Worship's Focus is the Light of Life
The Light of Life series
Father Abraham was a man of such extraordinary faith that had God not stopped him; he would have offered his son, believing God would raise him from the dead. Isaac was the obedient son who lay on the altar of sacrifice because his father instructed him. Jacob was the patriarch of transformation; God turned his lying and opportunistic ways into a man of selfless peace.
After the patriarchs came the prophet who, by God's miracle-working power, freed the nation of Israel and, upon the mountain of God's fire, delivered to them God's law.
Moses was a man who was to inherit the greatest kingdom of the world at that time, Egypt. He gave it all away because he was one of God's chosen people. At eighty years old, when life had run its course for him, God appeared in a burning bush that was not consumed. Moses heard from God it's not over yet; you have work to do. Moses, the would-be pharaoh turned sheep herder, thought himself finished, tired, and probably a loser. Hence, he was the perfect candidate to give God glory.
Moses was the Forerunner of the Prophet, Prophesied to Come
He was a forerunner of many prophets who would speak against the nation of Israel. Most of the prophets were confused and discouraged by the promise of a nation exalted by God but eventually more idolatrous than even the surrounding nations. They couldn't understand it and cried, prophesied, and announced the nation's doom. However, one prophet in particular would come, like Moses, but when His words were not heeded, that's as bad as it would be for the nation.
Jesus Christ is the Prophet who Must be Heard and Obeyed
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; you shall listen to him. "This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.' "The LORD said to me, 'They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words, which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.'" Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Of course, the prophet spoke of by Moses was the Lord Jesus Christ. His testimony was not in words alone, though His words were like no other. He spoke for God, and He is God. He performed the deeds and miracles that God alone could do. His followers did miracles, but they were not by their power but evidenced by Jesus' resurrection life.
Many Prophets were Confused over Israel's Faithlessness and Idolatries
So why the confusion and the faithlessness of Israel, the chosen people? Throughout the prophets, we find the people, their prophets, priests, and shepherds to be unfaithful idol worshippers who brought all the curses of God's law upon the land and its inhabitants. The answer to why is found in Romans 9:27. "Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved."
Church Pastors Replaced Wayward Israel's Idolatries
What should be feared in the church most is this. In our day, doctrinal differences are considered to be the most divisive. Be loving, and you have Christianity locked. Really? So then it's not faith in God's promises that save us but our good and loving attitude. Faith is also eliminated when love is maximized to the exclusion of truth.
Lastly, one of the longest-running and most damaging doctrines to the Christian faith is the Palgius/Arminian heresy. I will not use any space in the argument but only ask a question. If man's free will is the determining factor in everyone's salvation, how many people believe they are the determining factor in their salvation? I will go to hell if I am the determining factor in my salvation. Most protestants now believe in free will, so how many are saved?
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