Forever
Scripture Reading - Exodus 19:9 KJV
And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
In today’s lesson we will look at the “Forever” factor. We do know that our God is an Awesome God and one great thing about our God is that when He does His Will He is looking for a permanent effect. Yes, even in today’s reference verse the Lord came in a thick cloud to get the Children of Israel’s attention but He (the Lord) not only got the attention of His People but more importantly The Lord had something to say to them. We notice from this verse that God has something to say and He should have our full attention to say it. We can also glean that the thick cloud represented the Presence of God which usually precedes His voice. We can invite His Presence into our life whenever we desire by simply praising, singing and worshiping God knowing that He is worthy of all our praise. If we purpose to do that we setup the atmosphere for The Lord to speak to us whenever He is ready. We know that Moses was known as the Law giver but we all know the Law came from God. We especially like what God said in this verse with the phrase, “that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever”. This means that even though God was speaking directly to Moses He desired for all the Children of Israel to hear His Voice and believe in Him (God) and Moses because Moses represented the mediator between God and man. Moses is a man so he could have compassion upon other men (and women) who needed God’s Mercy. Moses also was accepted in God’s Presence so he could accurately hear from God and pray unto the Lord for the sins of the people looking for God’s infinite wisdom on how to handle each situation. Today, we would look at Jesus as our mediator because Jesus is our high priest, friend and brethren. Yes, Jesus is always in the Presence of God so we look unto Him as the author and developer (finisher) of our faith. Why is this so important? Because the Lord Jesus was, is and forever shall be our High Priest to pray for us unto the Father God, yes “forever”. Not only is Jesus interceding for us but He Is always there for us concerning anything we have need of. The key is we must be trained to look for Jesus in God’s Word which is the Holy Bible. This Holy Bible has been with us (mankind) for centuries many scholars speculate that the Old Testament originated around 6th century BC (Before Christ) and New Testament was completed around 367 AD (After Death). We say all this to highlight the fact that the Holy Bible has been with us (mankind) for a long time and it is still with us today for the profit of all mankind. Thus, the Word of God was with us, He is with us and He shall be with us “forever more”. This is why it is mentioned today in this teaching to pay special attention to the “forever factor” which basically proclaims whatever God is doing in your life is of eternal value. Yes, when you read that by the stripes of Jesus I was healed that healing was, is and always shall be “forever”. Likewise when you read that the Lord is with you and He will never leave you or forsake you God is talking about “forever”. Let us look at some of God’s terms used in the scriptures: forever more, unto all ages, eternity, eternal, a world without end, everlasting, etc. . . This is God’s way of expressing to all of His Beloved Children that His Awesome Work is of a more permanent nature. Whatever God does He does right the first time and that typically means it is His Will to only do it once and that once lasts forever. When you were born-again was it not “forever”? When you received God’s Word into your heart was it not “forever”. When you wanted to live with God didn’t you plan for “forever”? This has special meaning to fight against fear that will try to torment the believer into thinking something bad will happen in the future. Satan typically plays on the unknown to introduce fear and worry in places where we don’t have a scripture foundation to withstand his lies and assumptions. However, we (ihlcc) have found the “forever factor” to be very affective when dealing with the devil or just when you need to remove some personal doubts or concerns. Follow us into the higher level of thinking by way of a couple of examples where we added the word “forever” unto a present tense promise of God to highlight the completeness of God’s Will starting with 1 Peter 2:24 which states, “By whose stripes ye were healed.” Now make it more personal and tie it to eternity by inserting the word “forever” into it. Our faith confession, “By the stripes of Jesus I was forever healed!” not only covers the past tense and the present tense but now it is moved into eternity by tying God’s permanent will into this natural realm in which we live. This is exciting because now we can face to future with more confidence according to God’s Word because you do know what tomorrow holds (healing for the believing saint) and you have made your proclamation before God, Satan and all mankind. So holdfast the confession of your faith without wavering. Amen! This same principle applies when it comes to God’s Presence. In Hebrews 13:5 the scripture reads, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” We could add “forever” into our confession of this verse just to make it a little bit more permanent by the confession, “The Lord will never leave me, or forsake me because He is with me forever!” Doing this does not take anything away from God’s Word it only drawings attention to God’s Mighty Hand doing a permanent work in us and for us. We need to tie our unstable natural realm unto God’s very stable spiritual realm of eternity and we do that by inserting the word “forever” into our Christian confession vocabulary. We could mention that, “Forever, my God shall always supply all my needs in Christ Jesus!” to quote Philippians 4:19. Whether placing the word “forever” at the beginning of a phrase, or in the middle or at the end it always fits just right because it enhances your confession. The key is realizing that you can tie the natural realm into eternity with the simple addition of the powerful word “forever”. So be of good cheer today and rejoice in Christ Jesus our Lord not just today but every day “forever” in Jesus Name. God is not just doing a temporary work to hold you over until heaven, no our God is an Awesome God who does an eternal work within us and for us that is meant to last “forever”. Amen!