Participants:
Series Code: ILL
Program Code: ILL230008S
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00:14 Praise the Lord, everyone. Welcome to Imperative Life
00:18 Lessons. I'm Pastor Ryan Johnson. 00:20 In John chapter 20, verse 29, Jesus says to Thomas 00:28 doubting Thomas. 00:40 This is critical council from Jesus and to see why 00:44 let's look toward the beginning of the Bible to where an ancient 00:49 battle of deities is recorded. 00:52 In this battle were several contesting sticks. 00:57 The skirmish was between the great I Am, and the not so great 01:01 father of lies. One may say that two sticks were pitted 01:09 against each other that day in the palace, actually 01:13 it is a cultural insult to call them sticks. 01:16 The Bible calls them staves, a staff. 01:20 These were the days where every man in the community 01:24 worth his salt on the staff. 01:30 A staff was more than just a fashion accessory 01:31 for example, a staff could be an aide and a support. 01:36 Hey, look at Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 21...It's says... 01:53 The staff supported Jacob, a Person's staff was a tool 01:58 mmm, look at 1 Samuel chapter 14 and verse 27, there it says; 02:26 Jonathan used the rod to get honey. 02:30 A staff was even a weapon. Psalms chapter 23 and 02:35 verse four says; 02:47 David, the metaphorical sheep finds comfort in the protection 02:53 of the good shepherd's staff. 02:56 a staff could even be a scepter indicating position 03:01 and authority as in Esther Chapter Eight; 03:04 When the king held out the golden scepter towards Esther; 03:13 Stays have a sort of gravity a special meaning 03:18 to the owners who carry them wherever they went. 03:21 I've often wondered if in ancient times when people were 03:25 invited over for a feast, did they leave their staff 03:29 at the door, the way we leave our umbrella's at the door? 03:32 Did the host offer to take the guests coat 03:35 and the guest's staff? 03:37 Or was it taboo to interact with a staff that was not 03:41 one's own? Hmm. I don't know, just thinking. 03:43 I'm a creative, artistic sort of man, I'm always 03:48 making something, and when I first arrived in Nevada 03:52 I took it upon myself to create, I'm serious, a staff 03:57 for several of the pastors there, I made white staves, 04:01 I made black staves, wood-stained staves, 04:05 and each had a hidden Bible text in Greek, and there were 04:10 other things in it like that. 04:11 And I would just randomly show up at their offices 04:14 and I would present them with a staff that they didn't ask for. 04:17 Laughter. And no matter how strange, it seemed to each pastor 04:22 the presentation of the staff it was a little solemn, 04:27 it has to be, doesn't it? 04:28 You can't just hand a staff to someone, ya have to give it 04:32 presentation, presentation is everything, 04:35 and what about this pastor, well if you look on the wall 04:40 of my office at Centennial Hills Seventh-day-Adventist Church 04:44 in Las Vegas, you will see that I have mounted three staves 04:48 one has copper rings with black leather binding 04:52 it's being reserved for an Arizona pastor, 04:55 the other has fine greebling which took me for years 04:59 and one has a tortoise shell pattern on the hilt. 05:03 That is the support staff which I took to Weimar Sanitarium 05:08 when I was learning to walk after a very serious illness. 05:12 I love a good staff, I respect a staff, 05:14 especially if there is a good story behind it. 05:17 But let's be honest, friends, beneath all of that gravity 05:23 and culture and fanfare a staff is just a stick, isn't it? 05:28 Laughter. Kind of makes me chuckle, you know how 05:34 in the book of Exodus, Moses, God's anointed and Aaron 05:38 his mouthpiece is standing on one side, fire in their eyes 05:43 while opposing them is Pharaoh's best magician 05:48 a master of the dark and mystic arts and each is wielding 05:52 a stick, however, did we get here? 05:56 Well, let's back up a bit. 05:59 Well, before we do, let's have a word of prayer. 06:03 Father in heaven, Bless us as we examine 06:07 why it is we need to walk by faith 06:10 and how it is you will still show us evidence. 06:13 Save us, in Thy name we pray, Amen and Amen. 06:17 At the end of the book of Genesis, yes, in chapter 50 06:23 we see Joseph the Hebrew who became an Egyptian ruler? 06:29 living and prospering. Genesis 50 verse 22 states; 06:45 Joseph, the son of Jacob, aka Israel had brought his family 06:50 to Egypt and the children of Israel prospered and multiplied 06:55 there in Egypt, this is how the book of Genesis ends. 06:59 Now the next book is Exodus and it's first chapter 07:04 tells us in verse eight. Look at this. 07:14 Didn't know that guy. Verse 9. 07:44 They made Israel slaves in the land of Egypt. 07:47 I'm in Exodus chapter one verse 22. 07:51 We see the Egyptians eventually began murdering the 07:56 Hebrew infant boys in order to limit population growth. 08:01 Now in Exodus chapter two God preserves a Hebrew servant 08:07 named Moses, he is raised and he is educated in Egyptian schools 08:13 and then this happens in Exodus chapter two verse 11. It says; 08:42 And this is how Moses became a fugitive and was forced 08:47 to flee Egypt. 08:49 Now, stay with me. In Exodus chapter three, we see how Moses 08:54 the fugitive is called by God. Verse two. 09:11 God says this to Moses in verse 10. 09:15 Come now, therefore, I will send thee unto Pharaoh 09:20 that though mayest bring forth my people, the children of 09:25 Israel out of Egypt. Okay, God sends Moses to Egypt 09:31 to free Israel, but then Moses says something to God. 09:35 and God gives Moses a powerful response; 09:38 Exodus chapter four and verse one. It says... 10:26 God gave Moses a special sign that he may sway the hearts 10:31 of the men and women of Israel something that would help them 10:35 to believe that God was indeed with them...Cast your staff 10:40 God said, upon the ground and when Moses did 10:44 the staff became a serpent and Moses fled from the serpent. 10:49 So one may assume that it was a poisonous serpent 10:54 like maybe the Egyptian Cobra, the Desert Viper, or a Mamba. 11:00 The mere sight of a lifeless staff transforming into a snake, 11:06 Well, that could be enough to scare anybody, maybe that's 11:09 why Moses recoiled. Snakes held a significant place 11:14 in Egyptian theology and their symbolism can be traced back 11:19 to the earliest periods of Egyptian History. 11:22 The cobra which was associated with the goddess Wadjet 11:27 W a d j e t, was protective, she was the protective 11:32 deity who was often depicted as a cobra 11:35 with a solar disk on her head. 11:38 She was believed to be the protector of the pharaohs 11:42 and was often represented in gold, you've seen this 11:45 right on the pharaoh's crown. So it's clear that God is going 11:50 for the heart of Egyptian culture by preparing this 11:54 little miracle of staves and snakes. 11:57 So, fast forward to Exodus chapter seven, 12:01 Moses has already gone before Pharaoh once only to have 12:07 Pharaoh multiply the sorrows of the Israelites 12:11 ten plagues were soon to befall the land but before all of that 12:15 we have this standoff between two men of God 12:19 and Pharaoh and his magicians who among them served the 12:24 greater master we wonder. 12:26 Whose God we ask, It's true, well, let's go ahead and read 12:30 the account shall we? 12:31 Verse eight it says... 13:05 A snake! Amazing! But verse eleven 13:34 God performs the miracle just as He did in the desert 13:39 a staff became a snake but it consumed the snake staff of 13:44 each of the Egyptians, God won. 13:48 He won, and think of what it signified to the Egyptians 13:53 for God's snake to eat up their symbols of protection. 13:58 Yikes! Pharaoh would have done well to recognize this 14:02 holy foreshadowing of events. Hmm! 14:06 That's great. However, I sort of glossed over a very important 14:13 piece of information. God performed a mighty miracle. 14:18 Amen. But the enemy also had miracles, you notice that? 14:27 The enemy drew snakes from the staves, let me repeat that? 14:34 The enemy performed signs and wonders, they had sticks 14:41 and snakes too. There's a message in there somewhere 14:45 there's got to be. Let's see if we can find it by God's grace 14:49 cause I believe that by allowing this to happen, God sent a 14:54 warning to His people right here in the last days. 14:57 He did, okay,here we go. Let's begin by making some important 15:03 parallels and comparisons okay, firstly, let's see how we could 15:08 identify with Israel. To do this we will read from Galatians 15:13 and then we will flip back and forth from Exodus to Revelation. 15:17 Look at Galatians chapter three and verse 28. It says... 15:45 Because of Jesus Christ, we are all considered Abraham's seed. 15:50 We are all spiritual Israel through redemption, 15:54 we are God's people, but that isn't all. 15:57 Let's read Revelation chapter 11 and I'm going to start in 16:03 verse eight. Look at this. It says... 16:17 Jesus was crucified to save and deliver us spiritual Israel 16:24 from our bondage in spiritual Egypt. 16:28 The analogy between the Israel of Exodus, and we 16:34 the people of God is Biblically transparent, 16:38 we are God's Israel. 16:41 Now, in Exodus, look what happens right after the Battle 16:48 of the Sticks in chapter seven of Exodus, verse 17, 17:09 The plagues of Egypt began. Israel is on the path to 17:14 deliverance. Now, in the book of Revelation chapter 15 17:19 look what happens right after God gives His Three Angels 17:23 Messages to the church. It says in verse one... 17:34 In Revelation, God prepares seven plagues for the wicked, 17:39 God's redeemed are on the path to deliverance, 17:42 do you see the similarities? There are indeed parallels 17:46 between the Israel of Exodus and us today. 17:49 So then, what is the message for us? 17:54 The enemy also does miracles. Look at Revelation chapter 13. 18:03 Let's turn there, we find a prophecy about things to come 18:13 Things that are indeed all ready shaping up 18:16 Verse 11, it says... 19:10 In the last days, the enemy will perform miracles, and it will 19:14 deceive many, that is why we cannot merely base our faith 19:19 on what makes us say wow, amazing, we got to have 19:25 a relationship. We must know God. Now, don't get me wrong 19:31 God will do, God does do, mighty and amazing things. 19:34 I've seen amazing things. You've seen amazing things from God 19:39 but if we do not seek to know Him, we will be easily deceived. 19:44 If Moses did not know God, and had not communed with God, 19:50 in the desert at the bush, he might have run in terror 19:55 when he saw the Egyptian magicians make snakes 20:00 with their rods. 20:01 Worse yet, he could have even joined them. 20:06 But Moses had talked with God he walked with Him in the desert 20:11 so that when Satan did something flashy Moses was not deceived. 20:16 That is a powerful lesson for us because great deceptions 20:21 are coming, we must know Christ for ourselves. 20:27 After reading this I began to understand why Jesus 20:32 admonished Thomas the day that he appeared to His disciples 20:37 following His resurrection in John chapter 20, here we are. 20:41 After the tragedy of the cross the disciples had been 20:46 huddled together in the Upper Room when it says in verse 19 21:08 Jesus appears to His followers even though the door 21:12 had been shut, but read verse 24. It says... 21:43 Thomas refused to accept the testimony of his brother, 21:47 he demanded physical evidence, why not? 21:52 Had he not seen Jesus arrested? Was not the talk of the 21:55 crucifixion yet upon the lips of every visitor and Denison 21:59 of Jerusalem. Why not ask for a little proof? 22:02 Furthermore, Thomas has seen miracles from Jesus 22:06 strolls on the water, instant cures, potluck infinity, 22:11 he'd seen Lazarus come forth from his tomb. 22:14 But he had an evidence-based belief, and so he demanded 22:20 to give the risen Jesus a physical exam 22:23 before he would acknowledge Him as risen. 22:27 And then comes John chapter 20 and verse 26... 22:32 "And after eight days again His disciples were within and Thomas 22:37 was with them this time: Then came Jesus, the doors being shut 22:42 and stood in the midst and said, Peace be unto you. 22:45 Verse 27: 23:22 Jesus actually offers him evidence, but Thomas realizes 23:28 he never really needed it. 23:30 What he needed was to be close to his Lord. 23:35 Huh, And Jesus speaking to this apostle who would soon go 23:40 into the world to preach the good news, Jesus is also speaking 23:45 to us here in this century says blessed is he or she that 23:53 believeth yet hath not seen. I will show wonders children 23:58 he says, but don't let that be the anchor of your belief 24:01 because Jesus knows the enemy has signs, 24:05 the enemy has sticks, too, and if we base our faith on 24:10 physical proof and wonders if that alone, 24:13 and we will be deceived by every sparkley thing the enemy 24:18 waves in front of us and Jesus calls that being faithless. 24:24 It's the relationship we have with Christ, that will guide us 24:28 in the dark, it will uplift us in the downpour, 24:32 it will hold our hand when every step is onto a surface 24:36 we cannot see. When the trials are long and the reprieves 24:40 are few. We believe Him because we have a relationship 24:44 with Him, because we know Him, and yes we will see wonders, 24:48 we will, but God's wonders give affirmation, relationship brings 24:54 transformation so that when the Egyptians of this world 24:59 make serpents, we will not be deceived. 25:04 I was finishing up and Evangelistic crusade 25:10 in the Philippines, and the way things go there was a typhoon 25:17 right there over the area in Dasmariñas and I were preaching 25:22 with an old soldier, he's deceased now, Pr. Arthur Bush 25:27 now and we were going back and forth and the rains came down. 25:32 Oh my, and the floods came up. I remember peaching 25:35 one evening, and it was raining so hard that, as I was preaching 25:39 a large bullfrog just hopped right down the aisle you know 25:43 right down the middle aisle, he felt comfortable. 25:46 Hey, that's an appeal, everybody needs Jesus, 25:49 come on down, friends. But this particular evening 25:52 Pastor Bushnell's voice was failing him, and he said to me, 25:57 he said preacher, I don't know if I can do this sermon 26:01 if the rain continues. 26:03 Sounds like that you know, and I said oh, you got this, pastor 26:07 oh you've got this, we are praying for you. 26:09 So we get up front and surely enough, as it always is, 26:14 when the truth is coming out, the devil is busy, and it rained 26:18 and it rained. 26:19 The rain was going down, it was like the rain was going 26:22 sideways and the old preacher was standing there 26:25 having trouble with his voice all that moisture and 26:28 bad weather was getting to him and we were sitting out there 26:31 in the congregation praying and the man said this. 26:36 He just stepped forward, and he said, Father, 26:39 I'm going to ask you to hold the rain until I finish my sermon. 26:46 And he stepped back, and I am thinking, really, 26:50 you are not going to cushion that with not my will but 26:53 Thy will, no, the preacher had faith and don't you know 26:57 while I was sitting there beside a lady who didn't speak 26:59 English, it was as if a master controller had his hand on the 27:05 knob of the storm, turned it down, down, down, and before 27:09 my very eyes, the storm stopped and the preacher preached 27:13 and the people came down and gave their lives to Jesus 27:18 I saw evidence, but it wasn't the evidence that brought 27:23 the people down, it was the relationship with God. 27:27 That storm was affirmation, the relationship is confirmation, 27:33 and that is how we walk in these last days. 27:37 Father in heaven, Let us walk by faith 27:40 and not by sight. In thy name, Amen. 27:44 You know God has plans for you, walk with your hand in His 27:47 and He will lead you to His destination. 27:49 And as always, friends, be encouraged. 27:52 God be with you. |
Revised 2025-09-25