It Takes Spiritual Leadership

 Spiritual Leadership for Israel

Book of Numbers Chapters 16 and 17

We must understand there is a great danger in going outside of God's plan of salvation!

In fact there is no plan of true salvation outside the "Grace" of God!

There is also great danger in taking a role in the leadership of the Church without being called of God to do so!

What is one of the biggest problems in America? Our leaders have no fear of God, and this is one of the signs of the last days.

As for the Church, God has given us all we need to know how to worship Him and serve Him properly!

To all who know they are called of God, they should do their absolute best to walk in obedience to the Word of God and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.

Without the Holy Spirit living within you, the Word of God cannot be clearly understood.

The Bible is a Spiritual Book when it is taken from the right source, the "Received Text".

The seeking of power and authority other than the power of God will be the downfall of this world!

Just look at this man Putin who feels like he has the power to rule any nation he so chooses.

There is only one power God allows any government and it is the power to serve the people and that according to the Word of God.

Certainly not to be lord over God's creation. This is the thing that the Devil seeks!

The was an Israelite named Korah who grew disgusted with the leadership of Moses, but remember Moses was God's chosen leader.

Because of the unbelief of the Israelite people, Moses had just turned the nation of Israel around and led them away from the Promised Land by the orders of Jehovah.

Num 14:21  But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. 

Num 14:22  Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 

Num 14:23  Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: 

Num 14:24  But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it. 

Korah and his allies were now ready to act and filled with anger, they sought to take the leadership away from Moses.

In reality, this was an insurrection against Jehovah God! 

It was God who instructed Moses to move away from the Promised Land and no human being would have been able to take control of this young Israelite nation to lead them to the Promised Land.

If not careful we could see some typology here. No one but Jesus can lead us to the true Promised Land, the New Heaven, and the New Jerusalem.

Korah was the ringleader of this rebellion. He too was a Levite in fact, he was a cousin to Moses.

Korah led a group of 250 men who were not just men, but leaders well known to the tribes of Israel.

Num 16:1  Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 

Num 16:2  And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

Num 16:3  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? 

Some were even Levites.

When they should have been encouraging all the tribes of Israel to be obedient to God, they began a total rebellion to God's chosen men.

By the way this is happening today to those chosen men who preach the truth of the Word of God.

Much of the world just does not want to hear what God has to say!

Korah and this group of rebellious men felt that Moses and Aaron had assumed too much authority and they were ready to take over the reins of Israel and lead them into the Promised Land, where God would have destroyed them.

It is God that makes these kinds of decisions not man.

Heb 5:1  For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 

Heb 5:2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 

Heb 5:3  And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 

Heb 5:4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. 

It is not man who decides what is holy and what is not holy. This too is decided by God Himself!

Num 16:5  And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

God does not like to see these things!

Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 

Num 16:21  Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 

God was so angry with this group of men that He sent them straight to Hell without first dying.

Moses received His instructions again:

*****Num 16:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 

Num 16:24  Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 

Num 16:25  And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. 

Num 16:26  And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. 

Num 16:27  So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. 

**Num 16:28  And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 

We should be careful if we decide to challenge the Word of God for this is the same as challenging God Himself!

Evidently these rebellious men had joined their tents together so they could meet and discuss the intent to go against Moses and Aaron.

A tent is also called a tabernacle.

We can see that rebellious talk will bring a large crowd.

Moses had challenged these unruly men according to the Word of God to a trial by fire.

Moses just said that God would speak for Himself.

Num 16:16  And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow: 

Num 16:17  And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.

We will also notice that this trial by fire would take place at the entrance to the Tabernacle of Testimony.

This would be the place where God would choose the men to be His leaders.

What does God always do before He brings final judgment? He gives a warning.

This is a biblical truth even though He does not have to do this.

Remember these rebels were official representatives of the nation of Israel.

It was also these same men who had agreed to the believe those ten spies rather than Joshua and Caleb.

Jehovah was ready to lead this nation into Canaan Land, but they had said no.

It was too late now, just as it will be too late for all those reject the truth of God once God has removed His Church at the rapture.

Will God take judgment upon a group of people for the sin of one man? No never.

Remember God looks into the heart!

God said:

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 

2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

Not only were these who were innocent to depart, they were not to take anything from them, which would include words of rebellion.

The only ones left were these wicked men and their families and those who did not walk away from this rebellion some 250 people.

There were four ringleaders of this rebellion. Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On.

We see that prayer still worked for the Lord listen to the words of Moses, but "judgment" was still coming to those who were guilty.

Judgment will always come to those who reject the Word of God!

As this group of rebels faced Moses and Aaron the hand of God fell upon these rebels.

The Lord did something new in this "judgment" that had not been seen before and I do not believe it has been seen since.

God opened up the earth and sent these rebels straight to Hell.

*****Num 16:29  If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. 

Num 16:30  But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. 

Num 16:31  And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 

Num 16:32  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 

Num 16:33  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 

Moses said, if these rebels die a natural death, then he Moses was not chosen of God to lead them, Moses said he could be considered an imposter.

What is the truth?

Heb 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 

Heb 10:30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 

Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

When we start doing what we think is right instead of doing what HGod says is right then we have chose our own path to destruction.

Remember we have no righteousness within us. We are accounted holy only because we have the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We do not know how to do right unless we are doing what the Word of God says!

No doubt that the Lord had told Moses what He would do.

These rebels went straight to hell to be tried by the fires of Hell and they are still there today realizing they should never have questioned God's man Moses.

Joh 8:24  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. 

Heb 3:12  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 

We need to pray for our Pastors and Church leaders who are called of God, and it will show by the way they preach Jesus Christ!

It was Moses who had selected Aaron by the Word of God and there would be a separate test for Aaron.

*****Num 17:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 

Num 17:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. 

Num 17:3  And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. 

Num 17:4  And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. 

Num 17:5  And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. 

Num 17:6  And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 

Num 17:7  And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 

Num 17:8  And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. 

If we cannot see these things as they have happened, we must at least see that God does not like a bunch of complainers and most all of us complain far too much.

We must understand that nothing happens that God is not aware of and that He could stop if He chose to do so!

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. 

All the things of this world are moving along according to the plan of God!

We should understand that a "rod" used by the Israelites could have been from any tree and they were sometimes formed as that of the staff of a shepherd.

This rod used here seems to be the rod of the tribe of Levi and may not be the same rod Aaron used earlier.

Aaron's name was written on the rod of "Levi" and eleven more rods were gathered from the other tribes and their names were written upon their rods.

These rods would be from dried wood none of them being green.

The rod used in this manner was as an emblem of authority.

We should understand that God has it in His power to appoint His Pastors and other men of God.

God's method of choosing is far different from the way we would choose.

This person would serve under God.

This person would serve under the Lord Jesus Christ.

This person would be filled with the Holy Spirit because they had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and are obedient to Him.

All others are false!

If this person does not promote the truth of God, then they are not God's man and God has the power to deal with them.

God holds this power over all His chosen servants!

Today, everyone called of God are chosen to be a type of Jesus Christ so it should be easy to see who are true to the Word of God and who are not.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only perfect priest which means those chosen today are not perfect because they are only men and their importance comes by preaching the truth of God, which in the original manuscripts is also perfect!

When we attack the Priesthood, we take the chance of attacking the men God has specifically called into the ministry.

When we attack our Pastor, we are attacking God, we are attacking the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that Korah and his cohorts attacked Aaron and God sent them straight to Hell where they would be judged by the eternal fires of Hell.

It was God who established the position of High Priest and God would defend His choice.

Heb 5:1  For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 

Heb 5:2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 

Heb 5:3  And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 

Heb 5:4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. 

Every priest, or pastor, or whatever their title must serve as being like the Lord Jesus Christ!

If they don’t preach Jesus, or the Blood, or the Virgin Birth, and all the truths of Him written in both Testaments then they are false and not called of God.

All Aaron had was the first five books of the Bible and then he only had the part that Moses had written up to that point which was the moral law and the Book of Leviticus.

Even today some people murmur against any Pastor when the ten commandments are mentioned.

The world rejects most all the Book of Leviticus because of what it teaches about being gay and abortion.

Moses obtained twelve staffs, one from each tribal leader as was Aaron.

The purpose of this is stated: the staff that belonged to the man God had chosen would sprout and this man would be the one God had chosen.

A simple enough test but it required a miracle.

It was the rod of Aaron that sprouted, and Aaron was the High Priest and the line to the priesthood would continue from the line of the tribe of Levi.

All the grumbling and murmuring must come to an end.

This priesthood is not accountable to man but accountable to God and this has never changed.

Complaining and murmuring are not of pleasant to the ears of God and if we are to please Him.

True faith says we trust everything God does so there is no place for murmuring and complaining!

Murmuring and complaining are of the Devil!

If our Pastor is declaring the Word of God from a legitimate translation then those words came from God and that Pastor is just the messenger God has chosen.

God wants His children to know, respect, and honor His chosen messengers!

Aaron's rod sprouted, budded, and blossomed and produced almonds.

None of the others did so.

The tribal leaders knew from that point forward the Levites were priests, and the High Priest would be a Levite.

The point of God's ministers is to produce fruit, just as the rod of Aaron produced fruit.

Bearing fruit is the purpose of the Word of God.

Bearing fruit is the purpose of God's chosen men.

Bearing fruit is the purpose of the Church.

The "Lost" cannot know the truth without the truth being told them!

Bearing fruit means to stop walking in the ways of the world and walk in the "Fruit of the Spirit"!

1Co 12:7  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 

Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Eph 5:9  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 

Eph 5:10  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 

The fruit of the Spirit is being welcomed into the family of God and a home reserved in God's New Heaven.

It takes Spiritual Leadership from God's chosen men to reach the Lost with the Truth!

Amen

Always Complaining

 The Murmuring of Israel

Book of Numbers Chapters 13 and 14

As Christians we must realize that when put our own personal preferences before our focus on God and the Word of God, we are stepping toward idolatry!

We must learn to follow Jesus even when it seems things are against us! He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us all our days.

Being a Christian will never be easier than it is right now, until we get to the Glory World.

In fact we already know things are going to get worse here on Earth before the Lord returns.

Murmuring and complaining reveal to God just how far we are veering from true faith. 

In fact these things can reveal a total lack of faith, a lack of trusting in the Lord.

Grumbling and complaining about the way God does things is dangerous!

Israel began showing their lack of faith when they did not accept that Canaan Land, the Promised Land, would be as God described it.

Lev_20:24  But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

We must understand that being negative to the truth of God will defeat us and then destroy us!

A negative attitude is always unwilling to face the facts!

A negative attitude will reject the truth of every situation!

A negative attitude will almost always lead to open rebellion!

A negative attitude will cause an unwillingness to listen and follow the truth!

A negative attitude about the Lord Jesus Christ will lead you straight to Hell!

At this time in this new nation of Israel, they had an unbelieving attitude, and it was separating them from our merciful God.

We should understand that Jehovah God will only tolerate such rebellion for a limited amount of time!

God knows our heart and God knows when our heart will never change.

Gen_6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: 

We could say that the striving of the Holy Spirit is not a physical thing but that it is the energy God uses to place the truth into our minds.

It could be called convincing or persuading, all taking place in our mind because of what is taking place in our heart.

The heart is deceitful, and this is the first place that the Holy Spirit chooses to do battle within us.

We call it Holy Ghost Conviction!

God had led these children of Israel to the entrance to Canaan Land and Israel refused to enter even though God had commanded them to and told them He would be with them.

We should understand that negativism and defeatism does not set well with God because cannot be defeated and he will never feel defeat.

The Lord Jesus Christ was not defeated when He went to that cross on Mount Calvary, He was the Victor, Satan was the loser.

Our God cannot be defeated, neither can the Son nor the Holy Spirit!

Instead of just entering the Promised Land as commanded by the Lord, this unruly mob decided they wanted more proof of the truth of God.

How many are out there today who are seeking proof for the existence of God when the sites if God's Creation is proof enough.

Anyone that believes this world came about by accident are just foolish!

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 

Jer_17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

God does not need to explain anything to us, we should be able to see the world we live in did not come about by some accident!

Israel chose out twelve men to go into Canaan Land as spies to see if the land was as God described it.

These were not just random men, but men who had leadership qualities and could be trusted, or this was what was intended.

It is at this time that Moses began to push forward a young man named Joshua (God saves).

Remember Moses could lead the Children of Israel to the Promised Land but only Joshua (Yeshua) (Jesus) could lead them into the Promised Land.

Canaan Land would include the lands of Israel today, plus Lebanon, and much of Syria.

The mission was conducted, and the spies left to make an assessment of the Promised Land for forty days.

One of the places they looked at was Hebron and God had already made a promise to Abraham about Hebron.

Gen 13:14  And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 

Gen 13:15  For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 

Gen 13:16  And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 

Gen 13:17  Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. 

Gen 13:18  Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD. 

God does not ever forget His promises!

These spies returned after a forty-day mission and a report was given to Moses.

Was the Promised Land as God had said?

*****Num 13:26  And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. 

Num 13:27  And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

1) The land did flow in milk and honey.

This land was fertile, very productive, and fertile. We may see some typology of our own lands here in America but especially Israel.

The proof was in some of the fruit that these spies brought back with them.

This land could easily provide food for the new nation of Israel.

Their livestock would find plenty of grazing land and water was available.

It was a wonderful land because it was land, that God had chosen for His people. 

It was the Promised Land.

What had the Lord told Moses while these children of Israel were still slaves to Egypt?

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. 

Some of the promises of God were ready to be fulfilled, but there are always those who see a dark side to everything.

Reminds me of some of my own family.

*****Num 13:28  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.

Num 13:29  The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.  

Nevertheless, is a word that should never been used in the English language!

Nevertheless is a word that stands in opposition to the truth!

In other words, "even though everything is just like what Jehovah the Almighty God said and even though He will be with us at all times, the same God who destroyed the Egyptian army, which was the mightiest army in the world, those people look to be too strong for Jehovah God".

To hear ten of these spies those cities were so strong that no one could defeat them.

These men were defeated before they even started!

Putin thought that the Ukrainians would be this type of people and just melt before the Russian Army but that has not happened.

When we look out upon the world, we can see some mighty scary things and the thought of Nuclear War is a scary thing, but when you travel with the Lord there is no obstacle that is so great it can overcome God if we are obedient to Him.

No power on this earth can overcome the power of the Almighty God!

God had already given these children of Israel Canaan Land and He was not going to change His mind.

So what, there were some men that looked like giants.

The Jews are a shorter than average race of people and most every basketball player today would look like giants to them and even today there are a few men and women who are extremely large.

The Amalekites were a wicked people:

1Sa 15:18  And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 

They were also warlike:

1Sa 15:32  Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 

1Sa 15:33  And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

God commanded the Hittites to be destroyed they were so wicked along with those other nations:

Deu 7:1  When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 

Deu 7:2  And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: 

To not enter the Promised Land as commanded by the Lord God, was to reject God!

There were two, Caleb and Joshua, who saw no problem in being obedient to God.

We should understand those ten spies were exaggerating and distorting the truth saying that God had led them to their death.

God will never do such a thing, but even if I die, I will still be with Him in Heaven before this carcass of a body ever drops to the ground.

These men brought an evil report when God was seeking strength and courage like that of Caleb.

The same strength God is seeking from the Church.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

This wicked distortion of the truth turned the hearts of these people against God.

This is what is happening in our world today! There is a wicked distortion of the truth, or we could say truly little truth from the leaders of nations.

*****Num 14:4  And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. 

Num 14:5  Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. 

Num 14:6  And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: 

Num 14:7  And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 

This wicked report spread through the people like Covid 19, and the words of Joshua and Caleb were not heard at all.

They all put on their mask and waited for this virus to kill them just like this world has done for more than two years.

All they could think of were cities with such strong walls they could not toppled.

Men so strong they did not need weapons.

Even giants that could not be stopped.

No one talked about the "Grace of God".

No one talked about the miracles they had seen.

No one remembered the angel of death.

No one talked about the "fire of God" or "the cloud" that had led them there.

Fear becomes an overwhelming force, when we allow it to take hold of us and many have during these last two years of Covid 19.

Some people are still so afraid they will still not leave their homes and a new delivery mechanism has been put in place by many retailers.

Nothing brings us into bondage as quickly as fear, but the Lord teaches us how to harness our fear.

2Ti_1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

When we have the Holy Spirit living within us, we have no reason to fear anything in this world!

We do not belong to this world any longer!

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

All the Israelites were grumbling in unbelief, the whole assembly!

Not a single person beyond Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb were trusting God.

They did not believe God could lead them to take control of the Promised Land.

It is said that no race of people can wail like the people of the East, and I can believe this even today!

The more this people expressed their fear the more they feared.

This people felt they would be better off to just die in the desert and God said "ok" if this is what you want, then this is what you will get.

Joshua and Caleb could not change their thoughts.

*****Num 14:8  If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. 

Num 14:9  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. 

These two young men did their absolute best to change the minds of this people but could not.

In the least, to rebel against the God who saved them, would bring dire consequences.

We know that even when we have the truth of God, most people will still fear what this world holds for them.

We will find that the rebellious lost of this world have such a great fear of this world they will want to destroy God's people and we see this today.

They do not want to hear what God has to say.

God will not tolerate unbelief and rebellion from any person for very long, and remember, they are already sentenced to damnation unless they repent.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. 

When we fear this world more than we fear God, then one day God will show us why we are wrong, when He shows us why we should have feared Him.

Jud 1:5  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 

God condemns rebellion:

1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 

Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 

Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 

We should understand that God is serious about the truth versus the lies of this world.

As Christians we have the truth of God!

We do not have to argue or run from the lies of this world!

All we need do is stand upon the truth of God and He will take us home one day to our true home the true Promised Land!

Amen

The God of Order

 The Camp of Israel

Book of Numbers Chapter 2: 1, 2, 34 Chapter 9: 15-18; Chapter 10: 35, 36

I do not know about anyone else, but when I was lost and out in the world, I lived one chaotic day after  another.

The very first day I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, I began to have "order" in my life.

As Israel began what would become a forty-year journey from Egypt it started as a journey in chaos.

They had no home.

They belonged to no nation.

They lived in tents.

They did not know where they were going.

They did not trust their leaders.

They did not have enough food or water for more than the next day.

They owned the clothes on their back and truly little else.

The riches they borrowed from Egypt could not buy them anything.

Psa 107:4  They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. 

Psa 107:5  Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 

The Book of Numbers gives us a permanent true record of the "wilderness wanderings" of Israel.

In the forty years that Israel wandered in the wilderness, all those who lacked faith died off and a new generation became a mighty nation because they began to trust God.

Again, we ask ourselves why we need to know these things and that answer is simple.

We can grow in our own faith and see the Love, the Grace, and the Forgiveness, of our Almighty God as we study this new nation of Israel.

Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 

Rom 15:5  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 

Rom 15:6  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 

1Co 10:7  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 

1Co 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 

1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 

1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

These are some exceptionally good reasons to study the Old Testament and all the Word of God.

We learn that it is in our nature to fall into unbelief and rebellion. We have a sin nature.

It is in our nature to complain and grumble about the life that has been dealt to us. We all think we deserve more than we have.

It is our relationship with our Holy God where we learn that we have purpose because there is purpose behind everything the Lord does.

The first thing they needed was "faith"!

The first thing we all need is "faith"!

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

Let's begin in Chapter 2.

*****Num 2:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 

Num 2:2  Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch. 

By placing the Tabernacle in the center of the camp, God made it known that He dwelt in the midst of His people, and He would be their guide to the Promised Land.

We simply cannot trust this road the world is on and only God can tell us how to get to the true Promised Land!

Num 2:17  Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards. 

The children of Israel began to see that they were indeed a mighty army.

We should not forget that even though these people had been slaves all their lives, Moses had been trained in military tactics and before God decimated the Army of Egypt, that army was indeed the supreme army of that part of the world.

That thing now history, we need to focus on the Almighty God, and this was to be the first lesson for this new nation of Israel.

We must trust our Creator, our Maker!

Another thing we should see is, that under the right conditions our God will indeed live amongst His people.

In fact this is the goal of Jehovah God.

God wants to live amongst all those who love Him!

Every tribe was to pitch their tents in one area. There was to be order.

We should understand that the family is important to God, and we should do our absolute best to keep the family intact.

Today most families are broken, each going their separate ways.

1Ti 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

We should all know our place in the family.

It is God who dictates where we live, when we are born, and it is God who appoints the bounds of our habitation, just as He did Israel.

Eze 20:6  In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: 

Eze 20:7  Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

It is not up to other nations or the United Nations, to dictate the lands that God gave to Israel!

We see that God has made His house, the Tabernacle, to be in easy reach from all points of this new nation.

You see God is always available to meet our needs if we only trust Him.

He is just as close as a prayer and He knows all our thoughts!

Even today, God dwells in the midst of each and every true Church, but do not expect Him to be where the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are not welcomed!

Mat 18:19  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 

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

His name is the Lord Jesus Christ!

The only way this nation of Israel would advance was to give God, Jehovah, the prominent place in the midst of its people.

The only way the church can advance today, is to give the Lord Jesus Christ the prominent place in the Church and follow Him!

We must follow all the Word of God which gives us direction, peace, and order!

The Church that was once a mighty army is now filled with wimps and compromisers and taught to bow to the will of man's laws.

God will guide and bless only those who follow His instructions and walk in the direction He points out to us!

God's directions are given to us in the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit who lives within every true Christian!

The standard of the Church is still the Lord Jesus Christ, and we must place our tent under His standard and stand fast as the family of God.

It is called obedience.

*****Num 2:34  And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers. 

Remember Moses is a type of Christ Jesus.

We need to do exactly what Jesus says to do!

When we go against the Lord Jesus Christ, we are going against God!

Eph_5:6  Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

There must be absolute compliance to the Word of God!

The Church that does not obey God is not then a Church, no matter what the Church leaders say!

We do not have the authority to question the Word of God!

Psa 119:89  For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

If the Word of God is settled in Heaven, how do we think we can change what God has given to us?

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Col 1:23  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;

We have victory in Jesus only as long as long as Jesus rules in our heart! Remember what Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 6 says.

God will only show up to our gatherings if we are obedient to Him!

God will not live in a house filled with disobedience to His Word.

Chapter 9 Verse 15

*****Num 9:15  And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. 

Num 9:16  So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 

This cloud is symbolic of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 

Act 1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

Act 1:9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; "and a cloud received him out of their sight". 

Act 1:10  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 

Act 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 

How will the Lord Jesus return to Rapture His Church?

Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 

And we must not forget about the day the Lord transfigured before some of His disciples.

Luk 9:34  While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. 

Luk 9:35  And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. 

We must understand that the Lord uses the clouds to cover His glory to protect the earth from mass destruction until He is ready to reveal Himself on the day of Judgment.

Mar 9:7  And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. 

This world will witness the awesome power of the Shekinah Glory of the Lord about seven years after He removes His Church!

Peter, James, and John just got a little taste of the Glory of God, the Shekinah Glory.

2Pe 1:16  For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 

2Pe 1:17  For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 

2Pe 1:18  And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 

This was the same glory that appeared over the Tabernacle during this wilderness journey of Israel.

Rom 9:4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 

Rom 9:5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Every Born-Again Child of God will witness the Glory of God when we meet Him in the clouds:

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

It was this same Glory of God that led these children of Israel through the wilderness those 40 years.

This same cloud changed its appearance at night so these children of Israel would know that the Lord is God of the Day, and He is also God of the Night!

You see it is only by the Lord Jesus Christ we have purpose and direction for our lives!

*****Num 9:18  At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. 

Num 9:19  And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not. 

This would have been an impressive sight to witness but in the end, it is not these things that get us closer to the Lord, it is that fact of "faith"!

These children of Israel knew without a doubt that the presence of God was with them at all times, yet it did not stop their rebellious and sinful ways.

We should understand that at the command of God we need to move and at the hovering of God we need to stand still, and, in both cases, we must know that the Lord is with us at all times, good or bad.

If the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle these Children of Israel knew they were to stay.

If that cloud moved from being over the Tabernacle, then it was time to pick up their things and move.

God uses the Holy Spirit who lives within us to show us these things today.

What did Jesus say?

Joh_16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Joh_14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Joh_14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

These people of Israel had the Tabernacle, but each believer is now a Temple of the Lord.

1Co_3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

We should understand that this Cloud and this Fire does give us an idea of just how powerful our God is.

All the things of Creation should fill in the blanks of just how powerful our God is if we have any questions!

And it was the death, the burial, and the resurrection of our Savior, that teaches us He is God forever and He is not afraid to use that word and use it often!

God guides us still today and He will continue to guide us until He takes us home to be with Him forever if we are obedient to Him!

*****Num 10:35  And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. 

Num 10:36  And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel. 

When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Holy Spirit enters into us to remain forever, we will find that the Holy Spirit (He is God) will be faithful in leading and guiding us step by step, day by day, until we reach our final destination (the New Heaven) and even then, He will never leave us.

God has promised to be faithful to us throughout our entire journey to the glory world!

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 

Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 

Joh 16:15  All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 

If we take the time to read the Word of God, we will understand that we are on the winning side! 

We will face trials and tribulations in our walk with the Lord, but the Lord promises us victory and rest throughout an eternity.

God promised this new nation of Israel if they would trust Him, He would be with them and provide all their needs just as He does the Church today.

Moses began each day warning the world that those who hated the Lord should just get out of the way.

We know our enemies are lurking all around us as they were Israel and still are, but this will not change the end result of victory for the Lord and for those with saving faith.

God is our dwelling place if we love Him, and He will always be!

This great march to the Promised Land had finally begun.

In type this represents the journey of every new believer.

I remember well my forty-year journey in the wilderness of sin, but the Lord Jesus Christ ended that journey and has set me on the path of righteousness to the true Promised Land.

When the Lord Jesus Christ arose from that borrowed tomb, He gave the death blow to His enemies and our enemies, and they will truly be scattered in Hell because they chose to be there not because they were destined to be there.

They will flee before the Lord!

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 

Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

Gathering in the Name of the Lord

 The Feasts of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 23 and 25

The Church must understand that every time the Church gathers together it is a special occasion.

Remember we are to gather in the name of Jesus Christ!

Mat_18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

If we do not gather in the name of Jesus Christ, then the Lord Jesus will not be there.

If we do not gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ then we are not part of the Church!

The festivals in a sense were similar. If they were not done according to the Word of God, then God would not show up in peace.

These festivals to be celebrated by Israel, were appointed by God.

These festivals were to never be secular or worldly, they were for worship with a joyful celebration of Jehovah God.

We should understand that the primary focus of Jehovah God is salvation!

God wants us all to be saved.

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.

Act_2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Do not listen to the liberals there is no other way to be saved and join the Lord in Heaven!

Act_4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

After our salvation then and only then can we worship our Savior and celebrate our salvation!

God created all humanity to live eternally with God, but most have chosen to ignore these things.

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We should understand that these "feasts" of Israel had two main points:

1) These feast and festivals focused upon the salvation and the redemption of man and the worship of the One True God.

2) These feast and festivals painted prophetic pictures of the salvation, the salvation that God was bringing to humanity through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

These events also show a believer how he is to walk day by day throughout his lifetime!

*****Lev 23:4  These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 

That word convocation means assembly.

These feasts were to be Holy Assemblies.

Without holiness there is no need to gather!

These feast and festivals also served to unite this new nation of Israel and cement them together as one people, one nation under the direction of our Holy God Jehovah.

This is still a great lesson that the Church needs to learn today.

The Word of God should unite the Church under one cause and that cause iis Jesus Christ.

*****Lev 23:5  In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover.

The Passover:

The Passover was to be a celebration of God's great deliverance from Egyptian slavery.

The Egyptians had become brutal and savage and full of immorality and because of these things, they fell under the "judgment of God" and this "judgment" would be severe.

It is in this "judgment" upon the Egyptians that we see the "Angel of Death" who operates under the authority of God.

It was this "judgment" that brought Pharaoh to his knees, and he released the children of Israel, and they became a nation.

The nation of Israel first began to see the power of "faith" by trusting in the sacrificial lamb. 

That sacrificial lamb that God provided was that "substitute" with the blood applied to the door of their homes in the shape of a "Bloody Cross".

They had to take a lamb without blemish and put it to death and smear its blood upon the doorpost of their homes.

When they did this thing, it showed God that family trusted His Word and His "Substitute" to take their place.

The "Judgment" of God would "Passover" those believers, but not those who rejected the truth of God.

The Passover is a celebration of the greatest event in the history of Israel!

The Passover is a symbol, a type, of the Lord Jesus Christ who was sacrificed as our Substitute for our own sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment of the sacrificial Lamb!

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 

Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

The Passover Feast was celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the ecclesiastical year which was the seventh month of the civil year and it lasted seven days.

These seven days would include the festival of Unleavened Bread which in type represented the complete removal of sin.

Leaven is a type of sin in the Bible.

We could say that these Feasts instructed these children of Israel all about "faith", trusting in the Word of God.

We should be able to see that our faith will bring us to the giving of thanks for all the things that God provides for us.

There was the Feast of the First Fruits.

*****Lev 23:10  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 

Lev 23:11  And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 

We should understand that it is not the soil, nor the rain, nor the sun, nor the dews, nor the skill of the farmer that we need to thank for our food.

We must see God as our Provider because He is our Provider!

This is the lesson from the Feast of the First Fruits.

Surely, we must thank God for our farmers but more important we need to thank God for providing the fruit from all crops.

It is the harvest of crops that provide food that gives life and for this reason this is a "type" of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When the Lord Jesus Christ rose from that grave, He brought eternal life to all believers!

A sheaf is a small bundle of stalks gathered from here and there in a crop. 

This would be done the day after the Sabbath which places it on a Sunday.

This bundle would be waved before the Lord. After the wave offering the priest would approach God for atonement through a special Burnt Offering.

A grain offering is twice as much as the normal amount.

The aroma of these offerings ascended up symbolizing God's acceptance of the offering.

The one thing was they were not to eat of any of the harvest until the First Fruit offering was given to God!

This was a permanent law through all generations to come no matter where the Israelites called home.

1Co 16:1  Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 

1Co 16:2  Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

As believers we owe to the Lord the first of our harvest! 

Today this would mean the first of our income for most of us. 

We would call this our tithe for the tithe belongs to the Lord!

It is God who has given to us all that we have, no matter what it is!

If our jobs are due to the Lord, then our health is due to the Lord!

We are to give our first fruit to support the Church and the ministries of the Church and the Gospel must continue making its way around the world.

God will reward us for doing this thing as commanded.

Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 

Then we have the Feast of Pentecost.

*****Lev 23:15  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: 

Lev 23:16  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

The festival of Pentecost, also call the Feast of weeks because it was celebrated seven weeks after the second day of the Passover.

It was also called the Festival of Harvest.

The intent of this festival was to offer thanksgiving to God for the harvest, but also to dedicate your life anew to the Lord. A rededication.

On the Day of Pentecost, just after the Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven there was a great harvest of souls when the Holy Spirit came just as the Lord Jesus had said.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 

Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 

Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 

Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

Act 2:41  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Jesus said:

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 

On this day of Pentecost we see a direct answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This day of Pentecost took place exactly 50 days after the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Festival of the First Fruits celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

The Day of Pentecost also celebrated the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since their escape from Egypt the nation of Israel had celebrated these two prophetic days never realizing the true meaning of those celebrations.

The Passover symbolized God's salvation plan.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread symbolized the need to separate from this evil world. Recognizing our sin.

The Festival of First Fruits symbolized the hope of each believer in our walk toward the Promised Land and the day of the Rapture of the Church.

The Festival of Harvest (Pentecost) symbolized the momentous day the Holy Spirit came to live in each believer and taking the salvation message of our Savior to the world.

God's plan of salvation is seen throughout all the Scriptures!

It does not stop here.

*****Lev 25:11  A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. 

Lev 25:12  For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. 

Lev 25:13  In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. 

We must understand that when we know God, we know that He is sovereign over all His creation and all His creation belongs to Him to do with as He pleases.

Whether we realize it or not God does as He pleases at all times and His great plan is working every day to reach the conclusion, He has chosen Himself!

If we pay attention, we can see the plan of God unfolding right before our eyes.

When God allows us to own any part of His creation then we must be obedient to His rules as in all our life.

Lev 25:23  The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. 

Lev 25:24  And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. 

It was important for the children of Israel to realize this!

Canaan land was to be divided among the twelve tribes of Israel and each tribe would then divide that portion among all the families of each tribe.

God gave all of this land to Israel as a gift, and it was to remain in their care throughout all generations till the end of time.

Even when God removed them from that land, it still belonged to them!

Canaan Land was a sacred, holy gift given to the nation of Israel!

For this reason, each family was to never sale the piece of land that was assigned to them.

The land they owned was to be passed down to the next generation.

What do we know? We know that the love of money is the root of all evil.

1Ti_6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

There is always the tendency for the rich to increase their riches at the expense of the poor, and this will not change until the end of the Church Age.

Mat 26:11  For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

We immediately see that it is not God who makes people poor!

Those who are rich will not help the poor even though they are the cause!

God is always concerned with the poor of this earth because they are often mistreated and abused.

There are always some of these who are poor because they are lazy and irresponsible.

In the Word of God you will not find that God says to help these in any way other than sharing the Gospel with them.

It is those who are poor because of the actions of others that we are to help!

God wants complete freedom and complete liberty for everyone where the only laws are the Laws of God!

As far as the land given to the nation of Israel, any person who obtained land belonging to someone else was to return that land to the owner to whom it was originally given him at the Jubilee.

We should see that in typology because as believers we are just visitors here on earth and our home is in Heaven and our Heavenly home can never be taken away from us even though many of us have not been called home yet.

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.

Among the Jews, every fiftieth year, being the year following the revolution of seven weeks of years, at which time all the slaves were liberated, and all lands which had been alienated during the whole period, reverted to their former owners.

In creation week God rested on the seventh day. 

The seventh day was to set apart as a special day. A day unto the Lord. A day for rest and worship.

Seven weeks after the first day of Unleavened Bread came Pentecost.

After seven years the land was to be given a year of rest. The Sabbatical Year. 

The land was to be lie unplowed, untilled, undisturbed.

It is from this passage in the Bible that farmers learned how to rotate crops to preserve the soil and allow the land to lay fallow for a year.

The Sabbatical year taught people to trust the Word of God and to depend upon Him.

For 490 years these Jews failed to keep the Sabbatical year.

The nation of Israel did not keep it for 490 years, and God removed them from the land for seventy years so the land could lay fallow.

2Ch 36:21  To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. 

When God gives us extra time of rest it is for us to get closer to Him! 

This was the purpose of those 70 years in captivity!

If we waste this time God will bring "Judgment" upon us.

So comes the Jubilee. The Jubilee is to set aside for a celebration of liberty, freedom, and redemption.

All slaves were to be set free.

The land was to be returned to the owners.

All debts and financial obligations were to be written off.

Even all labor obligations were to disappear.

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 

Jer 34:8  This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; 

Jer 34:9  That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. 

Jer 34:13  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, 

Jer 34:14  At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. 

Jer 34:15  And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: 

Jer 34:16  But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. 

Jer 34:17  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 

We see that God is profoundly serious about these things!

What do these things mean for us today?

We know that the Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the prophetic meaning of all these festivals.

The principles behind these festivals are things we must apply to our lives today!

We are to always remember our salvation through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are to remember to give our tithes! 

God gives us all these things and He only ask for ten percent in return. 

This should include ten percent of our time!

We are to love one another as we love our Savior and not oppress anyone especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Church is also God's Chosen people, and He expects us to be good stewards of the things He has given to us, actually loaned to us.

The world is watching to see if we are genuine Christians.

The world is watching to see if we have that saving faith.

So let us show the world the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Separated From This Wicked World

The Separation of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 11:44; 18:2 through 5; 20:22 through 26

The most important thing we need to know after our salvation are the desires of God.

It is called being in the will of God.

The most important and certainly the safest place we can live our lives is being in the will of God!

This begins when we know the difference between clean and unclean in the eyes of God.

We should understand that God knows things that we cannot know!

What does God expect from His children?

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

This was the Lord Jesus Christ speaking directly to His disciples and future Apostles, who were to give this same message to give to all believers.

The truth is, God expects us to live in a certain way!

God expects us to live far different from the ways of this world!

The world should be able to see the differences between the people of God and the people of this world.

The thing much of the Church have forgotten is, that God's people are to live Holy "lives" and there are no exceptions and no compromises!

This means taking care of our bodies as well as our spiritual life!

Christians are to bear a strong testimony that they follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and obey the commandments of a Holy God!

*****Lev 11:44  For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

What were these children of Israel to do?

1) They were to sanctify themselves. They were to avoid uncleanness because we serve a Holy God and they belonged to God.

We know that God does not ever change, and this is the same for the modern Church of today.

Uncleanness today means to avoid the filth of this world and we live in a filthy world around filthy people. 

Just look at the trash that is deposited along our roads, in our lakes, and in our oceans for one example.

In this day of Israel, Egypt was the land of idolatry and animal worship, and the world of today is still full of idolatry.

It can be said that the only way to be in communion with God is by holiness.

Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 

Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 

Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

We must not defile ourselves!

We defile ourselves when we commit any type of sin. All sin is an abomination to the Lord.

We defile ourselves when we have a filthy heart.

Eze 43:8  In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.

Jas 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 

Mat 15:19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 

Mat 15:20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. 

Just because we live in this world does not mean we are to act like we are part of this world!

*****Lev 18:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 

Lev 18:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. 

Lev 18:3  After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. 

Notice how God presents Himself here. He says, "I am the LORD your God".

God is saying "I am Jehovah" I am Yahweh, your One and only God.

The Lord our God then says, "You Must Live a Life of Separation from this wicked world"!

It has been obvious for us to see that the "moral" foundation of our societies is crumbling and pushed by our governments to do so.

If you challenge this, you are labeled a bigot and a racist.

Immorality weakens a person.

Immorality brings down desires to the level of wild animals!

Immorality corrupts humanity to live on the level of animals when God has made us to be far more than just animals!

Once relationships between people are destroyed, unkindness, abuse and lawlessness become the rule of society and we see these things are increasingly happening every day.

In fact, we could call Chapter 18 of the Book of Leviticus, "The Laws That Govern Sexual Behavior".

The Children of Israel were taught and told not to behave as the Egyptians nor the Canaanites which were immoral societies in that day of Moses.

When we call ourselves Christians, we are saying that the Lord Jesus Christ is our God, and it is He and Jehovah and the Holy Spirit who are the three persons of the Holy Trinity. Not three separate persons but One God. The Lord our God!

In this instance Egypt and Canaan are placed in the category of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Israel had just left Egypt and were about to enter Canaan Land.

Three times in these five verses we see God proclaim, "I am the Lord your God".

He wants us to be clear on His stance on immorality!

All through the lands of Egypt and Canaan Land, disgusting sexual activity took place including sodomy, bestiality, and homosexuality in illicit, unnatural acts of depravity.

We see an entire world returning to these ways today and it is demanded that we accept it!

As Christians, we will never accept these things and nor should we. 

We should believe God!

We must never sink to this level of abomination!

God tells this new nation of Israel in that day and all Christianity in our day, that we must avoid this lifestyle and be obedient to the Word of God.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 

1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 

1Pe 4:3  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 

1Pe 4:4  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 

1Pe 4:5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 

It is a fact that the world thinks we are strange to not agree with them on these matters.

These things do not concern freedoms, these things concern the absolute rebellion to the Word of God!

God does not give us a choice; He absolutely demands that we avoid the lifestyle of the world around us today!

*****Lev 18:4  Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. 

Lev 18:5  Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. 

If you are a Christian, you must comply with all the Word of God.

God will keep His covenants with us only if we are obedient to the Word of God, all the Word of God!

As our Savior who washed us in His blood, He has every right to make such demands!

We should understand that we must live a life of separation and obedience to the Word of God.

We must certainly not seek some perversion of the Word of God that would allow such things as these which in fact should be obvious that God would never permit such things to be part of Christianity.

We must never follow the immoral and perverted practices of this world!

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 

Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 

Joh 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 

Joh 15:21  But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 

Joh 15:22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

We must always obey the laws and the decrees of God, but just because we hate those things, we are never to show hatred to those who do such thing.

They are our enemies, but God says to feed our enemies and besides food we need to feed them the pure Word of God.

We must live moral, sexually pure lives before our Righteous God!

We must understand that God is always obedient to His own Words!

God will never deviate from the things He has written down in the Scriptures and it would be wise for us to get a translation of the Scriptures that come from the Received Text and not those that come from the "already perverted" Catholic Text.

Joh 8:51  Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 

Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 

Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 

God gave all nations a guide to ensure fairness in laws. It was called the Ten Commandments, the moral law.

Many nations once based their own laws upon these Ten Commandments for centuries, but in this day these Ten Commandments have become too burdensome for most of them.

These Ten Commandments are just as important today as they were to the nation of Israel as they entered into Canaan Land.

We must understand that "justice" must be executed upon this earth.

Without "justice" all forms of lawlessness, violence, and sexual perversion would run wild throughout the earth.

Well guess what, we see it happening right before our eyes!

We see little true peace.

We see little true security.

We see much selfishness.

We see much immorality.

We see a world where rogue nations are allowed to kill and maim innocent people.

We see these things have ripped the moral fabric of most all nations.

We see that the family has taken such a beating that most of them are ripped apart just because of these things.

Drug and alcohol abuse run rampant.

Robbery, theft, assault, and murder are daily in every nation and every county in these United States and our government does not seem to care because our government wants it this way so it can step in with Communism and Socialism as is happened in Europe.

Today we live in a world of false religion.

Today we live in an Immoral Age.

There is still only one thing God's people can do!

*****Lev 20:22  Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

We have to obey God in order to escape God's Judgment!

We must keep all the statutes of God! 

A statute in the Bible is a law that comes directly from God.

A law that He mentions Himself.

We must keep all the judgments of God!

A judgment in the Bible means God has examined the facts and God has decided which way leads to the truth and that is the way we are to follow.

A judgment can also be the sentence that exist for breaking God's Law.

God knows those who do the truth of the Word of God!

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

It should be obvious that if you are child of God, Born Again by the Blood of Jesus the true Messiah, we should live a life of separation from this wicked world!

God condemns those who do not obey His Word!

Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We must live our lives separated from the wickedness of this world!

God spewed most of the residents of Canaan Land out of their countries to make room for the nation of Israel.

God may spew many of the residents of the United States out because they live and allow wickedness to continue.

This Covid Plague may be part of that spewing.

*****Lev 20:23  And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 

There is no clearer message than this one how God feels about immorality and the gay lifestyle.

Abhor means extreme hatred.

Abhor means to despise.

Canaan Land was full of this sort of immorality, and it was for this reason God allowed for the destruction of its people.

God had given these nations four hundred or more years to repent of their wickedness.

Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 

God hates the things that are going on in the United States at this time and going on in most European Countries, yet people still ask God for His blessings.

There is only one way to obtain the blessing of God!

2Ch 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

The Church must avoid involvement in these practices and certainly not compromise on the Word of God.

If God abhors something, then the Church should also hate these things.

God could give our land to someone else!

*****Lev 20:24  But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. 

This is why God gave all the land of Canaan to Israel and there should be no question about it today.

Who judges Israel these days? The nations that allow these same things to go on in their own nations and many of the Arab nations that are descendants of Ishmael, Esau, and the sons of Keturah.

Israel had to be obedient to Jehovah before He allowed them to take Canaan Land and they never completed this task because of a lack of faith.

We that call America our home could see this change in our lifetime.

America was also a land that flowed with milk and honey, but there are no reasons for God to bless America today.

As Christians we must be able to discern between clean and unclean in our day-to-day behavior!

*****Lev 20:25  Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

This was the way given to Israel to escape the "Judgment" of God.

God had given Israel specific food laws that governed clean and unclean animals.

They could only gain physical cleanliness by eating the right foods!

In that day of Moses without ways to preserve meats, these food laws offered protection from diseases and unhealthy bodies.

These things also showed the world that they were separated to God.

Obedience to these things were key to their relationship with Jehovah God.

In fact, obedience to the Word of God is still the key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father!

This new nation of Israel had to obey those food laws to teach them the difference of clean and unclean, but the Church does not have to obey those food laws, but we must obey all the Word of God, "rightly divided" and still know the difference between clean and unclean.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 

If we cannot be holy in the eyes of God, then we are failing in our relationship with Him!

*****Lev 20:25  Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 

Lev 20:26  And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. 

We must live a holy life to escape the "judgment of God!

Why because God is Holy, and we have the mind of Christ.

God called us to set us apart from this world.

The Church is God's special possession!

We belong to the Lord!

We are a member of God's household!

We must never bring disgrace unto the family of God.

We must never bring shame to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We must live holy lives while we live amongst those who live in the damnation of God.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass

away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 

2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 

Why would we not want to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ?

Amen