December 2001

Part Fifty

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory (O)

               The premier purpose of this website is ever to voice the uncensored Gospel of the Kingdom and we are honored whenever the Lord leads us to incorporate the works of our brothers and sisters for His Glory. Throughout this series, the Spirit has brought to our attention related writings from fellow Kingdom ministries which fully align with and expand this timely and tremendous message! We are pleased to include some offerings from our sister, Jan Antonsen. [See more of her works at: jantonsson@aol.com]

               [Referring to Israel’s slavery in Egypt] You want to talk about trouble? They had trouble! As a result of the horrific acts of Judgment against Egypt, Pharaoh did let the people go!! "There were about 600,000 men on foot besides women and children! Many others went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock...flocks and herds." (Ex 12:37-38). I have heard it calculated that counting the women and children, there could have been as many as 6 million Israelites leaving Egypt. That's a lot of mouths to feed! "Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years- to the very day- all the Lord's divisions left Egypt"! (Ex 12:40-41). Most of us remember how God led them, "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people" (Ex 13:21-22).
               So far so good, but God was not through teaching them trust and patience! Yet again we read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart causing him to pursue the fleeing children of Israel (Ex 14:2-10). They were terrified and said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'?! It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die out here in the desert!" (Ex 14:11-12) Isn't this typical human behavior? Here they had been groaning under the lash of Pharaoh for centuries, robbed of all their personal freedoms, begging God to bring them out and let them go home. When He did, they looked at Pharaoh's army, his chariots, his horses and his formidable weapons, and doubt and fear seized their hearts within them! They were ready to give up because they were not looking at God! Are we any different at times? We pray; we ask for God's help, but when He uses THE UNEXPECTED to answer that prayer, we cry out bitterly that He has deserted us!
               We come to the spectacular scene in Cecil B. Demille's movie, "Ten Commandments" where Moses stretched out his staff over the Red Sea; the winds parted it, and the people went across on dry land (Ex 14:16). In spite of the inaccuracies, I think the movie did a splendid job of showing the donkey carts, the camels, the geese, the little kids and old men moving through the sea- with Pharaoh's armies held back by the pillar of fire the Lord put there for that purpose (Ex 14:19-21). God took His revenge on Pharaoh and delivered the children of Israel just as He said He would. "When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses his servant" (Ex 14:31). Here again, when God delivers us, we believe in Him, but during the process, when we are in the "divine combine" with the chaff being beaten off the wheat, we moan and groan and protest just like the sons of Jacob did. God brought forth water from the rock and rained down bread from heaven- still they grumbled and complained (Ex 15:27, 16:4,12,35).
               When the Israelites finally got to Mount Sinai, God called to Moses from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You, yourselves, have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I CARRIED YOU ON EAGLES’ WINGS AND BROUGHT YOU TO MYSELF!!” (Ex 19:3-4) While they were living through it, they saw their experiences as horrendous, dangerous, uncomfortable, and down right scary. But God said of these same events, "I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself!!"
               This story of the Exodus is very relevant to our situation today, as are many stories in the Old Testament. Our version of Pharaoh's armies are the threatened terrorists attacks. If you keep your eyes on the flesh, and the dangers to our lives from anthrax or smallpox, you will be afraid; but if you keep your eyes on the promises, and your ears open to the Lord's voice, you will confidently say, "The LORD is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?" (Heb. 13:6) In Verse five of that chapter (the Lord also) says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you!!" God will hold your hand and lead you out of Egypt! You will cross over the sea on dry land as He carries you on eagle's wings into His promised land! When Pharaoh's armies or the terrorists are in hot pursuit; when we fear we will not have what we need and we cannot guess what tomorrow will bring, that is the time to ask God to carry us on eagles' wings to His bosom, so that we may see our lives the way He sees them!! God had Moses remind the children of Israel about the benefits of being in these uncomfortable places they had lived through. He said to them, "He (God) humbled you, causing you to hunger, then feeding you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord! Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these 40 years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you!" (Dt 8:3-5)
               The Hebrew writer says it this way, "The Lord disciplines HIM WHOM HE LOVES, and chastises EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES!" (Heb 12:6) This is another difference between us and Moses. He was referred to as a SERVANT, but we are SONS! "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are!" (I Jn 3:1) May God help us to see that no matter what our lives look like to our natural minds, we are all "FLYING ON GOD’S WINGS!!” [End quote]

[TO BE CONTINUED]

Notice: this ministry will be in LONDON, ENGLAND the week of Dec 9-16

[except 2 one-day trips to Dublin, Ireland and Paris, France]. Any Kingdom group interested in hosting a meeting must please contact us as soon as possible by email: Sonrise1@aol.com, or telephone: 702-647-2131. Our itinerary is filling up quickly.

[P.S. We are not in need of lodgings as all our accommodations are prearranged.]