Exodus (Program #21) -The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart

God’s people Israel spent hundreds of years in slavery and bondage in Egypt.  Ultimately, the Lord heard their cries and initiated through His called one Moses, a personal battle with Pharaoh.  During the course of this lengthy conflict, Pharaoh is repeatedly subdued only to have his heart harden again to resist the demand of Jehovah God to let His people go.  This is the stuff of great Sunday school lesson to be sure.  But does it hold a meaningful lesson for all of us?  For all serious believers?

We are considering a very difficult question that has been the source of theological debate over the centuries; that is the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Egypt.  During this long conflict between God and Pharaoh, at times we see God hardening Pharaoh’s heart and at other times Pharaoh harden his own heart.  more…

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Matthew (Program #48) – The Pathway to Glory (6)

In the far north of Israel, far away from the religious capital of Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus posed the question of the ages to His disciples; who do men say that I am?  and then even more pertinent; who do you say that I am?   It was at this critical moment in the New Testament record that Peter made his monumental declaration “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”.  Peter’s word testifies the inner revelation that only God can plan in a man’s heart.  But the revelation did not stop at this point.

We trust that if you stay with us today, your own perception of the great revelation will be very much enhanced before we are through.

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Exodus (Program #20) -Pharaoh’s Subtle Bargaining

We may not think of ourselves as particularly crafty or skillful negotiators in a worldly sense.  But oh how we bargain with the Lord!  There are a lot examples of subtle bargaining with God in the Bible.  But the story of Pharaoh in Egypt found in the book of Exodus is a particularly striking one.  For Pharaoh can at one time represents Satan but also represents ourselves or even our family members.  There is a lot for us to relate to in today’s program.

Today we are coming back to this conflict that took place between God and Pharaoh.  Initially it seems that the Lord’s demand of Pharaoh was clear enough, very straightforward: “let My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.”  He tells him in Exodus 5:3, but it take 10 long chapters and 12 different encounters before this ultimately takes place…

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Matthew (Program #47) – The Pathway to Glory (5)

There is a wonderful account in Matthew chapter 15 about a gentile woman who approaches Christ not as an upright and qualified person but as a dog, just willing to eat the crumbs that have fallen from the table.  This kind of heart touched the Lord very much and He used her coming as an opportunity to present one of the great truths of the Christian life.   We will get into this matter in some details today.

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Exodus (Program #19) – God’s Demand and Pharaoh’s Resistance (5)

Bible scholars have long agreed that Egypt, the land that held God’s people, Israel in slavery for more than 400 years typifies the world, the system of commerce, culture, education and even entertainment is today’s Egypt, complete with its accompanying slavery and bondage.  God’s way with Israel was to change their view of the land they had grown to love.   He wants to do the same with us today.  When we see the world as God sees it, our heart like Israel’s heart will be changed.

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Matthew (Program #46) – The Pathway to Glory (4)

Tradition.  Webster says “an inherited, established or customary pattern of thought, action or behavior handed down by word-of-mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction”.  Of course, traditions are an important part of our cultural heritage or even our religious heritage.  But what do we do when the traditions we cherished are found to be in direct conflict with God’s infallible word?  This dilemma has confronted believers and God-fearing people for centuries.  There are even numerous such accounts in Scriptures.  But it also confronts us, as God’s people today.   As we touch today some time-honored and beloved traditions of today’s religious culture.

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Exodus (Program #18) – God’s Demand and Pharaoh’s Resistance (4)

God’s desire is that His people will build Him a dwelling place on the earth. This was His intention for the children of Israel even as they were held in bondage under Pharaoh in the book of Exodus and it’s His intention for us today. In Exodus, a struggle ensued between God and Pharaoh whereby He manifested not only judgment upon the Egyptian world but also the real nature and issue of the life of the world – the life that usurps God’s people. If we receive mercy, we’ll take this warning given to all God’s people about the usurping worldly system.

It has been a tremendous journey thus far, as we just get into the book of Exodus.  We come to that portion in the last few days, we have been reviewing the conflict between God and Pharaoh.  It is a fairly well-known story to most Christians and believers.  But Witness Lee has been pointing out that we are going to see very directly today that these 10 plagues and these 10 encounters, actually a dozen encounters that took place over all between God and Pharaoh were not just God’s judgement on Pharaoh and on Egypt but are really intended as an exposure and a kind of education for God’s people as well, to realize the real situation that Egypt represents.  Why do we know that this is a picture to expose but not just a matter of God’s judgement on Egypt and Pharaoh?

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Matthew (Program #45) – The Pathway to Glory (3)

Have you ever had the experience of giving yourself fully to the Lord or renewing your consecration to Him, only to have that active devotion followed by the most difficult outward experiences imaginable?   To our nature mind, this makes no sense; if we give ourselves so completely to follow Him, we would think that He would then take care of all our outward problems.  But in the spiritual realm, often the more genuinely we offer ourselves to Christ, the more difficult our outward situation becomes.  Why this apparently irony?   We will find out today.   Please don’t miss this life study program.  As we come once again to consider the pathway to glory from the gospel of Matthew.

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Exodus (Program #17) – God’s Demand and Pharaoh’s Resistance (3)

The book of Exodus reveals God’s desire to rescue His people from everything other than Himself.  After the Exodus from Egypt, God’s people saw a heavenly vision by which they came to know God Himself and to know the kind of living that’s in accordance with God.  This way they can be built up as God’s dwelling place on earth. This is the basic concept of the book of Exodus and it is also the basic concept of our Christian life.

We are going to continue to look at God’s demand and Pharaoh’s resistance on our broadcast today.  This conflict going on between God and Pharaoh that lasted 10 chapters in Exodus…

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Matthew (Program #44) – The Pathway to Glory (2)

After experiencing rejection on every front, the Lord Jesus withdrew into a desert and a large crowd was still willing to follow Him in this rejection and they gathered with Him in the desert.  This is the scene where a well-known miracle took place.   A miracle that exposes both man’s shortage and the Savior’s full supply.

We have the well-known story of the Lord Jesus feeding the assembled crowd of thousands with just a few loaves and fish…

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