We will continue our meditation of the word based on 2 Corinthians 9:8, And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (KJV)
As we continue to ponder on the theme ‘God is able’ we understand that God is able to keep us from falling, God is able to deliver us, God is able to elevate us, and God is able to deal with those who oppose us and falsely accuse us.
We read in Ephesians 3:20, Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, (ESV)
In various situations that come our way we cry unto the Lord, and tell ask that He would intervene to help us meet our needs or handle our complicated circumstances. Sometimes, we don’t even know how to express ourselves to the Lord, and just think in our hearts that it would be good if somethings happened the way we wanted them to. The bible tells us that God is able to do more than we ask or think. In some other translations we read that God is able to do far more than we ask or even imagine. We may have so many thoughts that go through our minds, and may desire that things changed, and here’s the assurance from God’s word that God can even do things that don’t even occur to us in our thoughts.
The Israelites call on the Lord
The bible talks about a group of people who cried out to the Lord because of an appalling situation that they were in.
We read in Exodus 14:10, “When the Israelites saw the king and his army marching against them, they were terrified and cried out to the LORD for help.” (GNB)
As the people of Israel marched out of the land of Egypt, they walked into freedom from the cruel hands of the Egyptians, to whom they had been enslaved to for more than 400 years. They had come to the banks of the Red Sea, when they realized that the army of the Egyptians were pursuing them from behind. Pharaoh, King of Egypt had let the people of Israel go, but soon realized that his entire work-force of slaves had left him. He had used them to labor and work hard to build his empire. Pharaoh’s intent was to bring these people back so they can be his slaves again. The Israelites were in a critical situation. They had no way to go forward as the Red Sea was ahead of them, and no way could they retreat as they had Pharaoh’s army in pursuit of them.
Sometimes we too may find ourselves in similar situations. Our present situations are not good, and we have people who are in pursuit of us. These could be financial crunches that seem to have no way out. People who have given loans are probably pressurizing or intimidating you. This is just an example of some crisis that we could be in. In those desperate times we cry out to the Lord to intervene, and help us overcome these difficult situations. We will learn through this message that God will surely intervene, and help us when we call upon Him. God will help us way beyond what we can think, or ask or even imagine.
God heard and intervened
When the people of Israel called upon the Lord this is what happened as we read in Exodus 14:25, He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted, "Let's get out of here! The LORD is fighting for Israel! He's against us!" (GW)
The people of Israel must have at that time just thought that it would be enough if God would just save them from the hands of the Egyptian army that was in pursuit of them. They could not imagine that God would make the wheels of the chariots that the Egyptians rode to fall off so that they could hardly move. To the Egyptian soldiers this must have been a scary experience as they must have been to war earlier, but would have never experienced such a situation where their chariot wheels just came off. The Egyptians shouted in fear that they would get out, and get back because they comprehended that the God of the Israelites was fighting on their behalf against them. While they knew the Israelites were ordinary people, they perceived that their God who fought for them was the Almighty and powerful God, who had come to their aid.
Whenever, God steps in to fight our battles, our enemies will experience things that they have hitherto never seen. Let us understand that if God has to fight our battles as He did for the Israelites, there are certain things that we are required to do. When we comprehend this and obey God’s commands, we can be certain that God will certainly fight all of our battles.
Let me place before you three reasons why the Lord fought on behalf of the Israelites and also help us understand what is required of us as children of God today, so we too can experience God fighting on our behalf.
1. Believe that Jesus is our Savior
We read in Exodus 12:6-7, “and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. (ESV)
The Israelites were to take a one year old lamb, keep it until the fourteenth day. On the fourteenth day they were to kill the lamb in the evening, and smear its blood on the two doorposts and lintel of the houses where the lamb was sacrificed. This was done just before their release from the slavery to the Egyptians, to whom they had been subjected to for over four hundred years. God had commanded the Israelites to do exactly as mentioned in the verses above, and when the Israelites did so, that night when every first born son in the house of Egyptians died, all of the Israel houses which had the blood smeared on them were spared from death.
This sacrifice of the lamb, and the smearing of the blood was a fore-shadow of the coming of Jesus the Son of God many hundreds of years later as the sinless Lamb of God. Jesus came to the earth as a man, took on flesh and blood, and gave His sinless life as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind on that gruesome cross. That lamb that was sacrificed was a symbol of the precious sacrifice that Jesus would make on behalf of all of us.
Those of us who live today have to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, the one who came down to earth just for us. We must believe that Jesus took all of our sins on the cross of Calvary and made atonement for our sins. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us from all our sins. There are many in doubt if their sins have truly been forgiven, and if God has accepted them to be His children. The bible reminds us that the wages of sin is death, but Jesus took our punishment on Himself, and brought into reality what was only a shadow for the Israelites when they were in Egypt. God’s word teaches us that there is now no need for us to do any sacrifices. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice when He died on the cross, was buried and rose again on the third day.
We must ask Jesus to cleanse us with His precious blood that was shed for us on the cross. It is also necessary that we confess that Jesus took our place, and when we do so the bible teaches us that God is just and faithful to forgive us all of our sins. There are those who are sorrowful about the sins that they have committed, and try to do various things to get right with God. No fast, or sacrifice or offering can pay for our sins. Only the blood of Jesus is the atonement for our sins. Let us thank God that Jesus took our place, bore all of our sins, and took our punishment on Himself. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins, and can make us His sons and daughters. When we do this the Lord will be our God, and fight on our behalf.
The reason the Lord fought for the Israelites was because they obeyed and sacrificed the lamb and smeared its blood just as the Lord commanded them too. Today we too must believe that Jesus shed His precious blood on the cross for our sins, and when we do so, the Lord will make us His own, and fight on our behalf.
2. Get rid of every sin
We read in Exodus 12:15, Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. (ESV)
Whenever the bible talks about unleavened bread it refers to sin and sinful dealings. Therefore, the Lord wanted the Israelites to get rid of any leaven that was in their houses for seven days.
If we were to translate it to our days, it would mean that we get rid of any articles that we have in our houses that God does not approve of. There are many who have a belief that if they have a certain type of fish at the entrance of their house or business center their home or business with be blessed. Many others have various artifacts that they have brought into their homes, and kept them safe with the thought that they will protect them or bless them. Instead we are called to put our trust in the Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth who can truly bless us. It is time to cleanse our homes to be rid of anything that does not honor or glorify God. Remember that anything that is made by man or is just part of creation can never bring us good. Nonetheless, when we put our trust in God, and get rid of all those things that are not pleasing to Him, the Lord blesses us.
Maybe you feel you have thrown off all those things that God is not pleased with, but if there is still sin in your heart, the Lord cannot bless you. We read about Lot and his wife who lived in a wicked and sinful city. When the Lord commanded them to flee from there, Lot ran for his life, but his wife looked back at the city that was burning down. The reason was that though Lot’s wife ran from the city, her heart was still drawn towards it. There must be no place for sin in our hearts, in our homes or in our families. God will fight for you if you are ready to cleanse yourselves.
3. Obey God’s Word implicitly
We read in Exodus 14:1-2, Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. (ESV)
As the people of Israel were journeying they were now in front of the Red Sea which seemed to be a hindrance to their progress. They had no idea why God brought them this way.
Remember that whenever God counsels us to go a certain way, we must be willing to obey. Only in obedience will we be assured of God’s blessings.
A good example from the bible is of the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness. The Lord rained down manna from heaven for them every day. However, there was an instruction about collecting the manna. They were only to take as much as was needed for each day, five days a week. Some who thought they were smart took more, and thought they could save it for the next day. Sadly, there were maggots in the manna that they over-collected, which had to be thrown away. There was another instruction that the Lord also gave them. On the sixth day they could collect twice the amount of manna, because the next day was the Sabbath, and this time when they did so it remained as fresh as the day it was collected.
This reminds us that when we are ready to obey the word of God without any questions, we will certainly receive God’s blessings, and God will fight for us. Everything is sustained by God’s word, and we must keep this mind always.
The importance of baptism
As I was preparing this message the Lord reminded me about another important aspect of our faith where we need to obey God’s word.
These were the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (ESV)
This was the command that Jesus gave to His disciples before His ascension. There are many who are confused about baptism, and wonder as to how this should be done.
We read in Mark 16:16, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, (ESV)
The one who believes in the finished work that Jesus did for us on the cross, and acknowledges that He is the Son of God who died for our sins, and that His blood cleanses us from all sin, that person will be saved.
In the New Testament baptism was first taught by John the Baptist. His message was that everyone should repent, and be baptized. Baptism is the knowledge that we are sinners and as we immerse in water, and come out we declare that we believe in the Lord Jesus, that He has forgiven our sins. We acknowledge that our old ways of life was sinful, and decide to walk in the new ways that God desires for us to. Without repentance and belief, baptism is of no value.
Paul explains this very well in Romans 6:4-5, We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (ESV)
When we immerse ourselves in the water we declare that just as Jesus was buried after His death, our old and sinful nature is buried with Christ. In verse 5 we read that if we have been united with Jesus in death in this way, we will also rise like Him in His resurrection. When we consider all that is happening around us, the signs are clear that the coming of the Lord is at hand, and He will take with Him those who are ready for His second coming. In order to do this we must repent, believe on the Lord Jesus, and be united with Him in baptism.
If we desire that the Lord should fight our battles and our situations should change, we must first of all we must accept the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ that He paid for us on the cross. Secondly, we must get rid of every sin from our lives. Any item that is in our homes or sins that we harbor in our hearts must be cast away like the leaven that was thrown out. Thirdly, we must be willing to obey God implicitly and we can be sure that God will surely fight our battles and give us victory in every area of our lives.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
