Numbers (Program #31) – A Vital Sketch of the Divine Revelation in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers (1)

Most serious readers of the Bible recognize there are unmistakable portraits of of Christ in the Old Testament, among these of course are the Passover Lamb and the brass serpent.  If our understanding has been enlightened we can see not only Christ but God’s eternal purpose and plan in picture forms throughout the Old Testament.  The key to this understanding is what apostle Paul called the economy of God.  God’s economy is His plan, His purpose and all that He has arranged to work it out.  This life study of the Bible has this economy as its focus.  The result is that book after book, including the obscure  and seldom spoken of books such as Numbers in the Old Testament all become a rich treasury of light and truth unveiling Christ and God’s purpose in marvelous details.

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Hebrews (Program #26) – The Three Stages of Salvation

Today we will see our salvation is a journey much like the children of Israel’s of three stages. It has a goal and that goal is to enter into the Sabbath rest.

According to the divine revelation, God’s salvation is in three stages. The children of Israel experienced these three stages on their way into the Good Land. The picture painted by their experience in the Old Testament provides us with a road map into the full salvation of God in our spirit. We’ll look at these three stages of salvation in today’s life study of the Bible.

Hebrews is a New Testament book but it draws upon many Old Testament types and pictures to convey it’s New Testament message. We’re going to follow the exodus of the Israelites today.  A quick sketch of this story including the parallel to the three parts of man as they related to the three stages that the children of Israel passed through…

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Numbers (Program #30) – Fighting (9)

After 40 years of experiences in the wilderness, God is ready to fulfill His promise to His people Israel to give them the good land.  But there are some requirements that He places upon them because this land has been occupied even polluted by various people apart from Israel; people with other gods and idols.  So before Israel can inherit the land, they must first drive out all these inhabitants, destroy their idols and tear down the high places.  If they don’t, they will be troubled by these things throughout their days.  Once again, the Old Testament provides us with a rich profound illustration of how we must possess our good land, the all-inclusive Christ.

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Hebrews (Program #25) – An Evil Heart of Unbelief Deserting the Living God and the Living Word of God and the Parts of Man

Our heart is a loving organ. We should exercise our heart to love the Lord, even to say, “Lord Jesus, I love You. Fill my heart with Your love so that I might love you with my whole being.”

The book of Hebrews presents Christians with 5 serious warnings resulting in falling short of God’s reward. But in the midst of these warnings, the Spirit includes a striking portion of unveiling the three parts of man. Could this be a clue as to how not to fall short of God’s goal? more…

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Hebrews (Program #24) – The Remaining Sabbath Rest (7)

The book of Hebrews is profound and deep, containing many concepts, foreign to our natural understanding.  In order not to misunderstand the warning passages of this book, especially the one in Hebrews 10:26 and following, we need the light afforded by the marvelous message in this life study of Hebrews.

Hebrews 10:26 says “For when we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice of bulls and goats for sins.”  This verse has troubled, frightened, confused and perplexed countless genuine children of God for centuries.  What is the real meaning and focus of this sober warning from the book of Hebrews?

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Numbers (Program #29) – Fighting (8)

We all familiar with the Old Testament principle calling for “an eye for an eye”.  This implies the penalty for serious crime was very severe in the dispensation of the law and surely it was.  Though ‘an eye for an eye” speaks of the righteous nature of God, it doesn’t fully reflect His mercy and grace.  As the children of Israel preparing to enter into the good land, they were given a much different provision to deal with offenders and that was the six cities of refuge in which a guilty person can flee and be protected from his avenger.  Here is another aspect of our God being displayed and we all as guilty ones have benefited from taking safe refuge in God’s place of refuge; today our Savior Christ.

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Numbers (Program #28) – Fighting (7)

One of the great moments in all of the Old Testament history was when the children of Israel finally participated in the distribution of the good land.  In principle, it was to be distributed not according to their choice, but according to God’s direction.   Yet two of the tribes, Reuben and Gad and later joined by the half-tribe of Manasseh.  Because of their own particular situation thought they knew what they needed, so they made request of Moses and the high priest to give them the land just before the Jordan river on the east side.  God agreed and these tribes got what they had chosen and what they had asked for.  But as we will see, our own choice, if we take it before the Lord’s choice most often carries a big price.

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Hebrews (Program #23) – The Remaining Sabbath Rest (6)

Today we look again at the Sabbath rest and how it is related to God’s dealing with His people and His judgment upon them that they could enter into that rest.  Hebrew is a book of warnings.  Warnings to believers.  We know that in our salvation we are spared God’s judgment on our sins.  But what does it mean that “judgment begins at the House of God?”  We will look at how God will judge His children in the coming age.

We are going to begin today’s life study of Hebrews by looking at a verse in 1 Peter 4:17 “judgment begins at the House of God”.  Surely this refers to us, the church.  Yet Christians don’t typically think of judgment having any implication for us once we are saved.  What is the context that God will judge His believers?

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Hebrews (Program #22) – The Remaining Sabbath Rest (5)

To put any jigsaw puzzle together piece by piece, you need to see the picture on the box.  Today we will see the picture on the box, that is the governing principle, which is the key to understand all the 66 books of the Bible.

We continue on the topic of the Sabbath rest from the book of Hebrew.  This is a major topic in the book as we have seen.  We are going to hear Witness Lee today use the term “the governing principle of the entire Scripture”.  We are going to see some amazing items related to God’s eternal purpose open up today.  What is this governing principle?

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Numbers (Program #27) – Fighting (6)

After 40 years of journeying through the wilderness of Sinai, the children of Israel had finally arrived at the gate of the good land and the end of their long and difficult journey.  By now they had experienced a wide range of things from God’s mercy, many of His miracles and the number of wars fighting against a variety of enemies and a great number of their own failures and setbacks as well.  But through it all, God remained faithful to His promise to bring them into the land that He had given to their father Abraham.  He was also faithful to remind them of His need and He would never let them forget the necessity of offering sacrifices there were satisfying to Him.  We will review some of these marvelous point on today’s program and we will see some new things facing God’s people.

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