Dear Family,   

Today is Friday, May 1, 2020, Day 20 in our Counting toward Pentecost.  This is the 6th day of Week 3.

It is usually much more easy to see our mistakes in hindsight.  There is an old saying, “Too soon old, too late smart!”  

How privileged we are to have common mistakes, even horrendous sins, written down for us in advance so we can avoid them.  As we all know, the story of Israel in the wilderness is not just a fairy tale.  It was a real life and death struggle for those individuals.  Let us not take their struggles for granted.  We will meet them in the resurrection.  And, for many of us, they are blood relatives.

From our vantage point, it might be very easy to judge them harshly.  True, they sinned, and they sinned BIG!  However, the same forces we face daily were there with them in the wilderness.  

I am speaking of the influences of Satan, the enemy of God and His people.  Without the Spirit of God, they easily succumbed.  Without the Spirit of God, it is inevitable that we will succumb also, given enough time and temptations.  The answer for us is very close at hand.  God is liberal and openhanded toward each of us.  He has already invested His most precious treasure – Jesus.  He will withhold nothing that is good for us (1 Peter 1:3 and Romans 8:35-39).  He will give the Holy Spirit to His children that ask Him.  

Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?

Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?

Because we are still in human flesh, Dear Family, we will continue to make mistakes and sins even with God’s Spirit.  Yet, a righteous man gets up, repents, receives forgiveness, and moves on with joy and thankfulness for God’s incredible grace.  Through the sacrifice and love of the Godhead we are already more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.Let us be thankful for the price paid to give us advance warning of common temptations.  Let us move forward as victors.  God bless you with spiritual vision and His supernatural strength to find His complete will in your life and do it! 

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,   

Today is Thursday, April 30, 2020, Day 19 in our Counting toward Pentecost.  This is the 5th day of Week 3.

God’s people wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years.  We are currently counting out 50 days of their long, experience.  It was a very important time for Israel.  They were on their way to Mt. Sinai, to the official beginning of God’s marriage covenant with them.  

How did God’s people come to be in the wilderness?  It’s a story that goes back many years to Abraham, to God’s testing of him, and to promises God made to him.

God personally selected the physical descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob to be His special people.  And, though they rebelled and He has corrected them severely through the millennia, He has selected that physical people alone to be His – for His purposes.  God never chose another nation to take their place.  The book of Romans, especially chapter 11, tells much about their future, and how they will be restored. 

Romans 11:1-2, 26 (1) I say then, Hath God cast away His people?  God forbid.  For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.  (2) God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew.   (26) And so, all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

In the same way God has chosen US, the spiritual descendants of Abraham, to be His special spiritual people now.   He provides all that this spiritual people need to answer His call, to choose all that is right, and to be made faithful.  

2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

Our movement toward Pentecost is eternally important to us individually.  We want to be ready for whatever God has prepared for us.

One way to prepare is to make special note of what the Bible specifically says.  To make this day (and others as well) count, let us turn our minds and hearts to the fathers and to the words of God’s servant, Moses, who foreshadowed the work of Jesus Christ.  The book of Malachi tells us God desires for us to do this.  We will prosper by looking both to our physical fathers and to our spiritual fathers.

Malachi 4:4-6 (4) Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. (5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: (6) And He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

May God show us more of what it means to turn the hearts.  I believe we can begin by more in-depth study about the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Let’s do Bible studies on these people and share our most profitable lessons. 

God bless you richly as we move forward in His will!

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,   

Today is Wednesday, April 29, 2020, Day 18 in our Counting toward Pentecost.  This is the 4th day of Week 3.

The time line of Israel’s trip to Mt. Sinai is 50 days from Wavesheaf offering to the Commandments and the Covenant God made with Israel.  And, we count each day and week.  I know this year, the counting of each day and week is having a positive impact on my thinking.  I pray you are being edified as well! 

During this third week, Israel could drink freely of the abundant waters and rest in the cool shade of oasis palms.  And yet, during this time of refreshing, was there revelation and education?  Was there storing up for the journey ahead?  We have no indication that God talked to Moses.  At least, there are no Biblical accounts of it happening.  The pillar of fire and cloud did not move for a number of days.    

There are only a few verses that discuss the events of Elim.  Perhaps Israel was being allowed to do what ever it was they desired.  We simply do not know what they did with their time.  There were tests and challenges ahead for Israel.  A wise Israelite would have redeemed the time!

What can we learn from this part of Israel’s experiences? How will we use our time?  Can we make each day count?  

We certainly believe we live in the last days.  We just don’t know how many days we have before the coming of our Savior opens a new era in God’s plan.  We live in an evil world, and we know from prophecies that very trying times are ahead.  

Let us be wise spiritual Israelites!  Of all people, we need to be redeeming the time.  And, the most profitable time of all is that spent in God’s presence, praying continually, thanking Him, praising Him, learning and living His way, and sharing it with others as God provides opportunity.

Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

God bless you with a peaceful life, full and running over with spiritual profit for His honor and glory!

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,   

Today is Tuesday, April 28, 2020, Day 17 in our Counting toward Pentecost.  This is the 3^rd day of Week 3.

At Elim the Israelites found 12 springs of water or wells and 70 palm trees.  It is interesting to notice these specific numbers.  Through the centuries, Bible students have suggested symbolic meaning to these numbers.  While the parallels are clearly in the Bible, the Bible does not draw any direct relationship between these circumstances.  However, these remarkable parallels are worthy of a brief review during our count toward Pentecost.

There were 12 tribes of Israel with 70 elders appointed by Moses.  These elders prophesied when God’s Spirit rested on them. And, these 70 were allowed closer to Mt. Sinai than the general population of Israel.  These 12 and 70 may correspond in some way to the 12 disciples Jesus sent forth as Apostles, and to the 70 disciples He sent out two-by-two as teachers during His earthly ministry.  Each of these groups of 12 and 70 were men God used to spiritually lead and feed His people.  

Here are a few scriptures indicating the two sets of 70.

Numbers 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

Exodus 24:1 And He said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.

Luke 10:1,17 (1) After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come.   (17) And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name.

There are many mysteries in the Book God wrote to us.  In time we will understand all things, and all mysteries will be finished.  Meantime, let’s submit ourselves to God as He leads us.  We are still under God’s watchful care, and we are receiving His blessings daily.  Enjoy these times of refreshing that surely have come from God’s presence (Acts 3:19).

God bless us all with peace and unity!

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family,   

Today is Monday, April 27, 2020, Day 16 in our Counting toward Pentecost.  This is the 2nd day of Week 3.

In Week 3 we find the children of Israel in a new location.  They had traveled from Rameses on the 15^th day of the first month, through the Red Sea, into the wilderness of Shur to Marah, and then on to Elim.  They stayed in Elim for some time, and they found it very pleasant.  They finally left Elim on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt (Exodus 16:1).

Once Israel left Elim and headed into the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, they were going to have additional hardships and complaints.  Yet, for a time, the oasis at Elim provided a great time of refreshing.  The oasis, only a few miles from Marah, was provided not just for good water.  They had received sweet water by a miracle at Marah.

Elim means strength and can stand for things that are strong.  While Israel was at Elim regaining physical strength, they could have been strengthened by God.   After we have gone through trouble, testing, and suffering for a while, God certainly wants to strengthen us.

1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Notice why and how God strengthens us.  It is by His might and His power, and it is UNTO all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.

Colossians 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

God wants us to be strengthened by His Word and by His presence in our lives.  He wants us to recognize that He IS the strength of our lives.

Psalm 27:1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

God wants us to recognize Who and What He is, in all His glorious splendor.  He reveals Himself to us bit by bit.  God’s process takes us from strength to strength.  And, all along the journey, He wants us to love Him.

Psalm 18:1 I will love Thee, O LORD, my strength.                                                                           Psalm 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. 

May God bless you richly by revealing Himself to you in His strength in our time of peace and refreshing.  I love you all!

Psalm 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family, 

Today is Sunday, April 26, 2020, Day 15 in our counting toward Pentecost.  This is the 1st day of Week 3, and the beginning of Elim.

The experiences of Marah, the murmuring, the testing, the proving, and the promise of healing to Israel were all part of God’s Master Plan for His people.  During this third week God lifted the cloud and moved forward, taking Israel just 10-12 miles down the journey to an oasis where they found twelve water springs and seventy palm trees.  The waters at Elim were sweet; however, the testing and proving continued.  Lessons abound even when times move from severe testing under hardship to testing under more pleasant conditions.

Exodus 15:27-16:1 (27) And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters. (1) And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 

Many different experiences happened this week.  It should prove to be an exciting week of studying and learning.

May God bless you with sweetness and a continuing awareness of His covering in your lives as we begin another week.

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family, 

Today is Sabbath, April 25, 2020, Day 14 in our counting toward Pentecost.  This is the 7th day of Week 2; and, the completion of our second week.

As we end this second week of counting, let us use our time wisely and search for lessons to bring us closer to God’s perfect will in our lives.  We can learn much from the Churches described in Revelation.  Today, let’s turn our attention to the second Church in a series of seven for a valuable lesson in discipleship.

The New Testament Church in Smyrna was some 30-40 miles from Ephesus.  The city exists today as Izmir in Turkey.  Anciently, it was a city where there was no tolerance for the faithful Believers.   Polycarp, one of the early Church martyrs, was Bishop in Smyrna.  He was burned because he refused to curse our Savior, worship Caesar, or call him Lord.  

The name Smyrna means myrrh, a very fragrant, resinous herb that is crushed to make it useful.   The herb was used for embalming and as a pain killer.  The Church in Smyrna was the “crushed” and persecuted Church.  In His message to the second Church described in Revelation, our Savior reminded Believers that He had been subjected to persecution.  He had been dead and was now alive!  In Smyrna the Believers loved not their lives unto the death. 

Revelation 2:8-11 (8) And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; (9) I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. (10) Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (11) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. 

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

It is important that every Believer come to understand that suffering and being “crushed” does not mean that God does not love us. 

Romans 8:35-39 (35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  (36) As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  (37) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  (38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Could it be some Believers think we will escape suffering and persecution? Scripture says otherwise. Paul wrote to Timothy and explained that persecution would accompany living godly in Jesus.  And, Paul told the Corinthians that suffering worked an eternal weight of glory.  In effect, it matures the Believer.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Dear Family, be comforted by the fact that God does not take any of our suffering lightly. He even keeps our tears in a bottle. Not even one tear goes unnoticed or wasted. He is greatly moved by our sufferings.  Jesus knows firsthand!

Psalm 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?

Also, be comforted knowing that no suffering is worthy to be compared to the glory that awaits. 

 Romans 8:18, 28 (18) For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us…. (28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. 

1 Peter 1:6-7 (6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: (7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Satan is the enemy, persecutor, and accuser of the Believers, however, God uses his actions to work for good.  In fact, in the early Church, persecution served to actually spread the gospel. 

 Acts 8:3-4 (3) As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.  (4) Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

Instead of slinking away in fear, hearing of the persecution of other Believers only caused the more timid to become bold. 

Philippians 1:14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Tribulation is an element God has built into the process of our entering the Kingdom of God.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Acts 14:19-22 (19) And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. (20) Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. (21) And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, (22) Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

God bless you with the faithfulness, diligence, and hope required to inherit all God has planned for you!  We need to pray fervently for one another.  I love you all!

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family, 

Today is Friday, April 24, 2020, Day 13 in our counting toward Pentecost.  And, this is the 6th day of Week 2.   

Through our studies this week, we have seen God’s sovereignty over circumstances.  In God’s leading, He makes no mistakes.  We have seen the principle of God’s proving His people and blessing them with abundant, undeserved grace.  And, we have seen God take the bitter and make it sweet.  All of these are principles of how God deals with His people.

The word bitter is used throughout the Bible, and the context is always related to some pain or suffering, for example:                                                                                                                             

• Israel had suffered bitter bondage in Egypt.  And, the bitter waters of Marah could not quench their thirst. 
• Job said his plight was bitter. (Job 7:11 and Job 23:2).   
• Naomi described her circumstances as bitter. Ruth 1:20, And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 
• Solomon described the bitter effect of a treacherous woman in Ecclesiastes 7:26, And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands…. 

And, there are many others in the Old Testament as well as in the New.  In the book of James, an interesting question is posed: James 3:11, Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?  From our study of the bitter water of Marah, our answer must be, absolutely not; and yet, God can work His miracle.  God can change bitter water, bitter lives, and bitter hearts!

What causes God to respond and make the bitter sweet? Moses turned to God.  The process of bitter being turned into sweet begins with our doing the same thing Moses did.  He cried out to the LORD.  He did not join the Israelites in their useless, faithless complaint. And, God showed Moses the answer.  

God will show us the answers to the bitter spots in our lives, too.  It’s just far too easy to complain and blame.  However, the answer is so simple for true and faithful Believers.  They cry out to God, and He shows them the answer.  Even when we humans have a small part to do in relieving our own suffering, we must recognize the miracle, the supernatural intervention, that God is accomplishing right before our eyes. 

May God bless you and your family with sweetness!

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family, 

Today is Thursday, April 23, 2020, Day 12 in our counting toward Pentecost.  And, this is the 5th day of Week 2.   

Undoubtedly, the trip to the Promised Land from Egypt could have been much shorter than 40 years if the point was only to place Israel in the land flowing with milk and honey.  Of course, we know God had more in mind, and a great deal of that was for those of us at the end of this age (1 Corinthians 10:6).  Maybe the trip was more than a journey; maybe it was a well-conceived process.

Some have estimated the journey from Egypt to Canaan could have been as short as 11 days.  Yet, as we know, the trip was not by a direct, concise route.  And, the trip to Mt. Sinai could certainly have been made in less time than the approximate 7 weeks, if God had willed it to be so.  

Looking at a map for a straight-line route, we guess the distance to Canaan is somewhere in the 240-250-mile range.   And, even less distance to Mt. Sinai. 

As humans, we might have reason to wonder about the circuitous routes.  It might seem reasonable to blame inept human leadership for the arduous, complicated circumstances that occurred in the desert except for obvious, supernatural interventions and signs.  Let us always remember that the Israelites were accompanied and/or led by a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day.  

Luminous at night, the pillar of fire would have been hard to miss and difficult to ignore. It is first mentioned before Israel crossed the Red Sea.   It may have been with Israel in Rameses, but Scripture mentions it first at Succoth to Etham. 

Exodus 13:20-22 (20) And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.  (21) And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: (22) He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.   

It is mentioned again in Exodus 14:19-20, 24 and Numbers 9:21-22.

What did this pillar mean to Israel?  At the very least, it meant that God was with them, leading them, and protecting (Exodus 14:19-20) them.  The cloud was a covering spread by God, and the fire provided light in the night.

Psalm 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

When the pillar (fire or cloud) rose, Israel moved.  When it rested, they camped. It remained with Israel in all their journey, and disappeared somewhere near Canaan’s borders. 

Exodus 40:34-38 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregations, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.  For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Paul described Israel’s relationship to the cloud as a baptism.  

1 Corinthians 10:1-2 (1) Moreover, Brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; (2) And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

Surely the cloud and fire signified God’s presence to Israel.  They associated it with God’s presence, power, and glory. There are many verses to show this connection.  Let’s look at two.

Exodus 16:10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

Numbers 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders….”

I often contemplate the issues of being consistently in God’s presence, being covered by His constant protection, and being taught truth by His Word (John 17:17).  After all, God’s Spirit is within those of us who are begotten, we are covered by His name, and God promises the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (c.f. John 16:13 and John 14:17).  

There are so many obvious parallels between ancient Israel and the Church today.  Israel behaved frequently as if God was no where around.  How aware are we of God’s divine presence in our lives?

May God bless you with an on-going and growing consciousness of God’s presence in your life!  We love you and ask you for prayers.

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God

Dear Family, 

Today is Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Day 11 in our counting toward Pentecost.  And, this is the 4th day of Week 2.   

Thus far, Israel has moved from Egypt, through the Red Sea, and out into a desert wilderness.  God told Moses to document “their goings according to their journeys.”  Notice the verses that document their movements thus far in Numbers 33.  

Verse 3, they departed from Rameses on the 15^th day of the first month (ABIB)

Verse 5, they removed from Rameses and pitched in Succoth

Verse 6, from Succoth, the pitched in Etham at the edge of the wilderness

Verse 7, from Etham, they turned to Pihahiroth

Verse 8, from Pihahiroth, they went through the Red Sea, and pitched in Marah

The route the Israelites took is named, but the actual locations today are disputed.  However, looking at maps and satellite images may help make Israel’s journey more memorable to us as we count toward Pentecost.

http://www.genesisfiles.com/Maps/SinaiMt/Sina_MapFrameSet.htm is a great satellite image of the entire Sinai peninsular.  Rameses and Mt. Sinai are marked, as well as a few significant camp sites.  To access this website, you may be able to simply place the cursor on the web address and click enter on your computer.  To return to this email, just hit the back button.  You may have to type in the entire web address.

God bless you!  

Ben Faulkner
© Copyright 2020, Church of the Sovereign God