We have been traveling to world on this mission trip. We area going to 11 countries in 11 months. This may seem crazy, but we do it because we believe in the power of God in this world. In fact, God created the whole world and the whole universe, and in each country we get to see a different side of God’s creation. But the most beautiful part of God’s creation is the people we get to interact with. God created the heaven and the Earth, but humanity as it’s crowning jewel.
When God first created the earth, He walked among His creation, but we separated from Him when Satan tempted Eve and Adam to sin. Adam and Eve were the first humans on this earth, and God had given them freedom ad authority over the earth, but He told them not to eat from a specific tree in the garden of Eden where they were living. However, Satan tempted them to try the fruit. God desires to walk with us, but Satan want to pull us away, and in this world, humanity stands in the middle of a battle between this light and darkness. God cannot be present where there is sin, so in order to pull us away from God, Satan tempts us to sin.
Many years later, God gave laws to His chosen people, the Israelites, on how to walk in His ways and avoid the traps of Satan. This included not eating certain foods, celebrating certain holidays, and sacrificing animals in order to be cleansed from sin in the presence of God. God chose the Israelite people to carry His light through the nations, and He performed many signs and miracles for them. He sent plagues to Egypt to free them from slavery, through His servant Moses he split the Red Sea so the Israelites could escape Egypt on dry ground. He sent manna and quail for the Israelites to eat in the desert, and delivered their enemies into their hands to they could establish the nation God promised them: Israel. However, Israel was tempted to sin by worshiping other gods before God, and seeking spiritual power in the wrong places. This made God upset, because His people were trapped in the deception of Satan.
Out of compassion for His people, God spoke to Israel through prophets who performed more signs and miracles. These ordinary men filled with the Spirit of God were able to call down fire from heaven, speak prophetically, and even raise people from the dead. When people would see these miracles, they would confess that their God was the one true God, but they were still bound by the ways of Satan and did not fully follow God. The prophets told the kings of Israel that sin leads to death, and if they continued to live in sin and not with God, they would be destroyed, but the kings did not listen and continued to live in evil.
God loved His people and didn’t want to see them be completely destroyed by Satan, so God sent Jesus to fulfill the law so that everyone could speak to God through Him. Jesus was fully God and fully human, and He came to show us how to live. This was the new king of Israel that had been prophecies many times before. Jesus also performed signs and miracles even greater than those before Him. He turned water into wine, walked on water, and healed countless sick people. The rulers at the time were threatened by Jesus because He was declaring that He had more power and authority than the kings of the world, so they plotted to have Him crucified, thinking that would diminish His power. However, this only displayed Jesus’s power more. After being buried for 3 days, He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, and His death and resurrection was the final sacrifice for our sins, fulfilling the laws that God had given the Israelites many years ago. Because of this, everyone who accepts Jesus as Lord will be cleansed of their sins, and the dark forces of the world will no longer have a hold on us. This battle between light and darkness was won by Jesus, and when we follow Him, we are on the winning team.
When Jesus died, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within anyone who believe in His power. He said we no longer have to fear the schemes of the satan that lead to death, because Jesus defeated Him when He died for our sins, paving the path of light for us to walk on. This is why Jesus and his disciples could perform miracles, healings, and deliverances. Satan trembles at the name of Jesus, and satan cannot be present where the power of Jesus is. The only thing we have to do to receive His Holy Spirit is to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and that we believe He died for our sins. God is a God of compassion and love. He speaks to His children and listens when we pray to Him. Jesus told us that when we ask for anything in His will, it will be given to us. Today, we continue to see deliverances and miraculous healings in the name of Jesus because His power and His Holy Spirit are still active in this world. God doesn’t want us to be ensnared by the ways of this world that lead to death, but He wants us to be free to walk in His truth and His light. The name of Jesus sets people free. God gives us the choice to follow Him, and if we want to live in His freedom, we just have to choose Him.
