The Spiritual Significance of Idols

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gen 35:1 And God said to Jacob, Rise up, go up to Bethel, and
dwell there.... (2) Then Jacob said to his household and to
all who were with him, Put away the foreign gods that are
among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments.
(3) And let us rise up and go up to Bethel, that I may make an
altar there to God...
Phil 3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose god is their
stomach, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their
minds on earthly things. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jacob told his household and all that were with him to put 
away the foreign gods that were among them....Many may claim 
that they have never had anything to do with idols. Materially 
speaking, it may be true to say that you have no idols. But we 
must know, spiritually speaking, what an idol is. An idol is 
anything that replaces God. Your education, your ambition, 
your position, your name, your desire, and your intention may 
replace God in your life and thus become idols. If you view 
the matter in this light, then you will have to admit that you 
have had many foreign gods.

People worship idols for the sake of gaining long life and 
happiness. Satan threatens people, telling them that if they 
do not worship idols, they will not have long life and 
happiness, but that if they worship idols, then they will have 
long life and happiness. Happiness includes many things: 
money, position, ambition, fame, a name. Many have idols due 
to their desire to be healthy. Why do you have something that 
replaces God? Simply because that thing may make you 
happy....Today, man has lost God and, pursuing foreign gods, 
seeks his happiness in idols. But God is our long life and 
happiness. 

How Do You Know that You Are Chosen?

Bible Verses 

Gen 25:23 And Jehovah said to her, Two nations are in your 
womb... and the one people shall be stronger than the other 
people. And the older shall serve the younger. 

Rom 9:11 Though the children had not yet been born nor had 
done anything good or bad (that the purpose of God according 
to selection might remain, not of works but of Him who calls), 
(12) It was said to her, „The greater shall serve the 
less‰....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

In Jacob, we see God's selection, the matter of Jacob's being 
chosen. Do you believe that you have been chosen? I would 
still ask this question: how do we know from our experience 
that we have been chosen by God? We know it by the fact that 
we cannot get away from Him. During the past fifty years of my 
Christian life, I have tried many times to get away from the 
Lord. I have even said to Him, „Lord, I am tired of the 
Christian life. I am running away.‰ Although I tried to run 
away, I could not do it. 

Try your best to do it, telling Him, „Lord, I don't love You 
anymore. I'm through with being a Christian.‰ You may say this 
to the Lord, but He will reply, „Are you through with Me? It's 
not up to you. You may be through, but I am not. Where shall 
you go˜to Egypt? If you go there, I'll go there to wait for 
you. When you get there, you will find that I'm already 
there.‰ We all have been trapped, and there is no escape. This 
is a strong proof that we have been chosen by God.

Isaac Being a Type of Christ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Gen 22:2 And He said, Take now your son, your only son, whom 
you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him 
there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I 
will tell you. (10) And Abraham stretched out his hand and 
took the knife to slaughter his son. 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave His only 
begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not 
perish, but would have eternal life. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Isaac typified Christ. Isaac was Abraham's only son. This 
typifies Christ as God's only Son. Isaac was Abraham's beloved 
son, and Christ was the Father's beloved Son in whom He 
delighted. ...In Genesis 22, we see that Isaac, a full-grown 
man, was obedient unto death. According to the record of this 
chapter, in the matter of offering Isaac, Abraham consulted 
neither with his wife Sarah nor with his son Isaac. Abraham 
took his son, put the wood upon him, led him up the mountain, 
bound him, and laid him on the altar. He did not give Isaac 
the opportunity to say anything. But Isaac took his father's 
will and was obedient to death. Likewise, when the Lord Jesus 
was about to die, He said, „Not as I will, but as You will.‰

Isaac was obedient unto the altar. He not only followed the 
father to the foot of the mount; he also obeyed him in taking 
up the wood and in being bound. He did not resist. Even when 
the father laid him on the altar, took the knife, and 
stretched out his hand to slay him, he did not rebel. He was 
obedient unto death. If we consider all these aspects of Isaac 
as a type of Christ as portrayed in the Old Testament, we 
shall see that they were sovereignly arranged, matching the 
clear word of the New Testament revelation. 

The Spiritual Meaning of Circumcision (1)

Bible Versus


Gen 17:10 This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

Col 2:11 In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ. 


Phil 3:3 For we are the circumcision,the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.


Words of ministry


These two verses show what circumcision is. Simply put, circumcision is the removal of the flesh. What should be the attitude of those who are circumcised? They should have no 
confidence in the flesh and should not put their trust in the flesh. Therefore, circumcision deals with man's inherent energy, his natural strength. 

The greatest problem among God's children is that they do not know what the flesh is! The flesh that many Christians know is merely related to the matter of sin. It is true that the flesh 
causes us to sin. But the flesh does not cause man to just sin. Romans 8:8 says that „those who are in the flesh cannot please God. This means that the flesh has tried to please God. Many times, the goal of the flesh may not be to try to offend God; its goal may be to try to please God. Romans 7 shows us that the flesh exerts great effort to keep the law, to do good, to do God's will, and to please God. However, it cannot make it. 

Once our flesh is circumcised, we will not believe in ourselves any longer. We will not be that full of confidence, and we will not express our opinions easily. Before the Lord, we must see that we are weak, powerless, helpless, and faltering.

Remember Lot's wife

Gen 19:17 

And when they had brought them outside, He said, Escape for your life. Do not look behind you, neither stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the hills, lest you be destroyed. (24) Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven. (26) 

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

1 John 2:28
And now, little children, abide in Him, so that if He is manifested, we may have boldness and not be put to shame from Him at His coming.

Words of Ministry

Lot's wife was saved from destruction, but she became a pillar of salt. In the form of powder, salt is useful. But when salt becomes a block, it is useless. That Lot's wife became a pillar of salt meant that she had lost her usefulness in the hand of God and had become a sign of shame. Hence, the Lord said in Luke 17:32, Remember Lot's wife, warning us that, though we are saved, at the Lord's coming back we might possibly suffer shame like Lot's wife. Although we are saved, we may become ashamed at the Lord's coming back. 

Why did Lot's wife look back? All her goods were left there in Sodom. Her interests, heart, desire, and soul were still there... She looked back to the place where she loved to live and became a sign of shame for our warning. This is not merely a story or doctrine. We see from it that in addition to the matter of salvation, there is the matter of shame. When the day of judgment arrives, will you share in the glory or in the shame? We shall not suffer perdition, for our salvation is assured. However, as this warning example indicates, we may be put to shame.

We Christians should be a rejoicing people because we always have the enjoyment of the Lord.

We Christians should be a rejoicing people because we always have the enjoyment of the Lord. If we enjoy the Lord in His riches, we will not only be joyful inwardly, but we will be rejoicing outwardly. Even in times of trouble we should and can rejoice in hope. We are not people who are without God and without Christ, having no hope (Eph. 2:12). We have God and we have Christ. So, regardless of the situation, we have hope and we can rejoice in hope.

We Christians must also be able to endure tribulation. We must be an enduring people. By rejoicing in hope we can endure any kind of tribulation. Chapter 5:3 says that we can exult in tribulation. We not only endure, but also exult in tribulation. In order to endure tribulation we need to be persevering in prayer. We need to pray persistently. This will not only enable us to endure tribulation, but also to remain in the enjoyment of the Lord, in His presence and in His will.

In addition to all this, as God's holy people, we must abhor and conquer the evil things and cleave to the good things. We Christians, who are separated unto God, must maintain the highest standard of behavior, a standard above that of moral and ethical people.

The greatest blessing

The greatest blessing is not the material blessing that the Lord will give us; but the blessing that the Lord will make us us (Rev. 3:12). Lord Jesus, transform us for Your building...