The Cloud and the Fire

“Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire.” (Numbers 9:15 NKJV)

Where is God? In the wilderness journey forty years, there was the tabernacle in the center of the camp of Israel. The tabernacle was built according to what Moses saw in the mount Sanai. It was the mobile temple where the people sacrificed animals. In the center of the tabernacle, there was the holy of holies where the glory of Jehovah God came down and dwelled and the high priest could enter with the blood of goat once a year.

Where the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered it, the tent of the Testimony, from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. The cloud and the fire were the symbols of the presence of Jehovah. God who led His people out of Egypt through carrying them on eagles’ wings was in their midst. All the Israelites could always see the cloud and the fire forty years, even in the barren and howling wilderness.

We are living in the concrete jungle and wilderness of the world where people are depressed, hurt, wounded, crushed, raped, murdered, robbed, deceived, and confused under the power of darkness and evil. People are suffering for emptiness, futility, loneliness, meaninglessness, boredom, fear, and guilt and despair. This is the age of darkness and confusion. People find no hope, vision, deliverance anywhere in the world.

Where is God? God is in the hearts of the believers of Christ. All the saints are called and sanctified 

as the light of the world and the salt of the earth. We are the living tabernacles of God where the glory of Jehovah indwells forever.

What is the significance of the cloud and the fire in our midst? Were they not for the Israelites in ancient days? Yes, they were. They were the symbol of security and care and protection. How could they sustain life in the wilderness? God did. Likewise, we can sustain life because God indwells within. God imparts the righteousness, peace, and joy into our lives. God invigorates our lives into excitement, venture, vitality, fulfillment, liveliness. 

Apostle John says, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:12 NKJV)

 

Way of the Cross

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24 NKJV)

What is death anyways? Death is the absence of life. There is physical death as well as spiritual death. Physical death is the cessation of breath. The dead body is buried because it is useless and lifeless. All dies without exception. No one can escape from death. Some live relatively longer and healthier. Some live shorter and in sickness. One undeniable and common thing is that the shadow of death is lurking around all people.

Spiritual death is exactly the same as the physical death except the presence of physical breath. Though physically breathing, a spiritually death person has all kinds of symptoms just as the dead body does. Spiritual death is manifested and seen in emptiness, drabness, meaninglessness, dullness, futility, depression, fear, unrelenting guilt, powerlessness, despair, and the like.

But the Scripture says there is no death in God and the Son Jesus Christ the Lord.  In Christ, death is like a sound sleep (Matthew 9:24, John 11:11). Jesus declares a marvelous statement to the Jews and us in the Gospel of John, saying “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24 NKJV)

When the faith in Christ comes into the dead lives, the iron grip of bondage and slavery under the devil is made loose at all. As Jesus says, when we believed in Him we have passed from death into life. No more death lies ahead of the believers because a new life has begun below, eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV)

D. L. Moody said at the close of his death:

"Is this dying? Why this is bliss.
"There is no valley.
"I have been within the gates.
"Earth is receding; Heaven is opening; God is calling; I must go.

We have been made alive through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to making the dead alive, Christ laid down His life on the cross as the ransom sacrifice. He Himself offered His body as the sin offering in the heavenly temple. And the Father in heaven was fully pleased with the Son’s blood and sealed those who have believed in Him with the Holy Spirit.

Death is in the picture of our salvation. When Christ died in our place, we died with Him. This principle applies to everywhere in life. No death, no life. The cross of Jesus is the way to life. The pride, selfishness, anger, hatred, resentment, revengefulness must be put to death first. It is the most difficult thing for humans to do, denying ourselves and taking up the cross. But without it, no one can follow Jesus. ““If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” (Luke 9:24-24 NKJV)

Jesus Christ made the decision to obey the Father, even the death on the cross. He chose to obey God the Father, even the humiliation, curse, mockery, cruel scourge, and crucifixion. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24 NKJV) But He rose again from the dead, the firstfruits of the bodily resurrection.

Prophet Isaiah prophesied about the death of Christ some seven hundred years ago. In Isaiah Fifty Third Chapter tells an amazing statement regarding the response of the Father at the death of Christ. Our God pleased to bruise the Son Jesus Christ because it is the only way to save the lost and fallen. He was wounded and oppressed and afflicted, so we are healed.

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;  He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for  sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53:10 NKJV)

This is what we shall continually. Stand fast on the cross of Jesus and receive His eternal life over and over again. Love humiliation and do not be afraid of losing anything, even the life. That is the way of overflowing victory over victory.

 

Flee Fornication and Pornography

"But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." (Ephesians 5:3-5 NKJV)

Warning, warning, warning! There is no ground in the scripture for pornography, fornication, and adultery to stand, including all uncleanness or covetousness. God says that let it not even be named among the believers in Christ, as is fitting for saints. The Spirit continues, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. As all the believers know, that no fornicator, unclean person, pornography addict, nor covetous man, who is an idolator, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 

These things seem to give something unknown but deliver nothing. They are not the realities of life but the fantasies, illusions, and delusions. God paid the ransom price for the redemption of the captives of Satan with the life of His begotten Son Jesus Christ. God redeemed and made the elect sons of light in the world and the salt of the earth. Apostle Paul admonishes the saints that let sin not reign in our mortal bodies which means obeying it in its lusts (Romans 6:12). If it is true and the scripture confirms it is true, then we shall obey the commandment of God. 

How can we obey the commandment of God? Of course not with our might and power that never works. We tried thousand times! The way of obedience is Jesus Christ. When Christ died we died with Him. We died to sin, say the scripture (Romans 6:2). That's not the end of story. When we died to sin, we were also raised from the dead with Christ. Paul exhorts the saints, saying "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:11 NKJV) That is the truth what we shall remind and remember day and night. We shall not forget the new identity in Christ. 

We have been liberated from the bondage of darkness to the marvelous light of kingdom of heaven by the power of God. We have passed from death into life. We have been given eternal life in the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus. We have the eternal program of God in the growth of knowledge of Him. Christ will come again and reveal everything we have done and judge in righteousness and justice and by fire. 

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (I Corinthians 3:11-15 NKJV)

There are no standings at all for idolatry in the sight of God. These are all sheer wastes which will be burned up by fire. Paul exhorts the saints to reject all evils, saying "Abstain from every form of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:22 NKJV) Apostle James says, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NKJV) Jesus Christ is the way out of the strong temptations to idolatry. He is God's provision given from heaven above to us. Flee!

 

Increase in Love to One Another

“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 NKJV)

What is the purpose of calling of God? As Apostle Paul prays for the saints in the troubled church in Thessalonica, the goal of God’s calling is to increase and abound in love to one another and to all. Paul and Timothy set the example of love to the young church there. That is the picture of fully grown mature man in Christ. There is no place in the scripture to make man increase and abound in religious performances.  

Our God is interested in the growth of love in the man of light who has been made alive in Christ Jesus. The redeeming grace of God is through the bloody death of Christ. The payment has been made in perfection and completion once for all. The sinless blood of Christ can cleanse and wash away any sins with the faith of believers. In Christ, we are cleansed and washed away and made new creations. Christ did not pay the price for us to try the best to live as far as we can. Christ laid down His life for us to live eternal life which He has imparted to us. 

Jesus lived a life of freedom and unorthodox. Look into His boldness and confidence, directly challenging the status quo of the nation by healing the sick on the Sabbath. Jesus did not hesitate to do the will of the Father at every given opportunities, even in the midst of watching eyes of the Pharisees. He was harsh and provocative to the religious hypocrites, driving them all the way to the verge of holding the stones in their hands. 

However, Jesus was kind and compassionate to the sick and the needy even unconditionally. He never rejected anyone who came and ask Him anything. He demonstrated the love of God in fullness. He even gave up His life for sinners when we were still the enemies of God. He is compassionate eternally on the weak and the lost. That is why God let the begotten Son be perished in torment and pain to take over the sins of the world. 

And that is what God is after to those who are saved in the grace of the cross. The deliverance of God is to make us increase and abound in love to one another and to all. Be more loving, forgiving, and enduring in Christ! It means to love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable, and endure the unendurable. It is perfectly possible not because we are able to do it but because Christ lives within us, the hope of glory. 

Right at the moment of pressure, Christ is right there as well. Jesus is willing to help you out if you let Him help you out. “And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:2-3 NKJV)

In fact, that is what we exactly wanted to be, the man of love and beauty whom God intended man to be before the creation of the world. What God gives is what we really want to be. The program of God is for us to be what He is.

 

Called and Sent out

“And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.” (Mark 6:7 NKJV)

Who are the disciples of Jesus? The disciples are called and sent out. No one chose God, but God chose each individual, even before the foundation of the world. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16 NKJV) Apostle John reveals the truth plainly, saying “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44 NKJV) When we are called in His grace and mercy, we obeyed to the calling of God by faith in Christ. 

We are called for His glory and sent out into the world as the light of the world and the salty salt of the earth. Jesus sent out the twelve disciples two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits. Unclean spirits indicate the evil spirits of the devil who stubbornly disobeys and diabolically opposes God. The devil is the father of all lies and the murderer. The vicious and malevolent Satan twists and distorts the truth cunningly and craftily, so he makes the hosts of people the captives in his palace. All humans are under the power of evil. There is none righteous, not one, says the scripture.

But we have been delivered from the bondage of confusion and darkness by the power of God through the faith in Christ Jesus. All Christians have been given power over impure spirits. In His mercy and grace, we don’t have to yield to the power of evil any longer. That iron grip has been loosed by the blood of Christ because He is incomparably stronger than the devil. The power of God is manifested in the resurrection of Christ from the dead which is, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” (Ephesians 1:21 NKJV)

That old man died with Christ, so we live a new life with Christ now and forevermore. We have been made alive and imparted the life of God by His grace and mercy. It has been given for us to live eternal life right now, not to hold it until we go to heaven after this life. God has changed us into sons of light. That is what has happened to all the believers in Christ Jesus. The scripture declares a marvelous statement, saying “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 NKJV)

Therefore, we can choose refusing the evil and obeying the Spirit. Apostle Paul exhorts us, saying “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:12-13 NKJV) That’s the good news. We have Christ in us, the hope of glory. So, we have been given power over evil spirits. That power is Christ Jesus!

All Is Mine, God Says

“Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4 NKJV)

“For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.” (Psalm 50:10-11 NKJV)

We own nothing. We came into the world empty-handed and will be ceased empty-handed. That’s the law of life. All is Mine, God says. He receives nothing but gives everything. He instituted the offerings, services, hymns and psalms not because He needs them but because He desires to give everything to His children. We have nothing to give to God. But God wants us all in body, soul, and spirit because we are not our own but were bought at the price of Christ. He owns us all and continues to possess us by means of Christ’s blood. Thus, God wants us to present our bodies as living sacrifices.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1 NKJV)

What God wants truly and faithfully is thanksgiving and contrition in heart. “Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High.” (Psalm 50:14 NKJV) “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17 NKJV) That’s our true worship and sacrifices.

There is a marvelous revelation in the scripture by Apostle Paul. He says that all things are ours. “Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3:21-23 NKJV) We have that kind of God who gives everything, even the Son Jesus Christ. Praise Him!

Paul explorers it in a marvelous way, saying “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” (Colossians 2:9-10 NKJV) When we received Christ as Lord, He has come into our hearts in fullness. That’s what we are in Christ.

Way to Holiness

“And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” (Leviticus 20:26 NKJV)

Why is always there the bloody death of animals in every offering God instituted through Moses? The answer is there is no other way to go to the Father and God of all creations except through the bloody death. The old sacrifice is the symbol of the death of Jesus Christ. It is the shadow and pattern of real substance. God never means to keep the Law of Moses mechanically and perfunctorily. God wants to teach His people the meaning of the sacrifice through the sacrifice offerings. God does not want to learn what to do but why and how to do. There are reasons for variety of offerings—burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and trespass offering. 

God never desires burnt offerings and sin offerings, Isaiah, King David, and many others say. “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.” (Psalm 51:16 NKJV) “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.” (Isaiah 1:11 NKJV) God says even calls futile sacrifices and abominable incense (Isaiah 1:13).

What God wants to teach His people is that He desires to give them true life—love, joy, and peace. God wants to impart His life with His children. But there is one prerequisite for His people to do—repentance. God wants His people to change the minds according to what God says and sees. King David learned the truth and said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17 NKJV) Prophet Isaiah invites the people to come to God who can cleanse and wash away their sins. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV)

Through the picture of the sacrifice system, God wants His people to know that He desires to create a new man in Jesus Christ. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 NKJV) The blood in the sacrifice offerings directly indicates the blood of Christ. We can be cleansed only by the blood of Christ, not by the sacrificial performance.

Blood is the symbol of life. Without blood there is no cleansing. Sin demands the human life. The wages of sin is death, the scripture says. The origin of sin is the devil, the fallen angel who deceived the woman. She gave Adam the tree and he ate it. Sin is the root of human problems. Sin must be put to death, the scriptures say. There is no other alternative than the death of sin. So, Jesus Christ died in our place. Christ shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice to redeem the captives.

Burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings are the voluntary services. There is no obligatory duty to give these offerings unless a man wants to give to God. These offerings are designed for God to pour out His love, joy, and peace. God invites His people to come and drink out of rivers of living water without price. “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not  bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.” (Isaiah 55:1-2 NKJV)

However, Sin offerings and trespass offerings are the obligatory services if a man is found unwittingly in sin or trespass. The one who is found in sin or trespass must present the sin or trespass offerings to God because He violated the Law of God. He is accountable to his deeds before God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV) Repentance includes restitution.  

The order of the offerings is significant. The first three non-obligatory offerings are listed before the sin offerings and trespass offerings. God wants His people to come unto Him in the prescribed way whenever and wherever. The way of coming to the Father is through the Son Jesus Christ. This is the way to holiness and wholeness. There is no other way than this. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)

 

Strong vs. Stronger

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.” (Luke 11:21-22 NKJV)

How can we continually be saved? Here, a strong man indicates the devil and his goods, the people who are enslaved in his dungeon (palace). This is the exact picture of humans under the power of sin and death. All humans are born to be the state of slavery of the devil. That is the gift of Adam, the unwelcomed one. We were used to be in peace with the devil before receiving Christ. Jesus says to His disciples that they shall not be persecuted from the world if they were of the world. But they shall be persecuted if they were of God.

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”(John 15:18-19 NKJV)

The situation is hopeless because the devil is strong, fully armed, and guards his own palace. He is craftier and more cunning than any other creatures in the universe. He is fully armed with deceitfulness and lie and intimidation and violence. He is like a roaring lion to devour his goods. Everyone in Christ Jesus understood how powerful that grip of darkness and death was. There was no way out, so we inevitably and always ended in frantic defeat and downfall no matter how hard we tried to get out of it.

The murderous devotion and commitment didn’t work out. The cry didn’t work out. The achievements and success didn’t work out. The entertainment and fun didn’t work out. The retirement didn’t work out. The wealth didn’t work out. The romance didn’t work out. But all but failures and depressions remain. The sensational guilt and condemnation ever choked and haunted us relentlessly.

When nothing else seemed to work out, there came the good news of gospel of God, Jesus Christ. Yes, Christ came as the Mediator and Deliverer. He came to the earth as a Man and laid down His life for the chosen ones before the creation of the world. He poured out His blood on the altar in the heavenly temple. God fully satisfied with the blood of the Son and cleansed and washed away all the stains of the believers. Jesus is a stronger Man who is able to overcome the devil, take all his armor which he trusted, and divide his spoils.

Jesus Christ paid the price as the atoning sacrifice to purchase back the lost children of God and give eternal life once for all. This is what happened momentarily we exercised the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. We have been born again in Him. We have been made the new creation because the old had passed away in Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)

The good news is that We died to sin once for all, so sin shall not have dominion over us (Romans 6:14). We have been delivered and liberated from the iron grip of the devil by the power of God demonstrated on the cross in Calvary. And He continues to save us from all trials and difficulties if we exercise the heavenly gift of faith in Christ. He is able to save us because God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul exhorts us with the words of encouragement.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 NKJV)

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless, Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25 NKJV)