Why Sit There Until You Die?

Posted on October 15, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

castle-gate

(2 Kings 7:3-4 NASB) “Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? {4} “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we shall die there; and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.””

Four men sat at a gate of a certain city. They had a decision to make, one that needed to be made pretty quick. For some time these men, victims of a terrible disease, waiting for someone to come by and offer them a hand. Days passed, and no one came. To wait any longer was to invite death by starvation. They could no longer afford to be apathetic about their situation, waiting for someone to come along and toss a few coins in their cups. Another day or so of fruitless inactivity would bring death. These men didn’t know exactly when death was coming, but they knew its dark arrival was due any time. “Why sit here until we die? Let’s move to change our lives while we can still move”.

The plight of these men is almost perfectly reflected in American life today. America is not only a place of affluence, it’s a place of entertainment. Watch the political race. If that ain’t apathetic entertainment, what is? If you sit still in front of the television long enough someone will offer you a solution for all your problems.

Out of money and deep in debt? Don’t worry about it – get another credit card.

Overweight? Oprah’s trainer will come to you if you sit there long enough.

Problems with your marriage? Watch Jerry or Maury, and they’ll tell you how to fix it.

Poor health? There are several shows you can watch that will toss a few coins in your cup. Just keep waiting and not doing. You have all the time in the world, just keep sitting and waiting.

Prior to his death a friend, a dear man, looked up at his wife. He quietly told her that the Lord had called him into ministry many years before, but because he was afraid to step out on faith he let that part of his life die. He sat idly at the gate of life knowing his calling, sitting there till death came. “Why do we sit here until we die?”

The preacher gives an invitation to come forward, to give your life to Jesus. He invites you to join the Church and the Christ, to rise from the gate of life and to enter that great City of God. The message you heard touched your heart, and you know that God is surely in this place.

You decide to wait.

You wait till tomorrow, till next week, till a more convenient time.

Someone may pass by and put a few coins in your cup. You may get a better offer from a bigger church. You have a roast in the oven, and the kids are hungry. You’re going to visit a relative today. So you go home and the moment passes. Will you sit there until you die? After than, what then? The Bible is very clear that following your death you will be judged (see Hebrews 9:27). You don’t believe this, but whether you believe or not makes no difference.

Certain things are true whether we believe them or not.

If you try to breath water, you will choke.

If you try skydiving without a parachute, you will be hurt.

If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, you will be hurt.

If you are sprayed by a skunk, you will smell.

If you leave this life without knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior you will not enter Heaven (John 3:16-18) but Hell. You can believe or disbelieve these things, but your failure to act on faith will not change the outcome. Why do you sit there until you die?

These diseased men did something with their lives. They got up from where they were and stopped waiting for pennies to fall from Heaven. They went into the city and found that God had already blessed them beyond measure. The city was empty, the enemy already gone. The men feasted, enjoyed, and left that place wealthy beyond their wildest imagination. So it is with the life surrendered to God. If you give yourself to Jesus you will find peace in the midst of chaos, satisfaction beyond your wildest dreams. One day you will enter a City whose Builder and Maker is God (Hebrews 11:10). Why sit there until you die? Get up and give yourself to Jesus, for it is written:

Romans 10:11 (KJV) “Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.”

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The Survey Is Wrong (Continuing Through Hebrews)

Posted on October 9, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

the-last-word-belongs-to-god

September 2016 Lifeway Research (an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention) and Ligonier Ministries ran a survey to see what Americans believe about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible. Though two thirds of the nation believe that “the Bible contains “everything a person needs to know in order to live a meaningful life” (per the Barna Group & American Bible Society), it is obvious from the survey answers that they do not read nor believe their Bibles. Eric Metaxas notes in a Breakpoint article:

Seventy percent of Americans agree there’s only one true God—one in essence, three in person: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yet almost the same number believe God accepts the worship of all other religions, even those that deny the Trinity or worship other deities.
Sixty-one percent correctly say Jesus is both human and divine, but half think that He’s also “the first and greatest being created by God,” rather than existing eternally, as Scripture and the ancient creeds of the faith teach.
More bizarre contradictions emerged: Over sixty percent of Americans say that God, Who cannot err, is the Author of the Bible. Yet fewer than half are willing to affirm that the Bible God wrote is “one hundred percent accurate in all it teaches.”
Two-thirds admit everyone sins, yet also insist that most people are good by nature!
Perhaps most oddly, half of Americans believe that only those who accept Jesus will be saved, yet sixty percent also say everyone will eventually make it to Heaven.
Fifty-six percent say the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, “is a divine force but not a personal being.”

John 8:31-32 (ESV) … Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

You cannot know the “Truth” apart from Christ and His Word, this Bible. Truth is not based on how you or I feel, but on what this Word clearly teaches. Today in Hebrews 7 we’re going to discuss some of these “Survey Results” and we’re not going to poll the audience for the correct answer (like they do on that goofy game show Family Feud) but we’re going to consider the clear teaching of the Word of God. Let’s read our focal text:

Hebrews 7:19-28 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. [20] And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: [21] (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) [22] By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. [23] And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: [24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. [25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. [26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. [28] For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

1 A Majority Of Americans (Churched and UnChurched) Believe That God Accepts The Worship Of All Other Religions, Even Those That Deny The Trinity Or Worship Other Deities. Is This True? Not According To The Bible!

In our text today Jesus Christ is declared a “High Priest” to His people, and contrasted to the Old Testament “High Priest”. In either Testament – Old Testament or New Testament – the only way you could get access to God was through His designated Priest. How was the office of the High Priest filled in the Old Testament? Did God just say “have a vote, conduct a survey, choose a priest that suits you?” No He did not!

When God led Israel out of Egypt He had Moses park that nation at the foot of Mount Sinai. While at Mount Sinai God told Moses to go up into the Mountain to “receive the Law”. The account of Moses receiving the Law starts in Exodus 19 and continues through Exodus 32. In that 32^nd chapter God tells Moses:

Exodus 32:7-10 “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

God saw Israel worshiping false gods and He was NOT pleased. God is NOT pleased with the worship of false gods, no more than you who are parents would be pleased if your children that you suffered for and fed were to call a stranger “Mommy” or “Daddy”. God is not pleased with idolatry. He is not pleased when His people turn quickly out of the Way that He commands them”, and He is not pleased when the stranger chases after false gods. When Moses came down the Mountain he cried out “Who is on the Lord’s side? Let them come to me!” (Exodus 32:26). The Children of the Tribe of Levi stood with Moses, drew their swords, and three thousand idolaters were killed that day. The Levites from that day forward became the Tribe where the Priests and High Priests of God came from. God does not tolerate idolatry!

When God sent Israel into the Land of Canaan He told them:

Deuteronomy 12:2-4 You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. 4 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way.

Some well meaning Christians have said “Well, perhaps those who have never heard of the True God, perhaps God will give them a pass to Heaven”. But the Lord says:

Isaiah 55:6 ESV Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near ..

We cannot justify idolatry by the the feelings of our hearts. God is able. When Israel went into the Promised Land a prostitute by the name of Rahab called upon the Name of the Lord and was saved. Not only saved, but Rahab became one of the physical descendants of the Incarnate Christ. Abram was an ancient Babylonian that God called to salvation. Abraham believed in the Lord, and God counted this faith for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Ruth led her mother in law Naomi to salvation in the Lord. A Jew named Saul stomped down the Damascus Road, off to kill Christians. Jesus Christ knocked Saul down, and Saul became Paul, one of the greatest of the Apostles.

Isaiah 59:1-3 (ESV) Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.

Many who profess Christ make allowance for idolatrous salvation because they are too lazy or too fearful of sharing Christ with their lost friends. Do not be deceived. In the Old Testament you had to approach God through the Priest of Levi. In the New Testament God has declared that Jesus Christ …

Hebrews 7:24-25 ….. because he (Jesus) continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. [25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

As the Scripture says, (1 Corinthians 10:14 ESV) Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. There is but one Way unto salvation, and that is through the High Priest of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus has declared:

John 14:6 (ESV) …. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

This is the Message of the Gospel, the Only Gospel God has given His Church and the world:

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

2 A Majority Of Americans Believe That People Are Good By Nature. Is This True? Not According To The Bible. The Bible says that every person outside of Jesus Christ – every person, whether man woman or child – is a sinner in need of salvation. The Bible says that we are bad by nature. People need to be saved because we are sinners. We read today:

Hebrews 7:25-27 Wherefore he (Jesus) is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. [26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

In the Old Testament at Mount Sinai God established the Levitical Priesthood at the same time He established the Law. Man was given God’s Law to live by. Man was given the Levitical Priest to give access to God. But we read today:

Hebrews 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

The Law made nothing perfect. Why? Because we are all sinners. The Apostle Paul confronted this in the Book of Romans. You need to read the Book of Romans if you think you are perfect. Paul under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit wrote:

Romans 7:7-9 (ESV) What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” [8] But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. [9] I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

The Law is not sinful. The Law is a reflection of God’s Holy character. Our God is thrice HOLY. The Angels of Heaven fly about His Throne shouting “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). When you walk in the Throne Room of God those guarding it warn you “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”. God is Holy. He is without sin. He is always right and righteous. The Law reflects His rightness.

And no matter how hard man tried, he could not maintain a state of perfect holiness. The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee prior to his salvation by Jesus. Paul wrote of his life saying:

Romans 7:18-19 (ESV) For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [19] For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

Every person who lives has this internal struggle. We would like to all think that we are at heart just good people. Yet the Bible declares:

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

I hear people say all the time just follow your heart or I’m going to follow my heart. That’s a mistake. Following your heart is following something that is deceitful and wicked – desperately wicked. That doesn’t mean your heart is always wicked. There are times when your heart stumbles on good. But as Jon Bloom wrote in his book Don’t Follow Your Heart:

“The Bible is full of examples that warn us not to follow our hearts. When Moses followed his heart, he killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:12) and faithlessly struck the rock (Numbers 20:10–12). When {the Prophet}Balaam followed his heart, he was rebuked by a donkey (Numbers 22:30). When {King of Babylon} Nebuchadnezzar followed his heart, he ended up eating grass like an ox (Daniel 4:32). When Haman followed his heart, he ended up hanging from the gallows he had built (Ester 7:10). When the disciples followed their hearts, they argued over who was the greatest (Luke 9:46) and in terror abandoned Jesus in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:56). When Ananias and Sapphira followed their hearts, they lied to the Holy Spirit and dropped dead (Acts 5:1–11). The Bible is clear: we must follow God’s heart, not ours. Today, following God’s heart means to follow Jesus, which means dying to our fallen hearts’ desires and losing our lives in order to find them (Matt. 16:24–25).”

Back in the 60’s (Eugene Wesley) “Gene” Roddenberry wrote and produced a show called Star Trek. The basic premise of the show was that people – no matter who they are – are all at heart good and right. Gene envisioned a future where we explored space, a future where humankind worked together and money was no longer needed. People just worked to better themselves.

Have we seen that? Have we ever seen that?

With the turn of the Millennium some believed that we would get better. We have not. As God has been eradicated from schools we now see our children confronted with metal detectors and drugs. Every few months someone shoots up a school, and the gun control lobby starts talking about regulating guns once more. We don’t need gun regulation. We desperately as a people need heart regulation. We need Jesus Christ in our hearts. Only God can change a heart.

The Law of God convicts us as sinners. It show us that we fall short of God’s perfection. Under the Law the believer had to bring animal sacrifices to a Levitical priest to “cover or atone” for sin. Before the priest could make sacrifice for the person the priest had to first make sacrifice for himself. Why? Because the Levitical priest was as much a sinner as was the penitent. The priest:

Hebrews 7:27 …. offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s

The Apostle Paul tried living as a Pharisee. He tried being perfect in himself, tried keeping the Law perfectly. But at the end of the day Paul cried out just as we cry out:

Romans 7:23-24 (ESV) .. but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. [24] Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Who will save me? If, as the Scripture says,

Romans 3:10-12 (ESV) as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Romans 3:23 (ESV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ..

If God looking at creation sees us all as sinners, what hope do we have?

Our hope is Christ.

3 A Majority Of Americans Believe That Everyone Will Eventually Make It To Heaven. Is This True? Not According To The Bible.

Everyone CAN go to Heaven if they go through Christ. Jesus Christ is the only Person Who can save us to the UTTERMOST. Look at your text again:

Hebrews 7:19-22 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. [20] And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: [21] (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek:) [22] By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

The Law and the Levitical Priesthood could not make anyone perfect. The Law, though perfect, was given to an imperfect people. Even the Priest who ministered among the Jews was imperfect, broken. Each and every one of us have this in common.

We are imperfect.

People are running around shooting one another. “Blue lives matter” “Black lives matter”. Listen, “Every life matters”. But every life is broken. Whether red, yellow, black, or white, we are are broken. But God brought in a better Hope. And ONLY through this better Hope can we draw near to God. What is this Better Hope?

He is not a Levitical Priest, but a Priest after the Order of Melchizedek. I wish I had time to preach on this priesthood, but I will summarize it. Long before there was an Israel as a nation or even an Israel as a person there was a man from Babylon called Abraham. God came to Abraham and said:

Genesis 12:1-3 … Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. [2] And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Abraham heard God and obeyed God. He followed God, and God blessed Abraham. One day when God blessed Abraham he met a Priest of the Most High God called Melchizedek. Abraham was nourished by Melchizedek, and he in turn gave tithes and honor to this priest. This priest was a priest over 400 years before God established the Levitical Priesthood and the Law at Mount Sinai. This priest is pre-Law. This priest came to Abraham because Abraham loved God. Melchizedek lovingly ministered to Abraham because Abraham loved God.

Jesus Christ is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:21 … The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek…

Jesus comes to us just as He came to Abraham. If we hear God’s call and believe on God’s Son Jesus comes to us. The Levitical priests were mortal just as we are. But Jesus is immortal:

Hebrews 7:23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not {allowed} to continue by reason of death: [24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.

The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The Levitical priests had to be rotated because of death. They had to have a Temple and an Altar to function. But Christ’s Temple is Heaven, and His Altar the Throne of God.

Hebrews 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

Jesus as our High Priest is Holy as God is Holy, for Jesus is God the Son. He is not a mere mortal, but He is eternal God and perfect Man. Look at the words describing Jesus.

Holy. No sin was ever found in Christ.

Even Pilate who executed Him said “This is an innocent man”. (Luke 23:4)

The one who drove the nails said “Surely this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54)

Harmless (Greek ἄκακος akakos, not fake or evil).

He is genuine. Real.

Undefiled (Greek ἀμίαντος amiantos, unsoiled, pure).

Tried three times at night, they had to invent charges against Christ.

Separate from sinners.

He is not a sinner, but He loves us though we are sinners.

1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV) Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Made higher than the Heavens.

Jesus rose from death.

Romans 8:34 (ESV) Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Anyone can go to Heaven. But we cannot go to Heaven on our merit, on our goodness, on our works. The only way we can go to Heaven is through the Way that God has provided. We must receive His Son.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Receiving Christ as Lord and Savior He saves to the uttermost. That word “uttermost” is the Greek παντελής pantelēs which means perfectly. You are perfectly saved in Christ. Knowing Him, loving Him, following Him you are not perfect. But Christ is perfect. And Christ makes intercession for you. He never stops. He represents you before God perfectly.

You can attempt to come unto God many ways, but the only way that works is to come unto God by Christ. Won’t you come unto Him today?

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God is Yahweh Raah – Eternal Shepherd

Posted on October 9, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

One of the most familiar passages of Scripture in the Bible outside of John 3:16 is the 23^rd Psalm. You have heard the 23^rd Psalm quoted at funerals, and perhaps have read and meditated on the Psalm when in a “dark night of the soul”. Let’s read this Psalm together:

Psalms 23:1-6 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. [2] He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. [3] He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. [4] Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. [5] Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. [6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

If you’ve got a King James Bible you’ll notice that the word is is in italics. There is no verb in the very first statement King David makes. What he writes literally is “Yahweh Raah – The Eternal God – Shepherd”. Shepherd is one of the names of God.

yahwehraah

God Is Often Portrayed As Shepherd To His People. We may not understand sheep and shepherding as much as the Jew does. In America our major meats are beef and pork. There are few people who eat sheep or lamb on a regular basis. But in other parts of the world the shepherd and his flock are very prominent. In Israel sheep were required not only as food, but also as a major source of religious worship. When Israel was first established as a nation God brought them out of Egypt through an event called The Passover. God told His people to take a lamb per household …

Exodus 12:2 (ESV) This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

The lamb without blemish was to be taken from the flock, and brought into the household for 4 days before it was killed. It was then killed, and it’s blood was placed on the two door posts and the lintel of the house. The lamb was then eaten, roasted over fire. God told His people to do this “Passover” every year, for if they did not death would visit their homes. “When I see the Blood, I will pass over you”.

Sheep and lambs were used for the Passover, for the Burnt Offerings, in most of the sacrifices that Israel was commanded to perform. Shepherds were common in Israel, and every Jewish household ate lamb or sheep.

What is a Shepherd? He is the one who watches over His sheep!

Sheep have teeth perfectly suited for chewing grass, but not for tearing flesh. Sheep can run, but are not as fast as wolves or lions. Sheep have hooves suited for climbing, but no claws, nor any way to defend themselves. Sheep are absolutely defenseless in themselves. Their strength lies in the faithfulness and watchful eye of the shepherd.

1 God Is The Shepherd Over Those Who Will Submit To Him As Joseph And David Did. We are His Sheep in the good times, and we are His Sheep in the bad times.

Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd;

He is Yahweh Raah – The LORD Shepherd. God watches over and takes care of His Sheep. We are told in ..

Psalm 80:1-3 (ESV) Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us! 3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

God is the Savior of His Sheep. God will shepherd those who submit to Him. God is not a Sheep Dog, but a Shepherd. The sheep must submit to the Shepherd if they wish to be blessed.

The Bible tells us that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). The Scripture says:

Psalm 138:6 (ESV) For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty (the arrogant) He knows from afar.

The Shepherd watches over those who will be His sheep. He leads Joseph like a flock. I think it’s interesting that the Scripture here speaks of Joseph. Whole books have been written about Joseph. I have read many leadership manuals that have used Joseph as an example. Do you know what blessed Joseph, and blesses every great person God has used?

Just like King David, Joseph knew who was the sheep and who was the Shepherd.

If the Lord is Shepherd and I am His sheep then He will make things come out right in the end. Too many people who go by the name “Baptist”, “Methodist”, “Presbyterian”, “Church of Christ”, “Church of God”, or even “Christian” believe that God is their Shepherd – but only when I want Him to be. If you believe that then God is NOT your Shepherd. Let me repeat –

If you believe God is your Shepherd ONLY when you want Him to be,
Then God is NOT your Shepherd – at least not while you are like that!

God was Joseph’s Shepherd from beginning to end. When Joseph was given a coat of many colors (the good) then God was Joseph’s Shepherd. But when Joseph was cast in a pit by his brothers, God was STILL his Shepherd. When slavers came along and bought Joseph, carrying him off into Egypt, God was still Joseph’s Shepherd. When Joseph was sold to Potiphar a prince he was in the best household he could be. The Bible tells us that:

Genesis 39:2-5 (ESV) The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.

God was still Joseph’s Shepherd. Yet as is true in every life with the good often comes the bad. When Potiphar’s wife said “Sleep with me or else” (Genesis 39:7-9) God was STILL Shepherd to Joseph. Joseph said:

Genesis 39:9 (ESV) …. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?

Joseph did not see the sin of adultery as primarily against Potiphar. No, he saw the sin as an action that no sheep would take against his Shepherd. God placed him in that pasture. God blessed him in Potiphar’s home. He would not turn away from his Great Shepherd. What happened? Was he rewarded for this? No. Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph, and had him cast into prison for many years. What did Joseph do?

Yahweh Raah! The Eternal God My Shepherd!

While in prison the Cupbearer of the King and his Baker are also imprisoned, and while there have a dream. The two men come to Joseph and Joseph turn to his Shepherd. “Interpretations of dreams belong to God. Tell them to me, and God will explain them.” Joseph heard their dreams, and interpreting the dreams told the Cupbearer he would be restored to office in three days, whereas the Baker would be executed in three days. Joseph asked the Cupbearer:

Exodus 40:14 (ESV) .. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this {prison}.

When the Cupbearer was restored was he faithful to remember Joseph? No. People often let us down, fail us, hurt us. Yet did Joseph abandon his Shepherd? No. He waited on the Lord, and trusted Him. Jud Wilhite wrote in his book Torn:

“Does why bring healing? Does why bring closure? Rarely. Why keeps you in the past and
blocks you from moving forward. Why keeps you stuck in the pain and chokes out the
potential to heal. This is the reason that the better question – the question that Christians should move into sooner rather than later – is who. Who is in charge? Who is in control? Who has all things in His hand? Who will make all things right? Who is restoring all things?

The “Who” of Joseph and the “Who” we need to turn to is YAHWEH RAAH – The Eternal God The Shepherd. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 95:6-7 (ESV) Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if you will hear His Voice, 8 harden not your hearts …

Joseph could have hardened his heart because of his situation. Abandoned in prison for 13 years, eventually God raised Joseph to power, and placed him at the right hand of Pharaoh. When famine caused Joseph’s brothers to come to Egypt for sustenance, even then Joseph did not turn from sheep to wolf. He could have easily had his brothers killed. He didn’t. He told his brothers:

Genesis 50:19-20 (ESV) But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Joseph would not allow circumstances and events – whether good or bad – to take him from sheep to something else. “Am I in the place of God?”. No, we are not. When we trust God and let Him be the Shepherd, and we the sheep, then He leads Joseph like a flock.

2 God As Shepherd Demands Our Obedience – TOGETHER. We read:

Psalms 23:1-2 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. [2] He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

The LORD – Yahweh – is Shepherd. This is the God Who has created all things. The Scripture says:

Isaiah 40:11-12 (ESV) {The LORD} will tend his flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

A Shepherd does not tend just ONE sheep. He tends a FLOCK.

Those who say “I can follow the Lord by myself do not understand the concept of the Shepherd. If you wish to be blessed with God’s Presence then you must be in a Faith Family. It can be a small family, but no sheep is shepherded by himself. Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20-22).

The LORD Who Shepherds is immense in power. There is nothing that He cannot do. No one can measure the waters of this earth – no one has a clue how much fresh and salt water there is. We can guess, but we do not know. But YAHWEH RAAH has held and can hold every one of these waters in the hollow of His hand. No one knows how many stars there are, and scientists have yet to come to the end of space. No one knows. But God spans the Heavens with but one hand. God is mighty. God is immense. There is nothing impossible for God.

Jeremiah 31:10 (ESV) …. {the LORD} who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a Shepherd keeps his flock.

God will gather the Lambs in His arms, and carry them in His bosom. He cares for us. God loves us so. But there are times when God places us in places that seem to be bad places. Yet they are not. They are for our good. YAHWEH RAAH loves His sheep, but makes us lie down in green pastures. He doesn’t ask us. He MAKES us. He MAKES us LIE DOWN. Sometimes we lie down in exhaustion. Sometimes we lie down in pain. Sometimes we lie down in joy and fleeting happiness. But God loves us. And God demands our obedience.

The Shepherd never polls the sheep to see where they want to go. The Shepherd is head and shoulders above the sheep. He sees the distance, and knows what is best. We do not know what is best, but He always does. The Shepherd scattered Israel when they got their eyes off of Him, but He never lost sight of His Sheep. He Who scattered will regather. God said:

Ezekiel 34:15-16 I myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.

Those who stand strong apart from YAHWEH RAAH will be destroyed. The Pharisees sought a righteousness without Christ. The Scribes sought a righteousness with the Lord. Jesus told them “The tax collectors and prostitutes go into the Kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31). Why? Because John the Baptist came preaching Christ as the Great Shepherd of the sheep, and the religious crowd refused to hear his witness.

The sheep is weak. The sheep is without strength. The sheep comes to Him Who is the Great Shepherd, yielding to Him as Lord and Savior!

3 Yahweh Raah Leads Us But We Must Follow. He Will Lead Us To Blessing, And Lead Us To Life.

Psalms 23:2-3 (KJV) He leadeth me beside the still waters. [3] He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

waters

God leads us physically and leads us spiritually.

God leads His people to places where they can be refreshed. He leadeth me beside the still waters. Turbulent water is often muddy, and could hide danger. God satisfies His people. Jesus told the Samaritan woman:

John 4:13-14 …. Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Yahweh Raah, God our Shepherd leads us beside calm water. It is not calm water like the Dead Sea is calm, polluted, unfit to drink. God leads us to a place of refreshing. He wants to bless us – but cannot bless us when we wander from under His care. The Scripture promises that the Shepherd will care for His Sheep. We read:

Psalm 37:25 ESV I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

God our Shepherd sustains us both physically as well as spiritually. He restoreth my soul. He heals the scars. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. God blesses the righteous. The sheep of His pasture are righteous. Not righteous in our power, but righteous because of Him, His name’s sake. Those who are righteous will follow Him Who leads in righteousness.

The Sheep of the Shepherd are righteous. We are righteous by faith. We are righteous because we are His. As He is, so are we drawn to be.

Psalms 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The Sheep are to understand that the Shepherd goes with them no matter where they may go. Christ is with us. Let us read:

John 10:7, 9-15, 28 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. … [9] I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. [10] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. [11] I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. [12] But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. [13] The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. [15] As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. [27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: [28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Christ is the Shepherd of the Sheep. He is Yahweh Raah. He goes with us where ever we go. When we walk through the Valley it is not Death Valley, but the “Valley of the SHADOW of Death”. How can I explain this?

You have all seen shadows. Which would you rather be run over with? A TRUCK or a SHADOW of a truck? The SHADOW of a truck can pass over you when you are standing next to a highway and all you may feel is the wind of its passing. A SHADOW has no power to harm. Christ has defeated death in His body. He died, and in dying caused the death of death for those who believe on Him. We who are His can never be harmed by death.

Psalms 23:5-6 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. [6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

We will have enemies in this life, but death will not be one of those enemies

Those who are His Sheep are promised LIFE. Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. As you follow the Great Shepherd, Yahweh Raah, blessing will follow you. You do not chase blessing. Blessing chases you! And the Psalmist ends with “I will dwell in the House of the LORD forever”. I will dwell. Not a shadow of me, but a perfected me. Those who belong to Yahweh Raah will be forever with Yahweh Raah.

How can I live in victory? First, understand Who is Shepherd and who is sheep. When discouraging times come look to your Shepherd. Read His Word. Meditate on His Scriptures. Second, realize that what you are going through is but temporary. Take the long view. David said:

I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER.

An early preacher called Augustine wrote:

“Death is not to be regarded as a disaster, when it follows on a good life, for the only thing that makes death an evil is what comes after death. Those who must inevitably die ought not to worry overmuch about what accident will cause their death, but about their destination after dying. Christians know that the death of a poor religious man, licked by the tongues of dogs, is far better than the death of a godless rich man, dressed in purple and linen. Why then should those who have lived well be dismayed by the terror of death in any form?”

May God bless you all to surrender to Him, Yahweh Raah, the Great Shepherd of the Sheep.

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With Christ In The School Of Suffering

Posted on September 29, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

sufferingcross
Oswald Chambers wrote in his book Christian Discipline:

“Suffering is the heritage of the bad, of the penitent, and of the Son of God. Each one ends in the cross. The bad thief {on the left of Christ} is crucified, the penitent thief {on His right hand} is crucified, and the Son of God {the innocent Man in the middle} is crucified. By these signs {these three Crosses} we know the widespread heritage of suffering.”

Everyone suffers, and no one likes suffering. When we go through suffering and pain in this life our first instinct is to ask God “why?”. In our hearts we know that God is good, that He is good all the time, and that God always wants the best for us. We know God loves us. So when suffering comes, why doesn’t our loving Father end that suffering?

little-engine

The answer is simpler than you may think.

Spoiled and catered to children grow up to be spoiled and catered to adults.

I saw a cartoon the other day that said it all, and you see the cartoon on your worksheet. It is from a strip called Speedbump, and it should make you think. I grew up with parents who read me stories like The Little Engine That Could.

When I grew up, only first, second, or third place in
the race got a winning medal
When I grew up only the team that won got the Trophy!

Today we don’t want to hurt any-body’s feelings – and feelings are what matter – so every child gets a medal for just coming and breathing. The child who ran the ball the wrong way through the opposing team’s goal gets applause for trying. In my day that was cause to be at least mocked by your team mates. Not today. Everyone wins.

And that is a bad and dangerous thing to teach.

In life not everybody wins. In life, there are things that you will never be able to do. Each one of us has our own distinct talents and abilities, and we are not guaranteed a trophy or a medal on everything we attempt.

You can do everything right and still raise a bank robber or a pervert
You can excel at your job and the promotion still goes to the Company President’s cousin

You can love your spouse with all your being and still be betrayed
You can be friends – the best of friends – to someone only to be back stabbed
Disease strikes the good and the bad

Suffering teaches us all.

1 The Only Begotten Son Suffered, And Suffering Taught Christ. We read:

Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

Jesus Christ suffered.
He suffered as God.
God suffers.

Don’t you think God suffers? He made Adam. He put Adam in a perfect environment. He gave Adam a perfect mate. Adam and Eve lived in paradise, where they had every blessing of God you could imagine. God asked only one thing – Do not eat of one particular tree. And Adam ate of it. Don’t you think God suffered from that? Imagine yourself raising a child, and that child tells you one day “I wish you were more like Billy’s Father or Billy’s Mother. They are a whole lot better parents!” That’s what Adam and Eve did. And that hurt God. God knew that they were going to do it, but it hurt God nonetheless.

Jesus suffered as Man.

Matthew 8:20 … The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Jesus was the original Homeless Man. He didn’t stand on the corner at the local Walmart, but He had nothing. As God He owned everything. As Man He had nothing. The only clothing He had was a one piece robe His earthly mother Mary made for Him.

He was despised and rejected of men. The Prophet rightly said of Jesus …

Isaiah 53:3-7 (KJV) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Dear friends, if you are one of God’s Children by faith in Christ, then you need to understand suffering. God uses suffering to teach His children obedience. If Christ “learned obedience by the things which He suffered” then we who are less than Him should expect to suffer. We are not exempt that which the Master had to go through. He told His disciples very plainly:

Matthew 16:24-26 … If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. {25} For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. {26} For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The most valuable thing that you own is not your house, your car, your bank account, nor even your family.

The most valuable thing you own is your soul. Suffering tempers the soul.

Suffering molds the believer, and drives away arrogance while teaching humility and grace. There is no crown without a cross, and no growth as a Christian without suffering.

Hebrews 5:8 Though he WERE a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

The word translated “were” is the Present Participle of the Greek ὤν (ōn), (Pronounced: oan). Bible translator Kenneth Wuest states:

“The translation should read, “Though He was Son by nature.” The deity of the Messiah is referred to here. The idea is, “Though He was the Son of God, God the Son, Very God of Very God, yet He learned obedience by the things He suffered.” The omniscient God knew what obedience was, but He never experienced it until He became incarnate in human flesh.”

All humans – even God in the flesh – learn obedience, learn to obey, while under the stress of suffering. Jesus Christ suffered. He suffered much. When we believe on Jesus we become Sons of God. Jesus is THE Son, and we are ADOPTED Sons. He is THE Son forever, and has always been the Son. We became Sons when we called upon Jesus and were saved by the power of God. The day you were saved, dear Christian, the Holy Spirit came into your lives.

Romans 8:15-17 KJV …ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. {16} The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: {17} And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ …..

Oh glorious truth! When the believer is born again by faith and by the Spirit then we are adopted into God’s family. We become Sons. We become heirs. We are not second class, and Christ is not satisfied with us being second class. We are joint heirs with Christ. Praise God for His wonderful gift! We love to hear this – but HEAR THE REST OF THE TEXT. Romans 8:17 goes on to say ..

…. if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Someone once said “God only had one Son without sin, but He has no Sons who do not suffer”. All of God’s sons suffer.

2 All Of God’s Children Learn By Suffering.

a We Learn Not To Disobey Father Through Suffering. The Bible tells us that:

Romans 6:23 (KJV) For the wages of sin is death …

Not all suffering that comes to us is a result of sin, but it is a fact that sin does cause suffering. We through bad decisions bring suffering on ourselves and on others. When King David took another man’s wife he caused suffering to Bathsheba, suffering to her husband, and eventually brought death to both Uriah Bathsheba’s husband and their baby. This was the immediate effect of sin. But sin also has a long term degenerative effect. God told King David:

2 Samuel 12:10 (ESV) Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

The sin that David so lightly did planted a seed or rebellion in his son Absalom. The sword never left the house of David, but he battled his son Absalom until the day his child died. The Bible tells us that what we reap we shall sow (Galatians 6:7). Sin is like fire – play with it and it may turn and burn you!

Our Heavenly Father punishes us as His Children when we purposely pursue sin. He declared to the Lukewarm Church at Laodicea:

Revelation 3:19-20 (KJV) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

The sin of Laodicea was not one of the sins of the flesh that you see recorded in Galatians 5:19-21, but Laodicea’s sin was a lack of love for God and a lethargy in doing his will. Jesus called this lukewarmness.

Jesus stands outside the door of the Church and the life of the Christian who does not love Him with all their heart. He stands knocking at the door and will come in – but only when His people are zealous and repent.

God disciplines His Child and His Church just as He requires us to discipline our children. He told us in Proverbs:

Proverbs 13:24 (ESV) Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

A poor parent looks the other way or excuses the foolishness of their child. God is not a poor parent. God our Father is a perfect Parent. He loves us, and wants the best for us. This is why the Lord declares:

Hebrews 12:6-8 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

God disciplines unrepentant sin in His people. Yet this should not be a cause for discouragement. God disciplines sin in us BECAUSE HE LOVES US and has a PERFECT PLAN for our lives. Life is degraded when sin enters in. Life is blessed when we are obedient to our Savior and Lord.

One of the most interesting books in the New Testament (though all are interesting in God’s Holy Word) is the Book of 1 Corinthians. The Corinthian Church was literally a pastor’s nightmare. I would not have the stamina to pastor such a people. Though saved by grace, the Church exalted disobedience and selfishness. Though under the Blood of the Lamb they danced in the fires of hell. They were filled with carnal believers, believers who did not follow Jesus but – like the first generation of Israel – followed themselves. The Apostle Paul tells these believers:

1 Corinthians 11:20-21, 27-32 (ESV) When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. …. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

Sin brings self destruction – and God judges sin in the midst of His people. A Child of God in sin – unrepentant sin – who is not disciplined is not a Child of God. God loves us, so spanks us. Blessed be His Name!

b Suffering Is The Fire That Purges Us And Molds Us. Not all suffering is a result of sin and disobedience. Someone once said …

A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot.
It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become fine porcelain.

The Lord uses trials and suffering to purge us, to make us fruitful, to draw us closer to Him. Just as He stayed with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego He will stay with you in the fiery furnace of testing. Jesus told us:

John 15:1-2 (ESV) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

If you do not bear fruit God takes you away.
The believer who will not serve the Lord CAN AND WILL BE removed from this life.

God’s children are to bear fruit. But then Jesus says, “every branch does bear fruit, God PRUNES it, that it may bear MORE FRUIT”. Every gardener knows that fruit trees must be pruned, they must be cut, they must be disciplined, or they will grow wild and produce little fruit. This has nothing at all to do with disciplining for sin.

Jesus Christ Himself was without sin, and yet He still suffered. He is the Beloved Son of the Father of Whom God said …

Matthew 3:17 … This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Great I AM is forever pleased in Christ – yet Jesus suffered. Jesus never caused the Father anxiety, nor did He disappoint the Almighty. He came to do His Father’s business – and yet He suffered. He learned obedience through the things that He suffered. We who are adopted also learn obedience through the things that we suffer. The great Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon made a great observation when he said:

“God had one Son without sin, but has never had a Son who was without sorrow”.

Christ suffered. If He was not exempt from suffering, why do we believe we should be free from suffering? Our society despises suffering, but suffering teaches obedience. Though Christ were a perfect Son, He learned obedience by those things that He suffered.

Can you name one person of faith that never suffered?

Charles Stanley’s wife left him, and people whispered, speculating why.

Billy Graham when younger picked up a collection plate and the local paper
showed a photo of him smiling over the money, accusing him of being a huckster.

When Adrian Rogers first came to Bellevue Baptist his enemies
organized a walkout one Sunday morning.

Those who love the Lord suffer.

Just as gold or silver suffer the flame of the furnace to burn off dross, God’s people suffer

Pick up your Cross and follow Him!
The Apostle Paul suffered.

We do not know what was hurting Paul, but we do know that he said:

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (ESV) Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

You will never be strong for God until you are surrendered to God. Suffering teaches surrender. When we are surrendered to the arms of Christ we are in the best place we can be. Listen to me …

Jacob would not be called Israel until he learned to walk with a limp.

Abram would not be called Abraham until he experienced the dread of the Lord.

You will not be a champion for God until you abide with Christ
in the School of Suffering.

c Suffering Tests The Quality Of Our Faith. Our Lord Jesus suffered terribly in Gethsemane and on the Cross. We are told:

Hebrews 5:7-8 (KJV) Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

If Jesus had run from the Cross He would not have been Messiah. When suffering Jesus did not curse God. The Son of God will not curse God, nor will sons of God forsake God when they suffer.

Chaff, when it is baked, turns to ashes.
But wheat, when it is baked, becomes bread.

Suffering tests our sonship, but it never disproves those who are truly sons of God.

Jesus Christ was reviled, mocked, cursed. He was accused of casting out devils by the Devil (Matthew 9:34). The Bible tells us that Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with STRONG crying and TEARS unto Him that was able to save Him from death. Three times He prayed in Gethsemane

Father, if it be thy will, let this Cup pass from Me.
Nevertheless not My will but Thine be done.

Betrayed and abandoned by His friends and followers He walked the Way of Salvation by Himself. Nailed to the Cross between two thieves He was challenged. “If You are the Son of God save Yourself”. But Jesus couldn’t save Himself and save us.

So He suffered.
He suffered pain. He was crucified.
He suffered thirst. I thirst!
He suffered abandonment. My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
He suffered embarrassment. They cast lots for his clothes.
He suffered death.

1 Peter 3:17-18 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. 18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Cling to Christ in the storm. Trust God Who loves you, and say with Jesus “not My will, but Thine be done”. You will never be a Great Christian until you pass through Great Suffering. Take up your Cross AND FOLLOW HIM. Trust God. Cling to Jesus. Be with Christ and in Christ in His School of Suffering. May God touch your hearts with His Word.

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The Sin Of Sodom

Posted on September 25, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

genesis_18_sin_of_sodom_riverview

Today’s sermon is called “The Sin of Sodom”. As soon as I say that title I suspect many of you will assume I’ll be preaching on sexual sin. Though I’ll touch on that, that is not the main point of the sermon today. The sin of Sodom might have been outwardly sexual in nature, but this was not the sin of Sodom. Turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 18. The chapter starts with a man named Abraham.

1 Abraham Is A Pattern Of What Salvation Should Look Like. Abraham has been following the Lord.

Saved people follow the Lord. If you’re saved Christ is more than just a passing fancy – He is your Best Friend, your Savior, your Lord.

Abraham has been following Christ. The Lord came to him when he was just Abram in Genesis chapter 12. The Lord told him “Follow Me and I will bless you”.

That’s what salvation is.

It is following the Lord, loving the Lord, doing what the Lord says.

So Abram follows the Lord until he becomes Abraham, for following the Lord will change you. Abraham has been traveling, but when he gets to the plains of Mamre he loses the Presence of His Father God. Rather than wander aimlessly Abraham stops, sets up camp, and waits on the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 (KJV) Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Oh Beloved, if we would wait on the Lord – seek His Face at this altar – seek Him in our prayer closets – how He would bless us. God comes to those who wait on Him.

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV) But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Abraham waited. And the LORD appeared. The great I AM comes to those who seek Him. Read with me …

Genesis 18:1-5 (KJV) And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

The LORD (the great I AM) appears to Abraham, but Abraham, sees three men. He says “my Lord (not my Lords but my Lord) if I have found favor in YOUR sight pass not away from thy servant. Lord you are here with me. Father, Son, and Spirit, Please abide with me. I will wait on YOU. I will wash Your feet. I will attend YOU. What a beautiful picture of salvation! Abraham waiting on the Lord, and the Lord communing with His Child. And THEY said, so do, as thou hast said.

Abraham is meeting with the Triune God. What a mystery this is, the Three in One. Our God has one state but He is in three Persons. I cannot comprehend it, so do not ask me to do so. The Triune God is fully revealed in the New Testament. Christ is baptized. The Spirit descends to Him. The Father speaks from the Heavens, “This is My Beloved Son, hear Him!”

Abraham runs to serve His Lord. He does not have to be begged to serve. I suspect dear friends that those people that expect the preacher to chase them to get them into the flock are not where they need to be spiritually. God didn’t have to chase down Abraham. Abraham loved the Lord, and the Lord loved Abraham.

After Abraham’s visit with God we read …

Genesis 18:16-20 (KJV) And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

God does not hide His purpose from Abraham. He came to see Abraham, but He also came for another reason. God came to judge sin. Now Abraham is saved. Look what God says about the saved. Look in verse 19 what God says about Abraham.

“For I KNOW Him”. God knows Abraham. Abraham has a relationship with God through faith. What is it that will condemn people to eternal hellfire? Jesus tells us in

Matthew 7:19-23 (KJV) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

God knew Abraham and Abraham knew God. There was a relationship between the two, and Abraham lived to please the Lord. Those who are cast away from the Kingdom of Heaven are those who – as Jesus clearly states – have no relationship with Him. They are WORKERS OF INIQUITY. Pastor Shane Idleman of Westside Christian Fellowship in Lancaster California writes:

“If you sense that your relationship with Jesus is shallow and incomplete, it probably is. I encourage you to revisit your commitment and understand that believing in Jesus Christ isn’t the finishing line; it’s the starting point. When we genuinely repent and embrace God’s gracious gift of forgiveness via the cross, there is a complete change in the way we live our lives, or, at least, a strong desire to do so. If there isn’t a significant change or a desire to serve Him, our relationship may be superficial, and that is a scary place to be. This is why I often say, “Don’t live your life with a question mark here.”

“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD”. Abraham had his household in order. He kept the way of the Lord and those who resided in his home kept the way of the Lord.

The Way of the Lord is to put yourself in its rightful place – obeying God. What God has said is right is right, and what God has said is wrong is wrong. It doesn’t matter what others say. God is in control. God is always right. God was going to bless Abraham because Abraham loved Him. God will not bless sin. God will not wink at iniquity. God despises sin, because sin is a curse upon God’s best for you.

2 Sodom Is A Pattern Of What Sin Looks Like. God tells Abraham:

Genesis 18:20-21 (KJV) And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

Sin is an offense unto God. God hears the cry of sin, and if that cry is loud enough God will destroy it just as a surgeon will cut out cancer!

Sin hurts creation.
Sin hurts people.
Sin hurts marriages.
Sin hurts families.

The wages of sin is always death.

It is sin that causes a mother to abort her baby.
Sin steals and kills.

Sin is not a trifle. I’m sure you’ve heard of the man who cheated on his taxes. He wrote the IRS “Last year I cheated on my taxes and I can’t sleep. Enclosed is $500.00. If I still can’t sleep I’ll send you the rest”.

The sin of stealing robs a person of their property.
The sin of adultery robs a spouse of his or her lover.
The sin of murder robs a person of life.
Sins of slander and gossip robs someone of their good name.
Sexual sins damage the souls of men and women.

Sin hurts others, people created in the image of God. And sin grows if unchecked. King David enjoyed the sin of sloth, hiding out in the palace when he should have been working. Sloth led to lust as he looked on another man’s wife. Sin led King David to rob another man of his wife’s love. Sin led King David to murder Uriah, husband of Bathsheba, to cover up his evil. And sin caused the child born of this union to die. Sin is a snake that hurts others. But sin primarily hurts God. Sin is a slap in the face of the Creator. When David was confronted with his sin he cried out to God:

Psalms 51:1-4 (KJV) … Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Though David’s sin hurt Uriah, hurt Bathsheba, and hurt his unnamed infant child, sin primarily is an offense against God. Sin says what God has said is right is wrong, and what I have said is right is right.

God is going to Sodom, and God is going to judge Sodom.

a Sodom Rejected The Way Of God. God was going to Sodom to judge it because they were living in an ungodly way. This is what we are told in:

2 Peter 2:4-6 (KJV)4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

The Angels who rebelled against God were UNGODLY.
The world in Noah’s day was UNGODLY
Sodom and Gomorrah were UNGODLY

They were the opposite of what God said.

God told Adam “eat anything you want, but the Tree of Knowledge of Good and evil do not eat it”. The Serpent told Adam “Oh, God is just trying to deprive you. Eat! Enjoy!” Ungodliness cost us Paradise.

God made an example of Sodom and Gomorrah. Why? Because they lived ungodly – in a manner that was not honoring to God. The angels who rebelled in Heaven were punished for walking away from God. The whole world drowned in Noah’s day because:

Genesis 6:11-13 (KJV) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Sodom rejected the Godhood of God. We as a nation were at one time “One nation under God indivisible”. But now as a nation we reject God. His Way is ridiculed. God designed this earth.

Psalms 24:1-2 (KJV) The earth is the LORD’S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

God made this creation, but man, rejecting God, is destroying that which He has made. No nation has drifted as far away from God as Sodom has and has not de-evolved. The Roman Empire ruled the world. But rejecting Christ and embracing evil that empire fell, and it’s fall was heard all over the world. Rome burned while it’s perverted ruler fiddled. It is no more. Rome. Egypt. Sodom. Gomorrah. Babylon. Every people who have rejected the way of God their Creator has eventually crumpled under the weight of sin and the judgment of God.

b Sodom Exalted Herself in Pride. Rather than glorify God Sodom was puffed up with pride. God speaks to Samaria just before He destroys that nation, saying:

Ezekiel 16:48-50 (KJV)48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

Sodom’s chief sin was PRIDE. This is the first sin mentioned. There are seven particularly deadly sins listed in Scripture, and the first of these sins is PRIDE.

Proverbs 6:16 (KJV) These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look…

It is pride that caused Lucifer to become Satan. It is pride that caused Adam to fall. Jesus told the Pharisees “you should have no sin. But now you say, we see, therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9:41). Many people today puff out their chest before God, and strut to hell like Peacocks.

Sodom was not only prideful, but they were experiencing fullness of bread. They were more concerned with the physical than the spiritual. I have heard this among even those who profess Christ. They say “I know that this candidate believes in partial birth abortion, but I believe he or she can fix the economy. That I am FULL is what matters most!” Sodom was filled with people who had no care for their neighbors, but only for themselves. There was no “love your neighbor as yourself” – just “love thyself”.
Sodom Was Filled With Idleness. The Scripture says “abundance of idleness”. There is an old saying that

Idle Hands Are The Devil’s Workshop

Though this quote is not found in Scripture (I suspect Benjamin Franklin said it in his Poor Richard’s Almanac) it has its roots in Scripture. The Apostle Paul noted that those who did not work as God intended:

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 (ESV) If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

God made us to work, and to work for HIM until the day we die. Adam was created perfect and put in a perfect Eden, yet even there he was to cultivate the Garden. One might wonder if Adam had been busy instead of listening to a Serpent if we would be in the mess we’re in today.

Sodom was self absorbed. They had no care for those who were genuinely in need. We are told “neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy”. Those who have been blessed by God are called to help those who are in need. We are to strengthen their hands. That doesn’t mean to give someone a hand OUT but a hand UP. We are not to promote idleness, but are to help those who have stumbled get back on their feet.

Just as Jesus Christ always did

Jesus was always reaching out to those in need, lifting them up, encouraging them. He never endorsed sin but He offered forgiveness to the sinner. Go and sin no more, lest a worst thing come upon you. Jesus pointed others to godliness.

Sodom committed abominations before God. When people draw away from God and become self absorbed, it is not long before they engage in activities that God called “abominations”. It is an abomination to do that which you were not designed by God to do. You were created to glorify God. You were created to be in God’s image. Nations die when they drift into abomination.

Isaiah 3:8-11 (KJV) For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. 9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. 10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

Sodom committed abominations – sexual sins – before God. Heterosexual sin, Homosexual sin, Bestial sin. God made man and made woman from man and said “It is very good”. Sodom said “That’s not good enough” and pursued what God said do not do.

Romans 1:26-32 (KJV) For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

3 What Abraham Did Is A Pattern Of What Every Church Must Do. When Abraham realized what God was going to do the Bible tells us that:

Genesis 18:22-23 (KJV) And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

Abraham stood in the gap. Abraham stood before the Lord. He approached the Eternal and Loving I AM. He drew near to God in prayer – and Abraham interceded. Abraham prayed. Abraham was not arrogant before God, but humbled and broken. He drew near to God, and God drew near to Him. The Scripture says:

James 4:8-10 (KJV) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Too many Churches today have decided to fight ungodliness by becoming ungodly. Popular opinion says that this is now no longer ungodly, so we will go which ever the way the wind blows. We will draw near to ungodliness and hope for the best. But the Church must draw near to God. When it is cold and dark and you are outside in the chill you do not run to the darkness. No, dear ones, you run to the Light. You draw near to the Campfire, and huddle together in its light and heat. Abraham drew near to God. And Abraham prayed.

Abraham prayed.
Abraham prayed.
Abraham prayed.

God is looking over our nation. Two have gone down to see what is going on in Sodom, and will Abraham pray? Will His Church pray? Will His people pray? In the days of Ezekiel the Lord cried out ….

Ezekiel 22:30-31 (KJV) …. I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out Mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.

Our nation heads toward destruction. We are too busy to pray. But Abraham was not too busy. God looked for an Intercessor, and Abraham stood up. Lord, will you destroy the righteous with the unrighteous?

Will You destroy if there are fifty righteous in the city?
Will You destroy if there be forty-five righteous?
What if there are thirty righteous?
Oh Lord, what if just twenty?
Oh Lord, what if there are just ten?
And God said “I will not destroy it for ten’s sake”.

Our pattern, dear Church, must be Abraham’s pattern. We must not compromise with the spirit of Sodom that is crossing our land. But we must pray that the righteous will stand. We must pray that God’s Word and His Gospel still find a place in the hearts of our country. We must not be lukewarm like Laodicea, but must be passionate in our love for Him Who loves us. The same day Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from Heaven and destroyed them all (Luke 17:30).

Proverbs 14:34 (KJV) Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

May God lead you to a deeper, more Godly walk with Him.

Pray with me for our nation.

Stand with me for our Lord.

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Our God Is A Consuming Fire (Continuing The Names Of God Series)

Posted on September 25, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

consuming-fire-white-12-29-web

Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Some say that the name of God is Consuming Fire. Some say this is but a title. But in either case, God is clearly represented as a Consuming Fire in both Old and New Testaments.

By the end of this sermon we will together memorize a Bible verse, Hebrews 12:29

For our God is a consuming fire

If you have ever been camping, you have seen a camp fire. The camp fire provides heat and light when all around us is night. Fire is light. Fire is heat. Fire is not cold, nor is it lukewarm. Fire consumes wood as it burns.

Our God is first identified as Light in the Bible. The first command God gave was:

Genesis 1:3 …. Let there be light: and there was light.

God and man were to walk together, but you cannot walk with God in spiritual darkness. God made light. He didn’t make the sun and moon first – He made Light. Spiritual light. Physical light. The ability to see.

God created and walked with man in the Garden. God warned Adam against the darkness. “Eat of any tree, but the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you will not eat. If you eat it, you shall in that very day die!” (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam did as we do today. Our God is a Consuming Fire. He is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Adam sinned, and though God covered man’s sin with the blood of the Lamb, He did not allow Adam to stay in Paradise. But the Bible tells us that:

Genesis 3:24 {God} drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Until the Lord led me to preach this sermon I always thought that God stationed Angels (that’s what Cherubim are) with flaming swords to keep man from the Tree of Life.

I’ve read Bible stories that have had illustrations showing the Angels holding swords. But that is not what the Bible says. There are Cheribums AND A flaming sword. What is this “Flaming Sword”?

Our God is a Consuming Fire. Sin cannot remain in His Paradise.

1 Our God Is A Consuming Fire. God came to Moses as he tended sheep on Mount Horeb.

a Our God Is A Consuming HOLY Fire. A man named Moses tended sheep for his father in law in the desert of Midian. Coming to Mount Horeb – the Mountain of God – Moses sees something fantastic.

Exodus 3:2-5 (ESV) And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Our God is a Consuming Fire. The fire burned, yet it was not consumed.
God does not destroy His Children, but approaches them in Light.
God is holy – we approach Him reverently.
When we come to Him He changes us. We are in His light!

He is the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). God calls His Children out of darkness and into the Light. Moses is not the same anymore. He is set apart by God, just as every believer is set apart by God. He now has purpose. Our God changes us.

Psalms 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

God has Children, sons of God who He calls out of darkness and into His light.

OUR God is a Consuming Fire.

When Moses went up into the Mountain of Sinai to receive the Law of God – a Law given because of the unbelief of Israel – the Bible tells us that

Moses went up but God went down

Exodus 19:16-18 (ESV) On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

Moses went up the mountain but God went down! God always has to lower Himself to approach us. And we have to rely on the Grace of God to approach Him. Our God is a Consuming Fire. The Law of God caused man to tremble. The LORD descended on the mountain in fire!

The holiness of God is no laughing matter.

The Law was given to show that we were as far from the Light of God as the east is from the west. Those who tried God in the Law were punished for that foolishness. Abominations were subject to death.

b Our God Is A Consuming Fire. He Judges Sin. The Altar of God did not operate without the Fire of Judgment. Every animal killed to make atonement for sin was subject to the fire of judgment. Sin is no trifle. God’s holiness is no trifle.

The Burnt Offering Was A Reminder That God Judges Sin

After the Burnt Offering was made the Priests were to take fire from that Offering and put it in the Golden Altar of Incense. Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu thought that God was NOT a Consuming Fire. The Bible says:

Leviticus 10:1-2 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. [2] And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

God Does Not Wink At Sin. He burns off sin. He is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all. Fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

God loves us, and we should love God.
But do you know the phrase “fear of the Lord” is found thirty times in Scripture?

Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Acts 9:31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

In America today it is popular to think that God is Love. And God is love. But our God is a Consuming Fire. He is not a man like we are. When He took upon Himself manhood – being born of a virgin – He was still no ordinary man.

God in human package, He is still a Consuming Fire

Jesus is Immanuel, God become Man. Jesus said – heed His words –

Luke 12:49-53 (KJV) I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? [50] But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I {distressed} till it be accomplished! [51] Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: [52] For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. [53] The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

The Gospel that Jesus brought is a Gospel of Light,
A Gospel from a God Who is a Consuming Fire.
The Gospel does not save a man IN his sins, but FROM his sins.
God does not want PART of your love, but ALL of your love.
There is a “Gospel Lite” (L-I-T-E) and a Gospel Light (L-I-G-H-T)

The two are not the same.

In many places and many pulpits today it is preached that there are many ways to God, and God loves everyone just as they are. You can come to God a Gossip, a Troublemaker, a Sexual Pervert, a Thief, a Liar, a Drunkard, a Murderer, and God will save you and make you a better Gossip, Troublemaker, a better Sexual Pervert, a more exquisite Thief, a slick Liar and manipulator of the truth, a smooth Drunkard and a more expert Murderer. This is not true. Our God is a Consuming Fire. Where His Gospel is preached fires are started. Fire brings light and heat, and Satan with his followers do not care for either light or heat.

2 The Church Began When Our God – Who Is A Consuming Fire – Set It On Fire. The God-Man Jesus Christ had resurrected Himself from the grave. The Tomb was empty, and both Rome as well as religious Israel were upset and could do nothing about it. Jesus walked and talked among the people for 40 days.

Forty Days
Forty Days God brought rain on the earth, destroying all but eight
Forty Days Moses was in Mount Sinai receiving the Law (Exodus 24:18)
“Yet Forty Days and Nineveh will be overthrown” preached Jonah (Jonah 3:4)
Jesus fasted Forty Days and nights in the wilderness after His baptism (Matthew 4:2)
Jesus preached 40 days following His resurrection (Acts 1:3)

Before He ascended to Heaven Jesus told His disciples…

Acts 1:4-5 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Our God is a Consuming Fire. When Moses went up into the Mount when he came down his face shone with God’s fiery light. The light from his face so frightened the people that Moses wore a veil (see Exodus 34:33-35) on his face.

Meeting the God Who is a Consuming Fire changes you

Jesus told His disciples “Go and pray. Wait for the Promise, the Holy Spirit.” They cannot do His work who are not empowered by His Spirit. So they went into the Upper Room and prayed. And on the Day of Pentecost the Bible tells us that:

Acts 2:1-6 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. [2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. [3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. [5] And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. [6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

Oh how this text has been maligned and misused by our Pentecostal Brethren.

1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not the Author of Confusion, but of peace.

The Devil is the author of confusion. Humanity is often the author of confusion. But not God. God is a Consuming Fire. On the Day of Pentecost there were people of all nationalities, of all tongues, in Jerusalem that day. These were all people that Jesus Christ gave His life for.

Red and Yellow, Black and White
They are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little Children of the world!

There is a man from India. There is a family from France. Here are Italians. There are home grown Jews. These people are all of Israel, but an Israel that has been scattered because she forgot that our God is a Consuming Fire. God took Israel and through a series of exiles has scattered His nation all over the world. The displaced Jew has been displaced so long that many do not speak but the language they are in. How to share the glorious Gospel of Christ with them? Shall we build a United Nations? Shall we hire translators who will hear and tell them in their own language?

No, God shall make a way.

Our God is a Consuming Fire. He grabs hold of His people that day. Fire like cloven tongues rests on every person praying. And these 120 people go out and share the Gospel. And Fire consumes the darkness. Three thousand (that’s 3,000) people receive Christ as Lord and Savior that day. The Church grows. Our God is a Consuming Fire.

The Church of God is to be consumed of God!

The Gospel sets people on fire. It does not lull to sleep, nor does it justify sin. The Gospel of our God Who is a Consuming Fire divides light from dark. Those who are in the dark and wish to remain in the dark will hate the light of His fire. Our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus, a Rabbi who was seeking God:

John 3:16-21 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. [21] But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Those who wish to rest in the darkness do not belong to God. Jesus said “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light, LEST HIS DEEDS BE REPROVED”. Our God is a Consuming Fire. You cannot be with Him and be in darkness. So the Lord demands a choice from every person.

Repent from sin and come to Me to be saved, or
Remain in darkness.
For our God is a Consuming Fire. He is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:5-7 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Those who are saved walk in the Light.
They do not walk in darkness, secretiveness, and murmuring.
They walk in the Light.
They have fellowship with one another.
They are bound together in love for God and love for one another.
They are bound together despising sin, and rejecting worldliness.

3 The Light Of God And The Darkness Of The World Will Always Be At War – But Light Will Always Beat The Darkness. Our God is a Consuming Fire. He calls whosoever will to receive Him as Savior and Lord. God is a Consuming Fire, and God is the Gospel. We read in Hebrews:

Hebrews 12:25-29 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: [26] Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. [27] And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. [28] Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: [29] For our God is a consuming fire.

God will win in the end. Are you standing with God? If not, you need to remember our God is a Consuming Fire. We who are his “are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved”. God’s Kingdom cannot be moved, nor will it be moved. God will, through Christ, triumph.

Let us have Grace

We have Grace so that we can serve God ACCEPTABLY. Not as we think is acceptable, but as God thinks is acceptable. We who are His are to serve Him in a way HE considers best.

The other day I and Sherry went to Legends to eat lunch. We love that place – it’s a great place to eat. When we sat down the waiter came and took our order, brought our drinks – and we didn’t see him again. When our fruit tea drinks ran out I had to get up and go refill them. I didn’t see him even when he brought the bill – he dropped it on the table as he passed. Other customers received rolls and cornbread with their meal. We received the cold shoulder. Finally I flagged him down long enough to get him to take the check and our payment. When he brought the

“Have a blessed day”

You may disagree with me, but I didn’t leave a tip for that young man. A tip is not a welfare payment. A tip is a reward given for good or acceptable service – ACCEPTABLE according to the customer’s standard. If you belong to God you are to “wait on Him”.

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

If you are the waiter, and God your Customer – are you living acceptably according to HIM? Are you pleasing HIM? God is not our Waiter, we are His. Our God is a consuming fire. Please Him. Serve Him. Read His Word and seek His Face daily.

Our God Is A Consuming Fire!

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Christ Our High Priest Is Better Than The Levitical Priest

Posted on September 21, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

abraham-meets-melchisedech

When the Bible was originally written each book – written by God – was written just like a letter. In fact I like to say that the Bible is God’s Love Letter to us. It was not until 1227 AD that a man named Stephen Langdon divided the Bible into chapters. The chapters were broken up into verses by Robert Stephanus (Robert Stephens) in 1551 AD. The very first Bible to have both chapter as well as verse divisions was the Latin Vulgate (1555), and the first English version of the Bible with both chapters and verse divisions was the Geneva Bible (1560).

The Bible is God ordained, God blessed, and Holy Spirit inspired. But the chapter and verse divisions are man made, just as the paper and leather that binds your Bible is man made. And sometimes these man made divisions make things confusing.

For instance, as we transition from Hebrews chapter 4 to Hebrews chapter 5 (man made divisions) we might wonder why the chapters were broken this way. From Hebrews 4:14 to 5:9 we see that the the text is comparing the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ to the High Priesthood of the Old Testament Levitical Priest. Why Stephen Langdon broke the text from chapter 4 to chapter 5 I do not know. A pastor named Don Stewart wrote:

The chapter and verse divisions are convenient for reference and quotation purposes. They make it easier to find certain statements and accounts in Scripture. Yet the chapter and verse divisions can cause a number of problems.

In our responsive reading today we will go from Chapter 4 to Chapter 5. The key point is:

Christ is a better High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-16 (KJV)14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 5:1-9 1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. 5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

1 Jesus Christ Is A Greater High Priest Because “He Is Passed Into The Heavens”. I love the way the King James says it – He IS passed. The word here is the Second Perfect Active Participle of διέρχομαι dierchomai. The word means “is passed” or even better “is ascended into”. Our High Priest is ascended into Heaven.

The High Priest of Israel never ascended unto Heaven. We read:

Hebrews 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

a The High Priest of Israel was taken from among men. He is MORTAL just as all men are MORTAL. The High Priest was the High Priest as long as he lived. He was taken from among men and ordained for men. But the High Priest was not eternal. The office was, but the man was not. Aaron was the first High Priest of Israel, but when he died his son Eleazar (see Numbers 20:28) took his place. When Eleazar died Phineas his son took his place. Each High Priest was ordained and anointed with oil. Each High Priest came from the lineage of Aaron. But every High Priest had one thing in common.

They died. They were replaced. They wore out.

They were not immortal. They served God for the people, making atonement year after year, but they had a shelf life. They came. They died.

Our High Priest Jesus Christ Was Not Taken From Among Men, But Is God Become Man

We were told earlier in Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:8-11 (KJV) But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

Jesus Christ is not taken from among men, but is God come to man. He is a much greater High Priest. Though He was crucified on the Tree of Calvary dying a painful and shameful death, though He was hung as a Thief between two Thieves, He was no thief and was no mere mortal. Jesus is and will always be the Son of God. He said “no man takes My life, but I lay it down, and I have the power to pick it up again”. Jesus proved this. Dying on Calvary (and die He did) He was buried in Joseph of Arimathaea’s family tomb. Rising from the grave on the Third Day He proved Himself above death. Jesus is

1 Timothy 6:15-16 … he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

As God Christ has access – direct access – to God.
As God Christ is forever with God.

The Levitical High Priest lived among the people, and was anointed for the people, but just as the people died so did He die. But Jesus Christ our Lord is a greater High Priest. He never dies. The scripture tells us that Christ came from God and returned to God. Jesus told the Pharisees:

John 7:28-33 (ESV) … You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me….. 33 Jesus then said, I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.

When Jesus Christ rose from the grave He walked and talked amongst His disciples for forty days. At the end of that time the Scripture tells us that:

Mark 16:19 (ESV) So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

The Levitical High Priest – from the line of Aaron – died.
Christ dying rose from the grave, stayed for forty days proving Himself,
and only then ascended to the right hand of God the Father.

Here He makes intercession for those who call on Him. The High Priest of the Levites stood in the Holy of Holies making intercession first for himself then for the people. But our High Priest, Jesus Christ, He sits on the right hand of the Heavenly Father:

Romans 8:34 (ESV) Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

To make intercession for us.

b The High Priest Of Israel Was A Sinner Just As We Are Sinners. Though he was ordained and anointed of God

Hebrews 5:1 … that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

The Levitical High Priest was a man just like every man is a man. He was not special. The High Priest of Israel was a sinner just like every person is a sinner.

Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Every person among humanity is fallen into sin. There are none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, none who seek after God! All are sinners. The High Priest of Israel was a sinner, a fallen being, just as susceptible to sin as we are. He was ordained for men in things pertaining to God so that he might offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He was anointed with oil. He was chosen by God to do this. But the Levitical High Priest was still a sinner. When Aaron (the first High Priest of Israel) offered sacrifice it was first offered by his own hand for himself. We are told in ..

Leviticus 16:6 (KJV) And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

He could not offer for the people until he first made offering for Himself. Aaron and his children who served after him made an atonement for themselves first, then for the people. The atonement was imperfect, for an animal died for the sins of a non-animal. The High Priest would two young goats and a ram.

Leviticus 16:5 (KJV) {the High Priest} shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

These animals were used to make atonement for the sins of Israel. The Bible tells us that:

Leviticus 16:8-10 (KJV) …. Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

The High Priest cast lots over the two goats. One goat would then be chosen as the sacrifice for sin, bearing the punishment for sin in the people’s stead. The other goat would symbolically carry the sins of the nation far away from the people. The High Priest would lay his hands on the goat, confess sins before God, then this “scapegoat” would be released in the wilderness.

Animals would bear the burden of the people’s sin.

In Christ we have a High Priest who is untouched by sin

Hebrews 4:14-15 (KJV) Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

The High Priest of Israel was a sinner as the people are sinners. But our High Priest, Jesus Christ, was, is, and will always be without sin. We are told that:

1 Peter 2:22 (ESV) {Jesus} committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

1 John 3:5 (ESV) You know that {Jesus Christ} appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

The High Priest of Israel – a sinner – took animals from sinful creation and at the graciousness of God was allowed to sacrifice sin fallen animals for sinful men. But Christ is a much better High Priest. He did not have to offer animals for Himself for He Himself is without sin. Furthermore, He offered Himself for our sins. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) For our sake {God the Father} made {Christ} to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus did not carry two goats and a ram into an earthly Holy of Holies. Jesus allowed Himself to be carried to the Cross. Sacrificed for our sins, He bore our penalty on the savage tree.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (ESV) knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

As our High Priest it is HIS Blood, His SINLESS Blood, His PERFECT Blood, that covers or atones for our sins. The High Priest, even if he were a good man, could not do this. But Christ did this for us.

2 Christ Is A Better High Priest Because He Is After The Order Of Melchisedek, Not Levi.

Hebrews 5:4-6 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. 5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Why was the Law added? The Law was added because people are stubborn, people are hard headed. God saved Israel without the Law. God sent ten plagues on Egypt without the Law of Sinai. God parted the waters of the Red Sea without the Law. God destroyed the Egyptian army and Pharaoh without Law.

The Law was written on stone tablets, but it was preached to stony hearts. The Law of Moses was called the Law of Levi because Moses was of Levi. The Law was added because of transgressions, because of hard headedness. The Bible tells us:

Galatians 3:19-26 (KJV) Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

No Law was given to the Father of Faith, Abraham. God called Abraham and said “Follow Me, and I will bless you”. So Abraham followed God. When God said “go” Abraham went. When God said “stop” Abraham stopped. Abraham loved God. Abraham loved God more than anything or anyone else.

Abraham, take your first born son, your only son Isaac, and sacrifice him on a mountain that I will show you (Genesis 22:2). Abraham did not complain. Abraham did not delay. He got up early the next day and took his son to that mountain. He tied his son down, and would have killed that boy if God had not stopped him. Abraham put God first. And Abraham’s High Priest was not from the Tribe of Levi. Abraham was saved apart from the Law of Sinai. Abraham was saved by loving God.

Abraham had a High Priest after the order not of Levi, but of Melchizedek. One day following a successful battle against unbelievers Abraham was returning home. As he traveled with his men a mysterious figure approached him. We read in

Genesis 14:17-20 (ESV) After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Abram was met and blessed by a priest called “Melchizedek”.
The name “Melchizedek” means King of Justice.

Melchizedek brought out bread and wine, bread and the cup. This Priest blessed Abraham, broke bread for him, and gave him wine to sustain him. Who was this Melchizedek? He was the first High Priest of God. The Law that drove him was the same law that drove Abraham.

The Law Melchizedek and Abraham followed was loving God. Abraham loved God, and God loved him. Together they walked, and Abraham was blessed in this relationship.

Jesus Christ is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. He is not a High Priest after the order of Levi, of the Law of Sinai. Melchizedek was before Sinai. Melchizedek was 400 years before Sinai. The Law Abraham followed is the Law that we are called to follow today.

It is the royal law. It is the Law of Love. James spoke of this Royal Law:

James 2:8-13 (KJV) If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Abraham was saved by love. Abraham was blessed by following God out of love. Abraham was saved without the Law of Sinai. He was saved by loving and following God as a child follows a parent. We close with:

Hebrews 5:6-9 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Jesus Christ went to that Cross to pay for our sins. He died for us. And He is THE Author of Eternal Salvation UNTO ALL THEM THAT OBEY HIM. We who are saved love our High Priest Jesus. We trust Him. And we rely fully upon Him. He speaks to us, and we obey Him and His Word out of love, just as Abraham did.

May God touch your hearts with His Word!

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God Is Abba – Pater – Our Father Celebrating the Names of God

Posted on September 18, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

our-father

One of the most interesting and intimate names of God is in the Aramaic ἀββα (Abba) or in the Greek πατήρ (Patēr) which means “Father”. You find a few places in the Old Testament where God is referred to as a “Father”. For instance, the Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 68:4-5 (KJV) Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. 5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

In that text “Father” is the Hebrew אָב ‘ab. Sounds like part of the word Abba, doesn’t it? And in ..

Isaiah 63:16 (KJV) …Thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.

In the Old Testament God is called the “Father” of Israel (see Deuteronomy 32:6; Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9; Malachi 1:6; 2:10). God called Himself the “Father” of Solomon (2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13). But the Jews never addressed God as their Father. The teaching of the Fatherhood of God is obscured because of the Law of Moses. The Jews regarded the names of God with an almost fearful and superstitious reverence. The Bible tells us that the Law came by Moses, but Grace and Truth by Jesus Christ (John 1:17). The reference to God as Father is found only fifteen times throughout the Old Testament. But we find God as Father mentioned over one hundred and sixty five (165+) times in the New Testament. This is because “Father” is favorite name that Jesus Christ used for our God. Sixty five (65) times Jesus referred to God as “Father” in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. One hundred (100) times Jesus referred to God as “Father” in the Gospel of John. One of the most significant uses of “Father” is when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. Let’s read this responsively:

John 20:15-18 (KJV) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

1 Please Note That Jesus’ Sonship Is Different Than Our Sonship. Notice how Jesus refers to the Father. He says “I ascend unto My Father, and to Your Father”. No where in Scripture does Jesus refer to the Father as “our Father” with Himself as part of the our. When He spoke the Lord’s Prayer the disciples said “Teach US how to pray”, and Jesus told them to pray saying “Our Father Who art in Heaven” (see Matthew 6:9). He was teaching the disciples collectively how they ought to pray. Jesus Christ is the distinct Son of God.

Jesus is by nature the Son of God.
We who are saved by faith are by adoption the sons of God.
Jesus Christ has eternally been the Son of God.
We are given the power to become sons of God through Christ.

John 1:11-13 (KJV) {Jesus} came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

When the seeker receives Christ as both Lord and Saviour the Holy Spirit of God comes to our souls, and through His power adopts us into the Family of God. The Bible declares:

Galatians 3:26 … for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Galatians 4:4-6 … But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

The adoption of sons is not something you just receive by nature. The Bible says that “by nature we are the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3-5). We who are Adam’s descendants (and that is all of us) are born into this world by nature sinners, by nature alienated from God, by nature the enemies of God. The Bible declares …

Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 5:12 (KJV) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

There is a terrible doctrine being taught in pulpits all over the world, a false doctrine not found in Scripture. It is the doctrine that “all are the children of God”. That is not true. Jesus told the Pharisees who would not believe on Him:

John 8:41-44 (KJV) 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Those who do not love the Son of God by nature are – by nature – the children of the devil. A person who cannot hear Christ’s word, nor affirm His gospel is not a child of God. We are all born by nature children of the devil, fallen beings. When we come to the Son of God by nature and ask Him to save us, then He empowers us and brings us into His family. We become adopted Children of God.

We become radically different!

A man in a small village went to see his priest. He as a professing Catholic wanted to confess his sins and receive absolution. He said “I stole three sacks of potatoes”. The priest listened and said “I heard about two sacks of potatoes being stolen, but not three”. The man replied, “That’s true, I stole only two. But I’ll steal the third sack tomorrow!”

If you are adopted into the Family of God through faith in Christ, you become heirs of God at the same time you become children of God. You are not what you were. Before salvation you were a pig or a dog. After salvation you are a Child of the King, a son of God, and are made joint heirs with Christ. The Scripture says:

Romans 8:13-17 (KJV) For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Though we were by nature the children of the devil and the children of wrath when God enters our lives He begins to change our nature to be like that of Christs. This is called theologically Progressive Sanctification. God changes us, and promises us that we will not only inherit Christ’s Heaven, but we will inherit Christ’s heavenly nature. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Christ Who is the Son of God by nature was led of the Spirit of God. We also are led of Him.

2 As Adopted Sons Of God, We Live By The Rules Of The Father. When a seeker enters into saving faith with Christ he changes from what he was into an adopted son of God. As a son of God we are all under the Father’s family rules. We are adopted into His family, according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:5). The Bible tells us that:

Hebrews 12:1-8 (KJV) 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

No child of God can enjoy a life of sin. The Son of God by nature was born without sin, and never sinned. The sons of God by adoption realize what the Son of God by nature did to cover our sins.

No Child of the King would trample underfoot the Blood of Christ:

Hebrews 10:28-29 (KJV) He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Corrie Ten Boom put it this way:

“Please understand you are not responsible for what you are, but for what you continue to be. Falling into the water doesn’t necessarily mean you will drown, but you will, if you stay in the water.

A pickpocket who professed to be saved by Christ said “I have become a Christian. I used to steal about sixty wallets and purses a week, but I don’t do so anymore. Now I only steal five or six a week”.

That is not right, and that person is not right.

Christians can and do sin, but they are not comfortable or content living a lifestyle of habitual, ongoing sin. If people say that they are saved but are living in a clearly unsaved state, doing the things that the Father says we ought not to do, then that person is not a child of God. That person is in the words of the King James Bastards and not Sons. The Apostle said:

1 John 2:19 (KJV) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Someone asked me why I said I wouldn’t chase after Church members. This is why. I am a child of God by faith in Christ, and am running my race for His glory. I don’t have time to run your race too. If you are a Child of God by faith in Christ then lay aside the sin and run the race for Jesus. If not, your lack of faithfulness proves that you were never of us. We had a saying in the military.

Lead
Follow
or get out of the way

3 If God Is Your Father By Adoption, You Have A Right To Expect Certain Things From Him. As our Father God loves us. God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten (by nature) Son. But there are different loves.

The love that God has for all of His Creation is very deep, very profound. When our Lord Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to His crucifixion He prayed:

Mark 14:36 (KJV) …. Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

The Father’s Son by nature was going to face the greatest trial any person has ever faced. He Who knew no sin would become sin for us. He who is the Son of God Eternally is going to be punished for something He never did. He would die for us. He would cry for us. He would thirst for us. He would be beaten and shamed for us. The Father would turn His back on the Son. And Jesus would pay it all. He would bear the full weight of sin on His back. God loves everyone this much.

But when you become His Child by faith God loves you even more. And you have the right to expect the love of God.

One of my favorite shows is the Andy Griffith Show. I often wonder how it would be to live in Mayberry. A few years ago I read a rather sad story about the lady who played Aunt Bee – Francis Bavier. She died on December 6, 1989. In a Los Angeles Times article (January 17, 1990) the newspaper reported:

“The 86-year-old Miss Bavier died Dec. 6 in the spacious two-story Siler City home to which she retired in 1972. She rarely left the house, town residents say. Of an estimated $700,000 estate, Miss Bavier left the house to a hospital foundation and its antiquated contents to the public television network. An appraisal put the value of Miss Bavier’s belongings at $31,683, excluding the Studebaker, last driven in 1983 on a trip to a grocery store. The stench from the actress’ 14 cats coupled with peeling plaster, frayed carpets and worn upholstery indicate Miss Bavier either was unable or unwilling to spend much time keeping up the home. Her cats apparently used a basement room and a shower stall as a litter box. Evidently, the reclusive actress spent most of her time in a large back room plainly furnished with a bed, a desk, a television and an end table, where she kept her reading and opera glasses, black licorice and a bell. “I think she was a person who obviously valued her privacy. She . . . could have had non-stop fans if she had opened her doors,” said {Diana} Hatch (Communications Specialist at NC PBS).”

Mayberry is such a beautiful place, but there is no joy in a life unless God is in the midst of it. Frances Bavier could have had the world. But she died alone, lonely, without friends or family. God loves everyone, and calls whosoever will into His family. He wants to adopt each of us as His child by faith.

And He will care for us as no one else can. He is our Father.

I heard a preacher call God his “Daddy God” one time. I think that’s a little off. But God is our Father – exclusively our Father – if we have received Christ as Savior. Jesus said:

Matthew 23:9-10 (KJV) And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

Christ is our Master, and God is our Father. He is the Head of this Family, and we love Him with all our hearts. We address our prayers and needs to Him. Jesus taught His disciples to pray to the Father, making their requests known to Him. Jesus gave us a precious pattern of prayer. Let’s read this together:

Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV) After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Notice that in the Family of God the Lord promises certain things, and we the right to expect those things. God is to give us bread. To feed and clothe us. To protect us from the evil one. But God also expects something from us.

We are to hallow His Name, to glorify Him.

I remember a preacher once getting into the Pulpit and diminishing the Lord with a silly joke. In the joke he made out like God didn’t recognize someone. I’ll not tell the joke, for it is blasphemous. Beloved, we are to glorify God. The Chief Purpose that we continue to live on this earth is to glorify our Creator. The old Puritans used to say:

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

We honor God’s name when we love as we are loved, when we forgive as we are forgiven, when we cherish God our Father as He cherishes us. If you are in His Family, you are to live as one of His own. When people see you, they should see Christ reflected in you.

That comes only through the surrendered life, letting the Father lead you through all of life.

A little boy was walking into the big city with his Father. In order to get to the city they had to cross a suspended foot bridge – and the child was afraid of heights. He plead with his Father to let him stay on this side of the bridge. “I’ll wait for you here, Father. I’m too afraid to go across”. His Father looked at him and said, “son, do you trust me?”. The child said, “Yes Father, I do”. With that the Father picked up the child and pulling him to his chest, said “Rest in my arms, my precious. I will not drop you.” The Father crossed the bridge carrying the child, and they both went into that beautiful city.

Our Father is in Heaven, and He will carry us through all trials until the day we enter that Celestial City called Heaven. He will not fail, but we must surrender.

May God touch your hearts with His Spirit!

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God’s Rest (Continuing Series “Better Than” part 4)

Posted on September 18, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

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Hebrews 4:1-11 (KJV) Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

God offers a “rest” to His people. This is the main thought of this text. Eight times the word “rest” is used (the Greek κατάπαυσις katapausis), which means “a state of rest or relaxation of mind as well as body”. The Bible speaks of three different rests in this text.

1 There Is The Immediate “Rest” Of The Gospel CALL. We read in …

Hebrews 4:33 For we which have believed do enter into rest…

God offers a “rest” to those who will believe on Him. God offers a rest to whosoever will receive His Gospel. God is the Gospel. God offers us Himself in His Gospel. When the Prophet Moses was told to lead Israel out of Egypt that precious man told the Lord:

Exodus 33:15-16 (KJV) …. If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? …

What God offers in the Gospel is His continuing presence. God told Moses

Exodus 33:14 (KJV) …. My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

God promises an immediate rest to those who believe in Him. Look at our text for a moment. God says “for we which HAVE believed DO enter into rest”. Look at the tenses of those verbs. When we HAVE believed (past tense) we DO enter into rest. When you come to the Lord and receive Him as Savior and God He promises:

Hebrews 13:5 (KJV) …. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

God makes a promise to those who come to Him by faith. He says “I PROMISE I will never leave you”. God promises to never leave His Child. When the bad things come and the creaks in the night God has promised.

Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 ESV Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

The God Who put the sun in space and this third rock from the sun called the earth, this God Who made both Heaven and Earth has said “I will neither LEAVE nor FORSAKE you”. God’s people hear this promise and live on that promise.

Isaiah 41:10-13 ESV Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

What God offers in His Gospel is Himself. God says “come to Me, believe in Me, trust in Me, and I will give you rest”. This was the promise that God made to His Israel. He said “go into the Land – I will be with you”. But Israel would not go. Israel heard the promise of God, but failed to trust Him. We read …

Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached DID NOT PROFIT THEM, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

The Promises of God, His glorious Gospel, is absolutely useless if it is mixed with FAITH. FAITH in God’s character is what saves. God told His people “go into the land, I am with you”. The people sent spies into the land. When the spies returned they gave an evil report. Joshua and Caleb trusted God, but the other spies did not. We read:

Numbers 13:28-33 (KJV) Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. 30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Why did Israel lose the blessing. Because they heard the Promise of God that “I will never leave you nor forsake you” and hearing that Promise mixed the promise with FEAR, not with FAITH.

The lost allow EMOTIONS – wayward emotions – to get in their way. The Gospel promises of God cannot be secured if they are not mixed with faith. NOT FEELING, but FAITH. Faith in God. Faith that God is truthful and able.

You can hear the Gospel. You can hear that Jesus Christ died for your sins so that He can bring us to God. That’s what the Gospel is. Hear it!

1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. …..

Jesus died for your sins, to cover your sins. See Him yonder on that Cross. He did not die JUST to bring you to Heaven. Certainly He will bring you to Heaven, but it is not JUST to bring you to Heaven. Jesus died to bring Heaven to YOU. He died so that we can have a moment by moment relationship with God. God is the Gospel. God offers you Himself in the Gospel. God says:

Matthew 11:28-29 (KJV) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

You cannot enter the Gospel Rest by FEELING, but by FAITH. You trust God and believe His Word. Israel did not do that, and lost the Presence of God. And losing Him you lose EVERYTHING. Do not lose Him. Receive Him. Believe Him. Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him!

2 There Is A Weekly Rest The Gospel COMMANDS. We read:

Hebrews 4:4 For He (God) spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

When God created the earth and all that is in it He set aside a day of rest. This is what the Jew called a Sabbath. God “rested” on that day not because He was tired (for God does not get weary) but because the work was complete. God commanded the Sabbath to His people Israel.

Exodus 20:8-11 (KJV) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

God gave a Sabbath to mankind that we might take one day and remember the Lord and all His blessings. The seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God. God rested one day in seven, and asked those who believed in Him to rest one day in seven. The Sabbath was a remembrance, a time to remind ourselves that God is in control, and that God has created all things complete.

Israel kept the Sabbath as a time to rest and together to worship the Lord. When our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the grave on the First Day of the week …

Mark 16:9 (KJV) Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene …

the early Church began to meet not on the Jewish Sabbath but on the “Lord’s Day” or the first day of the week. Why?

The first Gospel sermon preached on the Resurrected Jesus was preached BY the Resurrected Jesus on Sunday. Right after Christ’s resurrection that Sunday two men headed down the Road to Emmaus. As they mourned over the death of Jesus a third Man joined them (for He shall never leave nor forsake His people). He listened to them moan and groan for a while until finally He – the Resurrected Jesus – spoke up, saying …

Luke 24:25-32 (KJV) ….. O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

It is in the Breaking of Bread that they saw Jesus. We worship as the early Church worshiped, on Sunday. When Jesus revealed Himself to these two disciples they ran back to Jerusalem, back to where the disciples were hiding.

The Resurrected Jesus Appeared To The Disciples All On That Sunday. We read:

Luke 24:36-39 (KJV) … And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

We come together on Sunday because our Lord fulfilled His promise on Sunday. Jesus defeated death for us. Jesus beat the devil for us. Jesus is with His people. Jesus is with His people. It is on Sunday that Jesus appeared to doubting Thomas and said (John 20:26-27)

… Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Oh, do not be without faith! Without faith you cannot please God. Without faith you will never have His Presence. Feelings come and go. Doubts and depression may, like dark clouds, blow over your lives. Have faith Thomas. Believe in Him Who is your Lord and your God. As Pastor John MacArthur said:

“… on that Sunday, as I said, He pledged to them that they would have the power of the Holy Spirit. The great new covenant had been ratified. Forgiveness of sins for all sinners of all ages who came to God was accomplished. What a day. What a day. And it was a Sunday, and prior to that, Sunday had absolutely no significance, none. But from that day on, Sunday took on a completely different meaning. Sundays would never be the same again. Sunday became new covenant resurrection day in their minds because God had chosen that day. If the seventh day was designed by God for delighting in Him as Creator, and then having been corrupted by the fall, if the seventh day was also designed by God to put fear in the heart because of the violation of His holy law, here was another day. This was not a day to celebrate creation or to celebrate sin, or the sinfulness of sin, this was a day to celebrate salvation. Resurrection was the dawning of a new day, and so the new covenant has a new day. The sabbath is gone, and the new day has come, and it is the day of celebration of the work of Christ.

When the early Church gathered in the Upper Room to pray, it was on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, that Pentecost came. According to Leviticus 23:16 the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost occurred 50 days after the Sabbath preceding the Feast of First Fruits. The first Gospel message preached after the resurrection of Christ was preached on Sunday by Christ.

The Second Gospel Message Preached After The Resurrection Of Christ Was Preached By Peter On The Day Of Pentecost. It Was Sunday Again. The Church has since that day held its services on Sunday. We partake of the Lord’s Table on Sunday, not on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was part of the Law, a Law that told us to rest and contemplate the Lord. The Lord’s Day is a new Day, a resurrection Day, a Day of Promise, a Day when God has promised to be with His Children forever. The Apostle said:

Acts 20:7 (KJV)7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

Many of you will be glad that I am not Paul, for he preached on the First Day of the week until MIDNIGHT. He preached Christ, and the disciples “broke bread”. The Lord’s Table was observed. Collections were taken for the ministry on the First Day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2).

We who are His come together in a weekly rest. This is the Lord’s Day. Those Who are His come together to worship Him, to break Bread, to remember what our Jesus did for us.

3 There Is An Eternal COVENANT Which God Makes With Those Who Believe. We read:

Hebrews 4:9-10 (KJV) There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

The text tells us “there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God”. God has promised Heaven to His Children, His people who have come to Him by faith.

It is a glorious rest, a time when we shall not only be in the Presence of the Father forever, but will see our God with every sense.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV) But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

There is an eternal rest coming, but only for those who are the people of God. For those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior, and who follow Him, they will find the Promised and Eternal Land. The Beulah Land. Will the so called Nominal Christian die and go to Heaven? What did Jesus say?

1 John 5:4-5 (KJV) 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Revelation 2:7 (KJV) 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 3:5 (KJV) 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Revelation 21:7 (KJV) 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

We who are saved are called to have an overcoming faith in an overcoming Lord. The Lord’s Table that we take today commemorates the death of Christ, a death He died for us. His body was broken for us. His Blood was shed for us. He established this Table as a memorial of His sacrifice, and a reminder that He is Risen and we are His.

Forever. By. Faith.

May God touch your hearts by His Spirit.

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God Is Yahweh Rophe (The God Who Heals)

Posted on September 14, 2016 by bibleteacherorg

Exodus 15:22-27 (KJV) So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. 27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

“I am the LORD that Healeth”. This is the fourteenth name of God that we have studied, YAHWEH RAPHA or ROPHE (Hebrew יְהֹוָה Yĕhovah רָפָא Rapha’), The LORD Who Heals.

God’s Israel had just come through the Red Sea, and had seen God destroy the armies of Egypt and their Pharaoh under its crushing waters. Having been blessed by God you would think that Israel would have their hearts filled with faith. But they weren’t.

Israel was not FAITH controlled but FEELING controlled.

FAITH looks to God – the God of Scripture – even when things are not going my way.
FEELING looks to ME, not to Yahweh.
FAITH trusts God.
FEELING murmurs and complains.
FAITH addresses God, calling out to Him in the pain.
FEELING curses and blames God.
FAITH is willing to wait on the Lord even when things are not optimal.
FEELING demands immediate satisfaction and relief.

Israel is running on FEELING not on FAITH. There a lot of Churches and a lot of Christians who run on FEELING and not on FAITH. But running on FEELING you will never experience God’s best for you. Running on FEELING you will waste your lives satisfying self, but never experience the VICTORY that God wants you to experience in this life.

God’s people are called to be overcomers. Faith in God is supposed to be ovecoming. The Scripture declares:

Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Nothing displeases God more than the faithless life. The unbeliever has misplaced faith in idols, and that dissatisfies God. God calls His people to be overcomers. He says:

1 John 5:2-5 (KJV) 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Overcoming faith in an immense God is what our Lord wants us to have. So God tests us. He tested Israel.

Exodus 15:22 (KJV) 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

God took His people into a wilderness, a desert area called Shur. Shur is southwest of Palestine and still within the borders of Egyptian territory. Israel is walking through this desert and the Bible tells us that three days into the wilderness there is no water. The human body can go without food for forty or more days (depending on how much fat you have). But the human body

demands water. Survival experts use the Rule of Threes.

Three minutes without air
Three hours without shelter in a harsh environment
Three days without water
Three weeks without food

But these are just general rules. Some people have survived 8 to 10 days without water. But water is desperately needed. Israel has gone without water in the harsh desert climate of Shur for three days. Then they come to an oasis called Marah. What does Marah mean? It means “bitter”. Someone had discovered this Oasis before and, trying to drink the water, they discovered that it was bitter.

Can you imagine this? You are literally dying of thirst. In the distance you see palm trees and the sparkle of water. You were staggering before, but now you start marching faster and faster toward that Oasis. There are about 6 million of you, a large nation moving faster and faster. As the first ones get to the Oasis they dive in, grab a mouth full of water, and then spit it out. It is horrible, bitter, alkaline. Who led you to this bitter water?

Moses did. God did.

Now God knows what you need. As King David said:

Psalm 23:1-3 (KJV) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

God led His people to this place. God wants His people to cry out to Him, to seek His blessing when the bad things come. The people do not go to God in prayer. They do not seek His face. Instead they murmur against Moses:

Exodus 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

1 Murmuring Fixes Nothing. When Tried – Pray In Faith To God! All grumbling and complaining does is irritate God. We are told in:

Philippians 2:12-16 (KJV) 12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Those who are saved from Egypt are to be God’s Children. Those who are God’s Children are to reflect His Light and His Love. The people did two things that were wrong.

First, They Grumbled Instead Of Praying. They should have sought God for a solution to their problem. God did not lead 6 million people out of Egypt through the Red Sea just to let them die at Marah. God saved them when they stood before too much water. God will save them now that they stand before tainted water. Grumbling is a sin. Murmuring leads to destruction.

1 Corinthians 10:8-12 (KJV) Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Second, They Murmured AT Moses Instead Of Praying TO The LORD. Moses can’t fix the water problem, but God can.

So Moses goes to God in prayer. We read:

Exodus 15:25 And he cried unto the LORD …

What did Moses pray? The Bible doesn’t tell us. It just tells us he CRIED unto the Lord. I think that’s what Moses did. He cried. Moses was suffering just as the people were suffering. Moses was thirsty just as the people were thirsty. He was tired. He was wore out. And now Moses has the added burden of 6 million people blaming HIM because the water is no good.

And Moses cries.

He doesn’t complain. He comes before God, and pours out his heart. He weeps tears he can little afford to lose.

Psalm 34:17 (ESV) When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psalm 18:6 (ESV) In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

And one of my favorite texts …

Psalm 56:8 … You (O Lord) put my tears in Your bottle

The murmurings of God’s people upset the Lord, but our cries He hears. Moses cried out. And God gave Moses a beautiful solution.

Exodus 15:25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

God showed Moses a tree, and Moses took that tree and cast it into the bitter waters, and the waters were made sweet. Why a Tree?

Because it is by a Tree that God has redeemed us. The Tree cast in the waters of Marah was an Old Testament type or shadow of what Jesus Christ would do for us on His Cross. The Bible says:

Galatians 3:13 (KJV) 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Jesus Christ hung on a Cross – a Tree – on a hill called Calvary. On that Tree He suffered and died. It by faith in Him, trusting Him, receiving Him as Lord and Savior, believing that He died for us that the bitterness of our lives are turned sweet. From Christ we receive the water of everlasting life. From Christ we receive Rivers of Living Water, the Holy Spirit of God.

The Devil and his followers hate the Cross of Christ. When Peter and the Apostles were preaching Christ and faith in Him as the only way to salvation the religious leaders corrected them, commanding them NOT to preach Jesus. The Apostles replied:

Acts 5:29-32 (KJV) …. We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

If you are God’s Child God will prove you. He will test you. Testing by trials strengthens your faith. As someone once said:

An Untried Faith Cannot Save
An Untested Faith Is That Of The Slave

If you belong to God He will test you. Cry out to Him!

2 A Faith That Will NOT Look To God Will NOT Lead To Blessing But To Cursing. God told Israel following this incident:

Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

God told His people several things. He said:

Listen to Me – “diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God”
Do what I say – “do that which is right in His sight”
Listen to Me – “give ear to His commandments”
Do what I say – “keep all his statutes”

If you are saved, you follow the One Who saved you. God said “Listen to Me” and “Do what I say” two times for emphasis. Then warned …

If you’ll do this, I will not put on you what I put on the Egyptians

God brought ten plagues on Egypt because they would not receive Him as Lord and Savior. Rather than murmur when trials come, look up. Trials grow the Christian. But trials also sift the wheat from the tares, the true believer from the false.

Exodus 15:26 for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

God heals His people. God takes the bitter and makes it sweet. He takes the broken and makes us complete. He takes the strangers and makes us sons.

If we receive Him.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord Jesus!

May God touch your hearts with His Word.