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Forty (40) days is a long time, isn’t it? Have you ever noticed how often 40 days are significant in the Bible?
* Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit of God into the wilderness for 40 days immediately following His baptism. (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13) Do you remember what happened in those 40 days?
* God promised Noah, He would cause it to rain 40 days and nights and a global flood would result. And it happened that way! (Genesis 7:4 & 17)
* Moses spent 40 days up on Mount Sinai with God, not once, not twice, but three times!!
Exodus 24:12-18... Moses received from God the 10 Commandments and instructions about worship, the Tabernacle, the Sabbath and many other things that would uniquely shape the relationship between God and His people, Israel.
Deuteronomy 9:18-26… Moses spent 40 days and nights interceding before God for Israel after the people and Aaron had fabricated a golden calf and worshiped it!
Exodus 34 … Moses spent 40 days with God in worship, experiencing the glory of God. As Moses came down from this experience, his face was radiant! So much so, they asked him to put a veil over his face!
* Numbers 13 & 14… Moses sent 12 Israelite leaders into the ‘promised land’ to scout the land and return with a report. For 40 days they investigated this wonderful land of God’s promise, but 10 of them gave such a fearful report that the people rebelled against Moses and God, refusing to follow God into God’s promised land. God’s judgment was that they wandered in the wilderness one year for each scouting day… 40 years, until that fearful generation died.
* 1 Samuel 17… For 40 days the Philistine giant Goliath came before the Israelite army, taunting them to send out a warrior to fight him. Finally young shepherd boy David went, taking 5 stones and his sling. Directed by God, it only required one stone to fell the great giant!
* 1 Kings 19:1-18 Following the showdown between the prophet Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal, Queen Jezebel sent word to Elijah that he’d be dead within 24 hours. Elijah fled more than 300 miles from Mount Carmel to Mount Horeb (Sinai) to meet with God and he spent 40 days and nights there with God, receiving God’s instructions and encouragement!
* Jonah 3:4… God sent His reluctant prophet Jonah to the wicked city of Nineveh. Jonah warned the people that God was giving them 40 days in which to repent, otherwise God would send great judgment upon them. They did repent and God did not pour out judgment upon this repentant city!
And finally, there is one more that is relevant to Easter…
* The resurrected Jesus appeared several times, to many different people, over a period of 40 days from resurrection Sunday until the day of His ascension back to heaven. (Acts 1:1-3; John 20,21; Luke 24; Matthew 28; Mark 16)
Today’s Scripture is Acts 1:1-5.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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