CCF International Church

THE INTEGRITY OF THE FATHER

As servants of God do not speak as ones who have attained, perfected or apprehended. We are committed to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We press on…. Trusting in the integrity of the Father.

Philippians 3:13

13 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
As leaders we are being continuously sharpened and challenged by the Word of God.

Central to this present reformation must be a return to the PURE WORD OF GOD.
This is an inescapable reality ……. Carnal strategies formulated in the laboratory of the human intellect will not endure …. 

They are unsustainable in the Kingdom of God….

The pure Word of God is incontestable… It reflects the integrity of God the Father…..the heart and mind of God….. 
We will study Moses’ commands to Israel after God had told him that he would not enter the Land of Promise….

He gathers the people together to inform them about his conversation with God and to further entrench the statutes and commands ….. in Deuteronomy 4
Deuteronomy 4:7-8

7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?
This is a declaration of trust in the integrity of God which is His Word.

Moses is saying….. There is no nation like ours. God is near to us because His Word is near. His integrity is near because His Word is near. We can call upon His Word because His Word carries the same integrity that is in Him. 

It is time for us to make these declarations ….. There is no one like our God…. he has a voice …. I will show you just now…. We can say without fear of contradiction, that our God is near to us…..because we are a people who dwell near to His Word….

No one can doubt our proximity to God. 

The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” 
Moses is making his boast in the Lord; in God we boast all day long.

He is saying “no nation can match the statutes and RIGHTEOUS judgements like ours…. Our Laws are incomparable….. as provocative and challenging as they are….. no nation can match the integrity of our scriptures.

WE GIVE GOD PRAISE THAT WE CAN FIND OURSELVES IN THIS PRIVILEGED POSITION.

This is an unshakeable position….. To remain in the PURITY OF HIS WORD.
Deuteronomy 4:9-14

9 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, 10 especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess

Here we see the manifestation of the Presence of God….

Fire, darkness, cloud, thick darkness.

Moses is drawing the attention of the people to the events in Exodus 19.,,, 
Exodus 19:16-18

16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
Moses is telling the people…….. I don’t want you to forget what you have seen.

Every eye could witness that God was with Moses….

His Presence was unmistakeable on that mountain….
WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE FOR HIS PRESENCE…

God was building the credibility of Moses in the midst of His people
Exodus 19:9

9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”

So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
The apostle Paul always included his testimony about how he encountered the Lord on the road to Damascus……..
When he addressed the crowd of Jews in Jerusalem…..
Acts 22

6 “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’

   
I shared at the dialogue on Acts 2:42

The scriptures say that “they continued”

They continued from the Upper Room…. Acts 2:2

It is possible to build a ministry from Acts 2:42 without visiting the Upper Room…. we can build professionally without THE HELPER…. The Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The disciples must carry the momentum that came from the baptism of the Holy Spirit to the place where we are building a family of God in accordance with the design of God.
Deuteronomy 4:12-20

12 And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess

15 “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. 19 And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.
We are warned not to focus on the form….. But the sound …. His Word of instruction 

This is the imminent danger in this present season….

That we have gathered a multitude of people around us who are prioritizing the form rather than the sound….

The sound may come through anyone who God chooses….

God does not need the approval of the city elders or the gatekeepers of the city….

We must discern the signs of idolatry,….that God is warning us about

Our ears are listening for the sound of His voice…… HIS WORDS…. The Word of the Father is His integrity.
What does this mean?

God does not need to speak….if Moses is saying the same thing as God had instructed him to say…..

So whether Moses says it, whether Joshua says it, or anyone else…

THERE MUST BE A SAMENESS IN THE INSTRUCTION.
Deuteronomy 4:2-4

2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.
If we are faithful to the pure word of God not one will be lost.

The success of journey is directly determined by the absolute obedience to God’s immutable Word. We do not edit His Word in accordance to our personal circumstances; for the convenience of growing our ministry. There should be no controversy concerning His Word. We don’t have to defend His Word. We are not ashamed of His Word. We are not apologetic about His Word. This was important for the Israelites’ personal safety. Because they are entering new regions. The Word of God and His voice becomes their compass.
WHAT HAPPENED AT BAAL PEOR?

Moses reminded Israelites of events that took place 38 years ago…..events that would forever be etched in his mind. Where the Israelites intermingled with the women of Moab, they then assimilated their culture and then worshipped their idols.

24000 people were hanged… Because of mixed wine….

We know that many despise the father/son wineskin; they do not respect it…. we have to be careful in our negotiation with this company.
One of the Israelites brought a Medianite harlot into the camp. Phineas, the grandson of Aaron listened to the instructions of Moses; Whilst the man and the woman was together, Phineas thrust a spear through the man and the woman. The plague that destroyed 24000 people stopped immediately. This is a prophetic act of destroying “mixed doctrine”. Moab despises the father/son doctrine. It despises accountability; submission….always searching for satisfaction outside the instruction of the father. The Elijah company is here to stop this curse.
THE SOUND

If we did not hear the sound, we will place our trust in the many idols that we have created to speak…. If everyone repeats what God said….. We declare that we are His people…. His royal priesthood….. his holy Nation….

He brought us out of the iron furnace of Egypt

the Feast of Tabernacles is about Him

It is about remembering the God who brought us out of the iron furnace.

When we look at the open skies we will see Christ, the Bright and Morning Star….

We behold Him in all His Glory….
THESE WORDS OF MOSES REFLECT HIS TRUST IN THE INTEGRITY OF GOD THE FATHER.

When we do not celebrate the doctrine of the father we search for alternative doctrines that would satisfy our disappointments. Not so with my servant Moses, with him I speak face to face.

This is the INTEGRITY that Moses trusted in….

He knew of the multitude of the tender mercies of His God…..

Moses was with God as the Israelites trudged through the wilderness….

He witnessed the integrity of the Father in the command of His Father…..
WHY WOULD MOSES ABANDON HIS LIFE TO GOD’S LEADERSHIP?

Moses’ confidence in the integrity of God was based on his experiences in God.

He was an eyewitness of the majesty, the Glory and the splendor of The integrity of God.
Hebrews 11:24-27

24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Deuteronomy 2:4-7

4 And command the people, saying, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. 5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

7 “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’
Do not meddle with your brethren.

Meddle…

to stir up strife …. Associated with the forsaking of God’s law; to provoke war.

Hebrew word …gārāh: A verb meaning to meddle, to stir up strife, to provoke. It is used in Proverbs always with the object being strife (15:18; 28:25; 29:22) or those who forsake God’s law (Prov. 28:4). Used reflexively, it basically means to stir up one’s self against someone or something: peoples (Deuteronomy 2:5, 19);, a king (2 Kings . 14:10; 2 Chroncles 25:19); a people or nation to provoke war (Deuteronomy 2:9, 24; Daniel 11:10, 25)

(Definition extracted from Strongs Word Dictionary).
This is why Job would say…. ” Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”

David knew who He was appealing to….. David was appealing to the integrity of his GOD….
Psalms 25:6-10

6 Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses,

For they are from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;

According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

8 Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.

10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,

To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

Micah 4:1

The Lord’s Reign in Zion

​1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house

Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills;

And peoples shall flow to it.
Last week we heard about the prophetic utterance over Benjamin….. That he is a ravenous wolf.

It all depends where we encounter this company in our journey
There is a mountain called Zion.

In this place Benjamin will have to dwell side by side with Joseph….picture of Christ

The wolf shall also dwell with the lamb

The natural predatory instincts of the ravenous wolf has to be neutralized if it desires to dwell with the lamb, a picture of Joseph, a picture of the Christ.

Benjamin has to submit to the Christ in Zion.

All will find their rest in Christ ….

Zion ….. A place of extraordinary integrity.