Tag-Archive for ◊ ordinances ◊

25 Jan 2024 Exodus (Program #76)

Exodus (Program #76) – The Enactment of the Covenant (1)

The book of Exodus is a story of God delivering His people Israel out of bondage and slavery in Egypt. He led them from Egypt through the Red Sea and into the wilderness, where they wondered for forty years. God gave them the law, His commandments and the ordinances in this wilderness time. Was it His intention for them to just simply take the law that He has given and carry it out? Or did God first need to reveal Himself and His heart desire?  He rescue them, delivering them from their bondage in Egypt and brought them to the wilderness to have an intimate fellowship with Him. more…

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06 Oct 2023 Exodus (Program #71)

Exodus (Program #71) – The Implications, Indications and Significances of the Ordinances of the Law (2)

After the giving of the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20, the Lord continued for 3 more chapters to give item after item of regulations regarding man’s relationships. These added items are called “ordinances”, many if not most, seem to us to have nothing whatsoever to do with us as New Testament believers. They deal with such things as treatment of slaves and the ancient feasts and rituals of Jewish religion; and, even such things as “not boiling the kid in its mother’s milk”. So how do we as Christians regard these Old Testament details? Do we just skip over and dismiss them? Or, in the light of God’s New Testament ministry, is there a real and meaningful application of these items for us?  We return once again today to the book of Exodus and the remarkable journey of God’s people out of their bondage of worldly captivity and through the wilderness.

We’re continuing today to look at Exodus chapter 22 and 23, chapters that as we said offer many items all contain in these ordinances that were supplements or additions to the basic ten Commandments that we’re all quite familiar with. In an earlier message, we heard that though we cannot directly see Christ in the ten original commandments, these supplemental ordinances contain all of the rich details of Christ – what do we mean by this kind of speaking? more…

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05 Oct 2023 Exodus (Program #70)

Exodus (Program #70) – The Implications, Indications and Significances of the Ordinances of the Law (1)

The Bible is the divine revelation.  As such, we need to realize that every chapter contains diamonds and gems.  But if you read the Bible you know there are difficult and hard chapters.  Exodus 21, 22 and 23 for examples deal with slaves and murders and liers.  Where can the gems possibly be within such chapters as these?  Stay with us for this life study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

The focus of our message today is to see the gems and crystals contain in these 3 chapters of Exodus; 21, 22 and 23.  We’re going to see today that these chapters concerning the addition of the ordinances to the basic commandments are full of, in Witness Lee’s words, implications, indications and significances.  The goal of this ministry is always to get beyond the superficial and to get into the depth.

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04 Oct 2023 Exodus (Program #69)

Exodus (Program #69) – Sundry Ordinances of the Law

We are all familiar with commandments and ordinances.   It seems everywhere we turn, we’re met by these rules and regulations.  The same is true in the latter part of Exodus where we find many ordinances and commandments.  But have you ever seen the sweetness of these commandments of God?  You’d want to stay with us for today’s life study of the Bible, featuring the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.

The genuine ministry of the New Testament is not a miraculous things produced in a short period of time.  It requires much preparation involving the cross, and the spirit in the context of proper Body life.  This comes to mind because the central human figure in Exodus is Moses.  We realize how extensive was the time given to his preparation.  This word preparation is rich in spiritual significance.  more…

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03 Oct 2023 Exodus (Program #68)

Exodus (Program #68) – The First Ordinance of the Law Concerning Man’s Relationship With Others

In all of human history, slavery can easily be identified generally as an evil and even an unholy thing.  Yet when God gave His laws and ordinances to His people, He did not abolish it, but rather He gave special place for a kind of relationship where a slave and a master would be joined in spirit, in love and in obedience for their entire lives.  Before you jump to your own conclusion of this strange and mysterious topic in Scripture, we invite you to stay tune for the next 30 minutes, as we will again be treated to a very fresh and profound view of God’s view on today’s life study of the Bible.

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02 Oct 2023 Exodus (Program #67)

Exodus (Program #67) – The Pollution Caused by Man’s Work and the Nakedness Exposed Through Man’s Way

Thoughtful people throughout the ages have always look upon the stars and the moon and even the marvel of God’s creation and realize that God must be there.  Must careful thought has been given to this matter over the centuries particularly the matter of worship.  Some of man’s most elaborate and magnificent achievement are devoted in some way or another to worshipping God.   But in this matter we must be clear.  God has no intention of leaving the way of man’s worship to His own devises.  God has reserved this for Himself and our part simply to open to Him and His Word for the clear understanding.  Don’t miss today’s life study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Yesterday we saw that following the giving of the ten commandments, the Lord began to add a great number of additional items called ordinances.  What was the point of these supplemental items and particularly the first few which we are going to look at again today?

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05 Aug 2023 Acts (Program #41)

Acts (Program #41) – The Propagation in Asia Minor and Europe through the Ministry of Paul’s Company (7)

As Christians are we bound to keep the commandments and ordinances of the Old Testament?  This is a difficult question for believers even today but it was more difficult for the saints in the first century.  It imposed the first serious challenge to the oneness of the Body that Christ died to establish.  We will look at this problem of the early church and how God’s sovereignty is displayed in its resolution on today’s life study of the Bible.

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30 Mar 2023 Luke (Program #30)

Luke (Program #30) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in His Human Virtues with His Divine Attributes from Galilee to Jerusalem (9)

At the time the Lord Jesus was on the earth, the Biblical religion of the day Judaism had many strict ordinances prohibiting all manner of activities on their Holy Sabbath day including healing the sick. And yet, the Lord Jesus purposely broke many of the ordinances. As He not only healed the sick, against the traditions and regulations of the Sabbath, but He would do so in the presence of the religious leaders, many times offending them. We will look at an interesting case today of the violation of the religious regulations with a purpose as the Lord Jesus was continuing to usher in the real New Testament Jubilee.

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12 Apr 2022 Deuteronomy (Program #21)

Deuteronomy (Program #21) – The Rehearsal of the Law (15)

Deuteronomy or the re-speaking of the law has a long portion containing many of the detail statues and ordinances that supplemented the basic 10 commandments. Among these were stringent prohibitions against mixture.  For example, a woman was not to wear a man’s clothing and vice verse. Also an ox was not to be yoked with a donkey to plow a field. These statues even went so far to prohibit the wearing of wool and cotton at the same time.  What does all of these have to do with us as New Testament believers?  Outwardly of course we are not under these same restrictions. But there is an inward, an intrinsic principle which does have a real application for us as the New Testament believers, as we will see in today’s life study of Deuteronomy.

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09 Apr 2022 Deuteronomy (Program #18)

Deuteronomy (Program #18) – The Rehearsal of the Law (12)

When Jehovah God gave the 10 commandments to Moses on Mt Sinai to pass on to the children of Israel, they failed to understand that God was giving them a portrait of Himself.  In any society, the laws of that society reflect the kind of person the law giver is. But not only did the 10 basic commandments review our God in His person so also do the detail ordinances and statues that followed.

Deuteronomy, is the rehearsing or re-speaking of the law to a new generation of Israelites waiting to enter into the good land. And each of them unveils more of what kind of God we have.

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