Kathy's Bible StudyCourtesy Of Firequill Publications email: FireQuill@cox.net

By the close of the book of Genesis, God had chosen a small, insignificant

people to become a teaching nation. He wanted to raise up a people who would be

living examples of his goodness to the heathen world. So, to bring about such a

testimony, God took his people into places that were beyond their control. He

isolated Israel in a wilderness, where he alone would be their only source of

life, caring for their every need.

Israel had no control over their survival in that desolate place. They

couldn’t control the availability of food or water. They couldn’t control

their destination, as they had no compasses or maps. How would they eat and

drink? Which direction would they go? And where would they end up?

God would do it all for them. He would guide them every day by a miracle cloud,

one that glowed at night and dispelled the darkness before them. He would feed

them with angels’ food from heaven and provide them with water from a rock.

Yes, every single need would be supplied by the Lord, and no enemy would be

able to defeat them.

“Out of heaven he made you [Israel] to hear his voice, that he might

instruct you” (Deuteronomy 4:36). God’s people would hear his very words

guiding them, and in turn they would testify, “Who is there of all mankind

who has heard the voice of the living God?” (see Deuteronomy 4:32-34).

The nations surrounding ancient Israel were filled with “other gods,” idols

made of wood, silver and gold. These gods were mute, unable to see or hear,

unable to love, guide or protect the people who worshipped them. Yet any one of

the nations could look to Israel and see a special people whom God carried

through a terrible wilderness. They would see a God who spoke to his people,

who loved and felt, who answered prayers and provided miracles. Here was a

living God, one who guided his people in every detail of their lives.

God raised up a people who would be trained by him. There had to be a people

who lived under his authority, who would trust him completely, giving him full

control of every aspect of their lives. That people would become his testimony

to the world.

Why would God want full control of a people and insist on their complete trust

at all times? It was because only God knew the way and he would perform the

impossible that was needed to get them there.

Let me tell you how God brings people into his house, how he speaks to them, and how he saves them. He does it through life. The Lord builds his church through the testimonies of light shining forth from those who love him. And he’s able to do this not because these servants use the right methods, but because they live the life.

Christ’s life produces light in homes, in neighborhoods, in cities, in workplaces. How is this life obtained? It comes down to every saint living right, beyond reproach, as examples of God’s mercy. Such servants deal honestly, selflessly, with no dark part in them. They lead lives wholly devoted to Jesus, and are ready to serve others at all times.

Paul speaks of servants who “know his will, and approve the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness” (Romans 2: 18-19). Such saints as Paul describes are to be commended.

Let me give you an example of such light. Recently, the CEO of a company in New York called our church. Pastor Neil took the call. The CEO told Pastor Neil about two women from our church who work for him. He said they weren’t like the others in his office. These two women were always courteous, smiling, helpful to others, never complaining or backbiting. “There’s something different about them,” he said. “I would like to meet with you to find out what the difference is.”

These women were heavenly candlesticks, placed in their jobs by Jesus. And the light they shone lit up the entire workplace. How? They had the life of Christ in them. Their boss recognized it as something beyond what this world has to offer.

That CEO was Jewish. Do you think he would have responded to an invitation to a revival meeting? Would he have read a packet of materials produced by a church? No, he would have tossed it all into “File 13” and never looked at it again. This man responded to true light—a light born of lives hid in Christ, and being lived out daily by two humble women.

We are only able to bring light to our communities as we are full of Christ’s life ourselves. We have to live out the message we bring, if we are to preach it with any power. God help us to remember that the light shines through in the little things of life.

For more on this: http://www.worldchallenge.org/