The sprawling physical universe with its elements, laws and myriad forms of life was created by the Almighty God to act primarily as a setting for the understanding of spiritual concepts and realities. Like some vast University of Morals, its theatres, halls of residence, libraries, lecturers and students were all created to teach moral concepts and truths which Yahweh the Almighty God of Israel wanted His subjects to learn. The physical universe is not the result of chance; neither did it start with a big bang. That theory is already discredited by many leading scientists who are now convinced that a 'mighty intelligence' (God) created and currently sustains the universe: it could not have come into being on its own.
Three of the most basic powers in the physical universe are heat, light and sound. Remove even one of these from the environment and there would be no growth, no learning, no comfort, no joy, and no life as we know it on earth. So let us take each in turn and see what spiritual lessons the Most High has locked into these three physical elements of heat, light and sound.
Without heat there would be no growth in the fields, no cooked meals on the table and no comfort in the home. The human body and even inanimate objects like machinery cannot function properly without a certain degree of heat. Temperature is vital for operations like baking bread, welding steel and producing electricity: all call for high degrees of heat. Others, such as seed germination and the hatching of eggs require gentle warmth. In a similar way spiritual realities such as love, forgiveness, patience, kindness and generosity call for the right conditions and temperatures before they can germinate and grow.
Physical heat, or the lack of it, are invisible conditions which we are all aware of. Everyone recognises the importance of maintaining the correct temperature. But are you aware of the lesson the Most High intended you to learn from 'correct temperature'? Consider this statement about the temperature of spiritual commitment.
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Revelation 3:14-19 |
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." |
Can you now see why physical temperatures were designed? They were designed to teach spiritual lessons in the university of life. Every time you sip a cup of lukewarm tea, coke or beer, remember that God finds no joy in lukewarm followers.
Light is apparently even more necessary than heat. Without light 99% of all human and plant life would end. But spiritual light is infinitely more important than physical light. When the spiritual lights go out in a nation, corruption, decay and death soon follow. Our world is a place of deepening darkness. Millions live in the blackness of despair. They are in the dark and they are blind. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world and that all true believers are also lights. Consider these Bible verses about spiritual light:
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John:8:12 |
"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." |
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John 9:5 |
"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." |
When a person begins to follow God and accepts His offer of salvation, his/her eyes are opened, he/she moves from spiritual darkness into the light. He/she becomes a light and is then able to lead others in the way of truth and light. Here is proof of these amazing facts:
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Psalm 27:1 |
"Yahweh is my light and my salvation." |
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Matthew 5:14 |
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." |
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Isaiah 60:1-2 |
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee." |
If the believer goes further and obeys God to the extent of helping the poor and keeping His Sabbath days, his/her light will brighten like the sun and blessing will follow. These facts are detailed in Isaiah's prophecy. I quote a few verses.
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Isaiah 58:10-14 |
"And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: ... If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." |
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Psalm 89:15 |
"Blessed - happy, fortunate (to be envied) - are the people who know the joyful sound (who understand and appreciate the spiritual blessings symbolised by the feasts); they walk, O Lord, in the light and favour of your countenance!" (Amplified Bible) |
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Luke 11:34 |
"The light of the body is the eye." |
It is far more important to watch the right things (e.g. on TV) than to eat the right foods. So be extremely careful what you watch. You could darken or poison your soul with one evil programme.
Many claim to be true believers, but if behaviour is anything to go by, they are far from the truth. How does one assess others - especially in this day of false prophets, religious cranks and sharks? The answer is found in this verse. I call it the spiritual litmus test.
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Isaiah 8:20 |
"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." |
In other words if a preacher does not teach the commandments of God, then he has no light in him. He is in the dark. He is a blind leader of the blind. Leave him alone. Instead we should follow these instructions:
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Isaiah 2:5 |
"... Come let us walk in the light of Yahweh." |
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1 Thessalonians 5:5 |
"Ye are the children of light." |
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Ephesians 5:8 |
"... Walk as children of light." |
Sinners love darkness, because that is when they can sin with impunity.
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John 3:19 |
"And this is the condemnation, that light came into the world and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light ..." |
Sound is a means of communication. Birds whistle, insects buzz, animals bark, growl or roar, humans speak, sing and pray. All use sound to communicate. Sound is also an extremely powerful force. Sound can shatter glass, break the mighty ciders and shake the earth. Spiritually speaking sound may be used in:
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1 Kings 17:22 |
"And Yahweh heard the voice of Elijah." |
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Psalm 3:4 |
"I cried unto Yahweh with my voice and He heard me out of His holy hill." |
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Psalm 26:7 |
"... That I may publish with my voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works." |
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Isaiah 58:1 |
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice as a trumpet and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." |
Sound plays an important part in warfare. In the following story you will see how prayer, praise and song attracted the power of the Almighty who fought for Israel and defeated their enemies.
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2 Chronicles 20:20-23 |
"And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another." |
A similar time is fast approaching when the end-time saints of the Most High will again face the forces of evil. In the prophecy of the Revelation we read of how the last day church will stand up for truth and overcome Satan.
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Revelation 12:11 |
"And they (the saints) overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." |
The "blood of the Lamb" represents the life of Jesus Christ the Messiah. The "word of our testimony" is none other than what our heavenly Father and His Son Jesus have done for us.
This triple alliance ensures victory over Satan. I do not think there is any power in all this world that is able to overcome Truth. In other words sin's downward pull can no more keep down the Truth than earth's gravitational pull can hold down physical heat, light and sound.
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