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Awesome Hands – part 87

September 30, 2015

The mystery of the kingdom of God is contained within all of the scripture.

Jesus told us that we do not need to look here nor there but to look inside because the kingdom of God is within you.

The study for this evening is going to cover the start of the complete judgment of the flesh as passed down by God to Moses and the Israelites.

This is all a type and shadow of the plan of God and how He plans to bring about His judgment on us all, but that judgment leads to salvation of us all.

Isa 56:1  Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.

Come Nigh

Like Jesus, Moses was a reformer. Like Moses, Jesus is a reformer. After passing down all of the judgments that we have been reading in Exodus, the Lord reveals to us not only the commands that Moses and the elders of Israel were to immediately follow, but the commands that we all keep spiritually as the people of God.

Exo 24:1  And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
Exo 24:2  And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.

Notice that there are 4 individuals mentioned and then the 70 elders. Moses, his brother and his brother’s children.

Most of Christendom recognizes that Moses typifies Christ in a lot of ways. While all these men represent a family in the flesh, they also show us that Christ is called alone to “come near the Lord” while Aaron and his children are told to worship afar off with the elders.

This is important to recognize because it is Jesus Christ who alone has ascended that mountain and has come near to God. It is Jesus Christ who has descended to bring us the law of liberty from the mountain of God, but what does that look like in our lives as Christians?

I realize that Moses only brings Israel the 10 commandments and eventually the Mosaic Law which is for a lawless and disobedient people, but so too is the law of liberty given to us to bring us out of death into the glorious like of Jesus Christ and communion with God the Father.

What does it mean to be in liberty to have freedom?

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
Luk 17:23  And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luk 17:24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

Have you ever considered that the judgments of God are to judge those things in your heavens that need to be cast down and out of heaven?

Luk 10:16  He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Luk 10:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Lest we forget, the judgments we have been studying in Exodus all started with this:

Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Judgment and the judgments being given to us are not for some future time or time period where we can execute God’s commandments then. God’s judgments are for us to learn from and be JUDGED with NOW, but again I ask what does that look like today for us as Christians?

While you consider that question, hear what Moses was given to speak to the people.

Exo 24:3  And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
Exo 24:4  And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Exo 24:5  And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
Exo 24:6  And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exo 24:7  And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
Exo 24:8  And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

Isn’t it amazing that while there is lightning and thundering we are afraid and answer the Lord in one voice with, “we will hear…. we will do”, but if we turn our back, close our eyes and clasp our ears we are able to pretend the Lord isn’t ever present with us.

The strong delusion the Lord has created in us all initially is to be in a position in our Christian walks where we think we are walking, talking and eating with God the Father when in fact we are just doing so with His Son so that we can later be converted and truly serve Him.

It is right after the covenant is made with blood, both on the altar (that is to say the cross) and half of it on the people (ONE sacrifice’s blood was used – that would be Jesus Christ) that Moses, Aaron Nadab, Abihu and all the elders believed fully that were partaking of EATING and DRINKING with God.

They did experience this event, but what they THOUGHT it represented was far from what it really was.

Exo 24:9  Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
Exo 24:10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
Exo 24:11  And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

Jesus Christ walked, talked, ate and drank with the disciples yet none of them were converted. Does that discount that they walked, talked, ate and drank with Jesus Christ in the flesh? No, it doesn’t.

The same Jesus that they walked with said this:

Joh 5:36  But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
Joh 5:37  And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

So, if they were not “seeing God” in a true sense of the meaning, who or what were they seeing? This is an important question and one that directly applies to us today right now in our lives.

They were seeing someone and experiencing these things yet Jesus told us that they and no one else has seen God nor heard His voice.

This question is one that beckons to be answered and the answer is one of are we seeing “within or without”.

See, if we hear or see someone saying “lo here” or “lo there” is Jesus Christ, we are to NOT follow them, but what does that mean? What does any of this have to do with the study today?

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Our daily lives are constantly being judged. In fact, we are dying daily and a part of the dying process is judging the things the Lord has set in motion in our lives.

Most of the time it seems we fail miserably at being and living the example of being like Christ in this world. At least it appears that way to me as I evaluate my life and living as a Christian daily.

It seems to me that as I am at the foot of this mount, waiting for Moses to tell me what to do and how to obey God, that I often fail to obey and fall while I wait.

But, the Lord has given as set of armor and a weapon in our hand to combat this FALSE judgment.

We have been given communion with God through prayer to recognize that we ARE seeing God when we look within and realize that this failing and falling IS the judgment we often times talk about.

Isa 56:1  Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
Isa 56:2  Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isa 56:3  Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
Isa 56:4  For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:5  Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Isa 56:6  Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:7  Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isa 56:8  The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

As we live our lives daily we should be evaluating which altar we are making sacrifices on. Are we making physical sacrifices to wash the outside of the cup or are we DOING what is pleasing unto the Lord upon the altar and cross of Christ?

You might be thinking, “Steven stop speaking mumbo jumbo”.

Pro 21:3  To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may PROVE WHAT IS THAT GOOD, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Php 4:17  Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
Php 4:18  But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Hos 6:6  For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Mat 9:13  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The living sacrifice and acceptable to God is a renewed MIND which tells us these words of Christ are true.

Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Contrast all of these verses with what you see the children of Israel do in the flesh. Of course it was given to them to do these things at this appointed time, but they are admonishments for us today to learn from and to apply spiritually.

Exo 24:12  And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Exo 24:13  And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
Exo 24:14  And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.

There is a season for everything including a time to be taught. However, there always comes a time to put into action and DO the things we’ve been taught.

Notice what happens when Moses “ascends” the mount. What happened once Jesus ascended into heaven? Where did He go?

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.

Exo 24:15  And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

It is the day of rest, the Sabbath, which is when Jesus is called out of the midst of the cloud into someone’s life.

For us, as the clouds, we abide with the REST DAILY. In other words, for 6 days the clouds cover the mount and this is a mountain of prayer where we have communion with our Lord and Saviour.

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
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.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mat 26:64  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mar 14:61  But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
Mar 14:62  And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Mar 14:63  Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?
Mar 14:64  Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

What does this look like to even those who are simple onlookers? After all, we have heard all our lives that FIRE is BAD. Fire represents hell and no one can stand the flame that consumes.

The Pharisees and high priest that question “WHO WE ARE” look on and condemn us to death!

Here is why that happens.

Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
Exo 24:18  And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Who possibly could survive such a DEVOURING FIRE? The answer is NO ONE can unless the Lord causes them to be able to dwell in the fire. Fire consumes anything it comes in contact with especially when talking about the fire of the Word of God.

Those that are brought through the fire are those that walk and dwell comfortably in it, and they walk comfortably in it because they know what the fiery judgment of the Lord is all about. It is for our good and it is so that we learn obedience just like Jesus Christ. As He is so are we in this world.

Isa 33:13  Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
Isa 33:16  He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.