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Authors: Joseph Prince

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BOOK: Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs

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Let’s first look at the account of the children of Israel as they journeyed in the wilderness. The Bible tells us that “the soul of the people became very discouraged,” and they began to murmur and complain against God and His appointed leadership, Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread” (Num. 21:4–5). Can you imagine this? God had delivered them from a life of slavery in Egypt with His mighty hand, protected them from Pharaoh’s army with a pillar of fire, and parted the Red Sea for them to pass through. Instead of being grateful, they complained and even referred to the manna from heaven as “worthless bread.”

According to the psalmist, the manna was “the bread of heaven…angels’ food” (Ps. 78:24–25). For forty years in the wilderness, God provided them with food for champions, food that kept them free from sicknesses and diseases, food that descended daily from heaven. All they had to do each morning was to collect enough for their consumption. Yet, they despised the manna.

Jesus said in today’s Scripture that the manna God gave them was a picture or type of Himself. The church today needs to be careful not to make the same mistake that the children of Israel made when they called the manna from God “worthless bread.” In many places, there is an underemphasis on Jesus Christ and an overemphasis on all sorts of doctrines and principles that can be extracted from the Word. Churches must be careful not to consider Jesus as “worthless bread” by relegating Him to the periphery of their teachings.

Anybody who doesn’t focus on Jesus Christ and His finished work has neither the power nor the wisdom of God, because the Bible says that Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:23–24). He is the true bread from heaven and only He satisfies! The devil is afraid of any church that preaches Jesus Christ on the cross because he knows that when people know how God sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for them, they will see that they have a merciful God who loves them unconditionally. They will know the truth, and the truth will set them free (John 8:32)!

Let me add one more thing. Do you know that every morning, the children of Israel had to go out to collect fresh manna? The manna could not be stored overnight for consumption the next day as it would turn stale and breed worms. Ever wondered why God didn’t just give them a week’s supply of manna? Well, it is because God wants His people to open the Scriptures every day to collect fresh manna of Jesus and be satisfied with His grace. He doesn’t want us to live on past revelations of Jesus, for His mercies are new every morning. He delights to fill your heart with His grace, peace, wisdom, and joy
every day
. Hallelujah!

Today’s Thought

Jesus is the true bread from heaven and only He can satisfy us with His grace, peace, wisdom, and joy every morning!

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You that You are the bread of life from heaven that satisfies the depths of my soul with Your grace. Thank You for inviting me to feed afresh upon Your unconditional love and tender mercies every morning. I believe that as I open Your Word daily, You will provide me with an abundance of revelations of Your grace and love for me, and delight my heart with Your fresh mercies. Amen
.

…but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God
.

1 C
ORINTHIANS
1:23–24

Taste and see that the L
ORD
is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

P
SALM
34:8
NLT

For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness
.

P
SALM
107:9

DAY 60

Jesus, the Bronze Serpent in the Wilderness

Today’s Scripture

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

J
OHN
3:14–15

T
oday’s Scripture is another example of how Jesus gives us a picture of Himself and His finished work in the Old Testament. After the children of Israel murmured and complained as described in yesterday’s reading, the Bible says that “the Lord sent fiery serpents” (Num. 21:6), and they bit the Israelites and many of them died. God punished them when they murmured against His appointed leader, Moses. Remember that this happened under the old covenant of law. Praise the Lord that in the new covenant of grace, God
will never
lift His protection over us as punishment for our sins.

The people came to Moses for help and he prayed for them. Then, the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, and “if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived” (Num. 21:8–9).

My friend, the bronze serpent on the pole is a picture or type of Jesus on the cross. But why did Jesus liken Himself to a serpent when He is not like one in any way? He is beautiful, matchless, flawless, and altogether lovely. You see, on the cross, Jesus became cursed with the curses that we deserved for our sins. He who knew no sin became sin so that you and I could go free (see 2 Cor. 5:21)! By His sacrifice on the cross, the guilty creature that brought death in the Garden of Eden became a symbol of His grace. Isn’t it like God to turn something that is so ugly into something that is so beautiful? That’s what happens when you let His grace come into your life. He takes all the ugly things in you and makes them beautiful.

Now, why a bronze serpent? Why didn’t Moses just put a real snake on the pole? Because that would have spoiled the typology. Jesus did not come in “sinful flesh.” He came in the
“likeness
of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3). There is a huge difference. Jesus knew no sin and in Him is no sin (1 John 3:5). Hence, He cannot be depicted as a real serpent. He was depicted as a bronze figure that was made in the
likeness
of a serpent.

And why
bronze?
Throughout the Bible, bronze speaks of judgment. For example, the altar of burnt offering for the animal sacrifices was made of acacia wood and overlaid with bronze. Its utensils and grate were made of bronze (Ex. 27:1–4). So to see Jesus as the bronze serpent is to see a picture of God’s judgment falling upon Jesus at the cross.

There are no insignificant details in the Bible. What God is telling us is that He does not want us to look at ourselves, our afflictions, or even our sicknesses and diseases. He wants us to look at Jesus. Just one look at Jesus on the cross bearing all our sins, curses, and judgment, and you and I will live. The bronze serpent was raised on a pole so that all the children of Israel could see it. In the same way, God lifted Jesus up on the cross for the whole world to see Him. Whosoever looks on Jesus and sees their sins, curses, and sicknesses punished on His body shall be saved. They shall be healed. They shall live! Jesus Christ and Him crucified—that is our salvation. That is our solution. That is our healing.

My friend, stop being preoccupied with yourself and your self-efforts and disqualifying yourself. Start being occupied with Jesus and His finished work. Begin to search the Scriptures for all the things concerning Jesus and feel your heart burning with the warmth of His love within you as the Holy Spirit unveils to you just how beautiful He is.

You have a wonderful Savior. Look away from your own wounds and hurts, and look to Jesus, who will save you! All you need on your part is to look and believe!

Today’s Thought

Just one look at Jesus on the cross as the bronze serpent bearing all my sins, curses, and judgment, and I will live
.

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for how the picture of the bronze serpent in Your Word shows me that I have been delivered from every sickness and curse because You were judged in my place at the cross. I can never praise You enough for choosing the cross and becoming cursed in my place because of my sins. I believe that as I keep looking to You, my wonderful Savior, I will be saved, healed, delivered, and protected, and I will reign over every challenge and bondage in my life. Amen
.

…So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins
.

R
OMANS
8:3
NLT

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone
.

H
EBREWS
2:9

DAY 61

When Your Eyes Are Opened

Today’s Scripture

The L
ORD
has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

J
EREMIAH
31:3

I
hope that teaching you the typology of Jesus as the true bread of life and the bronze serpent over the past two days has made your heart burn inside you for more of Jesus unveiled. It is my greatest privilege as a pastor to be able to meet precious believers and unveil Jesus Christ to them. There is no greater reward than to know that I have opened their eyes to see more of Jesus, His grace, His beauty, and the perfection of His work.

I received a letter from a sister named Yasmin, who lives in Texas, that reflects the transformations possible in one’s life when Jesus and His grace are unveiled to one’s heart:

Pastor Prince, my husband and I are in our late thirties and have been serving the Lord in various capacities since we were fifteen. Early in our marriage, we experienced a tumultuous crisis when we lost our son four hours after he was born. Then, I had a complete nervous breakdown several years later that lasted three months
.

We experienced so much confusion, hurt, and rejection from the church communities we were a part of that we stopped attending church altogether and haven’t been inside a church for several years. However, we never stopped worshiping the Lord, praying, and studying His Word in our own home. We realize the importance of being involved in a church, but we’ve been so afraid that we’ll be hurt again. At the same time, we felt we were disappointing God because we were not walking in the calling that He had given us in the church
.

When my husband first got hold of one of your books, all we really knew about you was what several friends had told us. Your teaching on grace awed my husband, but when he tried to explain it, I couldn’t understand it. In my mind, God had given us grace, so if we sinned or failed, shouldn’t we pay a price? We got into several heated discussions over it. I had believed that God couldn’t bless us unless we were going to and serving Him in a church
.

However, my husband was being set free from these erroneous teachings. He was patient with me and kept insisting that I give the book a chance. I am glad I did. It was a new revelation of grace for me. Many times, when he read a chapter out loud to me, I felt God’s presence and love surround me and I would cry, because He was showing me that my feelings of condemnation over the years had no merit. He had never stopped loving me. I began to see myself as a person of worth because God deemed me worthy to give up His Son for. That changed my whole outlook on life
.

Through the gospel of grace, we have received healing on so many levels. Our hearts are forever changed. Where doctors couldn’t get me to calm down without the use of medication in the past, just hearing and hearing the gospel did—effortlessly. Now, I’m able to let go into God’s hands the things that used to get me all wound up. Not only can I sleep better, but my relationship with my husband and children are so much better now too
.

My husband and I have also been healed of the past hurts we experienced at the hands of spiritual leaders. The feelings of inadequacy and the belief that God didn’t love us anymore are gone. He has never left us or forsaken us. He is the same yesterday, now, and forever
.

We’re looking forward to visiting several churches to see where God wants us to be. This progress wouldn’t have been possible without the Word of Christ that has stirred us to trust God to lead us where we need to go. We’re so grateful for the timely and powerful impact the gospel of grace has made on our lives
.

My friend, do you see what happens when you see Jesus and let the truth of the gospel of grace change the way you see God? Today, let healing and rest for your soul come as you allow your heart to be anchored on Jesus and His grace.

Today’s Thought

Healing on so many levels of my life begins to happen as I anchor my heart on Jesus and the gospel of His grace
.

BOOK: Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs

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