The True God, Pt. 3

Wayne Matthews

August 15, 2015

Welcome to this seventh-day Sabbath, brethren.

The title of today's sermon is The True God, and this will be Part 3.

The purpose of this sermon series is to magnify the only true God's name, to give Him the credit and the glory by exploring what He, Yahweh Elohim, has revealed about Himself, because what we have come to see is that God is the one who reveals Himself, and a person can only come to "see" God if God calls him into a relationship with Himself, and then God, through the power of His holy spirit, provides the knowledge of Himself to a person. Therefore, over time, and within the Body of Christ now, there are various levels of this "seeing" of God, how we "see" God, how we know God, how we understand God because it's as God reveals Himself to a person – and everybody is different.

God has revealed Himself as the one true God, Yahweh Elohim. Now, we understand that and we "see" it to degrees. Now, we don't really see all of God because that's not possible. We're human and we have human thinking. But God is almighty and all-powerful, and He has eternally existed, therefore, to come to know God, well, we're never going to in this human life. But we will see more of God as time goes on and God will reveal more of Himself to mankind as time moves forward to the conclusion of 7,100-years. Then when His family, when those are in Elohim, when mankind has been given glory by God, God will continue to reveal who He is, how He thinks.

The truth is there is only one God who has eternally existed, and His name is Yahweh, the Eternal One, the Self-existing One. One God! Elohim is the name of God, God's family. He is El. Now, the extension of that is Elohim is the name of the Family of God. Now, God has invited us into His family. How incredible is that? God has invited us into His family.

Now, at this time God has only called a few, which is that invitation into His family. Then there is this process that must take place following this genuine repentance (powered by God's holy spirit), to the point where we are baptized, have our sins forgiven, and then, from that point, we can be impregnated with the very thinking of God, God's holy spirit. The Godkind will have only one family name, and it will be Elohim.

Now, let's look at Isaiah 45:9-14. Isaiah 45:11-13 is actually about king Cyrus, and about what God is going to do through King Cyrus. Well, today we're going to look at that slightly differently. Verses 11-13, we're going to change that just for the point of giving God the glory about what He can do, what He can do through King Cyrus and what He was able to do and what He was able to achieve to raise up or to pull down is virtually what God can do through Israel. It's a demonstration of God's great power. So verses 11-13 are about King Cyrus, and we're going to take where God used King Cyrus and use Israel. Now, we're backtracking a little here because this statement here, about who God really is, and how man is, is a real issue. It's really an issue for mankind, that at some point in time he's going to come to see that this scripture applies to him. Because God is the Almighty One. He has eternally existed, and He is the creator of all things, of everything! Everything that has existed and does exist was created by Yahweh Elohim, the Almighty God.

At the end of verse 8 it says, I, the LORD (I, the Eternal) have created it. God created everything.

Verse 9—Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Now, we've looked at this in the past sermon. It's anybody who resists God – and really it's saying, "How stupid is it? How silly is it that anybody would contend or debate with God?" Because the word "strive" means "to contend or to debate with." So "Woe to him," woe to anybody, any human or any spirit being, for that matter, "who strives," who would contend or debate, "with His Maker!" Now what if we take that and just take logic, human logic even. How stupid is it that anybody would argue or contend or get into a debate with their Maker, considering we're human and we're temporary and God is eternal and had existed forever. He has life inherent in Himself. We don't. We've had life given to us as a gift from God.

Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Which is man striving. Let man strive against himself. So what we see here, brethren, is it's referring to humans, really. A "potsherd," which is actually a broken piece or a piece of pottery, "and let it strive with others of the earth." Now, what God says here through Isaiah is, Shall the clay (humans, us) say to him (God) who forms it, because God made it, What are you making? Now, it's referring to something physical here, which is, "Shall the clay," the physical piece of clay that is made, "Shall it turn around to the person who's molding and fashioning it," who's got their hands on it and is working this bit of clay and making something, so why would this clay then disagree with the person who's got it's hand around it...this piece of clay. Well, it's not even logical on a human level. Or shall your handiwork say, He has no hands? "He has no power?" He can't control things, He's not over me!" So what's the point of a piece of clay fighting against or resisting against the hands that are molding it into a shape? Now, of course, this is physical, pointing to something that God is doing.

So why would we as humans "say to Him who formed it," to us, who created us (God created all things, gave life to us), "What are you making? Why are you doing this? Why do you have a plan of salvation for me? Why do you need to change the way I think? The carnal mind, why do you have to get rid of it? What are you making?" Well, the reality is we understand God is making us, or molding and fashioning us into His Family. "Or shall your handiwork," God's handiwork, "say, He has no hands?" "God has no power to do it." But we have seen in past sermons God does have the power to mold and fashion us, by the power of His holy spirit, which is this transformation of our thinking so that we can, as a piece of clay, be molded and fashioned into a spiritual vessel to enter the Family of God. So why would anybody argue with God's plan of salvation? Because it's absolute insanity that a human would do that!

Now, there have been many that have known God's plan of salvation and have fallen away or fallen asleep because of their own natural selfishness because of the lusts that lie within them. Well, this is arguing with God to a degree, because they're disagreeing with God, they disagree with the truth that God is putting in the Church. Now, not everybody leaves bitter, not everybody leaves angry or aggressive against God's Church. Some leave due to weakness. Well, there are many that have left because of weakness. There are others that have left in bitterness, and willingly known what they're doing...willingly known what they're doing, turning against God.

Well, this scripture is saying, "Woe to him who debates (or strives or contends or disagrees) with his Maker!" There is a woe that they face.

Verse 10—Woe to him who says to his father, What are you begetting? "What are you bringing forth?" So the very creator on a physical level, man with a woman, creates a child, and then the child turns around and says, "Well, what are you begetting? Why are you giving me life? Why are you giving me the potential to enter Elohim?" is really what's being said. We'll look at this on a spiritual level: "Woe to anybody who says to his Father," Yahweh Elohim, the creator of the Universe, the creator of all things, who gives life to all things, "What are you begetting? What are you bringing forth?" Well, God is bringing forth humans – life, giving them life for the potential of having life, spirit life. Or to the woman, What have you brought forth? Well, this is questioning God. "Why are you giving me life? Why do I exist?" And debating with God about it, "I don't want to change. I don't want to be alive." That is all insane thinking and it's natural. It's natural thinking. To fight against or strive or debate against our Maker is actually insanity. It's the insanity of the natural carnal mind. It's selfishness.

So verse 11-13 is about King Cyrus, and we're going to take where God used "King Cyrus" and use "Israel."

Verse 11—Thus says the Eternal, the Holy One of Israel, interestingly one here, "the Holy One," the one that's separate, "One of Israel," because it was God that called Israel out of what he was, and it was God that created Israel. And God gave Israel, the 12 tribes of Israel, the opportunity to have a relationship with Him, although be it on a physical level, not with God's holy spirit, not powered by God's holy spirit. But they had an opportunity to learn of God's way on a physical level. The Holy One of Israel and his Maker, Israel's Maker, because it was God that made Israel. God made Jacob in the beginning, changed his name to Israel, and then, of course, we see the 12 sons, the 12 tribes of Israel. Well, God did it all. God made Israel. God delivered Israel out of Egypt and it's God that has continued to work with Israel for the purpose of salvation at some point in time. And God has used them as an example. He's given them His law, His ways on a physical level.

Now we are spiritual Israel. Verse 11—Thus says the Eternal, the Holy One of Israel, spiritual Israel, and his Maker, the Church of God—PKG. It's God that has made His Church what it is. It is God that has called us out of this world and given us the power to think differently. And it is God that is our Maker. God made the Church through Jesus Christ. God has given us the opportunity to enter Elohim through Jesus Christ. He is our Maker. He's our Maker on a spiritual level. All knowledge, all understanding, and all wisdom we have with regards to God's holy spirit or thinking like God – anything spiritual – has come from the Holy One of Israel, God, Yahweh Elohim.

Continuing on, verse 11—Ask Me (ask God) of things to come concerning My sons. Well, we know that, brethren. Well, here it is He's saying to Israel through Isaiah, something about a physical thing, which is "Ask Me things to come concerning My sons." Well, this is actually spiritual in nature. We are the ones that are His sons. "My sons." And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me? In other words, "You're questioning me about My purpose for you?" So we, brethren, know the answer to this. We know we are begotten sons of God with the potential to enter Elohim. This is to God's glory. This is all about the one true God. The true God of the universe, He is the one that is bringing many sons to glory through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Now, we are begotten sons of God now because we have a down payment of God's holy spirit, which God says He is not a liar and He will honor His promise about bringing many sons from humans to glory, to Elohim, to be part of His family. Now He's saying, "You're debating with Me? You're asking Me about what My plan is concerning the work of My hands?" What is the work of God's hands? We are, brethren. We are the work of God's hands. It's God's right hand that is achieving what He is achieving. He is achieving the statement "of bringing many sons to glory."

God is achieving the development of holy righteous character in His begotten sons. And we are not to question God about it, because this is what this is about. This is about, "Who wants to strive?" "Who wants to debate with God?" Why are you questioning God? Why would we question God? Why do we question God? Well, what are the ways we question God? When we question God in many ways (we may not realize we're actually doing it, but when we do) we are limiting God. We're actually raising ourselves up in our pride thinking we are something when the truth is, the reality is, we are nothing. We were made from the dust of the ground. And if left to ourselves we would destroy ourselves, just like mankind is heading towards. Mankind left to himself would destroy himself. We, left to ourselves, would destroy ourselves because of our own selfishness, our polluted thinking.

Now, it's obvious all through the world now what is actually taking place. Mankind has polluted thinking. Why would we question God? Well, let's look at ways we question God. When God has somebody raised up in the ministry, or there is a new doctrine placed in the Church, or a deeper understanding of a doctrine placed in the Church, what are we doing? Well, we have choices, brethren. We either yield to it by yielding our spirit to God's spirit, realizing this is God's Church and we don't always understand every component of why God does what He does. But what we can do is if we raise ourselves up and have an opinion, what are we doing? We're questioning God. We're striving, we're debating, we're contending with our Maker. Because God is the one who has made us who we are – physically, but also on a spiritual level. We only exist on a spiritual level within the Body of Christ, the Church of God now because it's God's will and purpose. But why would we question God? Well, if we do on a spiritual level, it's actually insanity! It's crazy thinking. If we just stood back and said, "Well, this is God's Church. Well, we know God is all-powerful, almighty. We do not know why God does a lot of things that He does. We do know that God does things to develop holy righteous character within a person, and there's lots of ways that that can be achieved. And God does things to test the spirit, to see what we will do." We may think we know why God does things. We may think we know or understand doctrine. But the reality is we only understand to the degree that God allows us to understand, all for His will and His purpose. And His will and purpose is to bring many sons to glory. We are in the Body for various reasons, brethren, and we should not question God.

Now, God is asking here through Isaiah, "Will you question Me?" Will we question our Maker? Will we question the decisions that are made within the Church of God, God's Church, through Jesus Christ, through an Apostle? Will we question it? Will we? Well, that, brethren, is the question that God is asking here through Isaiah. "My hands have made everything. Well, you demand of Me an answer? Why are you doing what you're doing?" The answer is, we don't know the exact outcome of everything God is doing and we never will... and we never will in this human flesh. We just can't! Our minds can't contain it all. The glory and the power of God, His ability to create Elohim, His ability to bring many sons to glory and the processes that He uses, well, we don't always understand them and we can't in a physical body that we have with our natural mind.

Verse 12—I, talking about God, I have made the earth, and created man on it. This is an incredible statement that man now rejects. He doesn't think about this, but it was God in His great power, the Almighty God, Yahweh Elohim, He made the earth. Well, that alone, brethren, is an incredible thing. Mankind turns around and rejects this very statement, that it was God that made the earth. Mankind believes (not all of them), there's a big majority of them out there now in the western world in particular that believes in evolution, where man came from what's called "a big bang," and the earth formed and over time from a slug or whatever it was, a microbe crawled out of the slime and over time some developed into horses, and some developed into cows, and some developed into elephants, and some developed into apes and monkey and birds, and then from that man slowly over time developed thinking and reasoning and turned into what is called man today. Well, just human logic, standing back and look at this on a normal level, it's just crazy thinking of man! It's man rejecting God. It's man rejecting this statement, "I have made the earth, and created man (mankind) on it." It was God that did it. God created the first man Adam, and from that He then created the woman, and from that the man and the woman can produce children, and therefore, populate the earth. All for the purpose of? "Bringing many sons to glory." That is God's plan! Now, why would anybody debate and argue with the creator of the earth and the creator of mankind – our Maker. Why would anyone do that? The natural carnal mind of selfishness driven by pride would do it. Only pride would have the potsherd, the small piece of clay, rise up against the hands that are molding and fashioning it into something that can be used, that can be given glory in the future! Only something that is actually insane! Because it is insane to strive with our Maker.

Continuing on in verse 12—It was I, the statement there really, "It was" was added. It says, "I," in other words, "I did it. It was Me." I created the earth and I created man on it. All for the purpose of bringing many sons to glory. I—My hands—that stretched out the heavens. It was God's hands that stretched out the heavens, the universe. God created it all, and all their host I have commanded. God had ordered it. God has placed it in an order. The rotation of the earth is exact. The poles of the north and the south and the magnetic poles, God did it all! God created it all! God created the sun. God created the moon. God created the stars. God created the galaxies and all the billions of planets in it. God did it all. He stretched it all out for a purpose, and we see dimly the purpose. We see dimly the purpose. We know the current purpose – "bringing many sons to glory." But God wants to give everything to His family! God wants to share what He has created (spiritually and physically) to His family! Isn't this a marvelous plan?

Well, if mankind could only see part of this, it would change the way man thinks. But they haven't been called to it. They've been allocated 6,000-years of self-rule. And that self-rule is coming to an end. And at that point, from the Millennium, from the beginning of the Millennium and the Hundred-years, we're going to see mankind be given knowledge and understanding about Isaiah 45:9-13. They're going to "see" it. They're going to come to believe it! And they're going to come to realize that striving or debating or arguing against God is absolutely a stupid, selfish, pride-filled way to think – absolute insanity!

Now, we realize, brethren, that we see parts of this now. That the angelic realm motivated and driven by an angelic being called "Lucifer," whose name was later changed to "Satan," that he rose up against God! He did this! Woe to him! Woe to any spirit being who strives (who debates or contends) with his Maker! Because they were made! They were made by God! God created the spirit realm, and then God created spirit beings that would exist in it. "It was I, I— My hands—made it." God did it all. God, Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal God, the Almighty God, the all-powerful God, the limitless God, the God who has life, who can give life and take life away, He did it! "My hands have done it all." Now, that's what God is saying.

When we see this and understand it on a spiritual level, it causes us to stop and think about our spiritual condition, brethren, stop and think about our spiritual condition. Are there areas, or is there any area where we are arguing with God or questioning God? Well, we have to be careful that we don't question God. He is almighty. He's so powerful that He knows every thought of humans. He knows all our thoughts. And in that it's really about intent. Now, we have seen that the natural carnal mind's intent is totally selfish. It's driven by pride. It's motive, even though it doesn't know it, even though it can't see it and it doesn't understand it (because it can't, the natural carnal mind can't see these things on a spiritual level), because without God's holy spirit, can't see anything spiritual.

Well, we've been called to see something spiritual. We've been called to see our own motives and our own intent. Now, we should see that often in our lives our intent is evil, our intent is wrong. And we should see that our motive behind the things we say are driven by pride, which is sin. Because any time we raise ourselves up and we criticize or pull somebody else down within the Body of Christ, or for that matter anybody, what are we really doing? We're elevating ourselves up. We're lifting ourselves up by pulling somebody else down. What was our motive in doing that? Our motive was pride. Our motive was pride. Our motive and intent was to lift self up, to elevate self. So we have to be very careful, brethren, that we do not fall into the trap of not examining our motives and intents behind every day of our life... every day of our life, every hour of our life. Now, there's a guarantee in all this: We're going to make mistakes. We're going to make mistakes. We will fail. We have wrong motives. The only time we have right motives is when we yield to God's thinking and we have God's motive and intent coming to us into our thinking and we yield to it powered by God's holy spirit, because it's God's spirit that produces righteousness, right motives, right intent. And of and by ourselves we cannot generate right motives and right intent. We cannot generate righteousness. So of and by ourselves we cannot generate righteousness. Righteousness comes from God.

So going back over verse 12: "I have made the earth and created man on it. I – My hands – that stretched out the heavens and all their host, I have commanded." "I have placed it in order. It's happened exactly as planned. It was God that did it and God's plan of salvation is exactly correct and it's exactly as God wanted it. The size of God's Church now is as God planned it. God's apostle is in a manmade prison for the purpose of God's plan of salvation! It's God's plan! He ordered it. He commanded it. It is exact!

Now, we're entering a period, brethren, where we're coming to a time of great distress. Now, it's going to start when God says it starts, to the degree that God has planned it. He has ordered it. He has commanded it. It will happen exactly as He said. Now, we shouldn't get distressed or worried about the exact timing of when things get worse or how much worse they get, or when. We know there is a time period that starts on a particular day in November. We know that because God has revealed it to us through an apostle. And we believe that, brethren! But in all of that we have to be very careful not to put on expectations on God...put expectations on God. "Why are you doing, why are you doing it this way? Why are you doing it this way?" In other words, we're questioning God and saying, "Well, I want this. I want this to happen on this day, or I want this to happen in this next week, or I want this." That's actually demanding and questioning God about what He is doing about His plan of salvation. Well, we have to stand back and look at this; it was God that created everything and it's God's plan of salvation for mankind and He will bring many sons to glory according to what He has planned.

Verse 13—I (God) have raised him up (and we're going to take where God used King Cyrus and use Israel), in righteousness. And that's not saying that Israel was righteous, it's actually saying that God did it in His righteousness. It was from His thinking. It was by His word that He did it. "I (God) have raised up Israel in His righteousness." Well, what's "His righteousness?" In His thinking. And what's that all about? That is about bringing many sons to glory. This is God's plan of salvation. So God did it. God raised up Israel for the purpose of in the point of time to bringing them to glory, to bringing them to an outcome which is in God's plan. And I will direct all his ways, which is like the Church. It's God that's raised up the Church in righteousness. It was God's thinking that did it, His righteousness. Well, we have the ability to take on His righteousness, His thinking, "And I will direct all his ways." Well, God does it powered by God's holy spirit. It's God's thinking. And it's all done because of God's plan for us.

He shall build My city and let My exiles go free. How was that achieved? Well, it is God that freed us from sin through Jesus Christ. God brought out Israel from bondage. He set them free, just like He can set us free. Not for a price nor reward, says the LORD of hosts. So God did it all and there is no point in debating or striving with God or questioning God about His plan of salvation. God will have a family at the end of 7,100-years, and our role in it, brethren, is to yield to God's spiritual purpose and intent, which is righteousness. We're to yield to His thinking. We're to take on the righteousness of God. We're taking on the thinking of God, and God is going to develop holy righteous character in humans all for the purpose of "bringing many sons to glory." He is the Maker, and there is no point in the clay arguing with the person that is molding and fashioning. Same for us. There's no point, brethren, in arguing with God about what He is making. We understand what He is making; He's making a family. And the process for each individual is different. Each piece of clay that is being molded and fashioned turns into something different. There's something slightly different or unique about it.

When you look at this particular scripture about the potsherd and the piece of clay and the person that's molding and fashioning it, when you look into this very principle from a human level, well, it's translated into something that is spiritual. On a physical level when the clay is gotten, it's actually beaten and moved into place and molded, because it has to be a certain texture, otherwise, it'll just fly off everywhere off the wheel. Well, what it is, is the potter puts his hands around the clay and spins it as his fingers. It's his hands that are on it, that are shaping it. It's done by the pressure that is put on by the hands. Well, it's the same for us, brethren. On a spiritual level, we're the clay. God is the master potter. It's His hands that are on us. It's His hands that are putting the pressure on us at certain points for the point of changing shape – and that shape is changing thinking. We're changing the way we think. Well, isn't this a wonderful thing, that it's the Almighty God, the true God of the universe, Yahweh Elohim, that's doing it with you and me individually? Individually! We, as individuals are unique, and we should not strive with what God is doing with us, what He is bringing forth. Because we understand, no matter what situation we're in, God is going to bring many sons – us, brethren – to glory IF we endure to the end and yield to the power of His holy spirit, if we yield to His righteousness.

If you'd like to turn to Exodus 8:1. We're cutting into the flow of this particular event with regards to Moses who had been called out of his environment for the purpose of bringing Israel out of captivity, out of their bondage. Now, it was God that did it. It was God that was going to do it through Moses and Aaron. And it was God, the One, through His great power that He was going to do it. Well, we're cutting into the flow of the story here because Moses and Aaron had already gone to Pharaoh and had made demands and Pharaoh had said, well, basically, "No, you can't go." And now, in verse 1, we see now the second plague which is about God bringing frogs into Egypt.

Now, the important part here to come to understand in all of this is it's God's great power that does this. It is God that does it all. It is the true God of the universe, who is almighty, who is all-powerful, who has a plan of salvation for mankind – a glorious plan – the fact of taking something that is nothing, that never existed (mankind), placing them on the earth (which He had made) all for the purpose of multiplying and filling the earth for the purpose of having a family.

Now, with that in mind we can go through Exodus 8:1. And the LORD (the Eternal) spoke to Moses, Go to Pharaoh. Now, we understand Pharaoh. Pharaoh is symbolic of pride. Now, what does pride do? Pride resists. Pride resists change. Pride resists. Pride lies. Pride does a lot of things. But it's all about selfishness and it's all about self. So Moses was now to go to Pharaoh and say to him (say to Pharaoh), Thus says the LORD (Thus says the Eternal): Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Now, we can see this on a physical level, that Israel was to be let go out of their slavery, out of their bondage all for the purpose of serving God in the wilderness, "that they may serve Me (Yahweh Elohim)." This is also symbolic of the Church where Satan (a "type" of Pharaoh) has been influencing God's people. And the only way we can be let go to serve God is we have to be called by God. In other words, God has to deliver us. "Let My people go!" God calls us and we have to come out of this world, to be released from the world, which is to have this change of thinking that must take place. "That they," which is us, brethren, the Body of Christ, the called out ones, "may serve Me." Well, how do we serve God? In spirit and truth. We look at the spiritual component of things and we do it according to God's word, the way He says it should be done.

This is now, Pharaoh, of course, he was going to resist all of this. Verse 2—But, there's always a "but," if you refuse to let them go, behold, I, talking about God, will strike all your territory with frogs, because God is the one who is going to do it. Moses can "do" these things, in the sense of say the words, but God is the one that will strike or smite all the territory with frogs. It's God that's going to do it. He is the creator of the earth, He is the creator of life. God put life on the earth, which included the frogs. Now, God can bring as many frogs as He desires. He doesn't have to have frogs reproduce and have them little tadpoles, and then have frogs. God can produce frogs from anything. God can produce frogs from nothing, as we see it, just like man, was taken from the dust of the earth. Well, where did the dust come from? God created it! Where did that come from? Well, we know it makes up atoms and all these other things. Where did they come from? Well, it all comes from the power of God! It's God's power that created all these things. Now, God is going to do the same from the point of view of producing frogs in all the territory of Egypt.

Verse 3—So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bed chamber, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. Now, if we just take this on a physical level, how distressing this would be! Because God made it very clear here through Moses what He was going to do, and He let Pharaoh know exactly what was going to happen. Now, this was all going to be fulfilled by God because of pride and this was part of God's plan about how He delivers Israel. It's a miracle! God only delivers Israel by a miracle, by His great power. Well, it's no different for us, brethren. We are only delivered – Israel, spiritual Israel – by His great power, by Him living and dwelling in us. He is the one that saves. He is the one that delivers. It's God's great power that does this. No man can do it.

Now, what was going to happen? They're going to "come up into your house." Well, we can imagine that. Imagine having thousands of frogs in a house. "Into your bedchamber," in other words, where you sleep, "into your bedroom." "On your bed," well, they're going to be actually on the bed. "Into the houses of your servants," so everyone around is going to get it as well. Not only you, Pharaoh, but everyone else, those that are following you and yielding to you. "On your people," it'll be on them wherever they are laying or sleeping or wherever they are; they're going to be jumping on them. "Into your ovens," so into the kitchen where they are cooking. They're trying to have an oven there to try to cook bread or whatever they're doing to cook, well, the frogs are going to be in amongst it. "And into your kneading bowls." Now, this would be very disgusting for the average person, that if frogs were jumping into your food utensils, like your pots and your pans and your bowls, well, what would you do? You'd have to try to wash them, but they're everywhere! And when you went to the water, they're there and on your beds, they're everywhere. This would be revolting for most people, absolutely revolting. And you wouldn't be able to cook, you wouldn't be able to do anything because you'd be just worried about all these frogs being in your food itself and in your bowls and everything you did. There are frogs everywhere.

And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants. So this is going to affect every single person. Everybody is going to be affected by these frogs. Now, where we live at the moment we have had times of mice plagues. And the mice, various times of the year, particularly when the weather changes. And they're out in the fields mainly, then when the weather drops to a certain level, like it is now, it's about 1˚, which is near zero in fahrenheit, but it's 1˚, been down to -3's. It's very cold. When it gets about 4˚C what happens is it's too cold for the mice in the fields and so those mice then come out in almost like plague proportion depending on the year (some years you don't get many). Like this year, we haven't had many, but the year before I was catching something like 8-9 mice a day and they were getting into the house everywhere and they were running along the benches and they were in cupboards. And I was trying to block up all the holes in the house where they can get through – and get through the minutest little hole, put their head through and they wiggle and they pop out. They were everywhere! Well, over time I managed to seal it off, but this went on for 4-6 weeks. Well, this is an event where God has now produced frogs where you can't stop them. They're going to be everywhere. And it's a difficult and distressful thing because every time you look somewhere there's a frog. It's in everything.

Verse 5—Then the LORD spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, in other words, Aaron's going to do it, Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt. Although Aaron is going to stretch out the rod, it's God that's doing it. It's God that's in control of life and death.

Verse 6—So Aaron stretched out his hand over the rivers of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments. Now, this is they were able to reproduce this very event through trickery. Because we understand, brethren, that mankind has no power other than what God allows. So this is through secret arts or secrets that they had. They were able to do things, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt. This is all about power and pride. This is all about power and pride. They wanted to be seen as powerful as Moses and Aaron. Because to them, God's not in this. This is something from mankind, and in the eyes of Pharaoh, they didn't want to be seen as less. They wanted to be seen as who they really are, the magicians, because Pharaoh was relying on the magicians and he had seen wonderful things from them. I'm sure many wonderful things from them. And therefore, he couldn't see God in any of this yet, and therefore, the ability for them to have deception and to produce deception through these enchantments, through these secret arts that they have, would cause Pharaoh to harden his heart even more. Because if Moses and Aaron are doing this, well, my magicians are doing the same; they're bringing up frogs as well.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat, which is like a formal request, or make an appeal. Entreat the Eternal (Entreat the LORD) that He (God, Yahweh Elohim) may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD (they may sacrifice to the Eternal). And Moses said to Pharaoh, Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the rivers only. So what he's asking there, is saying, "Well, when will this happen?" And he's trying to save face with the people because of it. Which is, "You can save face with the people because we're going to remove the frogs because you've agreed now to allow us to go to sacrifice to God, therefore, save face. When do you want this to actually happen?" So he said, Tomorrow. "Make it happen tomorrow." He doesn't want to be seen as being weak. He's going to be seen still as powerful because he's saying, well, it's all going to be cleaned up tomorrow. And he said, Let it be according to your word, what Pharaoh had said, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. So from Pharaoh's point of view it was to learn a lesson, that if Pharaoh said, "Well, do it tomorrow," well, he'd be saving face with his people, but for him personally it was really about that God could do it when Pharaoh said, or when Aaron said. It was God that was in control. That it wasn't going to happen now, it wasn't going to happen in four days time, it was what Pharaoh had said, "Tomorrow." Because that pointed to Pharaoh and proved to Pharaoh that "there was no one like the LORD our God." No one like Yahweh, our Elohim. There is none like Yahweh Elohim, none at all. God is in control of everything! And that was something that Pharaoh was to learn, that God was in control. There is no other God! There is one true God. There is a true God who created the heavens and the earth and placed man on it. It was Yahweh Elohim that did it all.

Of course, we understand that Pharaoh didn't learn the lesson that God is in control. We, brethren, can take knowledge of this. We can take sight of this on a spiritual level, "that we may know that there is no one like the LORD our God." We can know on a spiritual level that there is no one that can provide spiritual knowledge, spiritual understanding, and wisdom except the one true God, the true God of the universe who created all things and is in control of all things. It was all done by the power of God.

Verse 11—And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, and from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only. Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Eternal (to the LORD) concerning the frogs which He had brought up against Pharaoh. Because it was God that did it. This is like Moses going and Aaron going, and then Moses praying to God to remove the frogs. And this proves God is in control because it was "tomorrow" that God would do it. So the Eternal did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. It was putrid! Can you imagine, brethren, all of these frogs just dying in the houses? They're not all just necessarily jumping away and going back into the river, but many of them are dying and they're dying everywhere, and therefore, they have to clean it out, they've got to gather them, and they can put them in heaps out in the streets or out in the back, but the land stank because of it, because of the putrid rotten frogs that were there.

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, from all these live frogs jumping into their houses, into their bedrooms, and into their food, all of that, he hardened his heart (pride) and did not heed, as the Eternal had said. In other words, God had said that he wouldn't relent, that this was going to go on and on. And He'd already said to Moses and Aaron that this was going to take place. Well, this is exactly the proof that God is almighty, that God is all-powerful, because He had said the end from the beginning. He had said what was going to happen. He'd already told Moses about this and it came out exactly as God had said. And the reason that this had happened was because God was doing something for Israel on a physical level, but He was showing something more important on a spiritual level to us, brethren. And what He shows in all of this is that God is all-powerful, God is almighty, there is only one true God, and that mankind left to himself will resist, will debate, and will strive with his Maker, just like Pharaoh is. All because of pride, because there's no fear of God in the natural carnal mind. If there is a fear of God, it's natural, it's about self, it's about saving self, protecting self.

So from this event, brethren, we can see and learn a lot about God. God has revealed Himself as the Almighty God. He is in control of life and death, and that we, brethren, have to not harden our hearts. We are not to go and use our natural carnal mind and we have to learn to heed what God says. We're to believe God. We're to believe God. And the more important thing: In our thinking, we are to never, never to debate, never to challenge or question God about what He is doing, because if we do it's all about pride within our thinking. It's all about pride. This is pride versus humility...pride versus humility. We either have humility – and humility is seeing ourselves as we really are, our true value before God. It's seeing God as almighty and all-powerful and that we, left to ourselves, are nothing. It's about seeing the natural carnal mind and what it's capable of. That's all humility.

Now, pride is the opposite. It doesn't see any of that. It doesn't "see" the power of God. It doesn't "see" God. It doesn't "see" self. It just exalts itself and lifts itself up against God. Pride strives with God! Pride strives with God. Pride resists God. There is no humility in pride. None!

Exodus 15:6. Now, we've been through the song of Moses in Exodus 15 in a previous sermon. We're just going to pick up one component and explore this very part which is really referring to the power of God.

Exodus 15:6—Your, talking about God's, Your right hand, O LORD (O Eternal), has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. Now, this is all pointing to the power of God, the strength of God. It's not actually talking about God's right hand, so to speak, but it's referring to something that is symbolic. Power is in God's right hand. It is God's authority. It's God's power that has done it. "Your right hand, O Eternal, has become glorious in power," because God's right hand, He gives the instruction, that's what happens. It's as God has said. "Your right hand, O Eternal, has dashed the enemy in pieces." Because it was God that said something. It was God's plan to do something. This points to the power of God, God's power and His strength. So whatever God says, it will happen.

Now, the right hand, or "Your right hand," is really symbolically just simply pointing to power. Now, we'll look at this further in Psalm 16:7. Now, this is David in the Psalm writing and he is saying something, but it also points to Jesus Christ, and we'll get into that as we go along. Psalm 16:7—I will bless the LORD, "I will bless the Eternal," who has given me counsel, because it has to come from God. God has to give wisdom. God's thinking has to be placed into a person's mind. My heart (My inner thinking) also instructs me in the night seasons.

Now it's referring to Jesus Christ. This is actually a prophecy about Jesus Christ. I have set the Eternal One (Yahweh), always before Me; because He (Yahweh Elohim) is at My (Jesus Christ's) right hand, and I (Jesus Christ) shall not be moved. Now, this is all pointing to something. It's pointing to Jesus Christ, but it's pointing to the power of God. It is God that is doing it. "He is at My (Jesus Christ's) right hand, and I will not be moved." It's the power of God. It's God, the Word of God in Jesus Christ. It's God's thinking in Jesus Christ. It's God that's sustaining Jesus Christ. It's done by the power of God. It's God's right hand because "He is at My right hand," that's what Jesus Christ is saying.

Verse 9—Therefore, My (Jesus Christ's) heart is glad, "My inner thinking is rejoicing," and My (Jesus Christ's) glory rejoices; and My, it's talking about Jesus Christ still, flesh shall also rest in hope. Because He was going to die. He was going to be placed in the grave in the tomb for three days and three nights.

Verse 10—For You (Yahweh Elohim) will not leave My (Jesus Christ's) life in hell, which is talking about the sheol or the grave, neither shall You (Yahweh Elohim) allow Your Holy One to see corruption, which is the destruction of the flesh. You (Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal God) will show Me the path of life; And in Your presence is fullness of joy, because it's the way God is. It's the thinking of God. If we had the thinking of God we would have the fullness of joy because we'd be thinking righteousness all the time.

And at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. It's not that everything is on the right hand of God, it's that it's by God's great power. It's "by God's power there are pleasures forevermore," when we enter Elohim, when we enter God's Family! So these are wonderful prophecies, brethren, about Jesus Christ. It's the glory of God, it's the power of God, it's God's right hand there is pleasure forevermore, because we will never sin, we will think like God, and we will have eternal life. We will think righteousness forever, and it's all going to be done by the power of God's holy spirit. It's all going to be done by the power of God. It's going to be done by "His right hand," because He has appointed it, He has established it. It's by His strength and His power, His right hand, that Jesus Christ would not be moved, Jesus Christ would not sin. We, brethren, can have this same power live and dwell in us. And it's by God's right hand that we exist in the Body of Christ today. It's by God's great power. It's by God's strength.

Now, we've seen, with regards to Pharaoh, that that was what took place with regards to the frogs. It was, "By God's right hand," because God appointed it. It was part of God's plan. It was by God's power and God's strength that everything took place. Well, the future is the same, brethren. The future is the same. It's by God's right hand that Jesus Christ will return to this earth. It's by God's great power and strength that these events will take place on the Day of the Lord. It's by God's great power, because God has appointed it, that the Millennium will take place, the Hundred-years will take place, and that God will have a family at the end of it and there will be many sons in God's family, all because God's power and strength will achieve it. Because all the glory goes to God. He is the creator of all life, and He has the power of life and death.

Acts 5:29-32—Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said: We ought to obey God rather than men. Well, this is not striving with our Maker. This is not debating or arguing against God. We, brethren, ought to obey God, everything God says, what God's intent is for mankind, we should understand it and we should obey God. We should yield ourselves, our selfishness and our pride, to God rather than men. So if there is something that is contrary to God's word, we would do God's word first.

Now, this principle is something that we can take into our life, brethren, to know that God is almighty and is all-powerful, and therefore, we should obey God rather than men. Just with human reasoning alone this scripture can have great meaning to us, brethren, just on a physical level, let alone spiritual! Something that is spiritual, it's different again, of course, because we know we obey God because we love God and we love the brethren because of God's holy spirit. Well, here is something even on a physical level man could do. We ought to obey God because He's the creator of the heavens and the earth, He created the earth, He placed man on it, and He then allowed man to populate the earth. Well, He is in charge of life and death. Well, we ought to obey God just on that alone, rather than men, because man doesn't have the power to create the earth. Man does not have the power of life and death. He might think he does, but he does not. Just on a physical level man ought to obey God rather than men.

Well, on a spiritual level it is different. We, brethren, know the truth. Powered by God's holy spirit we ought to yield ourselves to that spirit, yield our thinking to God because God is almighty, God is all-powerful, and He has a plan of salvation for us. And we are part of that plan! Right now we are part of that plan! Mankind is also, but their time will come. Our time has come. Our time has arrived. Our time is now. We ought to obey God in spirit and truth rather than yielding to selfishness and pride, rather than men or man, or mankind. We should put God first no matter what! God first no matter what! Why? Because it's spiritual in nature. Because we know God's plan of salvation. God is bringing many sons to glory and it can only be achieved in us IF we put God first, if we obey God rather than men. Now, if we don't, God's plan of salvation will not be fulfilled in us. It can't be because we're not taking on righteousness, we're not taking on the mind of God, we're not obeying God. We're letting pride rule us. We are now striving, we are now debating and contending with God! "God, what are you doing here?" Well, that's what we would be doing. If we're not obeying God first, we're putting ourselves first. And I want to repeat that because it's spiritual in nature. We ought to obey God in spirit and truth rather than yielding to ourselves and putting our selfishness first. Because at any time we do not obey God, we are yielding to our pride, we are yielding to our selfishness, and we're putting ourselves first. We're obeying our own natural thinking rather than the thinking of God.

Well, God's great power that He has, He is going to bring many sons to glory. And it's only going to be achieved if mankind yields and obeys God first rather than himself, rather than his own thinking.

Verse 30—The God of our fathers, which is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. "The God of our fathers." On a spiritual level, brethren. Yahweh Elohim is the God of our fathers. ...raised up Jesus (Jesus Christ our Savior) whom you murdered by hanging Him on a tree, or hanging on a tree. Now, mankind doesn't understand what they did. They don't understand that this was God's plan. Because Jesus Christ came to this earth by the Word of God being made flesh. He existed on this earth as a physical man. He didn't pre-exist; He was just simply a physical man who had the thinking of God. Well, when He was sacrificed for sin. He became the Passover sacrifice for us, the Lamb of God, the Passover sacrifice for all mankind. God raised Him up, "whom," talking about men, the Jew in the main, "murdered." The Romans did it, but it was because of the Jewish population that turned and were against Jesus Christ. And the leaders, in the main, because they didn't want to see any threat to their authority. "And they murdered Him," they killed Him, "by hanging Him on a tree," or staking Him with nails on a pole.

Verse 31—Him (Jesus Christ), God (Yahweh Elohim) has exalted – where? – to His right hand. Now, what's that saying? Does it really mean that Jesus Christ is sitting right next to Him on His right hand? This is about power and authority. Jesus Christ has been given power and authority from God. So God, now, has given Jesus Christ the power and authority to bring many sons to glory. God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead and placed Him in Elohim. He is God's Son! He is God's Son! And in that He has inherited what God has given, what God has promised – eternal life in Elohim! Eternal life in Elohim. Jesus Christ is the first son to be brought to glory. So God has exalted Him to His right hand. He has given power to Him. He has given authority to Him. All authority and all power sits with Jesus Christ, to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. Now, God has given this power and authority to Jesus Christ. He is our Passover. We are forgiven of our sins by God the Father, but it's through Jesus Christ, because of what Jesus Christ achieved by His death and being resurrected by God the Father. He is the first to be brought to glory.

Verse 32—And we, talking about the apostles here, And we are His (Jesus Christ's) witness to these things, and so also is the holy spirit, because it's powered by God's holy spirit that we believe these things and that we can see these things on a spiritual level, which God has given to those who obey Him, those who do not strive with Him, those who do not debate with Him, those who don't argue with Him and don't challenge God and ask Him, "What are you doing, God? Why are you doing it this way?"

God is almighty. God is all-powerful. He is the creator of all things. So why would anyone argue with God? Well, we know the answer. Pride. Human, selfish pride. That's why.

Well, we, brethren, have this opportunity to come to understand the glory that is going to be revealed in us at some point in time. Now, we can have a glory because we can have the thinking of God, but at some point of time the glory that is in us, which is God in us, the thinking of God in us, God's holy spirit in us, will be revealed, because we will be changed to Elohim at a point in time.

So, brethren, to be exalted to the right hand of God is really declaring that God is almighty, and God is all-powerful, and He has the ability and the power and the strength to give authority where He deems fit. Because it's God's plan. It's God's plan. It's the plan of the true God.

Psalm 110:1. We understand this is really an announcement by David about the reign of Jesus Christ. Now, this is David writing this Psalm, so David has said: The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool. Now we go back over that. We understand that David is writing this and he says, "The LORD (Yahweh Elohim)," "The LORD said to my Lord." Well, what's that saying? It's saying, “The Eternal (Yahweh Elohim) said to my (David's) Lord." Now it's referring to Jesus Christ. Someone in the future that would be David's Lord. "Sit at MY right hand," so it's God the Father saying, "my Lord (talking about Jesus Christ), sit at MY (God the Father's) right hand." Now, we understand this is symbolic of rule, power, and authority, which we've already covered. It's talking about Jesus Christ being given this rule with power and authority. How long's it going to take? "Till (until) I (God the Father) make Your enemies (Jesus Christ's enemies) Your footstool." It's God the Father that does it all. It's God the Father who's doing it all and He's doing it through Jesus Christ. And to achieve what He does, which is to make all the enemies of Jesus Christ under Jesus Christ (to place them there) He has given all power, all authority to Jesus Christ. And for the purpose of? Making all Jesus Christ's enemies Jesus Christ's footstool.

The LORD (Yahweh Elohim) shall send the rod of Your (Jesus Christ's) strength out of Zion, out of the Church. The power of God will come out in strength through Jesus Christ, through the Church. And it's going to be achieved through the 144,000, which is God's strength. God's strength in them makes them who they are. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! "Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah, the Anointed One rule with power and authority that has been given to You by God the Father (Yahweh Elohim) in the midst of Your enemies." Who were the enemies of Jesus Christ? The natural carnal mind. Mankind is God's enemy. And we've looked at that, brethren. We have seen that pride, which the natural carnal mind is, which mankind has as a nature, needs to be ruled, needs to be changed, there needs to be a change of thinking because they, by pride, will strive, they will debate, and they will argue with their Maker. Well, God the Father has appointed Jesus Christ with power and authority to rule in the midst of His enemies. Jesus Christ's enemies. Jesus Christ is going to rule during the 1,100 years until He brings all His enemies to be His footstool, which is symbolic of being under the authority, under the power and rule of Jesus Christ. Because, really, that power and authority and rule of Jesus Christ is the power and authority and rule of Yahweh Elohim who has given it over to Jesus Christ to rule in the Millennium.

The announcement of promised Messiah to rule mankind, to bring everybody into subjection to Him, to make everybody His footstool. Which is not talking about a footstool, it's talking about yielding and being under the authority of Jesus Christ, the right hand of God, the power of God. And it's all talking about symbolic language about yielding to God, yielding to the rule of God in a person's life, the power of God in a person, yielding to God's thinking, yielding to the Word of God, yielding to Jesus Christ.

Your people shall be volunteers (willing) in the day of Your power, talking about Jesus Christ. "Your people," Jesus Christ's people, "will be volunteers," they will be willing to yield to God, to become footstools, to be under the authority and power of God. "In the day of Your power," the day of Jesus Christ's power, the Millennium, the Hundred-years. They will be willing to do it, because they're going to see all the examples and the world is going to be changed, the thinking is going to be changed. The main change of thinking is going to be Satan and his demons are going to be removed. And once they are removed mankind will become more willing to yield to the power of God, to yield to the authority and the power that is over them. They're going to be willing to yield to be under Jesus Christ, the power and authority has been given to Him that is in Him. So people will yield willingly to this power and authority. They will yield to the right hand of God, the power of God, the strength of God, which is all done through Jesus Christ.

In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You (Jesus Christ) have the dew of Your youth. The Eternal has sworn and will not relent. This is not going to change. No matter what man thinks, no matter what man does, man can strive with God, they can resist God, the armies can come to fight Jesus Christ at His return. It's still not going to change what God has planned. The right hand of God will achieve it. The right hand of God will achieve it, because God is almighty, God is all-powerful, and God is the ruler of mankind. God is the one who gives life and can cause death – physically and spiritually. So with that knowledge why would anybody argue with God, their Maker? Ah, it's just insane as we have covered, brethren. It's just insane thinking that we would ever argue with God.

Now, we do that when we sin. Because what we're doing is we're disagreeing with God. And I realize, brethren, we do these things because of weakness of the flesh, the natural carnal mind. Often this sin is not willing in any way and we yield to our pride and selfishness. It's not a willful willing sin, it's just that we're weak. We're weak in the flesh. And we will strive with our Maker. We will argue with God. We will. Because we argue with God when we sin, because when we sin, what we're saying, really, we're giving into self, we're giving into our pride, we're giving into our selfishness. Well, we desire, brethren, not to argue, not to debate with our Maker. We desire to be at-one with God.

God is saying here, "The Eternal," Yahweh Elohim, the Self-existing One, "has sworn," this is what's going to take place. Jesus Christ is coming, the Millennium is coming, the Hundred-years is coming. There's going to be an end of the 7,100 years. It's been sworn. This is what God has said in His word, "and He will not relent," it will not change. This cannot change because it's in God's plan. It's done by His right hand. He has the power and the authority to do it, and therefore, it's going to happen. No one can change it no matter what they think or do. It doesn't make any difference, it is not going to change. God will not relent from His plan of bringing many sons to glory through Jesus Christ, through a Church, through a group of called out ones, and through the power of His holy spirit. This transformation will take place and it will not change. There will be a family of God. God will achieve His plan. There are going to be many sons from mankind brought to glory through the power and authority of Jesus Christ to do it. And we understand scripture. At some point in time, Jesus Christ hands back everything to God the Father who had given Him the power and authority to achieve bringing many sons to glory. Incredible knowledge, brethren, that we have! Incredible plan of salvation that we see! It is amazing what God has revealed to His Church.

Continuing on in verse 4—You (Jesus Christ) are a priest forever, which is someone that is going to serve God. Because priests serve. Priests serve in the temple. They serve God. A priest is really a servant. You are a priest, "You are a servant of God," forever, according – who is it?— according to the order, because there was an order established, the order of Melchizedek, which is talking about being a High Priest. Jesus Christ was appointed to the order of Melchizedek. It was God the Father that appointed Jesus Christ to this role of being a servant of God, all for the purpose of? Bringing many sons to glory.

Verse 5—The Lord is at Your right hand, and the word "is" has been added there. The Eternal (Yahweh Elohim) is Jesus Christ's right hand. "The LORD at Your right hand." Because it's God that gave the strength to Jesus Christ, the power and authority. He, talking about God the Father, shall break in pieces, which is talking about destroying, lifting up, pulling down, "will execute" is another word they put in there, but it's about pulling down or breaking down, bringing things down, will execute kings in the day of His wrath. So there is going to be authority that is going to change because of God's great power and He's going to do it through Jesus Christ.

He (God the Father) shall judge amongst the nations, will execute this judgment. How? Through Jesus Christ. Through His right hand. Through Zion. Through the rule of Jesus Christ. Because it's by that right hand of God that these things are going to be achieved. He will fill the places with dead bodies. He shall execute, which is "break in pieces," the heads of many countries.  He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; therefore, He shall lift up the head. So this is talking about what God the Father will do through Jesus Christ. And it's all done by the power of His right hand. And we can see from scripture here that God the Father has transferred this power and authority to be with Jesus Christ.

"The LORD (Yahweh Elohim), said to David's Lord (Jesus Christ), sit at My (God the Father's) right hand, until I (God the Father) make Your (Jesus Christ's) enemies Your footstool," which is God the Father giving the power and authority to Jesus Christ to rule, to bring many sons to glory.

Acts 2:22. Now we see Peter talking to the men of Israel, which is talking about something on a physical level, which are the Jews, and also other tribes that would be there. And they can see from this that God is working through Peter. And the end result, of course, is Peter on the Day of Pentecost making various statements about Jesus Christ. And we're going to read this now in the light of God's great power, the one true God doing all of this in and through Jesus Christ. And the proof and the evidence has been given that there is one true God and that God has provided Jesus Christ as our Savior. And since that has taken place, God has given all power and all authority by the power of His right hand, because He's decided it, He has done it, that He has given it over to Jesus Christ.

Verse 22—Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man, because he was a physical man, attested by God, because God appointed Him to it, God the Father, Yahweh Elohim did it, attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him. This is a marvelous scripture really. "Which God (Yahweh Elohim, the true God) did by/through Jesus Christ." He did it all through Jesus Christ – the Word made flesh, in your midst, as you yourselves also know, which they were aware that God did it all. God the Father did it all because there is one true God.

Verse 23—Him, talking about Jesus Christ, being delivered by the determined council and foreknowledge of God. It was part of God's plan. This is about the right hand of God, the strength of God, the power of God to do this. Because only God could do it. No man could do it. No man can control all things. No man can give life or take life. Only God can do it all. Only God could make the earth. Only God could put man on it. Only God could create the planets, stretch out the heavens. Only God could do it. There is no other being that could do it. So this was done with the foreknowledge, or the knowledge, of God. It was planned well in advance. Billions of years ago it was all planned. ...for the foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, referring back to Jesus Christ, that it was an unlawful thing that they did. They had taken Jesus Christ, who was the Word of God made flesh, who had the thinking of God, who was righteous, have staked Him to a pole, or hung Him on a tree, and put to death… They killed Him! They murdered Him! They did it. But God did know this because Jesus Christ was appointed to it. It was for the foreknowledge of Yahweh Elohim.

Verse 24—whom, talking about Jesus Christ, God raised up. God did it! Because He has the power and authority to do it. He stretched out His right hand and did it because it's part of His plan. He fulfilled it. He carried it out exactly to the tiniest detail. God did it. ...having loosened the pains of death, because it was not possible that He (Jesus Christ) should be held by it. Why? Because God predetermined it! It was God, Yahweh Elohim, that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. He had the power and authority to do it. And God did it all.

Verse 25—For David spoke concerning Him (Jesus Christ); I, talking about Jesus Christ, foresaw the LORD, talking about Yahweh, always before My face, before Jesus Christ's face. For He (God the Father) is on My (Christ's) right hand. Now, this is where we look at it and look at scripture and say, "Well, if Jesus Christ is on the right hand of God the Father, how can God the Father be on Jesus Christ's right hand?" Because it's not about where a person sits. It's not about a location. It's about power and strength. For He (Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal Great God of the universe, the Creator of all things) is on My (Jesus Christ's) right hand. "He is My power. He is My strength. He is My provider." Yahweh Elohim did it all!" ...that I (Jesus Christ) should not be moved. In other words, nothing could happen to Jesus Christ unless God allowed it, unless God planned it. Because God is almighty.

Verse 26—Therefore, did My heart rejoice, did Christ's heart rejoice, and My (Christ's) tongue was glad. Moreover, also My (Jesus Christ's) flesh shall rest in hope. Which we read before in Psalms.

Verse 27—Why is Jesus Christ rejoicing? Why is this all taking place? Because You (Yahweh Elohim) will not leave My life in the grave, or in hell as it's written there. But it's really saying, "Because You (Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal God, the Almighty God) will not leave My (Jesus Christ's) life (body, life) in hell," meaning the grave. So Jesus Christ could not be held by it because God the Father through His right hand, through His plan, through His power and strength, so His authority, because He's the ruler of all things, He is in control of all things, He's in control of life and death – He would not allow it. Neither will You (God the Father) allow Your Holy One, talking about Jesus Christ, to see corruption, which is the decay of the body after death, because it's physical, which Jesus Christ was physical. He would see corruption. But God the Father wouldn't allow it because He is all-powerful. He is in control of everything. He's in control of His creation.

Verse 28—You (Yahweh Elohim) have made known to Me (Jesus Christ) the ways of life, the thinking of God was in Him. He was the Word made flesh. You (Yahweh Elohim) shall make Me (Christ) full of joy with Your countenance, with the very countenance of God, the very presence of God in Jesus Christ, and then, of course, in the future when He was then taken to heaven by God the Father, that He would be in the presence of God until His very return, which is soon.

That word there, as far as "countenance," can be as far as "your presence," which is in the order of things where God is, powered by God's holy spirit. So God the Father and Jesus Christ are together. But when Jesus Christ comes to this earth, God the Father is still present, because Jesus Christ has the thinking of God, He has the mind of God.

Continuing on here with what David had written and what Peter is now saying about David. Verse 29—Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you about the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, in other words, He's dead. He does not have an immortal soul. He doesn't exist in heaven now. He's not looking down on the earth. He's dead and buried. He is waiting a resurrection. ...and his sepulchre, his grave, is with us until this day. In other words, he's dead, he's in the ground, and he waits a resurrection.

Verse 30—Therefore, being a prophet (David), and knowing that God (Yahweh Elohim) had sworn to him, had sworn to David, with an oath, now, God can't lie. God doesn't lie, therefore, it will happen. ...that the fruit of his (David's) loins, according to the flesh, He (Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal God, the Self-existing One) will raise up Christ (the Messiah) to sit on his (David's) throne (verse 31) he (David), seeing this before, spoke of a resurrection of Christ, that His, talking about Jesus Christ, that His life, talking about Christ, was not left in the grave, neither His flesh to see corruption. It's actually happened. It has been fulfilled. This Jesus has God raised up, because it was God that did it. He is the one in control. Therefore, we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, in other words, power and authority has been given to Jesus Christ, and having received of the Father the promise of the holy spirit, He has shed forth this which you now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he (David) himself said: The LORD (Yahweh) said to My (David's) Lord, Sit You at My right hand, which is about power and authority being given to Jesus Christ to fulfill God's will to bring many sons to glory, until I (God the Father) make Your (Jesus Christ's) foes Your footstool, Christ's footstool. They are going to be brought under the authority of Jesus Christ because they're being brought under the authority of God. The Word of God made flesh is going to achieve it because God has planned it.

Verse 36—Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God (Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal Self-existing One) has made this same Jesus (the Messiah), whom you have put to death, "whom you have put on a pole, whom you have nailed to a pole, you have nailed to a tree," both Lord and Christ. He is the Savior of mankind.

Now, the power of God is limited by man. Man limits God. Man limits God. Brethren, we have to be sure that we do not limit God by the way we think, by limiting God in our life.

Psalm 17:1. This is a Psalm of David. Hear a just cause, O LORD (O Eternal), attend to my cry. In other words, "Hear me," "Hear what I'm saying to you." Give ear to my prayer that this is not from deceitful lips. "I'm sincere. I'm genuine. I really am calling out to you with a sincere heart. I'm not being deceptive with what I'm asking." Let my vindication come from YOUR presence. Now, what we can see from that, brethren, this is about God in us. We are vindicated by God living and dwelling in us, because we're taking on the mind of God, we're thinking like God, therefore, we're vindicated. Self is not getting in the way. We are vindicated because we have God's presence, God in us, we think like God.

Let YOUR eyes look upon the things that are upright. Which is about God living and dwelling in us. And the things that are upright are? God's character in us. "So let Your eyes look on the things that He is achieving in us," that God is doing through us and in us by the power of His holy spirit.

Verse 3—You have tested my heart, "You have tested my motives and intent, my inner thinking." Now, that's what God is looking at. God looks at the heart. God looks at our motive and intent. What is our motive when we approach God? Is it one because we have to pray? Or what is it that we are approaching God about and why are we approaching God about it? We should approach God with a sincere heart, the right motive and right intent based on what we know today, which is there is one true God. That's our motive and intent.

We know God is almighty and all-powerful, and we know God's plan of salvation. We know why Jesus Christ existed on this earth, why the Word of God was made flesh. Well, God tests us to see why we are approaching Him. He gives us tests and trials all for the purpose of developing holy righteous character, and therefore, our motive or our intent of everything that we do is important to God, and God wants to test us through these tests and trials to see how we will react, whether we'll rely on self and use pride and let pride get in the way, or whether we will yield to God's holy spirit in our life.

You have visited me in the night; You have tried me, or You've examined me, You've tested me, You've tested my motive, and have found nothing, have found nothing evil. His motive and intent was to have a sincere relationship with God, to put God first. "We ought to obey God rather than men." Well, God had tested him and found that David was going to put God first no matter what. David's motive and intent was God first. I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress, that he wouldn't sin through the words that he speaks.

Verse 4—Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your (Yahweh Elohim's) lips, I have kept myself from the path of the destroyer. Now, we understand on a spiritual level "the path of the destroyer" is Satan's way of thinking. The destroyer is Satan. Satan is out to destroy us, brethren. He desires that we give up. He desires that we become unrepentant of sin. He desires that we sin. Guarantee, we are going to, but his biggest desire is that we will turn from the Creator of all things, that we will take on his thinking about matters rather than the thinking of God. So here David is saying, "I have kept myself from the paths (the ways) of the destroyer (the ways of Satan)." Uphold my steps in Your paths, "in Your ways," God's ways. Uphold me. How's that done? By the power of God's holy spirit. It's provided to us. We have the opportunity to do that, to "uphold my steps," to uphold our thinking in God's ways, in the way that God thinks, the way that God acts, our lips, what we utter, the way we think. We can be upheld in God's ways, in God's paths, by the power of God's holy spirit and us yielding to it. That my footsteps may not slip. Well, what happens when we slip? We sin. So if we have God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us and we yield to it, we don't sin. But, we just simply sin because we do slip because we do not stay on the path of righteousness. We go down this other path, our pride and selfishness kicks in.

Verse 6—I have called upon You (Yahweh Elohim), for You will hear me, O God. Because God does hear us, brethren. We've been called into a relationship with God. God desires to know us. God desires us to enter Elohim. He desires to bring many sons to glory. God desires to give us life, true life, spirit life. And we can call on God and God will hear us. Incline Your ear to me, "Hear what I've got to say, God," and hear my speech, which is from this sincere heart, which is genuine because we know who we are. We know who we really are because of God's mercy, because God has revealed Himself to us. We see it ourselves because God in His mercy allows us to see ourselves. God wants a relationship with us. God wants to hear from us.

Verse 7—Show Your marvelous loving kindness by Your right hand, because it's God's power that provides mercy. God's power and strength is what provides mercy to us. God is in our life. God is involved with us. God knows us. God knows what's ahead – He's planned it. O You who save those who trust in You.

So, brethren, we can be saved on a spiritual level because of the power of God because it's God's power to save us. We can't save ourselves. We can only yield to what God is saying and what God does in His Church and what God does through His right hand, because He's planned it. It's God's strength and power that does it all. Well, we trust in God, we believe God. We believe God. Now, to believe God is to have faith. So what this is saying is, "You, O Eternal One (You, Yahweh Elohim, the Self-exiting One, the Creator of all things, the all-powerful God, the only true God), You can save us because we trust in you, we believe You, we have faith in Your word. We yield to your right hand. We yield to the authority of Jesus Christ in our life. We put You first. We obey You. We don't want to debate and strive with You. We agree with You. We want to come into unity with You because you are the true God."

Well, we'll end this sermon series here, brethren, and we'll pick up the theme of God's great power in future sermons.□

Table of Contents

Chapter 1