Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

Everything God said we will do  "So Moses went to the people and told them everything GOD had said--all the rules and regulations. They all answered in unison: "Everything GOD said, we'll do." (Exod.24.3)  It smacks of arrogance, thinking you can do everything God said to do on your own. But in reality we know the difference was the case. In fact, the Apostle cried out, "what I want to do, I do not do, who shall deliver me from this body of sin"   "I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway." (Rom. 7.19) We all at some point desire to do one thing but ended up doing another. We must come to the place where we realize that it is not of him that runs but God Who shows mercy.  The children of Israel ended up not doing what God wants them to do. And most of them died in the wilderness.  "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my abse...

Only Moses approached God  "Only Moses will approach GOD. The rest are not to come close. And the people are not to climb the mountain at all." (Exod.24.2)  They all climbed the mountain but "only Moses will approach God." It was not enough to climb the mountain, you need to be able to approach God. The Bible says the others worshipped from a distance  "They will worship from a distance; only" (Exod.24.1)  But God does not want us to worship from a distance. He wants us to approach God. The Apostle Paul tells us to come boldly to the throne of GRACE, to walk up right to him...  "So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help." (Heb.4.16 MSG)  The blood of Jesus made access to the Father available so we can not only climb the mountain and worship from a distance but that we are able to approach God and take what He also is ready to give.  Don't come to church and not come to God, don'...

Climb the mountain to GOD  "He said to Moses, "Climb the mountain to GOD, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. They will worship from a distance; only" (Exod.24.1)  Moses was not a young man, we know that when he ran from Egypt he was forty years old and by the time he returned to Egypt as a deliverer, it was forty year after. So he was over eighty years old by this time he was required to climb this mountain to God. And he was not only willing but was also obedient  What mountain are you climbing to get to God? What sacrifice are you putting in? Moses and his colleagues were willing to climb that mountain. You too must be willing to climb your mountain.  Everyone's mountain may be different but you must be willing to put in the time and effort to get to God. In our day and age, God is not far from us and the mountain is not physical. The Bible says...  "... Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Chr...

A fighting chance "I won't get rid of them all at once lest the land grow up in weeds and the wild animals take over. Little by little I'll get them out of there while you have a chance to get your crops going and make the land your own." (Exod.23.29 - 30) The first man that God created was a grown man, he did not learn the growth process. So when he sinned, he was busy blaming everyone else but himself. Process helps us eliminate the blame game, it helps us focus on ourselves instead of putting the focus on others.  So when Israel left Egypt and was entering the promised land God says to them that He will not get rid of all the enemies all at once. This was to give the children of Israel a fighting chance, to teach them process, to make them see their strength and weaknesses, to see what areas of treat and what opportunities they were ready to take advantage of.  It is not much different for you and I. God says, "Little by little... " You'll take one st...

Pay the devil no attention  "Listen carefully to everything I tell you. Don't pay attention to other gods--don't so much as mention their names." [Exod.23.13] We tend to give too much credit to the devil. When things happen that we do not think God has done, we are quick to attribute this to the devil. But in our text today, God instructs us to first listen carefully to everything He tells us, and then He says we should not pay attention to other gods, to the point that we're not to even mention their names.  Why do we mention their names? I think it's because we have not done the first part very well. If we listen carefully to everything God tells us, we will not even have any space left for other gods. The Apostlic Paul says it this way, "Let the word of God dwell richly in you". The Psalm says, "Your word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against You"  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching an...

Good eyes We cann ot overemphasis the importance of the eyes to the body. Jesus said that the eyes is the light of the body and that if your eye is single your body is full of light but contrasted it with when the eye is evil, the body is full of darkness.  "The light of the boady is thze eye: therefore when thine eye is is singles, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness." (Luke.11.34)  Jeremiah the prophet also talked about the eyes. When God asked the prophet what he saw and the prophet declared what he saw, God affirmed it, saying "Good eyes".  "GOD's Message came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah and h?" I said, "A walking stick--that's all." And God OD said, "Good eyes! I'm sticking with you. I'll make every word I give you come true." (Jer.1.11 - 12 MSG)  Meaniz s ng God wants us to have good eyes, God wants us to see things the way He sees things. G...

Be neighbourly  "No murder. No Adultery. No stealing. No lies about your neighbor. (Exod.20.13 -16 MSG ) As I read through these scriptures, the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 comes to mind. Jesus telling the story, showed us that it was not the one closest to man but the one who saw to the recovery of the injured man that was his neighbour.  "Looking for a loophole, he asked, "And just how would you define "neighbor'?" "Jesus answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. "A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him." (Luke.10.29 -33) ...

Honour is for parents  "Honor your father and mother so that you'll live a long time in the land that GOD your God, is giving you." (Exod.20.12)  Parents hold a special place in our hearts. Whether they are still with us physically or just in our memories. When we remember the fun moments we shared, it's always nostalgic.  That's why I am sure God asked us to honour our parents - our fathers and mothers. Because everything good we ever become we owe to our parents. It is true that this verse speaks of biological parents but by extension other forms of parents too - everyone who has guided and guarded us, molding us into who we have become.  God says when we honour our parents, we will live long in the earth. This is the number secret to longevity. I see and hear emphasis placed on eating healthy and living right, putting in the time to exercise and all that. And that is all good. But nothing guarantees you longevity as much as honouring your parents do.  Malachi...

Work six days  "Work six days and do everything you need to do." (Exod.20.9)  Work six days and do everything you need to do. Work is very important to God. A lot of people say they are looking for work, but really, what they are looking for is not work but money. Why do I say that you may ask. I say that because everywhere you look there is work. Work is anything that betters the earth, that improves on what God has done.  The illustration of God not giving us furniture comes in handy here. God gave us trees. Man takes the tree and makes furniture out of it. That is work. Every endeavour or professiob of man, should be geared toward the betterment of the earth. If all your work gives you is money, then you are not achieving your potential yet. Your work should better the earth. And by the earth, I mean everyone in it.  So God says to the children of Israel, six days you are to work and do all that you need to.  What is your work? Work is deeper than just a job....

Observe the sabbath  "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exod.20.8)  It is important to observe a sabbath. The sabbath means rest. It points back to the creation story of how on the seventh day God rested from all His works and instituted a rest for everyone of us to follow.  This is not necessarily about a day but that you must find the rest that your body needs to recuperate and refresh and find the strength you need to keep you going stronger in God. It is not about a day because the Apostle Paul tells us that each person values a day as each person's conscience convinces them.  "Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience." (Rom.14.5)  But it is about resting. For in rest and quietness you will find your strength. And to you who are trouble, rest with us.  "F...

gods in human form No other gods, only me. No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim." (Exod.20.3 - 4) I imagined that if this passage of scripture had been penned in this day and age, there would be quite a number of things that would have been added to the list of things that should not be made as gods. I imagine among other things, the mobile phone would have been among that list. Simply because of the fact that, this little gadget we carry about has taken more of our time than any other gadget in history.  God say we should have no other god, not in shape, size or form beside him.  How much time do we give to God? What do you inadvertently call god without calling it god? You say it's not important? Hear what God says through the prophet : "Isn't it true that a son honors his father and a worker his master? So if I'm your Father, where's the honor? If I'm your Master, where's the res...

Out of the life of slavery  "I am GOD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a life of slavery." (Exod.20.2)  Jesus told his disciples that they were in the world but not of the world. It is similar to what God told Moses and the children of Israel in Exodus 20.2. God made the distinction between the land of Egypt and the life of slavery. Meaning though the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, not everyone in Egypt was a slave.  God went further to say He was God but not just any other person's God but your God. And that He brought you out of the land of Egypt. Symbolic of the world system today. That is to say that you do not belong to the system of this world, you do not do things the way they do, you do not have the same value systems. You are in the world but not of the world.  Moat importantly, He say that He has brought them out of the life of slavery. God intent for you is to live a life of freedom, where  you are not a slave to a...

Fully Prepared  GOD said to Moses, "Go to the people. For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy GOD. Have them scrub their clothes so that on the third day they'll be fully prepared, because on the third day GOD will come down on Mount Sinai and make his presence known to all the people." (Exod.19.10-11)  God had instructed Moses to get the people ready in two days and that in the third day He God was going to meet with the people only when they are fully prepared. That shows us that there may be a difference between being ready and being fully prepared.  Being ready may just be the process that leads one to being fully prepared. The things one needs to be, do, and have in order for one to be fully prepared. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: "I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to ...

Ready to meet God  "GOD said to Moses, "Go to the people. For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy GOD. Have them scrub their clothes" (Exod.19.10)  Have them scrub their clothes? What is the significance of clothes as we prepare to meet our God. Though this speaks figuratively of Israel, telling the people to ready themselves as they prepare to meet  their Holy God.  Are you ready to meet God?  God gives Moses two days to get the people to ready themselves and on the third day He meets with them. Jesus died on the cross and in three days rose and thus readied us to meet with God.  We know there was nothing they could do that will ready them to meet with the Holy God on a consistent basis. This was why Jesus had to die for us to ready us to meet with our God on a regular basis. So now we can meet with Him in fellowship - which was the primary reason God had asked Moses to tell the people to ready themselves. God described Himself as Hol...

Competent men/women  "And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men--men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible--and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten." (Exod.18.21)  There are always competent people around us but to find them we need to keep a sharp eye out for them. Competency may begin with the ability to get things done but it does not end there.  Moses helped us identify some of the other attributes that should come with competency.  These include, the fear of God - what does it mean to have the fear of God? Proverbs tells us that it is to depart from evil and do good.  Next on the list is integrity. It means to be whole, that is, not fragmented. It means you are in the dark where nobody can see you what you said you are in the light where everybody can see you. You are not two-faced.  And then, being incorruptable. That is, they are not only not corrupt...

Dealing with burn out "You'll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you--you can't do this alone." (Exod.18.18)  It is very important that we do everything in our power to preserve our leaders. Because if the leader suffers, we all by extension suffer with him. It is like in an aeroplane, an event occurs requiring you to put on a mask, and a child is with you, you are advised to help yourself first before helping the child.  Our text makes this point very clear. Speaking to Moses the leader, It says, "You'll burn out, and the people right along with you". How come the people along with you? It did not tell us that the people burn out. But when leaders suffer, the people he leaders suffer right along with him. Because in that state he is of not much good to himself and to others.  The text also shows us that burn out occurs when we try to do too much. It is good to stretch ourselves but we must know our limit so we do not...

God has no superstars "When Moses' father--in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What's going on here? Why are you doing all this, and all by yourself, letting everybody line up before you from morning to night?" (Exod.18.14)  We have too many superstars in God today but God has no superstars. We have many stars of a Super God. God told Abraham that He will make his descendant as the stars in the sky and as the sands of the sea shores. But we see a lot who are trying to be superstars. This was the case of Moses in our text. The Bible says he will judge the whole of the people from morning till night.  "The next day Moses took his place to judge the people. People were standing before him all day long, from morning to night." (Exod.18.13)  But his wise father-in-law gave him counsel. That you are anointed and appointed does not make you the 'have all and be all'. Listen to others. Thank God, Moses listened. He took his father...

Rehearse it...  "And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. (Exod.17.14) We have seen musicians rehearse. And the more they rehearse the better they get but rehearsals do not begin and end with musicians. In fact we have play rehearsal, speech rehearsal and anything one intends to get good at. Rehearse simply means to practice or to go over something.  And in out text God told Moses to write a memorial in a book and then rehearse that book in the ears of Joshua. God told Moses to rehearse the destruction of Amalek in the ears of Joshua.  Why?  Because something you do consistently become a part of you. When you hear something repeatedly, it stays with you.  What are you rehearsing? What are you practicing consistently?  The bible tells us that this book of the law should not depart from our mouth but we should meditate on it...

Steady your hands "But Moses' hands got tired. So they got a stone and set it under him. He sat on it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands remained steady until the sun went down.(Exod.17.12 MSG) Consistency and stability are two traits that we need to succeed in life. The Bible says those second guessing themselves will not receive anything from God.  "Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves."(Jas.1.6)  Our text illustrated this very clearly. Moses had an assignment to keep his hand raised. But as human, he became tired and his hand would come down and as that happened his people would lose the battle. So he devised a means to create consistency and stability, he rested his hands on a stone, with support from Aaron and Hur on either side supporting him.  We need this kind of support, the kind of systems an structures that will help to create stability in ...

Take a stand  "Moses ordered Joshua: "Select some men for us and go out and fight Amalek. Tomorrow I will take my stand on top of the hill holding God's staff." (Exod.17.9)  Taking a stand is becoming increasingly difficult as we navigate the constantly changing world and its changing opinions. What do you stand for? What are your convictions?  Moses told Joshua to handpick men that will fight against their enemies Amalek. These were a people who had come to withstand the children of Israel from reaching their promised land. But for this fight to be victorious, they need not only to fight but must also take a stand.  And for Moses, the stand was to keep his hands constantly raised and as long as he did this, Israel prevailed.  "It turned out that whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning." (Exod.17.11)  In fact, if you follow the story, you will understand that the stand was the fight. For eve...

Leaders go ahead "GOD said to Moses, "Go on out ahead of the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel. Take the staff you used to strike the Nile. And go." (Exod.17.5)  That leaders lead from the front is no longer news. Gone are the days of 'do as I say and not as I do'. Leaders are examples, leaving a trail for others to follow.  Our text shows how God told Moses to go out ahead of the people he was leading. They had come to this place where we were told that they were directed by God and when the got there, the Bible says there wasn't a drop of water for the people to drink. (see Exo. 17.1) This means Moses at the leader cannot complain along side the people. Don't forget he also does not have water to drink. As a leader he must find solution to the no-water problem and to be able to do that, he must go out ahead.  Problems are not solved at the level they were created. That's why you need to go out ahead. In your personal or corporate ...

Directed by God  "Directed by GOD, the whole company of Israel moved on by stages from the Wilderness of Sin. They set camp at Rephidim. And there wasn't a drop of water for the people to drink." (Exod.7.1 MSG)  Provision is not necessarily proof of God's approval just as lack of provision is not a proof of God's disapproval. The whole company of the the children of Israel had been directed by God. God was the One Who directed them, yet they got there and there wasn't a drop of water for the people to drink.  That things are going smoothly is not a sign nor proof positive that God is involved. But wherever God leads, He is purpose bound to see you through to a logical conclusion. It may not be your timing but He will never leave nor forsake you until His counsel concerning you stand.  What is most important is to be sure that you're directed by God. The wilderness will be most welcoming as far as God is there with you. In other words, God may lead you into...