Blog Archives

17 Aug 2023 Exodus (Program #21)

Exodus (Program #21) -The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart

God’s people Israel spent hundreds of years in slavery and bondage in Egypt.  Ultimately, the Lord heard their cries and initiated through His called one Moses, a personal battle with Pharaoh.  During the course of this lengthy conflict, Pharaoh is repeatedly subdued only to have his heart harden again to resist the demand of Jehovah God to let His people go.  This is the stuff of great Sunday school lesson to be sure.  But does it hold a meaningful lesson for all of us?  For all serious believers?

We are considering a very difficult question that has been the source of theological debate over the centuries; that is the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Egypt.  During this long conflict between God and Pharaoh, at times we see God hardening Pharaoh’s heart and at other times Pharaoh harden his own heart.  more…

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16 Aug 2023 Exodus (Program #20)

Exodus (Program #20) -Pharaoh’s Subtle Bargaining

We may not think of ourselves as particularly crafty or skillful negotiators in a worldly sense.  But oh how we bargain with the Lord!  There are a lot examples of subtle bargaining with God in the Bible.  But the story of Pharaoh in Egypt found in the book of Exodus is a particularly striking one.  For Pharaoh can at one time represents Satan but also represents ourselves or even our family members.  There is a lot for us to relate to in today’s program.

Today we are coming back to this conflict that took place between God and Pharaoh.  Initially it seems that the Lord’s demand of Pharaoh was clear enough, very straightforward: “let My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.”  He tells him in Exodus 5:3, but it take 10 long chapters and 12 different encounters before this ultimately takes place…

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15 Aug 2023 Exodus (Program #19)

Exodus (Program #19) – God’s Demand and Pharaoh’s Resistance (5)

Bible scholars have long agreed that Egypt, the land that held God’s people, Israel in slavery for more than 400 years typifies the world, the system of commerce, culture, education and even entertainment is today’s Egypt, complete with its accompanying slavery and bondage.  God’s way with Israel was to change their view of the land they had grown to love.   He wants to do the same with us today.  When we see the world as God sees it, our heart like Israel’s heart will be changed.

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14 Aug 2023 Exodus (Program #18)

Exodus (Program #18) – God’s Demand and Pharaoh’s Resistance (4)

God’s desire is that His people will build Him a dwelling place on the earth. This was His intention for the children of Israel even as they were held in bondage under Pharaoh in the book of Exodus and it’s His intention for us today. In Exodus, a struggle ensued between God and Pharaoh whereby He manifested not only judgment upon the Egyptian world but also the real nature and issue of the life of the world – the life that usurps God’s people. If we receive mercy, we’ll take this warning given to all God’s people about the usurping worldly system.

It has been a tremendous journey thus far, as we just get into the book of Exodus.  We come to that portion in the last few days, we have been reviewing the conflict between God and Pharaoh.  It is a fairly well-known story to most Christians and believers.  But Witness Lee has been pointing out that we are going to see very directly today that these 10 plagues and these 10 encounters, actually a dozen encounters that took place over all between God and Pharaoh were not just God’s judgement on Pharaoh and on Egypt but are really intended as an exposure and a kind of education for God’s people as well, to realize the real situation that Egypt represents.  Why do we know that this is a picture to expose but not just a matter of God’s judgement on Egypt and Pharaoh?

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01 Aug 2023 Exodus (Program #5)

Exodus (Program #5) – God’s Calling of the Prepared One (1)

Israel, out of the pain of their suffering and under the oppressive hand of Pharaoh in Egypt cried out to God to save them.  These cries were heard and God was moved in His compassion to rescue His people.  Yet He tarry for 80 years before coming in to save them.  Have you ever been forced to wait for God to answer your crying out to Him?  Why does God often make us wait?  The surprising answer may be that God is really waiting for us.

We are going to see today that God was deeply motivated by the cries of His people, Israel and He wanted to deliver them from the tyranny that they were under in Egypt.  But He delayed taking action for a long period of time.  We can all relate to having to wait for the Lord. Sometime it seems like an eternity to us.  But our God is a very patient, isn’t He?

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20 Oct 2022 Isaiah (Program #13)

Isaiah (Program #13) – Jehovah’s Dealing with Israel’s Reliance on Egypt

God’s plan relies on man’s full cooperation and involvement, but a pattern that has been repeated throughout the history of God’s move with His people is that His people repeatedly turned away from Him and allow their hearts to be fully occupied with everything but Him.   This was the case in the Old Testament time of Isaiah, just as it is frequently described our own condition as believers and followers of Christ today.  What is God’s way to bring us back to Himself? Stay with us for a truly enlightening word on our life study of the Bible.

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08 Aug 2022 Psalms (Program #2)

Psalms (Program #2) – Christ in God’s Economy versus the Law in Man’s Appreciation (1)

Many of the 39 books of the Old Testament touched the matter of the law. The law generally refers to the commands that God delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai after the children of Israel had their exodus from Egypt. And the impact that these laws has had not just on God’s people but on all of western civilization is hard to overstate.

God’s people both in New and Old Testament heirs treasure the law of God.  But there is a key word in the New Testament that reveals something crucial concerning God’s entire economy and how the law relates to it.  In Rom 5:20 it says, “And the law entered in alongside that the offense might abound”  What does it mean that the law entered in alongside?  Well, we will discuss this in many more items relate to the law and the central focus of God’s economy on today’s program.

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05 Jun 2022 1 & 2 Samuel (Program #23)

1 & 2 Samuel (Program #23) – The History Concerning David (10)

In 2 Samuel, David becomes secure and well established as the one king over all the tribes of Israel. As king, he’s prosperous, respected, loved, and secure from his enemies, even admired by the surrounding nations. In this situation, David’s true heart is clearly manifest. What he desires to do is to do something for God, even to build God a dwelling place in Israel. But having such a one on this earth whose heart was fully one on its own, Jehovah responds to David’s expression of wanting to do something for Him in a most surprising way.

Listen to this passage from 2 Samuel 7:

“Thus says Jehovah, Is it you who will build Me a house for Me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house, since the day I brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt to this day; but I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle. more…

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23 Mar 2022 Deuteronomy (Program #1)

Deuteronomy (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

The first five books of the Bible form a unit. You probably have heard of this group of books written by Moses refer to as the Pentateuch. The last of these five, Deuteronomy is a conclusion not only to the writings of Moses but the law given first to Moses on Mount Sinai back in Exodus and then developed and enlarged with the judgments, statues and ordinances were added in the latter books of Pentateuch namely Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus.

Today we begin this book with an odd sounding name, Deuteronomy.  This book is marvelous and we believe the Lord will show us many wonderful things as we fellowship through this book.  It would be good to start with a quick look, the name of the book, Deuteronomy, an odd sounding name.  Many do not have much understanding what Deuteronomy refers to.  The word itself actually means second law. At the beginning of this book. Moses and children of Israel are standing on the border of the good land. They are no longer at Mt Sinai. But they are at the border of the good land preparing to go in and possess the land. So, here Moses gives the people a Deuteronomy, a second law, which is not another law, but is a re-speaking of the law that had been spoken previously nearly 40 years before at Sinai in the wilderness.

Now, when the opening of the of Deuteronomy, we have a new generation of the children of Israel. The first generation that came out of Egypt with Moses with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, had all died out. And now, we had a new generation, they had either not been present at the first speaking of the law or they were too young to receive that speaking. So here they all were at the border of the good land before they enter into the land God burdened Moses to re- speak the words of the law to these people to prepare them for what they needed to do to enter into the land and to taking possession of it.

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05 Mar 2022 Numbers (Program #15)

Numbers (Program #15) – Journeying (7)

After many positive and wonderful miracles given to them in the wilderness, following their escape from Egypt, the children of Israel found themselves in the midst of escalating turmoil.  This turmoil would eventually results in serious rebellion among them, bringing in God’s judgment.  It was here however, in the midst of this turmoil that the Lord inserts chapter 15 in the divine record in the book of Numbers.  This chapter reminds God’s people of what they have previously learned regarding their need for the offerings and for keeping the Sabbath.  But just as the lessons depicted in the story of the Old Testament can be applied to our situation in the New Testament so does this reminder regarding the experience of Christ, typify by the offerings and the Sabbath have an application to us today.  We will look at these types in our program.

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