The Book of Numbers

The books title, "Numbers", first occurs in the Greek and Latin versions. It is a reference to the two censuses, or "numberings" taken of the Israelite men. Most of the book, however, describes Israel's experiences while wandering in the desert. Because of this, the book is known in the Hebrew Old Testament as "In the Desert".


Numbers is a sequel to the history recorded in the book of Exodus. Shortly before leaving Mount Sinai, God directed Moses to take a census of all the Israelite men who met the requirements necessary to go to war. Nineteen days later, the nation departed for a brief journey to Kadesh. While at Kadesh, Israel rebelled against God and His plan for them to take possession of the land. As a result, God judged the people of that generation by allowing them to wander in the desert for another 39 years. At the end of that time, God brought an entirely new generation of Israelites to the plains of Moab, which was across the Jordan River from Jericho and the promised land.


Numbers was written to explain why Israel did not enter the promised land immediately after leaving Mount Sinai. It explains how God requires His people to have faith in order to fulfill His plans and promises. It reveals the results and judgments for rebellion. It also shows how God's ongoing purposes will always come to pass.


The primary message of Numbers is clear: God's people made progress only by depending on Him, trusting His promises and obeying His Word. Passing through the desert was a necessary test of faith on the way to the promised land. However, it was not God's original intention for a whole generation to die there. The journey became a 39 year trial because of the unbelief of the people. Israel as a whole rebelled against God. Moses was so frustrated with this ungrateful and rebellious people that he offended God and died before he crossed over to the promised land.


Six major features characterize Numbers: 1. It is the Book of Desert Wanderings". It tells why Israel did not enter the promised land directly after leaving Mount Sinai, but had to continue wandering aimlessly for 39 more years. 2. It is the "Book of Murmurings", revealing the repeated grumbling and complaining of the people and how God responded. 3. The book illustrates the principle that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Only when people depended completely on God and took Him at His Word did they make progress. 4. Numbers teaches the principle that if one generation fails, God will raise up another one to fulfill His promises and carry out His mission. 5. The slight difference in the number of men available for war that we find from the two censuses reveals that it was not the size of Israel's army that kept the people out of Canaan the first time. It was a lack of faith and obedience that caused them to lose out on God's promise. 6. It is the "Book of Divine Discipline", showing that God will exercise correction and judgment against His own people when they continue to doubt and complain.


Israel's complaining and unfaithfulness in the desert are pointed out as warnings for followers of Jesus under the new covenant (1 Co. 10:5-11; Hebrews :16, 4:6).

The Book of Leviticus

Leviticus is closely related to the book of Exodus. Exodus records how the Israelites were rescued from Egypt, received God's law and built the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a portable sanctuary, or place of worship, signifying God's presence among the people. Exodus concludes with God's visible presence settling over and filling the newly constructed tabernacle. Leviticus contains the laws and instruction God gave Moses during the two months between the completion of the tabernacle and Israel's departure from Mount Sinai.


Leviticus was written to instruct Israel's people and their priests about how to approach God through atoning sacrifices. This book also clearly outlines God's standard of holy living for His chosen people. "Holy" refers to moral and spiritual purity, wholeness and godly character. It implies a separation from evil and complete dedication to what God says is right.


Leviticus contains two major themes: atonement and holiness. Chapters 1 - 16 describe God's Old Testament method of dealing with sin, and the separation it caused between God and people. Through various sacrifices, He made a way for the people of Israel to receive forgiveness and maintain a relationship with Him.


Chapters 17 - 27 present a series of practical standards for moral purity and holy living. Over and over, God commands, "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy". The Hebrew words for "holy" occur over 100 times in this book. To the people, this meant living in moral and spiritual purity and obedience. This required separation from evil and dedication to what God says is right. As followers of God, their lives were to be unusually and positively different from those who would occupy the lands around them. True holiness is not simply a matter of avoiding sin and evil. True holiness is a matter of pursuing what is right and doing the positive things God desires. Leviticus ends with a challenge from Moses related to the rewards of obedience and specific instructions about fulfilling special vows to God.


Four major features characterize Leviticus. 1. Spiritual revelation that comes as a direct word from God. This is emphasized more in Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible. At least 38 times it clearly states that the Lord spoke to Moses. 2. Instruction concerning the sacrificial system and substitutionary atonement is given in great detail. Chapter 16 is the primary chapter in the Bible describing the Day of Atonement. 4. Leviticus stresses the theme that the people of Israel were to fulfill their God-given destiny.


Because of the double emphasis on blood atonement and holiness, the content of this book still relates to the people of God who are under the new covenant. The New Testament teaches that the atoning blood of sacrificial animals was a "shadow of the good things that are coming" (Hebrews 10:1). This means that the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to Christ's sacrifice for sin. New Testament followers of Christ can fulfill God's command to be "holy" in all areas of life (1 Peter 1:15) by accepting the forgiveness and the power for living that Christ provides. The Bible talks about the spiritual cleansing (Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 7:14) and power (1 Co. 1:18) that are available because of Christ's sacrifice.

Why Is The Holy Spirit Called "Holy"?

"But ye have an unction from the Holy One."  - John 2:20


Why is the Holy Spirit called holy? Surely, the explanation is that it is His special work to produce holiness and order in all that He does in the application of Christ's work of salvation. His objective is to produce holiness, and He does that in nature and creation, as well as in human beings. But His ultimate work is to make us a holy people, holy as the children of God. It is also probable that He is described as the Holy Spirit in order to differentiate Him from the other spirits - the evil spirits. That is why we are told to test the spirits and to prove them and to know whether they are of God or not (J John 4:1).


Then the next question is the personality or the personhood of the Holy Spirit. The personhood of the Holy Spirit is not only forgotten by those whom we describe as libeals or modernists in their theology, but we ourselves are often guilty of precisely the same thing. I have heard most orthodox people referring to the Holy Spirit and His work as "it" and "its" influence and so on, as if the Holy Spirit were nothing but an influence or a power. And hymns, too, frequently make the same mistake. There is a confusion about the Holy Spirit, and I am sure there is a sense in which many of us find it a little more difficult to conceive of the third person in the blessed Holy Trinity than to conceive of the Father or the Son.


Why is there this tendency to think of Him as a force or an influence or an emanation? There are a number of answers to that question, but they are not good reasons. His work seems to be impersonal because it is a kind of mystical and secret work. He produces graces and fruits; He gives us gifts, and He gives us various powers. And because of that, we tend to think of Him as if He were some influence. I am sure that this is a great part of the explanation.


A Thought to Ponder: The Holy Spirit's special work is to produce holiness in God's children.


~Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "Walking With God Day By Day"

The Book of Exodus

Exodus continues the narrative that began in the book of Genesis. Exodus refers to God's miraculous deliverance,or rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to their departure from that land as God's chosen people.


Exodus was written to provide a lasting historical record of how God rescued the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and established them as His chosen nation. The book also provides a written revelation about God's covenant with Israel. Exodus is an important link in the process of God revealing Himself and His plan to people. That plan reaches its highest point in the New Testament through the person of Christ.


Five major features characterize Exodus. 1. It records the historical events surrounding Israel's birth as a nation. 2. It contains, in the Ten Commandments, a summary of God's moral law and righteous requirements for His people. These serve as a foundation for Biblical ethics and morals throughout God's Word in both the Old and New Testaments. 3. It is the main Old Testament book describing God's redemptive grace. It is an amazing picture of God's power in action. Exodus is an Old Testament picture of how God supernaturally rescues His people from bondage of sin, satan and the world. 4. The entire book is saturated with a majestic revelation of God including His glorious attributes; His lordship over history and all rulers; His covenant relationship with a people who trust Him as Savior; His purity, justice and righteousness as revealed in His moral law and judgments; and His worthiness to receive worship as the almighty God who also dwells with His people. 5. Exodus emphasizes that what, why and how of true worship that should come from individuals who have a personal relationship with God.


Many situations and events throughout Exodus are prophetic symbols of the relationship God offers us under the new covenant. The first Passover, the Red Sea crossing and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai are to the old covenant (or Old Testament) what Jesus' death, resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost are to the new covenant (or New Testament). Some of the things in Exodus that are "types" or symbols of Christ and His work in the New Testament are: Moses, the Passover, the Red Sea crossing, the manna, the rock and water, absolute moral obligations of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament are requirements for new covenant believers as well.

The Book of Genesis

Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament and serves as an introduction to the entire Bible. "Genesis" is a title that means "the origin", "source", creation or beginning of something". Therefore, Genesis is the book of beginnings.


Genesis accurately records creation, the beginning of human history and the origin of the Hebrew people who lived in a covenant relationship with God. This relationship was based on God's laws and promises and the people's faithfulness to God. The historical reliability of Genesis as part of God's inspired Word is confirmed in the New Testament by the Lord Jesus (Matt. 19:4-6; 24:37-39; Luke 11:51; 17:26-32; John 7:21-23; 8:56-58) and by the apostles.


Genesis provides a necessary foundation for the rest of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), as well as the entire Bible. It also preserves the only trustworthy record about the beginnings of the universe, humankind, marriage, sin, cities, languages, nations, Israel and God's plan to restore His personal relationship with His people. God gives His covenant people in both the Old Testament and the New Testament a basic understanding of Himself, creation, the human race, the fall into sin, death, judgment, covenant and the promise of salvation to those who put their faith in Him.


Genesis divides naturally into two major parts. Chapters 1-11 provide an overview of the beginning history of humankind.  Chapters 12-50 reveal the origin of the Hebrew people. We learn how God worked through Israel's four patriarchs. These patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. God's goal was to lay out His plans to bring people of all nations back into a relationship with Him.


Seven major features characterize Genesis. 1. It was the first book of the Bible written. It records the beginnings of human history. 2. The history in Genesis covers a larger period of time than the rest of the Bible combined. 3. Genesis reveals that the physical universe and life on earth are distinctly God's work and not an independent process of nature. 4. Genesis is a book of firsts. It records the first marriage, first family, first birth, first sin, first murder, first polygamist, first musical instruments, first promise of redemption, and many other original things. 5. God's covenant with Abraham. This covenant is central to all of Scripture. 6. Genesis alone explains the origin of Israel's twelve tribes. 7. Genesis reveals how Abraham's descendants finally came to live in Egypt, and sets the stage for the exodus. The exodus became the main Old Testament event that serves an an example of God's plan to save whoever will turn to Him in faith and follow Him.


Genesis provides the prophetic history of God's plan to bring people back into a relationship with Himself. This would eventually happen through a specific Redeemer - God's Son, Jesus Christ - who would come through the woman's offspring. The New Testament connects Genesis 12:3 to God sending Jesus Christ.

The Book of Revelation

Revelation is the last New Testament book and the most unusual. it is the combination of an apocalypse, a prophecy and a composite of seven letters to churches. Apocalyptic literature typically uses symbolic language and images to describe and represent realities about future times and events, often relating to ultimate devastation and a final outcome.


The prophetic message of this book gives a graphic picture of the final outcome of human history and the completion of the whole Biblical message of redemption.


Eight major features characterize this book. 1. Revelation is the only New Testament book classified as prophetic and apocalyptic. 2. Its message is presented in symbols that represent realities about future times and events. 3. Numbers are used extensively. The most common or recurring number used is seven, which occurs 54 times. This number symbolizes completeness, fullness, and perfection. 4. Visions are a major feature. 5. Angels are most often associated with the visions and the heavenly announcements. 6. It is a polemical book, which means that it expresses passionate and strongly worded arguments for and against specific people or things. 7. It is a dramatic book that makes the truth of its message as clear and forceful as possible. 8. It is the breath and reflection of the spirit of Old Testament prophecy.


This is a most difficult New Testament book to interpret. There are at least five different methods of interpretation but the most widely accepted method - one that agrees most closely with Christian teachings is the "futurist method."

Holding Fast to the Lord

he Scripture verses I will list in this article will be giving us another major, basic, fundamental principle that we all have to get worked into our mindset and walk with the Lord. As you will see in how the Lord has worded all of these specific verses, this is another all-or-nothing command being given to us by our Lord.

Bottom line – once you have entered into a true, full surrender with the Lord where He will now be the One to guide you into His perfect plan for your life – you can never, ever turn back, bail out, quit, or throw in the towel on Him. Wrestle with God all you want, throw as many temper tantrums as you want, but do not ever get to the point with God where you are going to tell Him that you are going to bail out on Him and walk off His playing field.

All of the major power verses I will list in this article are telling us to do the following with the Lord:

1. Hold fast to the Lord
2. Hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering
3. Hold fast our confidence in the Lord
4. Hold fast to the Word of Life
5. Do not cast away your confidence in the Lord
6. Do not depart from following Him
7. Keep your heart steadfast
8. Be faithful until death
9. Stand fast in the faith
10. Continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast
11. Fight the good fight of faith
12. Run the race with endurance
13. Do not become sluggish
14. Be an overcomer
15. Finish the race

All of the above key phrases are a real mouthful! When you read each one of them, one right after the other, the message is coming through loud and clear from our Lord. Once we have entered into a true, full surrender with the Lord where He will now be the One to guide and direct our lives in the direction that He will want it to go in, we can never, ever change course or bail out on Him.

God is now the Captain of our ship. God is now the Shepherd of our souls. God will now be leading us every step of the way in our new walk and journey with Him. We now belong to God, work for God, and live for God – literally to the day we die and depart from this life.

As we all know, this life can really be rough at times – and no one gets by in this life without having to face a certain amount of trouble, adversity, and conflict. We all have to go through various types of storm clouds from time to time – no exceptions!

It’s very easy to have high levels of faith in God when everything is going good and great and you do not have a care or trouble in the world. But let that first heavy storm cloud come knocking on your door, and many Christians will start to get weak at the knees, start to panic, and then start to question God and His wisdom. All of a sudden their high levels of faith in the Lord start to waver and they start doubting that God can handle the adversity that has now just struck them.

As Christians, we have to realize that there is always going to be a certain amount of trouble, tribulation, and persecution in this world – and this type of trouble will be hitting believers as well as nonbelievers. No one gets out of this life without having to face a certain amount of trouble and adversity, and for some, this adversity will end up being extreme and traumatic. Our local daily news shows us everyday what some people are being forced to take and endure.

As a result of the fallen and cursed world we have all been born into as a result of what happened in the story of Adam and Eve, not only are we all stuck with having to do battle with demonic spirits and bad and evil people from time to time, but we are also stuck with having to face all of the different types of natural accidents and catastrophes that can occur at a moment’s notice.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, auto accidents, natural mishaps and accidents around the home and workplace, and different types of illnesses and diseases can all hit anyone of us at anytime. All of these different types of natural accidents, disasters, and illnesses are the byproduct of this fallen and cursed world.

This now leaves all Christians with one of two choices when they personally get hit by one of these types of storm clouds. You can either get mad at God, lose your faith in Him and how He is handling your life, and then throw in the towel and quit on Him – or you can hold your ground and tell God that you are not going to bail out on Him no matter what life, hell, or the devil tries to throw your way.

When you read the verses I will list below, especially some of the key phrases in these verses as I have highlighted in the above bullet points, there is no question what God the Father is wanting all of us to do. He is wanting all of us to stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him to our last dying breath. He is wanting all of us to hold fast to Him without doubting and wavering.

All of these verses are telling us that this life is going to be rough at times. As a result, we have to run the race that God has now set out before us with the intentions on trying to win it and trying to finish it. We have to run this race with endurance, certainty, and purpose. We have to run this race to do the best and be the best we can be at whatever God will be calling us to do for Him in this life.

This means that when we get knocked to the ground with any type of vicious torpedo shot, we have to pick ourselves back up, wipe off the dust and blood on our pants, tell God that we are not going to bail out on Him, that we will stay the course with Him – and then get back into the game of life and keep on the path that God has set up for us to follow in Him.

God has already told us in His Word that if we faint in the day of any type of adversity, that our strength will be considered to be small in His eyes. God is wanting all of us to learn how to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ, to learn how to become true victors and overcomers in this life – and the only way that you can learn how to become a true victor and a true overcomer in this life is by being willing to take on any type of storm cloud that may come your way.

You cannot become an overcomer and a victor in this life unless you have already overcome some type of trial and tribulation. As a result, some of the trials and tribulations that may come your way in this life are actually being allowed by the Lord to come your way for your own benefit, training, andsanctification.

I will once again break these verses down under 4 separate captions. Study these verses very carefully, and make sure that you get this major revelation worked into your mindset with how you look and view things in this life.

As part of your sanctification process in the Lord, this revelation on learning how to hold fast to the Lord should be at the top of your list. This is one, major, fundamental principle that you will want to get worked, ingrained, and instilled into your mindset with how you look and think about things in this life.

Get it settled once and for all in your mind and your heart that you will stay fully committed to the Lord for the rest of your earthly life, and that you will never, ever bail out on Him.

Get it settled once and for all that you will stay the course with the Lord no matter what life, hell, or the devil tries to throw your way – and that you will have full faith, belief, and trust in God to help get you through any type of storm cloud that may come your way – no matter how dark and vicious that storm cloud may look to you in the natural.

You must set your face like flint, draw out your battle sword, which is the Word of God, and take your storm cloud head on operating under God’s anointing, power, and direction. God’s power, knowledge, and wisdom is all there for you to help you handle any type of storm cloud that may come your way as long as you are willing to hold fast to Him, and then be willing to be guided by the Holy Spirit on exactly how to handle it.

1. Holding Fast to the Lord

These first seven verses will all be using the specific words of holding fast to the Lord, holding fast to our initial confession to Him, holding fast to our confidence in Him, and holding fast to His Word of life.

In other words, hold fast to the Lord, and never, ever let Him go – no matter how bad things may get from time to time, and no matter how severe the storm cloud may be that is attempting to come against you.

1. “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel … For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments … The Lord was with Him; he prospered wherever he went.” (2 Kings 18:5-7)
    
2. “A good man …. will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.” (Psalm 112:5-8)
    
3. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)
    
4. “… but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope to the end.” (Hebrews 3:6)
    
5. “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” (Hebrews 3:12-14)
    
6. “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:35-36)
    
7. “… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His own good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” (Philippians 2:12-16)

The first verse perfectly lays it out for all of us. It is talking about King Hezekiah. It says that he held fast to the Lord and that he did not depart from following Him. As a result, this verse then goes on to tell us that “the Lord was with him” and that “he prospered wherever he went.”

The sixth verse from Hebrews 10:35 tells us that if we do not cast our confidence away from the Lord and hold out to the end with endurance in doing God’s will for our lives, that we will“receive the promise.”

Also note in the fifth verse from Hebrews 3:12, that it says that it is an evil thing to have any kind of a heart of unbelief in the Lord. Any kind of unbelief in the Lord and wanting to depart from Him is considered to be an evil type of heart by the Lord.

These are very strong words being given to us by our Lord. God has made all of us for Himself and He will not be denied. This revelation being given to us by the Lord is showing all of us that we have to learn how to fully trust Him, fully follow Him, and be willing to hold fast to Him without any type of wavering or doubting on our end.

2. Be Faithful Until Death

These next 5 verses will now take it one step further. Not only are we to hold fast to the Lord, but we are to hold fast to Him until the day we literally die. The first verse I will list below states that we are to “be faithful until death.”

The rest of the verses then go on with some very strong phrases being used in them in that we are to “stand fast in the faith,” that we are to “continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast,” and that we are to “fight the good fight of faith.”

Put all of these verses together with the ones listed in the first caption, and God is telling all of us, loud and clear, that He does not want anyone of us, for whatever reason, to ever consider departing or bailing out from Him in this life. We are to stay true, loyal, and faithful to Him to our last dying breath.

1. “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer … Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)
    
2. “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13)
    
3. “… if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard …” (Colossians 1:23)
    
4. “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12)
    
5. “For the Lord preserves the faithful …” (Psalm 31:23)

Notice the last verse is telling us that the Lord will be preserving those who will remain faithful to Him in this life. Not only will God obviously be preserving you for the next life to come, which will be heaven, but He will also help keep you properly preserved in this life with all of the different types of adversities that could possibly come your way. In other words, God can help keep you physically, mentally, and spiritually in one piece as you journey through this earthly life.

3. Be An Overcomer in the Lord

These next six verses will add very nicely to the ones listed above about being faithful to the Lord until your last dying breath. These next set of verses are telling us that we have to learn how to be an overcomer in this life, and that if we do, then some incredible rewards will be given to us once we enter into heaven.

The first verse will perfectly lay it out for us in that not only must we become a good overcomer in this life, but we must also keep God’s works until the very end. In other words, we have to complete whatever works God is calling us to do for Him in this life. And if we do, then Jesus will be giving us some type of power over the nations in the coming Millennium Kingdom and then eventually in the New Heaven and New Earth.

Jesus also tells us that if we learn how to become a good overcomer in this life, that our names will not be blotted out from His Book of Life, and that He will confess our names before His Father and His angels in heaven.

1. “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.” (Revelation 2:26)
    
2. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21)
    
3. “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5)
    
4. “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12)
    
5. “I have fought the good fight of faith, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
    
6. “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:10-12)

Notice in the fourth and fifth verses that the apostle Paul is telling us that not only must we fight the good fight of faith, but we must also continue to press on so that we can finish the race that God has set out before us. In other words, not only must we hold fast to the Lord, but we must also hold fast to the Lord with the intention on wanting to completely fulfill the works that He is calling us to do for Him in this life.

The last verse then puts the icing on the entire cake when it says that God Himself will not be forgetting whatever works we are willing to do for Him in this life. He tells us that if we are willing hold fast to Him to the very end, and do not become sluggish in the works that we will do for Him, that we will be receiving some very special rewards once we enter into heaven.

4. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of Our Faith

As a final note, these last three verses will help explain something to you so that you do not let frustration and discouragement get the better of you when you hit some downswings in your walk with the Lord.

As we all know, this life can be a real roller coaster ride at times. You will have good days and you will have bad days. You will have seasons that will be good and fruitful, and you will have seasons that will be dry and lean. When you enter into seasons that will get a bit dry and lean, do not get discouraged or disappointed. As long as you know you are in God’s perfect will for your life, nothing else will matter.

The first verse I will list below will tell us that Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith.”The last two verses will tell us that when Jesus has begun this good work in us – that He will make sure that it gets properly “completed,” and that He will also make sure to properly keep it until the end. So not only do we get Jesus letting us know exactly what it is we should be doing for Him in this life, but He will also be making sure that we fully accomplish and complete everything that He is calling us to do for Him in this life.

What these verses are telling us is that since Jesus will now be the One to lead us into His Father’s perfect plan for our lives, this now makes Jesus the official author of our faith. In other words, Jesus will now be the One to to write the story and script of our life. This right does not belong to us or to anyone else in our life.

For those of you who may be frustrated and disappointed with how your life in the Lord has been going at this time, really chew on the revelation that is in these last three verses.

No matter where you are at right now in your walk with the Lord, realize that God will fully complete everything that He has in store for you in this life. God, as the author and finisher of your faith, has started the story of your life, and He will make sure that He gets everything properly completed with you before it is your time to depart from this life.

Not only will God personally keep you and the works that you will do for Him in this life, but He will also make sure that you get everything done that needs to get done before your day in the sun is finally over. Since God is perfect, this means He will perfectly start andperfectly finish the story of your life in Him down here on this earth.

1. “… let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” (Hebrews 12:1)
    
2. “… He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
    
3. “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

Also notice in the first verse God is telling us that He is laying out a “race” before us. This race is our call in Him. This race is the path, the road, and the direction that we will be taking in Him once we fully surrender our lives over to Him for His direction and handling.

Once you enter into this full surrender with the Lord, Jesus will now become the author and finisher of your faith and of your own personal story in God. As the author and finisher of your faith, God knows exactly where He wants to take you to and exactly how to get you there. All you have to be willing to do is follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, and God will then personally make sure that you fully accomplish everything that He would like for you to get done for Him in this life.

CONCLUSION

Even though all of the above Scripture verses are telling us that we should never, ever consider bailing out on our Lord, realize that God still highly respects your free will and He will never force you to follow Him, or force you to stay loyal and faithful to Him. You will always be free to leave Him, forsake Him, or bail out on Him anytime you want. There are no chains around your neck. You are free to go anytime you want.

However, when you really study all of the specific wording in these verses, you can tell by the strong wording being used, and by the tone and intensity of these verses, that we should never, ever tempt our fate or our hand with the Lord by being willing to depart from Him.

Once you have become saved and born again and have made Jesus both the Lord and Savior of your life – realize that you are no longer your own, much less belong to anyone else in this life. Jesus has now bought you back with the blood that He has personally shed for you on the cross. As a result, your life now belongs to Him, and Him alone.

Once you have made Jesus the real Lord over your life, you really have to come to grips with this revelation that we are to hold fast to Him until the day we literally depart from this life. Once you have entered into this full surrender with the Lord, you have now officially crossed over into a real point of no return.

We all know how rough and tough this life can get at different times. But no matter what life or the devil may try and throw your way, remember what kind of an all-powerful God we are serving and following. We are serving and following an all-perfect, all-powerful God where absolutely nothing is too impossible for Him to handle – which will include any type of storm cloud that may come your way in this life.

If and when any type of serious storm cloud ever comes your way in this life – remember – you will have one of two choices. You can either panic, get mad at God for allowing it to come your way, and then walk out on Him – or you can hold fast to your faith and trust in Him, and have full faith and belief that He will help you handle and get through the storm cloud.

All of the above verses from our Bible are as clear as they can be on this issue. There is now nothing more that the Lord can tell you with the revelation that He has in all of the these verses.

Bottom line – make the decision that you will stay true, loyal, and faithful to the Lord until your last dying breath, and that absolutely nothing will ever cause you to turn, sway, or change your course in Him. Hold fast to the Lord and He will hold fast to you – no matter what kind of storm cloud may come knocking at your door!

Copyright material used with written permission of Mike Bradley - Bible Knowledge Ministry