Mark 5:1-43 (NIV)
1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!” 9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man–and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. 21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Mark 5:1-20

Jesus and His disciples go to the region of the Gereasenes (aka. Gadarenes, Gergesenes). This region was populated mostly by Gentiles (thus the pigs).

When Jesus gets out of the boat he encounters a man who is demon possessed. This man lived in the tombs, (this would have been an area that people used to bury their dead). He shrieked wildly day and night and cut himself with sharp stones, probably in some sort of demonic worship.

The demons possessing the man knew who Jesus was. He knelt before Him (this would have been out of respect, not worship), and pleaded with Him not to torture them by sending them into their final punishment then.

The demons (Legion – meaning many) who knew that they were subject to Jesus command, make a desperate attempt to keep from being sent to a disembodied state until the final judgment by asking to be allowed to go into the pigs. Jesus grants them permission and the pigs ran down to the sea and drowned themselves.

When the townspeople find out what has happened that plead with Jesus to leave. Why? They are more concerned over their economic loss than what happened to the man.

The man who was set free pleads to go with Jesus. Instead Jesus tell Him to go and tell his people what happened, and he does.

It is interesting that Jesus power would cause some people to ask Him to leave, and others to ask Him if to never leave.

We get another little oreo story here. One story starts, another one develops in the middle, and the end of the first story is told.

Mark 5:21-24

Jairus, the synagogue ruler has a daughter who is sick and near death. He knows if He can get Jesus to come and pray for her, that she will be made well. Time is of the essence to Jairus.

Mark 5:25-34

A woman with a bleeding issue arrives on the scene. Because of her disease she would have been an outcast, like the leper. She knows that if she can just touch Jesus, she can be healed. So she does, and she is. Jesus knows that she has been healed and stops everything to reach out to her. His words in verse 34 are words of restoration that would speak into the relational wounding that she would have experienced along with the physical problem.

Mark 5:35-43

This delay must have seemed like an eternity for Jairus, and while they are stopped people come from Jairus house and tell them it is too late. Jesus tells Jairus not to be afraid, but to keep on believing. Jesus gets to the house and heals the little girl, bringing her back to life. They were amazed, (the family and Peter John and James) as this demonstrated that Jesus has power even over death.

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We have been talking about v-alidating our trust in God. We have looked at a pattern that we often seem to follow that helps us learn to trust God. Let’s look at Abraham’s life and see how it falls into the pattern we have established.

1 V-ision. When Abraham was 75 years old God gave him the vision of becoming the father of a great nation.

2 V-enture Abraham had to leave his comfort zone, (country and family) and go out into a new area.

3 V-ariables The biggest variable is time. Abraham still didn’t have a child after 11 years and then he got tired of waiting and caused a bigger problem by trying to work it out himself. (Ishmael)

4 V-alleys We all face problems while we are waiting. Abraham got to be age 99 and his wife Sarah was past the age of child bearing. That’s a big problem.

5 V-aporizes Finally Isaac is born and then Abraham is asked by God to give him up. The dream turns to dust. These are the times when we nothing makes sense. You ask “Why me?” You start to doubt that God really loves or cares. Is He some cruel practical joker who gives me a vision and then vaporizes it?

We are going to talk about this today. And we are also going to talk about the v-ictory.

When things v-aporize. There are certain words that accompany this phase. Words like cancer, divorce, unemployment, bankruptcy, …

It seems as though everything is out of control and there is nothing that you can do. So what do you do?

We can get some ideas from the life of Abraham as detailed in Romans 4.

1. Hang on to the knowledge that God is in control

Romans 4:17 (NIV)
17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed–the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

This verse reminds us that God can do things that we can’t. For example: God can give life to the dead and He can create something out of nothing.

Luke 18:27 “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

2. Operate your life based on the Word of God

Romans 4:18 (NIV)
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

When your are in a situation where it seems as though everything is v-aporizing, you need to rely on God’s word. Study it, read it, meditate on it. The situation is out of your control but it is not out of God’s.

3. Pretending doesn’t work

Romans 4:19 (NIV)
19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead–since he was about a hundred years old–and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.

We have to face the facts in a bad situation, but we always need to face the facts with faith.

Faith is not denying reality. It’s not pretending you don’t have a problem. Faith is facing reality without being discouraged by it because you know that God can change things.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

You can either put your focus on the problem or on Jesus. Focusing on Jesus will bring you peace. Focusing on the problem will cause you distress.

4. Expect God to give you v-ictory

Romans 4:20-21 (NIV)
20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

When God brings you to the V-ictory phase there are three kinds of victory.

a. A circumstantial v-ictory. God miraculously changes the circumstances. Just like He did at the Red Sea. He often will do this type of miraculous deliverance in our lives. He changes the circumstances. But it isn’t the only type of victory.

b. A personal v-ictory. Rather than change the circumstances, God changes you from the inside out. You get a new vision, a new perspective, a new attitude, a new perspective.

c. An ultimate v-ictory. The ultimate v-ictory is heaven. There is a word for victory in the Bible. Salvation.

John 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

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We are in our series called V-alidating our trust in God and we have talked about getting a v-ision and then beginning to v-enture into it. Today we are going to talk about v-ariables. V-ariables come in lots of different packages, but the biggest v-ariable is time. We almost always have to wait to see how the v-ision takes place. And we are not good at waiting! Neither were the Isrelistes and we will look at a story from their journey to help us get some clues about how we can learn to v-alidate our trust in God while we WAIT.

The Israelites were in slavery to Egypt for over 400 years. God delivers them from their bondage through a series of plagues, etc. The people of Israel are then on their way to the promised land. The promised land is about a two week walk from Egypt, and yet it took them forty years. Let’s look at why.

Exodus 13:17 “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them (directly), though that way was shorter. For God said, `if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt’.”

They had to WAIT as part of God’s plan. Why?

1. God uses the WAIT time to help prepare us for what lies ahead. The people of Israel weren’t ready for the battles that they would face.

2. God uses delays to help us learn that we can trust Him.

Most of Israel didn’t do very well with the whole trust God issue. In fact, only two of them who left Egypt actually got to go into the Promised Land, Joshua and Caleb. What happened to the rest of them? They didn’t know how to WAIT.

How not to WAIT!

When you’re facing the v-ariables here are four things that you shouldn’t do or be.

1. Worried

Don’t get worried. When we get worried we usually start to complain. Listen to the Israelites.

Numbers 21:4-5 (NIV)
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

The Israelites complained about pretty much everything. They complained about the journey, the leadership, about the water, about the food. Did you ever notice how people start complaining when they have to wait? Go to the airport and listen to the people whose flights are delayed. It seems as though the only way we can even begin to tolerate waiting is by complaining.

When we worry, we are taking matters into our own hands. Instead of worrying, PRAY

Psalms 37:7-8 (NIV)
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret–it leads only to evil.

2. Afraid

Don’t be afraid. Fear kept the Israelites from trusting God. Fear will keep us from trusting God and moving out in faith.

Deuteronomy 1:26-28 (TLB)
26 But the people refused to go in and rebelled against the Lord’s command. 27 “They murmured and complained in their tents and said, `The Lord must hate us, bringing us here from Egypt to be slaughtered by these Amorites. 28 What are we getting into? Our brothers who spied out the land have frightened us with their report. They say that the people of the land are tall and powerful, and that the walls of their cities rise high into the sky! They have even seen giants there–the descendants of the Anakim!’

Instead of being afraid, focus on Him who is with you always.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Fear will keep you in the wilderness and out of the promised land. Focus on God’s presence whenever you are afraid.

3. If Only

In the v-ariables of the journey don’t fall into the if-only trap.

Numbers 14:1-4 (NIV)
1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

The if-only’s will cause you to lose heart and give up. They will make you idealize a bad situation because it is familiar. The Israelites were saying that they would rather be in slavery then have to trust God on this journey.

The if-only’s will cause you to second guess every move and decision that you have made. Instead of the if-only’s keep doing the next right thing.

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

4. Turn Away

Sometimes while we wait, we begin to forget all that God has done in our lives and we turn away.

We forget God’s power and instead of focusing on God we turn away and start focusing on our problems.

Psalms 106:7 (NIV)
7 When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

God had just done the ten plagues to get them cut loose and now at the Red Sea they had already forgotten the power of God. We do the same thing!

Instead of turning away, rebelling, we need to learn to trust God.

Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

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One of the most important things in our Christian walk is learning that we can trust God. That He is faithful and true and has a plan and a purpose for our lives. Sometimes, when things seem to be all messed up, we want to go to the big question “Why Me Lord?”

God will take the situations in our life (both good and bad) and use them to help us learn to trust Him more and more. He V-alidates our trust in Him. How does He v-alidate? That is what we will explore in the weeks ahead, but for today we will say that He v-alidates with the following:

1. V-ision

God has created you for a purpose and He will also give you a dream, a vision, about what He wants you to do, about your part in His story.

Imagine how Noah and Abraham and Joseph might have felt when God gave them the v-ision He had for them

Noah was to build an ark.
Abraham was to become the father of a great nation.
Joseph was to be a world leader that would save his people.

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

2. V-enture

The v-ision by itself is not enough. At some point you have to put it into action. You have to v-enture out. You have to make the decision to go for it. A lot of people have a vision but they never v-enture out.

Matthew 14:28-29 (NIV)
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.

3. V-ariables

One thing that you can always count on is that there is a time lapse between receiving the v-ision and seeing it fulfilled. Waiting is probably the biggest v-ariable you will have to deal with. And we are not good waiters.

Habakkuk 2:3 (KJV)
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Generally, dealing with the v-ariables will have you asking the question “When?” For a people that don’t like to wait, waiting on God can be very frustrating and yet God is never in a hurry. When you read the Gospels you will not find a situation where it appears that Jesus was in a hurry. He was on God’s Daytimer, and God’s Daytimer and your daytimer are not the same.

120 years went by from the time that Noah started building the ark until the rain started.

Abraham didn’t have Isaac until He was 100, fourteen years after he had gotten tired of waiting on God and went and had Ishmael

Joseph’s path to leadership after years of slavery and prison.

4. V-alley

Not only will you have the v-ariable of waiting, while you wait, you will have problems that arise, you will go through v-alleys. These v-alleys are usually of two kinds, circumstances and critics.

Joseph’s brothers were critical of Joseph’s dreams and sold him into slavery. He is then falsely accused of rape and tossed into prison.

Can you imagine what Noah must have gone through building the world’s largest floating zoo?

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

And there is usually a point, when you have waited and waited and dealt with critics and circumstances and it seems like you v-ision …..

5. V-aporize

Things go from difficult to impossible.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NIV)
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

This is actually a pretty good place to be. As you can see, even the Apostle Paul had to go through this process. We often need to be at the point where we no longer rely on ourselves, but only on God who raises the dead.

6. V-ictory

2 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)
10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,

At the end, God comes through and there is v-ictory. Abraham and Sarah have Isaac even though they are way past the age of childbearing. Joseph is taken from prison to becoming the de-facto leader of Egypt, and on and on…

God loves to turn vaporizations into victory, the same way He turned a crucifixion into a resurrection. Because He gets the credit. He gets the glory.

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In our Online Ministry Bible study today we are continuing our discussion on Understanding the Bible from beginning to end. So far in our study on getting the Bible from beginning to end we have developed the following ideas:

God is the Eternal King. He is an infinite, unchangeable, Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love.

From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory.

God’s Kingdom is everlasting. From His throne, through His Son, His eternal Word, God created, upholds, and governs all that exists: the heavenly places, the angelic hosts, the universe, the earth, every living thing and human beings. God created all things very good.

Satan, originally a great good angel rebelled against God, taking a host of angels with him. He was cast out of God’s presence, and, as a usurper of God’s rule established a counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth.

God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with himself, and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin and God’s judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic host gained access to God’s good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam’s original sin Human beings are born in sin, subject to God’s judgment of death, and captive to Satan’s kingdom of darkness.

God did not abandon His rule over the earth, which He continues to uphold by His providence. In order to bring redemption, God established covenants, which revealed His grace to sinful people. In covenant with Abraham, God bound Himself to His people Israel, promising to deliver them from bondage to sin and Satan and to bless all the nations through them.

Today we will see a picture of being delivered from Sin and Satan in the events of the Exodus. Just as God delivered His people from slavery to the Egyptians, He will deliver us from our slavery to sin. Just as Pharaoh had to let God’s people go, so does the enemy. Do you ever notice how Pharaoh decides it was a bad idea and then tries to chase them down and get them back but he can’t. They have been delivered. Think about all of the ways that this story applies to our lives.

As King, God later redeemed His people by His mighty acts from bondage in Egypt

Exodus 15:3-18 (NIV)
3 The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. 6 “Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 “The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ 10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you– majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them. 13 “In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. 14 The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. 15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; 16 terror and dread will fall upon them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone– until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people you bought pass by. 17 You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance– the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established. 18 The LORD will reign for ever and ever.”

and established His covenant through Moses, revealing His perfect will and our obligation to fulfill it.

Exodus 19:3-6 (NIV)
3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

We are that holy nation and those priests. (1 Peter 2:9)

Exodus 24:3-4 (NIV)
3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 24:7 (NIV)
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

Romans 8:3-4 (NIV)
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:12-14 (NIV)
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation–but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

The laws purpose is to order our fallen race

Deuteronomy 5:1-3 (NIV)
1 Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.

Deuteronomy 5:6-21 (NIV)
6 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 7 “You shall have no other gods before me. 8 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments. 11 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. 16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You shall not murder.
18 “You shall not commit adultery.
19 “You shall not steal.
20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Deuteronomy 30:15-18 (NIV)
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

Galatians 3:23-25 (NIV)
23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

and to make us conscious of our moral responsibility.

Psalms 25:8-10 (NIV)
8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

Romans 7:7 (NIV)
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

The Law helps us to realize that it is not all about me. The Law is a picture of how God wants His people to live in community. We will find out in the coming weeks that it is impossible to do without His help and that the Law reveals our need for a Savior. Can you see some of the ways that what happened in the Exodus are a picture of our own personal Exodus. Slaves to sin, Jesus comes as our deliverer. He sets us free. The Enemy still tries to mess with us, and we sometimes complain and think that we were better off before. But we are shown a new way of life, shown how God’s people are supposed to live. Left to our own strength we would never make it, but the Holy Spirit comes to help us, guide us, and teach us. God is amazing. Next week we will begin a discussion of the Feats of Israel. Then we will look at the Covenant with David.

So here is where we are:

God is the Eternal King. He is an infinite, unchangeable, Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love.

From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory.

God’s Kingdom is everlasting. From His throne, through His Son, His eternal Word, God created, upholds, and governs all that exists: the heavenly places, the angelic hosts, the universe, the earth, every living thing and human beings. God created all things very good.

Satan, originally a great good angel rebelled against God, taking a host of angels with him. He was cast out of God’s presence, and, as a usurper of God’s rule established a counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth.

God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with himself, and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin and God’s judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic host gained access to God’s good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam’s original sin Human beings are born in sin, subject to God’s judgment of death, and captive to Satan’s kingdom of darkness.

God did not abandon His rule over the earth, which He continues to uphold by His providence. In order to bring redemption, God established covenants, which revealed His grace to sinful people. In covenant with Abraham, God bound Himself to His people Israel, promising to deliver them from bondage to sin and Satan and to bless all the nations through them.

As King, God later redeemed His people by His mighty acts from bondage in Egypt and established His covenant through Moses, revealing His perfect will and our obligation to fulfill it. The law’s purpose is to order our fallen race and to make us conscious of our moral responsibility.

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In our Online Ministry Bible study today we are continuing our discussion on Understanding the Bible from beginning to end. So far in our study on getting the Bible from beginning to end we have developed the following ideas:

Understanding the Bible – Part 7

So far in our study on getting the Bible from beginning to end we have developed the following ideas:

God is the Eternal King. He is an infinite, unchangeable, Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love.

From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory.

God’s Kingdom is everlasting. From His throne, through His Son, His eternal Word, God created, upholds, and governs all that exists: the heavenly places, the angelic hosts, the universe, the earth, every living thing and human beings. God created all things very good.

Satan, originally a great good angel rebelled against God, taking a host of angels with him. He was cast out of God’s presence, and, as a usurper of God’s rule established a counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth.

God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with himself, and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin and God’s judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic host gained access to God’s good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam’s original sin Human beings are born in sin, subject to God’s judgment of death, and captive to Satan’s kingdom of darkness.

Today we start the journey of redemption. It is a journey we were powerless to initiate. Our best efforts would never be enough to restore our relationship with a perfect, holy God. We were lost, condemned to death, subjects of an evil king, and there was no hope. But God makes a way…the Cross. Everything that we will look at in the weeks ahead points to the Cross. The biggest most amazing event of all time, done for you and for me because of the amazing love of God.

God did not abandon His rule over the earth

Psalms 24:1 (NIV)
1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

which He continues to uphold by His providence

Psalms 96:10 (NIV)
10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

Isaiah 40:22 (NIV)
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

In order to bring redemption, God established covenants

The three covenants we are going to look at are the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and the Davidic Covenant. Each one holds a different promise. The Covenant with Abraham gives us a way out of bondage. The Covenant with Moses brings the law and points us to our need for a Savior. The Covenant with David promises us our forever King Jesus.

Romans 9:4 (NIV)
4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.

which revealed His grace to sinful people.

It is only by grace through faith that we can be saved.

Ephesians 2:12 (NIV)
12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

In covenant with Abraham, God bound Himself to His people Israel, promising to deliver them from bondage to sin and Satan and to bless all the nations through them.

The process of covenant binds the two parties together. A marriage is a covenant, fortunately, God is a lot better at keeping covenants that we are.

Genesis 17:3-8 (NIV)
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

Genesis 12:2-3 (NIV)
2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 15:4-6 (NIV)
4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Romans 4:3-5 (NIV)
3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Romans 4:16 (NIV)
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring–not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

Romans 4:20-25 (NIV)
20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness–for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Galatians 3:6-9 (NIV)
6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Galatians 3:13-14 (NIV)
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

You can see throughout the scripture the impact of the Abrahamic Covenant. This covenant allows us to be made righteous again, removes the curse off of us, setting us free from bondage to sin and Satan.

So here is where we are:

God is the Eternal King. He is an infinite, unchangeable, Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love.

From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory.

God’s Kingdom is everlasting. From His throne, through His Son, His eternal Word, God created, upholds, and governs all that exists: the heavenly places, the angelic hosts, the universe, the earth, every living thing and human beings. God created all things very good.

Satan, originally a great good angel rebelled against God, taking a host of angels with him. He was cast out of God’s presence, and, as a usurper of God’s rule established a counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth.

God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with himself, and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin and God’s judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic host gained access to God’s good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam’s original sin Human beings are born in sin, subject to God’s judgment of death, and captive to Satan’s kingdom of darkness.

God did not abandon His rule over the earth, which He continues to uphold by His providence. In order to bring redemption, God established covenants, which revealed His grace to sinful people. In covenant with Abraham, God bound Himself to His people Israel, promising to deliver them from bondage to sin and Satan and to bless all the nations through them.

Next week we will look at the Exodus and introduce the Mosaic covenant.

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