Good morning Saints. We will continnue with Exodus but I would like to start with Matthew 25 today.
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Healing and Discipleship 
Blessings during this blessed Passover week. My heart is turning often to our Lord and all that he has done.
Good morning. We had a wonderful Zoom Passover Seder last night and it was a blessing for sure.
Wendy
Praise God! We did a teaching on all the elements.. We often do the seder plate but this year we did communion instead.
Matthew 25 WEB “1 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. 36 I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’
40 “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
As part of homeschooling, we read several different books to encourage godly character in our children. This came up this week. It really struck me that the sheep are the ones who really really love their neighbour. I like this very practical description of what this means.
I spoke with my sister in law, who works for Compassion Canada. She shared that it is really really hard on the the poor families that children that Compassion supports. The quarantine is devastating for people who do not have stores of food and who live day to day for even food. There is no better time to give to the poor.
James 5 New Living Translation (NLT) “5 Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. 4 For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you. 7 Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!”
In the amplified version vs 1Come (quickly)now, you rich (who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources), weep and howl over the miseries(the woes, the judgments) that are coming upon you. That to me makes it a bit clearer than to lump all rich people into one pot. There are the wealthy who do good things with it and those who don’t.
Wendy
Yes I appreciate how this clarifies as I have people in my own circle of influence that speak of “rich” people in very negative ways as if just being favoured financially is a negative thing.
KC
Always had this question about these verses: Amplified version
40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it for Me.’
45 Then He will reply to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these [my followers], you did not do it for Me.’
My Brothers and My followers. What does this mean?
Rob
This is very very convicting! I feel like it means we must never ever let our hearts become the least bit hardened when it comes to the needs of others.
Who are the others. He seems to be emphasizing our brothers and followers in the Spirit.
Rob
I a not sure where to draw the lines..perhaps the story of the good Samaritan?
LUKE 10 KJV 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
I might be biased though. I have come to associate the “certain man” who was beset by thieves as Adam. The “raiment” the thieves (Satan) stripped from him being the robe of righteousness. The half dead being physically alive but spiritually dead. And first one to walk by being Abraham, the second one , the levite, being Moses, and the Samaritan on a donkey a type and shadow of Jesus. If this holds up then all the children of Adam believers and otherwise are neighbours we should care for. Just my present thoughts though. Is there a down side to treating all people and not just believers in this way?
Ah ha! You expressed it faster and better than I Lisa but confirmed exactly how I was viewing this passage today…
KC
You treat every person with love and respect, being led by the Spirit in all situations.
Wendy
This is such a clear picture of Yeshua coming to the aid and rescuing those who have been ‘beaten” up by the Thief, Stripping him of his raiments and leaving him half dead! Reminds me of what the enemy purposed to do to Adam and Eve….ripping their covering off and leaving them half dead…alive physically but dead spiritually.
KC
I mentally think of every person as being a possible brother or sister in Christ, if they are not one already.
If someone does not know the Lord, i treat them as one who is held captive from the knowledge of the truth. I tend to think of them as someone who especially needs to be visited in prison and who is especially thirsty and starving for lack of the Word.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 King James Version (KJV)
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Hmmm… that is food for thought, I like that.
Wendy
Proverbs 19:17 Webster’s Bible Translation “He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth to the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
Good morning everyone as we enter into this time of Passover!
KC
Yes there is a very clear message defining what sheep and goats are spiritually, here in this passage however I did notice during our Seder readings last night that each family was to take a sheep OR a goat for their Passover meal ,using the blood to mark their doors. I wonder why that was?
KC
Interesting. I have no idea but both animals were used in the sacrifices. Praise God, His Word is always right.
Yes this is a perfect time to be thinking of the needs of others and helping in practical ways. I have felt led to give in areas where there has been a relationship of trust established as there is often so much corruption within some organizations set up to ‘feed the poor ‘etc. God lead us in our giving!
KC
Amen!!! WR
I know, it is very tricky. Compassion is unable to open it centers so they are using the funds to distribute food to the families but a sponsorship for a child is not enought to feed a whole family. Part of it is finding places that are able to mobilize quickly and are already in place and able to function even under these lockdowns.
Next passage… back to Exodus 3 KJV “11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
It strikes me how much God is presenting His name and His bond. That they are supposed to believe Him and do as He says because of who He is. Proverbs tell us that “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge”
Hebrews 6:16-18 English Standard Version (ESV)
16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
What absolutely pops out to me is that Moses, in a seeming posture of humility, says to God “who am I?. What struck me is that was actually an expression of unbelief in God. God would not appoint or send him if He wasn’t going to provide everything he would need to do what he was sent to accomplish. I really really need to meditate on this. How often can we be deceived into this same posture of “false humilty”…. which is actually an expression of pride. Basically we are saying to God, “I am the better judge of my capacity and ability than You are Lord”. OUCH!
I love that God promises them to bring them up out of affliction and into abundance. I believe that the details radically change, but that the Exodus journey is one of the most powerful ones (LOL they are all powerful ones).. First we need to be convinced that we are actually prisoners and want to leave. The Hebrews were asked to leave their homes and most of their posessions as well as their occupations behind to face the unknown. They had to cross the Red Sea (I think a symbol of baptism) which made retreat back to Egypt much more difficult. They had to cross the wilderness place.. A place where the Egyptian mindsets that continue to hold them captive in their own minds to fall away and for their new identity as citizens of the Kingdom to be revealed. A place where dependence on self becomes impossible and dependence on God becomes essential.
We had a saying in our fellowship, “It’s not only leaving Egypt but removing Egypt from us”
Rob
I think that often we think “who am I that I should go and do such and such” but then in the next vs12 God says Certainly I will be with you….. He is the only reason I am anything, not because of ANYTHING that I can do, but because of ALL that He can and will do.
Wendy
Amen! “Where I am weak, You are strong” To be truly effective in the Lord, we have to absolutely lean into the place of knowing that He is going to make up our shortfall even if all we have to contribute is 2%, He will provide the 98% as we follow and obey.
AMEN!
KC
‘And I will bring you out of the affliction of Egypt and into the land of the “ITES” a land flowing with milk and honey. Part of the teaching that for many in the body of Christ that has been missing or not understood well is the “our part” of dealing with and rooting out all of the “ites”.God has promised the victory is ours …but it requires something of an intensity of faith and obedience to execute authority over them.
KC
….and enter into what God has said is now ours.
Amen! Yes, we absolutely need to prepare to drive out the ites and to bring the land into subjection to God. But this goes right back to the very beginning” Genesis KJV 1:28 [Full Chapter]
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
Love and Blessings to all on this first day of Passover, what an amazing time to be in right now. That everyone is celebrating the Passover in their own homes. Someone pointed out that this has not happened since the Exodus, not sure if that is totally true or not, but it certainly could be. We are so thankful for the Passover lamb of Yeshua.
Wendy