I have, of late, been reading the story of Moses and the deliverance of the people of Israel from the hand of the tyrannical Pharaoh. With great power God sent a deliverer and brought forth a people for His very own. Years of wandering and struggle finally brought them to the Promised Land where they crossed a mighty barrier and entered.

All the Bible points us to the person of Jesus. He stated this fact when speaking to the crowds, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). There are so many parallels between the story of the Exodus and the story of Salvation that I wanted to give you a quick glance at some of the commonalities.

1. Identified with His Own People
   The one who came to deliver the people was completely identified with the people. Moses was once part of Pharaoh’s court, having been adopted into the palace. He refused identification with the world and chose, instead to be identified with the oppressed and enslaved. Jesus, also, left His glory and became one of us – except without sin.
   
   
2. Displayed Great Power
   With great power, by God’s command, Moses commanded plagues upon the nation of Egypt. These signs testified to the truth of who he was and why he had come. So, in Christ, the power of God was manifest through Him and gave not only credibility to who He was, but also signaled why He came.
   
   
3. Only the Blood saved from Death
   It was at the command of Moses that the captive people covered their doorframes with the blood of the chosen lamb. Only the houses with the sign of blood would be spared from the angel of death. Each house had to choose to put the blood on the door. And so is it in Christ. Only those who come to faith in Jesus and surrender to Him in repentance will be covered by His blood. It is those who choose faith in Christ that will have their sins atoned for by His sacrifice and will be spared eternal death and final judgement from God.
   
   
4. Crossed over, Never to Return
   The Exodus commences and the people of Israel are led to the Red Sea. By God’s power, the waters part and Moses leads the people across to the other side. The water’s rush back into the seabed and the way back is blocked. So, in Christ, we cross over by faith and are taken out of slavery to sin and led by God’s word through this world—never again to go back into slavery.
   
   
5. Led for Years
   It took time, 40 years to be precise, but eventually the people of God were led across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. The years of wandering in the wilderness changed them forever, and Moses never left them the entire way. So, in this life, we wander in this wilderness—sometimes for years—before we enter the Promised Land. We grow, mature, and see the old life die off as we wander – all the while being led by Jesus through everything.
   
   
6. Entered the Promised Land
   There came the time when, finally, the people crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. All the years of waiting… all the years of strife came to a singular moment when God stopped the waters of the river and they entered. All who follow Jesus will, someday, cross over to that blessed, Promised Land called Heaven. We will cross the river of death, that great barrier that separates us from this life and the next, and God will deliver us safely to the golden shores of eternity.

I hope this is an encouragement to you. Don’t fear the journey you're on as you follow Jesus. He will lead you out of sins captivity, through the wilderness wanderings of this life, until you reach securely that Heavenly Shore.

If you’re not a Christian, why wait? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and know that no matter what avails in this life, you have been secure for all eternity by the Mighty Hand of God. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).
 
©2015 Michael Duncan

For further study, pick up the book: "Starting Out: A Study Guide for New Believers" from Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482694328.

Oh the agony of defeat!

Israel, in their war against the Philistines, suffered a great loss at the hands of their enemy. What was their solution? Bring out the ARK! Yes, that's it... the Ark of the Covenant of God remained behind in Shiloh and was brought up to the battlefield in order to defeat the Philistines.

However, there was just one problem (okay... there were many problems, but this one in particular), the Ark of God was not a talisman to be used as a means of some "magical" support from God. Here's what it said in 1 Samuel 4:3, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."

So that "IT" may save us? Really? It? Not "So that God may save us?" No, not that, we just need the Ark, we just need the talisman, we just need to look the part and then it all will happen automatically! What comes next is devastating. If they thought the battle had gone bad before, now it goes horrendously wrong.

But, my friends, don't we do the same today? Don't we simply bring out the functions of worship and the perfunctory expressions of devotion to God without any desire to seek the LORD? How many churches are missing the power of God in their great battles? How far down has our society declined in morality and virtue and the church seems powerless to change it? When was the last time someone said they had a great experience in the worship service and what they meant was a deep conviction of sin and a desperate desire to bring their lives into conformity with God and His word?

So, what do we do? We ramp up the volume and sing songs that drive the emotions so that people will have a great experience in church. We hype up the VBS and the children's programs so that it's more exciting for the kiddos and preach sermons that are more agreeable to the masses.  We “bring out the ARK” and hide behind the talisman of religious expressionism, behind the bouncy-houses and baubles, the trinkets and tricks, and never truly seek the face of God. Let's face it - the prayer meeting is dull compared to the great performances happening on many Sunday mornings! But the power of God may just be found waiting for us in the prayer meeting.

While our sermons are preached and music is sung our communities fall prey to the steady encroachment of the enemy. Instead of the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ being the power of God for the salvation of all who believe (Romans 1:16) we now must make sure we are seen as "culturally relevant" despite the fact that the culture is lost and without hope in a wicked and depraved world. Evangelism becomes more about demographic research and market analysis rather than the proclamation and presentation of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Even as Spurgeon said, “That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors the most.”

Isn't it time that we begin to ask: "What does GOD want us to do?" Are we prepared to become so completely consecrated to the Lord Jesus that the very steps we take are ordered by the LORD? 

There is an answer - and it took Israel 20 years to get to it.  1 Samuel 7:2-4 speaks to this turn-around. In verse 3 we read, "And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, 'If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.'"

The continual strengthening of the enemies of God in our culture and our communities comes from the willingness of God's people to put aside God's ways for worldly methods. But think about it this way: If imitation is the highest form of flattery, how long will churches across our land continue to flatter the world? We imitate the culture when we need to influence it. We entertain when we must entreat. We participate in programs and plans that have no touch of the direction of God because that's what we always do - we bring out the Ark - and hope that somehow God will be motivated to respond to our expectations.

The solution has already been given above. Return to the LORD with all your hearts and divest ourselves of all worldliness and religiosity that has no mark of the direction of God. I hope and pray it will not take another 20 years for us to get there.

©2015 Michael Duncan