holiest made open through this Priest, the path red with the blood of the lamb. The more He concentrates on Christ, and the emblems of Christ’s mighty works, His immortal priesthood, the earthly life of Jesus clean and holy as a lamb, His perfect death and resurrection, the more his faith arises -He cries, God save me to the uttermost for you alone are mighty and willing and able to save! You alone can save me! I believe, help my unbelief!
God extends and begins to fulfil the offer of a heart transplant - spiritual renewal, a new heart and mind is transplanted into the man. The heart and mind of Christ Himself. He writes new desires into the heart of the man, writing the requirements of the holy law, and new desires to walk to please God in the heart.
God gives the power to please Himself to the man, imparting His strength, through the agency of the mighty working of the Holy Spirit which raises us up to life, in Christ, and makes you a heaven born creature.
A new identity is given to the man, no more a sinner, but ‘righteous, holy’, he calls us ‘children of God, born of Himself, born of heaven’, not being ashamed to call us the ‘the brothers of Christ’. ‘Old things have passed away, all things are become new.’ A total transformation begins that makes you fit for the battle.
‘God who works in you both to will and to do for His own good pleasure.’ God strengthens the will to fight against sin. And we use that will to refuse to compromise, to continue to believe and exercise our faith in Christ, we receive an abundant grace that abounds ever greater and more abundantly than sin. We fall, we stumble on the way, but Christ’s blood is sufficient to cleanse and forgive us and cause us to be accepted perfectly by God.
We find His love ever abundant and sufficient, more and more do we treasure His grace and depend on His grace alone. We then use that grace to destroy sin’s dominion as Christ has set you free from sin, taken the sin nature into himself and freed you by giving you a new heart and nature within you, so then sin is broken and defeated by Him for you, appropriate that.
Empowered by His Holy Spirit, we then make the tough choices to obey Him in every detail of our lives, brining our heart, our thoughts, our attitudes under the dominion of the working of the obedience of Christ. We walk, live and make choices to live more and more Holy before Him.
God answers. He shows the value, the power and Holiness of the blood of Christ to the sinner, He reveals the lamb, the Son, the One perfect sacrifice to take away all sin, He shows the power of that sacrifice to destroy and cleanse every trace of a man's sin. ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow,’ only through the power of the blood of Jesus.’ He also teaches the only workable condition to receive this sacrifice, 'only believe'.
The man begins then to believe and put his full hope and trust in Christ alone to save, to forgive, to renew Him, to save him from so great a death, spiritual death in His being. He looks to the mighty risen Christ, His death on behalf of his sins, His blood, His Calvary, suffering, His cross, the price that was paid for sin, the empty grave, the gift of righteousness.
His eye then sees the indestructible power of the risen Christ seated on the throne, the risen High Priest, mighty to save, his eye sees the way to the Holiest made open through this Priest, the path red with the blood of the lamb. The more He concentrates on Christ, and the emblems of Christ’s mighty works, His immortal priesthood, the earthly life of Jesus clean and holy as a lamb, His perfect death and resurrection, the more his faith arises -He cries, God save me to the uttermost for you alone are mighty and willing and able to save! You alone can save me! I believe, help my unbelief!
God extends and begins to fulfil the offer of a heart transplant - spiritual renewal, a new heart and mind is transplanted into the man. The heart and mind of Christ Himself. He writes new desires into the heart of the man, writing the requirements of the holy law, and new desires to walk to please God in the heart.
God gives the power to please Himself to the man, imparting His strength, through the agency of the mighty working of the Holy Spirit which raises us up to life, in Christ, and makes you a heaven born creature.
A new identity is given to the man, no more a sinner, but ‘righteous, holy’, he calls us ‘children of God, born of Himself, born of heaven’, not being ashamed to call us the ‘the brothers of Christ’. ‘Old things have passed away, all things are become new.’ A total transformation begins that makes you fit for the battle.
‘God who works in you both to will and to do for His own good pleasure.’ God strengthens the will to fight against sin. And we use that will to refuse to compromise, to continue to believe and exercise our faith in Christ, we receive an abundant grace that abounds ever greater and more abundantly than sin. We fall, we stumble on the way, but Christ’s blood is sufficient to cleanse and forgive us and cause us to be accepted perfectly by God.
We find His love ever abundant and sufficient, more and more do we treasure His grace and depend on His grace alone. We then use that grace to destroy sin’s dominion as Christ has set you free from sin, taken the sin nature into himself and freed you by giving you a new heart and nature within you, so then sin is broken and defeated by Him for you, appropriate that.
Empowered by His Holy Spirit, we then make the tough choices to obey Him in every detail of our lives, brining our heart, our thoughts, our attitudes under the dominion of the working of the obedience of Christ. We walk, live and make choices to live more and more Holy before Him.
1 Cor 10:14-22: Do we provoke the Lord to anger, are we stronger than He? Part 1 : Desert parallels
1st Corinthians 10:1-9 parallels Israel's journey through a massive wilderness with our own journey. Paul relates it to us, as Christians to warn us of the danger of not making it into the promise land. He warns of certain spiritual diseases and conditions specifically purposed to bring us to defeat and block God's will and plans for our lives:
1 For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
-Cloud - the glory cloud of God, a symbol of His presence in the wilderness the pillar of cloud - a symbol His tangible help and presence in their lives.
-Water- a picture of water baptism through the red sea- associated with it is the often great challenges which attempt to block a christian's commitment to live for Christ, and baptism symbolizes the Christian's decision to commit all to Christ. A picture of dying to ourselves and living unto Him.
*Don't assume because you know God's presence, His Holy Spirit and are baptised into Him, that you will make it into the promised land.
3 and all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.'
-Simply put: Yes, you drink of the Holy Spirit and feed on Christ for strength daily but God might not be pleased with you.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
-IS not the heart full of evil? Is not our battle first with the sin of our hearts, to master our own hearts and lives before we battle external enemies and possess His blessing for our lives?
7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
-Idols- the children of Israel though saved and delivered from the egypt a symbol of the world, really worshipped other Gods- bible says they brought symbols of the Gods of the Egyptians into the wilderness and performed their worship to these in the wilderness.
-Are we bringing the idols of the world into the church to worship them? materialism, selfish-ambition, worldliness. Is Christ a God among many other Gods in our hearts of does He stand alone, as our all consuming worship?
-'Sat down to eat, Rose up to play' Is self our idol? Me, my pleasure, my desires, my comfort, what I want, my will and my plan for my life or is it Christ, His pleasure, what He desires, His will, His plan. Do we have a passion for souls, for sanctification, for pure worship, do we make spiritual and natural sacrifices of worship and praise and repentance joyfully?
1 For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
-Cloud - the glory cloud of God, a symbol of His presence in the wilderness the pillar of cloud - a symbol His tangible help and presence in their lives.
-Water- a picture of water baptism through the red sea- associated with it is the often great challenges which attempt to block a christian's commitment to live for Christ, and baptism symbolizes the Christian's decision to commit all to Christ. A picture of dying to ourselves and living unto Him.
*Don't assume because you know God's presence, His Holy Spirit and are baptised into Him, that you will make it into the promised land.
3 and all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.'
-Simply put: Yes, you drink of the Holy Spirit and feed on Christ for strength daily but God might not be pleased with you.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
-IS not the heart full of evil? Is not our battle first with the sin of our hearts, to master our own hearts and lives before we battle external enemies and possess His blessing for our lives?
7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
-Idols- the children of Israel though saved and delivered from the egypt a symbol of the world, really worshipped other Gods- bible says they brought symbols of the Gods of the Egyptians into the wilderness and performed their worship to these in the wilderness.
-Are we bringing the idols of the world into the church to worship them? materialism, selfish-ambition, worldliness. Is Christ a God among many other Gods in our hearts of does He stand alone, as our all consuming worship?
-'Sat down to eat, Rose up to play' Is self our idol? Me, my pleasure, my desires, my comfort, what I want, my will and my plan for my life or is it Christ, His pleasure, what He desires, His will, His plan. Do we have a passion for souls, for sanctification, for pure worship, do we make spiritual and natural sacrifices of worship and praise and repentance joyfully?
1 Cor 10:14-22: Do we provoke the Lord to anger, are we stronger than He? Part 2 : Testing God
8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
-What does it mean to test God? The context of this quote in Numbers 21:4-
5 'testing God' primarily has a root in ubelief amd the rejection of God's word.
1) They rejected His promise of bringing them into the land. God had promised an inheritence in the nations that He Himself would fulfill, a land flowing with milk and honey - natural provision and spiritual provision and victory over their enemies symbolizing natural and spritual victory on the condition of total obedience to His ways (commands) and His voice.
2) The incident related to 'testing God' in numbers was in the context of their rejection of manna, a symbol of God's word, a symol of His daily word which sustains - manna came daily. A rejection of the pure word of God which was intended to train them in His ways.
3) The manna was God's chosen 'lot in life' for them, in His timing they were to have more complete provision and they were to become economically self sufficient - land, houses, vines, agriculture etc were promised. IT was to be fulfileld when they possessed the land in canaan, but for now, as they were always moving from place to place, God provided 'temporary nomad food' which was in no way less divine, or less of a token of His mercy, love and grace, nor was it less of a miracle. But the people would have none of it and only complained against His love and grace for them, clamouring for more.
-Take heart lest you test God to the limits of His patience with You, He has been good to you, why can you not trust and believe Him? Is the heat and dreariness of desert life tempting you to curse God and His leader? 'why have YOU, God brought us out here to die?' No, God intends fully to bring you into natural and spiritual inheritance. Do you want it enough to get rid of your sinful ways and walk according to His ways? (see post on repentance)
10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
-The time of trial in the desert can be summed into one idea – trials and temptations, but theses are not trials in which God has left us alone to face ourselves. He intends for us to be victorious in trials, He is faithful to see us through them, He is with us in our trials, He is also in total control of our trials. What comforting truths.
Deut 8:2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
-Don't stick around heart idols, do not stay in that state, in your heart, run to Christ who alone can save You, and is willing to save you, extricate yourself from this heart condition, flee to the worship and surrender to Christ.
15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.
9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
-What does it mean to test God? The context of this quote in Numbers 21:4-
5 'testing God' primarily has a root in ubelief amd the rejection of God's word.
1) They rejected His promise of bringing them into the land. God had promised an inheritence in the nations that He Himself would fulfill, a land flowing with milk and honey - natural provision and spiritual provision and victory over their enemies symbolizing natural and spritual victory on the condition of total obedience to His ways (commands) and His voice.
2) The incident related to 'testing God' in numbers was in the context of their rejection of manna, a symbol of God's word, a symol of His daily word which sustains - manna came daily. A rejection of the pure word of God which was intended to train them in His ways.
3) The manna was God's chosen 'lot in life' for them, in His timing they were to have more complete provision and they were to become economically self sufficient - land, houses, vines, agriculture etc were promised. IT was to be fulfileld when they possessed the land in canaan, but for now, as they were always moving from place to place, God provided 'temporary nomad food' which was in no way less divine, or less of a token of His mercy, love and grace, nor was it less of a miracle. But the people would have none of it and only complained against His love and grace for them, clamouring for more.
-Take heart lest you test God to the limits of His patience with You, He has been good to you, why can you not trust and believe Him? Is the heat and dreariness of desert life tempting you to curse God and His leader? 'why have YOU, God brought us out here to die?' No, God intends fully to bring you into natural and spiritual inheritance. Do you want it enough to get rid of your sinful ways and walk according to His ways? (see post on repentance)
10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
-The time of trial in the desert can be summed into one idea – trials and temptations, but theses are not trials in which God has left us alone to face ourselves. He intends for us to be victorious in trials, He is faithful to see us through them, He is with us in our trials, He is also in total control of our trials. What comforting truths.
Deut 8:2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
-Don't stick around heart idols, do not stay in that state, in your heart, run to Christ who alone can save You, and is willing to save you, extricate yourself from this heart condition, flee to the worship and surrender to Christ.
15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.
1 Cor 10:14-22: Do we provoke the Lord to anger, are we stronger than He? Part 3: The Christian’s position
16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
-Paul was appealing to the Corinthian’s position of being the very living body of Christ on earth, reminding them of the high privileges they possessed as those chosen by God to become part of His lovely, strong body on earth, the Body of Him who rules the universe, Christ Himself.
-He is reminding them of how they came to be: it was Christ who died for you, Christ who bled for you. He appealed to remind them of the source of their lives, the one whom they relied upon - like natural food and drink, Christ is food and drink spiritually to the Christian. Christ- the true source of all their strength, for ’without Him we can do nothing.’ The true source of all their righteousness. Only the blood of Christ can justify a guilty man and break the power of sin and temptation over lives.
-Pray to realize how privileged you are as one Chosen to Feed on Christ, as one chosen to stand in the Holiness and purity and power of that blood before God. This world and its temptations cannot compare with the blessing you already possess, pray that you might realize it, understand it, live in the wonder and blessing of it more fully.
18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
-He is appealing to the Corinthian’s priesthood: They had a priesthood that was more powerful and substantial than the Levitical priesthood. The Levites were the only ones in all Israel who were authorized by the law to eat of the altar of burnt, grain and other worship offerings in the temple.
-You and I are are the only ones on earth who are allowed by God to feed at the altar of His mighty cross, eating of Christ’s body, blood, receiving the 'food' of Him being made sin for us, we are the only ones who can ‘feed’ on revelations of His mighty resurrection and be filled with God himself living in us, the Holy Spirit.
-We can feed on the spiritual substance of deliverance from our enemies, as Christ rose victorious over all things, we can 'feed' on healing which has been provided, for ‘by His stripes you are healed’, we can receive the reality of sonship, for we through Him have been given high standing as sons to jump into the lap of the father, to sit on the throne of heavenly places in Christ, through faith in what He has done for us, through faith in the good news, the gospel. What wonderful feedings what wonderful truths! To feed, to live on. Let these transform the way you live your life.
17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
-Paul was appealing to the Corinthian’s position of being the very living body of Christ on earth, reminding them of the high privileges they possessed as those chosen by God to become part of His lovely, strong body on earth, the Body of Him who rules the universe, Christ Himself.
-He is reminding them of how they came to be: it was Christ who died for you, Christ who bled for you. He appealed to remind them of the source of their lives, the one whom they relied upon - like natural food and drink, Christ is food and drink spiritually to the Christian. Christ- the true source of all their strength, for ’without Him we can do nothing.’ The true source of all their righteousness. Only the blood of Christ can justify a guilty man and break the power of sin and temptation over lives.
-Pray to realize how privileged you are as one Chosen to Feed on Christ, as one chosen to stand in the Holiness and purity and power of that blood before God. This world and its temptations cannot compare with the blessing you already possess, pray that you might realize it, understand it, live in the wonder and blessing of it more fully.
18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
-He is appealing to the Corinthian’s priesthood: They had a priesthood that was more powerful and substantial than the Levitical priesthood. The Levites were the only ones in all Israel who were authorized by the law to eat of the altar of burnt, grain and other worship offerings in the temple.
-You and I are are the only ones on earth who are allowed by God to feed at the altar of His mighty cross, eating of Christ’s body, blood, receiving the 'food' of Him being made sin for us, we are the only ones who can ‘feed’ on revelations of His mighty resurrection and be filled with God himself living in us, the Holy Spirit.
-We can feed on the spiritual substance of deliverance from our enemies, as Christ rose victorious over all things, we can 'feed' on healing which has been provided, for ‘by His stripes you are healed’, we can receive the reality of sonship, for we through Him have been given high standing as sons to jump into the lap of the father, to sit on the throne of heavenly places in Christ, through faith in what He has done for us, through faith in the good news, the gospel. What wonderful feedings what wonderful truths! To feed, to live on. Let these transform the way you live your life.
1 Cor 10:14-22: Do we provoke the Lord to anger, are we stronger than He? Part 4: The table of demons.
19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
-Yet with all the wonderful things we have in Christ, it is still possible to also partake of the spiritual influence of demonic forces through idolatry – is this not a fearful thing? We can have Christ, but we can also have idols in our lives as well as demonic forces influence us!
The theme Paul is highlighting here is ‘flee idolatry’. Idols give demonic forces the right, the portal access to our lives. So get rid of them by worshipping Christ!
22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
The Lord is a Jealous, righteous lover of His bride; He does not easily tolerate demonic influences along and mixed together with the influence of His Holy Spirit.
-We shall provoke the Lord to Wrath, if we are not careful. He is a consuming fire, Holy, righteous and mighty.
-Are we stronger than God? When shall we repent?
20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
-Yet with all the wonderful things we have in Christ, it is still possible to also partake of the spiritual influence of demonic forces through idolatry – is this not a fearful thing? We can have Christ, but we can also have idols in our lives as well as demonic forces influence us!
The theme Paul is highlighting here is ‘flee idolatry’. Idols give demonic forces the right, the portal access to our lives. So get rid of them by worshipping Christ!
22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
The Lord is a Jealous, righteous lover of His bride; He does not easily tolerate demonic influences along and mixed together with the influence of His Holy Spirit.
-We shall provoke the Lord to Wrath, if we are not careful. He is a consuming fire, Holy, righteous and mighty.
-Are we stronger than God? When shall we repent?
Friday, April 08, 2011
The value of waiting upon God - moulding, strengthening, faith building, hearing His voice Part 2
Isaiah 40:31
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
The word hebrew for'wait' according to strong's has the meaning of hope in, confident trusting and patient waiting. It has the meaning of becomming one with, 'to twist together as one.'
There is much value in waiting and trusting and hoping and submitting to Christ in our hearts, abiding in Him, making our hearts ready to obey Him through submission. There is much value in silent waiting as well as faith fired petitition, for it is in the place of waiting that we are strengthed by His Holy Spirit, Stilled with His comforts of His presence and taught and instructed and supplied with strength. Waiting is the place where we are supplied with God's power, instruction, readiness and strength for the obedience that is required of us.
He saves us from our impatient actions which cause more trouble than good, as we wait upon Him, we become more like Him, learning the ways of the Bull, to be strengthend in His power and effective in His dynamic working.
Let us pray for a a greater revelation of who God is while we are waiting. Leaning on His heart like the apostle John, we fall more in love with the mighty one and are transformed through relationship with His Spirit, moulding and shaping us to become more like Him.
My sheep hear my voice, is there anything more natural than hearing the voice of the bridegroom as you, His bride take time to hear His voice?
Let Him have full authority and reverence in our hearts, clear out all sin, flesh and Idols and the values of worldiness. Let The Spirit be enthroned within, we shall be filled with His victory!
Lead us not in the way of our vain ideas and imaginations, but put Your breath, Your Spirit and Your living breathing word and your commands be within our heart. Let the thoughts of our hearts honor and please You.
Either the waiting will crush our spirit and dwindle our strength and we will only grow more impatient or it will strengthen us and fill us with power and patience and we will become stronger and stronger, and have our weakness covered by God's power. Either the waiting will kill our impatience and give us deep peace and trust, or our impatience will kill the waiting and short curcuit God's work of patience and trust in us.
Colossians 1:
11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy
God wants to fill us with immesurable power and wisdom according to His wisdom and power, are we willing to receive it through trust, faithful waiting, seeking and prayer?
Let us be precise and immediate in our obedience, doing exactly what the Father shows us in prayer.
I always wondered what the prophets and Abraham did in the desert, the answer is they grew in faith through prayer and waiting. Busy Singaporean can you wait?
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
The word hebrew for'wait' according to strong's has the meaning of hope in, confident trusting and patient waiting. It has the meaning of becomming one with, 'to twist together as one.'
There is much value in waiting and trusting and hoping and submitting to Christ in our hearts, abiding in Him, making our hearts ready to obey Him through submission. There is much value in silent waiting as well as faith fired petitition, for it is in the place of waiting that we are strengthed by His Holy Spirit, Stilled with His comforts of His presence and taught and instructed and supplied with strength. Waiting is the place where we are supplied with God's power, instruction, readiness and strength for the obedience that is required of us.
He saves us from our impatient actions which cause more trouble than good, as we wait upon Him, we become more like Him, learning the ways of the Bull, to be strengthend in His power and effective in His dynamic working.
Let us pray for a a greater revelation of who God is while we are waiting. Leaning on His heart like the apostle John, we fall more in love with the mighty one and are transformed through relationship with His Spirit, moulding and shaping us to become more like Him.
My sheep hear my voice, is there anything more natural than hearing the voice of the bridegroom as you, His bride take time to hear His voice?
Let Him have full authority and reverence in our hearts, clear out all sin, flesh and Idols and the values of worldiness. Let The Spirit be enthroned within, we shall be filled with His victory!
Lead us not in the way of our vain ideas and imaginations, but put Your breath, Your Spirit and Your living breathing word and your commands be within our heart. Let the thoughts of our hearts honor and please You.
Either the waiting will crush our spirit and dwindle our strength and we will only grow more impatient or it will strengthen us and fill us with power and patience and we will become stronger and stronger, and have our weakness covered by God's power. Either the waiting will kill our impatience and give us deep peace and trust, or our impatience will kill the waiting and short curcuit God's work of patience and trust in us.
Colossians 1:
11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy
God wants to fill us with immesurable power and wisdom according to His wisdom and power, are we willing to receive it through trust, faithful waiting, seeking and prayer?
Let us be precise and immediate in our obedience, doing exactly what the Father shows us in prayer.
I always wondered what the prophets and Abraham did in the desert, the answer is they grew in faith through prayer and waiting. Busy Singaporean can you wait?
The value of waiting upon God - moulding, strengthening, faith building, hearing His voice Part 1
Ps 131:1
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Be still and know that I am God,
This analogy came along as we were talking:
The inner heart of a man is like a rock cave with a small opening, the soul of the man is the water in the cave, when God speaks His voices comes from the opening of the cave, His word enters in, and reflects off the base water which is the soul of the man.
if the soul is disturbed - agitated, too much outside stimulus has come in, animals are playing in the pond - distractions and idolatries, the water is restless the soul is restless and so the man cannot hear the voice of the Spirit in his heart. The voice comes, but is lost in the din, the busyness of the waters makes the sound reflect badly off the rest of the cave. where the voice of God should be clear and resonant in the cave, the heart of the man.
Proverbs 4:23
"keep your heart with all dilligence for from it will flow the issues of life"
Ecclestes
5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.
I think in our day we have a very hard time reigning in our heart and submitting to the lordship and thoughts of the Holy Spirit especially in our day. We face stimulus, stimulus, stimulus.
Was was said to Joshua? Let the word of God be your Stimulus night and day so that it will give you power to do all I command you to do! and the result: success, nothing less than God born success, Victory the result. God given victory born from the working of the word of God and the Holy Spirit within the soul.
Matt 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The Donkey (those disposed to inertia and unmotivated, procrastinators, stubborn) and the Stalion (rushing ahead, impulsive, strong, uncontrollable, nervous) must be yoked with Christ the Bull, who is effective and victorious in His working.
We should work when He works, stop when He stops and rest when He rests.
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Be still and know that I am God,
This analogy came along as we were talking:
The inner heart of a man is like a rock cave with a small opening, the soul of the man is the water in the cave, when God speaks His voices comes from the opening of the cave, His word enters in, and reflects off the base water which is the soul of the man.
if the soul is disturbed - agitated, too much outside stimulus has come in, animals are playing in the pond - distractions and idolatries, the water is restless the soul is restless and so the man cannot hear the voice of the Spirit in his heart. The voice comes, but is lost in the din, the busyness of the waters makes the sound reflect badly off the rest of the cave. where the voice of God should be clear and resonant in the cave, the heart of the man.
Proverbs 4:23
"keep your heart with all dilligence for from it will flow the issues of life"
Ecclestes
5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.
I think in our day we have a very hard time reigning in our heart and submitting to the lordship and thoughts of the Holy Spirit especially in our day. We face stimulus, stimulus, stimulus.
Was was said to Joshua? Let the word of God be your Stimulus night and day so that it will give you power to do all I command you to do! and the result: success, nothing less than God born success, Victory the result. God given victory born from the working of the word of God and the Holy Spirit within the soul.
Matt 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The Donkey (those disposed to inertia and unmotivated, procrastinators, stubborn) and the Stalion (rushing ahead, impulsive, strong, uncontrollable, nervous) must be yoked with Christ the Bull, who is effective and victorious in His working.
We should work when He works, stop when He stops and rest when He rests.
Exodus 19: To do well in the presence of the God of Fire - Part 3: Reverence
12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; [1] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’
-Do not take God for granted, do not be too familiar with Him thinking we can take liberties. Remember people died when they tried to look into the ark, treating holy things with calloused casuality is a sign of spiritual disease - the lack of the fear of God. Pray for reverent fear - the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord to fill us. Reverence Him.
When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”
14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments.
-The prophet also does priestly duties to cleanse the people of God from sin - the role of Christian leadership is to go to God, obtain revelation and come down to present a clean and Holy Bride to Jesus.
15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
-Sexual sins and lusts point out that we do not love Christ enough, is He really our husband, do we enjoy intimacy with Him, are we filled with Him? watch out for heart adultaries.
16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
-A picture of resurrection Glory on mount zion- thunders lightings and thick cloud now are replaced with praising angels, perfected saints, God's throne and mighty glory. God still descends in fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit.
-loud trumpet blast likely from a ram's horn or the silver trumpet. in both cases announcing that 1) the ram had died, there is victory (as in Joshua) or 2) the ram is arisen, we are redeemed (silver trumpet). The proclamation of Christ!
13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; [1] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’
-Do not take God for granted, do not be too familiar with Him thinking we can take liberties. Remember people died when they tried to look into the ark, treating holy things with calloused casuality is a sign of spiritual disease - the lack of the fear of God. Pray for reverent fear - the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord to fill us. Reverence Him.
When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”
14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments.
-The prophet also does priestly duties to cleanse the people of God from sin - the role of Christian leadership is to go to God, obtain revelation and come down to present a clean and Holy Bride to Jesus.
15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
-Sexual sins and lusts point out that we do not love Christ enough, is He really our husband, do we enjoy intimacy with Him, are we filled with Him? watch out for heart adultaries.
16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
-A picture of resurrection Glory on mount zion- thunders lightings and thick cloud now are replaced with praising angels, perfected saints, God's throne and mighty glory. God still descends in fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit.
-loud trumpet blast likely from a ram's horn or the silver trumpet. in both cases announcing that 1) the ram had died, there is victory (as in Joshua) or 2) the ram is arisen, we are redeemed (silver trumpet). The proclamation of Christ!
Exodus 19: To do well in the presence of the God of Fire -Part 2: Concecration
8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
-There appears the people had an appearance of Godliness an appearance of a will to obey but as you will see they could not carry through. 'an appearance of Godliness without power.'
-God validated the ministry of Moses and established it eternally by supernatural power. Amazing love that God had for the man.
When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
-Moses was not only a prophet but also a priest, who did holy service for the people - setting them apart, cleansing them for God in sacrifices, offerings, prayers, dedications etc. There is a requirement for holiness before we meet with the God of fire.
-Third day - interesting someone died and arose on the third day and was on earth to 'cast a fire'. An echo of resurrection power and glory of Zion.
-The third day will release revelation of God - preaching Christ's victory in resurrection will cause Him to show Himself.
10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
-are we clean before His sight to meet with the God of fire? 'Hating the garment stained by sin.' Wear the robe of righteousness, the blood robe of the lamb, repent. A focus on the cross is essential
11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
-3rd day - picture of Christ's resurrection and appearance on the third day. Are we ready to meet the God of glory?
9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
-There appears the people had an appearance of Godliness an appearance of a will to obey but as you will see they could not carry through. 'an appearance of Godliness without power.'
-God validated the ministry of Moses and established it eternally by supernatural power. Amazing love that God had for the man.
When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
-Moses was not only a prophet but also a priest, who did holy service for the people - setting them apart, cleansing them for God in sacrifices, offerings, prayers, dedications etc. There is a requirement for holiness before we meet with the God of fire.
-Third day - interesting someone died and arose on the third day and was on earth to 'cast a fire'. An echo of resurrection power and glory of Zion.
-The third day will release revelation of God - preaching Christ's victory in resurrection will cause Him to show Himself.
10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
-are we clean before His sight to meet with the God of fire? 'Hating the garment stained by sin.' Wear the robe of righteousness, the blood robe of the lamb, repent. A focus on the cross is essential
11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
-3rd day - picture of Christ's resurrection and appearance on the third day. Are we ready to meet the God of glory?
Exodus 19: To do well in the presence of the God of Fire –Part 1: The Great Invitation
God appeared in Holy flames of fire first to Moses and then to the children of Israel. Moses' revelation of God as a flame was replicated by God and expanded on a larger scale. The leader's revelation of who God is will pass to the people. As God told moses, I this is holy ground, please do not look casually, do not treat me casually, so God also told the children of ISrael the same to put the reverence of Him in their hearts.
Exodus 19 starts with God and moses talking. There is a theme in exodus focusing on God's very intimate relationship with Moses and God's distant relationship with the people.
Exodus 19:
4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
-Remember His goodness, judgement and great grace! HE delivered you in great expressions of His power, at the cost of much judgement.
-obedience and faithfulness (keeping the covenant relationship) will release intimacy: you will know you are most precious and treasured. do we want to know that we are precious to God? do we want to increase in intimacy? All the earth is mine - You will know that I control all things, and that of all things that I own, you are special and specially loved.
-You shall be to me a kingdom of priests - we are seated in heavenly places - obedience releases the revelation and power to walk in that authority. obedience releases God's cleansing power to make us a holy nation.
-Priests have the privillaged position of drawing near to God - they can come close to Him, eat of his holy things, enjoy His presence and blessing.
Exodus 19 starts with God and moses talking. There is a theme in exodus focusing on God's very intimate relationship with Moses and God's distant relationship with the people.
Exodus 19:
4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
-Remember His goodness, judgement and great grace! HE delivered you in great expressions of His power, at the cost of much judgement.
-obedience and faithfulness (keeping the covenant relationship) will release intimacy: you will know you are most precious and treasured. do we want to know that we are precious to God? do we want to increase in intimacy? All the earth is mine - You will know that I control all things, and that of all things that I own, you are special and specially loved.
-You shall be to me a kingdom of priests - we are seated in heavenly places - obedience releases the revelation and power to walk in that authority. obedience releases God's cleansing power to make us a holy nation.
-Priests have the privillaged position of drawing near to God - they can come close to Him, eat of his holy things, enjoy His presence and blessing.
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