Genesis Overview - The Preparation Of Four Encounters For Abraham and the Promise

Prelude

The word of God gives us life, teaches us how to see His works on us today, and allows accomplishments so that we may get more crowns and blessings. If anyone discovers God's perfect will through His word and submits, it is called the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Let us expect greatly from these Bible Overview messages, and from them, receive as much Holy Spirit's convictions as possible.

Word of God -> Discovers perfect will of God -> Submit = Anointing of the Holy Spirit

The Word realizes everything in our lives, so we do not need to struggle. It is only when we restore the Word, all problems will drown. Naturally, all things will work out well and problems will go away.

However, we must know the word of God accurately. If anyone can live by other doctrines in this age where problems are worsening, these teachings will realize worse consequences. It may be better that such corrective "medicine" is not taken at all because it creates long winding roads in reaching the solution. The depth of the harm is so bad that it may take quite a while to correct the ways a person shepherds and prays. The remedy given to today's problems must be able to give one life, power and blessings. This life must be able to connect to heaven, and also connect to his fields. This life will also revive the man who receives it so that he can hear God's voice everywhere and anytime he needs. And if he submits to the voice, he will end up receiving crown. If he does not submit, he will experience "unlucky" happenings. If anyone thinks that he has received satisfaction (through perhaps attending church services, having no conflicts with people in the church, etc) but has not gotten the heartbeat of the bible, he must know that God is not pleased. The disaster of this age (earthquakes, tsunamis, terrorist attacks) will come when the word of God is not known accurately. Let us and our disciples make a conscious decision to live by centering on the word movement, driving out demons, telling the dead to come alive, cleansing the unclean, and restoring the glory of Israel (the church). Then wisdom, strength, wealth, manpower and health will naturally follow. If our eyes are opened, we can do anything.

The church must have the correct medicine that is originated from the word of God. Problems stop repeating when we repent. Real repentance must spring from the restoration of God's words. God is the one who leads us out from Egypt, opens the Red Sea to let us cross, and gives us power to go into Canaan. The forgiveness that the church leaders pray must be for healing from the very root of problems. There is hope for the church if the church leaders know the real problem of the church and has problems to go through.

1) Problem

If we know where our problem lies, we would know how to treat it. The believers of this age think that the problem of the world is greed, desires, lust, violence, and so on. The pastors of this age think that the weakness of the church is the problem of believers in that they are not being really fervent and committed to God. However, these wrong understanding of problems only stop at giving pain in their hearts, and it is not the contrite spirit that pleases God (Mt 5:4). The crux is whether we know how to control and overcome the frustrations, fear, or depression that we easily get. If we cannot overcome our problem at the heart (Mt 15:19), what is the use of continuing to talk about consequential problems? Normally people are frustrated at thinking how to solve only one problem quickly. But we must not think that everything will be ok once that is solved. Not going down to the root problem is the reason why believers and pastors of this age do not like to pray. They prepare their messages by compiling contents from the Internet and books. As a spiritual result, believers go to the church because of programs, and not because of the word of God. The contents are humanism-based. However, it is different for the church even when the members are weak if the church knows and understands that the members and their family's problems come because they do not have the word of God. Our timetable comes when we truly understand this. Nehemiah tore his clothes when he heard the report about Israel's condition because he understood the crevasse of Israel from losing God's word.

2) Hunger for truth

The hunger for truth comes when we understand our real problem. It is not about hungering for zeal, for serving, or for family's blessedness, etc. The hunger for truth comes only because of the Holy Spirit's conviction. Then those who ask will receive, those who knock, the door will open, and those who seek will see the answer! Who in this age are like us working hard to learn the mystery of praying 24 hours a day? There are a lot of churches, but many have no strength. Who among the churches have the vision of individual gospelization, family gospelization, regional gospelization and world gospelization? Being a child of God is one of God's important promises not emphasized or not even mentioned in some churches. Jesus is preached only vaguely, and thus many believers do not know the value of Jesus. Thus these churches touch the world and touch Jesus at the same level. May the burning fire of Nehemiah come to us to hunger for the truths in the word of God.

3) Answer

Can we receive answer by the word? When we are able to discover the Lord's perfect will and submit through the word of God, the Holy Spirit's anointing has come upon us. If the gifts, tongues, joy, etc that we get are not by this way, they are not by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The power that solves all problems, and enables us to see joy in all things comes from the Holy Spirit's anointing.

Holy Spirit anointing -> power

Let us restore the only mourning we should have, "Why is it that often by a few challenges, we cannot love the Word of God and live by it?" (The challenges mentioned here is not because of people or things changing, but the acceptance of the greater and mightier things that God has in store for us.) When Israel is pained in the heart because of the loss of the Word, Nehemiah pronounced that the time is ripe that they should rejoice. If we have clear answers, we will have no need to mourn anymore. The word of God tells us how we inherit the promise from Abraham who had actually seen the complete fulfillment of the promise to him, how in the history God led our ancestors out from Egypt, cross the Red Sea, enter Canaan, lead by the Tent of Meeting in learning prayers and conquering Canaan. Let us not cry but rejoice because the answer from the Word gives us every hope.

Some people view Genesis as a myth (curse), and some think that it doesn't apply in today's context anymore. But it is the very word of God that gives life and thus assurance. It is the very word of God that tells us of His similar works today and thus allows us to receive the same power. It is the very word of God that anoints us to serve and receive fruits and thus more crowns today.

Gives Life (Assurance), Know His Works Today, Get Power/Serving/Fruits - more Crown Today

Let us read Genesis by focusing to get assurance, power and more blessings from God each day. Let us memorize and use it here since God has given us a good mind. Genesis is actually the mini version of the bible (see below on this). It is also the most important message in the bible as it gives us an understanding of all the rest of the content of the bible.

Passage Reading: Hebrews 11:1-16

God is only pleased where there is faith. There is definitely evidence shown to those who believe. Faith believes that God with His power is always with us and that God gives gifts to those who seek Him. For Abel whose blood spoke from the ground after he was murdered, God's purpose for his life is to tell us that God's reward is the gift of blood. Faith brings righteousness because there is blood. For Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Israel, apostles and us, faith has the same content. The purpose of the book of Genesis is in fact, to give us faith that God is with us, and will definitely bless us. And the condition is that we seek out such blessings that He will definitely bless us with. God's promises also state that if we do not seek him, God will be there to discipline us. One of the promises Noah received is the promise that the salvation of one person will lead to the salvation of the whole family. And Abraham started by believing in promises as he was asked to leave his hometown to an unknown place, which he did not even know. Through Abraham, God tells us that we should start our faith from His promise and the disciplines that lead us back to the correct path. Sarah was 90 years old when she bore Isaac, and it was by faith. God continually wants to emphasize that though "I" have nothing now, it does not mean that I am empty". This is because God is our Father and the mystery of guidance will lead us all the way. For all blessed people from Genesis till Revelations, even Jesus himself, all believed based on this very content, that the crux is for God to become our condition and our inheritance. By His promise in His word, every blessed person comes to earth, lives and goes back to the heavenly home. By His word, Abraham lived on God's promise and from Abraham comes countless descendants, when he had no conditions, but only by bearing a child at 100 years old. Hebrews 11 actually gave us the message that we should be receiving from Genesis, the faith that God can do everything. If pastors, leaders and believers of the current age cannot accept the promise "God can solve every problem of ours now", they would already be fed with the wrong "medicine" and are on the wrong path!

Genesis can be divided into 2 parts: the four encounters <1-11>, and the four people <12-50>.

1. Four encounters <1-11>

These four important messages are in fact, the Cross Message. The four encounters are the eyes to read the whole bible. Paul is probably sharing the "Cross Message" with his mind filled with the eyes of the book of Genesis when he says he wants to preach no other message but that of the cross in the book of 1 Corinthians.

1) The Principle of Creation (Chapter 1-2)

The first encounter in Genesis is about knowing and understanding the principle of our creation. We should not dwell and spend much of our time thinking about what is created on different days. The bible is written for the purpose of saving and feeding the dying and the hungry It is for souls who are so much in need of food. It is not for the purpose of researching into little details. Similarly, when we preach the gospel, we do not explain everything about faith, but to explain what he or she really needs, which is to know the truth above.

(1) The Word of God, Holy Spirit = Power of Creation

The word of God creates the world. The manifestation of the thoughts and intentions of the Holy Spirit speaks the word; nothingness becomes substance and chaos becomes order. This is known as the power having creational abilities. First of all, we must understand this important truth in knowing God, as it is the first of everything written in the bible. No matter what problems we are in, when we trust this power of creation of God in that He can solve everything, it will be the moment that our problems will be solved and every day will get better. Is my life built on the principle of the foundation of the word of God and the Holy Spirit? This is the most important.

(2) Man: Image of God (In God) Gen 1:27, Holy Temple <2Co 3:16>

This power of creation is put into man because God is invisible. The power of creation became Jesus Christ, who typifies us, the image of God. We are the manifestation of God. Therefore, man is man only if he has the word of God and the Holy Spirit. Having the image of God means that he is in God and God is in him. Jesus Christ says that man does not live on bread but man lives by "digesting" God's word. The flesh does not benefit, but the Spirit blesses. Consequently, man's body is the holy temple of God <2Co 3:16>. Let us fix into our minds that we are the image of God. This is our identity.

(3) Promise/Covenant (Blessings) => Conquer

With man having the image of God, promise comes to him from God. We will definitely get blessings to be fruitful and increase in numbers, and rule and conquer over everything. Therefore, let us get the promise of the four gospelizations and make this covenant with God. To live, the created man has to know that he must be inside the word of God and the Holy Spirit and that he is the manifestation of God. This is called being in God. Fishes must live in water, trees must be rooted in the soil, and birds must fly in the sky all because God planned it this way. What God gives through His promise cannot be explained because of man's limitation. Therefore, man must live by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, i.e. live by hearing God's voice, because God planned it this way. The promise is what God gave as the principle for living after knowing who we really are.

(4) Garden of Eden (The Source of all blessings) => 4 rivers (North, South, East, West)

The concept of the Kingdom of God is the place where people know and follow the word (promise) of God. Even in big troubles, that trouble is in the kingdom of God. This life is called the source of all blessings. There will definitely be 4 rivers from the North, South, East, and West flowing out from the source of all blessings, the Garden of Eden. 4 rivers of all directions means that it is definite that all our families, people around us, the whole region, the age and every other faculty will be blessed. Enjoying this is called the mystery of knowing the bible, prayer and walking with God. Every place he goes or anyone he meets will get blessings. Our conditions will be discovered to be the best for my good and everyone's good. When we are blessed, our standards will be raised so that little things such as the words of man will no longer affect us. Therefore, let us know and confirm that the promise must be fulfilled in all people around us, till the ends of the world.

(5) Blessings of Meetings = Our Flesh and Blood = Expand

The image of God meeting another image of God is a blessing of meeting. This meeting is the 7 fields that God has planned for us. Inside this meeting, he will find his flesh and blood. The 7 fields are meetings where all blessings come. Even when we are deceived or shortchanged by someone, when we think back, he has actually given us blessings. We are all of the same flesh and blood if we are man, having the same flesh, same blood, having the word of God, and the same spiritual situation. The most important is the spouse (Adam met Eve, his flesh and blood), then the descendants. The promise to be fruitful and increase in numbers will definitely happen this way. Christians are those who believe this, that our prayers today will change our problems, our family's problems, our descendants' problems and so on. Other than these beliefs, the rest are cults or non-Christians. Therefore, the principle that we are created for expansion is to expand through people connected to us.

2) Fundamental Problem -> Fundamental Answer (Chapter 3-5)

This world has a lot of problems: be it political, economic or social. Social problems include those of the family, marriage, interpersonal relationships, in the office, etc. With 10 things that we think we are abundant with, there will be 10 problems that discourage us. Genesis 3 speaks of the fundamental problem where all these problems come from. To see the fundamental answer spoken in Genesis 3, we must open our eyes to discover that God always works to bring us to discover the fundamental problem.

(1) The Spiritual Realms (3:1-6) -> Flesh, Root of Sin, Satan

The "flesh, the root of sin and Satan" is the problem that happens in the spiritual realms <Ge 3:1-6>. These 3 problems must be understood together. Mysticism, legalism and humanism will happen if there is an over-emphasis of one over the other. We must know that when this fundamental problem happens, everything we do is sinning against God. Even breathing itself is sinning. This problem that happens in the spiritual world brings all other problems into the soul and into our very physical living.

Soul (3:7-14) -> Heart and mind (fear, accusations, judgment)

The problem that happens to the soul as a result of the fundamental problem is what happens when our heart and mind do not have the activation of the Holy Spirit. This is the problem where we are no longer able to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not a problem of ignorance, but a problem of being unable. No matter how blessed we are today, if we do not pray today starting from the morning, our state is that of the flesh. And if we live in flesh today, there will hence not be any conviction of the Holy Spirit. The consequence is that we will be sad, wandering around, and have bitterness. When man is in the flesh, problems will result. However, only man but not animals will be like this. Man becomes flesh because he disbelieves God's word and man disbelieves God's word because Satan deceives him. The accusations of Satan are a result of our hearts and minds not submitting to God. Therefore we will experience no peace, grief, fear, accusations and judgment.

Living (3:16-19) -> Body, Finance, Spouse, Children, Interpersonal

With fear, accusations and judgments on man's hearts and minds, visible actions are manifested in the living. Man must tire and sweat in the physical body, and continue to work hard. Many problems actually come from man himself. There is no need for so much overtime work, and neither is there a need to have too much savings to finance our living because things today will rot and there will be new refreshing things awaiting tomorrow. Blessed are those who understand these words because he is able to link these to the fundamental problem. God is a living God but man has a lot of sufferings because he thinks, goes, and possesses a lot of things that he should not. Man should be bright, clean, simple, and joyful and he shall always receive good things. Such a person will be likeable by many. The wise one weighs by comparing overnight losses of savings with living simply relying on opportunities given by God to be blessed. The wife should focus on God and not on husband, or else problems will come and she will suffer under her husband. The parent should focus on being quiet for God's work rather than angering the children. And for interpersonal relationships, what good are our possessions if we cannot share them with the people beside us? Kept in the rat race, problems arise and intrude into the livelihood of man many times over without him realizing.

(2) The Seed of Woman -> Jesus Christ (3:15), Garments of skin = Blood of the Lamb = The Cross (3:21)

Jesus Christ came when man is in the state of bondage in the fundamental problem. The seed of the woman <3:15> was immediately prophesized for the solution of this original sin. Blood must be shed in garments of skin <3:21> to represent those who need Jesus. They will know that they should die and resurrect like Jesus. Jesus Christ must be understood fully, or else there will be channels for little problems to emerge. Just a little bit of hints or darkness and people will worry and fear without understanding the root of the problem. A little bit of worry even for our loved ones means that Christ is not understood. This will result in big problems. This is why the blood of the perfect Lamb must be shed. But when one understands the fundamental problem and knows that He is Emmanuel (Is 7:14), he will have the answer for everything. As the Prophet, He solves problems of Flesh; as the Priest, He solves the problems of the Heart and Mind; as the King, He triumphs over Satan and his hordes of fallen angels in the spiritual realms. This is the cross. God does not intend to create a peaceful earth. His purpose is on Jesus Christ, who brings a lot of conflicts and battles so that His people may totally rely on Him. With their testimonies, they will do new things eternally. If we can see Christ solving one earthly problem affecting us, this one experience will give us the understanding that can be used for our whole life to solve any problems in Jesus' Name.

(3) 2 Clans (The Dead, The Alive) (Chapters 3-4)

The world now has around 6.6 billion people, but of these, there are two clans of people. Those who are able to restore and hear the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are alive even though they may have weaknesses. But those who may have done and lived up to the standard of this world or have relied only on the flesh (not able to see God) to live are dead. The crux of discerning the 2 clans are (i) The sacrifice of shedding blood (Abel: Gospel) - (Emmanuel, Blessings) = the people of God (Remember their days), and (ii) The sacrifice without blood (Cain: Religion) - (flesh, world, weapon = massacre) - Gentiles (only exist for the people of God).

Abel represents the people who, at every turn of their lives, memorialize the sacrifice of the shedding blood. In other words, they have the cornerstone of faith, the gospel. These people repent of their weaknesses when they received His word during prayers, hymnal singing during worship service, or when preaching. However, Cain represents the people who try to see God using their own intentions, motive and purpose, which is totally impossible. This sacrifice without blood is called Religion. Man must abandon his motives and plans, and be willing to submit totally. When he submits to God, he will see God. This is called becoming alive. This moment is called "born again". In <Jn 14:15-21>, Jesus told the disciples that the reason why the whole of Cain's clan cannot see God is because they do not love God. Even if they hear the word of God, they do not submit. Not submitting means making sacrifices without the blood. The crux is not whether one has said the sinner's prayer, is baptized, or has offered himself for service to the Lord. Instead, the crux is whether he is willing to submit, even if it costs his life. The genealogy of Abel (Seth), the people of God, records and remembers the number of days, but the genealogy of Cain, the Gentiles, does not. God does not tell Cain to die, because they are originally and already dead. They come to the earth, dead (cannot see God) as they cannot see that everything visible is from God. They live as corpses, and leave the world, eternally judged. Being dead in the spirit, the descendants of Cain are very advance and rich in culture. We can see this in the three cultures of flesh, world and war. They have the (i) culture of flesh - entertainment, desires, culinary taste, etc. Chinese people are probably the most advanced in culinary taste. As a matter of fact, the Jews eat very simply. This clan lives for their own flesh, and vie for the satisfaction of the tongue, eyes and desires of flesh. They also have the (ii) culture of world - dance and music, wide varieties of hobbies, etc. Finally, they have the (iii) culture of weapon and war - the ideology to succeed but yet does not know the purpose of prosperity. They have competition and strife, of weaponry and war. The city walls are strong against the enemy. And it becomes worse as they are 7 times avenged <Gen 4:15>, 70 times avenged <4:24>, the Second World War happened and more massacre will come. But the descendants of Abel have the culture of Emmanuel and blessings, worshipping, serving and praising God.

Why does God allow a clan that is dead live and let them be many times more numerous than the clan that is alive? We must know that the empires or revival of a country is for the clan that is alive. Gentiles only exist for the people of God. Egypt exists for Israel, Assyria/Babylon exists to discipline Israel, Greece though advance in lust and philosophy has deep advancement in its language for writing the New Testament and Rome though barbaric rule has the 8 big roads leading to all places for the spread of the gospel. Germany/Europe and now America exists for the gospel, and for us, the 21^st century believers. Let us restore God's standard to view all things. This is the Emmanuel Message that has been preached again and again.

3) Judgment (The Flood) -> Only Noah (Chapter 6-9)

(1) World = Perishing City (120 Years) - End of individual days (Heb 9:27), End of the world (Mt 24:14), surely will have judgment (Rev 20:11-15)

* <Heb 11:16> Hometown of the people of God

The world is and will definitely become increasingly worse. It is a perishing city that has no hope. Once the limited time (with reference to 120 years) is up for all the appointed to believe, the world will surely have judgment. The three purposes for the existence of the world is only for setting apart blessed people so that they may be born again, sanctified and get the crown of life. The "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan mentioned that the world is a perishing city, but the actual truth is that the world is already a perished city <Mt 24:14> from the days of Adam. There is an end of days for every era (whether the era of Exodus, of conquering Canaan, of Judges, Kings, etc). There is also the end of days for the individual of about a hundred years old, but for some, their days may only be 10 years, 5 years, 1 year or even a few months only. No one really knows their lifespan on earth. Therefore we must know and understand our limited days in our lives <Heb 9:27> and the definite judgments <Rev 20:11-15> on the individual, every nation, era and the world. The blessed people in Hebrews 11 have their hopes in their heavenly hometown <Heb 11:16>. They lived as pilgrims, with God being their God. Let us understand that this is our only true home in understanding the reality of judgments.

(2) Reason? Flesh, Great wickedness, Nephilim

The reason for judgment is because God's children become the people of the world in flesh. <Genesis 6:1-7> says that God's children chose their own will for marrying. However, the people of God should live by the will of God. The marriage means the intrusion of culture and traditions of the world. Methuselah, who outlived Lamech, his son and the father of Noah, died the year the flood came. Thus, God's word means that there is definitely no reason for keeping the world at all since there are no more blessed people. The bible in Mt 24:14 says that when the last appointed person has believed, there is no more purpose for the world to exist anymore, and judgment will come in a flash. Not being the blessed ones is equivalent to being in the flesh. Being in the flesh means that they are totally disconnected with the heart and the will of God. Now, the reason for such immunity to God's will is the presence of a dark, great force. The Hebrew's interpretation for Nephilim or giants means "fallen-down" (with great power as if giants have fallen down from heaven, a term referring to Satan and his evil fallen angels having control over a third of the spiritual realms). Such great power of darkness and deception of Satan were filled in those days so that Man could not come to know Christ. And finally, sins that were not solved gave way to an era filled with great wickedness.

Let us also be careful of this age, where through the Internet, we can know and see everything that should not be seen. It is a very useful tool, but the Internet, being unseen, already showed immense power in capturing the hearts and time of man. Cain's line is a people who are really knowledgeable and powerful, so let us not be deceived by being in awe of them, for this is prophesied in the bible already. If we believers are satisfied with everything, where easy money comes with a leisurely living, then there are only 2 possibilities(1) That we are not saved at all, or (2) the big discipline from God is near. Let us be really watchful and not become like those who cannot accept a little bit more of the Truth that is preached on the altar, but instead go their own way for comfort. Such a living has the root of the flesh, and will become great wickedness to the corruption of the level of Nephilim.

(3) The crux of life and death: Inside the Ark <-> Outside the Ark

So what is the solution in the midst of an era of disastrous carnality, wickedness and darkness? God only gave and prepared the crux of life and death. No matter whether the animals are clean or unclean, once inside the ark, they are saved. Similarly this applies to the same one condition of whether we live or die. In fact, because of the water/flood, Noah and his family lived because they are inside the ark. For others, because of the water/flood, they perished as they are outside the ark. This likens to baptism, where after the people belonging to God are already saved by the promise of God, they acknowledge to dying to the world and being alive in God. Only after being a public witness before God, angels and men, the baptized child of God will be delivered from the gates of the forces of darkness. Therefore, let us not be afraid to arise and shine to be different or to naturally desire to hunger and pursue a life that naturalizes God's word into our daily living in all kinds of ways.

(4) People of the covenant - Only Noah = God's sole concern, covenant and blessings = People inside the Ark = Saints

However, only Noah, one of the people of the covenant, is delivered. What then makes a people in the covenant? <Genesis 6:9> says that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Did not <Ro 3:10> say that there is no one righteous? In God's eyes, Noah is a perfect man without blemish. Thus God is totally pleased with him. The people of the covenant are not without sin, but because they know the reason for the shedding of blood, which justifies them, they live in the purpose of God. <Genesis 6:9> states the three purposes God has created us for, that is (1) born again (righteous), (2) sanctification (blameless), and (3) receiving the inheritance from God everyday by serving Him, not for self or to the world (walked with God). Like the people inside the ark who were then the main characters of the world, we who are in Jesus Christ are the main characters of the world now. We are God's sole concern, the people of the covenant, and one to whom God's blessings will pour to and out to all! We are saints, numbered with Saint Paul, Saint Peter, etc.

(5) The lifelong purpose of saints = Build the Ark, proclaim the message of judgment and the Ark

Let us confirm and fix up our lifelong purpose in living. Why do we go on tours and take many photographs even as we live in the Singapore culture? God's purpose is that we may let people see that the blessed individual, marriage and family can live blissfully. Let us fit into such by living following the perfect will of God. This is the lifelong purpose of saints, to build the message and manifestation of the message in our lives, and to proclaim the message of limited times amidst the worst problem of Genesis 3 and the answer that is in our life and living. This is called building the ark and proclaiming the message of judgment and the ark.

4) World (The Tower of Babel) -> Abraham (Chapter 10-11), Me

In these 4 encounters, out of the world, God found Abraham. And God chose me amidst such similar 4 encounters. Amidst the table of nations where many people were being born and lived in the era and culture of the Tower of Babel in Chapters 10-11, God chose Abraham. And amidst the world of people having exactly the same culture of the Tower of Babel, I am the Abraham born of the era now.

(1) The philosophy, ethics, culture, custom, religion of the world

By their continual and endless inquiries or questions of life, the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were far advanced in philosophy. However, no matter how much we can derive from such sciences even in modern days, such philosophy does not know God. In the year 1985 where over 45 musicians and singers gathered to perform, "We are the world", there were the most records of wars and disasters, natural and accidents. The culture of the world has its beautiful things from the romance of a couple to the motivation of a team or group, fanaticizing about "living happily ever after", but all these cannot last without the depth and foundation of assurance and hope. The ethics of the world looks benevolent, but because it does not know God, people can continue to worship their parents when they leave the world for hell as they did not believe in Christ. The demons following the parents for life therefore come and harass them even in their sleep as nightmares. The nations who worship the dead, such as Japan, Taiwan or Thailand, are full of problems. Animals are even loved till they are viewed as creatures with human spirit and emotions, and in some cases, common people cherish their pets more than people around them. One custom of the world is that girls must be thin without much regard of being a true flower, lovable and likeable by all. And though all the religions of the world tell people to do good deeds, they all work slowly towards anti-Christ. The philosophy, ethics, culture, custom, religions of the world are all humanism-based and centered on the standards of the world. Therefore, the world does not know the kingdom of God and totally opposes God's will.

(2) Babel: Beginning, course, end = chaos

The birth, days on earth and death all are chaotic. There will absolutely be conflicts and wars between countries. In the family, just by being together, chaos happen and conflicts and hurts arise astonishingly. The personality of man also goes chaotic: when man continues in his problems, unhappiness, inferiority, isolation slowly creeps in, worsening his character. He fights and struggles with himself. If this continues, he will have a split personality. If stimulating himself by drinking to drunkenness does not work out, and taking drugs also does not work out, he may only be left with suicide. It is so chaotic that people worship a lot of idols but in reality they are worshipping demons. If we realize, the history of man is all about wars and the culture of man is all about worshipping idols. In the Forbidden City, there are countless figurines of dragons, a direct image of the serpent, Satan. The world has been disguised in a rich and myriad mix of history, culture and hope, but which in its true form, is Babel, meaning chaos in its beginning, course and end.

(3) Before being called, our thinking, beliefs, good and evil view, historical view, worldview, values, life philosophy are entirely wrong

Therefore, the very first thing that should be changed after being born again is to have our thinking, beliefs, good and evil view, historical view, worldview, values and life philosophy totally converted. This is because everything that comes about through views and interpretations that stem from disbelief is entirely wrong. Therefore, those who believe must be set apart from all these views. This is called baptism. However, the sad reality is that many believers do not have their views changed.

=> In short for recap,

Because 1) Jesus Christ is amidst all creation <Col 1:15-17> and He is Adam's image, the second Adam, 2) the state that we are in is under the affluence of spiritual world, 3) everything has its end and judgment, and that 4) the world and everything in it has nothing for God but totally opposes God, therefore, 1) God wants to exemplify Jesus Christ, 2) God gives the Emmanuel answer. God is with us in all the 4 encounters. This means that He has His works, perfect will, and promise within me. All these work out to be blessings for us. 3) Finally, let us be separated from and come out of the world. While others may be in negative thoughts and have no hope, let us stand up. The success of prayers will bring about the true setting apart to be different and not be hypocritical

2. Four People: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph

The bible talks about one head and one body. The main character of the bible is One, Jesus Christ. If someone interprets other than One person, it is a cult. This person's head is Jesus Christ, and the body is Abraham or the saint (blessed one). In <Gen 12:1-3>, The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." This was an important promise given to Abraham then, and it is also the promise given to me today for walking towards the heavenly kingdom. Genesis speaks of the four people starting from this Abraham and his son, grandson, and great-grandson Isaac - blessing, Jacob - sanctification, and Joseph - victory, conquering all. It is analogous that Jesus Christ comes, preaches and uses his life to show every of the blessings (Isaac), sanctifications (Jacob) and victories (Joseph), returns by ending His life, then all the way through the end of the New Testament, testifies how from Jerusalem, regions of Judea, Samaria, till the ends of the world are conquered. Thus, Genesis is also the mini version of the bible. And following Genesis, Exodus is the principle of the advancement of all these.

Before going further, let us confirm the main character of the world, Abraham and I.

i) Main character - different

We are the main characters of the world if we hear God's voice continually. The Voice speaks, "You are different. Your family is special. Your work and serving are planned. Therefore I called you out to be separated." God gave us the image of the child of God not only to have eternal life, but to be main characters. God gave problems in our families, challenges, and an unsatisfied life to push us to be main characters. Be firm on your perspective and expect God to give you greater blessings and show His great plans for you.

ii) Assurance - Love

But what is the crux of being the main character? More than anything, conquer the non-assurance in our old self that is in the hearts of all Gentiles. God already loved us before the creation of the world. Many believers are busy in serving God but have no assurance. Let us set ourselves apart in explaining, doing and speaking by judging all the information, conditions, and interpersonal relationships that come to us. We must have the assurance that everything that comes to us are planned and centered on us. The existence of Potiphar's household, the prison that Joseph goes to, and Egypt's great power revolves around the life of Joseph. We must link every of our situations up for this purpose. The one who has the assurance will hear the voice of the love of God. This cannot be compared to even any of one's most difficult situation. He will not be influenced such that he directly reacts to conditions/emotions of people. With the healing of his nature, the day will come when he can naturally explain everything with a fixed perspective instead of merely reacting quickly to a situation. Such is the life of Jesus, whom people can immediately feel the authority in Him even in instances where he need not speak much.

iii) Love the Holy Spirit's Guidance

The main character of the world will love the Holy Spirit's guidance more than anything. He will be sensitive to the push of the Holy Spirit, hears the Spirit's voice and sees and perfect will as well as the works of the Spirit. Thus, the works of the Spirit will be manifested on him. If we cannot understand this now, or if we preach not by the power of the Spirit and fail in the process, we just need to continue. God knows us and He knows our fields better. With our time spent on training and equipping, God's driven way will prevail over humanism, and the Red Sea will part.

1) Abraham (Chapter 12-24)

All our children and disciples are called to go through the following as the main characters of the era. Abraham was called by God to progress till he could ascend Mount Moriah. It is the road to inheritance. Let us draw a picture of how much of the promise of 4 gospelizations we can accomplish during our own individual 70-80 earthly years, and through our children till 4 generations. The 4 gospelizations, the mystery of which is all inside my life, springs out this way.

(1) Born again (12:1): Leave (Ge 3, 6, 11) ==> Restore (Ge 3:15 → Ge 1:27-28) Go to the land I will show you

Abraham is called to leave his hometown of the Babel culture, and to restore by going to the land God will show him, where the seed of the woman will be born. Born again is leaving the place of the flesh, sin and Satan, and restoring the image of the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ. Our living faith has a very important phrase: I am willing to turn to God now, and this itself is born again. From Satan and darkness, he returns to God. Simply put, born again means restoring God (touched by God). Born again is neither the act of prayer of acceptance of Christ nor baptism. It is a process where he restores his identity of the child of God and inherits all of God's blessings. When one is born again, one can naturally hear God's voice and see God's works. If you are not born again, be willing now and you will be born again.

(2) Covenant (12:2-3): The Source of all Blessings (God with us, bestowed blessings) → Family members, Descendants, Region, all Nations

Those who are born again will surely have the promise. The Chinese bible says towards the end of verse 2, "You also must tell others to receive blessings" But the original text is "You will be the source of all blessings." And following that, it mentions, "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse." This means that God is with us and we have His bestowed blessings! Therefore, four gospelizations happen - "and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Let us get the vision of the promise that all beings will be blessed through us. The reasons for the existence of our family, our region, and the age are for us. This is confirmed and sealed. In the whole of 4000 years, the evidence is abounding and now, we see the promise being accomplished before and on us who were once considered Gentiles.

For confirmation in our hearts, let us take a step back again. What is the evidence that God loves us and is responsible for us, that is, that God's promise and covenant is real? We have the evidence in our lives, that we accept the word of God and love Him in our hearts. This is called being born again back in the previous point.

(3) Sanctification (13:8): Promise (fixed perspective) → walk with God (living) ==> Mount Moriah (died and resurrected) = Living Sacrifice

What is sanctification? It is not about abandoning our bad habits like gambling, or playing the world. Sanctification is about what must be taken off and restored, and not about what extra zeal that has to be added on. The bible says that sanctification starts from promise. Then having one's heart and mind filled with God's word so that the promise becomes his fixed perspective (he can judge all things by promise), he can converse with God. Then naturally, when he prays continually against opposing flesh and ego, he walks with God in all his living circumstances. This means that no matter what such a sanctified person is doing (eating, working, even going to the toilet), he is in continual prayer to die to his own ideas and to submit to God's will in resurrection. Outwardly, others will be able to see such a person as sanctified as he becomes gentle and really loves people. Sanctification is what is represented by Mount Moriah, the meaning of being a living sacrifice.

(4) Inheritance (17:6 Kingdom, King, People, 25:5-8 Isaac, Canaan, Israel) ==> Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Israel, Christ, all Nations

After changing Abram's name to Abraham in <Ge 17:6>, God showed him the inheritance (Kingdom, the King, and the People of God, Israel) that he must receive and which will cause him to walk towards. On Mount Moriah, he was told that his inheritance will be his descendants, as numerous as the stars of the heaven and sand of the sea shore <22:17>.

=> Isaac (People of the covenant)

However, the inheritance must be received through children of the covenant. In <25:5-8>, Abraham sent all his sons away and gave them his earthly wealth. But to Isaac, he gave all that he had, and this inheritance he had was the promise. The world has all the wealth, abundance and convenience, but money only brings trouble to the family. However, those who walk towards the kingdom by the promise will get everything and the land flowing with milk and honey. Unless we have the assurance of being loved by God, every wealth that comes to us is not beneficial to us. Therefore, as parents, let us not be foolish to only save up for our children's education, or to work and live a life with no worries and enjoy the revelries of the world by dabbling with properties, women, etc. The wisest parents are those who receive blessings and experience God together with the family before leaving this world, and passing this blessing to their children. (We are not saying that we are perfect and thus we are warned. Because we know our own weaknesses and are easily blown away by the winds of the world, we should fix this process in our minds. Then with this mystery, we can enjoy God.) If my child is not the one with covenant, then it is my disciples that I should pass this blessing to. If we see anyone who is going to be used greatly by God, we would want to pass to him all our blessings as much as possible and in turn receive blessings from him. In Canaan, Abraham bought a grave and buried his wife. Isaac, Rebecca, Leah and Jacob were all buried there in turn. When Jacob and all of Israel go to Egypt, he never forgets Canaan as the inheritance as he passed the word down, "you must bring back my bones." And if we just check out the map, the burial place "Hebron" is in the centre of Canaan! Let us not forget to hold on to this inheritance that already belongs to us! Out of Isaac and Jacob, the people of the covenant, come the 12 tribes, Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and all peoples (including even us, the Chinese, who are considered by the world as the heirs of the dragon).

2) Isaac <Chapter 25-26> = Blessings

Isaac's story is about blessings, blessings and blessings. We must confirm that our lives have no curses but blessings if we are the people of the covenant.

(1) 100 folds, Springhead (26:12-22) - Isaac's Simplicity

Among the four people in Genesis, Isaac's life has the shortest record in the Bible. The reason is that Isaac only knows about eating and is "blind". Even though Isaac is so weak, he continues to receive blessings when he falls. Isaac is like a person without backbone. Though he follows everything and always gives way, he receives 100 folds of what he received previously. Only when we receive the life-giving water from the springhead (the timetable of life) can we gradually continue to be fruitful. Our minds must be fixed on promises. Abraham told Lot that he could choose the inheritance of the land first. It did not matter that Lot chose what was the best because Abraham would come to face and choose God. After Lot left, God told Abraham that all the land that he saw and stepped on would be given to him as promised, including the portion chosen by Lot. If we do not have Isaac's simplicity, God will not let us be wealthy even if it means having abundance to contribute to world gospelization. God pulls our wealth back so that we would not leave the church. But if we have Isaac's simplicity to believe in the living God, we would meet the timetable of spring in life and in all areas.

(2) Prayer (26:23-25) Call upon the Name of Lord Jehovah - Isaac's Priority

When Isaac called upon the Name of Lord Jehovah at Beersheba in prayer, God gave him the blessings of children. Through Rebekah, twins were born and the blessings were doubled! We have to grasp Issac's priority in going to God in prayer. He made prayer his first consideration before any judgments, decisions and practice.

(3) Testimony (26:26-33) We saw clearly that the Lord Jehovah was with you - Isaac's Joy

Abimelech came and made a treaty with Isaac when he saw God with him. "Don't bully us." God wrote this in the bible to exhort how unlimited the potential of His blessings can be manifested from a person, from our children, and from our disciples! Let us run the race, not stopping, but by going inwards, for it will materialize into accomplishments that no one, including us, will imagine it could. However, we must discern and get Issac's Joy, which is because great accomplishments happened as a result of people seeing clearly that the Lord Jehovah was with him.

* Let us compare with <Romans 8> and get the essence of Isaac's life: (1) Isaac's Simplicity - though we may be weak, our law has changed. The law that is leading us now is the law of the Spirit <v1-2>. We are in the law of children and heirs <v15-16>. Believe this! (2) Isaac's Priority - Through the Spirit's groaning, He prays for us so that we hear His voice <v26>. Our priority is continuous prayers. (3) Isaac's Joy - And all things work for the good for all who loves Him <v28>. And in the book of John, the promise is that God is eternally with us, guiding us, through our prayers and He will give answers. We have to take heart as He has already overcome the world, and that we have the help of angels, and we will bear fruits that will glorify God and bless people.

3) Jacob (Chapter 27-36) = Sanctification (Man-driven → God-driven)

Sanctification is the restoration from the old self and old habits that are man-driven to a life that is God-driven. It is the restoration from the old self that is often affected by the background experienced by Adam. Jacob's life is a life of sanctification. Sanctification is not about stopping our old habits. With the help of God, we are sanctified when we see that our old habits are not beneficial to us. Sanctification is neither itself zeal nor can it be attained by zeal.

* Old Self, Circumstances, Satan Þ Holy Spirit guidance (Bethel = Altar) (28:10-22, 31:1-13, 35:1-5)

All throughout the very long record of Jacob's life in Genesis Chapters 27-36, Jacob was told to leave his old self, circumstances and areas of Satan's foothold and return to being guided by the Holy Spirit. This is called sanctification. Every time Jacob meets a problem, he returns to Bethel to set up an altar. At Bethel's altar, Jacob knows more and more about the promise between God and him. Bethel represents the temple and altar of God. Let us have the fixed perspective in having joy that problems are given by God to tell us to return to God, and thus, to His promise. This is the road of sanctification.