Called Out and Be Separated: The Church in the Wilderness / Kingdom School - Lesson 3

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.

Before I started to travel more widely,
my family and I went out on mission.

We put the children in the car. We
went to another country.

We simply started to preach
Jesus and make disciples.

Something happened. 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 thing every day.

We need to break out of that cycle
and experience new things.

We spent 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.

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]

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 continue to 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).

This is 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.

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,
almost a whole chapter.

So far, we haven’t read
long parts of the Bible.

The pace may seem slow
for you at the beginning.

There's 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 didn’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.”

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
so 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 spoke about Moses, the tabernacle,
Joshua, David and Solomon.

He explained how Solomon made
a dwelling place for 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.

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.

These things include 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 ‘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 “a 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 these 2 groups:

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.

So, we should be alert and sober-minded.

We should set our hope on the grace
to be brought to us.

This will happen 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.

Then they could 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.

We 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.

We must come out from Babylon,
Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah.

We must be saved from
this wicked evil generation.

If not, we’ll be judged together
with them. What is the church?

The church is those people who
have come out from this world.

They have been separated from this world.

They are in the world but
not part of the world.

The church are not people
who dress up every Sunday.

They are not those that sit in a church
building for a few hours and sing songs.

Those that 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.

He also died to purify
for Himself His own people.

A people who've been called
out from this world.

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 didn't sent his son Jesus only
to redeem us from our sins.

He also sent Jesus 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 things 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.

A judgement is coming to this world.

We saw this 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.

While he was there,
his righteous soul was tormented.

This was because of all the wickedness
he saw.

He was sick to the stomach,
as he was a righteous man.

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.

Are you a born-again believer
living a righteous life?

Then 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.

We see 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 something in the Bible.

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 world's system.

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 like them.

We should see ourselves
as foreigners and exiles.

We are 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.

It's not a person who 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 about 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 came down from heaven.

It's a picture of the heavenly
bread of communion today.

“and drank of the same spiritual drink;”
We are commanded this in Ephesians.

Don't 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.

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, 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
is 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 wanted to eat other 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, this story is written down.

The Israelites, the church in the
wilderness, were saved out of Egypt.

This 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 being saved from Egypt 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.

Their 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 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.” But we do.

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 that it's enough
to 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 not only about
a spiritual kingdom.

This is about a real, also physical,
Kingdom coming down from heaven.

A new heaven
and a new earth.

There will be 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.

"Think about the things of heaven,
not the things of 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.

Then we’ll go to heaven.
But we are on this journey now.

We are pilgrims, aliens and strangers
walking on this journey.

We are running the race
toward the promised land.

With 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.

It's not 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.

We are called to be transformed,
and holy like God is holy.

Then one day, we
can be glorified with Him.

We’ll look at that later.

We'll focus on justification,
sanctification and glorification.

Lesson 4 will focus on how the
Israelites were called out of Egypt.

This 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.’
So, what have we learned?

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.

He did that 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 this:

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.

He 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 edge of 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.

We are baptised in water and receive 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.

We must be renewed to become like
God our Father. One day glorified.

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.

Then 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 this:

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:

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.

More pieces will fall into place.

Then we’ll see the bigger picture of this
life, this journey, this race we are on.

God bless you. Bye bye.