From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

UV 4294/10000 Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, "What does this mean?" you shall say to him, "With a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage and slavery.." Exodus 13 v 14 The Lord redeemed the Israelites from Pharaoh's hand. The word redeemed means "to buy back." One has to pay a price to buy back anything and to buy back one's freedom from slavery takes a heavy price. The Lord God redeemed Israelites from slavery and bondage with a strong and powerful hand but He chose to buy all mankind back with the heavy price of His first born Son Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Having bought, redeemed by God, we should not now choose to go back to bondage to sin and to being slaves of sin and satan. We are now slaves of God who are crowned with the gift of salvation. We are freed from the law of sin to live in obedience to the law of love of God. We are to enjoy or rejoice in the new freedom we have in Christ. Egypt is a metaphor for the foreign land where we were formerly enslaved and in bondage. Instead of bondage, we are now bonded with God in Christ. Like God used Moses to lead the Israelite slaves to freedom and the promised land, we are led by Christ into freedom and eternal life. We should always be aware of the invisible crown that the Lord has placed on our heads. Our hearts should always overflow with love and gratitude for so great a gift that we receive by grace. Every time we yield to sin and temptation we are trying to regress, retrace our steps back to Egypt. There are deserts and mountains to cross and formidable enemies to battle and conquer even as we travel towards eternity but our triumphant entry into the promised land is guaranteed. In times to come, when the next generation asks us what it means to be redeemed, we need to leave our answer that the Lord has redeemed us by His grace. We need to leave a legacy of faith such that they do not ever forget what the Lord has done for us at such huge cost.

The Bridegroom of Blood

UV 4293/10000 The Bridegroom of Blood But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely, you are a bridegroom of blood to me,”she said. Exodus 4 v 25 Zipporah circumcising the young son Gershom and touching Moses with the bloody foreskin is a sign that the innocent blood would save all who believe or are touched and covered with the blood of the first born of God, Jesus Christ. The lack of obedience to the Jewish covenant by Moses and his family to the mandate of circumcision had angered the Lord God enough to want to kill him. Zipporah, after preempting the judgement of God and purchasing forgiveness for Moses, in her quick and decisive act, referred to Moses as the “bridegroom of Blood” signifying the calling of Moses, under the old covenant and then, Jesus, under the new covenant to pay with blood for the salvation of their followers. But Moses did not shed any blood and therefore, the reference by Zipporah to the Bridegroom of Blood is a prophetic utterance pointing to the Messiah Jesus shedding every drop of His precious blood for all were touched by it, all who took cover under it. Just as the innocent blood of the young Gershom was efficacious to protect Moses from the anger and judgement of God, the innocent blood of Jesus would protect all mankind who would allow themselves to be touched by it. Our dirty clothes, meaning our past and guilt, is washed in the blood of the Lamb provided by God and made white and pure. The confirmation that Jesus Christ is indeed, the Bridegroom of Blood to the world-wide and historic church, His redeemed bride, is found in Revelation 19 v 13:” He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. “ The purple robe that the mocking soldiers made Him wear turned dark scarlet with the blood that congealed and dried on the garment to fulfill the prophetic word uttered by Zipporah, the Midianite and the priest’s daughter. The robe of blood donned by Jesus made all circumcision thereafter, both inadequate and unnecessary since it was sufficient to cover all the multitude of sins of all mankind. Yet, the religious Jew continues with the practice, blinded by tradition that the Bridegroom of Blood stands by their side to embrace them as an honoured part of the Bride, the church.

Confronting the Giants of Our Lives

UV 4292/10000 Confronting the Giants All those gathered here will know that it is not by the sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands. 1 Samuel 17 v 47 David, moved by the power of the Holy Spirit, not only foresaw that he would kill Goliath but that the Israelites would totally rout the powerful Philistines. He was not relying on the power of his weapons, his skills or his fighting prowess but on the Lord God of Israel. He was filled with conviction that the Lord would give all of them into their hands. David spoke his faith before he acted on it. We, too, in this age and time, as we confront powerful forces that oppose us, attack us, challenge us, need to confess our faith in the Lord. We are not to rely on our strength, skills, resources or weapons but go forth to face our challenges in the name of the Lord, clothed with His power, assured of victory. For the battle is not ours but the Lord’s. If we go out to fight relying on the world, on our connections, our resources, our strength, it is akin to David weighing himself down with a heavy armour and sword. Of course, David then used his skill and natural strength with the sling and the stone. It implies that our primary source of reliance is spiritual, the strength and might of the Lord and our secondary source to fall back on is our God-given talents, abilities, strengths and resources. After much prayer, praise and worship, we need to step out like David to confront our challenges, to enter the battle. We cannot slink back in fear looking at the sheer size of the enemy and his power. When God is on our side or rather, we are on God’s side, the odds diminish, the barriers to our success in whatever domain disappear or get levelled out. However big or powerful our enemy, our foes, the Lord is much, much bigger. He is infinitely stronger. We only need to partner with Him, pair our strength with His. Like David we should not entertain an iota of doubt that the Lord can enable us to wrest victory. With Jesus, we are heroes. Without Him we are zeroes. With Him our every thought, stand, goal, word and action will bear results or fruit that will glorify the name of God. Without Him, we are living a life of vanity and vulnerability like the rest of mankind. The Lord strengthened the spirit and mind of the young David to be fearless, to be the hero Israel was looking for. He caused His sling swinging arm to be both strong and accurate that not a stone was wasted and the very first throw hit the giant Goliath in the temple of his head. After Goliath collapsed unconscious to the ground, David used Goliath’s own sword to decapitate him. The words we employ to affirm our faith in God is like the stone David threw at the mocking and snarling giant. The sword is akin to the word of God that we can use to finish our task, complete or fulfill our purpose. Words of affirmation of our faith in a specific situational challenge followed by the specific word of God relevant to complete the challenge are the way we need to confront our giants.

Dealing with Fears and Living In Joy

UV 4291/10000 Dealing With Fears and Living In Joy Do not fear, O land; be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done great things! Joel 2 v 21 The Lord has done great things beyond our expectations or our asking. Hence, we need to be glad and rejoice thinking of these. We need to not allow any doubt, fear or apprehension to enter our hearts and minds. We just need to count our blessings and be thankful for each one. He has filled our storehouses with grain and filled our vats with wine and oil. He has compensated us for the years that we lost due to fears, worries, enemy attacks. He has dealt wonderfully with us over the years. He will never let us be put to shame. He has broken our chains and healed our pains. Prayer, praise and thanksgiving from a grateful heart breaks the vicious cycle launched in our lives by the enemy of fears, doubts, anxiety and worries. Faith is a powerful shield to extinguish, to defend, to vanquish these subtle forces that try to take control of our lives. The enemy wants us to be depressed, sad and weak. But as we pray, praise and rejoice in the Lord Jesus, we are strengthened. We need to recount the testimonies, our own and those of others whom the Lord had helped to overcome many difficulties and obstacles in their lives. This will restore courage, hope, confidence back to us. We need to constantly remember that nothing is too difficult or impossible for the Lord to accomplish. He is the One who gives us immediate triumph as well as ultimate victory over all circumstances of our lives. Living in constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit helps us experience the joy of the Lord. The Holy Spirit comforts us, counsels us, guides us in our thoughts, words, decisions and actions. We need to only continually heed His quiet voice and not ignore Him. He reminds us as the Remembrancer of the promises of the Lord, of the great things He has already accomplished for mankind as a whole and for each of us, personally. The word of God is also another source of strength and power to enable us to be joyful and hopeful all the time. We need to anchor or focus our minds on a specific portion or promise of the Lord that is relevant to the current situation we are in.

The One who Quenches Our Thirst

UV 4290/10000 The One Who Quenches Our Thirst The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none; Their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them Myself; I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them. Isaiah 41 v 17 Each of us is the spiritually poor and needy. We are seeking the water of eternal life in this world. But the Lord God alone can answer our cry, satisfy our need. He will not neglect to satisfy our every need, our holistic need as well as spiritual. The Lord uses the word as the water of eternal life to fulfill our quest. Our tongues are parched but the Lord will satisfy us with abundance from His springs and fountains. The Lord can cause rivers to flow from barren mountains, or in other words, give us hope in even hopeless situations. He causes our problems, challenges, difficulties to be sources of strength and sustenance. He creates springs to rise in the valleys, implying that even in the low points of our days and lives, the Lord will cause His grace, mercy and blessings to flow in such abundance that these never dry up. He causes the dry land to produce springs of water. Even in times of drought and famine, the Lord will lead us to the oasis of joy and faith and hope. He causes our lives to be fruitful in amazing ways that will make people wonder, ponder and then, understand that only the hand of the Lord could have wrought such miracles. The Lord alone can make the deserts bloom and the forest into a veritable paradise. He is the God of Israel or the One who proves Himself to be the faithful God in the midst of our struggles and challenges. He is the One who gives us victory in every conceivable and impossible situation. The Lord cares for each one of us intimately and deeply. We need to walk close to Him and depend on Him for our sustenance, protection, guidance, provision, promotion like sheep on a shepherd. When we are extremely thirsty, our tongues get parched and we become restless, tired, weakened. Likewise, when our thirst is quenched, we feel full of life, strong, energized, powerful to take on life and its challenges.

Just in Time

UV 4289/10000 Just In Time Therefore say to them, “ Thus says the Lord God, “None of my words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be fulfilled completely,” says the Lord God. Ezekiel 12 v 28 The word of the Lord is sure to be fulfilled in its time. In this uni-verse, the Lord Himself declares that there will be no delay or postponement of His word. Not just that it will be completely fulfilled to the last word. Our faith in the specific promise or assurance of God expressed in persistent prayer puts the word of God into motion to be fulfilled in our lives. Constantly recalling the specific portion of scripture or a specific promise right through our days is a sign of our hope in the word. If there is any seeming delay in it being fulfilled, we need to be patient and keep expecting it to happen in His time and not be disappointed or give up. The Lord often tests our faith and rewards it when we show confidence, patience and hope as we lay claim to the promises of God. Sometimes there is an apparent delay in fulfillment of a vision due to our lack of faith, disobedience or as we are not yet ready for it. Often, as we do not act in faith and take the first steps in obeying the Lord, the vision is not fulfilled or delayed. Whenever there is a delay, we need to examine our faith, our lives, our actions and see if there is a deficiency instead of grumbling or complaining or having negative attitudes towards the Lord or His word. Like Gideon, we can ask in faith for a sign of favour from the Lord in the specific matter we are seeking an answer or His guidance. The Lord revels in doing miracles and wonders in response to the faithful prayer of believers. We need to believe that there is nothing too hard or impossible for the Lord. Wherever responsibility for practical action lies with us, we need to go ahead and not hesitate. We, humans, have a limited vision and knowledge of a particular situation and hence, we need to trust the Lord as He has complete knowledge, wisdom and understanding. We can always, however, ask for an increased measure of faith or wisdom to tackle our real life situations and challenges. Our attitude while we are waiting for a word to be fulfilled should be one not of anxiety, depression or doubt but of thanksgiving, praise, faith, trust, hope and joy. Indeed, when we praise and worship Him in every circumstance of life, He raises us, the level of our faith, our understanding, our strength, our joy. Hence, Paul wrote, “ Be joyful in all circumstances.” We are not creatures of circumstances but children of the living God. We feed and imbibe on the living word for all aspects of our lives.

The Key to the Door of Life

UV 4288/10000 The Key to the Door of Life And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He who has the key ( to the house) of David, He who opens and no one will ( be able to) shut, and He who shuts and no one opens: Revelation 3 v 7 The Lord holds the key to life, to eternal life. He uses it, His master key to open the door that He wants to open for His own, those who love Him and follow Him. He also uses it to shut the door that He does not want us to enter, the door of sin, evil, temptations, trials brought to us by our enemies that are not in accordance with His will. When we listen to the words of Jesus, when we recall His words and keep it, we are entering the door that He has opened. This is the reason Jesus described Himself as the Door, the Gate to eternal life. Each promise of God in scripture is actually a spiritual key to some door, either to shut it or to open it. Each verse contains a treasure of either hope or of wisdom. Wisdom preserves our souls and lives even as it prospers us in spirit, mind and body. Hope fulfilled leads to testimonies of faith and joy. The house of David refers to the kingdom of God. For David was from a humble background and obscure family of shepherds and soldiers but God opened the door for him to be king and forerunner of the King of Kings, the Messiah Jesus Christ. His enemies including King Saul tried to close the door to royalty to David but no one could shut the door. Likewise, no one can deprive us of the blessings and anointing the Lord has prepared for each of us. We have too little strength of our own. We need to depend on the joy of the Lord. When we do things and say things that please God and we make Him joyful. That joy give us great strength and power. We cannot depend on our own limited human wisdom. He is the source of our unlimited wisdom, guidance and strength. Nothing and no one can prevail against the will of God and the word of God. We should never deny the name of Jesus but acknowledge Him for there is redeeming power in the very name of Jesus, cleansing power in His blood, sanctifying power in the Holy Spirit, equipping and enabling power in the Word of God. Our hands should not be weak and instead do all the Lord has given to us to do. Then, our work will be rewarded in this lifetime and the life to come.