Knowing God in the wilderness, the womb, 2^nd trimester

The second trimester is about renewing the mind that we are the head and not the tail in Christ. We must not be conformed to the world we left behind but transformed by the renewal of our minds. God intended Israel to renew their mind in the wilderness before inheriting the promised land. At the last moment, even Moses conformed to the flesh in striking the rock rather than speaking to the rock.

In the wilderness, the second trimester of the new birth, we learn what it means to have Jesus as Lord and Savior for real and not just a confession we made once after walking down an aisle. Jesus is the Manna from heaven. Have our appetites changed? Do we hunger for every word from the mouth of God more than the bread that molds with the passing of time

Jesus is the living water that turns bitter water into drinking water. What do we thirst for when things are bitter in our life? Do we thirst for righteousness? Or do we complain about drinking from the cup of the word? Sweet in our mouth but bitter in our stomach. But after following Jesus, the bitterness is drinkable. Can you drink from the cup of bitterness of the Lord?

In the wilderness, Israel was given work to do. They were to carry the Ark of Covenant everywhere they went. And we, as Christians, are as well. Inside the Ark were God's commands now written on our hearts. The Manna from heaven was also in the Ark and the Christian's heart. And so is the rod of authority. Who is our authority? Who do we belong to? Who is our owner? If the answer is, Jesus is my Lord and my God. Then, we are under the correct authority, which shows when we speak to the mountain to be moved to the sea. The rod of authority is in our mouths when we obey Christ Jesus.

Most Christians don't make it full term. They opt out\aborted or miscarry their salvation before their race on earth is complete. This newsletter is about miscarrying the new birth, crowns stolen, entering heaven maimed, and losing all rewards but receiving eternal life because of faith in the work of Christ Jesus. God's mercy endures forever, and it has to be for all the premature Christians entering eternal life before God can fully form them into the image of Christ.

I'm dividing this teaching up into four sections. 1) Born of water in Egypt under oppression. 2) Leaving Egypt: The First Trimester. 3) Knowing God in the wilderness: the 2^nd trimester. 4) The 3^rd trimester: The promised land where we are fully formed in Christ.

Born of water in Egypt under oppression.

We are all born under the oppression of natural sin and the God of this world, Satan. We may be born in a free nation far away from tyranny. But inside the heart of man is the oppressive spirit of sin and death. The Pharisees proclaimed freedom under Abraham, but Jesus refuted this and said they were children of the devil in oppression. The same goes today in our Christian circles, with so many proclaiming freedoms only to go home and fall to the internal oppression of the things of this fallen world. Freedom from internal oppression is an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit that is finished at death.

Many in the church, conceived and born-again in spirit, in the first trimester, are deceived and being deceived while an unrenewed mind still binds them.

Like the disciples, we want to be delivered from the oppression of government tyranny, cancel culture, bully pulpits, and the like. But God had another thing in mind. Jesus will deliver God's people from the inside out. When God delivers a soul from internal oppression, they never again choose a tyrant as their overlord. I will be their God, and they will be my people by mutual choice. Even though God first chose us even yet as we were sinners.

If our aim is off, we miss the bullseye and may even miss the target. Many Christians think the bullseye is going to Heaven after living a full life. But going to Heaven is one of the goalposts, not the bullseye. The other goalpost is eternal life. And between the goal post of Heaven and eternal life, we find the kingdom of God. I know this analogy is a mix of a field goal and darts, but go with me on this journey of knowledge anyway. You will be all the better for it. I teach God's ways so that you may be aware of His work in and around you.

Throw me a rope! I like discovering three strong cords in the Word of God. I have over fifty now. If we are stuck in a pit and need a way out, a rope is necessary to pull us out! Eternal Life, Heaven, & the Kingdom of God is a rope, a three-strong cord that pulls us out of the pit of sin and death.

Let me lay out some definitions so we are on the same page with the Word of God.

Let's define Eternal Life in one strand. The promise of Eternal life is for those who believe in God enough to follow Jesus to the cross, the grave, and the throne. Those crucified with Him are raised to sit with Him in high places. Eternal life has a straightforward definition, as Jesus gave it to us. This is eternal life, to know God and His Son whom He sent. Eternal life, summed up, is knowing God. We can know God! Israel knew God's signs, wonders, and miracles, but Moses knew God's ways. Eternal life is going from knowing the signs of God to learning His ways. Knowing the acts of God is not the same as knowing God's ways.