The Seeker

 

 

The Seeker

 

So, you want to join this Christian army, I mean, you are not the Sunday morning pew sitter; you have a passion to know God.  Watch out, for many have gone before you; they also have had zeal for God, but lacked knowledge.  Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, who was called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, warned us of this in Romans 10:2-4, “I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” 

 

What is wrong with having a zeal for God?  I looked up the word, and it is defined (as passion, ardor, love, fervor, fire, avidity, devotion, enthusiasm, eagerness, keenness, appetite, relish, gusto, vigor, energy, intensity; fanaticism).  No one should have any problem with the word zeal, but Paul does not stop at zeal, but zeal without knowledge.   How many times have I begun a project with zeal, but did not have the knowledge to do what I set out to do?  One that comes to mind is the octagon gazebo that I was going to build in our backyard in Odem, Texas.  Now I had zeal, but I did not have any plans, nor had I ever seen plans to build an octagon gazebo.  I bought materials without any plans or drawings; how do you think it came out?  It was the biggest mess, but I began with zeal and ended in total frustration.  That is the path for many who have a zeal for God but do not have knowledge of the Scriptures.

Paul tells us they had the following: “For being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”  What is this righteousness that comes from God?   The Psalmist tells us in Psalms 97:2, “Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.”  We are told that righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.  Any word with more than one syllable has always been a challenge for me, so I went for help.  W.E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White, Jr. have an Expository Dictionary of Biblical words, and that is where I’ve gone for help.  “Righteousness is the character or quality of being right or just; it was formerly spelled ‘rightwiseness,’ which clearly expresses the meaning.  It is used to denote an attribute of God, e.g., Romans 3:5, the context of which shows that “the righteousness of God” means essentially the same as His faithfulness or truthfulness, that which is consistent with His own nature and promises; Romans 3:25,26 speak of His righteousness as exhibited in the death of Christ, which is sufficient to show men that God is neither indifferent to sin nor regards it lightly.  On the contrary, it demonstrates that quality of holiness in Him which must find expression in His condemnation of sin.”

 

We have many examples of men and women in the Bible that God refers to as being in right standing with God; one such man is Job.  Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”  Now Job was the kind of man that God finds joy in; we know this because God brought up Job to Satan.  And you know the rest of the story.  We need to be very careful in trying to put God in our box, a box that says God must do this or that, you fill in what’s in your box that you keep God in.  God gave Satan the right to do everything to Job but kill him, and that included killing his family.  

Since the fall of man, we have all been seeking righteousness on our terms.  God has said in Romans 3:10, 11, “as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good.”  Now this looks like a bigger problem than I understood. We are told to submit to God’s righteousness, and yet the Scriptures tell me I have no desire to seek God.  We must clear this up before we throw in the towel and become a pew person on Sunday morning. 

 If we return to Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”  MUCH OF MY LIFE IN CHRIST WAS LOST, BY NOT KNOWING I HAD BEEN FREE FROM THE LAW.  In Galatians 2:20,21, I have found life.  “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”  For so many years, no one told me what died on that cross, but God has shown me through men like Bill Gillham and Dan Stone, who have opened the Scriptures up to me.   Dan Stone, in his book, “The Rest of the Gospel,” in chapter 13 titled (The Rules of Grace) page 145, “We usually quote Galatians 2:20 apart from its context.  It immediately follows Paul’s admonition to Peter concerning the law.  When Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ,” he was referring to his death to the law.  Paul was saying, “The old me died on the cross with Christ, and when I died, I died to trying to keep the law.  Trying to keep the law is living according to the flesh, with me and my efforts as my point of reference.  I died to myself as my point of reference.  Now, Christ in me is my point of reference.  He is living His life through me.”  

 

On page 146, we read the following: “There is no law that can impart life because law is always tied to self-effort.  And self-effort can’t produce life, because only Jesus is the life.  He has come to live His life in and through us.  The law can only reveal our sin, condemn us for it, and show us our need for a Savior (Romans 3:20).  Once it has done that, it has fulfilled its function.  We are no longer under it (Galatians 3:24-25).  Isn’t it amazing how the Bible gets interpreted these days, marrying law and grace?  I used to do it.  So did the Judaizers 2000 years ago.  But Paul withstood their teaching with his life.  He knew that marrying law and grace would always be the death knell for the complete gospel: Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Few in Paul’s day understood that you can’t marry law and grace.  Few today understand it.  As a result, it can be a lonely life out there without the law.  It isn’t the easiest path to walk in oneness with God, because no one ever sees Him.  Yet you are believing that He lives in you and that your body is a temple of the living God, and you, like Jesus, say, “I just do what I hear from the Father.”  And you are going to live like that?  There won’t be many Christians around you affirming that kind of walk.  But the Spirit will affirm it.

 

If you knew me well, in my business life, I was known as a salesperson who could close the sale.  I like the bottom line, and that’s what Dan has done on page 148 of his book.  “The bottom line is this: law and grace won’t flow together.  They are not compatible.  One is sensible in appearance, but it is death.  The other is absurd in appearance, but it is life.”  Paul has made it very clear in Galatians 5 that Christ has set us free from the law.  Galatians 5:16-18, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

 

Many years of my life in Christ were wasted. I wanted more of the Christ life, and I even sought gifts that God had given others, as if by my performance, I could earn what God had given to others.  If only I could pray more, read more Scripture, have a better quiet time, somehow, earn the right to this fellowship that evaded me.  In hindsight, it could be said, I had a zeal for God that lacked knowledge.   My life in Christ was somewhat like building an octagon gazebo without plans.  I read 2 Peter 1:3,4, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires.” If I were to summarize 2 Peter 1:3,4, we are told the following: You already have all that God has to give when you trusted Christ as your life.  “He hasn’t got anything else to give you.  He has given you Himself.” (Page 141 The Rest of the Gospel by Dan Stone)

 

So, zeal is not bad, Christian soldier, but you must have understanding and knowledge of the Scripture, or you will be taken captive.  The Bereans were special to Paul for this reason; Acts 17:11, “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”  We are instructed to study to show ourselves as workmen who should never be ashamed. 

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

                                                                    Exodus 7:14-25

 

August 17, 2024

 

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.  Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.  And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed.  Thus says the Lord, “By this, you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.  The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”  And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.  And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.  But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So,  Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.  Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.  And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.

Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

 

Wake up, people, and I’m referring to all people, but especially the USA.  What does God want the Egyptian to understand and you; “That He alone is God” But just like in the USA where Satan guides the hearts and minds of its people through the deception of this world's magicians, they come in many forms the media, the politician and they are easy for Satan to control by two of his false gods, money and power.   Today in the USA, we have two people running for the office of  President and Vice President who hate the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and they are trying to deceive the American voter into believing they have changed their spots, but a leopard never changes its spots or desire.  Now, if you are not a believer, you do not believe in Satan or God, and I have only this question: where does evil come from and good?

 

I have wondered why the media, both papers like the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and others, would knowingly tell lies, and it came to me that they like the money, and they obey those who control them.  So once again, we find it is the Love of money, that little god they are bowing down to above all else.   The Bible talks about such people; in fact, Jesus, the source of Truth, tells us it is not money that is evil it is the love of money, where a person will give up integrity and morals and choose evil to have money and power.   

 

If the real Church, not what shows up on Sunday, but the Church, would stand against evil and allow Christ to shine in their lives, we might see God withdraw the blood from the Nile of our nation.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

                                                                    Exodus 7:1-13

 

August 16, 2024

 

Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.  You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.  But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.  The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”  Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them.  Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

 

In the USA, we honor the men, both firefighters and policemen, who ran into the burning Twin Towers to save lives.  Is that not what God is asking Moses to go back to his people, who were slaves in Egypt, and bring them to freedom?

 

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’”  So, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.  Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.  For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.  Still, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

 

I may be in error in saying this, but I never heard of anyone other than Moses and Aaron that God gave this authority, yet how did the magicians and sorcerers do so?  They also were given the authority, but not from God, but the evil one, and he is a created being who has powers to deceive.  Now they were able to make their staffs into serpents, but God always has the last say in matters of His authority over all things.  So Moses's staff swallowed up their staffs.

 

What is the Application we find in today's reading? It has not one nothing to do with serpents or staff, it has everything to do with obedience.  “Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them.”

Are you about your Father's business, as I start my morning, that is my prayer, less Jesus be seen in me as I go.  Has He not said;  ^“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)  Many who go by the title of Christian, have put that light under a blanket, not on the lampstand were their lives make a different,

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

                                                                    Exodus 6:14-30

 

August 15, 2024

 

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben.  The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon.  These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans.  The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years.  The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations.  Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years.  The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.  The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.  Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.  The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites.  Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites by their clans.

These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.”  It was they who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.

On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,  the Lord said to Moses, “I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.”  But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”

 

Often, as we look for application in God’s word, we see the hand of God in the length of life.  Today, without modern medicine, life would be much shorter, and yes, we who look and believe see the hand of God.

But if you are a seeker of truth, you will see the unbeliever not in God but in themselves.  The thing both Morses and Arron would learn is that God never expects anything from them but obedience, and that whole truth for all who God used, like Moses, to be His man of the hour.  Today, in both the USA  and Israel, we find ourselves under attack.  Israel is at war, and the enemy of hate who came to kill, steal, and destroy is using godless people like the leaders of Iran to be his tools.  We are in a different battle in the United States of America, the evil one is using the media, and men who have great wealth, who hate freedom, the Bill of Rights, and God, to try and destroy us.  What is the tool the evil one is using, money in all cases, and power, to control and rule?   The owner of the media tells those who work for them what to say and not say, so truth is not the goal; it is money.  And the same is true for many in all areas of government, money, and power, and their father is the real enemy, the devil.

 

We have raised a generation of people who have been pampered and self-centered, being fed lies about this nation and Israel, and their god is stuff.  Please pray that the Church will wake up and stand not for a political party, but for Truth. Jesus is the Truth.  

 

Note: Money is not a god you can trust.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

 

God Promises Deliverance

 Exodus 6: 1-13

 

August 14, 2024

 

God Promises Deliverance

But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand, he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord.  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name, the Lord, I did not make myself known to them.  I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.  Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.  Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.  I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’”  Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

So, the Lord said to Moses,  “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.”  But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

As one who has come to grips with a need for a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been given the Messiah in the flesh, and Jesus said this to Philip: ^“Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”  (John 14:9-11)  As I put that down, this verse came into my mind: John 14:20-21, “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”  Do you get it we have been put in an envelope and sealed with the Father, and the Son, and it is impossible to get to us without the Father and Son’s approval. 

God had shown Himself to the patriarchs were privileged to know the God who made the covenant, but for them, the covenant was barely fulfilled. The patriarchs knew God as the Maker of the covenant. Moses and the generation of the Exodus would know God as the One who fulfilled the covenant.

i.              The patriarchs knew the name Yahweh (it is used some 160 times in Genesis), but the great application of the name referred to God who kept and fulfilled the covenant: I have also established My covenant with them. “The patriarchs had only the promises, not the things promised.” (Kaiser)

 

ii.             As God Almighty: In addition, though the patriarchs knew God Almighty (El Shaddai), they did not know Him as extensively and intimately as He would reveal Himself to Moses and his generation. They knew the power of God, but didn’t have the same personal relationship and revelation that Moses would come to know. (Morgan)

 

Next, we see the promise of the fulfillment of the promise to the patriarchs, and then Moses coming to grips with uncircumcised lips.  He was not the first man God used; Isaiah had the same issue: “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

 

It is a humbling time when we come to this understanding: “I can’t, you never said I could, You can, and you promised you would.”  Philippians 4:13, Philippians 4:13, ^“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

                                                                 

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

 

 

 

 

Making Bricks Without Straw

                                                                     Exodus 5:1-23

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August 13, 2024

 

Making Bricks Without Straw

Afterward, Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”  Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”  But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.”  And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!”  The same day, Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen,  “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves.  But the number of bricks that they made in the past, you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore, they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’  Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

So, the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw.  Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’”  So, the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.  The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.”  And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”  Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this?  No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.”  But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh;  and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

 

The above in yellow is Pharaoh's answer; it would be the answer of the majority of leaders over nations.  It would also be the same with many who have great wealth and are over business.  Moses should not have been surprised at Pharaoh's answer, in that God had told him that He would harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he would not let the people go.

 

Do you recall what God told Moses to say to Pharaoh in chapter 4:22-23, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

 

Have you ever believed you were about what God had called you to do, and it seemed as if everything was going to hell in a handbasket?  At that moment, you need to get alone in a quiet place and listen to what the Spirit is saying to you.  It is at times like this that you recall the promises that God has given you.  Promises, found in Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

The Heart

 

The Heart

 

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”

Proverbs 4:23

 

Is the heart the center of human life?  Why do you think that truth has been lost? 

The heart is the creative powerhouse within you.  It is the connecting point between you and others – between you and God.  It is also the creative powerhouse within you.

 

The glory of God is man fully alive.

-Saint Irenaeus

 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

-Jesus of Nazareth (John 10:10)

Have you ever wondered why Jesus married those two statements?

 

Jesus said them in the same breath.  God meant life in the full for each of His kids, but it has to be fought for.  There is a thief.  He comes to steal and kill and destroy.  We are at War.  The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death.  You and I will live all our days amid a great battle, involving all the force of heaven and hell, and played out here on earth.  You see, we were made in the image of God.  We were fearfully and wonderfully made, fashioned like our Lord and Savior.  We were fully alive.  Gen. 1:27

 

The birth of Jesus Christ was an act of war, an invasion.

What scripture can you turn to that will confirm that Jesus Christ came as a warrior? Matt. 10:34

What scripture can you turn to that will show the attacks by Satan? Matt. 2:13, Eph. 4:8-9, Rev. 1:18

 

You and I must fight for our lives

What happens if we do not understand the war issue?

·      We will misinterpret 90 percent of what is happening around us and to us.

·      It will be hard to believe that God has good intentions for an abundant life.

·      We will begin to blame ourselves for just blowing it.

·      Worse, we will begin to accept some really awful things about God.

There is a war going on for your heart.

 

Jesus talks about the Eyes of the Heart

 

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.

-The apostle Paul (Eph. 1:18)

The question is, do you really want to see?

 

In (2 Cor. 4:16-18), we have the answer to how we can really see.

This question must be asked: Are you losing heart, or have you already lost heart?

 

Is Paul telling us that there is a way of looking at life, and that those who discover it can live from the heart no matter what?  But how?  Only by Eph. 1:18,  ^“for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),  and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”

 

 

Moses Returns to Egypt

 

 

 

Exodus 4:18-31

 

August 12, 2024

 

Moses Returns to Egypt

Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”  And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”  So, Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

 

And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,  and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

 

 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.  Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!”  So, he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

 

 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So, he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.  And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak and all the signs that he had commanded him to do.  Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel.  Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people.  And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

 

When you come across verses like 24-26, and you, like me, ask why would God desire to kill the man He told to go back and lead his people out of bondage.  As you read this, another question comes to mind: what does Moses’ wives’ action have to do with removing God's anger?  And would it not be nice if God had answered these questions for us?

 

First, what had God chosen Moses to do, and we say free his people, that was not the man's job; he was to lead them back to God.  For 400 years, they had been in Egypt, learning the customs of Egypt and being influenced by the culture and its little gods.  He was to be the Lawgiver for Israel, but at this point, he was the Lawbreaker.

 

There is much we do not know, why he did not circumcise his sons according to the command in Leviticus 12:3, “And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”  Many have guessed that I will not do so in that the Scripture does not tell us the reason.  But the one who leads must be above reproach.  A man whom I invited to teach youth in my home was a man who had a degree from Dallas Theology and was not serving as a pastor at that time, but had built a large part of my house.  Why am I telling you this, in that I do not recall anything he taught, but this statement: “You would be wise to never open this book (the Bible) if you are not going to do what it tells you, for you will be held accountable for every word you read.”  Moses had been taught by his mother as a small child the ways of God.  He would have known this covenant between Abraham and God.  It is found in Genesis 17:9-11, “And God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.  This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.”

 

Application, from this to you and me, in that we have not been called to lead a people out of bondage, not true, that is our call, to as you go make disciples.  Matthew 28:19-20,  ^“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  A word to those who are called to teach and preach, James 3:1, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

  

A few items, about the God we serve, we like the people of Israel, were chosen, for God to show His power, and it requires us to be obedient.  God used a staff to show Pharaoh amazing powers. Moses was just the tool; yes, it was an ordinary shepherd's staff that Moses carried, which God transformed into a powerful instrument.   We also see God not being pleased with Moses, and his wife saving his life by circumcising his son. 

 

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice