Praise the Lord, everyone.
Welcome to Imperative Life
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Lessons. I'm
Pastor Ryan Johnson.
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In John chapter 20,
verse 29, Jesus says to Thomas
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doubting Thomas.
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This is critical council
from Jesus and to see why
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let's look toward the beginning
of the Bible to where an ancient
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battle of deities is recorded.
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In this battle were
several contesting sticks.
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The skirmish was between the
great I Am, and the not so great
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father of lies. One may
say that two sticks were pitted
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against each other that
day in the palace, actually
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it is a cultural
insult to call them sticks.
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The Bible calls
them staves, a staff.
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These were the days where
every man in the community
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worth his salt on the staff.
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A staff was more than
just a fashion accessory
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for example, a staff
could be an aide and a support.
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Hey, look at Hebrews chapter
11 and verse 21...It's says...
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The staff supported Jacob,
a Person's staff was a tool
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mmm, look at 1 Samuel chapter
14 and verse 27, there it says;
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Jonathan used
the rod to get honey.
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A staff was even a
weapon. Psalms chapter 23 and
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verse four says;
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David, the metaphorical sheep
finds comfort in the protection
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of the good shepherd's staff.
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a staff could even be a
scepter indicating position
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and authority as in
Esther Chapter Eight;
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When the king held out the
golden scepter towards Esther;
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Stays have a sort of
gravity a special meaning
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to the owners who carry
them wherever they went.
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I've often wondered if in
ancient times when people were
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invited over for a feast,
did they leave their staff
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at the door, the way we leave
our umbrella's at the door?
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Did the host offer
to take the guests coat
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and the guest's staff?
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Or was it taboo to interact
with a staff that was not
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one's own? Hmm. I
don't know, just thinking.
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I'm a creative,
artistic sort of man, I'm always
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making something, and
when I first arrived in Nevada
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I took it upon myself to
create, I'm serious, a staff
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for several of the pastors
there, I made white staves,
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I made black
staves, wood-stained staves,
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and each had a hidden Bible
text in Greek, and there were
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other things in it like that.
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And I would just randomly
show up at their offices
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and I would present them with a
staff that they didn't ask for.
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Laughter. And no matter
how strange, it seemed to each
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pastor the presentation of the
staff it was a little solemn,
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it has to be, doesn't it?
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You can't just hand a staff
to someone, ya have to give it
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presentation,
presentation is everything,
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and what about this pastor,
well if you look on the wall
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of my office at Centennial Hills
Seventh-day-Adventist Church
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in Las Vegas, you will see
that I have mounted three staves
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one has copper rings
with black leather binding
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it's being reserved
for an Arizona pastor,
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the other has fine greebling
which took me for years
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and one has a tortoise
shell pattern on the hilt.
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That is the support staff which
I took to Weimar Sanitarium
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when I was learning to walk
after a very serious illness.
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I love a good
staff, I respect a staff,
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especially if there is
a good story behind it.
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But let's be honest, friends,
beneath all of that gravity
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and culture and fanfare a
staff is just a stick, isn't it?
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Laughter. Kind of makes
me chuckle, you know how
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in the book of Exodus,
Moses, God's anointed and Aaron
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his mouthpiece is standing
on one side, fire in their eyes
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while opposing them is
Pharaoh's best magician
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a master of the dark and
mystic arts and each is wielding
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a stick,
however, did we get here?
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Well, let's back up a bit.
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Well, before we do,
let's have a word of prayer.
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Father in heaven,
Bless us as we examine
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why it is we
need to walk by faith
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and how it is you will
still show us evidence.
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Save us, in Thy name
we pray, Amen and Amen.
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At the end of the book of
Genesis, yes, in chapter 50
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we see Joseph the Hebrew
who became an Egyptian ruler?
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living and prospering.
Genesis 50 verse 22 states;
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Joseph, the son of Jacob, aka
Israel had brought his family
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to Egypt and the children of
Israel prospered and multiplied
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there in Egypt, this is
how the book of Genesis ends.
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Now the next book is
Exodus and it's first chapter
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tells us in verse
eight. Look at this.
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Didn't know that guy. Verse 9.
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They made Israel
slaves in the land of Egypt.
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I'm in Exodus
chapter one verse 22.
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We see the Egyptians
eventually began murdering the
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Hebrew infant boys in order
to limit population growth.
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Now in Exodus chapter two
God preserves a Hebrew servant
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named Moses, he is raised and he
is educated in Egyptian schools
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and then this happens in Exodus
chapter two verse 11. It says;
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And this is how Moses
became a fugitive and was forced
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to flee Egypt.
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Now, stay with me. In Exodus
chapter three, we see how Moses
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the fugitive is
called by God. Verse two.
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God says this to
Moses in verse 10.
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Come now, therefore, I
will send thee unto Pharaoh
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that though mayest bring
forth my people, the children of
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Israel out of Egypt.
Okay, God sends Moses to Egypt
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to free Israel, but then
Moses says something to God.
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and God gives Moses
a powerful response;
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Exodus chapter four
and verse one. It says...
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God gave Moses a special
sign that he may sway the hearts
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of the men and women of Israel
something that would help them
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to believe that God was indeed
with them...Cast your staff
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God said, upon the
ground and when Moses did
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the staff became a serpent
and Moses fled from the serpent.
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So one may assume that
it was a poisonous serpent
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like maybe the Egyptian Cobra,
the Desert Viper, or a Mamba.
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The mere sight of a lifeless
staff transforming into a snake,
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Well, that could be enough
to scare anybody, maybe that's
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why Moses recoiled.
Snakes held a significant place
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in Egyptian theology and their
symbolism can be traced back
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to the earliest
periods of Egyptian History.
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The cobra which was associated
with the goddess Wadjet
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W a d j e t, was protective,
she was the protective
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deity who was
often depicted as a cobra
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with a solar disk on her head.
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She was believed to be
the protector of the pharaohs
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and was often represented
in gold, you've seen this
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right on the pharaoh's crown.
So it's clear that God is going
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for the heart of Egyptian
culture by preparing this
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little miracle of
staves and snakes.
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So, fast forward to
Exodus chapter seven,
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Moses has already gone
before Pharaoh once only to have
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Pharaoh multiply the
sorrows of the Israelites
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ten plagues were soon to befall
the land but before all of that
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we have this standoff
between two men of God
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and Pharaoh and his magicians
who among them served the
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greater master we wonder.
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Whose God we ask, It's true,
well, let's go ahead and read
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the account shall we?
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Verse eight it says...
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A snake!
Amazing! But verse eleven
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God performs the miracle
just as He did in the desert
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a staff became a snake but
it consumed the snake staff of
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each of the Egyptians, God won.
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He won, and think of what
it signified to the Egyptians
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for God's snake to eat up
their symbols of protection.
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Yikes! Pharaoh would have
done well to recognize this
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holy
foreshadowing of events. Hmm!
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That's great. However, I sort
of glossed over a very important
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piece of information. God
performed a mighty miracle.
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Amen. But the enemy also
had miracles, you notice that?
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The enemy drew snakes from
the staves, let me repeat that?
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The enemy performed signs
and wonders, they had sticks
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and snakes too. There's a
message in there somewhere
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there's got to be. Let's see
if we can find it by God's grace
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cause I believe that by allowing
this to happen, God sent a
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warning to His people
right here in the last days.
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He did, okay,here we go. Let's
begin by making some important
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parallels and comparisons okay,
firstly, let's see how we could
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identify with Israel. To do
this we will read from Galatians
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and then we will flip back and
forth from Exodus to Revelation.
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Look at Galatians chapter
three and verse 28. It says...
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Because of Jesus Christ, we are
all considered Abraham's seed.
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We are all spiritual
Israel through redemption,
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we are God's
people, but that isn't all.
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Let's read Revelation chapter
11 and I'm going to start in
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verse eight. Look
at this. It says...
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Jesus was crucified to save
and deliver us spiritual Israel
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from our bondage
in spiritual Egypt.
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The analogy between the
Israel of Exodus, and we
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the people of God is
Biblically transparent,
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we are God's Israel.
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Now, in Exodus, look what
happens right after the Battle
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of the Sticks in chapter
seven of Exodus, verse 17,
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The plagues of Egypt
began. Israel is on the path to
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deliverance. Now, in the
book of Revelation chapter 15
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look what happens right
after God gives His Three Angels
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Messages to the
church. It says in verse one...
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In Revelation, God prepares
seven plagues for the wicked,
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God's redeemed are on
the path to deliverance,
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do you see the similarities?
There are indeed parallels
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between the Israel
of Exodus and us today.
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So then, what is
the message for us?
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The enemy also does miracles.
Look at Revelation chapter 13.
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Let's turn there, we find a
prophecy about things to come
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Things that are
indeed all ready shaping up
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Verse 11, it says...
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In the last days, the enemy will
perform miracles, and it will
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deceive many, that is why
we cannot merely base our faith
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on what makes us say
wow, amazing, we got to have
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a relationship. We must know
God. Now, don't get me wrong
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God will do, God does do,
mighty and amazing things.
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I've seen amazing things. You've
seen amazing things from God
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but if we do not seek to know
Him, we will be easily deceived.
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If Moses did not know God,
and had not communed with God,
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in the desert at the bush,
he might have run in terror
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when he saw the
Egyptian magicians make snakes
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with their rods.
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Worse yet, he could
have even joined them.
00:20:01.50\00:20:06.07
But Moses had talked with God
he walked with Him in the desert
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so that when Satan did something
flashy Moses was not deceived.
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That is a powerful lesson
for us because great deceptions
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are coming, we must
know Christ for ourselves.
00:20:21.18\00:20:27.72
After reading this I
began to understand why Jesus
00:20:27.76\00:20:32.09
admonished Thomas the day that
he appeared to His disciples
00:20:32.13\00:20:37.17
following His resurrection
in John chapter 20, here we are.
00:20:37.20\00:20:41.57
After the tragedy of the
cross the disciples had been
00:20:41.60\00:20:46.31
huddled together in the Upper
Room when it says in verse 19
00:20:46.34\00:20:51.05
Jesus appears to His
followers even though the door
00:21:08.96\00:21:12.87
had been shut, but
read verse 24. It says...
00:21:12.90\00:21:16.57
Thomas refused to accept
the testimony of his brother,
00:21:43.77\00:21:47.74
he demanded
physical evidence, why not?
00:21:47.77\00:21:51.97
Had he not seen Jesus arrested?
Was not the talk of the
00:21:52.01\00:21:55.71
crucifixion yet upon the lips
of every visitor and Denison
00:21:55.74\00:21:59.31
of Jerusalem. Why not
ask for a little proof?
00:21:59.35\00:22:02.45
Furthermore, Thomas has
seen miracles from Jesus
00:22:02.48\00:22:06.76
strolls on the water,
instant cures, potluck infinity,
00:22:06.79\00:22:11.33
he'd seen Lazarus
come forth from his tomb.
00:22:11.36\00:22:14.40
But he had an evidence-based
belief, and so he demanded
00:22:14.43\00:22:20.00
to give the risen
Jesus a physical exam
00:22:20.04\00:22:23.37
before he would
acknowledge Him as risen.
00:22:23.41\00:22:27.74
And then comes John
chapter 20 and verse 26...
00:22:27.81\00:22:32.41
"And after eight days again His
disciples were within and Thomas
00:22:32.45\00:22:37.25
was with them this time: Then
came Jesus, the doors being shut
00:22:37.29\00:22:42.12
and stood in the midst
and said, Peace be unto you.
00:22:42.16\00:22:45.56
Verse 27:
00:22:45.59\00:22:47.36
Jesus actually offers him
evidence, but Thomas realizes
00:23:22.30\00:23:28.80
he never really needed it.
00:23:28.84\00:23:30.84
What he needed was
to be close to his Lord.
00:23:30.87\00:23:35.04
Huh, And Jesus speaking to
this apostle who would soon go
00:23:35.08\00:23:40.88
into the world to preach
the good news, Jesus is also
00:23:40.92\00:23:45.29
speaking to us here in this
century says blessed is he or
00:23:45.32\00:23:53.13
she that believeth yet hath
not seen. I will show wonders
00:23:53.16\00:23:58.30
children he says, but don't
let that be the anchor of your
00:23:58.33\00:24:01.70
belief because Jesus
knows the enemy has signs,
00:24:01.74\00:24:05.14
the enemy has sticks, too,
and if we base our faith on
00:24:05.17\00:24:10.21
physical proof and
wonders if that alone,
00:24:10.25\00:24:13.42
and we will be deceived by
every sparkley thing the enemy
00:24:13.45\00:24:18.85
waves in front of us and Jesus
calls that being faithless.
00:24:18.89\00:24:24.66
It's the relationship we have
with Christ, that will guide us
00:24:24.69\00:24:28.86
in the dark, it will
uplift us in the downpour,
00:24:28.90\00:24:32.23
it will hold our hand when
every step is onto a surface
00:24:32.27\00:24:36.50
we cannot see. When the trials
are long and the reprieves
00:24:36.54\00:24:40.51
are few. We believe Him
because we have a relationship
00:24:40.54\00:24:44.35
with Him, because we know Him,
and yes we will see wonders,
00:24:44.38\00:24:48.85
we will, but God's wonders give
affirmation, relationship brings
00:24:48.88\00:24:54.86
transformation so that
when the Egyptians of this world
00:24:54.89\00:24:59.49
make serpents, we
will not be deceived.
00:24:59.53\00:25:04.30
I was finishing up
and Evangelistic crusade
00:25:04.33\00:25:10.67
in the Philippines, and the way
things go there was a typhoon
00:25:10.71\00:25:17.15
right there over the area in
Dasmariņas and I were preaching
00:25:17.18\00:25:22.42
with an old soldier, he's
deceased now, Pr. Arthur Bush
00:25:22.45\00:25:27.52
now and we were going back and
forth and the rains came down.
00:25:27.56\00:25:31.86
Oh my, and the floods
came up. I remember peaching
00:25:32.23\00:25:35.43
one evening, and it was raining
so hard that, as I was preaching
00:25:35.46\00:25:39.63
a large bullfrog just hopped
right down the aisle you know
00:25:39.67\00:25:43.81
right down the middle
aisle, he felt comfortable.
00:25:43.84\00:25:46.11
Hey, that's an
appeal, everybody needs Jesus,
00:25:46.14\00:25:49.31
come on down, friends.
But this particular evening
00:25:49.34\00:25:52.55
Pastor Bushnell's voice was
failing him, and he said to me,
00:25:52.58\00:25:57.19
he said preacher, I don't
know if I can do this sermon
00:25:57.22\00:26:01.66
if the rain continues.
00:26:01.69\00:26:03.26
Sounds like that you know, and
I said oh, you got this, pastor
00:26:03.29\00:26:07.90
oh you've got this,
we are praying for you.
00:26:07.93\00:26:09.90
So we get up front and
surely enough, as it always is,
00:26:09.93\00:26:14.70
when the truth is coming out,
the devil is busy, and it rained
00:26:14.74\00:26:18.34
and it rained.
00:26:18.37\00:26:19.71
The rain was going down,
it was like the rain was going
00:26:19.74\00:26:22.04
sideways and the old
preacher was standing there
00:26:22.08\00:26:25.41
having trouble with his
voice all that moisture and
00:26:25.45\00:26:28.45
bad weather was getting to him
and we were sitting out there
00:26:28.48\00:26:31.09
in the congregation
praying and the man said this.
00:26:31.12\00:26:36.22
He just stepped
forward, and he said, Father,
00:26:36.26\00:26:39.66
I'm going to ask you to hold the
rain until I finish my sermon.
00:26:39.69\00:26:46.40
And he stepped back,
and I am thinking, really,
00:26:46.43\00:26:50.47
you are not going to cushion
that with not my will but
00:26:50.51\00:26:53.24
Thy will, no, the preacher
had faith and don't you know
00:26:53.27\00:26:57.31
while I was sitting there
beside a lady who didn't speak
00:26:57.35\00:26:59.91
English, it was as if a master
controller had his hand on the
00:26:59.95\00:27:05.79
knob of the storm, turned
it down, down, down, and before
00:27:05.82\00:27:09.36
my very eyes, the storm stopped
and the preacher preached
00:27:09.39\00:27:13.56
and the people came down
and gave their lives to Jesus
00:27:13.60\00:27:18.33
I saw evidence, but it
wasn't the evidence that brought
00:27:18.37\00:27:23.10
the people down, it was
the relationship with God.
00:27:23.14\00:27:27.58
That storm was affirmation, the
relationship is confirmation,
00:27:27.61\00:27:33.21
and that is how we
walk in these last days.
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Father in heaven,
Let us walk by faith
00:27:37.49\00:27:40.02
and not by sight.
In thy name, Amen.
00:27:40.06\00:27:44.06
You know God has plans for
you, walk with your hand in His
00:27:44.09\00:27:47.66
and He will lead
you to His destination.
00:27:47.70\00:27:49.26
And as always,
friends, be encouraged.
00:27:49.30\00:27:52.67
God be with you.
00:27:52.77\00:27:54.40