BENDY BELIEVERS

“THE OLD SYSTEM UNDER THE LAW OF MOSES WAS ONLY A SHADOW, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.”
Hebrews 10:1 (NLT)

• God has the habit of giving a preview of whatever He wanted to do.

• He knew the sacrifices under the old system, old covenant, could not provide perfect cleansing for the people, but He permitted IT until the perfect sacrifice would be made by the Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:19,23-25; Hebrews 10:4).

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.”
Hebrews 10:4 (NKJV)

• He waited until when Jesus would offer Himself as a sacrifice, and through faith in Him, His substitutionary death, those who believe might be cleansed (Galatians 3:23-25; Hebrews 9:8-15).

• God usually would give a foretaste, the shadow or preview, of whatever He wanted to do.

• Christian living on earth is meant to be a foretaste of what believers would experience in heaven (Hebrews 6:4,5).
• Whoever has the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, and the eyes of understanding are enlightened (Ephesians 1:17,18; Hebrews 6:4);
  WHO also has tasted the heavenly gift, Jesus Christ who is the gift of God to mankind (Hebrews 6:4);
  AND has become a partaker of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 6:4);
  AND has tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come (Hebrews 6:5).
  THE person should have a handful amount of the Kingdom experience that shows him or her what the heaven would be like (John 4:10; Ephesians 1:17,18; Hebrews 6:4,5).
• The pattern of living of those who have tasted the heavenly gift, the Lord Jesus Christ who is the gift of God to mankind, on earth, should be a preview of what things would be like in heaven (Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-14; 3:8-12).

• The applicability or the application of it in our temporary stay on earth as believers:

• If God is taking you somewhere or wants to do a particular thing for you, He will give you a shadow or preview of where He is taking you—a foretaste of what He wanted to do.
• A number of believers love to dwell in the shadows of the real things that GOD wanted to do in their lives.
  THE glory of the real THING outweighs, is higher than, the shadow you dwell in.
• The Israelites failed to realize that the old system, old covenant, was a shadow of the real THING, when Jesus who is the mediator of the new covenant, a surety or guarantee of a better covenant came, they did not recognize Him (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6; 9:15; John 1:11).

• Whatever level you are, IN your walk with God, is still a shadow or preview of where God is taking you (Philippians 3:12-14).

1. “NOT THAT I HAVE ALREADY ATTAINED, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
2. Brethren, I DO NOT COUNT MYSELF TO HAVE APPREHENDED; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind AND REACHING FORWARD TO THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE AHEAD,
3. I PRESS TOWARD THE GOAL FOR THE PRIZE OF THE UPWARD CALL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS."
   Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)

• You should not get to the level in your walk with God, or in whatever you are called to do, in which you believe you have attained or gotten to the climax, and thus become complacent.
• When you think you have attained, you have reached the climax, you have known all you ought to know about God, or you have achieved so much, then you begin to descend and fall—extinction (Romans 12:3).
• Paul said he did not consider himself to have attained, apprehended, even with all the revelations God did give to him, the churches he had planted, and the books he had written (2 Corinthians 11:28; 12:7; Galatians 1:11,12).

• You should not be satisfied with your present level in the Lord, you should aspire to grow higher in your walk with Him, and do more exploit as regards the assignment given to you (2 Corinthians 4:10,11).

• Crave for deeper revelations in the knowledge of God (Ephesians 1:17,18).
  YOU should DESIRE for greater glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO THE SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

• Whatever you are seeing presently is a shadow of what or where God is taking you.

• God would not give you the fullness of what He has for you at the onset, it gets better in God, as you progressed in Him.

• God will take you a step at a time.
  HE usually takes whoever He is lifting from glory to glory, that is, everything would not be done at a time.
• A number of believers who could NOT understand the move of God, quickly get carried away with the appearance of the initial glory, the initial stage of God’s blessing.
• The initial manifestation of God’s glory in your life, work or assignment, is a sign to inform you that God is taking you somewhere.
• You cannot afford to dwell with the initial glory, you become a monument if you do that, if you refused to move forward.
• Do not allow the euphoria, excitement, of whatever is happening in your life, work or ministry, enters your head or makes your head swelled with pride—humble yourself and remained focus that you may not miss your future blessings (James 4:10).

• If you keep following God, you will soon see the reason why you should not remain in the present level of glory or blessing—you will discover or see the weakness of it (Hebrews 8:7,8).

1. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
2. BECAUSE FINDING FAULT WITH THEM, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."
   Hebrews 8:7,8 (NKJV)

• God would not have demanded you to move forward to another level, If there were no faults at the level you are, that is, if He does not have a better thing for you at the new level.
• The glory of the latter house is usually greater than the former (Haggai 2:9; John 1:14).

• Do not be myopic and be rigid. BE flexible in God’s hands, that He may move you forward.
DO allow Him to do whatever He intends to do in your life.

• Do not despise the simplicity of the way God does things, allow Him to move, do things in the way that pleases Him.
  MANY have missed their place in God, missed His move in their lives, because they are not sensitive, unable to discern God’s ways of doing things (Psalm 103:7).
• If you are rigid in your walk with God, you are not bendy or flexible, you may miss God.

• It is time to move forward. GOD is changing things.
ASK God to open your eyes in order to see whatever He is doing or about to do.

1. "So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
2. And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I PRAY, OPEN HIS EYES that he may see." THEN THE LORD OPENED THE EYES OF THE YOUNG MAN, AND HE SAW. And behold, the mountain was full of horses 🐎 and chariots of fire 🔥 all around Elisha."
   2 Kings 6:16,17 (NKJV)

• You will not miss your place in Jesus’ name.
Peace!