Welcome to Lesson 3 of the Kingdom School.
I’m so excited to be with you today. Today I have a very special lesson. This teaching will impact you a lot, if you really understand and receive it. I’ll share more about that, shortly. Firstly, since the last video, I have been to Panama. I went there with students from our Luke 10 school. It was beautiful. I encourage all of you to go out on mission. Even before I started to travel more widely, my family and I did that in Denmark. We put the children in the car. We went to another place, or other country. We simply started to preach Jesus and make disciples.
We did something. It was really special. How often do the days fly by? Suddenly, weeks become months and months become years. After ten years, we just have a routine, the same lifestyle every day. We need to break out of that cycle and experience new things. We were only five or six days in Panama. But many things happened. All of us experienced things. Many lives were changed. We can all do this. One friend who came with us, made a trailer video.
It’s just a few minutes long. It has a beautiful song, called “The Revival Anthem”. We love this song. I just want to show you this trailer. Listen to the words. The video is about two and a half minutes long. Listen to it and feel that call: Yes, we need to go. We need to preach the gospel. We need to die and be forgotten, because He deserves all the glory. See how many things happened in only a few days. Watch this.
[Music] And I will preach the gospel, die and be forgotten, as long as you get the glory. Jesus, you're worthy of every tribe and tongue. It's all for your glory, till every soul is won. The harvest is ready. We have to go! We won't stop till the whole world knows. The power in the blood to save every soul. We’re not ashamed of the gospel [Music]
So, this is beautiful and powerful. I want to challenge all of you. Since last time, we spent a week or six days in Panama. But what happened in your life since last time? I just want to challenge you. Come on, guys! We need to grow. We need to make a difference. Maybe you won’t go to Panama, but we are called to live this life. We are not only called to preach about the kingdom of God. We are called to live this life.
Here is a picture of a person who was set free. Look at her eyes. I encourage you to live this life. Let this teaching about the Kingdom, transform your life. Let it change your priorities. May you run the race with endurance with power. May you truly become a good and faithful servant. May you see a lot of fruit. Here is some feedback I have received: ‘Wow! This teaching has opened my eyes.
It has helped me in so many ways. I had so many questions about the things, you have now explained. Now I understand.’ Hallelujah! As we move on through this school, we will build. I believe it’ll become clearer. ‘Now I understand. I thank God for this teaching. I know that it will help so many people out there. It will open their eyes and change their way of thinking.’
Thank you for that. I love that response. Today, we’ll continue. We’ll build on what we’ve already talked about. Lesson 1 was called: ‘From the beginning to the new beginning’. I talked about a timeline. It's very important for us to see the bigger picture. Lesson 2 was called, ‘The Covenant of Abraham’. Here are some of things I talked about there.
God gave a promise to Abraham and his seed. Abraham's children, Isaac and Jacob. Circumcision as the sign, done with the human hand. Circumcision cutting off the foreskin (Uncleanness). They were now God's chosen people (Israel). Exiles and foreigners on earth. Heirs to the promise looking for the promised land. I explained that these things are shadows and pictures. They all point to Christ. The New Covenant. The promise was to Abraham and his seed (Christ).
We are now Abraham’s children through faith in Christ. Baptized into Christ (that is our circumcision of the heart) as the sign done by Christ. Baptism puts off the whole flesh that is ruled by sin and death (Uncleanness). This means, we don't need to walk as slaves to sin anymore. We can walk in the freedom from sin, described in Romans 6. I will teach about that later. No longer Jews and Gentiles but a new creation and now God's chosen people.
We are God's chosen people together with Israel. There is still a remnant of Israel. I already explained that. We are now exiles and foreigners, as we are in this world but not part of this world. We are heirs to the promise looking for a heavenly country and a new Jerusalem. I spoke about those things in Lesson 2. Lesson three is called: ‘Called Out: I will be their God, and they will be my people’.
This lesson starts with something that’s a little different. I’ll read a lot more Bible verses, even a whole chapter. So far, we haven’t read long parts of the Bible. The pace may seem slow for you at the beginning, with a lot of information and Bible verses. But it will become extremely powerful - when you understand what the church is. It is those who are called out. If you understand the message I’m trying to share, it will change you. It’ll help you stop watching your neighbours, and wanting to live like them.
You’ll stop trying to make your church look like the world. You’ll stop trying to please the world. Why? Because you are not a part of this world. You are called out. That is what the church should be. While I was preparing this teaching, that phrase stayed in my mind: “I'm called out.” We are called out. We need to make disciples and build churches in a way that pleases God.
Why? Because we belong to Him. He called us out to be His holy people, His nation. I’ll talk about many things. The pace will slow at the beginning, but it’ll suddenly speed up. You’ll see that. I'm excited about this. This will bless you a lot. I want you to see this. Of course, there’ll also be a break. I want to welcome you to this lesson. We’ll start by reading lots of verses from Acts 7.
I'll try to go through it quickly: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. “Leave your country and your people,” God said, “and go to the land I will show you.” So, it all started there with Abraham. “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.
He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on.” So, Abraham did not inherit. But later, his seed (offspring) inherited the land. “But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at the time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: “For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.
But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,” God said, “and afterward, they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.” We looked at that in Lesson 2, in Genesis 15. Stephen continued telling the story. This helps us understand what happened. The Israelites were slaves for 400 years. “Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth.
Later, Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob become the father of the twelve patriarchs.” So, here is the story of Israel. It includes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel. “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles.” I like that. Try to imagine you are Joseph. He was thrown into the pit. He was falsely accused. He was thrown into jail.
He had many troubles. But we read here that God rescued Joseph from all his troubles. What has happened in my life? I left my country. I have been persecuted and thrown into jail. But I can also say that God rescued me from all my troubles. This doesn’t mean that we won’t go through the troubles. It means, that we’ll overcome the troubles. We’ll find victory on the other side, because God is with us.
I love this verse here: “He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering and our ancestors could not find food. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit.
On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family.” Why did Stephen start with this? Why doesn’t he just talk about Jesus? He needed to start with this, because it's all connected. We often don't share these things, today. Yes, they were speaking to the Jews at that time. They also talked to the Gentiles about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
They went back to the history. Let's move on: “After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
As the time drew near for God to fulfil his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.” We see here that the time had drawn near for God to fulfil His promise to Abraham. God had a plan from the beginning. God still has a plan today. Some things needed to happen in order that Israel could become a nation. God started with the man, Abraham, who had a family. That family became a nation, while they were in Egypt.
They entered Egypt as a family and they left Egypt as a nation. This needed to happen. Then the time drew near for God to fulfil that promise. What promise? To set them free from slavery. To call them out from Egypt, so that they could worship Him. This is the message that we’ll look at today. Let’s continue: “Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.
He was very evil and dishonest with our people. He beat them down. He forced them to throw out their newborn babies to die. At that time, Moses was born.” Here is a parallel between Christ and Moses. At the time of Christ, Herod gave orders to kill all the infant males in Bethlehem. So Joseph took Jesus and fled to Egypt for a time. Then they came back to Nazareth.
But in this case, the Egyptians were trying to kill Moses. We’ll look at that later. “At that time, Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months, he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.” This whole story is important.
“When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defence and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.” It didn't go the way that Moses expected. That also often happens with us today.
“The next day, Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, “Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?” But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” I like that part. “Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”
When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
Then the Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.” This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, “Who made you ruler and judge?”
He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.” I like that. It's not so much about what people see in us. It's about God's call on us. The people had rejected Moses but God called him. They had said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” The answer is, God did. Let's read on. Then I will share something.
“He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness. This is the Moses who told the Israelites, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.” This is one of the most key verses that I’ll mention repeatedly. Stephen used this story to explain this: The Israelites in the wilderness had Moses, but we now have Jesus. Moses spoke about Jesus.
Jesus goes right back to creation and to Noah. Jesus goes right back to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the forefathers. Stephen continued to talk about Moses, the tabernacle, Joshua, David and Solomon. He explained how Solomon made a dwelling place from God. But we know that God doesn't dwell in houses built by human hands. Therefore, we have Christ. So, this is a long story.
Stephen talked about Joshua and David, who wanted to make a dwelling place for God. “But it was Solomon who built a house for him. However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me?” says the Lord.”
So, this is a long story. We know that Christ came and rose again. Now Christ is building God’s house with living stones, you and me. We are part of the temple of the Holy Spirit. We can take a lot out of these verses. One of the key verses is when Moses said: “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.” Who is that prophet? Christ. Stephen went through the whole history in order to preach the gospel.
Peter had also done that a few chapters before: “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.” Then he talked about Christ and Christ having been crucified. “But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.” Peter explained that Christ needed to be crucified and later ascend to heaven. The prophets foretold this.
God said that this will happen. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you - even Jesus.” Notice this. Peter told them to repent, so that their sins could be wiped out. Then times of refreshing will come, so that God may send the Messiah.
Was he talking about what happened before the cross? No, this happened after the cross. He told them to repent, so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Then God will send the Messiah. But hadn’t God already sent Him? Yes, He had. Jesus had already died on the cross. He had already risen. But He will be sent a second time. We often don’t think about that, that we are waiting for God to send the Messiah.
Let's read on here: “Heaven must receive him” This was after Jesus’ resurrection. “until the time comes for God to restore everything” When Jesus came the first time, He did not restore everything. He came to pay the price. Now, all authority has been given to him. Now, He's in heaven until the time comes when God will restore everything. All of these things are in God's timing and His plans: including God’s promise to Abraham and what God told Moses.
So now Jesus is in Heaven until the time will come “as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people: you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.” These are the same words we read in Lesson 2, with the Abrahamic covenant.
Anyone who wasn’t circumcised would be cut off. from the people. They would not inherit. Now God has raised up a prophet like Moses: Jesus Christ. Now we must listen to Him. Anyone who doesn’t listen to Him will be cut off. They will not inherit. Now, He’s in heaven. We’re now waiting for the Messiah to come down from heaven to restore everything.
God has promised that: “Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago.” it's all according to God's plan and timeline. 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
God is not slow in keeping his promise. Everything is part of God's timeline. But God is patient with you and me. He doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to come to repentance. We need to preach this message. This is all part of God's timeline. Now, I will point something out from what Stephen said.
I’ll focus on that: “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.” Notice this: “This is he who was in the church in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai” Notice the word here: “this is he who was in the church in the wilderness” Was there a church in the wilderness at the time of Moses? Yes, there was.
We read: ‘the church in the wilderness’. But that happened many years before Christ came. There was no cross or church building. There were no Sunday meetings like today with a few songs and other things. But Stephen used the word ‘church’ to describe the Israelites in the Old Testament. They were the church in the wilderness, just like we’re the church today.
But how could they have been the church at that time? We have a problem with the phrase, ‘the church in the wilderness’. When we hear the word ‘church’, we immediately think of something else. Many people think about a church building. People say, “I go to church.” But, the phrase ‘to go to church’ doesn’t make sense.
You can’t say, “I’m sitting in the church.” We think that the church is only a building. No, the building is not the church. What does the word ‘church’ mean? In Greek, it is ‘ecclesia’. Here we can read what it means. It means “calling out” or “called out”. The church are the people that are called out. If you are the church, you should be called out. From where? From Egypt. The Israelites were called out from Egypt.
We saw in Lesson 1 that Noah was called out from this evil perverse generation. 1 Peter: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession” God said this to the Israelites. But now, Peter is also not only writing to the Jews, but also to Gentiles. We as Gentiles are also taking part in this. “that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
We are called out. We shouldn’t live in darkness anymore. We should live in the light. There should a big difference between those who are the church, God's people, and those who aren’t. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians: “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” This message is for the church today. This promise is mentioned throughout the Bible: I’ll walk among them. I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people. That is the promise. Therefore, come out from them. Come out from Egypt. Come away from this wicked perverse generation.
Come out from Egypt and be separate. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. That is the promise. Why do we need to come out? Because God is holy. He cannot dwell with sin. This is the message. Peter and Paul wrote about the same thing. 1 Peter 1: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.” Be holy as I am holy. That is the message. Come out from them.
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. This is what the church should be. However, when we look at and think about the church, do we see this? Is the church separated from the world? Or is it part of the world? Do people in the church dress like the world? Do they listen to the same music and talk in the same way?
Don’t we see as much divorce and remarriage in the church as in the world? The truth is, the church has not yet come out from Egypt as it should have done. Let’s look at this: We are the temple of the living God. God will live with us and walk among us. He will be our God, and we will be His people. But for Him to do that, we need to: “Come out from them and be separate. Touch no unclean thing, and then I will receive you.”
God gave that promise to the Israelites. He also gave that promise to us. Let’s read here: They (the Israelites) had a promise from God, but first they needed to come out from those they were enslaved by in order to enter into that promise… They were enslaved in Egypt, and then Moses came and called them out…
In the same way, we are enslaved by our own Egypt, by Babylon, and need to come out and be separated in order to receive what God has promised. Later in this lesson, we’ll see that a judgement is coming. Babylon will fall. If we don’t come out from Babylon, Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah… If we are not saved from this wicked evil generation, we’ll be judged together with them.
What is the church? The church is those people who have come out and been separated from this world. It’s those people who are in the world but not part of the world. The church are not people who dress up every Sunday, sit in a church building for a few hours and sing some songs. Those people who then go home and behave like the world with worldly movies and music.
They talk and live just like their unbelieving neighbours. If we live like this world, we’ll be judged with this world. We need to understand this. Not only do we need to be justified, we then need to be sanctified. Otherwise we’ll not be glorified on that day when Jesus returns. This is the message. This is the gospel. We saw that with the Israelites. What about us today?
We’ve received the grace of God. But what is the grace of God? It isn’t a cover up for sin. God’s grace actually sets us free from sin. It teaches and transform us. Let’s read what Titus says here: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age” So in this present age, we’ve received the Holy Spirit. He helps us to live holy lives.
The grace of God helps us live holy lives “while we wait for the blessed hope - the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his own, eager to do what is good.”
Christ gave Himself, to redeem us from sin. He did it in order to purify a people for Himself. A people that are His own. Christ died not only to save us from our sins, but to purify for Himself His own people. A people who are separated, who don’t touch any unclean things. Then God can receive us. He can be our God and we can be His people, the church.
Those things were part of the teaching. We will move on now, and it will be very interesting. We’ll have a break now. Afterwards, we’ll look at the fall of Babylon and what that means. We’ll see how all of this is one story: God is longing for people of His own. But God is holy. If God would come down on the earth today, everyone would be destroyed.
So, He sent his son Jesus not only to redeem us from our sins but also to purify a people. This people will belong to God. He wanted the Israelites, in the desert, to be His people. But they didn't complete the race. They kept looking back over their shoulder. Yes, they left Egypt. But Egypt never left them.
Therefore they didn’t enter into the promised land. This is a warning for us today. We’ll look at that and other thing after the break. [Music] Now, we’ll continue with the fall of Babylon. Revelation 18: “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority. His glory filled the earth with light.
With a mighty voice he shouted, “Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen! She has become a place where demons live. She has become a den for every evil spirit. She has become a nest for every ‘unclean’ and hated bird. All the nations have drunk the strong wine of her terrible sins. The kings of the earth took part in her evil ways. The traders of the world grew rich from her great wealth.”
Today many people discuss the identity of the mystery Babylon. But I want to bring you a message. One day, Babylon will fall. This world will be judged, as we saw in the days of Noah and with Sodom and Gomorrah. 2 Peter 2: “Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people.”
This is the message. God has given us these examples, to show what will happen to ungodly people. “But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick” I would say, sick to his stomach “of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.
So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.” Lot lived in Sodom and Gomorrah. While he was there, his righteous soul was torment because of all the wickedness he saw. He was sick to the stomach.
The truth is, I also feel sick to my stomach because of the sin I see. Not only do I see sin in the world, but also in the church. We haven’t come out of Egypt. Instead, we’ve brought Egypt into the church. Here is a message for all of us. Firstly, as a born-again believer living a righteous life, you should be sick to your stomach about the evil you see.
You can see it on TV, and you can hear it in the music. But the truth is we have become so used to it. We fill ourselves up with many things. We aren’t tormented in our righteous soul anymore, with everything that happens around us. Why not? We should feel like that, when we see all these things.
But, this message is relevant for today. Jesus also talked about it. Luke 17: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot.
People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting, and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulphur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” So, that’s how it will be.
You can see in the Bible, how people were called to leave this wicked world: e.g. Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah. Now we must leave Babylon. We need to come out of the system of this world. We should not be conformed to this world, but be renewed in our mind. We should be transformed and purified as God's people.
1 Peter 2: “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles” We are the same. We should see ourselves as foreigners, exiles, pilgrims and sojourners on a journey. We’re in the world but not part of the world. We are coming out from Egypt, from Babylon. We’re being purified to be God's holy people.
Then we’ll not be judged with the rest, when fire comes down from heaven. “I urge you as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Live like this amongst the pagans.
A disciple of Christ is not someone who is part of the world and believes that Christ covers our sin. A disciple is someone who is in the world, but not part of it. We’re still here. But we live a godly life among the pagans, who don’t know God. But we don’t live like them. The other day, I heard about some friends.
A friend has just left his wife and found another woman. They are getting divorced. My wife Lene saw it on Facebook and showed it to me. I was shocked and asked, “What is happening?” My wife and I talked about it and agreed: If you try to live like the world, you will fall. You cannot be a Christian, if you live like everyone else. Many people say that they love Jesus.
They have accepted Jesus but were never truly separated from this world. They try to live according to the normal standards of this world. They build houses and have cars. They work and busy themselves like this world. Slowly the world creeps in more and more. It’s much easier to live as a disciple, if you are radical. You need to live a life of revival.
Understand who you are as God's chosen people, a holy nation. We live among the pagans. But we don't live like the pagans. We are foreigners and exiles. We abstain from sinful desires. We live among them but we don’t live like them. We’ll look at the problem with the Israelites in the Old Testament. They were truly called by God. They physically left Egypt.
But Egypt never left them. They kept looking back over the shoulder, saying that life was better in Egypt. They kept on sinning. They were like Lot’s wife. She looked over the shoulder and became a pillar of salt. We should not look over our shoulder, back to the old life. We should move forward. We should focus on where we are going. The Israelites had everything that we have. They were the church in the wilderness. They had it all but they still didn’t enter the promised land.
This is a strong warning to us. Paul said this to the church: “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses” We are baptized into Christ “in the cloud and in the sea.” This is a picture of the Spirit and the water.
“They all ate the same spiritual food” This manna that came down from heaven, is a picture of the heavenly bread of communion today. “and drank of the same spiritual drink;” We are commanded in Ephesians, not to get drunk by wine but keep on being filled with the spirit. They had it all. “for they drank from the rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”
Christ was with them in the wilderness. The Rock was Christ. They were the church in the wilderness. Here is another whole story. The Rock was Christ. David threw a STONE (Christ), which killed Goliath. The prophet Daniel prophesied that the kingdoms of the world will be destroyed. That small rock, the stone, will become a great mountain. I have a lesson about that later.
We’ll look at King David, the Book of Daniel and Revelation. We need to understand that the church in the wilderness had it all. “Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” So the Israelites had it all.
We, the church today, should read their story. We need to see that they were the church, who was called out from Egypt. We should learn from how they went wrong. But I feel many haven’t learned from it.
There isn’t any difference between them and the world. Most of the Israelites didn’t enter the promised land. Also, many people in the churches today will not enter the promised land. Why not? They’ve never been separated from Egypt. Maybe they left Egypt, but Egypt are still inside them. They continue looking back over their shoulder.
Paul continues to warn us: “Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did – and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.
We should not test Christ, as some of them did - and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble” I like that. Grumbling is listed with everything else - “as some of them did - and were killed by the destroying angel.” Don’t grumble: ‘Oh, it was better then. Oh, it's hard to be a Christian and follow Christ. It was better when I was in the world. At that time, I could just live in sin and ignorance.’
We shouldn’t speak like that. Yes, we may be walking in a desert wilderness. Yes, we’re exiles here on Earth. We are thirsty and it’s not easy. But we have a goal, which is the promised land. We don’t look back to where we came from. We must look forward to what’s coming. That is where the strength is. When I was in jail, I could have grumbled about everything.
Many things were not good, including the food. Sometimes the food had small maggots and bugs. Sometimes it wasn’t cooked. Sometimes the whole pod went on strike and didn't want to eat the food. They complained, hammered on the doors and made a lot of noise. Then the guards came in and locked us down. People continued to complain. But I knew that it didn’t help me to complain. It helped if I had the right attitude.
Our focus is what makes the difference. So, people came me in jail and asked me: “Torben, why are you so happy and free? You shouldn’t be like that. You’ve been treated unfairly. But you don't complain or grumble.” No, I rejoice. Why? Because my focus is on the right thing. I know I'm on a journey, in a race. I don't want to be disqualified in this race. I want to be purified.
God is purifying me through my trials. Then I can become more like Him. I'm called out. I'm His church. We are the church. Then Paul wrote: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down” So, the story of how the Israelites, the church in the wilderness, were saved out of Egypt, was written down “as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!”
Paul wrote something else before this, but there is a chapter division there. It's a mistake that we have divided the letters into chapters, because it’s all connected. A few verses before, Paul wrote this: “Do you not know?” I want to say that to you too. Do you not know “that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?” Think about the Israelites. They were slaves in Egypt.
They were saved out of Egypt. But that wasn’t the end of the race, but the beginning. In Lesson 4, we’ll look at how they were saved out of Egypt. The unleavened bread was the repentance. The blood of the lamb is the blood. The Red Sea and the pillar of fire and the cloud represents our new birth. They were saved out of Egypt, like we are being saved out of Babylon.
They were pilgrims and strangers walking through the desert with the focus on the promised land. In the same way, we are now in a race that we need to finish. But I've seen many people who think that they are completely like saved now. They say, “Hallelujah” and just stand there, waiting for Christ to come. They’re not being purified.
They don’t understand that there’s a race. That we need to run this race to get a crown that’ll never perish or fade away. We run to receive eternal life. Paul wrote: “Run in such a way as to get the prize.” What is this prize? The promise. Eternal life. The inheritance. “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
They do it to get a crown that will not last, we do it.” What do we do? We go into strict training “to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave” So, you shouldn’t follow fleshly desires. You need to strike that body and make it obedient as your slave:
“I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” I am preaching to you right now. But I can still be disqualified for the prize. Then Paul explained how the Israelites had it all.
Christ the Rock was with them. They left Egypt. They were baptized into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. They ate of the spiritual food: the manna, the communion. They had it all. But they were still disqualified. They were saved out of Egypt but they didn’t enter into the promised land. Some people say the phrase: ‘Once saved, always saved.’ They tell people if they’ll just pray a prayer, you will be saved and that nothing can take that away from them.
That is a lie. We are not saved yet. Only those who are victorious, will inherit all of this. We need to wash our garments in the blood of the Lamb. If we are clean, then one day we’ll enter through the gate. We’ll take from the Tree of Life and live forever. Do you know this? Don’t you know that we’re in a race? Do you go into strict training? Do you strike a blow to your body and make it obey you?
Do you fear to be disqualified? This is how it should be. The church is people that are called out - God's holy nation. God gave a promise: I will walk with you. I will be your God and you will be my people. But for that to happen, we need to come out from them. We need to be separated and touch no unclean thing. Then God will be our God. We’re in the world but not part of the world. We must come out from Babylon before its fall and judgment.
God said, He will raise up a prophet like Moses. The Israelites had Moses and the law of Moses. We have Christ and the law of Christ. Obey Him. We’ll look at those things later. “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?” This is about a real Kingdom coming down from heaven. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, a new heavenly Jerusalem and the Garden of Eden. Wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God.
“Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were.” But you were called out and separated. “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Some of you today were like that.
We’ve read that we should touch no unclean and be separated. Later, we’ll look at the law of Moses and the law of Christ. We’re not under the law of Moses. We don’t need to become monks and go to a monastery. But we should be transformed and renewed. We should put off the old life and put on the new life. Colossians: “Since you have been raised to a new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God's right hand.” Do you think about Christ sitting in heaven at God's right hand right now?
Do you consider that He will return here soon? That will be when the time has come for God to send the Messiah. He’ll set up the kingdom as promised. We’ll get a new heavenly body and our reward. Set your sights on the things of heaven, not the things on earth. Most Christians think more about earthly things than heavenly things. They think that heaven is far away from them. What are our desires? What do we live for? Do we just want to buy a house and a car?
Do we just want an education? These things are all part of this world. We think that we can live for this world, before it simply disappears, and then we’ll go to heaven. But we are on this journey now. We are pilgrims, aliens and strangers running the race, walking this journey toward the promised land. We have received a warning that we should not act like the Israelites. We should set our sights on the reality of heaven and not earthly things.
“For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.” We were justified. We are now being sanctified. One day, we’ll share in His glory. We’ll be glorified. That is our journey. The Israelites were saved out of Egypt. They should’ve been transformed and purified in the desert. They could then have entered in to the promised land, but they failed.
They were not sanctified. They kept going back. This was a warning to us. The church in the wilderness didn’t make it. Many in the church today also won’t make it, if we don't heed this message. “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.
Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.” This is a strong warning. Paul continues: “Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.” Then, you were part of Egypt, of Babylon, of this world. You had the mindset of this world. Now, you are the church. What does that mean?
You are called out of this world. So, we are not part of this world anymore. “But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behaviour, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.” Firstly, you must get rid of some things. Then you put other things on.
“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilised, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you” – God called you out to be His ecclesia, His church.
“Since God chose you to be the holy people, he loves” We are the holy people, God loves. We are His church. That is how it should be. “you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” What beautiful verses these are. This is the church. This is our calling. This is our desire. There should be a transformation. When people come into our churches, they should see this. But some church meetings I’ve been to were almost like concerts, like the world. People speak, dress and behave like the world and then say, “We are the church.”
May we take the Bible’s warning about the Israelites seriously. Then we will not be disqualified from the race. “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body, you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
That is the message I wanted to share. Don’t think of the church as a building, a non-profit organization or as a church denomination. It’s not about the meetings or activities you go to. It’s a group of people who are called out of this world. They are called to be transformed, and holy like God is holy. Then one day, those people can be glorified with Him. We’ll look at that later, when we focus on justification, sanctification and glorification.
Lesson 4 will show that the way in which Israelites were called out of Egypt, is the same way we are called out of this world. It’s not about a nice prayer. It’s not about asking Jesus to come into your heart and hearing: ‘Congratulations! You are called out.’ What have we learned already? God wants a people that is His. That is the whole message of the Bible from the Garden of Eden onwards.
God wants a people that are His people. God longs to have a people who will be His. He wants to be their God. He wants to walk with them in the cool of the day, as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. After the Fall and the Flood, God found Abraham and gave a promise to him. From Abraham came Isaac and Jacob. Israel became a nation. But they were still in Egypt, enslaved to this world.
So He found Moses to call them out from Egypt, to worship him in the wilderness. Then we have the church. The church in the wilderness did not understand that they were God's called-out people, a Holy Nation. They continued in sin and looked back to the old life. In the end, they were rejected and did not enter into the Promised Land. This serves as a warning for you and me.
“They” here refers to the majority of that generation who didn’t enter in. But we know that Joshua and Caleb took the following generation into the land. Moses didn’t enter in, himself. He only saw the promised land. But he actually did enter in later on the Mount of Transfiguration and talked with Christ Himself. We’ll look at that later. Before then, Moses had only seen the land.
It’s a very interesting story there. Moses brought them to the promised land, but he could not bring them in. He needed another person, who was Joshua. Joshua’s name is directly linked with the name of Jesus. So, Moses brought them to the promised land. But Jesus brought them into the promised land. In the same way, the law can bring us only part of the way.
But Christ brings us in. So, the church in the Old Testament serves as a warning for us. Put off and put on. We become God's called out (or God's Church) through repentance, baptism in water and receiving the Holy Spirit. But it doesn't stop there. Now we must put off the old way of thinking and living. Instead, we must put on the new man, being renewed to become like God our Father. One day glorified.
When we are justified in Christ, the grace of God (by the Holy Spirit) teaches us and transforms us. This is also called sanctification. If we let Him do that and continue in Christ, one day we’ll be glorified - then we’ll enter into the promised land. That’s what I wanted to share today. I really encourage you to follow the whole school. We’ll see more and more pieces of the whole puzzle.
We will see how each piece fits in, one after another. Then, suddenly you will see the whole picture. Everything will make sense in a new way. You need to understand this message from today: There was a church in the Old Testament. It was called out from Egypt. We have now been called out, so we’ll not be judged together with this world. We’re now being sanctified, so we can be glorified one day.
In Lesson 4, I'll look at how the church was called out. It is the same way we are called out today. But before the end of Lesson 3, let me pray for all of you out there. God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the truth and for what we’ve heard today. God, help us not to be deceived or disqualified. Help us to run the race in front of us. Help us to understand that we are pilgrims and strangers on this journey, here on earth.
We are walking through the wilderness, toward the promised land. I pray for everyone who’s seen this. I pray that you will speak to them. I pray that the true fear of you will come into their hearts. Help them to understand that they cannot be like this world. They cannot live like this world and then inherit what you have for them, God. They need to be separated.
They need to be the called-out church, the true church. God, come with your Holy Spirit. Remind them of things they need to get rid of in their lives. Help them to put on this new life, God. Help us, God, to learn from this. God, come with your Holy Spirit. Open our eyes. Help us to continue running the race. Help us to serve you as disciples, preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
Help us to demonstrate the power thereof, God, in healing the sick, casting out demons, and helping people get born again. God, come with your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus. Amen. God bless you all out there. Again, go in and share this series with other people.
Invite others to join. This is important. As we move on, it’ll become much stronger and clearer as more pieces fall into place. Then we’ll see the bigger picture of this life, this journey and this race we are on. God bless you. Bye bye.