I ended my last sermon (blog) with a question: "Will God bless us, if we live by works?" My loving wife and editor took out that question, but I want to build this blog (sermon) on that question. If it weren't for Pat editing, no one would be able to read our blogs and understand what The Lord has said to me.
The Law was given to us by God for one reason, so we could know how sinful we are. His Word says that if we break one Law, we have broken all of the law. The law is good; it's the moral fiber of life, but we can't live the law. The only one who could was The Lord Jesus. When He said on His Cross; "It is finished" He was declaring the end of the law, and the beginning of Grace.
I feel led of the Spirit to tell the story of Moses about the rod, and his leprosy. In the fourth chapter of Exodus, is the account of Moses, when The Lord told him to lay down his rod, and it became a serpent. Pick up the serpent, and it became the rod. Put your hand into your bosom, and it was cured of leprosy. Take it out, and leprosy returned. Two point's the rod, and leprosy.
In the Old Testament the tree was referred to as a curse. When the children of Israel defeated a King, he was hung on a tree, but had to be removed before sundown. Moses' rod was a symbol of the Cross (what Jesus did there not the altar). The serpent was a symbol of Satan, who would be defeated by Christ on the Cross. Leprosy was a symbol of sin, Moses's bosom a symbol of Jesus blood, and how it overcomes sin. I want to add to this thought. When Zipporah, Moses wife circumcised their firstborn son, she threw his foreskin at Moses feet, and said; "You have a bloody religion!" If she wouldn't have done (circumcised)what The Lord told Moses must be done, that son would have been killed along with the first born of Egypt. Why Circumcision? To remind Israel that innocent blood would be shed for them when their Messiah came. God's plan for Salvation, Sanctification, and Glorification, has always been the shedding of blood of a innocent victim. When we add to, or take away from God's plan we are in spiritual adultery sin.
I want to go back to Moses' leprosy. What God wanted Moses to understand about himself, that anything he was called to do was The Lord, not Moses. If Moses ever would feel that he was doing a great thing for Israel, it would be the sin of self-righteousness. Moses was shown that he was a servant of God, not God.
We always have to remember, we are servants of God. When I feel that I have victory over sin because of what I have done, it's not righteous, but self-righteous. In Isaiah it says that the best we can do are like filthy rags in Gods sight. This doesn't sound good to our ear, but it should, because Jesus is our righteousness. He became our righteousness because He went to His Cross, and took our filthy rags, and made them white as snow by His shed blood. As Zipporah said, it's a bloody religion, "But it's Gods way!" His way was determined in eternity (not a time, it's a place) that includes time as we understand it, but what we see dimly now, we shall behold it in all of His Glory. Even though it is a bloody experience it's the only way to have God's blessing in the fulness that He intended for us.
The Law was given to us by God for one reason, so we could know how sinful we are. His Word says that if we break one Law, we have broken all of the law. The law is good; it's the moral fiber of life, but we can't live the law. The only one who could was The Lord Jesus. When He said on His Cross; "It is finished" He was declaring the end of the law, and the beginning of Grace.
I feel led of the Spirit to tell the story of Moses about the rod, and his leprosy. In the fourth chapter of Exodus, is the account of Moses, when The Lord told him to lay down his rod, and it became a serpent. Pick up the serpent, and it became the rod. Put your hand into your bosom, and it was cured of leprosy. Take it out, and leprosy returned. Two point's the rod, and leprosy.
In the Old Testament the tree was referred to as a curse. When the children of Israel defeated a King, he was hung on a tree, but had to be removed before sundown. Moses' rod was a symbol of the Cross (what Jesus did there not the altar). The serpent was a symbol of Satan, who would be defeated by Christ on the Cross. Leprosy was a symbol of sin, Moses's bosom a symbol of Jesus blood, and how it overcomes sin. I want to add to this thought. When Zipporah, Moses wife circumcised their firstborn son, she threw his foreskin at Moses feet, and said; "You have a bloody religion!" If she wouldn't have done (circumcised)what The Lord told Moses must be done, that son would have been killed along with the first born of Egypt. Why Circumcision? To remind Israel that innocent blood would be shed for them when their Messiah came. God's plan for Salvation, Sanctification, and Glorification, has always been the shedding of blood of a innocent victim. When we add to, or take away from God's plan we are in spiritual adultery sin.
I want to go back to Moses' leprosy. What God wanted Moses to understand about himself, that anything he was called to do was The Lord, not Moses. If Moses ever would feel that he was doing a great thing for Israel, it would be the sin of self-righteousness. Moses was shown that he was a servant of God, not God.
We always have to remember, we are servants of God. When I feel that I have victory over sin because of what I have done, it's not righteous, but self-righteous. In Isaiah it says that the best we can do are like filthy rags in Gods sight. This doesn't sound good to our ear, but it should, because Jesus is our righteousness. He became our righteousness because He went to His Cross, and took our filthy rags, and made them white as snow by His shed blood. As Zipporah said, it's a bloody religion, "But it's Gods way!" His way was determined in eternity (not a time, it's a place) that includes time as we understand it, but what we see dimly now, we shall behold it in all of His Glory. Even though it is a bloody experience it's the only way to have God's blessing in the fulness that He intended for us.
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