Speaker: Ben Sheppard
Message Title: Finger of God
Scriptures: Matt; Luke, Roman, Daniel, Ps; Jeremiah... etc.
Finger of God (Etsba Elohimאֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים)
“When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your
fingers, the moon and the stars that You have established; what
are human beings that You are mindful of them, mortals that You care for
them?” (Psalm 8:3–4)
“If I forget you,
Jerusalem, may My right hand forget its skill.” (Psalm 137:5)
“Thus says the Lord, who gives the
sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by
night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar — the Lord of hosts (YHVH
Sabbaoth) is His name.
“If this fixed order were
ever to cease from My presence, says the Lord, then also the offspring of
Israel would cease to be a nation before Me forever.” (Jeremiah 31:35–36)
When the magicians saw that the
gnats were on the people and animals everywhere, “they said to Pharaoh, “this is the finger of God.”
But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen.” (Exodus 8:19)
Moses tells us about that encounter
in Deuteronomy 9:9-11 and Exodus 31:18; he said,
“When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of
the covenant that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty
days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.
“The Lord gave me two stone tablets
written by the finger of God.”
“On them were all the commandments
the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the
assembly.”
“At the end of the forty days and
forty nights, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.”
“Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and
began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall
of the king’s palace, and
the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing.
“Then the king’s face grew pale and
his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began
knocking together.” (Daniel 5:5–6)
Imagine lifting God’s holy vessels
made of silver and gold to worship pagan gods created of silver and gold,
“which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose power is your very
breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored,” said Daniel to
the king. (Daniel 5:23)
In John 8:10-11 we read, Jesus bent
down and with His finger wrote on the ground. We don't know what He wrote, yet those who looked
on may have seen words that convicted them.
So, when Jesus stood up and said,
“Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,”
each one walked away.
“Woman, where are they? Has no one
condemned you?” Jesus asked.
She said, “No one, sir.”
Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn
you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”
The Finger of God
that brought judgment
to Belshazzar also brought mercy to a daughter of Zion.
"I want all here to think about
the severity and the kindness of God: severity toward those who have fallen,
but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness." (Romans 11:22)
“Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the
dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)
“You say that I cast out the demons
by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your
exorcists cast them out?
“But if it is by the finger of God
that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to
you.” (Luke 11:18–20)
It is interesting to me however,
that the same incident is recorded by Matthew saying the Spirit of God
instead of the Finger
of God.
“If it is by the Spirit of God
that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28)
And do you remember the story of God
speaking through the mouth of a donkey? (Numbers 22:21–39) Yes, God’s voice came out of the mouth of an
animal!
Or the dozens of stories in the
Bible when God’s voice from heaven spoke to people? (Daniel 4:31)
“And a voice came out of
the heavens: ‘You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.’” (Mark 1:11)
So, when Jesus proclaimed that He
cast out demons in the
Spirit of God (Matthew) or in (Luke) the Finger of God,
He was declaring that the Power of God had now arrived on earth operating
through Him, the Promised Messiah!
What is so exciting for me and I hope
for each of you today, is that when we commit our lives fully
to the Lord (Holy Spirit) - while being open and willing vessels for His
Service — we see God manifest through us with this same Spirit!
“Very truly, I tell you,
the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will
do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
I hope and I pray, that each of you,
will join me today as “open and willing vessels” to proclaim the Good News and
Atonement of Jesus Christ and step out in faith to speak the Spirit of Holiness
(Holy Spirit) into the life others; ie, family, friends and even strangers.
This takes us surrendering our will
to the Holy Spirit within, and allowing Him to reach out and speak and touch
through us.
Music Worship Leaders:
JW & Sharon Peck
Songs:
