toencourage September 28, 2013 Vol 1 Issue 31

This is the first of two installments concerning Moses’ Delivering Faith.  I hope that this will be especially meaningful to you and that you will look forward to next week!

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. 

Hebrews 11:23 

The name Moses means “drawn out” for Moses was literally drawn out from the banks of the Nile River, saved by a maid of Pharoah’s daughter and raised in Egypt.  We know Moses as the famed deliverer, lawgiver and prophet of Israel.  In countless ways, his life was an artist’s portrayal of the beautiful picture of Christ in our world. 

We can examine the life of Moses and see Jesus Christ in many aspects of his life and ministry:

• Moses was initially rejected by his own, just as Jesus was.
• Moses was the first person in the Old Testament to perform miracles, while Jesus was the first to perform miracles in the New Testament.
• Moses was a prophet, a priest, a servant and a judge as was Jesus.
• Moses took a Gentile bride just as Christ will take His Church to be His bride.
• Moses returned and delivered his people from the world (Egypt), just as Jesus will do.

As Moses grew and matured, he developed a Delivering Faith.  This is the faith which we can also have that will bless us with a powerful testimony and lead us into the everlasting life to come.  Many people live their lives unconcerned about their testimony, claiming Christianity while only practicing “Churchianity”.

A true delivering faith can be characterized by commitment, character and caring.

• Commitment – to dedicate time, schedules, thoughts, actions and feelings toward serving Christ.
• Character – John Wooden is quoted as saying that “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching”.  My friends, our public life will never exceed our private actions.
• Caring – We must evaluate ourselves by asking when the last time was that we made a selfless decision that would solely benefit someone else.

Beloved, so many people claim Christ but are not committed, so many confess Jesus but have no character and so many call on the Lord but have not a care.

Jesus Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). 

Our love for Christ can be seen in our Commitment, our Character and how we Care.

In order to have a delivering faith Moses first had to Repent, a word which simply means to “turn away” or to “turn from”.  A delivering faith will motivate us to repent of:

• Self – In Hebrews 11:24, we learn that Moses chose to deny himself when he refused to be identified as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  It is not hard to imagine that, in the indulgence of his flesh, Moses must have thought how easy he had it in the palace and of the hours of leisure time he enjoyed.  Did he wonder why he should even bother or what one person would be able to do?

Moses said “no” to the flesh and was counted among the slaves for he repented from self and from:

• Sin – Hebrews 11:25 declares sin as being pleasurable, but only for a short time.  Sin may seem to be fun, but no one escapes its consequences.  Satan is no fool in his malevolent attempts to seduce mankind with temptations which initially seem to gratify us in a perverse and costly way.   If only we could see the end of sin at its beginning, we would be able to resist temptation and avoid its penalties.  A delivering faith repents of sin!

A delivering faith will enable us to Recognize.  After we decide to repent and turn away from our sins, we are able to recognize that sin is, as stated above, only:

• Seasonal – Hebrews 11:25 describes sin’s pleasures as lasting “for a season”.  Even though sin is pleasurable and exciting at times, it is only seasonal and merely temporary.  

Moses recognized this fact and that a delivering faith requires:

• Sacrifice – Hebrews 11:25 tells us that “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God…”, Moses chose suffering over comfort and sacrifice over convenience which is what produces a delivering faith in the lives of believers.  It may not be the popular thing to do, but it is the right thing to do in most situations.

President Harry Truman once commented on the place of polls in leadership, saying, “I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he’d taken a poll in Egypt?  What would Jesus Christ have preached if he’d taken a poll in Israel?  Where would the Reformation have gone if Martin Luther had taken a poll?  It isn’t the polls or public opinion of the moment that counts.  It is right and wrong and leadership—men with fortitude, honesty, and a belief in the right—that make epochs in the history of the world.”

A delivering faith must recognize the:

• Saviour – Hebrews 11:26 ”Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt…”  The Apostle Paul wrote, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (II Corinthians 4:17)

Beloved, the Lord will provide if we will recognize the Saviour.  Repent of sin that is only pleasurable for a season even if it comes with a sacrifice in this life.  “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

The result is a delivering faith that is pleasing unto Christ.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:27)

toencourage September 21, 2013 Vol 1 Issue 30

By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

Hebrews 11:22

Joseph is considered to be a prince among the world of men and lived a life that is exalted within the realm of bible students and laymen alike.  Joseph exemplifies a faith that believed despite the seemingly insurmountable events in his life.  Joseph exercised his faith in spite of the impossible circumstances he experienced.  Joseph possessed a faith that resulted in action when human nature’s tendency would have been to surrender in despair.

Joseph possessed a Deathless Faith, an undying faith that without fail, even in the midst of adverse factors, never gave up.  Joseph faced issues that most of us have never dreamed of confronting.  Yet he was not the type of individual who would punt the ball on 4th and 1, but would instead call a time out, regroup and press forward with determination toward a first down.  His deathless faith in God enabled Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, to hold his head up and bring glory and honor to Jehovah God, the Creator of all things.

As a young man, Joseph exercised his deathless faith in the midst of Abandonment.  From Genesis 37:23 onward, the Bible records the events of his own brothers selling him into slavery.  Imagine Joseph’s utter bewilderment and the thoughts that must have gone through the mind of this seventeen year old as his own flesh and blood bartered him in the same way one would sell an animal and then have it

carted off to Egypt.  Never mentioned during this ordeal is any attempt by Joseph to defend himself or fight back against his brothers.  His life and position among them was paid for with twenty pieces of silver.  Although there seems to be an inordinate focus on the importance of self-esteem in young people today and excuses are often made as to why children misbehave or rebelliously act out  due to “low self-esteem”, if anyone ever had the right to low self-esteem, it would have been Joseph.  He was an innocent who was betrayed and discarded by his brothers, but he never opened his mouth in protest or to complain about the unfairness and injustice of his plight.

After being transported to Egypt, Joseph became a slave, but in his pre-arranged position in the home of his new owner, Potiphar, he once again had to exercise his deathless faith while experiencing Accusation.  Beginning in Genesis 39:7, we learn of the schemes of the vile and adulterous wife of Potiphar who falsely accused the young Joseph of a heinous act after attempting to seduce him.  It is thought that not even Potiphar believed his wife, but to dismiss her accusations would have been politically and personally scandalous.  Consequently Joseph, the son turned slave, was once again sentenced to prison despite his innocence.

Though his life had seemingly tumbled into hopelessness, Joseph, with his deathless faith in the Lord, brought prosperity (Genesis 39:23) to the incarcerated even while serving his sentence in prison.  During his incarceration, the goodness of God being seen in his testimony, Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of both the butler and the baker.  Even though the butler in his gratitude promised not to forget Joseph, Genesis 40:23 reveals that the prince of Israel became nothing more than an Afterthought.  Sadly enough it appeared that life had dealt Joseph a very bad hand and that circumstances had acted against him.  Viewed from the outside looking in, the evidence proved to be true.

Joseph never lost his faith or vision in who his Lord was nor of the purpose of the promised seed of Abraham.  His remarkable acts of faith that fueled the greatest disposition recorded among men were fortified by the belief in the promise of the one true God.  Joseph had been carried off into a foreign land populated by a pagan people.  In his heart, Joseph held to the undying belief that “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1.37).  As time would move forward, the great picture and purpose of Joseph’s struggles would be revealed.  Later in his life as a grown man, He would proclaim to his brothers, “And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” (Genesis 45:7).  Through his trials and tribulations, the entire nation of Israel was preserved, living in Goshen.

As the years passed, an elderly Joseph, now aged and infirm, would die in a foreign land with his family settled and safely secured with him.  Joseph’s deathless faith would once again be rewarded in his belief that God would lead his people from Egypt, a pagan land of preservation, into the promised land of the Abrahamic covenant.  Beloved, his deathless faith in the Lord who would fulfill ALL that He promised enabled Joseph to persevere and continue on.  That promise can encourage us today to do the same.

By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel…

toencourage September 14, 2013 Vol 1 Issue 29

This is the second of two installments concerning Jacob’s Dependent faith which I hope it has been especially meaningful to you.

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

Hebrews 11:21

Last week we saw that Jacob was a wretched man, examining who he was by way of name as well as the manner in which he was influenced by his upbringing and his home life. 

Before moving too far away from this point, let’s explore an issue related to the direction our young people seem to be taking which may be beneficial to our discussion.  Statistics show that over seventy percent of teenagers do not return to church after they graduate high school.  Is this because they have suddenly become wretched little creatures who hate God?  No!  Might it be because they had just been “playing church” during their formative years and in their new found independence as young adults decide that they have the right to do whatever they wish?  Likely not.  Despite what we think the cause may be, the sad fact of the matter is that it is indeed occurring.  Throughout America, and across the globe, there is a absence of Dependent Faith upon the Lord and our children become witnesses to this.  Consequently, a spiritual chill develops which results in a wandering away from within the church and our congregations.  What is the solution?  Friends, we must give our children a Lord to follow rather than a list.  Too often our youth are given lists of “Do’s” and “Don’ts” thinking that as long as they honor that list they will be “right with God”.  This could not be further from the truth. Beloved, our children need a Lord to follow and a personal relationship with the Son of God who suffered so horribly at Calvary and died on the cross for their sins.  My own children have been taught that they can not piggyback on my or my wife’s testimonies or upon our own intimate relationship with Christ.  They know that this must be a personal decision that they will have to make upon conviction on their own.  Even though they are saved, the testimony they posses must personal!

I am convinced that Jacob’s desire to know God led him to a Dependent Faith upon his personal Lord.  Although Jacob was wretched, his longing to know the Lord brought him to Wrestle.  In Genesis 32:24-26, we are given the account of Jacob wrestling with the Angel of the Lord as he proclaimed, “I will not let thee go”.  Jacob was possessed by a hunger for the Lord and an unquenchable need to be blessed of God!

This Angel of the Lord was none other than the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ who appeared as God, the Angel of Jehovah!  Friend, God exhausted Jacob and brought him to his end to enable Jacob to overcome himself.  That typically becomes the greatest problem and therein our solution.  We must simply concede ourselves in order to have a dependent faith upon Jesus Christ. 

In this particular case, Jacob was brought to the end of himself through Seclusion.  Returning to Genesis 32:24, we read that “… Jacob was left alone...”.  People today do not like to be alone and as we preoccupy ourselves with busy schedules, we discover that we prefer the company of others and the stimulation of sounds.  Most people do not like to sit alone quietly by themselves in a room without having a TV or radio on such is their need for company and the sounds of another’s voice.  People have developed an obsession with amusement.  Etymology tells us that a breakdown of the word “amusement” reveals it as being quite negative with “a” being defined as “without” and “muse” meaning “thought”.  If the world today seeks to be amused, they are actually seeking to be “without thought”.  What are we afraid to think about?  Why are we not willing to examine the deeper issues of life, such as our relationship with God?

There should be a time during our day when we seek to be alone with God.  Quiet time with God is it’s own reward and will prove to be a  precious and spiritually rewarding time that is sought for daily.  Why?  Because you will never be any better in public than you are in private. 

Jacob was also brought to the end of himself through Struggle and verse 24 of Genesis chapter 32 continues to tell us that Jacob “there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day“.  Before the sun began to rise, God had begun to mold something out of Jacob that brought him to Surrender after a night of exhaustive wrestling.  Jacob would not give in or say “uncle”.  He wanted God, but he refused to surrender to God until he was touched.  Jacob did everything he knew to do.  He did everything on his own and then he came to God, wrestling with the Angel of the Lord.

The Lord said, “let me go” yet Jacob refused.  This reminds us of the day following the resurrection: “But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.” (Luke 24:29)  When Jacob said, “I will not let go, except thou bless me”, he was not bargaining with the Lord as he did with his brother Esau.  He was begging for the Lord’s blessing which was what the Lord wanted.  Jacob depended upon his own legs to prevail, yet when the Lord touched the hollow of his thigh, he had to depend upon Christ and he was left to lean completely upon the Lord.

What do you have in your life that you are depending on?  The Lord awaits your surrender and wants you to allow Him to take over.  

Jacob went from wretched to wrestling in order to Worship.

Jacob now worshipped God, leaning upon Him for the rest of his life because he was now dependent upon the Lord.  The Lord crippled him that he might crown him.  One may say He broke him that he might bless him!

If Jacob would have just been willing rather than wretched, he could have worshipped God without wrestling at all.  In Genesis 32:27, God asked Jacob’s name to compel him to confess who and what he really was: a conniver, deceiver, liar…and a worm.  Just as He had asked Adam where he was in the Garden, God only wanted them to confess where they were in their lives and if they were hiding from the Lord.

Might you be wondering today why you are in the circumstance or situation you may be in?  Yes?  In the end, the Lord allowed Jacob to be with Laban so the cheater could be cheated.  The con man was conned!  Some of life’s most profound lessons are designed simply to learn that God is really in control and what it is that He desires from each one of us in this short life.  He is not interested in a list, but rather being Lord of our lives.

Beloved, it took 70 years to make Jacob a prince and leaning upon his staff, he learned that his failure was not his finale! (Read on in Genesis 32:28-30)  

We must learn to depend fully and faithfully in Christ alone. 

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Jacob worshipped God and leaned upon his staff.  When it comes time to die, the only thing that will matter will be our relationship with the Lord.  One day, at some appointed hour, each and every one of us will meet the Lord, not a list.  Our relationship with Him is all that will matter.

By faith Jacob…worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

toencourage September 7, 2013 Vol 1 Issue 28

This is the first of two installments concerning Jacob’s Depending faith.  I hope that this will be especially meaningful to you and that you will look forward to next week!

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. Hebrews 11:21

The Holy Bible records that Jacob blessed both of the sons of Joseph and worshipped God while he had to lean upon his staff.  Jacob reveals to us his dependence upon that staff as he relied on it for support.  The staff was his provision, propensity and prop.  In his waning days, Jacob gives us the picture of a Dependent Faith upon the Lord.  Yet in Isaiah 41:14, the Old Testament scriptures tell us what the Lord said to Jacob: “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”  While God calls Jacob “thou worm” in Isaiah, in Genesis He called him a “prince”.

This in itself should be  extremely  encouraging to all of us today in that that a worm of a man became a prince of the Lord. 

The name Jacob is defined as meaning, “he grasps the heel”, “he cheats”, “supplanter”, “twister”, “cheater”, “con-artist”, “liar”, “deceiver”,  and “a deceitful person”.  I believe these definitions convey to us what Jacob’s character was like, but despite all those descriptions of who and what Jacob was, God chose this man to be a prince.  God made a worm into a wonder!  A preacher of yesteryear once said, “God does not love us because we are valuable.  We are valuable because God loves us!” 

Jacob, despite his circumstances, developed a Dependent faith.  He had to because we know it was certainly not something he was born with by any means. 

We can find tremendous encouragement in the fact that as Jacob developed a dependent faith upon God, we can too!  God did not love Jacob because of what he was, but rather for what he could  be.  As the Lord searches our hearts, He examines the intentions of our labor as opposed to the actual tasks themselves.  The Lord never gives up on us easily, praise His name!

Based on Jacob’s description and profile, he was clearly a Wretched man.  While a person can never completely escape their upbringing, let us take a moment to examine Jacob’s home and childhood.  Jacob had a Carnal Father and according to Genesis 25:28, his father’s love was for Jacob’s older brother, Esau, but only because of the meat Esau provided him.  That’s carnality!  Before we judge Isaac however, we should recognize that circumstances are just as bad today with some people choosing a church because of their programs or preferences as opposed to the content and substance of the preaching.  Jacob’s father was interested in things of the flesh and we have seen it time and time again in society.  Too many fathers today are interested in their sons or daughters more for what they can surreptitiously re-live through them or for how they can boast about them around the water cooler.  The truth of the matter is that these children are growing up feeling alone, as if they are not wanted unless they can win an award, a ribbon or a shiny trophy.  That may sting a little, but could this be true in your life?

Jacob also had a Conniving Mother as we read again in Genesis 25:28.  Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, made Jacob a “mama’s boy”.  Despite Jacob being given the name “surplanter” and “deceiver”, it was his mother’s idea to deceive his father Isaac into giving his blessing to Jacob rather than to his older brother, Esau.  

Finally within their home, Jacob lived with the rivalry of a Contemptible Brother.  Reading Genesis 25:29-31, we learn that Esau surrendered his heritage for a bowl of red pottage in a moment of hunger, presenting himself as weak and indulgent to say the least.  Hebrews 12:16 reads, “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”  Esau had no care for the things of God, but rather for the satisfaction of his physical needs, the fulfillment of the flesh and for the things of the world.

In a nutshell, Jacob’s home and heritage were against him.

Now picture with me, if you will, Jacob’s life.  Jacob’s nature was to cheat, deceive, connive, lie and double cross.  Failure seemed to follow him wherever he went and even the hour glass of time was against him as he was 70 years old before God made him a prince.  One redeeming factor for Jacob was that deep down in his heart he had a desire, a thirst and hunger to know God.  Yes, he failed and yes, he floundered and although his family did not help him, he had a desire to know God!

His older brother Esau did not share this desire, so God chose Jacob for what He could do with him.  Paul said, “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” (II Corinthians 8:12)

Some people today cannot be used of God, not because they are wretched, but because they are simply without the desire to know God and be used of Him.

We must wonder if every night as he laid down to sleep, Jacob didn’t go to bed crying out to God, “I want to do what’s right!  I want to do better!  I want to know and serve you, Lord!”   There is no doubt that Jacob hated who he was, so much so that every night he cried for himself, yet every day he continued to flounder shiftlessly in his ways.

Beloved, God cannot do anything with us until we know who and what we really are.  “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” (Romans 7:18).

“By faith Jacob…worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”