CHAPTER 13
MOSES IS A TYPE OF THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD
The true son of God is imbued with power and authority. The true son of God has Jesus (the Holy Ghost) dwelling within him. The true son of God begins to experience the world from God’s perspective. God’s perspective is MERCY AND LOVE. The Levitical priesthood condemned the sinner, the priesthood of Melchisedec forgives the sinner. The Levitical priesthood separated from the sinner, the priesthood of Melchisedec restores the sinner to fellowship. When a saint enters the Holy of Holies, they stop edifying only themselves and they turn their focus to edifying the Church!
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
The following passage shows us two men, Moses, a mature son of God, who has already entered into the Holy of Holies a man who has an intimate relationship with the Lord and Joshua, a man cultivating a relationship with the Lord in the Holy Place preparing to become a mature son of God.
Exo 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Under the law, Aaron, the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kippur but apparently, Joshua never left the tabernacle and Moses went in and out from the presence of God without any limitations. What was so unique about Joshua and Moses? Why did they have such familiarity with the LORD? Moses was an example of a mature son of God and Joshua was preparing to become a mature son of God. The Bible tells us that Moses had four (4) important attributes:
1) Moses separated himself from Egypt.
Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
We see this principal over and over in the Bible. People forsake or lose everything and then they encounter God. Jacob sends his servants and flocks to his brother Esau, and after he sends his children and wives away and he is all alone, he encounters God and wrestles with him all night. Joseph is sold into bondage and is made a slave in Egypt. Moses flees with nothing into the wilderness. King David flees with nothing into the wilderness. Elijah flees with nothing into the wilderness. Elisha sacrifices ALL his oxen and follows after Elijah into the wilderness.
Mat 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
This principal of forsaking all to follow Christ is best illustrated in the Book of James:
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
A Christian cannot have his feet in two camps, he cannot claim to trust in God for his supply but also be busily enriching himself and currying favor with the world. That is considered to be adultery!
2) Moses was the meekest man on earth (humble).
Num 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
As I commented previously, humility is not about having a low opinion of yourself, humility is about having a high opinion of God. A humble man “magnifies” God. If we place our entire trust and reliance on God, he calls us humble. Moses probably should have been very afraid that Pharaoh would kill him, after all that was the reason he fled from Egypt in the first place. However, when God told him to confront Pharaoh, he does not mention the fact that he is afraid. He simply does what God tells him to do regardless of the consequences. Moses trusted God and showed it by BOLDLY approaching Pharaoh with God’s Word! I believe Pharaoh and all of Egypt were terrified by Moses.
3) Moses was called by God.
Act 7:24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
Act 7:25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
Moses was given a specific mission from God. He was SANCTIFIED! God has a special purpose for all of us and it is our job to discover that purpose. We discover our purpose by communing (communicating) with God. We are ALL called to become the sons of God. We are all called to reveal Jesus Christ to the world.
4) Moses had a physical encounter with God.
Num 12:5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
Num 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Num 12:7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
Num 12:8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
Similtude: H8544, temûnâh temûnâh, tem-oo-naw', tem-oo-naw'
From H4327; something portioned (that is, fashioned) out, as a shape, that is, (indefinitely) phantom, or (specifically) embodiment, or (figuratively) manifestation (of favor): - image, likeness, similitude.
We understand from the Torah that Moses actually saw the manifestation or embodiment of Jehovah (Jesus Christ) and this placed him in a unique position. Although Moses was a prophet, God considered him to be on a higher level than an ordinary prophet because he actually “saw” God face to face. He had an intimate relationship with Jehovah.
Exo 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.
How awesome is that!? God spoke to Moses like a man speaks to his friend! Something just as awesome is a promise by Jesus Christ:
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE
Jesus said that he and his Father would make their abode with us. The Church IS the temple of God. We are God’s tabernacle on earth. Jesus Christ manifests himself to the saints and the world by 1) Giving us His righteousness, 2) Baptizing us with His Holy Spirit manifested by speaking in tongues, and finally 3) by Performing signs, wonders, and mighty works through us, manifesting us as the sons of God to the world.
Zec 10:1 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
We need to “ask” the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain! We need to “ASK” the LORD to manifest himself with signs and wonders:
Act 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
Act 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
Act 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Do you see that Peter first ASKED that the LORD would stretch forth HIS hand to heal; and that signs and wonders be done by the name of Jesus? It is not the saints who heal or perform signs and wonders but it is GOD performing these mighty works through them!
Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
We do not manifest the power (dunamis) of God for two main reason: 1) We have not asked God to manifest his power for HIS GLORY, or 2) We secretly want the manifestation of power for our own selfish reasons. When we reach maturity, we begin to see and act from God’s perspective…LOVE! We stop caring about what the world cares about and we start caring about what God cares about.
Php 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
CHANGE: G3345, metasche¯matizo¯, met-askh-ay-mat-id'-zo
From G3326 and a derivative of G4976; to transfigure or disguise; figuratively to apply (by accommodation): - transfer, transform (self).
1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
The Holy Place is a beautiful place, it is the place where we spend time privately communing with God and He spends time communing with us, but it is only a temporary place. Although we are meditating on God’s Word, and praying in the tongues of angels, and receiving astounding revelation from the Holy Spirit, we are not matured yet. We must enter into the Holy of Holies, we must enter into the next level.
When we are in the Holy Place, God is building us up, He is edifying us but eventually He wants us to start edifying His Church!
When we are in the Holy Place, God is feeding us, but he eventually wants His mature sons to start feeding his sheep. God wants to use us to start feeding thousands or millions of His people. He does not want us to remain children forever.
Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
The problem with God’s Church today is that Christians never want to grow up. Christians are content to remain caterpillars and have absolutely no desire to become butterflies. The Church is full of Peter Pans and the ministers, pastors, and priests encourage this state of affairs. Most nominal Christians are not even entering into the Holy Place, let alone entering into the Holy of Holies.
It should not take forty (40) years to become a mature Christian, or twenty (20) years, or even ten (10) years. If you go to a Church every Sunday and then go about your life in the world you are missing it. Even if you go to Church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and are a member of the Choir and a Deacon, you are still missing it! This is an abnormal Christianity, although it passes itself off as normal. God wants fully matured sons of God! God wants to reveal Jesus Christ to the world through His Church.
A brand new Christian should become a mature saint within three (3) to five (5) years, and then he/she should begin to disciple new believers. We do not have the luxury to practice abnormal Christianity anymore! Jesus Christ is returning in a few short years, and the antichrist is going to arrive before that!
Let me show you the difference between normal Christianity and abnormal Christianity:
In normal Christianity, the mature saint takes care of the immature saint, not the other way around:
2Co 12:14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
2Co 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
Making a living should not be the main focus or final goal of a pastor, priest, or preacher of the gospel. People who are busy acquiring followers instead of feeding and maturing the saints are false shepherds! A minister of the gospel should be focusing on leading ALL saints into maturity as quickly as possible, and then those matured saints should lead more saints into maturity. The focus of a good shepherd should be similar to the focus of a good parent. I know in many parts of the world people have many children in order to support themselves in their old age but that is not normal, it is “abnormal” just like a minister of the gospel building “their” ministry for “their own” support is abnormal.
Luk 22:35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.
A mature minister of the gospel should be trusting in God for their support NOT working to attract as many people as possible to “their” church and then brow beating them to pay tithes to “their” ministry so that they can live an extravagant lifestyle. Jesus met the rich young ruler, and said sell everything you have and give it to the “poor”, he didn’t say sell everything you have and give it to “ME!”
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
PLEASE DON’T become a Christian because of the “prosperity gospel”!
Actually, I believe when a minister of God stops relying on God and begins to rely on his flock, or the government, or the rich people in his congregation, he is hurting himself worse than he is hurting the Church. The true Church will recover from everything the world may throw at it but a false shepherd may not be so fortunate.
You may think I am being too harsh on the established church but I want you to listen to the LORD.
Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
The LORD commends the Church of Ephesus because they hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans and He condemns the Church of Pergamos because they tolerated the Nicolaitans.
We see that the Nicolaitans have been in the church from nearly the beginning and now they are so much part of the church that people don’t even recognize that Jesus “hates” their deeds and their doctrine.
The word nicolaitan comes from the combination of two Greek words:
G3532, Nikolaos, nik-ol'-ah-os
From G3534 and G2004; victorious over the people; Nicolaus, a heretic: - Nicolaus.
Let us dig a little deeper.
G3534, nikos, nee'-kos
From G3529; a conquest (concretely), that is, (by implication) triumph: - victory.
G2004, epitasso¯, ep-ee-tas'-so
From G1909 and G5021; to arrange upon, that is, order: - charge, command, injoin.
The Strong’s concordance says that Nicolaitans were adherents of a heretic named Nicolaus. I believe this was just a deception the Nicolaitans came up with to hide their presence in the Church.
We can understand who they really are and what they believe by the Greek meaning of the name: VICTORIUS OVER THE PEOPLE. The Nicolaitans believe that somebody should be in charge and that the people needed to be under a command structure. If you have not recognized who they are then all you need to do is look into the infrastructure of any modern organization. All modern organizations are set up under the Nicolaitan system of hierarchy, a system of command and control, whether the organization is government, corporate, or religious. Another name for the Nicolaitan system in the Bible is Babylon! The Nicolaitans will tell you about Jesus all day long and every day of the week but they will never introduce you to Jesus.
The True Church is just the opposite. The saints hear directly from God, ALL the saints are Kings and Priests of the Most High. The saints have a family relationship with ONE Father and ONE High Priest and ONE another.
People may ask, “Are you some kind of anarchist?”
The answer is no. Actually non-Christians must be under the Babylonian system because they do not hear from God. Non-Christians need the threat of whips, chains, bars, guns, the threat of pain, detention, and death or they could never be kept from harming their neighbors. The true church is now almost totally intermingled with the Babylonian system but eventually God will command that his people separate themselves from Babylon.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
There are many good Christians in the Babylonian system right now including many pastors, ministers, priests, and many other faithful saints of God. Actually, the Babylonian system has slowly covered the whole earth and any people who tried to resist it have suffered persecution, slavery, and death. The true Church will suffer the same type of persecution when they attempt to leave the beast system but those close to Jesus WILL escape.