As discussed in the previous blog post, God’s Kingdom is eternal and God’s Word is settled forever. No one and nothing can change that. No one stands above God, not even the fallen angel Lucifer. Satan can attack the Word and steal and destroy the words of God through his lies, yet he can’t change anything about the truth of God’s Word and His will. God’s Word is the truth and therefore the Word is reliable. Dié, who put their trust in God and His Word will not be ashamed and disappointed, on the contrary. Every word of God, which is written in the Bible has come to pass and still comes to pass. The Word is the truth and it possesses life. God’s Word brings deliverance to those, who believe in the Word and obey the Word, and do what the Word says. Let’s look at how God’s Word brings deliverance.
God rejected through disobedience to His Word
In the Old Covenant the people, wat uit die nageslag van Jakob gebore is (Israel) and through natural birth belonged to God’s people, often brought evil upon themselves because of their ongehoorsaamheid aan God and His Word and their evil works.
Because of their rebellion and disobedience to God, God delivered them into the hands of the pagan nations and they were taken into exile by the Gentiles and lived in bondage (Lees ook: The mischief the people bring upon themselves).
Although the people were responsible for their apostasy, it happened many times, that the kings (rulers) of the people turned away from the law of Moses and left God se manier by rejecting the words of God and wandering from God and leading the people astray and engaged them in their apostasy and their evil works.
They made covenants with the pagan nations, took their women, adopted their culture and customs, and brought their idols into their land, and bowed before the pagan idols.
They placed the idols in the temple, set up high places, sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places to these idols, and did all those things which were evil in the eyes of the Lord.
They didn’t show God that they loved Him through their obedience to His Word and their righteous works. In plaas daarvan, they showed God through their disobedience to His Word and their evil works, that they despised God and His Word (O. Josua 23:16, Judges 2:12; 20-21, 3:8, 10:17, 1 Konings 14:7-16, 16:7-33, Jesaja 5:24-25).
Because by allowing these idols into their land and adopting the pagan religion, rituele, and practices and all those things, which God had forbidden through His Word, they actually showed God that He was not good enough for them and that God could not give them what they wanted and needed.
God didn’t meet the expectation of His people
God didn’t meet their expectation. They didn’t find with God what they did find with these pagan idols. Therefore they served these idols and bowed down before them, by doing what they commanded them to do and by sacrificing to them (Lees ook: Die verwagting van mense).
Because of the fact that they had left and rejected God and His Word and became infidels by committing adultery with the pagan nations, by adopting their culture, godsdiens (paganism), Doeane, gewoontes, en leefstyl, and by taking their women unto themselves and by bowing down for idols and submitting to them, God delivered them into the hands of these pagan nations, whom they admired and from whom they had adopted and appropriated everything.
Through their disobedience to God and His Word and their deeds, they brought mischief upon themselves. God was not responsible for that, but they were responsible (O. Judges 2:14, 3, 6:1, 13:1, 2 Konings 13:3, 17:20).
God brought deliverance through His Word
Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. Dan roep hulle tot die Here in hulle benoudheid, and He saveth them out of their distresses. He sent His Word, en hulle genees het, en hulle verlos van hulle verderf (Psalms 107:17-20).
But every time, the people of God called upon God in their distress and showed remorse over their disobedience and their iniquities and sin, which went against the will of God, God heard their call and answered their call through His Word and delivered them.
God appointed judges and kings and spoke through the mouths of His prophets to His people and made the way of deliverance known to them.
Through His Word and the obedience of the people to His Word, God delivered His people from the oppression and power of the pagan nations.
This wasn’t a one-time event, but this happened several times.
There were kings, who feared God and obeyed His Word and walked in His ways and did right in the eyes of the Lord and there were kings, who didn’t fear God and didn’t obey His Word and left His Word and His ways and did those things which were evil in the eyes of the Lord.
But God’s hand was never too short to deliver His people if they truly regret their sins and iniquities and repented of their evil way.
Sien, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity (Jesaja 59:1-4).
Jesus; the Word proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord
Jesus; die woord, came to the earth to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and not to judge mankind, because His time to judge on the Day of Judgment had not come yet.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God (Jesaja 61:1-2)
And there was delivered unto Him (Jesus) the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; Hy het My gestuur om die gebrokenes van hart te genees, om verlossing aan die gevangenes te verkondig, en herstel van sig vir blindes, om hulle wat gekneus is, vry te stel, Om die aanvaarbare jaar van die Here te verkondig (Lukas 4:17-19)
Jesus was sent to the people of God to give them the opportunity to be delivered from the power of darkness and the dominion of death by making the Kingdom of God known to them and calling them to repentance and the putting away of sin and to believe, obey and do the words of God and to finish the perfect work of redemption for mankind through His redemptive Werk aan die kruis.
Jesus commanded the people to have Geloof in god and repent of their sins and be gedoop and obey the words of God.
Jesus fulfilled the law of God on earth
Jesus didn’t come to change the words of God nor to annul the words of God. Jesus didn’t change anything about the words of God, considering Jesus was the living Word of God. Jesus walked in obedience to the words of God and fulfilled every word, which God had spoken and so Jesus fulfilled the law of God op aarde.
Jesus knew exactly, who would believe His words and obey and do His words and who wouldn’t.
Hy het geweet, who was willing to lay down his own lives and follow Him and who wasn’t.
Daarom, Jesus wasn’t concerned with those, wat aan God se volk behoort het, but were full of pride and had justified themselves and relied on their own intellect and skills.
But Jesus had compassion and was concerned with the lost sheep of God’s people, who were rejected by the proud and self-righteous people and lived in bondage and needed Jesus the Healer to deliver them and make them whole (Lees ook: Was Jesus 'n Vriend van tollenaars?).
En so, Jesus went to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and spoke the words of God, and delivered them from the power of the devil.
Jesus delivered them and commanded them to sin no more, but instead obey the words of God. Hence they wouldn’t come under the authority of the devil through sin and bow to the devil through obedience to his words and his will and make the devil lord of their lives and give him access and the ability to reign in their lives.
God sent His Word and made them whole
By Jesus’ dying at the cross, Sy bloed, and His resurrection of the dead, Jesus brought deliverance to jy val. Jesus made a way for fallen man to be restored to his original position and be reconciled with God.
Jesus sanctified the people and made them righteous by faith in Him and through regeneration. Jesus; die woord, healed them, which means that He restored (repaired) mankind in his position and made them whole (O. 2 Kronieke 30:17-20, Psalms 107: 20, Jesaja 6:10)
Deur geloof in Jesus Christus; the Word and through regeneration; die dood van die vlees en die opstanding van die gees uit die dood, the new man was reconciled with God.
By becoming born again in Jesus Christ, the new man was able to have a relationship with God through His Word and His Spirit.
Eers, God’s work of redemption was only meant for those, who were born of the seed of Jacob and belonged through natural birth to God’s carnal people.
But because of their fall and because of the goodness and the grace of God, salvation came to the Gentiles (Romeine 11:11).
The Gentiles had also been given the ability to be redeemed from the power of the devil by faith in Jesus Christ and through regeneration be transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God (Col 1:12-14).
Through the rebirth in Christ, there is no difference anymore between those, who are born of the seed of Jacob (Israel) and those, who are born of the seed of the Gentiles. Because everyone, who is born again in Jesus Christ and has identified himself with Him, has become a son of God and belongs to His Church (Galasiërs 3:26-28, Kolossense 3:10-11).
Jesus; the Word still brings deliverance
Want ek skaam my nie vir die evangelie van Christus nie: want dit is die krag van God tot redding vir elkeen wat glo; aan die Jood eerste, en ook vir die Grieks. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: soos dit geskryf is, The just shall live by faith (Romeine 1:16-17)
Although Jesus hasna die hemel opgevaar het and is seated on the mercy seat at the right hand of God, Jesus, the Word of truth, still delivers and still makes people whole.
The hand of God is still not too short to deliver. His Word still possesses the same power of God unto salvation to everyone, Wie glo. But you have to believe first.
Just like the carnal people of God in the Old Covenant had to believe and trust in His words first and act according to His words.
Although we live in new covenant; a better covenant that is not sealed with the blood of animals but with the blood of Jesus; die woord, God has not changed. This means that His Word and His will have not changed.
Through faith and regeneration in Christ, we live in a better covenant, in which mankind no longer lives in bondage through his flesh under the power of darkness and sin and death, but lives in bondage through his spirit that is raised from the dead under the power of God and His light and life through Christ Jesus.
Jesus the Word is the Truth and He still brings deliverance to those, who live under the power and authority of the kingdom of darkness and are looking for deliverance.
The Way of deliverance
Many people are looking for deliverance, but are often looking in the wrong places and enter occult ways. But there is only one Way of deliverance and that is through Jesus Christ; die lewende Woord, en deur sy bloed.
Jesus Christ alone is the Way, die waarheid, en die Lewe (John 14:6 (Lees ook: Is there only one way to salvation?)).
Only by faith in Jesus Christ; die lewende Woord, en Sy bloed, and through regeneration people can be delivered from the power of darkness, by laying down the flesh in which the power of darkness rules and by the resurrection of the spirit from the death, be transferred into the Kingdom of God and be reconciled with God (Kolossense 1:14-16).
As long as you walk after the Spirit in obedience to Jesus Christ; the Word and live according to the Word, after your repentance and after being born again, you will stay delivered and live in freedom from Him; die woord, en die koninkryk van God.
‘Wees die sout van die aarde’
