SALVATION PLAN I

Pr. Geoffrey Kibombo

From the beginning, the work of God towards mankind has always been salvation. His Plan towards mankind was for them to have a good life. Even when man sinned, God wanted to take him back to the original plan of having a direct relationship with him. God has always made plans in all generations to save his people.

In our generation, people are consumed by need and lack in their day to day lives. Lack is most times attributed to failure by government to put in place plans, programs and policies to counteract or respond to people’s needs. It’s true that the government has to cater for its masses, however, as Christians, we shouldn’t fail to recognize the fact that we are in the latter days where need and lack will constantly increase! 2 Timothy 3:1-2(TLB) warns;

“You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad.

However, despite all the difficult times that we were warned about in the latter days, we are not first generation to live, whatever happened in the past generations happened to serve as an example and warning to us. 1 Corinthians 10:11(TLB) says; “All these things happened to them as examples—as object lessons to us—to warn us against doing the same things; they were written down so that we could read about them and learn from them in these last days as the world nears its end.” God has as always had a plan for his people who are called according to his name.

Problems may increase, need and lack may increase but Jesus has overcome (John 16:33) and we too shall overcome. Below are some pictures God painted to show the Salvation plan towards his children amidst problems;

1. THE BRONZE SNAKES

The bible says that after God had taken the children of Israel out of Egypt, they began complaining about him and Moses, he therefore sent poisonous snakes to them but he also provided a way to save them
Numbers 21:5-9 (TLB)

“They began to murmur against God and to complain against Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they whined. “There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink, and we hate this insipid manna.” 6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them to punish them, and many of them were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against Jehovah and against you. Pray to him to take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the Lord told him, “Make a bronze replica of one of these snakes and attach it to the top of a pole; anyone who is bitten shall live if he simply looks at it!” 9 So Moses made the replica, and whenever anyone who had been bitten looked at the bronze snake, he recovered!

God relented and instead sent them healing. Every person who looked upon the tree was saved - God was painting a picture in the Old Testament of what he will do in the New Testament. It was a picture a revelation of the salvation plan God had towards man in the future. It was picture showing Jesus’s life at the cross; for he became a curse so that we can become a blessing.

2. THE SIX CITIES OF REFUGE

These were places of protection for the children of God. In case one committed a crime in error; they would run to one of the cities and be saved.  After entering one of God’s cities of refuge, as much as other people would see a sinner, God would see a person who needs redemption. It was one of God’s plans for creating salvation for his children
Numbers 35:9-14(NLT) 

“The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. "When you cross the Jordan into the land of the Canaan, 11 designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally. 12 These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community. 13 Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves, 14 three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan. 15 These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.”

3. SALVATION SPECIFIC TO THE JEWS IN GOSHEN

The problems (hailstones) that afflicted the Egyptians did not extend to Goshen where the Israelites lived. God set apart Goshen, and the animals and crops of Jews in that area were not destroyed – This means that amidst problems as others are suffering, God will spare and protect you (Psalms 91:5-7)

Exodus 9:13-26 (NLT)

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 14 If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth…………….22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward the sky so hail may fall on the people, the livestock, and all the plants throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 So Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The Lord sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt. 24 Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning. 25 It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field—people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed. 26 The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.” 

4. NOAH'S ARK 

In a rotten generation, God decided to destroy all living things of the earth, but amidst all the plans of destruction, God had a plan save his favored people – Noah and his family. He gave Noah specific instructions of how the Ark’s interior should look like and its content - the animals and the food that should be carried into it. 
Genesis 6:1-22(NLT)

“Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. 13 So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth! 14 “Build a large boat [Ark] from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior..………………. 17 “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 18 But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.”  

God always has a salvation plan for his people that are called by his name – He already knows the problem you will face and how he will save you from them! The water that destroyed the wicked people and all other creatures is the same water that gave life to everyone and everything that was in the ark. Every time the water rose higher, all creatures on the outside perished but the ark rose above the water and the people and creatures in it lived.

Genesis 7:17-24 (NLT)
“For forty days the floodwaters grew deeper, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth. 18 As the waters rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely on the surface.19 Finally, the water covered even the highest mountains on the earth,20 rising more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks. 21 All the living things on earth died—birds, domestic animals, wild animals, small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people. 22 Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died. 23 God wiped out every living thing on the earth—people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat. 24 And the floodwaters covered the earth for 150 days.”

The problems killing and destroying others will not touch you as long as you are in the ark – Salvation: Where others are fail, you will succeed. The very problems all other people face will be your stepping stone to greatness; however, there is one thing that we should take note as Christians, the type of tree from which the ark was made was one - God told Noah to make the ark using a cypress tree; implying that, salvation we entered into is supposed to be of one kind, we are not supposed to have factions in salvation; we are not supposed to be followers of individuals but of Christ who is the core of our salvation

God has a plan for us; we should have faith in him to bring us through because his plans always come to fruition. However, the qualification for entering into the salvation plan is for you to be a ‘child of God’.

God always has a plan to save his own!