Exodus Experience

Posted by anointedplace on August 8, 2009 · 2 Comments 

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Everyone knows of the Exodus story and even the story about Joseph which happened before the ordeal of Moses and Pharaoh.   As Christians we usually get out of this time in history is the ten commandments.  But what I see is sanctification at work.  We also see what the nation of Israel went through in the wilderness and their judgment, punishment, deliverance, suffering and growth in our Christian lives.

First lets look at what sanctification is:

sanctification is the process by which according to the will of God, we are made partakers of his holiness, that it is a progressive work, that it is begun in regeneration, and that it is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Sealer and Comforter, in the continual use of the appointed means, especially the word of God, self-examination, self-denial,watchfulness and prayer.

During young Israel’s ordeal,  they were presented with a knowledge of the word of God.  Then they went through a period of self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness and prayer.  During our trials and tribulations we will always have our faith stretched to the limit.  Just as Job, trying to figure out “why” he self examined himself.  This is hard because rarely do we wish to come face to face with our faults.  Our trials and sufferings remove the dependencies other than God out of our lives.  Whether it be a job, family, friends and even church fellowships.  Sometimes these things become idols in our lives that we worship and come to rely on.  God don’t like that.  And during this self examination, it should lead to self denial.  We are lead to the conclusion that we have to depend on God because He is the only true source and that He will always be faithful.

Self denial also involves submission to God’s will and purpose for our lives.  As I continue to grown in Christ, I have noticed that “Christians”(its quoted for a reason) feel like God’s purpose for their lives should not take president over their plans and desires.  This always lead to “why do Christians suffer?”.  As if they have never read Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Do you honestly believe that you can be conformed to the image of Christ by living on easy street?  How unrealistic is it to think that God wants to conform us to his son’s image, whom might I add suffered a great deal for our sake; you being saved from death would have it easy.  Not only that but we live in a world of sin, which HATES! God and you are carrying God the Holy Spirit around with you?  This world hates anything good.  And what father is not harder on his own kids and not his kids friends?  Come on now, God is not the author of confusion.  So this step walks us right in the next, watchfulness and prayer.

Our watchfulness, our patience ,our supplications, our perseverance , our obedience,  and faith in God go hand in hand as we lean not to our own understanding and depend as well as wait on the Lord.  Through prayer, we communicate our needs to the Father and He renews our strength as we stay watchful for the return of Christ. Our prayers should include our brothers and sisters in Christ as they are going through the same things that you are.  We all share the same Christian struggles.

So we go through periods of captivity just like the Hebrews.  We prayer for deliverance just like they did.  We recognize our sins, just like they did.  We are rescued and led out of sin, then we are brought to the valley of the shadow of death and have to deny self and trust in the Lord.  We are brought to our red sea with our enemies at our backs.  But we hold on and stay watchful and behold the hand of God.  We backslide when things get hard in the wilderness and we lose sight of God.  Satan fools us into believing God has left us here to die.  Then we grab hold of friends, family, money and all the things we can see that brings comfort.  We worship the idols because we think that they are faithful more than God.  Then we are judged and reconcile back to God.  But our watchfulness is tested and we are made to wonder the wilderness.  Perseverance is tested, are we professors or possessors?  We stay prayerful and are lead into the promise land; but we go through this cycle for a reason.  Partly because we still have a sinful nature and the other part is that we are being conformed.  We are being sanctified, preparing to enter into the kingdom of God(the true promise land).

Filed under Christ, Christian, Depravity, mankind, Salvation, Sin · Tagged with Christ, Christian, Christian Struggle, Christianity, Exodus, Faith, God, God's Law, Holy Spirit, Israelite, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, Lord, Moses, Religion and Spirituality, True Vine