Genesis, Exodus and the New Testament - “Bringing sons to glory” - Session 24 of 24 - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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Genesis, Exodus and the New Testament

The first two books of the Bible, Genesis and Exodus, are foundational. They teach vital lessons for everyone who wants to take God seriously. The New Testament shows that righteousness is by faith ... faith in Jesus Christ. There is a powerful connection between Genesis, Exodus and the New Testament. The books are linked ... supernaturally. And there are important lessons for the modern-day church highlighted in the words and divisions of these books.

Transcript

• 0:08 There is a clear division 
• 0:09 in the book of Genesis. There are 50 
• 0:12 chapters in Genesis the first 11 
• 0:16 chapters cover creation, the fall,
• 0:18 the flood and the tower of Babel.
• 0:20 The last 39 chapters are the story of 
• 0:23 Abraham 
• 0:24 and his family. Abraham was declared 
• 0:28 righteous in the eyes of God 
• 0:29 because of his faith. "He believed in the 
• 0:33 LORD 
• 0:33 and the LORD reckoned it to him as 
• 0:35 righteousness." 
• 0:37 The last 39 chapters of Genesis are
• 0:40 foundational, 
• 0:41 because they show the vital importance 
• 0:44 of faith, 
• 0:45 and what faith looks like. 
• 0:48 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not perfect 
• 0:51 people. 
• 0:52 The Bible shows their very human flaws 
• 0:55 and failings. 
• 0:57 Furthermore, they did not follow a
• 0:59 religion. 
• 1:01 There was no priesthood to conduct
• 1:02 religious rituals, 
• 1:04 and there was no set of written laws to 
• 1:06 be obeyed. 
• 1:07 But they had promises from the LORD and 
• 1:10 they believed Him. 
• 1:13 They lived simple lives in relationship 
• 1:16 with God. 
• 1:18 Their faith wasn't triumphal. They
• 1:20 erected no monuments or symbols,
• 1:22 no buildings for worship. 
• 1:24 Their faith wasn't something they
• 1:26 paraded before 
• 1:28 others. They simply believed the LORD 
• 1:32 and, when they knew He was speaking, 
• 1:34 they obeyed. 
• 1:36 Their obedience demonstrated their 
• 1:38 belief in Him. 
• 1:40 It is impossible to overstate the
• 1:43 importance of this, 
• 1:44 if we are to understand what it takes to 
• 1:46 be right with God. 
• 1:49 The story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is 
• 1:52 related in the last 
• 1:53 39 chapters of Genesis. 
• 1:56 39 expressed by its prime factors
• 2:00 is 3 x 13. 
• 2:04 We should also note that 
• 2:06 13 chapters 
• 2:07 (from Genesis 12 to Genesis 24) cover 
• 2:10 the patriarch 
• 2:11 Abraham. Another 13 chapters 
• 2:15 (from Genesis chapters 25 to 36 plus 
• 2:18 chapter 38) 
• 2:19 are the account of Isaac and Jacob and 
• 2:21 his sons. 
• 2:23 And 13 chapters (genesis 37 and chapters 
• 2:26 39 to 
• 2:27 50 are the account of one of Jacob's
• 2:30 sons, 
• 2:31 Joseph. So the 50 chapters of Genesis may 
• 2:35 be summarized 
• 2:36 as follows: 11 chapters plus 39 chapters, 
• 2:40 or 
• 2:42 11 plus 
• 2:45 (3 x 13). The book of 
• 2:48 Exodus follows the book of Genesis. There 
• 2:51 are 40 
• 2:52 chapters in Exodus. So we have
• 2:55 11 + (3 x 13) + 40 
• 2:59 chapters in Genesis and Exodus.
• 3:02 We know that what is hinted at in the 
• 3:04 Old Testament finds fulfillment
• 3:07 in the New Testament. There are
• 3:11 137,720 Greek words in the original text of 
• 3:15 the New Testament. 
• 3:17 137,720 is 
• 3:21 11 x 313 
• 3:24 x 40. 
• 3:27 If this is a coincidence, then it is
• 3:30 a big coincidence. 
• 3:31 11 313 40 
• 3:34 chapters. 11 313 40 
• 3:38 words. Old Testament. 
• 3:42 New Testament. It looks like 
• 3:45 design. It looks like a mathematical 3:48 feature that was built into the 
• 3:50 original text of the Bible. 
• 3:53 Why? Well, first, it sends a message 
• 3:57 that the supernatural hand of God 
• 3:59 directed those who recorded the words of 
• 4:02 scripture. 
• 4:04 Second, it verifies that the division of 
• 4:06 chapters in the Bible are there by the 
• 4:08 intent of God, 
• 4:10 and it verifies that the 137,720 
• 4:14 words are the correct count for the
• 4:16 original 
• 4:17 Greek text of the New Testament.
• 4:21 But third, it raises a question. 
• 4:24 Do these divisions (11 313 
• 4:28 and 40) symbolize 
• 4:31 lessons that send a message to the
• 4:34 church today? 
• 4:36 And the answer, we believe, is "yes". 
• 4:40 This number (313) seems to symbolize 
• 4:44 faith. The simple faith of Abraham. Faith 
• 4:48 not expressed as a religion of outward 
• 4:51 show, 
• 4:51 and not marked by rules and regulations 
• 4:54 and rituals, but 
• 4:56 lived in relationship with God.
• 5:00 This number (40) shows up frequently in 
• 5:03 the plain text of Scripture in 
• 5:05 connection with a period 
• 5:06 of testing. In the time of Noah 
• 5:10 and the flood, it rained for 40 days
• 5:12 and 40 nights. 
• 5:14 Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the 
• 5:16 Law for 40 days and 40 nights. 
• 5:19 Jesus fasted in the wilderness for
• 5:21 40 days and 40 nights. 
• 5:25 The book of Exodus has 40 chapters. 
• 5:29 A test is on view for the tribes of 5:32 Israel. 
• 5:33 They saw miracles when God brought them 
• 5:36 out of Egypt, but 
• 5:37 they complained. They did not believe in 
• 5:41 God, 
• 5:41 and they did not trust in His salvation, 
• 5:44 it says in Psalm 78:22. 
• 5:48 They failed the test. So God placed
• 5:52 them under the Law. The Law is not 
• 5:55 10 commandments. The Law has 613 
• 5:58 commandments. 
• 6:00 Israel said they would obey the Law. 
• 6:03 "All the people 
• 6:04 answered together and said, 'all
• 6:07 that the LORD has spoken we will do.'" 
• 6:12 But they didn't. And they haven't.
• 6:16 Do Christians face a test of faith in
• 6:19 Jesus Christ? 
• 6:20 Yes. The New Testament says that we are 
• 6:23 in a spiritual battle. We are 
• 6:25 running a race. We must stay in faith 
• 6:29 in Jesus to the end. 
• 6:33 What about this number (11)? 
• 6:36 The 11th chapter of Genesis is the
• 6:39 conclusion of the first of the divisions 
• 6:41 in that book. 
• 6:43 It is the story of the tower of Babel.
• 6:46 At Babel God humbled man. 
• 6:50 God demonstrated that He is not
• 6:52 interested in what can be achieved in 
• 6:54 human strength, 
• 6:54 even though man's ability is 
• 6:57 considerable. 
• 6:59 At the fall, man acted in pride. He wanted 
• 7:02 to be 
• 7:02 like God, and he disobeyed God.
• 7:06 Since then, God has been in a process of 
• 7:09 reversing 
• 7:10 that pride by humbling man. 
• 7:13 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob built nothing 
• 7:16 lasting. They lived as pilgrims 
• 7:18 and wanderers. They waited. 
• 7:22 That's humbling. When God placed Israel 
• 7:25 under the Law 
• 7:26 He did it to show that men cannot 7:28 achieve righteousness 
• 7:30 by their own efforts. We need a Savior. 
• 7:34 That is a rebuke to human pride.
• 7:37 When God sent pagans to destroy the 
• 7:39 temple in Jerusalem, He did it to show 
• 7:41 that the enduring temple 
• 7:43 will not be man-made. It will be
• 7:46 a spiritual work 
• 7:47 of living stones. A work of God. 
• 7:51 And when Jesus came, He declared that 
• 7:54 "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the
• 7:56 ground 
• 7:57 and dies, it remains a single seed. But 
• 8:00 if it dies, it bears much fruit." 
• 8:05 Death to self. Death to pride and human 
• 8:08 ambition 
• 8:09 is God's way. And Jesus, 
• 8:13 although He is God and the Creator, 
• 8:16 humbled Himself unto death on a cross, 
• 8:21 and out of that humility and sacrifice 
• 8:23 and obedience 
• 8:25 comes resurrection life. There is
• 8:28 no more stark rebuke to the pride of man 
• 8:32 than the cross of Jesus Christ. 
• 8:36 Back to the beginning ... to Babel. We read 
• 8:39 in Genesis chapter 11 
• 8:40 man said, "Let us 
• 8:44 build for ourselves a city and a tower 
• 8:47 to reach into heaven, and let us
• 8:51 make a name for ourselves." 
• 8:54 And God noted that, when they were of one 
• 8:57 heart and mind, 
• 8:58 men would be able to accomplish anything 
• 9:01 they desired. 
• 9:03 But God won't have that. He won't have 
• 9:05 man exalt himself. 
• 9:08 God has a purpose. To humble man. 
• 9:12 So God scattered man over the face of 
• 9:15 the earth. 
• 9:17 And that's a lesson too easily forgotten. 
• 9:20 Yes, 
• 9:21 man has abilities. Together with other 
• 9:24 men 
• 9:24 in unity, he has almost unlimited 9:27 potential. 
• 9:28 But the lesson of chapter 11 
• 9:32 is that God wants us to be dependent on 
• 9:35 Him. 
• 9:36 In God alone is life. 
• 9:41 Jesus didn't establish an organization 
• 9:44 of men. 
• 9:44 Jesus didn't set a priesthood between 
• 9:47 believers and God. Jesus 
• 9:50 sent the Holy Spirit to lead men
• 9:54 into the purposes that He has 
• 9:57 for eternity. The LORD is building
• 10:00 His house. Only what He builds will 
• 10:04 endure. What He is building is evident 
• 10:07 only in the spirit. It is not physical. 
• 10:10 It is 
• 10:10 spiritual. It exalts the LORD,
• 10:14 not man. It is by faith, and 
• 10:17 faith will be tested. 
• 10:20 It was this way for Israel, and it is
• 10:22 this way for the church. 
• 10:25 God had 2,000 years of dealings with the 
• 10:27 Jews from Abraham to Jesus.
• 10:30 God has had 2,000 years of 
• 10:32 dealings with the church 
• 10:34 from Jesus to today. And Jesus said 
• 10:38 that the times of the gentiles will come 
• 10:41 to an 
• 10:42 end. It is a good time to assess
• 10:46 what we are doing, and how we are doing 
• 10:57 it.

Jesus says, beware! Does anybody care? - “Bringing sons to glory” - Session 23 of 24 - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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Jesus says, beware! Does anybody care

In Matthew 16 Jesus tells His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were religious zealots. (The Sadducees are called Herodians in the account in Mark 8. In other words, the Sadducees were Jews who allied themselves to King Herod and to secular power.) It is clear from the context that Jesus is not talking about hypocrisy and legalism. There is a larger question.

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Dear Subscribers and Readers,

I have decided to provide the transcript below because so many Christians are under the control of the organized church religion also known as the religious church system.  Jesus does not need a religions system.

Transcript

• 0:07 Jesus fed thousands with a few loaves. 
• 0:11 Then He walked on water. Then He healed 
• 0:15 everyone who came to Him. 
• 0:18 Miracles. Impressive? 
• 0:21 Not to everyone it seems. The Pharisees 
• 0:24 said "Your disciples don't wash their 
• 0:27 hands before they eat". 
• 0:30 That's religion for you. 
• 0:32 Faith says, "My God is a miracle-working 
• 0:36 God". Faith says, "My God will supply all my 0:40 needs in Christ Jesus." 
• 0:44 Religion says, "the show is the thing". 
• 0:48 Religion says "Do what we tell you to do". 
• 0:53 Religion says, "Don't break our traditions". 
• 0:59 "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees 
• 1:02 and Sadducees" Jesus said. 
• 1:05 The leaven is the teaching of these 
• 1:08 religious types, we are told. 
• 1:11 And that's what their teaching does. It 
• 1:13 makes the managers of the religious 
• 1:16 system powerful. It gives them control. 
• 1:20 It gives them authority. And religious 
• 1:23 groups fight to protect their status. 
• 1:27 But Jesus tells His disciples "God works 
• 1:32 supernaturally". You don't have bread? 
• 1:35 Don't fret. 
• 1:37 You've seen ... God multiplies. God doesn't
• 1:41 respond to religious rituals and rule 
• 1:44 keeping. God is looking at your heart. 
• 1:48 Do you believe? 
• 1:50 Don't set up a religious system. 
• 1:54 Teach people to know Me and trust Me, 
• 1:57 Jesus is saying. 
• 2:01 There was a tax levied to pay for the 
• 2:04 running of the temple. 
• 2:06 The collectors came to Peter. "Does your 
• 2:08 Teacher pay the tax?" they asked. And Jesus
• 2:12 said to Peter, "We are sons. Sons are 
• 2:17 exempt. But, so we don't offend them, go to 
• 2:20 the sea, throw in a hook, take the first 
• 2:22 fish and in its mouth you'll find the 
• 2:24 money to pay the tax." 
• 2:28 Religion collects a church tax. 
• 2:32 Faith trusts God to provide. 
• 2:35 And for God it is ridiculously easy to 
• 2:38 provide, if we will trust Him. 
• 2:41 The only reason to set up organization, 
• 2:45 resources, money-raising, 
• 2:47 is to establish something man can 
• 2:50 control. 
• 2:53 In Jerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple, 
• 2:57 once at the start of His ministry, and 
• 2:59 again before His death. 
• 3:02 Jesus drove out the people trading in 
• 3:04 the temple, doing business in His house. 
• 3:08 "My house is a house of prayer", He said. 
• 3:11 "You have made it a den of robbers". 
• 3:18 The first teaching on the Kingdom of 
• 3:21 heaven says, 
• 3:22 "A man sleeps, 
• 3:24 and while he sleeps, the seed sprouts and 
• 3:26 grows. He has no idea how!" The soil 
• 3:31 produces the crop by itself. That's the 
• 3:35 life force of God working in hearts ... 
• 3:38 hidden. Man can't do that. That's God's 
• 3:43 work. 
• 3:47 Jesus' first parable is the parable of 
• 3:50 the sower. It's found in the Gospels of 
• 3:53 Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 
• 3:56 Seed is the Word of God. 
• 4:00 The seed is cast wide. Some 
• 4:03 listen. Some don't. Some grow. Some don't. 
• 4:09 Is the message forced on some, and 
• 4:11 withheld from others? No. Seed falls on 
• 4:15 soil. 
• 4:17 Soil is the heart. 
• 4:20 Fruitful soil has vital characteristics. 
• 4:27 Number 1: Good soil is an understanding heart. 
• 4:32 And the understanding is about Jesus, and 
• 4:35 forgiveness and grace, in the cross. Not 
• 4:40 self-serving, but knowing Him. The word 
• 4:45 for "understanding" is the 7,396th word in 
• 4:49 the original Greek text of the New 
• 4:53 Testament. 
• 4:55 The word order is not accidental. God has 
• 4:59 arranged it this way. 
• 5:01 7,396 
• 5:03 is 86 times 86. 
• 5:09 And 86 is the numeric value of the first 
• 5:12 word in the Bible for "God" (Elohim). 
• 5:20 Number 2: Good soil is someone who 
• 5:23 accepts the Word. 
• 5:26 Mind is engaged ... understanding. Will is 
• 5:30 engaged ... free-will. The fruitful person 
• 5:34 believes and responds. Christianity isn't 
• 5:37 something that is done to us. It's a life 
• 5:41 we participate in. 
• 5:45 Number 3: Good soil stands for the 
• 5:48 person with a good and noble heart. Mind 
• 5:53 is engaged, will is engaged, and heart is 
• 5:56 engaged. 
• 5:58 This word translated "good" or "noble" is 
• 6:01 the 35,828th 
• 6:04 word in the original 
• 6:06 Greek text of the New Testament. 
• 6:09 And that number works out at 26 times 26 
• 6:13 times 53. And that is not an accident. 
• 6:19 26 is the value of the Old Testament 
• 6:22 word that represents the name of the 
• 6:25 LORD. 
• 6:26 Jesus is the LORD. 
• 6:31 The first heart condition ... understanding 
• 6:34 (86 times 86). The ultimate condition ... 
• 6:39 a good heart (26 times 26 times 53). 
• 6:47 What is the context of the parable of 
• 6:49 the sower? 
• 6:52 Context tells us something. 
• 6:55 Immediately before the parable, Jesus 
• 6:58 says "These are My brothers ... those who do
• 7:01 the will of God". 
• 7:06 Israel, as a nation, was chosen by God. But
• 7:11 people had to respond individually, in 
• 7:14 faith. Did they believe? 
• 7:18 If they didn't believe God, then they 
• 7:20 excluded themselves from His promises. 
• 7:24 The parable of the sower shows this. Some
• 7:28 seed grows, but doesn't develop deep 
• 7:30 roots, and those fall away in time of 
• 7:34 trouble. 
• 7:37 Some seed gets choked by thorns. The 
• 7:40 cares of the world, the deceitfulness of 
• 7:42 wealth, and the desire for other things, 
• 7:44 kills the life of the Spirit. 
• 7:48 But God's people endure. Mind, heart and 
• 7:52 free-will respond in faith. And out of 
• 7:56 the life of the Spirit, fruit comes. 
• 8:01 Immediately after the parable of the 
• 8:04 sower in Luke, we read "Light your lamp ...
• 8:08 put it on a stand ... let everyone see." 
• 8:12 Jesus is the light. And that's our 
• 8:15 response. We lift up Jesus. We confess Him.
• 8:18 It's His life ... His light in us. And then 
• 8:24 Jesus builds His Kingdom. And He doesn't 
• 8:29 need a religious system to do it.

God is One ... so why more than One? - “Bringing sons to glory” - Session 22 of 24 - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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God is One ... so why more than One?

Christianity affirms the existence of One God. However, the nature of God ... as Father, Son and Holy Spirit ... three in One, has been debated for nearly 2000 years. Why does the Bible present such a complex view of the Godhead? What does this mean for those who believe in Jesus Christ?

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What is meant by “prosperity”? - Session 21 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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What is meant by “prosperity”?

What is meant by 'prosperity'? Today, in the church, there is quite an emphasis on prosperity. Christians should prosper, we are told. How are we to understand this? Is prosperity part of the gospel?

What is meant by “the church”? - Session 20 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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What is meant by “the church”? 

When people talk about 'church' it's easy to form an incorrect idea of what is meant by the word. Both believers and unbelievers are influenced by the outward appearance and workings of the church today. The Bible corrects this impression, but it takes looking past the system and structure and traditions of multitudes of denominations and streams of theological thought. Yet it is vital to do so. A proper grasp of what is meant by church has important implications for Christians in their life of faith.

666 and the coming of Messiah - Session 19 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” - The Living Word - livinggreelNT.org

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666 and the coming of Messiah

Jesus, the Messiah, will return. Old and New Testament prophecies predict this. Before the coming of Jesus there will be a great apostasy (1 Thess 2:3). There has never been a more important time to have full confidence in the integrity and accuracy of the Word of God. Study this. And don’t be deceived.

Church: if trust goes, it's over! - Session 16 of 24 - “Bringing sons to glory” - The Living Word - thelivingword.org.au

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Church: if trust goes, it's over!

Trust in the key institutions of society is in decline. Governments, political parties, banks, big business corporations, the media, are no longer trusted as they once were. There is one thing churches could do to build trust.