16/03/14

God will make us one stick

Ezekiel 37:19,20 - Say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand. And the sticks on which thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes.


It has been many years since I got this revelation but did not share it; I did not dare to for it is strong. Many a time I hear preachers preach on the testimony of Joseph, how God did great in his life. The thought would run in my mind, did this preacher really study Joseph? For all see parts of his life but not the whole.

There is no Israelite (the 12 sons of Jacob) in whom God did great things as much God did with and through Joseph. He started with wearing multi-coloured robe given by his father (which symbolize various understanding given to us by our fore fathers) and then at the end Pharaoh put a white rob of linen on him (symbolizing righteousness). He from no one became the most important person in the land (at that time Egyptians were the greatest power in the world). As the head of the Egyptian empire (all authority was given to him by the Pharaoh) he did lots of good work even to his own people, but then we see he was not among the people who entered the Promised Land. The Lord replaced him from the twelve. We also see a similar incident with the twelve disciples of Jesus, one of them got left out - Judas. One may ask can we compare Joseph to Judas. Judas betrayed Jesus for some money but Joseph did not betray God? Also Joseph cannot be compared to Judas for he was blessed with riches by the Lord.

Let us look at the life of Judas. He was the son of Simon the Leper whom Jesus healed so the Lord had done a great thing in the life of Judas. During the period Jesus was training the twelve we see Judas acted like the finance manager keeping the money bag with him and was allowed by Jesus to do so even after Jesus knowing that Judas was dishonest. When Judas died even though he believed in Jesus and was guilty for his wrong yet he was condemned as lost. After his death he was replaced by another among the twelve.

The OT is a shadow of spiritual things thus all things in OT were more of symbolic and we come to know the Truth when we understand what they symbolized. The Promised Land symbolized Heaven and their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land symbolized journey of people of God from a dual life (living a worldly life while knowing God) to becoming Sons of God and entering Heaven through their carrying the Ark (Cross). For without the Ark they could not cross the Jordan River (the word Jordan means inheritance / thus crossing Jordan symbolizes becoming Sons of God).

We see Joseph refuse to join his brethren to stay back in Egypt. He had forsaken his brethren for the sake of his position and his commitment to the worldly people. The promise of Heaven which was on him was given to his sons but he lost it. I saw this when I noticed something very unique about him. If we read after the death of all the Men of God or those were in the Lord when they died, it is written they were 'gathered unto their people / fathers' but only in the case of Joseph it is written that he died and that he was not gathered unto his people or fathers. But we see his bones (symbolizing his character / testimony) were taken by the people unto their journey to the Promised Land.

We as Christians are part of a large family and only those who are concern of this family will enter Heaven. That is why Jesus said unless we carry the Cross (that is gather our family unto God) we will not enter Heaven. Those who say they love God but do not love this family are hypocrites, for this family is God's family and He is their Father with the man Jesus Christ being their head Brother and Saviour.

In today's message the Lord is telling us about Ephraim (who symbolize prosperity Gospel Christians) that hold the stick of Joseph (those who love the world more the Kingdom of God but yet seek the blessings of God) and the stick of Israel (God's people), the Lord is going to make them one stick, that us unite them by renewing them.

If we look at the stages of the Church as per the 7 letters to the seven Churches, we are currently going to move from the fifth stage to the sixth stage; from the stage of evangelization to the stage when Christians come together as one, as one Church. So soon we will see Christian will no longer be known by their denomination but by their belief in Christ, having one mind, one belief and one mission.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, we thank You for the things You are going to do in your Church. Lord, let them know there is One Father, One God and one salvation in Jesus Christ therefore your people need to be one with one mission, one heart and one spirit. Unite us Lord so that You be glorified in us...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference ]
Genesis 35:29 - And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Genesis 49:33 - And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

1 Kings 2:10 - So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

1 Kings 11:43 - And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

Genesis 50:26 - So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Hebrews 11:22 - By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

Romans 15:5-6
5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 8:6 - But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

John 17:11 - And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)