The Rod Of God

(Ex. 7:8-9)"And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent." Whenever this text is read, the first thing that we think about is the fact that Pharaoh's magicians also did the same, "butAaron's rod swallowed up their rods." In other words the power of Aaron's rod was greater than the power of Pharaoh's. Symbolically, Aaron's rod represented Christ (Isa. 11:1 and the rod of Pharaoh's magician, Satan. We need to remember this if we're going to be successful in our Christian faith. Jesus said that, "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth"(Matt. 28:18). (1John 4:4) "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." There is no power in heaven or on earth that is greater than Jesus Christ, and once we are born again into his family we too have power through his name to overcome all evil. He is the "rod of our strength," & the rod of "The Lord God Almighty

 

 

Predestination or Free will?

(Eph. 1:4-5) "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will…" Do these verses teach us that God chooses some to be saved and others not to be? This question has become a battle ground in a lot of churches today, but this battle is really an age old battle that has been around since the first century AD. If God has already selected those who are to be saved before the gospel, then why do we need the gospel, and if He has already predetermined the outcome than why witness at all? Brethren, (Lk.6:47, Jn.3:16, Rom. 10:13 are all promises made by God to save "whosoever will"that trusts in Christ. In the foreknowledge of God, God already new before creation who would respond to His call of salvation.  Jesus said, "that many are called but few are chosen." One must respond by faith to God’s call first to be chosen by Him! It is an act of one’s own free-will!

Four Fears That Keep Us From Serving God

(Ex 3:10) "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt." This verse was the direct command of God to Moses as He spoke to him from the burning bush. The command to "come," has much to say about the call of Moses. Like Moses, every Christian today is commanded to come and obey the will of God. God fully expected Moses to "come now but instead Moses made up four excuses because he feared to go. 1) He feared being "unworthy," 2) He feared being "unprepared," 3) He feared being"uncertain," and 4) He feared being "unable."Brethren, these four fears are common to all that are called by God to "go." For if we like Moses look at the impossibility of our own ability, we too will fear and make up excuses for why we can't. That's why God promised Moses that "Certainly I will be with thee;…" The call of Moses teaches us that it's common to fear, but it also teaches us that God is very capable of taking the weak of this world to accomplish that which is impossible, if that servant will but trust in Him! 

 

“Finding The Will Of God”

(Gen. 24:27) "…I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren." This verse was spoken by Abraham's servant immediately after God revealed to him that He chose Rebekah to be the wife of Isaac, Abraham's son.  Abraham's servant by faith left on his journey knowing only the known will of Abraham his master, and the place he was to go. The blessing of knowing the perfect will of God only came after he realized that he was divinely led by God the whole way. God seldom reveals all the details as He guides his servants in the way. Many people try to make the will of God mysterious, and hard, but God simply just asks us to do that which we know to do, resting by faith in Him until He reveals the next step to us. Brethren we are always in the perfect will of God when we obey the known will of God for today. Abraham's servant is a great example of what it's like to walk in the way and will of the Lord, trusting only in God to reveal the next step.  Until then we must simply trust His Word, until God shows us more.  So, don’t worry about finding the will of God, If your obedient to the known will of God today, God’s will,  will find you!

Serving God From The Heart

(Eph 6:5-6) " Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;…" The Apostle Paul made it very clear that servants are to both reverence and obey those that God has placed over them in authority. In Paul's day, slavery was a common practice and in the above verse, Paul addresses all who are enslaved to masters to serve them from the heart and not just because they have to. Paul commanded them to serve "as unto Christ,"meaning that unless they serve others as they would Jesus Christ their service would not be a godly practice. In (1 Pet. 2:18 Peter expands Paul's teaching to include all servants under all masters. Using a different Greek word that implies that all who are under authority should hold to this same standard. We who are under authority should always serve authority as we would Christ, and not just when watched but from the heart always, obedient to every command,  " as unto  Christ! "