STORY-BASED SERMONS
Here, you'll find articles that tell stories and explain their meaning in our time.
"LET MY PEOPLE GO"
God has always had a plan for humanity. A plan of peace, restoration and true service towards him. Ever since the sin of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1-6, humanity has been turning to themselves from the control of Satan the Devil in order to “pursue their dreams” (Ecclesiastes 7:29). This has gone on for thousands of years. However, God is currently restoring the world back to its former condition so they may serve him in peace and happiness (Isaiah 43:21). And, even though the wicked will always hold the people fast, God rescues his people nonetheless (Jeremiah 50:33-34).
However, what do the lines above have to do with the title?
During the preparations and waiting period of God’s plan, the wicked do their wickedness (Daniel 12:10) and rule over the righteous. When God is ready to execute his plan, he sends people to preach (Jeremiah 3:15). And their statements can be summarized in one phrase: “Let my people go”.
And, in the Bible, there are prototypes of this concept.
The story of Egypt is one of them because that’s where the statement, “Let my people go”, comes from. In Exodus 5:1, Moses told Pharaoh this, and he gave the reason why: “that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” God had made a promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 that he would make a nation out of him. However, God told him it would be a natural phenomenon for his children to fall under the Egyptians’ clutches, and serve them for 400 years (Genesis 15:13-14). However, when the time was ready, he would rescue them, hence Moses’s statement, “Let my people go” (Exodus 5:1, 7:16, 8:1, 8, 20-21, 9:1, 13, 10:3-4).
One technique he’d used to free the Israelites was the flipping concept. Before God’s intervention, the survival of the Egyptian kingdom depended on the workforce. In Exodus 1, we see the kind of oppression the Israelites suffered. However, God flipped the situation with the plagues. Now, the survival of the Egyptians depended on the freedom of the Israelites from their power, hence Pharoah sending them away (Exodus 12:31-33).
The second prototype is the time of Jesus. God has had it in mind to free humanity of death (Job 33:21-24, Hosea 13:14), and Jesus eventually came down. When he was here, he summarized his entire mission with what Isaiah the Prophet stated in Isaiah 61:1-3, which led to a new religion and the salvation of many Gentiles: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19 - see also John 12:47 and Matthew 18:11). No matter what people did - shutting down the preaching of the gospel, murder (John 11:45-53, Acts 5:17-42), Christianity spread all over the world, in fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 13:31-32).
In the last days, the time we are living in, the remnant of the saints are preaching the gospel of the Kingdom (Isaiah 66:19-21, Matthew 24:14). People prayed for deliverance through the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-10). Currently, the monarchs have been defeated, therefore giving humanity freedom of expression, action, etc (Revelation 12:7-12, 13:1, etc). Then, democracy came out of that (Revelation 13:1-4). Now, children of God have liberty to exercise themselves in righteousness, a true blessing from God.
However, the deliverance isn’t finished. There are still strands of autocracy, and the righteous are still being persecuted. God is changing that now (Psalms 147:3), as Jesus is testing the nations, weakening their abilities (Daniel 2:43), so that the wicked have no power to become leaders and lead in their evil, being a reproach to everyone (Proverbs 14:34). Jesus is doing so by denouncing leadership to make it worthless (Isaiah 3:6-7, 34:12). It will no more be an honour to rule the world. God did that to the Israelites, so that being a king of Jerusalem in Zedekiah’s time was nothing compared to being a king in David’s time.
It’s important we have faith in God’s deliverance, and patiently wait it out (Romans 8:24-25). “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:4). God’s deliverance for his children is a gradual process, so we have to patiently wait for its completion (Luke 21:19). We should never adapt to the deliverance of false prophets in this world (1 John 4:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 5:21), because their so-called, “gospel of deliverance”, only brings us closer to bondage (2 Peter 2:19, Matthew 23:15).
God has gifted us freedom, so we have to use it wisely. People are using their freedom to do all kinds of unrighteous things, the way Abiram, Dathan, Korah, On and the 250 princes used their freedom to show their true colors and oppose God’s plan (Numbers 14, 16). Rather, we should use our freedom to serve God more faithfully than before. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1).
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WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
This was a fantastic question asked by a jailor in Acts 16:30. Here’s the account: “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And then the answer was given: “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:26-31).
Now, what salvation are we talking about here? Salvation from death. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). We are being saved from the death sentence that was issued on Adam, in Genesis 3:16-19. Jesus Christ died so we might live through him (Matthew 20:28, Hebrews 9:22, 28, Isaiah 53:10-12, etc). “ I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” (Hosea 13:14). He will be giving this to his righteous ones (Psalms 3:8).
In Acts 16:31, Paul said that we have to believe in Jesus Christ. And he’d said it himself: “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” (John 6:47). However, belief comes with some crucial things that we have to consider:
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Our belief has to be based on the knowledge of the truth. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). We have to study it in order to believe in it. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1:25 - see also 2 Timothy 2:15).
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Our belief has to be supported by Christ-like attributes, works of righteousness. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 - see also 2 Peter 1:5-7).
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Our faith and belief must be kept to the end. “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. (Hebrews 3:14). “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:12-13 - see also 1 Peter 1:9, Philippians 3:14 and Hebrews 10:35-36, 38-39).
The ability to inherit eternal life is very good and wonderful indeed (Isaiah 65:17-25, Hosea 2:18-20, Revelation 21:1-5, etc). As a result, we should trust God and keep his commandments. “Open ye the gates (the gates of salvation - Matthew 7:13-14), that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:2-4).
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REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE
This was a very important warning made by Jesus Christ in Luke 17:32. “Remember Lot’s wife.” The story is in Genesis 19:1-30. The only reason why Lot even ended up in Sodom and Gomorrah was because of grazing rights. Both Lot and Abraham were rich, and their servants and shepherds were having many arguments. So they split up. Abraham went west, while Lot went east. That east was where Sodom and Gomorrah were.
Sodom and Gomorrah were well fertilized cities, but the people who lived there were anything but righteous. They indulged in very wicked sins, and God wanted to get rid of them. But he’d previously had a conversation with Abraham in Genesis 18, and God wanted to save Lot from the calamity that was going to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. That was why he sent an angel to meet Lot and his family, and warned them that they had to get things ready and escape to the mountains.
Lot tried to encourage other people to go with them; after all, the angel didn’t put a limit to how many people could leave. But nobody believed him, and they just wanted to continue what they were doing. And so, as a result, it was only Lot, his wife, and his two daughters that could leave the city.
Then, here’s where the warning of Jesus Christ comes in. The angels warned Lot and his family that they could not turn back, otherwise they’d be punished. Lot’s wife, however, disobeyed the instruction by turning back while escaping. She immediately became a pillar of salt.
This story is symbolic because in the last days, we have to spiritually flee to the mountains (Matthew 24:15-16, Luke 21:20-21. This means we have to study the truth, and we are therefore being gathered together by God into this fold (John 10:16, Zephaniah 2:3, Matthew 13:24-30, etc - similar to the Cities of Refuge). It’s the Mountain of the Lord’s House as well (Zechariah 8:3, Isaiah 2:2). Lot’s family, as a whole, represents the people who, by the grace of God, have the ability to be called by God to come and worship him. Few people have that opportunity. Lot’s wife represents those people who take the opportunity for granted, and decide to misuse it. Such people will not be saved.
There are some very important distinct lessons that we have to learn from this story.
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God doesn’t like disobedience. Lot’s wife was disobedient because she, and the rest of her family, were strictly told that they couldn’t look back. But she died, and was penalized by God as a result (2 Peter 2:6-7).
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We should never take God’s grace for granted. It’s sinning against the Holy Spirit in the last days. And if we do that, there is no other opportunity to worship God (Matthew 12:31-32, Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-29, 2 Peter 2:20-22, etc).
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We should never love the world. It was clear Lot’s wife loved the world, because she turned back as a result of missing what she was going to leave behind in Sodom and Gomorrah. Not really her belongings, but her way of living, and traditions. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 - see also Luke 12:15-21).
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God’s judges, and sometimes, he can judge speedily. Many times, he gives a long rope, but disobedience against God can pull the cord of punishment closer to us. However, the time at which he can bring judgment isn’t guessable - but we should do what we can to prevent it from coming to us. (Matthew 24:36).
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When we put our hands to something, we should never give up, or turn back. In the last days, when we say we want to worship God, and we start doing that, we can’t turn back, for any reason. “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38-39).
It’s important we understand that worshipping God isn’t about turning back, but about making it to the end. “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62).
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"LIE WITH ME"
This statement is drawn from Genesis 39:7. “And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.”
The whole story is in Genesis 39:1-20. Joseph was exalted to the position of manager over all Potiphar’s belongings. Potiphar’s wife admired Joseph, and wanted to sleep with him, though already married. Joseph refused, though, because adultery was against God’s law (Exodus 20:13). She tried to force him, but Joseph didn't yield, and she lied against Joseph to her husband so he was thrown into prison.
Potiphar’s wife is like Satan, who seduces people into having a taste of his wickedness. Remember, just as how Potiphar’s wife was covetous - she wasn’t content witb Potiphar - Satan isn’t satisfied with his own people, who he’s blinded (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). He is covetous and desires God’s people to forsake their integrity and join him in sin. This was illustrated in Revelation 17 by a woman who sits upon many waters (political, social and economic systems), and is a harlot because she (Satan’s Organization - Satan, demons, wickedness) lures people into her fold, only to end in misery, and not righteosuness (Proverbs 7:4-27 - an illustration of this concept).
Satan did this to humanity in Genesis 3:1-6. God created humanity for Himself (Isaiah 43:21), and not for Satan, but Satan wanted to have humanity for himself, and he lured Adam and Eve into eating the apple, and therefore into sin (Genesis 3:1-6). And ever since then, the world has been under his clutches (1 John 5:19, NKJV). One major group of people he uses for this job are false prophets. They twist their doctrines to lure/seduce people to give them money (Ezekiel 13:10, 2 Timothy 3:13, Mark 13:22). They make doctrines that will suit the itching ears of ignorant Christians (2 Timothy 4:3-4, Isaiah 30:10), to lure them into following them (Isaiah 9:16). They are like Satan himself (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
However, we shouldn’t fall in Satan’s hands. We do so by not loving the world, because Satan uses that to lure us into his fold. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:15-17).
We shouldn’t be lured in by seducing doctrines (1 Timothy 4:1), or have a lust to fit in with the world. After all, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (John 15:19). Neither should we defile ourselves with the world and its temporal standards. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17 - see also Isaiah 52:11). And to do this, we have to be proud of worshipping God and keeping His commandments. Feeling ashamed of it is dangerous, as Satan can pounce on that and satisfy us with worldly things. We should be like St.Paul, who said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16).
When we retain our integrity, though, persecution is inevitable. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12). Because we live in a world that Satan rules in (2 Corinthians 4:4 - the god of this world - John 12:31, 14:30 - prince of this world) there will be consequences for those who don't love it. But we must understand those consequences and endure them, knowing that it won’t last forever. “But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 3:14, 4:13).
If we know Joseph’s story, we will realize that everything that was just discussed fulfilled on Joseph’s life. Potiphar’s wife attempted to lure him into sin (and by the way, Satan was ontop of all this), and Joseph refused, and persecution quickly followed. But he wasn’t the only one in this case.
Satan wanted to lure Job into declaring unbelief in God. He did so by destroying all his riches. However, because Job had an idea of why he was suffering, he vowed to retain his integrity (Job 27:2, 4-6), and he did. As a result, his riches were restored.
Jesus faced similar conseqences. He proved to the Pharisees and Satan that he wasn’t interested in what they had to offer (Matthew 4:1-11). He didn’t gang up with the Pharisees because they were of the devil (John 8:44). He suffered major persecution, namely his crucifixion in Matthew 26-27. But in the end, he was resurrected (Revelation 1:18), and his prayer in John 17:4-5 for glorification was answered, as his prophecies regarding the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 23:33-38, 24:2, Luke 19:41-44, 21:20-21, etc) were fulfilled, and he was exalted (Philippians 2:5-11).
Satan wanted to lure David into sinning against God and turning from His commandments. He made sure Bathsheba was naked in an area where David would see it. David lusted for her, and he sinned against God by committing adultery and killing Uriah (2 Samuel 11). However, he repented of his iniquities and rebuilt his integrity in God, and eventually his kingship was restored.
It’s clear now that when we don’t give in to what Satan wants, there will be persecution, but in the end, we win. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
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"MAKE US GODS, WHICH SHALL GO BEFORE US"
This statement is drawn from Exodus 32:1. “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”
The ultimate questions that need answers are: who gets sovereignty, who should solve humanity’s problems, and who should take the credit? Is it God, who created the universe - “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” (Isaiah 45:12) - or is it humanity that sought out its own inventions and attempted to solve their issues? “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29).
Let’s start off with the story.
As said above, the Israelites had waited a considerable length of time for Moses to return from what he was doing in a mountain with God, and they got very impatient. As a result, they requested that Aaron make a god that would go before them. Aaron obeyed the people, and after creating them out of people’s pieces of jewelry, even said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
God had seen everything that happened (Hebrews 4:13, Psalms 11:4), and informed Moses that the Israelites had “corrupted themselves”. And Moses certainly didn’t disagree; he called them “a stiffnecked people” (Exodus 32:9, Deuteronomy 9:6, 10:16). And after Moses had conversed with God, he came down and heard them singing and dancing, as if they were celebrating. When he realized it was for their god, he destroyed it, ground it into powder, strawed it on the water and even made the Israelites drink of it.
But what was wrong with what they did?
They were disobedient and stubborn. God had told them that they couldn’t create any gods that would replace Him (Exodus 20:3-6). However, they violated that law.
They dishonoured themselves by reducing their glory to simple handmade idols. “Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.” (Psalms 106:20). “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.” (Jeremiah 2:11). The Egyptian gods were proved worthless by God testing them with various plagues, which ended up ravaging the land and proving His power as the true God (Exodus 9:14, 16). However, the Israelites reduced themselves to the level of those Egyptians by worshipping idols just like them.
They showed a lack of belief and trust in God. When such a situation comes up, the first thing that should be done is to pray to God, the person Who delivered them in the first place and entered into a covenant with them (Exodus 19:4-5). However, instead of doing that, they rejected God (1 Samuel 8:8), and seized the opportunity to walk in their own ways. They took laws into their own hands, and without consulting God, set up false religion and even enjoyed it (Exodus 32:6, 18).
This story is also similar to others in the Old Testament. For example, King Saul took Samuel’s delay (as a problem) into his own hands and solved it by disobeying God’s commandment that it is a priest that makes the offering before war. King Jeroboam had an issue where people were going to Jerusalem to serve God, which wasn’t in his land to rule. Instead of consulting God, he created false religion for his people, casting God out of the equation. And in 1 Samuel 8:1-8, the Israelites were having serious trouble with their leaders, but instead of coming to God, they counselled themselves and requested that a king be given to them, to compete with other Gentile nations (1 Samuel 8:19-20).
In our time, the last days, this story applies. As the world was being formed from a developed system of monarchies and autocratic rulers to dictatorships to democracies, a constitution was built to suit the needs and desires of the people. Instead of coming to Jesus, the author of the immense defeat of power (the whole point was to answer the Lord’s Prayer and clear Satan the Devil’s powers on this world - Matthew 6:9-10, Revelation 12:7-12, Jeremiah 51:20-23)), humanity as a whole took laws into their own hands and set up a new way of living, supervised by an elected government. This entire system has been called “the beast”, which people are worshipping (Revelation 13:1-4).
Just as God tested the power of the Egyptian gods and proved them worthless, God is letting people use the constitution to attempt to solve humanity’s problems - corruption, poverty, war, etc - but it will ultimately fail. The powerful angels in heaven, with the power to make plagues and other devastating things for the world (Revelation 11:6), will ultimately prove the gods humanity set up for themselves worthless, so that they may be removed. “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” (Jeremiah 10:11). “ For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:14).
However, how do we act otherwise?
It is beneficial that we trust in God’s plan and let him lead us. When we have problems, we shouldn’t try to solve them ourselves, to prove to God that we know more than He does. Rather, we should trust that, as our Father, he knows best. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7). We should acknowledge that our ways (absent of God’s influence) will always be corrupt and influenced by Satan’s forces. “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23 - see also Proverbs 20:24). “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5).
It is only when we as God’s creation are humble and obedient towards Him that he can lead us to success. “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” (Isaiah 66:1-2).
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The beauty of the Bible begins with the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2-3. In Genesis 2:7, God breathed into Adam’s nostrils and became a “living soul”. In Genesis 2:18-25, God created Eve to join Adam, and they lived together for an unspecified time.
Then, in Genesis 3:1-6, Satan the Devil, in the form of a serpent, paid a visit, and asked her what God told her. In response, she told him that God instructed them to eat from wherever they desired but a certain tree. Satan lied blatantly against God’s former instruction. Eve was convinced to eat it, and so was Adam when Eve showed it to him.
However, what made them disobey?
Though not implied in the text, Eve must’ve been looking at the fruit often, questioning God by saying, “Why can’t I eat this fruit?” Otherwise, a lie like that wouldn’t have moved her to disobey. It was because she must’ve been looking at it often that Satan’s lie was enough to push her to do it.
She should’ve actually gone to Adam, the person who had most likely passed on the instruction to her, and informed him about the situation. Adam would’ve made the right choice. And if we read 1 Samuel 8:1-8, the concept matches. The Israelites, considered God’s wife (Jeremiah 2:2, 3:8, 14, Ezekiel 16, etc), should’ve consulted God before requesting a king from Samuel, the priest.
When Eve confronted Adam with the fruit, he should’ve remembered God’s instruction and rejected her, telling her something like, “I can’t deal with you anymore, because you are tainted with iniquity!” However, because Adam loved his wife and couldn’t imagine going against her, fell in and disobeyed God.
God pronounced death on them because Adam and Eve became inferior to him. Remember, God is without iniquity (Leviticus 11:44-45, 1 Peter 1:16). “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Therefore, when they sinned, falling short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), they couldn’t live forever, continuing in that sin, so God judged them with death, and this stretched to future humanity, also considered, “Adam’s children” (see Genesis 6:5 for their description).
However, God has always had a plan to create a spiritual family linked with His Word, the truth (John 17:17). Every member of this family overcomes iniquity (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26, Romans 12:21), and proves themselves righteous to God.
The head of this family is Jesus Christ, described as the last Adam, hence, “The Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6). “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:45). Unlike the first Adam, which fell to Satan’s temptation, Jesus Christ rejected Satan, proving a lack of interest in his promises (Matthew 4:1-11 - see Hebrews 12:2-3). Both temptations were like, “tempting fruits”. The unqualified Adam ate it, but the qualified one didn’t.
And God had promised He would prolong Jesus’s spiritual family. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53:10).
The wife of Jesus, the true Adam, are the saints, who replace Eve. The saints are devoted to Jesus Christ’s orders (Revelation 14:1-5), and won’t attempt to drag him to sin, unlike Eve did to Adam. They are predestinated (Romans 8:29-30), and prove themselves worthy by loving not their lives to the death (Revelation 12:11), and sacrificing the world’s enjoyment to save spiritual lives and move God’s purpose forward. That was Eve’s job for Adam, to take care of him, and help him obey God, but she failed.
The children of the true Adam and Eve are not worthless, like Adam’s children, but are all true Jews, attracted by the gospel message (Hosea 11:10, Romans 2:28-29, John 6:44). In Joel 3:18, the gospel message was described as water that would, “water the valley of Shittim”, representing its ability to seek out God’s chosen ones to join the spiritual family.
God’s Kingdom established in our time is being used to make Galatians 5:22-23 become the driving principles in this world, preparing it to be inhabitable by the righteous, so that God’s will may fulfill as planned and prayed for (Matthew 6:9-10). Man will become as the golden wedge of Ophir (Isaiah 13:12), and God’s spiritual family will have a perfect Earth as their habitation. It’s unimaginable! “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” (Isaiah 64:4 - see also 1 Corinthians 2:9).
However, in order to qualify for this family, we shouldn’t be like Adam, or Eve, or their children, who all fell for the fruit, which was temptations that came from Satan. We must overcome temptations and prove ourselves righteous to God, departing from iniquity at every turn (Isaiah 52:11-12). In our time, the beast, an institution of blasphemy, is currently ruling the world (Revelation 13:5-10). We shouldn’t fall into their hands, but should stick with God and be refined through persecution (Zechariah 13:8-9).
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THE CITIES OF REFUGE
In Numbers 35:6-34, Deuteronomy 4:41-43, 19:1-21, and Joshua 20:1-9, those accounts tell the story of the Cities of Refuge. There were six of them: Kedesh, Shechem and Hebron west of the Jordan River, and Golan, Ramoth-Gilead and Bezer, east of the Jordan River. God chose those six cities because they were spread out, and allowed manslayers, people who commit manslaughter, to enter in at any time.
Then, there would be an avenger of blood. When you kill unintentionally, you don’t alert anybody. You run to one of the cities. The avenger of blood would be a relative of the person you unintentionally killed. If he catches you before you get there, you’d be killed. But if you got there before him, you’d explain to the elders why you’re there, and if the case is valid, you’d be given a home, food and other necessities to survive. Most important, though, the avenger of blood would no longer have the consent to come after you, because the avenger of blood can’t go there. You’d remain there until the death of the High Priest; after that, you could leave freely. If you left before, however, the protection goes away with it.
All these parts are symbolic. For example, the Cities of Refuge in these last days are the teachings of the saints (Matthew 24:31, 14), because once we accept them, we are gathered together by God in his fold (Zephaniah 2:3). We are fleeing into that fold (Matthew 24:15-16) by studying the Bible (James 1:25, 2 Timothy 2:15), and living by its principles, to be accepted into God’s protection - Joel 2:32, Proverbs 18:10, Isaiah 26:20-21, etc.
In these last days, everyone is a manslayer. Everyone is a sinner, but most people have unintentionally sinned, because we inherited it from Adam (Titus 3:3, Psalms 51:5, Ezekiel 18:20, Romans 6:23, etc). However, if we don't’ take advantage of this, or we flee from the opportunity, there is no room for forgiveness - Hebrews 10:26-29
The avenger of blood in these last days is Jesus Christ. He is coming after anybody who doesn’t listen to what the anointed Christians have to say. He is God’s Vindicator, Referee, etc (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, Revelation 12:1-12, 19:11-21). The Holy Sanhedrin are the saints (Revelation 4:4, 1:6, Luke 22:28-30, Psalms 149:5-9).
The High Priest is also Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1, 9:11). The death of the High Priest is the end of his work, the death of spirituality (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). Then, he will hand everything back to God, so that he may be all in all.
It is very important that we understand how we need to be taking refuge in God’s Purpose. This age is indeed a very dangerous time (2 Timothy 3:1-5, Matthew 24:3-51) but if we know what to do, we will be safe.
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JESUS AND THE TEN LEPERS
In Luke 17:12-19, ten lepers saw Jesus Christ and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Traditions were that when you had leprosy, you had to go visit the priest, and various procedures would take place (Leviticus 14:2-32). People with leprosy were unclean and unholy, and had to be separated from the rest of the society (Leviticus 13:45-46).
When Jesus Christ had told them to go to the priest, the ten lepers obeyed. However, as they went, they realized that they were healed. Nine of the men decided to continue anyway, but one of them didn’t. He thanked God and glorified him, before going back to Jesus Christ to thank and praise him as well. This man was a Samaritan. He was the one man that actually showed gratitude for the healing, meaning he didn’t believe in the sickness, but earnestly wanted it gone.
The leprosy of these ten men represents the leprosy of this world. We are leprous because we are unholy and unclean to God. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6 - see also Isaiah 1:4, 6). When Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed us with death (Genesis 3:16-19, Job 14:4), and the sins that we started committing are the wounds and sores that leprosy is composed of (Galatians 5:19-21, Romans 1:28-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Ephesians 4:17-32). The Israelites were infested with such things because they were a very disobedient people, and they had killed the people who would’ve helped cleanse them of such things (Jeremiah 8:22, 30:12, etc). And in these last days, there are people who will not want to listen to the truth, and their wounds will remain with them (Revelation 9:20-21, 16:10-11).
Speaking of the truth, the truth has been described as something that is capable of cleansing our sins, when understood and practiced (Ephesians 5:26). The leprosy of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 was healed because he obeyed Elijah’s instructions. With the power of the Holy Spirit, the infirmities in our lives can be changed, and we become new people, walking in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4, 2 Corinthians 5:17-20.
The one guy who came back to Jesus to thank him for it are the people who actually use the truth to full potential, by using it to change their lives and cleanse themselves of their iniquities, and through that celebrating the grace that they had to come and know the truth (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Israelites at the time had thanked God with the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Exodus 12:13), which is still kept in some places in the Israeli nation. And true righteous ones of God also keep the festival, not physically, but by living God’s life out and celebrating God’s feats in their hearts.
The other nine lepers represent the ones that felt entitled to healing, and, to an extent, even believed in the healing. The 1 leper who came back didn’t like the leprosy, but the other nine didn’t mind. And such people will never be rescued by the truth in our period, because their iniquities make them joyful..
It’s very important that we understand the significance of the story of the Ten lepers in Luke 17:12-19). God has said that he will heal the wounds of this world, so that righteousness will prevail (Deuteronomy 32:30, Jeremiah 30:17). “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” (Psalms 147:3).
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JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS
INTRODUCTION
The story of Joseph is one of the most popular stories in Genesis and in the whole Bible, but it isn’t just for entertainment. There are many things that we can learn from Joseph, his brothers, and the way God influenced the way the story turned out.
ENVY
From the very beginning of his story, in Genesis 37:4, Joseph was envied by his brothers. Their envy sprouted from the fact that Jacob loved him more than them, and it grew to such an extent that they (except for Reuben) wanted to kill Joseph, and if it wasn’t for Reuben, they would have killed him as soon as he arrived to check on them.
As we can see, envy is not a respectable emotion. It is the rottenness of bones (Proverbs 14:30), and it can lead to evil (James 3:16). In fact, envy itself is evil (Romans 1:28-32). Therefore, instead of being envious, we should rejoice when people rejoice (Romans 12:15, 1 Corinthians 12:26), because that will allow us to love our neighbours as ourselves (Galatians 5:14).
INTEGRITY
Next, Joseph displayed his integrity in Genesis 39, when he refused to commit fornication with Potiphar’s wife. He knew such an act would be against his principles and he stuck with them, and as Christians, we must all follow his example. If we develop integrity, it will guide us (Proverbs 11:3), and it is a requirement to enter God’s Kingdom (Psalms 15:1-2). Why is it so important? It is because the God we serve has integrity, according to Psalms 119:137. His integrity is what keeps us alive, according to Malachi 3:6
PROVIDENCE
Eventually, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers in Genesis 45, and in verses 5-8, he told them not to worry about their guilt. After all, God had used their evil act to launch Joseph to the second highest position in Egypt, a position where he would end up saving his family from famine.
Joseph’s words to his brothers show us not only that God can use strange methods to achieve his purpose, but it also reveals that God is always there for his children. He caused the historical deluge to cease in Genesis 8:1 so that Noah and his family could reach dry land, and he brought his children back to their own land from exile in Ezra 1.
FORGIVENESS
Finally, at the end of Joseph’s story, in Genesis 50:15-21, Joseph’s brothers thought that Joseph would take advantage of their father’s death to get his revenge on them, so they pleaded with him to forgive them. However, Joseph told them that he didn’t harbor any grudges towards them: A, because vengeance belongs to God, not man (Romans 12:19); and B, because God had used their evil for good, so Joseph had no right to judge them for that.
Therefore, Joseph forgave his brothers for what they’d done, and we have to do the same when people ask for our own forgiveness (Luke 17:3-4). We are required to forgive others when they repent because God won’t forgive us otherwise (Matthew 6:14-15). This principle is described in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:23-34. In this parable, a lord forgave a servant of millions of dollars, but that same servant couldn’t forgive one of his own servants of only a few dollars, and when the lord found out about it, he sent the original servant to jail so that he could pay all the millions that he owed. In Matthew 18:35, Jesus summed up the parable by telling us that God will act like the lord in the parable if we refuse to forgive others.
PROPHECY
Now, the main theme of the story of Joseph is prophecy. Joseph made six prophecies in his story: he had two prophetic dreams in Genesis 37:5-9; he interpreted the dreams of two men while he was in prison in Genesis 40:12-19, and he predicted the famine that Egypt would suffer in Genesis 41:25-32. All those six prophecies came true, because they came from God, and messages from God always come true (Isaiah 55:10-11).
However, what’s even more striking about Joseph’s adventure is that it prophesied itself the life of Jesus. In John 7:2-5, Jesus wasn’t believed in by his brothers. In Matthew 4:1-11, he was tempted by Satan and he showed his integrity.
Plus, he forgave the sins of a woman in Simon’s house in Luke 7:48, he forgave a man with palsy of his sins in Matthew 9:2; he asked God to forgive even the people who wanted to kill him in Luke 23:34, and through his sacrifice, all Christians all over the world can be forgiven of their sins (Ephesians 1:3, 7) as long as they believe in Jesus and follow his commandments, as well as the commandments of God.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, Joseph’s story is like a documentary: it has a theme, a plot, and plenty of things to teach us. Unlike most documentaries, however, it has a deep spiritual meaning, so we must understand what the story is trying to tell us and use its lessons to improve our faith.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7PsjH_GR2U
THE LESSONS FROM JOB
The story of Job is a very famous story, and it’s mostly used by people to encourage others when their finances are down to stay strong because God can provide even more in the end. However, was the story saved just to give us hope on finances? Keep reading and find out!
One lesson we can learn from this story is the interaction and superiority of the spirits. The spirits in Job 1 were having some kind of assembly, clearly proving that, just as how a father will call his children together to discuss things, God might bring the spirits together to discuss something, or to get something done, or something else like that. It also explains how the spirits are superior to us, because we see how easy it was for them to just remove Job’s riches to make an experiment. They were even referred to as "morning stars" because of their power.
Another lesson we learn is that God has the complete right to take away. Some people think that God has no right to take what he has gifted, because, frankly, they don’t think it’s a gift. It’s an entitlement of the righteous (to them at least). However, righteous ones in the Bible had never thought so. Abraham, when having his son taken away, hadn’t rebelled, because of one thing: he knew the promise God made, and if God still wanted that to stand, he would simply provide another one. Job had known such things, too: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21). “For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.” (Job 5:18 - see also Psalms 75:7, 1 Samuel 2:7, Isaiah 45:7 and Deuteronomy 32:39).
Another thing we learn from that story is that our ends are always better than our beginnings. After all, Job himself had stated, “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.” (Job 8:7). Job, according to Job 42:10-17, was gifted twice as much as he owned before and 140 extra years to enjoy it by God, the same person who allowed it to be taken away. Jesus Christ said that we get the same thing, but it’s not physical (Mark 10:28-30, Matthew 19:29). And this is used to understand Haggai 2:9, talking about the whole world: “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Haggai 2:9).
One more thing we can learn from this story is the future of righteousness. Righteousness, or God's will, has been persecuted, ever since Satan sold evil to Adam and Eve and took over humanity (Genesis 3:1-6). Ever since then, anytime people want to bring the world back to righteousness, persecution has always followed (Psalms 59:1-4, Jeremiah 8:22). God’s people have always been held fast like the Israelites, under tight rule and bondage, physically and spiritually (Jeremiah 50:33-34). However, God said that he would appoint a day, which is now, when righteousness will be restored to its former position; ruling the world, without persecution. “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.” (Isaiah 52:1-2 - see also Isaiah 60:1-3, 13, 13:12, Psalms 102:13-18 and Jeremiah 30:10). People who are righteous will shine, be honoured, respected and listened to (Matthew 13:43, Daniel 12:3, etc).
It is very important that we understand the story of Job, and the lessons we can learn from it. God was proud with Job and his behavior, and that's why God brought him to an even better condition. When God is proud of us for our humility, faith and patience, he can do good things for us. “By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.” (Proverbs 22:4). “For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.” (Psalms 149:4). “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” (Isaiah 52:13).
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THE STORY OF RUTH
The journey of Ruth helps us to understand the dedication and determination that Christians have to have to the work (Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:11). Ruth, in Ruth 1-4, was the wife of one of the two sons of Naomi. However, tragedy came soon enough. Naomi lost her husband, and both sons 10 years later. That left Naomi, Ruth and her sister, Orpah, destitute, with little money, family or comfort.
Naomi decided to go to her home land, Judah, because she’d heard that God had given them food (Ruth 1:6). Her daughters followed her as well. During the journey, Noami told them that they shouldn’t follow her. After some weeping, Orpah left them and returned to her gods and families, but Ruth stayed with her, and even said, “for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: The LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17).
They eventually completed the journey, and God was with them the whole time. Ruth later worked a while with Boaz, a relative of Naomi and therefore Ruth, and after some time, they eventually got married. But that isn’t the most special thing about Ruth. Not only did she marry a rich person in the end, but she became the great-grandmother of David, one of the most successful kings in the Bible. She is also read by hundreds of millions of Bible readers, and her story shadows a more important mission.
Naomi in the story represents God’s organization. The main character of Naomi was the fact that she was destitute, losing everything but her own life and the wives of her two dead sons. She is God’s organization, but she is also destitute, the nation not desired (Zephaniah 2:3). “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married child, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 54:1). In Revelation 12:1-12, it talks about a woman who was in labor pains, trying to give birth to a man child. That is God’s Kingdom. The organization of God gives birth to something, like a woman gives birth to a child. However, it wasn’t easy, because there were many people against it. Satan the Devil has a lot of supporters, people who enjoy his principles. That’s why, in verse 4 of Revelation 12, Satan the Devil was defeated, but he wasn’t cast away alone. He took others with him, people who believed in him, the third part of heaven that was cast to the earth - not the physical earth, but rather to a low status.
Ruth represents the anointed Christians, who will follow Jesus Christ wherever he goes (Zechariah 8:23, Revelation 12;11, 14:1-5, etc). They yearn for God’s plan to reign (Luke 18:1-8, Revelation 6:10, etc). They are dedicated to doing the work that Jesus Christ gives them, and St.Paul himself said that there is nothing that can separate them from God and his will, because they get rid of anything that would do so (Romans 8:35-39). Some of them have died, others persecuted, but all of them have used parts of their lives or all of them in some cases, to pursue and forward the Kingdom Purpose. And they are going to be rewarded with everlasting life in heaven, and many of them are remembered, like Paul, in the Bible, and are very famous in this world. It’s like Ruth, who was just a normal woman, but is now read by millions in the Bible.
The other woman, Ruth’s sister, Orpah, represents the people who are 50/50 with God and the world. They think both sides are important. However, when you give them the opportunity to leave, you see their lack of faith. For example, in Judges 7:1-7, Gideon asked his soldiers, who had been 32,000 at the time, whether they wanted to leave. 22,000 left. He’d said there had been two much, which caused those people to leave, but they didn’t believe in the war. Another 9,700 left after he’d tested them by lapping water (read the story for more details). Only 300 men remained. However, God can win wars with only three hundred, because it is God who owns the battle (Psalms 20:7).
If we want to inherit God’s blessings, we have to follow God. If there is anything in our lives that is precious to us, but will be a drag, a derailment, or a deterrent to our worship, we have to cut it out (Matthew 5:29-30, 24:19-21, etc). When we decide to worship God, it must be kept to the end, instead of turning back (Hebrews 10:38-39). “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62).
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