Daily Archives: March 14, 2023

by

“Moments with Moses”

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:5

In my recent post we started taking a closer look at just what a formidable attitude and absolute resolve one must possess concerning faith when desiring to see a miraculous feat of the divine power and wonder of God.

Moses had to have faith in God, that He would supernaturally accomplish all that He had commanded Moses concerning the release of the Hebrew slaves.

Moses did not know all the plan involved or know to the extent which the battle with Pharaoh’s hardened heart would go.

While he held to the faith in knowing that God would indeed prevail, he not only had to hold onto that faith in the face of the aggressive, arrogant Pharoah, but he also had to have faith on behalf of all those that he had been sent to, even while they murmured against him and even doubted his commission.

Depending on what source you look at, the number of Hebrews were two million, with some estimates going down to ten thousand, I tend to go with the two million estimate.

Exodus 1:7: “All the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.”

Either way, in my thoughts, those who wish to decrease the number somehow think that by doing so, the magnificence of the miracles performed of God would somehow decrease with that number.

Not so, even if it were four, fourty, four hundred, four million, it would never detract from the wonders and plagues that God sent in securing the release of his children.

Esther as we also studied in relation, had to be willing to submit herself to that preparation process, we sometimes completely miss the necessity in the preparation process that we must also go through in order to complete the task God has given us.

She obediently accepted the advice given her and did as recommended and in that obedience and with the favour of God she became queen and was ultimately used to save the lives of hundred of thousands of her people.

John the Baptist, whose birth had been foretold by the angel, also given a holy commission to proclaim the Lamb of God,  the voice of one crying in the wilderness, fulfilling the prophecy that God would send his messenger to prepare the way before Him, also had his time of preparation.

Luke 1:80: “And the child grew, and waxed (grew) strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing (appearing) unto Israel.”

Our most loved, most quoted Apostle Paul also revealed to us, his time of preparation.

Remember Paul had formerly been Saul, who hated and persecuted the believers, he was quite blood-thirsty in this, even having secured the legal documentation to forcible bring back to Jerusalem all those he found converted to Christ, because he thought what he had been taught was right.

Instead of finding those he wished to punish for their faith, he was found himself of God, once he was encountered by Jesus on the road to Damascus, he knew the truth because the Truth had made Himself known. After being blinded for three days, refusing to eat or drink God has his sight restored and he truly saw the light.

Could anyone  even possibly imagine the sorrow, horror, and dread that tormented his soul those three days as he was faced with the fact that he had prosecuted and fought against Jesus Himself?

Not only Jesus’ followers but the Lord Himself, as Jesus asked Paul Why did he persecute Hm.

So I personally believe that Paul had an entirely different insight in how he related teachings to us, because he had truly been on both sides.

As you read this, pay special attention to the fact that he did not go to any human nor any church leaders during his preparation, instead he went to God, giving himself over to study and pray.

Galatians 1:11-24: “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

For ye have heard of my conversation (conduct) in time past in the Jews religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it. 

And profited in the Jews’ religion above many of my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,

To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; I conferred (sought counsel) not with flesh and blood: 

Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

But other of the apostles saw I none, save (except) James the Lord’s brother.

Now the things I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ:

But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

And they glorified God in me.”

So we see that preparation is vital for all believers, in order to truly fulfill the call that God has placed on our lives and think of the verse describing the commission of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:17: “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Rehoboam the evil son that became king over Judah at the death of Solomon has this written of him.

2 Chronicles 12:14: “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.”

Even New Jerusalem is being prepared.

Revelation 21:2: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

We could give many other examples and many other ways those preparations have taken place, but this allows us to see that it is necessary to go through those growth processes to exercise the faith and develop the fortitude to fulfill the calling and purpose God has for us.

Moses had faith for millions of people, and I believe today, that in these last days God has those already in place that he will use in the coming signs, wonders, and mighty exploits that we are told of.

Daniel 11:32: “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

It is the end, and God will send amazing things, as we are already seeing the outpouring,

So do I believe that there will be people chosen to bring millions to Christ or help orchestrate the rescue of thousands enslaved through the demonic forces of human trafficking, and be the vessels God uses to send His gift of miracles and power of healing through, and literally in a heartbeat see people delivered  from drugs, alcohol, demonic bondages, the blinded eyes see, and the deaf hear, and the paralyzed run for joy?

As He said: John 14:12: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father.”

Yes, actually I do believe that, it is the crux of the calling which He has given me, a messenger and my testimony to every nation, every kindred, and every tongue.

And with that, here is the challenge, for all who will, all whom God has sent this post to, if you are reading it, that is not by accident. Those of you who know that there is something burning in your heart, and rest assured, as our story of Moses, it is perfectly “normal” to have battles during the fulfillment of your calling, the enemy does not just surrender, but God always wins, and sometimes, such as the case with Pharoah, that also can be a daunting challenge.

So we must have a personal relationship with Jesus, we have to spend time in prayer, worship, communion, consecration allowing that preparation time until God sets in motion the commission and opens the doors He wishes us to walk through.

Then we must have the faith, not only for us, but to believe for those who may not at the moment, but once the power of God is revealed, they will believe.

How many do you think doubted while they walked through the Red Sea? Not too say they didn’t later sin, but they knew that they had been spared by a divine act of God and God alone.

This is what was on my heart, I give all these verses because that is how I was led, someone may read part of a series and never ever get to see the remainder, if I gave you only references you would have to go look those up, so it had been placed in my heart long ago, to give it all in the post.

Please take this, take it for what it is, it is the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit and it is our spiritual weapon .

Please memorize these verses, and I know there are many, but once you have God’s Word in your heart, He will bring back to your remembrance exactly what scripture you need for the particular issue at hand.

This is known as the faith chapter and the more you recite these, the more you will literally feel your faith grow.

Please savor each verse and if God leads you to study out each one ,please do not skip that preparation.

Hebrews 11:1-40: ” Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice that Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

By faith Enoch was translated (taken into heaven) that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went (his destination).

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles (tents) with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, (become pregnant) and was delivered of a child when she was past age, (past childbearing age) because she judged him faithful who had promised.

Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

{Abraham was also too old to father children in the natural}

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers on the earth.”

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Accounting (considering) that God was able to raise him up,even from the dead; from whence he received him in a figure.

By faith Isaac blessed jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

By faith jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw that he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, (grew up) refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

And what shall I more say? for time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder (cut in half), were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

(Of whom the world was not worthy) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, having obtained a good report through faith, died having not the promise:

God have provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

I just want to quickly say that the references to not receiving the promise is that they believed for something that they did not see in their lifetime, such as we now know that Abraham’s descendants are innumerable, but he did not see this in his lifetime, and these died in faith not seeing the promise of Christ as we have.

I also love the verse that the world was not worthy of them, it reminds me of our persecuted brothers and sisters, who suffer for the Word of God, and this world does not even deserve their presence, but one day God will avenge them and their rewards will be glorious beyond measure because they have kept the faith of Jesus Christ.

Blessings and Peace to you till next time!

Praise, Honour, and Glory be unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2023/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

by

“Stringing mustard seed pearls”

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest thy trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” Matthew 7:6

This was just on my heart this morning and it was used in yesterdays post, we looked at the verse that tells us that the preaching of the cross, the retelling and proclamation that Jesus was real and was everything the Bible says that He is and that to those whose minds have been trained and saturated by this world, it is just too much for them to believe.

So they don’t.

And when you think about it, everything we are taught in this world is completely contrary to the Word of God.

We are all born EQUAL, we are all created by the same Creator and as babies we know nothing but basic needs and as we grow we become toddlers and we all can remember being children and even in terrible upbringings most can still look back and remember that feeling in your heart and your soul that you are connected to something so much greater than yourself.

And that trust, trust in something that you can’t see but you know in your heart that there is more, that is why as children we have that faith and trust that allows tears to dry and laughter and joy to spring forth out of even the smallest of things, what may seem silly to  an adult is a source of endless merriment for a child.

We can fall down, get scraped up, maybe cry for a second and then in an instant get right back up on our feet and take off running again.

No fear because we have just recently learned how to run.

Jesus also said a little something else, Matthew 18:3: “And he said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children,ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” 

And this is the condition we suffer from that He was warning us against in this verse.

It is as we grow and as we develop and our minds are influenced by everything we hear and everything we see, we start to learn some very damaging lessons, lessons that we’d be far better off had they been left untaught.

But life does not work that way, it is not meant to work that way, at least not here.

When we begin to be taught fear, when we begin to be taught that we are not invincible, when we begin to be taught that if we are different, we will be rejected and when we begin to be taught that those who question and those who rock the boat will be  labeled, isolated, and made to stand in the corner alone and separated from the “rest of the class” until they can conform to the popular and expected thoughts.

That is the fear, that is the destruction that leads to the loss of the faith that we are born with, as we are told in Romans 12:3(c):”…according as God hath dealt every man (human being) the measure of faith.”

So we know  the faith is there, we just need to a little help sometimes in remembering where we hid it when we had to hide it from the world, when we cast our pearls and the swine ran over them and then attacked us for having that faith in what we cannot see.

The warning Jesus gave us means exactly that.

And I think sometimes even in our zealous attempt to win others to Christ, we will just throw those pearls out there.

And they represent wisdom and the holy things unto dogs means close to the same.

If a person is NOT feeling conviction for their sins, if they are not coming under the prompting of the Spirit and we try to witness to them and we give the scriptures that they will NOT understand without divine revelation, the enemy and their flesh immediately kick into action.

They feel “judged” they feel like we are hypocritically accusing them and then they resort to exactly what they world has taught them, they attack, they attack us, they attack the word of God, and it only drives them further from the cross.

And what you are trying to share with a pure heart and sincere caring can actually cause a stumbling block for you.

Once we have been hurt while trying to witness, we feel dejected and question sometimes our own testimony, but remember you ARE right in trying to reach out to them but this can only been done by shining His light.

Being that light to them and praying constantly and standing in the gap through intercessory prayer for them and then as God draws them to Him, you can be there to answer questions only as that person opens the door and God always takes care of the rest.

We do get worried and often as we have been enlightened to the truth, we can become horrified, I know I was, when I realized just how real God is and just how His mercy had kept me and how close when we are not saved ARE truly standing over the mouth of hell.

Anyone who is saved HAS that testimony and when we will only remember who ministered to us and what events led us to the cross, when we think about who was effective in showing us the love of Christ

And to recover from the influence of this world, remember from our last post, this world referring to the teachings that are against God, making it declared an enemy of God, requires faith and faith is described as this:

Hebrews 11:1:”Now faith IS the substance (REALIZATION) of things hoped for, the evidence (CONVICTION) of things NOT seen.”

And THIS  is the kind of faith that Jesus refers to when He said this from Matthew 17:20: “…IF ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and IT SHALL BE REMOVE; and NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE UNTO YOU.”

And of course, yonder place just means telling the “mountain” to go and it WILL go.

And I know that this verse is classically taught dealing with the fact that a mustard seed is tiny.       

But I want to look at it from a different perspective, how about IF think of ourselves AS mustard seeds?

How about if we just have faith and know that we are exactly what Jesus says we are and that we do have that access to Him and every promise in His word and not be afraid because the world has taught us that is foolish to actually believe that He could have possibly came to earth through a virgin, been the only Son of God, died and even harder to believe that He rose from the dead and that if we believe  that He did all these things, that one day we will also raise from the dead.

The world says that IS impossible, but God said IF we will BECOME like a little child (again in our thinking and innocence of heart) and be CONVERTED.

Which literally means, being changed, adapted for a NEW purpose and accepting that new purpose in Him and for His kingdom and then become a mustard seed in our FAITH in HIM and KNOW that He will do the miraculous simply because we believe that He will because as His child and Him as our Father, we have asked .

Be a mustard seed and just grow and hold onto those pearls, they serve a much better purpose displayed as a symbol of the love God bestowed on you when He gave you that precious strand, never take them off, certainly not to please this world and most definitely not to be thrown down and trampled.

If you have not accepted Jesus as the Lord of your life and you are feeling that pull, Him drawing you into a relationship with him, don’t be afraid of what others will think, what your friends will say or how you could possibly be shunned and ridiculed, you are where ALL of us who are saved have been.

We all face certain fears when we make the decision to break out of the mold this world shapes us in, so here is one last verse, I have used many times and have prayed it for MYSELF many times:

Romans 12:29(a,b): “And be ye NOT conformed to this world; but be ye TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind…” he does NOT expect us to be perfect or even close, He just expects us to at least make an effort!

Thanks for reading! Have a great week, love & peace till next time!

Σαλπιζω Φλογιζω NBJ2018 Rev. N. Brown Johnson Revisited 03/14/2023