-THE WRITTEN WORD -
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines although it was near; for God said, lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea: and the children of God went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.”…..EXODUS 13:17-18.
“”Saying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will but Thine, be done:…LUKE 22: 42.
-THE RECEIVED WORD –
Men and brethren, when the people of God were forced out of by desperate Egyptians, it was the perfect will of God that they made the journey to the Promised Land in just about eleven days! And that also must be through the seemingly overwhelming fortress of Palestine forces fully armed and ready to defend their territories at all cost. It would be a very short journey, yet it required a people ready to face the odds – and a people that do know their God as God of war, even of signs and of wonders!
But those Israelites were not in any manner close to that frame of mind. Yes, they knew God and what He could do; but they would prefer God carrying them around like babies, even as some of us do even in salvation.
And our ever compassionate God, Who searches the reigns of the heart, knew His people in and out – just as He knows us. He knew that even though the short route was His perfect will for the people, yet He also knew that they would not endure the challenges that lay on that short route. So He chose another route for them, a longer one, which was His permissive will.
And in that permissive will, the people spent more than forty years to get to the same Promised Land! Coupled with that, a generation of the people perished on the way. You that is reading this message, how long have you spent in your Christian journey and still pretending to be a baby – ever learning but never able to come to the truth of the gospel of our Lord? Watch it.
Let us briefly but carefully analyze the above event. God had just delivered the people from the terror of the Egyptians, and that in a most dramatic and unprecedented manner. After He had severally plagued the Egyptians, He finally broke down their will power by slaying their entire first born. And all these took place to the full knowledge and in the full glare of the Israelites.
The Israelites in Egypt, witnessed some wonderful acts of God that have not been replicated till this very day. They had more than enough evidence of what God can do- that He can do ALL things, except that He cannot sin and He cannot deny Himself.
And so must everyone who is saved in Christ. The very act of His saving us from our sins, just by faith, even His own faith, is more than enough evidence that God can indeed do all things!
But in today’s scripture we see the heart of a people that should have believed better. In spite of all the signs and wonders they witnessed in Egypt, they were neither willing nor ready to believe God to take them through His perfect will, even though the short route. As a result, they spent more than forty years on the road! Search yourselves whether you are still in the faith.
No doubt, the above story is similar to our salvation experience. Indeed, that journey, which is of the Old Testament, is a shadow of what is now in the New Testament. The deliverance from the Egyptian slavery represents our deliverance from the kingdom of darkness through the blood of Jesus Christ. And their journey to the Promised Land represents our life journey even as believers, even as sons and daughters of the living God.
And it is the perfect will of God in salvation, that whosoever is saved unto Him, should be in a position to live His kind of life, even with His kind of faith. It is also the perfect will of God that when we find His kingdom in salvation, and live out the righteousness of that kingdom, then we would live on earth even as gods amongst men – prospering in all arrears of our lives even as our soul prospers.
In the salvation that Christ purchased on Calvary for humanity, we are made the righteousness of God - to manifest the same righteousness in our daily lives. We are made to inherit the faith of God which enables us to cast out devils, speak with new tongues, pick up serpents without hurt, insulate us from all manners of poison, and endow with the divine ability to lay hands on the sick and they would recover.
All these form part of the perfect will of God in salvation. And all these virtues are even the elementary matters in salvation as we expected to graduate unto the deeper things of God.
And to attain this perfect will of God, we that are saved are also required to commit ourselves totally and unconditionally to God’s kingdom values. We are expected to give up all for the sake of Christ. We are expected to follow the very footsteps He left behind in the days of His flesh, and that by His grace.
We are also expected to crucify our flesh through constant praying and fasting, and daily study and meditation of the word of God - to shun all manners of worldliness, We are expected to live a righteous and holy life.
And to make sure, even double sure, that we that are saved do not ever complain of the burden of serving Him, God also extended His saving grace to also help us to live as a people that are truly saved.
But many, even majority of those redeemed by the Lord, do find one reason or the other why they must not do the right things at the right time – why they must not live a godly life, why they must not live according to the perfect will of God in salvation.
Some speak of personal frailties. After all our own Moses once asked God to excuse him because he was slow of speech! Some speak of their poor economic circumstances. Some also speak of physical disabilities. Some claim that they are being victimized; while some speak of the type of businesses or jobs they engage in which they claim deny them the opportunity to serve God in truth and in spirit.
Brethren, there are multitudes of such excuses, that it would take about a million voluminous books to list out all of them. And all these excuses are summed up in this inglorious phrase – “it is difficult to serve the Lord”!
And if one dares to push those involved, just a little, they would begin to cry, condemnation, condemnation”. No wonder hell has opened its mouth wide to swallow.
Brethren, the irony is that most of us who peddle these excuses, still find great pleasure in all manners of sin and sinful indulgences. We fornicate, we tell lies with relish: we steal and rob even with impunity. We have no qualms going into other people’s wives. We gossip, we manipulate, we avenge each other, we seduce one another, and we readily break covenants. Yet we claim that we do not have the strength to serve the Lord.
We feed ourselves on sin and sinful pleasures, and then turn to God to feed us with His righteousness and holiness!
Even some who claim that they find it difficult to pray often glue their eyes and ears on Television sets for hours on end! Many can hear all manners of voices but claim they cannot hear the Holy Ghost, the One Who lives in their very hearts!
Some that claim that they cannot fast are ready to forsake food at the instruction of a Doctor - just to get better. Yet God is our only Healer. Some even at the instruction of witch doctors and exorcists would fast for weeks, even with ulcer and other sicknesses. Some even fast to death seeking the things of this life!
Some of us, who call ourselves believers, would rather tolerate whatever comes from our sin partners, whom we call boyfriends and girlfriends, than to tolerate our spouses in marriage. We are always searching for signs of “incompatibility” to abandon our God ordained marriage. We have tempted the Lord more than any generation since creation – and grave consequences lie ahead.
Some would even forgo important, and a times lifesaving engagements, just to sleep with a man or a woman who is not their spouse! Some would prefer to party several nights, destroying their souls with alcohol, tobacco and attendant evil. But the same folks would complain that church eat into their time schedules.
The same folks who spend several nights in sinful joints would readily claim that they cannot endure a Church night vigil!
When I encountered satan in a vision, he began to cajole me that I should come over to his side, that I should not “waste my years’ seeking what is not. He claimed that in his camp all things were ready made! He spoke with all his ungodly audacity. And sadly enough many do believe him, even in the very body of Christ.
And when I confronted Master Jesus with these satan's claims, (though I knew quite well that satan was lying), He was full of tears - tears of love for His own, even for humanity, and tears of anguish for the horror that awaits those who share such satanic values.
Our Lord quickly debunked those satan's claims, declaring that they were false, fleshly and lacking even practical proof. He went on to re-assured me that serving God is much more easier than serving satan in all ramifications. He said that He would prove that to whosoever is willing.
Are you willing to step out of your self- indulgent life: are you ready to tell yourself the truth, or will you just call me some unprintable names and trample on these lifesaving truths?
In part two of this message, the Holy Ghost will show us what it means to live in the perfect and then permissive will of God. We will also have an insight into what it means to serve satan and the course of this world. You can’t afford to miss it for anything this fleeting, perverse, adulterous and sinful world can offer.
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