Mid South Conference 1981-04 the People of Israel — Aldy Fam Fanous

Once more it is my joy and my privilege to share with you some thoughts in God's word. We have been considering incidents in the life of the children of Israel and the application to us Christians. We have seen God's command to Pharaoh through Moses, Let my people go.

We have referred to the word my people as they were the children people of God. We have considered the thorny topic that is being discussed today in many places, election and free will. We have seen that so many people put their eggs in the basket of election, others put all their eggs in the basket of free will, but God taught us both principles in his word.

Election, Free Will, and God's Sovereignty

Remember John 6, verse 37, All that the father giveth me shall come unto me, that is election, and him that cometh unto me I will in no way cast out, that is free will. So, both are God's word, and we have to accept it as God's word because he knows better.

Canaan as a Picture of Christian Rest

Well, this morning we are going to consider a few steps also in the life of the people of Israel. First of all, their condition in the land of Egypt. Notice please, first of all, that the land of Canaan is not a type of heaven, not at all.

After the people of Israel went into Canaan, they were driven out of Canaan, and we find in God's word full assurance and certainty and assurance indeed that they that are Christ are Christ forever. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand. I am the Father of one. I was mentioning this to some friend of mine some time ago, and he said to me, Yes, Adly, I know, I know nobody can pluck me out of Christ's hand, but I can choose to jump out of Christ's hand.

I said, Can you? He said, Yes. I said, I couldn't. I couldn't jump out of Christ's hand, because I am a member of his body, and no member of my body can jump out of my body even if it chooses. Let us try it.

Jump. Please jump. For my sake, jump. Am I glad it does not jump? We are members of his body, and no member of my body can choose, praise God, to jump out of my body even if it will. So, praise God for this great assurance he has given me.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I give unto them what kind of a life? Eternal life. What is, therefore, the land of Canaan a type of? The land of Canaan is a type of the rest which remains for the people of God today, here and now.

The rest of faith, the rest of victory, and it is God's purpose to bring the people out of the land of Egypt into the land of Canaan. Please mind you, the wilderness was not in God's plan, or not in God's purpose.

It was in his plan, but not in his purpose. The people of Israel could have gone from the land of Egypt into Canaan in eleven days. You read at home Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 2. You find that the journey from Egypt to Canaan should take only eleven days.

And this is actually what happened when they came to Kadesh Barnea after eleven days. But why did they have to wander forty years in the wilderness? They had to learn some lessons. They had to learn some lessons, and all things that are written are written for our admonition.

These things happen to them as examples so we may learn, we to whom the end of the ages have come. All right, we are going to pick up now a few incidents of the happenings that happened to the people of Israel and see how they apply to you and to me in our Christian experience.

From Slavery in Egypt to Freedom in Christ

They were slaves in the land of Egypt, and friend, if there be anyone here this morning who has not known Jesus Christ as his Savior, pardon me for saying it, but I make no apology for it. You are a slave to sin.

You are a slave to sin, and only the Lord Jesus Christ can set you free. If the Son shall set you free, ye shall be free indeed. There is no freedom in anybody else, no salvation in anyone else, no foundation can any man lay but Jesus Christ who is the only foundation.

What must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Friends, I have traveled extensively in the Middle East, I have traveled almost extensively in Europe, I have been in various places in the USA, and I have met all sorts of people, and I find that the need of man, whether he be in the West or in the East, in the North or the South, is all the same.

The heart of man is all the same, it is desperately wicked, and the cry of people, educated and not educated, civilized and primitive, the cry of people everywhere has been this. You read Psalm 118, verses 19 and 20, let us refer to this psalm, please, Psalm 118, and what does it say in verse 19?

Open to me the gates of righteousness, please note the number there, gates of righteousness. I will go in them, and I will praise the Lord. To men, there are gates of righteousness, and they want to enter these gates of righteousness.

I am sure you are familiar with a number of these gates. The gates of giving to the poor, they think they can secure God's favor this way. The gates of going to church, or being a church member, they think they can gain God's favor this way.

The gates of prayer, they think they can gain God's favor this way, but let me say that this is not God's way, there are no gates with God. Read verse 20, God's answer to this prayer, to this cry, that this gate, in the singular number, please, this gate is of the Lord.

Only one gate, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me, Jesus Christ is the only way, the only door. You can summarize the fact, the case, and the state of every Christian, of every non-Christian, of every sinner, a lost man or woman, in these words, he is dead, he is lost, he is ignorant.

Remember the story of the prodigal son, when he came back to himself, he became wise, he was ignorant, he was dead, and now he lives, he was lost, and now he is found. So the Lord said, I am the way, if you are lost, you find the way, the truth, if you are ignorant, you find the truth, and the life, if you are dead, you find life.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way but Jesus Christ, my Lord. If there be anyone this morning who does not know Jesus Christ as a Savior, this is your opportunity. This is the way.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. All the sacrifices of the Old Testament did not satisfy the conscience of any single person. No one. No one. You are suffering from a bad conscience, you are suffering from uncertainty, you are suffering from not knowing what you wish.

You ask any Muslim, you ask any non-Christian, you ask anybody who does not know Jesus Christ as his Savior, where are you going after you leave this life? Where? Where? You should know. You should know.

Christ's Blood and the Cleansing of Conscience

All the sacrifices of the Old Testament could not cleanse the conscience of one man. And turn with me to Hebrews, chapter 9, please. Hebrews, chapter 9. Look at verse 13, For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctify it with the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead work to serve the living God?

All these sacrifices served as a covering, but never cleansed the conscience of any person. He still had a guilty conscience toward God, because he knew what he did. Only the blood of Christ can cleanse your conscience and make you clean every wit before God.

Remind me of the story which you must have heard sometime. A man stole a what? He was utterly uneducated, and he was brought before the judge. He couldn't even read and write. But the judge, but the man had a smart lawyer who succeeded in creating doubt in the mind of the court.

So, at last, the verdict was given. The case was dismissed, and the man acquitted because of insufficient evidence. Well, bless his heart, the man looked up to the judge and said, Your Honor, does this mean I have to give back the watch?

You see, the court pronounced him innocent, guiltless, but his conscience was all the time condemning him, robber, thief, thief. All the sacrifices of the Old Testament could not cleanse the conscience of one man, but praise God in Jesus Christ, my Lord, His blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, cleansed us of how many?

All unrighteousness. And you stand before God with a clean conscience. You know your sins are forgiven. I'm on my way to heaven. My heart is bubbling over with this joy, joy, joy. Why? Because my sins are forgiven.

There is, therefore, no condemnation on them that are in Christ Jesus. This is the way. These people of Israel were slaves in the land of Egypt. They were also sinners, because they were worshipping the same way the Egyptians were worshipping.

We don't read that they built one single altar in four hundred and thirty years, four hundred and thirty years with no altar, with no worship, and also they were continuously sad, sad. You will hear nothing about them except they sighed, they sighed, they sighed and complained under the past master's lashes, because they were slaves and they were sinners.

Passover and Salvation Through the Lamb

What happened to them? First of all, they were saved through the slaying of the lamb. They killed the lamb and sprinkled the blood on the upper post and the two posts of the doors, and they were saved from the wrath of God.

And please note something. The Lord said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. I don't say these things to encourage you to study the Arabic language or the Hebrew language, but to pass over is Abra, and Abraham was called Abrani, because he passed over, he crossed over.

In other words, you will be called real Hebrews. When I see the blood on the door of the post, I will pass over you, you will be real Hebrews. You are not a Christian because your name is a Christian.

You are not a Christian because you are a member of a church. You are not a Christian because you give to the cause of Christ. You are not a Christian because you are on church roll. You are not a Christian because you are baptized.

You are not a Christian because all these. You are a Christian because the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed you from all unrighteousness. If there is anyone here this morning who has not experienced this way, please, please be careful.

Think of it. Jesus Christ is calling unto you, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. All right, the history of the people of Israel. You can really divide the history of the people of Israel, the Rwandans, into four stages.

Marah and Christ's Remedy for Bitterness

First of all, from the banks of the Red Sea to Sinai. From the banks of the Red Sea to Sinai. And there they were utterly, entirely under sovereign grace. The law was not given yet, and they were under sovereign grace.

All right, I'm going to take one or two experiences of their life. First, history under sovereign grace. They came to a place called Marah, and Marah in Arabic means bitter, or bitterness. This is the same word used for the mixture of vinegar and myrrh and gold given to the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, myrrh.

This is an Arabic word and a Hebrew word which means bitterness. And friends, they came to an experience in their life when there was bitterness. And I dare say I'm not a mind reader, I'm not a prophet, but I dare say there is not one single person here this morning who has not experienced the place of Marah.

Is there a Marah in your life today? Is there a Marah in your marriage experience today? Is there a Marah in your relationship with your children today? Is there a Marah in your relationship with your boss today, with your friends?

Is there a Marah in your experience today? What must you do? What can you do? To whom should you go? There's only one way to get out of Marah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Put that tree in the well of Marah and the bitter water will become sweet water.

What you need is Christ in your experience. What you need is Christ to rule in your marriage life. What you need is Christ to rule in your relationship between yourself and your children, between yourself and your friends, between yourself and your boss, between yourself and between other people.

What you need is get Christ, put Christ in between. I want to choose one experience of the children of Israel's life in the land of Palestine. Please turn with me to the Gospel of John, Chapter 2. The Gospel of John, Chapter 2.

Christ's Glory at Cana and the Joy of the Spirit

There we read that there was a wedding. Can there be anything better than a wedding? Is there any more joyful experience than a wedding? All right, it is joyful on the outside, but this was actually a time of a calamity, a calamity.

Let's just read on. Chapter 2 of John, the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage, and when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him, They have no wine.

Now, please think of yourself back in the Middle East. One of the most outstanding characteristics of the people that live in that area is hospitality. I am not making any publicity here or blowing my own horn, but I say that this is one of their outstanding characteristics.

One of the worst things that could be said against anybody in that area is to say that he is miserly. Yes, you cannot get along in life if you are a miser, or if you are spoken about as being a miser.

This is a very, very bad name to stick to any person. All right, your hospitality is not measured by how much you prepare, but by how much is left over. That's true. Remember the story of feeding the five thousand?

And we are explicitly told how many basketfuls were left over in both occasions. Twelve basketfuls or seven basketfuls. Right. This is one of the traits and the characteristics of the people. This man was getting married, and it is the responsibility of the bridegroom to provide for everything, not as you have it here.

The bridegroom provides for the reception. The bridegroom provides for the photographer, for the flower man, the florist, for the invitation card, for everything. When I was married, I was married in Egypt, so you know what happened.

But when my two daughters were married, I was married here in the States. And we don't believe in bad luck, you know. But that's what happened. This man was faced with a crisis. It was a crisis in his life.

A big crisis. A great crisis. They lack wine. They want wine. And so what could he do? What could he do in a place like this, in a time like this? It was a very tight situation. And he was faced with a place, with an experience which would leave its mark on his life all his life, all the days of his life.

And not only that, but the situation was very, very tense in Turkey. Look at verse 6. When you are thirsty in this country, you go to the fridge and get a glass of cold, refreshing water. We don't have fridges there at that time.

Until recently, the main source of supply of water was what we call the zir, a water pot which is filled from the canal. And the water is treated by various means to purify, to be purified. And then we draw water from the zir, from the water pot.

But invariably, without any exception, this water pot is made of clay. Because the clay is porous and the water oozes out and cools the water inside. I have never seen in all my life a water pot made of stone.

All water pots are made of clay for the purpose of cooling the water. Plus, can you imagine a water pot made of stone that holds about 24, 25, 26 gallons of water? How heavy it would be? How could they catch?

I can't understand how they had six water pots of stone. And the Holy Spirit is careful to mention this, that they were made of stone. Why? This is a triad. This is a state of the people's hearts, the nation of Israel's hearts, of stone.

And this is the nature of your heart by nature, my friend. If you are without Christ, you have a stony heart. And you need that stony heart to be changed. And the only way to have it changed is Jesus Christ.

They have no wine. It's a country. It's a nation. On the outside, there's a feast. There's a marriage, a wedding feast. But on the inside, it is a stony heart and empty and no wine. And you know what type the wine of?

What type the wine is? It's a type of the Holy Spirit, the joy of the Holy Spirit. Joy is not there. A nation without joy. A nation without love for the Word of God. A nation with a stony heart. I wonder if there's someone here this morning that is of the same description.

You have no joy. Joy from the outside. You smile outside. You dance outside. You laugh outside. But inside, there's nothing. There's nothing. Friends, you will not know the source of joy unless you have known Him who is our joy.

Jesus Christ, our Lord. Put Christ in His place in your heart. Is Christ Lord of your heart? Is He Lord of your life? Is He on the throne? Turn with me to the last chapter of the Bible, please. There's a beautiful picture there.

Revelation chapter 22. And let us read verse 1. What does it say? He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. I dare say we have the three persons of the Blessed Trinity there.

A river of clear water, the type of the Holy Spirit, flowing out of the throne of God, the Father, and the Lamb. The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Where does the Holy Spirit flow from? From the throne.

When Christ is on the throne of your heart, the Holy Spirit flows through you. But if Christ is not in His place, there's no joy. There's no peace. No wonder you are troubled. No wonder you are sad. No wonder you are without power.

Why? Because the Holy Spirit is not flowing through you. There is sin in your life. There is sin in my life. There is a stony heart in my bosom. Friends, get right with God today. If the Holy Spirit is putting His finger now on something in your life, or in my life, which is not according to His will, may the Lord give us grace to carry it down from His throne now and worship only Him who is worthy of worship, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I've been praying hard that this would be a place where you meet with the Lord. A horrible deed. And as you and I hear the still small voice now, may we respond. So we come to Mara. Mara, the place of bitterness.

And the only remedy is Jesus Christ, our Lord. Said they had another experience mentioned in the book of Numbers, chapter 10. It was a man by the name Hobab. H-O-B-A-B. He was the father-in-law or rather a relative of the father-in-law of Moses.

And his name is Hobab. H-O-B-A-B. And Hobab was a man who was well-experienced in the ways of the desert. And Moses was afraid of his journey in the desert. And he prayed Hobab to remain with him.

Stay, please, with us. Don't leave us because you know exactly how to go about in the wilderness. You know exactly how we go about in the wilderness. Friends, this is a weakness in leadership. A weakness in leadership.

Seeking God's Guidance in Temptation and Decision-Making

You are a Christian. How many years have you been with the Lord? 10 years? 15 years? 20 years? You are less immune to temptation? You are not immune to sin? You are exposed. As a matter of fact, we are more liable to temptation when we are in the place of victory than otherwise.

Moses had experienced great victory in the wilderness. But then he was weak there. How about the pillar of fire? How about the pillar of clouds? How about God who is walking before them, showing them the way?

He says to Hobab, please don't leave us. Is your faith weak sometimes? In the face of temptation? In the face of difficulties? What could you do? Lift up your eyes. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face.

And all these temptations will go away. May I say something to our young people? And may I say something to our Christian friends, each one of us? How would we know God's leading? Should we follow Hobab?

Or look to the Lord? And if we look to the Lord, how do we know that the Lord is leading me? I'm sure you are faced with situations when you are really not knowing whether to turn to right or left. Should I marry him?

Or her? Or no? Should I go to this way? Or that way? What should I do? I have thought of my experience with the Lord for a number of years. And I have jotted down a few steps that you could follow to know God's leading.

If God is leading you this way or that way. First of all, you can write it down if you want to. God never leads contrary to his word. You never find God leading you contrary to his word. Don't pray the Lord to show you whether you should lie or not.

Because you know the answer very well. Don't pray the Lord if you should swear or not. You know the answer very well. God never leads contrary to his will. Secondly, God does not lead all his people alike in the same way.

There is a leading, special leading for everyone. So that you will be in touch with the Lord at all times. He does not lead all his people in the same way. Thirdly, God does not lead any individual the same way all the time.

There is a special leading for a special circumstances. Always keep in touch with the Lord for free. Don't trust your emotions. Emotions are very subtle. And sometimes you think it is the Lord who is speaking to you when you are speaking to yourself.

And very often you pray, Lord, shall I marry her or not? Give me the one you choose, but give me Jeanne. Emotions are very subtle. Don't trust your emotions. Fourthly, sometimes the Lord speaks through circumstances.

Or through friends of yours that are really Christians. So seek the advice of a neutral Christian friend. Another step. There will be perfect peace when God's will is revealed to you. There will be peace.

God will give you peace when he has revealed his will to you. When he has shown you the way. If you have not had this peace yet, keep on praying. And the last step is this. When the peace has been given, shut the door.

Take it from the Lord. Act upon it. Because if you don't, this will be an insult to the Lord. Now by these ways I believe that you will be able to find God's will for you. And leading in the way of life.

Amalek, the Flesh, and Spiritual Victory

Another experience of the children of Israel in the way was Amalek in Exodus 17. They met Amalek on the way. And that was a severe test. Amalek is there all the time, my friend. The flesh is there all the time.

When you were saved, the flesh was not improved any bit. The flesh is the flesh all the time. You were saved from the wrath of God. You were saved from condemnation and punishment. But the flesh is there.

But listen. Victory over the flesh is secure. As I told you many times. I am calm that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. The more abundant life. The pull of the world is very strong.

But greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Look, there is a law in nature called the law of gravity. Here is a book in my hand. If I leave it, it will fall down. Why? Because it is drawn to the earth by the law of gravity.

Alright. The law of gravity in the spiritual sense is there. You see a bird flying in the air. You say, where is the law of gravity? This bird is flying. There is no law of gravity therefore. Yes, it is there.

I will show it to you. It comes down. Why? Why? This bird had a heart pushing the blood in its body. He has life. And as long as the heart was beating, it could defy the law of gravity and fly. Defy the law of gravity.

Through the spirit of God that lives in you, you will defy the law of gravity spiritually and keep on flying. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yes, not I. But Christ lives in me. When you allow Christ to live in you, my friend, you will experience the victory which is yours in Jesus Christ.

Numbers 20: Priesthood, Prayer, and Christ's Once-for-All Sacrifice

May I come hastily and quickly to an experience of the children of Israel. Turn with me please to Numbers chapter 20. The 20th chapter of the book of Numbers. There we have a pleasant experience. Pleasant in the way of experience for you and for me as Christians.

The people lacked water. They had no water. And they had the same experience before. And Moses was ordered to strike the rock with his stick, or rather with God's rod. A type of judgment. The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for you and for me.

When the great shepherd of the sheep, the good shepherd who was a smitten for the sheep, and the blood cleansed us from all unrighteousness. Now this time it was not a crisis of judgment. It was a crisis actually of priesthood.

Korah had rebelled against the priesthood of Aaron. And God wanted to prove who was the priest. Friends, we have a high priest that is not untouched with the feeling of infirmities as you and I are, but without sin.

And he bears us in his heart. Aaron had a breastplate on which the names of the tribes of Israel were inscribed. So they would appear before God all the time. My high priest appears before God all the time, and not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek.

His priesthood does not end. And they were ordered to take a stick each one, a rod each one. And the rod of the one which bud would be the one who was chosen of God to be the high priest. And you know the rod of Aaron budded.

Now let us come to verse 20. Verse 8. How will they get water this time? Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together. Thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye. Please note the pronoun ye. Ye in the plural sense.

Moses and Aaron. Not Moses alone. If it were Moses alone he would say you. English is not my language, but this is as much as I understand. Right. Ye. Speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth his water.

And thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock, so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. The type here is prayer. Speaking to the rock in prayer. The privilege of every Christian, everyone that knows Jesus Christ as his Savior or her Savior.

You can speak to the rock, and water will gush out. I hope you have spoken to the rock today, and speak every day. All right. What happened? Look at verse 9. And Moses took the rod. All right. There was a definite article there.

Which rod was it? This was the rod of Aaron which he budded. The priesthood. Not the rod of judgment with which he smote the rock. Not the rod with which he smote the Red Sea. That rod was the rod of judgment.

And Christ was not to be judged twice. Christ was to be crucified only once. Once and for all. With one sacrifice he perfected them that are saved. One sacrifice. Christ dies no more. What happened? He took the rod.

All right. Rod of Aaron. And verse 10 please. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and said unto them, And here now ye rebels. Must we fetch you water out of this rock?

And Moses lifted up what? His hand. And with what? His rod. Whose? Moses' rod. Not Aaron's rod. With his rod he smote the rock. Who was rebellious in this case? He said, Gather ye now ye rebels. All the people of Israel were rebels.

But do you know that Moses and Aaron too were rebels? All right. Look at verse 24. Verse 24. Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye, Moses and Aaron, rebelled.

Ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. Are you rebellious today? Why are you complaining? Of the heat? Of the worms? Of lack of something? Of the circumstances you are passing through? Of the tests that you are passing through?

Because you have not this or have not that? Why are you murmuring? Count your blessings. Name them one by one. We have a saying in Arabic. Someone was complaining because of his bad shoes. Until he had seen someone who had no legs.

He said, Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Why are you complaining, my friend? Why are you rebelling against the Lord? In everything giving thanks. For this is the will of God for you. What is the will of God for you?

I read in God's word of two things are the will of God for us. This is the will of God for you even your what? Sanctification. Your separation. This is the will of God for you even your sanctification.

That you live a separate sanctified life unto the Lord day by day. Day by day. And friends, one of the big falls in front of our young people today is lack of separation. Being not unequal with unbelievers.

Samson was a great man. A mighty man. A super man in the words of today. My son will call him super duper. He was a super man. But he became very weakly later on. Why? Why? He lowered his standards. How did he begin to lower his standards?

He fell in love with one who was not of God's people. He fell in love with her. Being not unequally yoked with non-believers. I'm sure of the argument that Samson used with his parents. I'm going to win her to my face.

What if she wins you to her face? Or to her lack of faith? What happens? There will be trouble. Friends, the Lord Jesus said to the Jews of old. Ye are of your fathers the devil. In other words, those who are unsaved are children of whom?

Of the devil. Disobedience. And if you marry that child of a devil, you will have the devil for your father-in-law. How do you like to live along with him? Your father-in-law the devil? My word. Think soberly.

Think twice. Think of it wisely, my friend. Being not unequally yoked with non-believers. For what felicity has light with darkness? Can you have light and darkness at the same time? You can never have either light or darkness.

Being not unequally yoked with non-believers. For what felicity has light with darkness? Yes, friends, this is the will of God for you, even your sanctification. And secondly, in all things, without exception, in all things, not in all things minus one, in all things giving thanks.

For this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Can you say thank you, Lord, for this sickness? Because this is thy will for me. Thank you, Lord, for this difficulty. Thank you, Lord, from the flesh.

Because I know it is thy will for me. That's why Paul could say, I therefore glory in infirmities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Then am I strong. Yes, my friend, you don't need a hobart to guide you.