God Chooses A Deliverer

 A Deliverer To Lead

Book of Exodus Chapters 3 and 4

We should understand that when God wants someone to step up and lead His people, He will make His will known to that person and even to those that need to be delivered or led to freedom.

We should also understand that when God selects us to do something then He will empower us to do that thing!

When Moses defended that Israelite to the death of that Egyptian, he thought no one had seen him.

God knew He was going to choose Moses, so this thing had to be made known.

God will not allow the sin of His leaders to remain hidden from the public!

This thing ended the first 40 years of Moses life as a prince in Pharaoh's court.

Moses went to the Midianites because they were in fact distant kin to the Israelites, and he felt he would be welcomed there and he was, and it was at this time he found himself a Gentile Bride.

Great typology can be seen in the life of Moses.

After learning much about the military and the ins and outs of government, Moses next spends 40 years as a Shepherd with his Gentile Bride.

We can see that God had His hand upon Moses all the days of His life.

We should also understand that we may never know the process God uses to select people for specific uses.

All Christians have been called by the Lord Jesus Christ as we learned from Matthew Chapter 28.

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 

We are told how we are to live after we are saved:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

Tit 2:15  These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. 

But God does call others for specific special purposes such as the Apostles, including the Apostle Paul, and here we see Moses, but there are many more.

Moses had lived the life of a prince until he became a murderer.

We should understand that YHWH, Jehovah, the I Am of the Bible, does not need anyone's help to accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

He allows His creation, the humans to serve for Heavenly rewards.

Moses would spend the next forty years leading a rebellious nation to become a legitimate nation called Israel.

God has had His hand upon Israel since that day.

*****Exo 3:1  Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 

It is this Moses, who was called to be the Deliverer of Israel, and yet not a word was said to him until he was 80 years old.

Mount Horeb is actually a chain of mountains with Mount Sinai being called the Mount of God.

God had been watching Moses and placing him in certain positions to learn how to lead a nation.

God uses this method with most of those He calls.

It is a shame that what we get to choose as leaders here in America, they are most all career politicians who know nothing about how real people live.

They make laws that they excuse themselves from following.

It was refreshing to see a man such a Donald Trump come out to lead our nation for those years he did, and we need more like him, but the water of the political swamp is so deep it is hard to overcome.

Moses had been in God's training camp for 80 years and it was time to put him to work, but remember God will not force anyone to do what He ask of them.

We learn many things here of the workings of Jehovah God.

Moses married a gentile woman who had dark skin and there was nothing wrong with that.

The color of the skin is never mentioned in the Bible in a negative fashion.

The 613 commandments had not been given to Israel at this time.

We did see Jochebed and Amram the parents of Moses had married both descendants of Levi which would soon be a commandment of God for reasons that God will state for us as they lived in the Promised Land.

Moses had left the riches of Egypt to live the poor life and he was happy with his new life.

Moses had left a throne behind to walk as a shepherd.

Again we see the typology in the Scriptures as the Lord Jesus Christ left the wonders of Heaven to walk as the true Shepherd here upon Earth.

What does a shepherd do?

They see that the sheep have food and water.

They guide the sheep to safety.

They seek and save any lost sheep.

They protect the sheep even willing to give their life for the sheep.

They keep the sheep separated from the goats.

We should know that God's call does not come to any particular profession.

God seeks particular hearts, hearts that are willing to serve.

It takes a particular people to be servants of the Almighty God!

It takes people of great "faith" to succeed in the army of God!

*****Exo 3:2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 

Exo 3:3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 

It would be a great sight to see an object in flames and yet no burning was occurring.

This should bring to mind those three Jewish boys and Jesus, walking in the flames of that oven that belonged to Nebuchadnezzar.

It should also bring to mind that those in Hell will burn for eternity, but Hell's flames cannot consume them, but they will feel the pain of those flames.

As we read this passage, we should note that this Angel of the Lord is the Lord Himself.

In this verse it says, "the angel of the Lord".

When Moses observed this great thing, he knew that he needed to take a closer look.

If Moses had just passed on by, with no concern for this thing, God would have chosen someone else to lead the Children of Israel away from bondage to Egypt.

*****Exo 3:4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.  

Now if we read this verse carefully, we will begin to see that it was the Almighty God who was speaking from that burning bush.

What is the first thing we need to do when God calls out to us? We need to respond.

Moses was seeing a portion of the Shekinah Glory of God.

We will notice that once the Lord began speaking, He had much to say to Moses.

This message was urgent because the Lord called Moses’ name twice.

There are only ten places in the Bible where we see this double calling.

Where we see the title Lord written in all capital letters, we know that we are speaking of Jehovah the God of the Bible! (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit)

*****Exo 3:5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 

Moses was approaching a place of Holiness.

Moses was approaching the perfect God and our perfect God considers all His creation to be evil at this time.

Holiness belongs to God alone!

Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 

It is from God's Holiness where we get God's "Goodness"!

Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 

This is also a place where the Muslim mock Jehovah by taking their shoes off to do a mocking prayer to Allah or the Prophet Mohammed.

The Muslim Allah and Jehovah are not the same God. Allah can mean multiple gods and it does.

There is only one God, and His name is Jehovah who to Israel is (Yahweh)!

We can only be made perfect by the "Grace" of God, Jehovah through the Lord Jesus Christ!

We begin to be "Holy" once we are a home for the Holy Spirit!

We cannot be servants of God unless we are called of God, realizing that we are filthy sinners and repent and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

We cannot even repent until we are filled with the Holy Spirit, because we will not understand the Word of God.

Jehovah said let's be clear about this Moses!

*****Exo 3:6  Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 

We had better understand that when we are in the presence of God, we had better be respectful.

God is my friend, but He is not my chummy friend!

God is my Heavenly Father, but He is not just "the man upstairs"! 

I must be respectful, humble, and reverent.

God has a sense of humor, but He can never be the center of my jokes!

God is my Heavenly Father, but He cannot be my grandfather. God does not have any grandchildren!

We make a serious mistake when we always seek the arm of God when we should be seeking the face of God.

Luk 12:29  And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 

Luk 12:30  For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 

Luk 12:31  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

We serve the only God who can truly fulfill His promises!

God would say this same thing to us today. "I am the God of Abraham".

Rom_4:3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Rom_4:16  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Those who have the "faith" as of Abraham are those who are saved by "Grace"!

We serve a God who knows all things that go on in this world!

*****Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 

Exo 3:8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

Exo 3:9  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 

Exo 3:10  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 

Can you just imagine the prayers going up from God's people just in a place called Afghanistan today?

Add to that all Christians in North Korea, China, Iran and the many other places where good Christians are doing their best just to survive the cruelty of this world and their corrupt governments.

God hears their cries, and He will not hold back very much longer.

We should be calling out to God also! Maybe not just for ourselves but also for them!

God was deeply concerned about the suffering of these people and at this time a Deliverer could lead them to safety by the hand of God.

Note: This is the very first time in the Bible that Jehovah called these children of Israel, "His people".

Jehovah has been connected to Israel ever since that day! 

So has the Christian, if you can see that all these things are written for those who love the true Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was God's intention to deliver Israel from bondage just as it is God's intention to deliver all those held by Satan in bondage.

We have to want to be delivered!

We must make our voices to be heard in Heaven!

Note: "I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians".

We should understand that God is able!

God is able to do everything He has said He would do!

God has the physical power to do as He wishes in this world that He has created by Jesus Christ!

Where would the nation of Israel dwell? In the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

These people were so wickedly evil and immoral that God decided they did not need to live.

Our world is approaching this type of wickedness today and God will do the same thing!

We will read further of this Promised Land and know that we also are promised a land much better that any land of this earth!

Since God had claimed these descendants of Abraham, He certainly would not allow them to be oppressed for very long.

Moses knew this Pharaoh very well for he had once called him grandfather.

In my words Jehovah said, "look Moses just be my voice and I will do all the work it will take to redeem my people"

How can we miss the typology of Jesus Christ here?

After making many excuses, Moses says when they ask me for your name, what should I tell them?

*****Exo 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 

Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Were these people ignorant of God?

We could ask this same question today and the answer is that yes, most people are ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is the only sin that cannot be forgiven.

God did not come down to deliver these people because they were all believers.

God came down to deliver them because He made a promise to Abraham!

Many of them remembered Abraham, but they did not remember the Almighty God!

These people had lived in Egypt and understood the many gods of Egypt and to Moses, at this time he knew he needed a name to tell them.

God settles things really quick for Moses.

At this time Moses did not believe he would be accepted, nor did he believe some new god would be accepted.

We can just imagine the anger of Jehovah, but Jehovah does what Jehovah wants to do anytime Jehovah wants to do it!

We might ask ourselves just why would such a God as our God Jehovah want to deliver anyone on this earth?

What does this name "I Am" mean? Jehovah is saying, I am the true God who is beyond the reach of human intellect, and I cannot be contained by my own creation!

For our own benefit, why would we want a God who will not reveal Himself.

Jehovah says this is just who I Am!

Jehovah is independent of His creation.

Jehovah is absolute, He is complete in Himself.

Jehovah says "I Am" eternal and I can make you eternal also!

Jehovah says "I Am" unchangeable for there is no need for Me to change everything I do is perfect.

Jehovah says "I Am" life!

Jehovah is the One God who seeks to have a personal relationship with us, caring for us, and providing for us.

Moses continues with his excuses.

*****Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

Excuses are said to be pleas that are offered to be free of guilt or to seek a pardon because of some fault we think we have.

Moses made every excuse he could think of to try to avoid what the Almighty God had told him to do.

The thing we must realize is that the Lord God Jehovah, will not ask us to do things that He will not equip us to do!

Excuses are in fact rebellion!

What did Moses mean?

I try to teach a Sunday School Class and I can relate to these words Moses used here, for I definitely am not an eloquent speaker.

I believe this is the reason the Holy Spirit works in me to prepare a lesson every week.

I am not at ease when I stand before any size group of people, but I know I do not stand alone.

Without God's help, I could not stand before my class every week.

Moses felt some of these same things and he was standing for a moment in the Throne Room of God.

I am not sure, but I believe Moses is the only man in the Bible that did not fall on his face in fear as they stood before God.

We must understand we should be very careful in the way we approach the Living God!

What God required was not a man who was an eloquent speaker. 

God requires men who will speak the unchanging truth of the Word of God!

Remember God had already shown Moses how He had control over the human body by turning Moses's hand to a leprous hand.

Leprosy will spread all over the body eating away at the flesh.

Leprosy is a type of sin in the Bible and leprosy will eat away at the flesh until it causes death.

God had told Moses how He also had control over our environment.

So God said to Moses, "who made you"?

*****Exo 4:11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? 

If we cannot understand that Jehovah God is our Creator, we will never get very far with Him!

God has reasons for everything He does!

It is true all of our sicknesses come because of the curse which comes by sin!

Gen 3:17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 

Gen 3:18  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Many things happen to our bodies because of this and many from other man-made remedies.

It is also true that God can heal anybody from any sickness or any deformity at any time if He so desires.

Ask Isaiah: 

Isa 35:5  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 

Isa 35:6  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 

Ask Jeremiah:

Jer 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. 

Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 

Ask Ezekiel:

Eze 33:22  Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. 

Eze 3:26  And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. 

Eze 3:27  But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

One preacher said when we want to serve the Lord "just get out of His way".

Just agree that the Lord can do all things and then put Him to the test and agree to serve.

*****Exo 4:12  Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. 

If I can get out of the Lord's way on Sunday morning, then He will be my mouth and He will do the same for every teacher and preacher who preaches the truth of God.

When we make excuses, we are being irreverent and ungrateful to our Holy God!

You see the Lord offers opportunities!

Opportunities to build treasures in Heaven.

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 

Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

God is always looking for those with a servant's heart.

God is always looking for those who are teachable.

God is always looking for those who make themselves available.

As Christians we are already filled with the Holy Spirit.

Moses did not have this option, but if Moses chose to obey, God the Holy Spirit would be with him all the days of his life.

We know how Moses chose and we know that Moses became one of the greatest characters in the Old Testament.

We know that by the power of God, Moses led the Children of Israel out of Bondage and took them on their journey to the Promised Land.

Exo 14:21  And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 

Exo 14:22  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

You see Moses had to have "faith"!

Heb 11:29  By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 

Before these things could be true, we see Moses beg Jehovah and the Lord relented and gave Aaron to be the spokesperson and Moses as a type of God.

Exo 4:13  And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. 

Exo 4:14  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 

Exo 4:15  And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. 

Exo 4:16  And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. 

God will have His way and it would pay for us to less like Moses when the Lord calls us to be His servant!

God looked into the heart of Moses and knew He had selected the right person!

It was Moses who had to believe God!

Amen

In Bondage to the Will of This World

 The Yoke of Bondage

Book of Exodus Chapters 1 and 2

Since we have learned again all the good things that come with our salvation provided by our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, we can now look through the eyes of the Old Testament and see example after example of how God deals with not only His people but also the great fear that the world has for God's people.

We should not forget the world is afraid of Christians!

The world is afraid of the Word of God!

It is this fear of God's people that brings persecution, and oppression, and in many cases death.

Satan has only one goal and that is to rid the world of God's people in some sense of victory for himself, but he can never have victory over Jehovah as we have just witnessed in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the great lessons in the Bible is the story of Joseph whom his own brothers sold into slavery, but God had another plan.

Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 

Gen 50:21  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. 

Gen 50:22  And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.

We may not ever understand why God allows so much evil to continue to exist, but we must see that God also continues to cause good to come from that evil.

If good were not destined to conquer evil, then it would seem that God could be conquered which would mean there is no God at all!

To be a Christian means that we are to strive to be more like God!

We must endure to draw good out of evil.

This is what the Holy Spirit does and also why the Holy Spirit abides in us after we come to know the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 

2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

When we understand these things, we also understand that the Rapture of the Church comes before the years called the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation.

We must always strive to be a part of the "Good" of the Lord and the destruction of the "Evil" of Satan, knowing it is the sin that is evil, and the sinners are the ones we need to reach in the name of Jesus Christ, obeying His command as we learned in the final passage of the Book of Matthew.

In reality we see that not only Joseph had died but all his brothers and the Bible says even all that generation.

In typology this represents the Rapture of the Church and then the Tribulation years as a new Pharoah (a type of the Antichrist) who has so much fear of even those who are lost because he knows the love God has even for the lost, he will bring on extreme persecution.

The people of God are ensnared into bondage.

Egypt in type becomes a picture of the world today which opposes God and enslaves God's people.

The lost are still enslaved in bondage to sin and then death!

The Book of Exodus becomes a great book of deliverance, of salvation, and of deliverance by the hand of a loving God named "I Am", Jehovah.

*****Exo 1:6  And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 

Exo 1:7  And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

The purpose of the Church is to multiply and grow as one generation ceases to exist and the new generation takes over.

This cannot take place unless we teach the young ones the Word of God as they grow to do the same.

The Church is to always make disciples.

You see God wants a people who love Him and serve Him according to His Word.

God wants a people who will make disciples to go forth throughout the world as the Lord Jesus instructed.

God wanted a people through whom He could send His only Son and release them from the bondage of this world.

God wants a people who can preserve His written but unchanging Word, the Holy Bible.

God wants a people through whom He can demonstrate the truth of life here on earth and the truth of heaven and eternal life.

We know that life and salvation are not of this world.

We must know that life and salvation are Spiritual, and they are eternal.

We must know that these things are secured by "Faith".

Israel would be a "New Race" of people created to carry forth the truth of God.

To do this they, by the hand of the Lord must overcome bondage!

The first theme of the Book of Exodus is "deliverance".

*****Exo 1:8  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 

Exo 1:9  And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 

Exo 1:10  Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 

Today the Church is in more danger from treachery from the outside world and government inspired hatred and cruelty, but we must not forget God's people cannot be defeated by Satan or his followers!

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it".

We see today the open war as the Church who is the enemy to this evil and wicked world battle.

The world is in bondage to sin!

The Church must multiply and stay strong but our strength still remains with our God, the Lord Jesus Christ who cannot be defeated.

Jehovah had proven "faithful" to Abraham who was faithful and the standard for us even today.

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 

Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

God had promised Adam:

Gen 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

God had promised Noah:

Gen 8:15  And God spake unto Noah, saying, 

Gen 8:16  Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 

Gen 8:17  Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

God always does what He says He will do because God is "Faithful"!

What is another promise God has made?

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The fear of God's people first brings enslavement. (Notice even in America our own government is trying to enslave the Church today)

*****Exo 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 

Exo 1:12  But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 

Exo 1:13  And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 

Exo 1:14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour. 

Why is it that governments resort to persecution and oppression towards those who disagree with them?

It most always makes things worse, and those governments become totalitarian and usually fail.

Since we can know the ending before the beginning, we know that this Pharoah was destroyed along with his mighty army and Egypt has never really been much of a power in this world since that time period several thousand years ago.

This is why history is being erased.

All Marxist states will eventually fall!

All these things this Pharaoh tried was overcome by God's purpose and the simple fact that Jehovah keeps all His promises!

He could not stop Israel's population growth.

He could not break their spirits.

He could not cause great numbers of them to die using his methods.

How many of the rich in our world today are deliberately trying to stop population growth in every way they can today.

We hear so much about slavery today, but we do not hear about the slaves of Israel.

Israel had lost all freedoms they had while Joseph was still living.

While in slavery it was the Israelites who built the cities of Pithom and Rameses and who knows what else.

This Pharaoh was willing to bring any evil on his mind toward these people when he had no reason at all.

Let us make some comparisons.

Pharaoh was prince of Egypt; Satan is the prince of this world.

Pharaoh oppressed the people of God, Satan also oppresses the people of God

Pharaoh held to people he could rule, Satan clings to the lost people he rules.

Pharaoh enslaved people to do his will, Satan enslaves people to do his will.

This is why the Pharaoh is a type of the Antichrist.

This Pharaoh started what is called today "Abortion at full term".

*****Exo 1:22  And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. 

When governments give out laws that allow certain individuals to murder innocent people it just proves how wicked they are.

These are not doctors they are murders for hire!

Many Muslim countries ok the freedom of its citizens to murder, maim, and persecute anyone who goes against their beliefs in a false god who was a murderer, a rapist, a child molester himself.

But there are other countries that allow the persecution and murder of innocent people.

Even in America persecution is allowed and it will not be long till murder will be considered in the hatred of Christians.

The Egyptian people could take young Israelite male children and drown them without repercussions.

The daughters were saved with the intention of making them slaves and sex slaves.

This type of action is even defended by other governments, or it is not considered when negotiating with those governments.

This law was overcome by true mothers, one of those being the mother of Moses, but there were other mothers who did what they had to preserve the life of their children.

You know what, I serve a God who overcomes persecution!

We must boldly take a stand on all laws that go against the Word of God!

2Ti 4:18  And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 

The birth of Moses.

*****Exo 2:1  And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 

Exo 2:2  And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 

Exo 2:3  And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. 

Exo 2:4  And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. 

Can you just imagine wicked men, hired by Pharaoh, patrolling the streets listening out for crying babies to take and then drown them?

Today in America the sanctity of life is under attack and most people do not even care!

It was this way in Egypt in the time of Moses, but the mother of Moses had a plan.

It is the call of God's people to stand up for our God, our children, and our families!

Moses was delivered because God had a purpose for his life just as God has a purpose for each of His children.

Most will not be called for such a task as Moses, but some will.

The story of Moses is fascinating!

Moses was chosen by God to single-handedly save these people who would be known as Israel.

1) The birth of Moses is a picture of the believer and "saving faith".

2) We know that Moses had to change his way of life, a picture of being "Born Again".

3) We see in Moses the ability to have a close and personal relationship with God.

4) We in Moses how God works through the use of His people.

5) We also see how God will fight for those who trust Him!

We first see a mother doing everything in her power to save the life of her newborn baby.

We should understand that as far social ranking of adults, the female Israelite was at the bottom of the list.

Godly mothers are the foundation of most societies today!

This woman who trusted God had no decent clothes and could not buy replacements; she was a slave.

This woman had no possessions and could not own anything, she was a slave.

The woman had no rank or position, she was just a slave with a loving husband and a God who cared!

All through the Bible we see that God uses this type of woman in places where no one else could do what needed to be done.

You will see in this woman was truly a courageous and righteous woman.

Moses was a goodly child!

Act 7:17  But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, 

Act 7:18  Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. 

Act 7:19  The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. 

Act 7:20  In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: 

Act 7:21  And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. 

Act 7:22  And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. 

God had this plan from the beginning.

We should ask ourselves what do we do when our own government deliberately goes against the Word of God?

We should see that God's purpose is far more important than our love for our children.

We should see that God only hears the voice of those who believe in Him!

Deu 5:28  And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 

Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! 

We see that this precious mother had a plan that began with her complete trust in God.

She made a "watertight ark-like basket"

She placed baby Moses inside that basket and then placed that basket in the reeds of the Nile River.

We should know that the Nile River was worshiped as a god to the Egyptian people.

No doubt she knew something of the schedule and the bathing place where Pharaoh's daughter came to bath.

She knew that Moses could only be saved by some Egyptian official.

Once baby Moses was placed in the River and this princess came to bath, then God took over and caused that ark to float gently right up to this princess of Egypt.

Moses' older sister Miriam was placed close enough to see what happened.

Remember the female children were mostly safe from harm by the Egyptians.

In the midst of all these things we see that it was "faith" that was the power behind the rescue of baby Moses.

No doubt this precious mother had asked many questions in her prayers.

No doubt the Holy Spirit had placed these thoughts into the mind of this mother.

No doubt this mother's "faith" would increase as she saw her prayers being answered in a way she could never have dreamed of.

*****Exo 2:5  And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. 

Exo 2:6  And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. 

Exo 2:7  Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? 

Exo 2:8  And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. 

When we pray believing we know our prayer reaches into heaven and we know our prayer will be answered.

Sometimes God says yes.

Sometimes God says no.

Sometimes God says wait a little longer.

Sometimes God says, "I did this yesterday".

Sometimes God says "I have a better plan"

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

We will find that this Scripture becomes so true in our life that we just cannot doubt God!

We should understand that no matter what we see on a map of Egypt in the time of Moses, Egypt is a desert.

True Egypt is that narrow strip of land that borders both sides of the Nile River.

The Nile River was the greatest of the false gods of Egypt!

The Nile has always been a river that overflowed in certain seasons and deposits its mud everywhere.

Rain is not something you see in Egypt it is rain from a far country that feeds the River Nile and brings nourishment to Egypt.

The Egyptians look down to all their gods while believers look up to Heaven.

These things are important as we see this Egyptian princess fin the baby Moses.

Even knowing that this was a Hebrew child she looked upon Moses as a gift from her god!

This is why the mother of Moses, Jochebed placed her baby in this strategic location and had Miriam watching.

Jehovah God was in this thing from the start.

Now watch God work:

This princess did not have time to take care of a small child and neither did she know how.

It was God who pinched baby Moses to cause him to cry.

God is always behind the scenes making sure things go His way and His purpose is fulfilled!

Miriam went and got Moses’ mother Jochebed to nurse and care for her own child in the palace of the King, Pharaoh and paid her big wages to do this.

Only the Lord God of Heaven could cause such things to happen!

*****Exo 2:9  And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. 

Exo 2:10  And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. 

God rewards faith!

Jochebed was hired to nurse her own son and got paid big wages to do so.

While Moses was taught the things of God, he was also taught the politics of the world and the workings of the mighty armies.

Act 7:21  And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. 

Act 7:22  And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. 

Moses was taught "faith" by a mother who had seen the results of her own "faith".

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 

Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 

This brings us to another truth for our children.

Pro_22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Why was Moses called Moses? 

In many ways Moses was a type of the Christian maybe at the end of the seven years of Tribulation.

Isa 49:22  Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 

Isa 49:23  And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. 

Isa 49:24  Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 

Isa 49:25  But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 

Amen

Having Victory in your Life

 The Eternal Victory of the King

Book of Matthew Chapter 28

There is so much of this world that knows about the Lord Jesus Christ that His existence cannot be denied!

All human history has been transformed by the person of Jesus Christ!

Even the calendar was changed because of the truth of Jesus Christ.

The Roman ruler of the known world acknowledged the truth of Jesus Christ.

So we can see that the resurrection from the dead of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important event in all of history.

It is the greatest day for all Christians and all humanity!

You cannot be a Christian and deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Word of God does not give Christians the option of denying the deity of Jesus Christ!

You are not a believer, if you deny the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You are not a believer, if you deny the true life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You are not a believer, if you deny the "bodily" resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we say the "Good News" the "Gospel" then these are the things that should come to mind!

1Co 15:1  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 

1Co 15:2  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 

1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Verse 1

*****Mat 28:1  In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 

Sunday, the first day of the new week should remind all who have been "Born Again" that we cannot die. Oh, we may give up this wicked body of flesh, but our souls are bound for Heaven to be forever with our Holy God.

Sunday is the Lord's Day!

As Saturday, some say the Sabbath, the day of rest ends, we should lift our eyes toward Heaven and on the Lord's Day gaze upon the face of our Creator. 

Sunday is the "Day of the Lord" and the day we need to worship the Living God!

It is the day to claim the Word of God for the coming week and all weeks in our future.

It is the day to show our gratitude for all the things our Lord has provided and to thank Him for all the things He has promised to provide!

It is the day to show the world we truly love the Lord.

It is a day to lift our eyes toward Heaven and just "Praise the Lord"!

It is the third day after the Lord Jesus was buried that Mary Magdalene and that other Mary, which to me means she was not the mother of Christ Jesus.

Surely the mother of our Lord would not have been described as "the other Mary".

She may have even been the sister to the Mother of Jesus as there were many forms of the name Mary such as Miriam.

We know at the death of the Lord Jesus she was with Mary the mother of Christ.

Joh 19:25  Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 

It was these two Marys, that came to the tomb at the dawning of that Sunday morning.

*****Mat 28:2  And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 

Mat 28:3  His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 

Mat 28:4  And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 

As these two saints of God approached the location of the Tomb of Jesus there was suddenly an earthquake.

We should note that no one saw the Lord Jesus Christ exit from that tomb.

In fact the Lord Jesus Christ had left this tomb before any of these things occurred.

This angel had rolled away this stone that had been rolled into place by Joseph of Arimathea.

Mat 27:59  And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 

Mat 27:60  And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. 

We must never think that this angel removed the stone for the Lord Jesus to exit the tomb. He removed the stone so these women and any others could look into the tomb and see that Jesus was no longer there.

There had been at least four soldiers guarding the tomb of Jesus from the moment He was buried, and it can be said that these hardened soldiers became so afraid that they passed out.

Mat 27:63  Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 

Mat 27:64  Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 

Mat 27:65  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 

Mat 27:66  So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. 

This also should give us some idea of how we may react when we first see the Lord face to face.

Every precaution was taken to ensure that no one came to remove the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Savior did not need any help to leave that tomb!

Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

We should also understand that these guards, once they awoke, were also afraid for their own safety.

This tomb was like a jail in the sense that a guard could be executed for allowing a prisoner to escape, especially one whom the government had taken such precautions.

We should understand that the power of God is awesome, but it can also be terrifying.

These guards witnessed things that were unbelievable, and they did not know what to do.

Remember these were hardened soldiers who had been through many of the wars of Rome.

They became so afraid of their lives they went to the Chief Priest rather than their own commanders.

For these women, they did not know what to think, seeing all these things. Their only concern was for our Savior.

This is also a great lesson for us.

No matter what is going on in this world, we must stay focused upon our Savior!

This angel answered because he understood the conversation that was taking place between these women.

*****Mat 28:5  And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 

Mat 28:6  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

We can be sure that these believers were afraid just as any of us would have been.

This angel calmed their fears by saying "I know you are seeking Jesus".

The same Jesus who was crucified because there is only one Jesus Christ.

It is this one event that brought recognition to Christianity even though it is still being denied.

These women saw a real angel and maybe two according to the Book of Luke.

Luk 24:3  And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 

Luk 24:4  And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 

Luk 24:5  And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 

It is possible that there were even more angels about the tomb only showing their selves to converse with those who came.

These angels appeared as men and nowhere in the Bible do, we see women mentioned as angels. 

Angels are the messengers of God!

These women had no reason to fear because they came because they loved the Lord!

Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 

Mat 7:8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself to be crucified for all mankind, but it is important that we believe this!

2Co 5:14  For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 

2Co 5:15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

Knowing these women still had doubts these angels said come and see.

Much of the world had an opportunity to see the truth of the Lord, but the Lord Jesus said we need to have "faith".

They also told these two Marys to tell His disciples that the Lord Jesus had risen from His death and was going to Galilee just as Jesus had told them.

As they hurried to tell the disciples they met the Lord Jesus Christ who called out to them.

We can read about this thing in the four Gospels, and we can believe them all as the truth.

We should note that the Lord Jesus used the phrase "my brethren" even at this time.

The one thing we know for sure about these things is that this tomb is still empty, it was only needed for three days.

When those guards awoken, they feared for their lives so much so they reported to the Chief Priests rather than their own commanders, for they would have been put to death!

They may have even taken the money they were given and left Israel.

*****Mat 28:11  Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 

Mat 28:12  And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, 

Mat 28:13  Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 

Mat 28:14  And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. 

Mat 28:15  So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. 

1) We should understand that there is no excuse for trained soldiers to fall asleep on guard duty.

There were enough of them that they could sleep in shifts.

This thing would be under the penalty of death for a Roman soldier to do such a thing.

2) The followers of Jesus Christ had no motive to steal the body of Jesus Christ. 

The things that He had said He would do could only occur if He was in that tomb.

The disciples never made such a plan to kidnap the body of Christ.

What could they have possibly done with the body of Christ if they did possess it?

3) We should understand that the theft of the body of Christ would have been a Capital Crime punishable by death because the tomb had been sealed with the seal of Pilate and that of Rome.

None of the disciples were ever brought to trial nor arrested.

4) These soldiers realizing these things went to the only place that might save them from death.

They realized they may have seen an act of God.

They were very familiar with the false gods of Rome who were said to have such powers.

5) They were certain that no one would believe what had happened to be the truth.

So we see the Chief Priests and the Elders of Israel sough to discredit these things the soldiers reported.

It seems that money still works to buy a new story or to create lies.

What we need to understand is that the truth will always prevail.

Pro 12:19  The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. 

Pro 12:20  Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy. 

Treachery had been used to arrest the Lord Jesus Christ.

An illegal court had tried Him.

False charges had been brought against Him before Pilate.

Now bribery was being used to discredit the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As believers we know that the truth will always prevail.

Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

We know many things the disciples did from the other three Gospels, but we now read where the disciples went to Galilee just as the Lord Jesus instructed.

*****Mat 28:16  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 

Mat 28:17  And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 

We see that Matthew closes out what the Holy Spirit gave to him with the command to all Christians.

To Matthew the Lord Jesus Christ was the Son of David as prophesied and the soon coming King of Israel and King of all the world.

Mat 1:1  The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Mat 5:35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Now Matthew writes that the Lord Jesus is risen just as He had said.

Now in the power of the resurrection, we are all to go forth proclaiming the Lord Jesus and His eternal kingdom.

The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee to meet their Savior as He had instructed but some still had doubts that Jesus would be there.

We can trust what the Lord tells us because He would never lie to us!

We have appointed places where we are to meet the Lord and we should never doubt that He will be there!

1) We will meet Jesus in our worship if it is in Spirit and Truth.

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Our worship is not where we go, our worship is where Jesus is at, and He is only in places that preach the truth!

Mat 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

2) We will meet Jesus in our Bible study.

Joh 5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

3) We will meet Jesus in our prayers.

Joh 14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Joh 14:14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

4) We will meet Jesus in our devotions.

There is a good chance that not just the eleven disciples met the Lord Jesus at Galilee.

1Co 15:1  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 

1Co 15:2  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 

1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 

1Co 15:5  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 

1Co 15:6  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 

1Co 15:7  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 

1Co 15:8  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 

We should be able to say that more than 500 people, some believing and some in doubt until they saw Him, if we need more proof of the Resurrection Messiah.

The Lord Jesus is real, and He is our Savior and He will return as the King of this world!

If you want to remove your doubts just go and visit the Lord Jesus Christ and you will find Him.

Act 17:27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

Though many still doubt, believers know that the Lord Jesus Christ has the power of God because He is God!

*****Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

The Lord Jesus has the power of God for one main reason, to save those who are lost.

Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 

Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

To those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, you should know that you will still bow to Him.

His authority is over all the known universe and all the invisible creation.

He is the Lord of the angelic host.

Isa 2:12  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

The Lord Jesus Christ will rule this world for 1000 years!

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

The most important thing to the believer is His power to forgive sins.

Joh 5:22  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 

There is no one or nothing that has more power than the One True God!

The power of the Lord Jesus Christ gives us confidence that our sin has been forgiven and we have that personal relationship with our Creator.

He asks only one thing of us.

*****Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 

Some mistake this as a commandment only to Pastors and Preachers and other such men but this commission is for every believer!

There is no more important Scripture in all the New Testament!

As believers we are to replicate ourselves.

We are to go each of us to make disciples who will then go forth themselves in a continuous fashion.

The Church is set forth as a place to worship the Messiah.

The next phase of the Church is to make disciples.

Any other business of the Church comes after these two things have their priorities in place.

Feeding, clothing, and helping others beyond the teaching of the "Gospel" should never be undertaken until these commandments of the Lord are working as commanded!

The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save and He gave His life to accomplish these things.

What did He teach us?

Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Teach the "Gospel" no matter where we are located understanding that wherever God has placed us is our mission field.

Baptizing is just making a public confession of our faith, but our Lord Jesus was baptized, and we should follow in His ways.

We must know that God is a Holy Trinity that cannot be denied.

The Lord Jesus says, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Spirit) which is Jehovah God the Great "I Am" of the Bible.

After our salvation we are to follow as best we can in all the things of Jesus Christ.

To ignore these things is to reject the truth of the Messiah!

What the Lord Jesus Christ did must be studied and studied to the point of learning so we can teach others.

The things that the Lord Jesus Christ taught should rule in our life and our societies today.

Our world has reached this point of wickedness because the Lord Jesus Christ has been rejected!

We must understand we are never alone; the Lord Jesus is with us forever, even here on this earth and forever with us when he takes us home to a place prepared for us!

Amen

The Salvation Plan of the One True God

 The King Paid the Debt of Sin

Book of Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 26-31, 39-44, 46-50

Just so we know, for Jesus Christ to be crucified, He was nailed to the cross as it lay flat on the ground.

Each hand was extended, and stretched as far as they could be stretched.

Both feet were pulled together and stretched and one nail through both feet.

The cross was then raised up and thrust into the hole that was prepared with a violent shock, with the intent of causing the joints of the body to become dislocated.

The whole weight of the body hung upon those three nails.

The pain was tremendous and lasted until death, which in most cases was not very long.

In mockery, a mixture of true wine and gall was offered to help with the pain, but the death was real.

This type of punishment was used only by the Romans, and only upon slaves and the vilest of criminals!

The Lord Jesus Christ was tried for treason against the Roman government, and even Pilate knew He was innocent of this crime.

Barabbas was found to be guilty of sedition and murder and kept in prison to be crucified on the day that Jesus took his place.

A great lesson it itself and a great type in the Bible.

The Lord Jesus Christ died for the vilest of sinners!

The guilty was set free, while the innocent was slaughtered upon a cruel Roman cross.

*****Mat 27:26  Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. 

Barabbas was guilty of all charges brought against him and was guilty of much more that was not known.

The purpose of the scourge was to weaken the body of that person, who would then be crucified so that they would not live through the next day.

In fact, hundreds of them did not live through the scourging.

The Roman scourge was not an ordinary whip, but had at least eight leather thongs added to it and they loaded with lead and armed with sharp bones and spikes.

Every blow cut deeply into the flesh causing intense pain.

Our Savior was stripped of His clothes and wrapped around a pillar and His back suffered tremendously.

Isa 50:5  The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. 

Isa 50:6  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 

Isa 50:7  For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 

Isa 50:8  He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. 

Isa 50:9  Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. 

It is after this that the soldiers took Jesus into their own common hall and mocked Him.

*****Mat 27:27  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. 

Mat 27:28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. 

We now see Our Lord Jesus in the hands of cruel wicked Roman soldiers.

We see Satanic hatred of the Messiah.

Scarlet colored robes were worn by superior officers and this robe may even have been a worn by Pilate. 

Such a robe would have been cherished by his private guards.

After these Roman soldiers had their mockery of the Lord Jesus Christ, He was sent to Herod where Herod’s soldiers would not be out done by the Roman soldiers.

Here the Lord wore a purple robe. Those in power of the Jews and their soldiers clothing had to be distinguishable so there would be no confusion of the people.

Then Herod's soldiers place on our Lord Jesus a purple robe of the type kings wore.

Luk 23:11  And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 

Joh 19:5  Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! 

The robes of Christ Jesus are a great Bible study!

Add this one:

Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 

Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

This is the robe our Lord Jesus will wear when He returns to "Judge" this world!

Just a robe was not enough to satisfy these wicked Satan inspired men.

*****Mat 27:29  And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 

Mat 27:30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. 

Mat 27:31  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Mockery is a shameful act for anyone to take part in.

The Lord Jesus had already said he had not come to be the King of this world and at this time He was certainly no rival to Caesar as these things are still in our future.

A crown of thorns was a painful thing, but we can be aware that when the Lord Jesus sees us now, He sees us through the blood that poured from His head down to His eyes.

Heb_9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, He will be much more than just King of the Jews!

Then these cruel men took it upon themselves to beat the Lord Jesus on His face and spit upon Him.

To a Jew being spit upon was a matter of great reproach.

This gives us an idea of how the Roman government felt about the Jews and much of the world today still feel this way.

Our Lord Jesus never said a word.

Isa 50:6  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

It was only after all these things that our Lord Jesus was sent to that cruel cross.

*****Mat 27:39  And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 

Mat 27:40  And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 

You know, the mockery of the Lord Jesus Christ did not cease at His death, it is alive and well today.

Today you cannot bash the so-called transgender people.

You cannot bash the so-called gay movement.

You cannot bash the BLM movement.

You cannot bash Antifa.

You cannot bash the abortion industry.

But the bashing of the Christian is allowed and even encouraged!

So be it, bash me if you will, just remember the Word of God is the truth and the truth will always be the truth!

Prophecy reads:

Psa 22:6  But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 

Psa 22:7  All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 

Golgotha was near a road that saw much traffic, and passersby were numerous without counting those who just wanted to see our Lord suffer.

The fact remains that most of those who passed by did not know why the Lord Jesus Christ was even crucified, and just trusted the government that He was guilty of something when He was totally innocent.

We cannot always trust what our government is doing to be the right thing to do, especially today!

We can trust that all those mocked the Lord are now wishing they had not!

Psa 109:25  I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads. 

As far as power goes, the Lord Jesus Christ could have saved Himself at any time.

As far as prophecy goes, the Lord Jesus Christ was committed to saving my soul and the soul of every believer.

Jesus Christ seemed to have failed in His mission.

Satan was feeling great confidence.

The Jews, the hypocritical religious leaders, were now confident they would keep Rome's affection.

God was laughing at these foolish people.

The Lord Jesus Christ was carrying the sin of the world to Hell where it belonged, and Satan will one day soon join that sin and burn with it!

The Lord Jesus Christ claimed a great success!

His purpose for coming to this earth was being fulfilled and in about 40 days, the Church would be born with 11 disciples and 109 Jews who loved the Lord enough to serve Him.

The enemies of the Church mistook a minor victory, in their view, for a complete and total failure!

Jehovah God cannot be defeated!

You see the enemies of the Church were never satisfied with the death of Jesus Christ, they were filled with hatred and revenge and abuse, when true criminals were not even noticed.

We can see that these things have not changed today!

The Lord Jesus Christ had not claimed to be King, He will upon His return!

He did claimed to be the Son of God and He had proved that over and over again with the miracles and the other things He had accomplished and when He rose from the dead, He set this world on fire with the "gospel"!

Remember the Lord Jesus had fulfilled every prophecy that had been written of the Messiah up until the day of His death and He will fulfill all the Bible written about Him because all the Bible is written about our Messiah and King.

*****Mat 27:41  Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 

Mat 27:42  He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

Mat 27:43  He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

First, we would think that men of such high office whether they be religious or government officials, would be above this sort of behavior, but it is not surprising as it still goes on today even more so.

Our own government leaders have sunk to new lows. It makes me wonder how in the world they were elected in the first place.

We must remember that being a part of the unbelieving crowd, they seem to lust after shameful things.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior!

The Lord Jesus Christ will return as King of this world and even now is our Spiritual King!

The Lord Jesus Christ was that 100% Son of Man, and He did trust God perfectly!

The Lord Jesus Christ above all is the Son of God!

These foolish men could not humiliate the Lord Jesus, He had already accepted how He would be treated and asked our Heavenly Father to forgive them.

Luk_23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

It was God who hung upon that Cross and He had fulfilled what He came to do.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

The Lord Jesus Christ was all He claimed to be!

He was the Savior!

He was the King!

He was the Son of Man!

He is the Son of God!

All these who hated the Lord Jesus were just foolish men with no power at all.

They were just doing that the Lord knew they would do, just as today.

The rulers of this world are doing exactly what the Lord knew they would do.

In their ignorance they are doing what God expects them to do.

They only difference is that our Savior has given them all room to repent!

Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

If the wicked men and women of this world think they are a challenge to the almighty God, they are thinking far above their knowledge and just fueled by Satan's hatred!

If the Lord Jesus Christ had used the power that He did have to save Himself, we would still be lost in our sin!

"Elected officials who walk with the lawless and the wicked" just show that their morals are non-existent, and they are not worthy to hold public office.

This would also include religious officials who stand with those who oppose the Word of God. They are just servants of Satan!

The criminals on each side of the Lord joined in at this time, but one would repent later.

*****Mat 27:44  The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. 

What we witness once a mob gets started, people will just join in not even understanding what is happening.

These two criminals had never met the Lord Jesus Christ until this moment when He was crucified with them.

Mat 27:38  Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. 

One of those thieves realized that Christ Jesus was innocent.

Luk 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 

Luk 23:40  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 

Luk 23:41  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 

Luk 23:42  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 

Luk 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. 

You see just realizing the truth of the Lord takes the pain of death away!

Without a Baptism and with a simple plea of faith this one thief became a saint of God!

As death came unto the Lord, even God's creation began to mourn!

*****Mat 27:45  Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

We sometimes get confused with Jewish timekeeping, but it is really not that hard.

We what had the Lord said?

Joh 11:9  Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 

Mat 20:3  And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 

Mat 20:4  And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 

Mat 20:5  Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

The time of reckoning always began at six in the morning so to the Jew the seventh hour was then the first hour.

The sixth hour would then be noon.

When the Sun was the highest darkness came upon Jerusalem and the darkness remained until three o’clock in the afternoon.

This was a terrifying darkness not like a solar eclipse.

It was sudden and it was real!

Our Lord Jesus had taken all the darkness of sin upon Himself, and He would be the payment for all that sin as a Holy God required a blood sacrifice.

Heb_9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

It was at this point when our Savior cried out knowing that He had been forsaken for the first and the only time.

God's only begotten Son, the Sovereign Lord of all beings, both visible and invisible was at the point of a real physical death!

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 

Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 

Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 

It is easy to say the Lord Jesus was bearing all our sins and the sin of all humanity, but He was also bearing the wrath of God that was against us!

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

You see this is the gift that we so easily take for granted!

Jesus Christ was dying my death and the death for all humanity! This is only affective for those who believe the Lord did this thing!

The Lord Jesus Christ was doing all that was necessary to free all humanity from the penalty of sin, the death of sin, and the judgment of sin so that we may live forever.

This is the free gift we have been given!

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 

Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 

Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 

Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 

The Apostle Paul was a great preacher because he understood all these things and has passed this things on to us.

Those that stood by watching for His death never understood what the Word of God was teaching them.

*****Mat 27:47  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. 

Mat 27:48  And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. 

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?

Psa 22:1  My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 

Again, we see that these who caused the Lord Jesus to be crucified, did not know the Scriptures.

All through His time upon this earth Jesus was called the son of David because, by inheritance Jesus was in-line to the throne of Judah.

Psalm 22 was a Psalm of David.

Almost every one of us have reached a point in our lives when we thought we were forsaken.

The Lord Jesus Christ was standing in His Father's Judgment Seat and facing the wrath of God because He bore the sin of the world.

God, in the Hebrew, El, is pronounced Ale. (Ahle)

The Lord Jesus was definitely calling out to Jehovah God!

The Lord Jesus was not calling out to Elijah!

These people had their theology so messed up they had missed the Messiah.

Earlier the Lord Jesus was offered vinegar mixed with gall and He had refused to drink it.

Mat 27:34  They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

At this time Jesus was offered vinegar.

Roman soldiers that travel from nation to nation could not take of the water from place to place no more than we can today until our bodies have had time to adjust.

Vinegar is the last stage of the grape juice when it is sour and when mixed with water it allowed the soldier to stay healthy without the effects of the water alone.

This time the Lord Jesus accepted this drink.

His task was over. He had given His life for my sin and for your sin!

*****Mat 27:49  The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. 

Mat 27:50  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, "yielded up the ghost". 

"It was finished"

Mar 15:37  And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and "gave up the ghost". 

Luk 23:46  And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost". 

Joh 19:30  When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost".

You can read all four of these Scriptures and you will see that this is something that we cannot do.

Oh, we can commit suicide, but we cannot give up our soul at death. 

God takes our soul because it returns to Him to do with it as He pleases.

This is why it is so important to have our name written in the Lamb's Book of Life!

The Lord Jesus Christ held the power to His own death.

Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 

Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 

This power only the Lord Jesus has!

Rev_3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev_20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Rev_22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The Lord Jesus gave up His Spirit!

The Lord Jesus Christ willingly died for me and for you!

What did the Lord Jesus do after His death upon the Cross?

1Pe 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 

1Pe 3:19  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 

1Pe 3:20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 

After His death.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

Eph 4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 

Eph 4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

The Lord Jesus Christ died so that we can live!

Amen

Determined to Save You and I

 The Betrayal and Trial of the King

Chapter 26 Verse 47 through verse 75

We must never forget why Our Lord Jesus laid aside His glory and came to this earth!

Mat 20:28  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. 

Our Savior never deviated from this task!

Nothing happened to our Savior that He was not in full control of and that He did not allow to happen to Him!

No one took the life of Jesus, He laid down His life Himself!

Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 

Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 

Our Lord Jesus was betrayed by His friend, but Jesus knew this was going to happen all along!

*****Mat 26:47  And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 

What will sound tragic to us in this passage, is actually God in control from start to finish.

We will see Our Lord Jesus betrayed, arrested, tried, and deserted within just a short period of time.

Our Lord Jesus, falsely accused, was falsely arrested, had a false trial, and sentenced to a real death.

Jesus was deserted by His closest friends and forsaken by His Heavenly Father for a short period of time.

What do we see? We will see a Savior, determined to save those He loved and all the unlovable, such a I.

What is reality? Sin is mighty, but it cannot make God cease to love us!

There is nothing we do that can make God love us less!

We know a good bit about Peter and his ways, so we can just imagine Peter as he is awakened from his sleep to see Judas leading the enemies of Jesus Christ.

As a soldier, I have a hard time forgiving traitors, such as John Kerry and Jane Fonda and some others.

They may have wondered where Judas was all this time, but they now knew.

All these arrangements had been made so that it would have been impossible for our Lord Jesus to escape.

These people never understood the power of God nor do so many today!

These things were allowed because of that power of God!

We can see that Judas even walked a little in front of the crowd trying to hide his wickedness.

Luk 22:47  And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. 

We cannot hide our feelings about the Lord Jesus Christ!

Luk 22:48  But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? 

Jesus was betrayed by an act of love.

*****Mat 26:48  Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 

Mat 26:49  And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 

We should think of nothing strange about this kiss. It was the means of greeting in the oriental world. 

Its value was somewhat like the handshake of our culture.

Remember a day, when a handshake was more binding than any legal document!

Makes us think that if Our Lord Jesus returned today and He could, how most of those who professed Him, would then reject Him?

Jesus could not preach in many modern day Churches.

Jesus would be shunned for His stance on sin!

How most would betray Him today?

We should ask ourselves this question. Would I betray my only Savior?

We can see that Judas had planned this betrayal very well.

It was dark except for torches.

Those behind him did not know the Lord Jesus by site so we can see the reason for the deception of Judas.

We can see in typology, this is the way of those who claim Jesus but are hypocrites!

They serve their own self-interest!

When we plan and plot to sin, we are just deceivers and the worst of sinners!

The plan to sin is bad, but the deception is even worse.

Those who will deceive the Lord Jesus Christ have no problem at all in deceiving others!

These are the type of people who make up our government today!

Jesus never showed any hatred even when He knew what Judas was doing!

*****Mat 26:50  And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 

The Lord Jesus Christ still loves the unlovable!

Judas had to search his heart to answer this question! Just why had he done this terrible deed?

It was Judas' last chance to think about what he had done and repent, but he could not find it in his heart to repent even though he did have great regret for what he had done.

You see feeling sorry is never enough, we must repent.

To repent is a complete change of mind and a complete change of direction and Judas never found the peace for his soul again and he committed suicide.

When we approach the Lord Jesus Christ, we must recognize that we are sinners in need of forgiveness!

We are fools to reject the Divine love of God He has shown to us by His Son!

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

It was the fiery darts of the Devil that the Lord Jesus felt on the side of His cheeks!

Then, just before Jesus felt the cruel hands of His enemies, Peter still groggy from his sleep drew out his sword.

*****Mat 26:51  And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.

We know it was Peter according to the Book of John.

Joh 18:10  Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. 

Joh 18:11  Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? 

It is said by some that Peter almost messed everything up in the plan of God for His Son.

If we believe this, then we would have to believe that our Lord Jesus was not in control of this scene.

We must understand that there is never a time that God is not in complete control of the things that happen in this world!

We may not understand why bad things happen to good Christian people, but we must agree that these things were allowed for God's purpose.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

There was a purpose behind what Peter did, and a purpose for why the Lord Jesus restored this man's ear to full use.

We can certainly believe that Malchus had a whole new outlook on this man called Jesus!

The Lord Jesus did not need anyone's help to fulfill the will of God for Him!

Jesus had already committed Himself to the Cross and nothing could change that!

They first took Jesus to Caiaphas who was the true High Priest at this time, but let's just say he followed the lead of his predecessor.

*****Mat 26:57  And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

The first thing we should notice is that these wicked men were already gathered together to try Our Lord Jesus.

When we study the Scriptures, we will find that Annas, the earlier High Priest and the father-in-law of Caiaphas, still controlled all sacred matters of the priesthood and the High Priests for the next several years would all be from this same wicked family.

We know that this wicked man had predetermined that Christ Jesus must be put to death for the benefit of the nation of Israel.

Joh 11:49  And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 

Joh 11:50  Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 

Joh 11:51  And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; 

Joh 11:52  And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. 

The Lord Jesus Christ had been opposed and rejected by these wicked men all the days of His ministry!

You just like today, these men felt that they were stronger than God and therefore they opposed the Word of God!

The Lord Jesus would be officially condemned to die by the highest court in Israel!

In America this court would be the equivalent to our Supreme Court.

Our Lord Jesus was captured and was led to trial, and it was these, who hated Him so much because He preached the truth, would judge Him.

In fact, they had already judged Him and found Him guilty of apostacy, which according to Jewish Law was punishable with death but by Roman Law these Jews could not sentence Jesus to death nor any man though we know they still stoned some who broke those laws.

They would then accuse Jesus of insurrection against the Roman government which was also punishable by death by Roman Law.

They accused Jesus of saying He was God when Caesar claimed to be God.

Again we see Peter, but he is not following very close to Jesus.

*****Mat 26:58  But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 

This is the same problem with many, so-called Christians, they refuse to closely follow the Lord Jesus Christ!

All the disciples were confused because they had not understood all the things of the Messiah.

Peter knew somewhat the power that the Lord Jesus had, surely, He could escape this thing if He so chose to do so.

But there is great danger in following the Lord Jesus from a distance.

All these disciples had fled just as prophesied:

Mar_14:27  And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.

Peter was caught between his loyalty to our Lord and fear for his own self.

His fear would lead him to sin!

We probably see more of this sort today than any other day in history.

Good Christians want to stand up for the Word of God, but when ridicule comes from the other side, they cower down in defeat rather than take a stand on the Word of God!

Peter just did not understand the truth of the Bible!

We say it all the time, but ignorance of the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, will bring defeat into our lives!

Jesus had done nothing wrong against any Jew nor any Roman and had broken no laws at all!

Peter began to hang around with the wrong crowd!

If the government could just find someone to bring false witness against Jesus, it would make things better for His enemies.

*****Mat 26:59  Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 

Have you noticed lately that factions of our own government do this same sort of thing!

They bring false witnesses against good people to slander and ruin their names!

Politicians have become cruel and ruthless in their lust for power! In fact leaning toward Communism where these things go on all the time.

People will do anything for money or prestige or power, in our corrupt government!

We can just imagine the faces of these foolish men as Our Lord Jesus is brought before them and then, they suddenly realized they had no proof of their accusations.

They hated and despised the Lord Jesus Christ too much for this to remain an obstacle!

This is what hatred causes!

The Lord Jesus had done no evil at all!

As always, we will find someone who will twist His words to another meaning.

Our so-called news sources do this every day!

Jesus had asked this question.

Joh_8:46  Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

There was no answer then, and there was no answer now!

We should be able to see this court was not assembled to find Jesus guilty, they had already decided that our Savior was guilty in need if death.

This court was assembled to gather enough proof against Him to get the Romans to kill Him!

It is hard to do that with someone so innocent!

What was wrong with these foolish men?

They loved this world more than they loved God!

They knew well that Christ could not be condemned with true testimony, because there was none! 

Then, they tried to put together a false witness. 

If they had meant to deal fairly, they would have allowed some who knew him to speak in his favor, but this was the very last thing they wanted, or would have sanctioned.

So they found no true witnesses!

So they found those who were willing to lie, but even they were useless because their witness did not agree.

*****Mat 26:60  But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 

Mat 26:61  And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 

You see you cannot find faults in what is perfect!

Lies will always fail against the truth!

There will always be those who will distort the Word of God!

Many of them just take what the Lord says out of the context of which He intended!

We see this many times in politicians and just recently with our president and his vice-president.

Of all the enemies of our Lord Jesus, nothing could be found that would condemn Him to death.

This is why we are taught to watch what comes out of our mouths.

Tit 2:8  Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. 

Then our enemies will find fault in our God!

Remember Daniel:

Dan 6:4  Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 

Dan 6:5  Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

We must remember, these wicked men needed evidence to convince the Roman authorities that the Lord Jesus needed to be put to death, but they never got it!

*****Mat 26:62  And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 

Mat 26:63  But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 

There was no need for the Lord to answer to these accusations because there were none!

Those two false witnesses could not even agree on what the Lord had said.

This is the best reason to have in your possession a Bible copied from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures and why I use the KJV Bible.

Silence is always the best reply to slander!

They wanted our Savior to respond to these false accusations hoping He would give them more evidence.

Now we would do such a thing and then get mad and maybe say some things could be said to cause us harm, but doing things the Jesus way is always the best.

People that hate us do not deserve any response from us!

Now a question is asked that can be responded to.

*****Mat 26:64  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 

Mat 26:65  Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. 

Was Jesus the Messiah?

You see, if Our Savior did not claim to be the Messiah, then the case against Him had no real meaning at all.

The Lord Jesus in a sense had to respond with a positive answer to this question, in order for the death penalty to be given!

If Jesus was truly the Messiah, then according to the Scriptures, He was also King of the Jews, and these things could be used against Him though it was not the time for these things as the Lord Jesus said.

Jesus said after these things meaning, after this false trial and His death.

Then, He would sit at the right hand of God, because He is the right hand of God, and He would one day come in the clouds to get His Church.

You see, it is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that is the foundation of the Church and after a time of sitting at the throne of His Father, Jesus would come in the clouds to take His Church out of this world.

Only after these things would Jesus return as King!

The Lord Jesus spoke the truth and non-believers called this truth blasphemy.

The truth will always be the truth and the truth cannot change!

This was the good confession later written about Him!

1Ti_6:13  I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

The Lord Jesus did never explain His answer.

The Lord Jesus did never change His answer.

The Lord Jesus did never retract His answer.

All those that were there heard what the Lord Jesus had said!

They knew these things were true, they still rejected the man who sat before them.

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 

Dan 7:14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Notice the Lord Jesus only tells the first part of the Scripture from the Book of Daniel.

Once our Lord meets His Church in the clouds, the Church will begin a seven year honey moon with Him while Tribulation and the Great Tribulation will be happening on this earth.

Once Jesus said these words, then by Jewish Law, blasphemy could be a sentence of death.

Blasphemy is the speaking evil of our Holy God!

Lev 24:16  And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

Though the Lord Jesus spoke the truth, He knew they would not believe Him, but His death on the cross required this truth!

People just do not accept the truth of the Bible, the Word of God.

*****Mat 26:66  What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. 

This is the only thing that was used to sentence the Lord to death!

Joh 19:7  The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. 

We might understand that the High Priest was also subject to death for what he had done by those same laws of Moses.

Lev 10:6  And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

Lev 21:10  And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; 

Lev 21:11  Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; 

Lev 21:12  Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.

Who was the guiltiest by Jewish Law? It was the High Priest for the Lord Jesus spoke the truth!

Let's not forget Peter.

Remember a boastful Peter was told that he would deny the Lord.

Luk_22:34  And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Luk_22:61  And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

*****Mat 26:69  Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 

Mat 26:70  But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 

Mat 26:71  And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 

Mat 26:72  And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 

Mat 26:73  And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 

Mat 26:74  Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. 

Mat 26:75  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. 

We must understand that denying the Lord Jesus Christ is a very serious thing to do.

It is a terrible sin, but even this sin can be forgiven if asked during this lifetime.

What we see is that a man, Peter, who had confessed undying loyalty to our Savior, ended up denying our Lord three times just as the Lord had said.

The Lord Jesus Christ knows us better than we know ourselves!

We see the cause of Peter's denial, Peter was hanging around with the wrong crowd. A crowd where they hated the Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter had fled when the Lord Jesus gave Himself over to that mob that came for Him.

The Lord Jesus wanted His disciples to escape safely.

In typology, Peter was following the Lord Jesus, but he was following from too great distance.

In reality, the Lord Jesus wants a close and personal relationship with all His disciples!

We cannot say we are following Christ if we are following afar off!

What did Peter learn from his mistakes?

1Pe 4:13  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. 

1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 

1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 

1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We absolutely must leave our old life behind and this means to not socialize with those who do not believe the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are to witness to them, but not socialize with them!

We can be friends with them, but we are not to socialize with them!

We must never fall into the trap of too much self-confidence!

Peter had said He would lay down his life for the Lord Jesus, but he found that he was afraid for his own life.

In this incident, weaknesses Peter did not know he had, came to the surface.

Even after claiming the truth of Jesus Christ and being "Born Again" into the family of God, we must know that we are just sinners saved by the "Grace" of God.

As long as we are in these bodies of flesh we will war with our flesh.

The Lord will still forgive us of our sin!

Now, if we deliberately sin trying to take advantage of God's "Grace", then we cannot truly say we are saved.

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 

Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 

We may not know exactly what "God forbids" but it cannot be righteousness!

Like Peter, before we can be effective witnesses, then we need to know our own weaknesses!

Our confidence cannot be in ourselves, our confidence must be in our Lord Jesus Christ!

2Co_3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

We must mortify the actions of our flesh!

Mortify means just like it sounds, we must put to death all the sinful actions of our flesh!

Rom_8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Col_3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

What saved Peter?

The fact that the Lord Jesus prayed for Him just as He prays for each of us.

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 

Luk_22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

We can do nothing without the Lord Jesus Christ!

Amen