The Gospel Of “I”

Posted on January 7, 2024 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-lion-playing-with-lion-cub-40803/

Play video from Joel Osteen from CNN Interview (youtube link)

Please turn with me in your Bibles to:

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

It’s not my intention today to make this sermon about Joel Osteen, but I do want to use Joel to make an introductory point. I believe Joel is sincere in what he believes. But I believe as you saw in this clip, Joel has a difficult problem answering the interviewers of CNN. Why? Because Joel is detached from the historic Gospel.

Joel preaches not the Gospel of Christ,
but the Gospel of “I”

Review what he said. His focus is to “lift people’s spirits”, not to direct them to God. He wants people to leave saying “I can do better. I can rise higher.” Instead of “I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST JESUS” (Philippians 4:13). Joel’s message focuses on our power instead of the God Who says:

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) … “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Joel said, “In the old days, you went to Church to know what you’re doing wrong, and came away thinking ‘I’m so guilty I can’t do right’”. Joel said, “I want people to leave our Church saying ‘I can do better. God has planted seeds of greatness in me’”.

Joel does not focus on sin, yet the Bible does. The Gospel does. “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “The wages of sin is DEATH, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus OUR LORD.”

Joel admits that homosexuality is a sin, but dances around the issue rather than be blunt, using straw man arguments. He says, “I’ve stayed in my lane, and my lane is lifting people’s spirits. Pride is a sin. There are other sins”. Yes Joel, there are other sins – and all sins are evil because they are against God’s loving design for us.

Joel’s Word says “I Can”. God’s Word says “I Can’t, But God Can If I Repent. I Can Through Christ.

What does the Bible say to the question, “Will people who are practicing sexual immorality go to Heaven?” Paul, what is your answer? When the Apostle was confronted with the Church at Corinth, where the members were suing one another in court, the Apostle did not categorize this loveless act as a “little” sin or a big sin. What he said was:

1 Corinthians 6:6-10 (ESV) … brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers! 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

The Apostle tells the Church that not only those holding up Christ and His Church to ridicule WILL NOT enter Heaven, but he goes on the address ALL SEXUALLY IMMORAL people, IDOLATORS, THIEVES, GREEDY, DRUNKARDS, REVILERS, SWINDLERS and HOMOSEXUALS. But what does Paul through the Spirit of God tell us next? Here’s the GOOD NEWS.

2 Corinthians 6:11 (ESV) And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Can a REPENTANT sinner go to Heaven? Yes, if you have repented, and called upon Jesus to save you. You “WERE WASHED”. You didn’t wash yourself. God washed you. You “WERE SANCTIFIED”, set apart for God’s use. God the Holy Spirit did that to you. You “WERE JUSTIFIED”. You didn’t get better on your own, but “calling upon the Name of the Lord, you were saved” (1 Corinthians 1:2; Acts 2:21).

God saves those who REPENT and COME TO JESUS. When we recognize ourselves as sinners, and come to Him Who died for sinners, you shall be saved.

You cannot be saved unless you are CONVICTED of God that YOU ARE A SINNER. You cannot be saved unless you surrender to Jesus and let Him be your Lord and Savior.

The Gospel Of “I”, Though Increasingly Popular,
Is Horribly Dangerous, For It Is A Lie

The Gospel of “I” starts with the premise that we’re all okay, and that God loves everyone the way they are. The Gospel of “I” starts – not with Scripture – but with human viewpoint. Let’s look at our text again:

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you…

Word Study Let’s start with the “But”. The word “But”, the Greek δέ (de) is a coordinating conjunction used to connect ideas that contrast. It’s different from the coordinating conjunction AND, as AND connects two things that are similar. BUT connects two things that are opposites. The BUT in verse 1 connects us to what was discussed last week:

2 Peter 1:20-21 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Word Study God gave us the Scripture NOT from 40 people’s opinions, not based on what THEY thought, but the Scripture was given to those men – these prophecies – “as they were moved by the Holy Ghost {spirit}”. The Holy Spirit “moved”, the Greek pherō, which means “to lift up, to bear, to carry”. The same verb was used of John the Baptist’s head CARRIED (pherō) on a platter (Matthew 14:11), or when four friends CARRIED (pherō) a crippled friend to see Jesus (Mark 2:3). The Bible tells us that God controlled the writings of Scripture, the Prophesies, so that what was produced was not flawed human byproducts, but the very Word of God. God has given us His Word, and clear instructions by His Word.

BUT where ever God speaks, it isn’t long before Satan and sinful humanity will rise up with a “what about this”. It happened in the Garden of Eden. God gave very clear directives to Adam on what he could, and could NOT eat. Satan entered in and said “has God really said?” When our foreparents didn’t run him out of the Garden, he went on to say “You will NOT die if you eat of the forbidden. God is trying to rob you of your joy!” Go ahead, do it.

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you…

Where there is the TRUE, there will always be the FALSE. Where there is the LIGHT, there will always be competing DARKNESS. Our Lord Jesus warned us of “false prophets”. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Wolves are dangerous. Disguised wolves are doubly dangerous. Disguised wolves in the Church are fatal!

How did Jesus characterize false prophets? First of all, they do not come to you with a sign above their head saying “FALSE PROPHET”. If they did that, you would know what they are. But what false prophets do – according to our Lord – is they “come to you in sheep’s clothing”. Now what is sheep’s clothing? Do sheep wear denim, or dresses? Do they wear patent leather or pretty suits? No, sheep wear WOOL. How does a wolf come to you in sheep’s clothing? The wolf must KILL THE SHEEP. It leads sheep to death. Those who preach a Gospel of “I” are leading people not to salvation, but death.

Word Study These wolves are, as Jesus said, “ravenous” (Greek arpax), which means “extortioners”. An “extortioner” is someone who kidnaps what is rightfully yours, then charges you money or services to get what is yours back. The false prophets (Greek pseudoprophētēs) rob people of the Gospel of salvation, and instead offer false promises and false hopes.

Jude, a stepbrother of Jesus wrote of this twisting of the Gospel. He wrote:

Jude 3-4 (ESV) Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and after the Apostles went out preaching “the FAITH ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS”, it wasn’t long before people “CREPT or SLITHERED IN” (Greek pareisdýnō) to the Churches. As false prophets they began to teach various falsehoods. Some taught that Jesus never died, but just swooned on the Cross. Others taught that the blood of Christ is insufficient to save, but you must be circumcised. Yet others taught that Jesus is but One of many ways to God. False writings cropped up called pseudepigrapha and apocryphal writings. If you can imagine it, it has been taught. The intent of the false prophets and false teachers is to “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality”. To make Grace all about “I”.

I have heard preachers say “God created man because He needed man to be complete”. That’s the Gospel of “I” talking. God doesn’t NEED us, though God MADE us and God LOVES us. But God is complete in Himself.

The Gospel of salvation brings a person to call upon Jesus as Lord and Savior. But the Gospel of “I” causes a person to “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ”. The Gospel of salvation brings a person into the Kingdom of God and, eventual Heaven. The Gospel of “I” makes a person thing that THEY are THEIR OWN KING, and are co-equal rulers with Christ in glory. Jesus said,

Matthew 24:11 … many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

Continuing with our text, these FALSE PROPHETSand FALSE TEACHERS will…

2 Peter 2:1 … privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

Word Study Again, these false prophets and teachers do what they do PRIVILY (pareisagō, SECRETLY, or CRAFTILY). They sneak about. They mask their real intent. They don’t do what they do in the LIGHT or in the OPEN, but conspire and sneak about. What are they doing? They are bringing about “DAMNABLE HERESIES”, the Greek apōleia airesis, “doctrines that bring utter destruction or ruin”.

The future Antichrist is called “The Son of apōleia, utter destruction” (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3). What the false prophets and false teachers bring is damnation with them – not blessing.

They “deny the Lord that BOUGHT them”. Jesus purchased our salvation by the shedding of His Blood on Calvary. Do you not know

1 Corinthians 6:20 … ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 7:23 … Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

Though A Best Seller, The Gospel Of “I”
Lies About The Nature Of God

2 Peter 2:2-3 And many shall follow their pernicious (Greek apōleia) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Word Study The word “PERNICIOUS” is the same word translated “DAMNABLE” in verse 1, the Greek apōleia. Again, this means “something that brings total destruction”. A lot of people will follow the words of the false prophets and false teachers, because their ways require no repentance. The Gospel of “I” ignores passages like:

Psalm 145:20 The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

God despises what He has categorized as SIN, because SIN BRINGS DEATH. To those who will be saved, God will save. But in order to be saved you must REPENT. Our Lord Jesus preached:

Matthew 4:17 … REPENT: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand

Matthew 9:13 … I am not come to call the righteous, but SINNERS TO REPENTANCE

The Gospel of the Scripture declares that we are all broken. But if we will come to God, turning away from being our own gods, then He will abundantly save whosoever will. Our Lord Jesus took the cup of suffering for us. He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane praying,

Luke 22:42 (AP) Father, if it be Thy will, let THIS CUP – THIS CROSS – pass from Me. NEVERTHELESS NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE DONE.

Illustrate: One popular book of fiction called The Shack portrays God as saying, “I don’t need to punish people for sin…. It’s not My purpose to punish it..” Is that true? Then why did Jesus have to go to the Cross of Calvary. A false teacher called Rob Bell questioned the nature of God and hell, saying “Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who are going to spend eternity in anguish? Can God do this, or even allow this, and still claim to be a loving God?” Yes, God can.

The false prophet and false teacher “through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you”. They do not love those they are writing to, speaking to, teaching. It is not love to contradict God’s Word in order to gain a following. When my mother told me not to touch a hot stove, and then spanked me when I tried to do so, was not unloving. Love speaks the truth. You do not love someone when you see them doing something dangerous. You love them when you tell them what they are doing is foolish, against God’s Word.

Rather than make up a fictitious god of the Bible, why not refer to the Holy Scripture. We have previously been told that the Prophecy did not come by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved or carried along by the Holy Spirit. So what does the Bible tell us about God’s nature?

God Punished Catastrophically Before,
He Will Do So Again

2 Peter 2:4 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;

There were angels that revolted from Heaven with Lucifer, also known as Satan. Some of these angels are mentioned in

Jude 6 … the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day

These angels did something so horrific that God cast them into a pit the Bible calls “chains of darkness”. These angels – powerful beings – are being imprisoned until the Day of Final Judgment, where they will be cast into the Lake of Fire. God punishes sin.

2 Peter 2:5 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;

As wickedness grew in our world, the Bible says that

Genesis 6:5-8 (ESV) The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

What made God want top destroy the world that He made? It was that “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. People had departed from Who God is, and had turned their back on the Gospel of salvation. People began to adhere to the Gospel of “I”. They became so wicked that God said, “I regret making them. I’m going to blot it all out”. God did not spare the “OLD WORLD”, but because of sin God purged it by water, “bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly”. The Bible says that

1 Peter 3:20 … eight souls were saved by water

Those who heard the preaching of Noah and who GOT ON THE ARK were saved by the same water that killed the rest of the world. I am certain there were false prophets mocking Noah, and telling the lost that God loved them so much that He wouldn’t drown them. They were wrong.

2 Peter 2:6-8 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

When the world became so wicked that God had to destroy it, He did so by water. But the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were utterly destroyed by God by FIRE. Why? The Bible says:

Genesis 13:13 (ESV) Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

God calls sinners to REPENT. But when they reject God, and refuse to repent and cast themselves upon the Lord Jesus Christ, then they open the door to utter destruction. God sent two angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, saying:

Genesis 18:20 Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

What was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? It was the Gospel of “I”. It was a taste for and tolerance for sin, for that which God has forbidden.

Jesus was preaching one day, telling the people to repent and come to Him. Word came to the disciples that some Galileans had been offering sacrifices at the Temple when Pilate’s solders killed them at the altar of God. People began to think, “What did those Galileans do to deserve that?” Jesus told the crowd:

Luke 13:2-5 (ESV) … “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (apollymi, be brought to utter ruin). 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (apollymi, be brought to utter ruin).”

I heard someone in our flock joking about Church. He said, “We come to Church, the Preacher tells us how bad we are, then we eat friend chicken”. That’s amusing! But Beloved, it’s my calling to tell you that “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”.

Do you know Jesus? Have you given your life to Him? You cannot be saved unless – turning from your sin and the Gospel of “I”, you run into the arms of Jesus. Oh, that God the Holy Spirit would lead you to Christ this very day. Amen and Amen.

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The Second Commandment

Posted on January 5, 2024 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Shiva Kumar: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-a-figurine-4595295/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to:

Exodus 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

One of my heroes of the faith, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was a pastor in Nazi Germany. Rather than “Go along to get along” he actively taught against and stood up to the Nazi atrocities committed in the concentration camps. Bonhoeffer could have taken the easy way out and run away when the Nazis began executing and burning Jews and other prisoners of war. He was martyred for standing up to evil, strangled and hung up naked in the very concentration camps he fought against. Bonhoeffer wrote:

“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.”

Many people today are on the “wrong train”. Many are on a “long, black train” like Josh Turner sings about.

There’s a long black train comin’ down the line
Feedin’ off the souls that are lost and cryin’
Rails of sin, only evil remains
Watch out, brother, for that long black train

You get on a “Long, Black Train” when you get away from God’s Ten Commandments.

Last week we studied the First Commandment, where the Lord said:

Exodus 20:2-3 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

This is the first place the devil will come when he tries to damn a soul. He told Jesus,

“The whole world I’ll give you if You fall down and worship Me.” Matthew 4:9 (AP)

Jesus was very quick to refer to the First Commandment. He said “Get away, Satan. It is written, you shall WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10 AP). The First Commandment is that “God is NUMBER ONE. I will worship and serve Him only.”.

The Second Commandment states:

Exodus 20:4-5 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them

Once we make a decision to worship other than the God of Scripture, it isn’t long before we are making a graven image or an idol. This can be money, a rabbit’s foot or lucky item, a Cross, a building, a horoscope, or some relic we have made “holy”.

The Danger Of Worshiping Other Than God

We are to remember Who saved us (God), but we are also to treat God and only God with the respect due our God. As we study the Ten Commandments, we’ll see the danger of violating the Second Commandment.

There is a Ten Commandments recognized by the Catholic Church, and a Ten Commandments recognized by the Christian Church. As you can see in the following chart, the Catholic version of the Ten Commandments skips the command against making graven images.

Slide 5

Catholic Ten CommandmentsChristian Church Ten Commandments
1. I am the Lord thy God…Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:2-3)1. I am the Lord thy God…Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:2-3)
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. (Exodus 20:4-6)
3. Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)3. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)

The Catholic Church removes the Second Commandment, and makes the Third Commandment the Second Commandment. Why do they do this? Some say it is because Saint Augustine, and early Roman Catholic Pastor, used that format for the Ten Commandments. But that’s not what the problem is. Even though the Roman Catholic Catechism states,

“Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons, power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 2113)

Catholics bow down to and venerate icons, religious images of Jesus, statues of the virgin Mary and the Saints.

The Catholics teach that the “relics” or remains of the saints are to be venerated because, as Friar Mario Conte, executive Editor of the Messenger of Saint Anthony magazine said:

“Saints’ relics help people overcome the abstract and make a connection with the holy … Saints do not perform miracles. Only God performs miracles, but saints are intercessors.”

An “intercessor” or a “mediator” is a person or an object that we address in order to get to the Presence of God. Catholics bow down to statues of the virgin Mary and other “Saints” who are recognized by their Church because they believe these “mediators” will speak to God or Christ on their behalf. Catholics will bow down and kiss the ring of the Pope, the Cardinals, or the Bishops. By bowing down and showing veneration to statues or crosses, or by kissing the ring of upper echelon officials in the Church, the “faith” secure “indulgences”.

“… an indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven. Among the equivalent terms used in antiquity were pax, remissio, donatio, condonatio.”

In 787 AD the Second Council of Nicaea decreed that every Catholic altar should contain a relic. One source notes,

“Churches were generally built over the remains of martyrs, but when not possible a first-class relic was placed within the altar and covered by a stone slab. The Second Council of Nicaea would later decree that all churches were to have altars containing relics of saints. Eventually, the practice became ecclesiastical law, with early editions of the Roman Pontifical mandating altars to contain first-class relics from two separate saints, one of which a martyr.

The Second Vatican Council affirmed and simplified the ancient practice:

“The practice of placing relics of Saints, even those not Martyrs, under the altar to be dedicated is fittingly retained. Care should be taken, however, to ensure the authenticity of such relics.” – Roman Missal (302)

When the priest kisses the altar while celebrating Mass, he shows reverence not only for Jesus Christ as the literal cornerstone of the Church the altar represents, but also continues the ancient tradition of showing reverence for the sacrifice of martyrs. It serves as a continual reminder that when in celebrating Mass, we celebrate with all the saints and angels in Heaven.”

The Catholics bow down to and worship “relics”, bones of saints, or religious “icons” like the Shroud of Turan. The Catholic Church considers the Shroud of Turan to be a venerated “icon”. The 14 foot linen cloth supposedly bears the imprints of the front and back of a crucified man that many think may be the image of Christ. Pope Clement VII declared the Shroud was not the true burial cloth of Christ, though the Church could display at as a man-made religious “icon”. Pope Francis said that the Shroud was “An Icon of Love”.

What is the problem with this? Can the saints, the Pope, the Cardinals or Bishops of the Catholic Church be “mediators” for us? The Bible says NO. The Scripture declares:

1 Timothy 2:3-6 (NKJV) … For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time …

There is no Mediator that stands between us and God … but GOD Himself. God said in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 43:11-12 (NKJV) I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior. 12 I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you …

The only way to be saved is to come to God our Savior. But the only way to approach our God is through Jesus Christ. The Bible is adamant that “there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus”. There is no other Mediator. Catholics argue that, yes, the Bible says that there is only One Mediator in the strictest sense, but that there are other “lesser and subordinate mediators”. The Bible does not support this. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 7:24-25(NKJV)…{Jesus}, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore {Jesus} is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

We Are To Bow Down And Worship Only God

Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Word Study The words “graven image” is the Hebrew pesel, which means “something carved or molded into a likeness”. The word “likeness” is the Hebrew tᵊmûnâ, which means a representation or image of something in the natural world. God does not care that we make sculptures or statues of things, or draw pictures of the world around us. In my office there is a picture of an artist’s rendering of Jesus that my mother gave me. I love looking at it, and remembering the mom who gave it to me.

God does not care if we do artwork, or take photos. He just doesn’t want us making these man made objects into things we WORSHIP.

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down (šāḥâ) thyself to them, nor serve them…

Word Study The words translated “BOW DOWN” is the Hebrew šāḥâ (pronounced shaw-khaw’). The word means “to revere, to show obeisance to or reverence, to display outward homage to”. When Abram saw God coming to his tent he “bowed himself toward the ground” (Genesis 18:2). His nephew Lot, on the other hand, “bowed himself with his face toward the ground” (Genesis 19:1) when he encountered angels of God.

We are not to worship or venerate the bones of saints, or linen cloths, or statues or paintings. We are not to bow down to ideas or social concepts. We are not to prostrate ourselves to any but God. In the Book of Revelation the Apostle John met an angel. The Bible says:

Revelation 22:8-9 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

Only God is to be venerated. Only God is to be worshiped. It is a dangerous thing to worship anyone outside of God. God tells us,

Exodus 20:5Thou shalt not bow down (šāḥâ) thyself to them, nor serve (ʿāḇaḏ) them…

Word Study The word translated “SERVE” is the Hebrew ʿāḇaḏ (pronounced aw-bad’), which means “to labor or work for”. God wants us to work. The Bible says,

2 Thessalonians 3:10 (ESV) … If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

We are to work. Work was even in Paradise, as God told Adam “to work and keep the Garden” (Genesis 2:15, ESV). But God does not want our jobs to be our gods. He does not want our money or prosperity to be our gods. Jesus said:

Matthew 6:24 (ESV) No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

We should not humble ourselves before any but God. When Peter went to visit the Gentile Cornelius:

Acts 10:25-26 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”

Men should not be worshiped. Women should not be worshiped. The creations of our hands should not be worshiped. Nature itself should not be worshiped. Only God is to be worshiped.

There Is A Punishment For Violating
The 2nd Commandment

Exodus 20:5-6 for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

God saves us because He loves us. God is a “jealous God”. The difference between ENVY and JEALOUSY is that ENVY is sinful, for it COVETS what another has. On the other hand JEALOUSY is to guard that which is YOURS. God is jealous when we worship anyone other than Him. God said that He would “visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children”. Worship of anyone or anything outside of the God of Scripture is considered “iniquity” (ʿāôn, pronounced aw-vone’). This word means “guilt of sin, perversity, depravity”. Creation of false gods and goddesses ultimately leads to sexual perversity. The Apostle Paul spoke of this in

Romans 1:21-23 (ESV) … although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

When people violate the Second Commandment, making God into an image like “corruptible man, or creatures from the natural world” it is not long before sexual perversity creeps in. Paul went on the write:

Romans 1:25-27 (ESV) who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

Violating the Second Commandment, they “worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator”. They bowed down to man made gods. What followed? Making a god in their own image to follow, they moved into sexual perversity, what God calls “vile passions”. We are told “their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another ”. Why do we have a proliferation of homosexuality, lesbian activity, and transgenderism? The Bible says it is because the Second Commandment was violated repeatedly. When you make the True God into a little “g” god, it isn’t long before you leave your divine design for that which is vile and perverse. God says that those who make idols “hate me”. In time God “gives them over to a debased mind, to do that which is not fitting” (Romans 1:28). Rejecting the God of the Scripture, they move into gender dysphoria and confusion.

God alone is to be worshiped.

Is It A Violation Of The Second Commandment
To Worship Jesus?

The simple answer is – NO! Jesus is “Emmanuel – God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). When the Wise Men came from the east to find the Messiah, the Bible says:

Matthew 2:11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Jesus Christ is the One Mediator between God and Man. He is the One Messiah, the very Son of God. He is God with us. When Jesus calmed the storm when the disciples were out on the Sea, we read:

Matthew 14:33 (NKJV) Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Not only did these disciples worship Jesus – but Jesus received that worship. He did the same thing when Jesus healed the man born blind from birth. When the Pharisees cast this healed man out of the Synagogue, our Lord Jesus went to him. We read:

Luke 24:35-38 (NKJV) Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” 36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” 38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

Jesus received that worship. Following His resurrection, the women who saw the Lord worshiped Him – and again, he received that worship.

Matthew 28:9-10 (NKJV) And as {the women} went to tell His disciples {that Christ was risen}, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

And on the day that Christ ascended into glory, we read:

Luke 24:51-53 (NKJV) Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

When we get to Heaven one day (if we have received Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior) we will worship Him. Jesus is worthy of worship. John the Revelator wrote:

Revelation 5:11-14 (NKJV) Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” 14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

We bow down to no one but our God. We obey and live for the Holy One Who is Father, Son, and Spirit. And one day we will worship Him in glory forever. I pray that you know Him. I pray that you have called on Jesus for salvation. Amen and Amen.

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What You Need To Know First

Posted on January 2, 2024 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/golden-cup-and-statuette-6532587/

2 Peter 1:19-21 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Christianity is very unique among all the other religions of the world because Christianity is God made. Last week we saw that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was NOT a fantasy or a myth made up to trick people. People saw Jesus, heard God the Father say “This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I Am well pleased”, and were willing to die gruesome deaths rather than deny what they saw. Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured on Mount Tabor. Two out of three of these men died martyrs deaths, refusing to renounce Christ.

When God became Man (for Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us – Matthew 1:23), the Holy Spirit moved on Mary. The Bible says that Mary was told:

Luke 1:35 (ESV) … The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Mary was not perfect – but her Son, created of God, was perfect and sinless. Mary said when hearing the Angel,

Luke 1:46-47 (ESV) … My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in GOD MY SAVIOR …

Mary needed “GOD MY SAVIOR”. If she were perfect, she would have needed no Savior. Mary was a fallen creature just as we are. Yet she produced a Child that was sinless, flawless. We are told in:

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

And again,

Hebrews 4:15 (ESV) {Jesus Christ was} in every respect has been tempted as we are, YET WITHOUT SIN.

1 Peter 1:22 … (AP) in Jesus Christ there was NO DECEIT …

Jesus Christ had to be the “Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36; 1 Peter 1:19). If He were spotted with sin, then He could no more pay for our sins that I could. So Jesus – born of the Holy Spirit – was born perfect and holy and righteous, though His mother Mary was imperfect as we all are.

With God, NOTHING is impossible! (Luke 1:37)

Today Peter turns our attention to the witness of the Scripture, the Holy Bible. Last week he talked about the witnesses who saw Jesus, and gave their lives for the truth of Christ. Today Peter wants us to know that the witness of the Scripture is sure, right, and holy. People object. “But isn’t the Bible you read a collection of 66 books written by around 40 human authors. How do we know the Bible is without error? After all, it came through humans.” That’s true, the Bible was written by around 40 authors, people whom God picked to write it. But

Just as a sinless Jesus came from a broken Mary through the power of God the Holy Spirit, through the same Spirit God can send His Words through broken humans and the Word be flawless. The same Holy Spirit is the Author of the humanity of Christ and the Holy Bible.

Scripture Is Not A Human, But A Divine Idea

2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

God loved us so much that, even when we were fallen and cared nothing for Him, He came to us through Mary and walked amongst us. He saved humanity through a Perfect Human that He created in an imperfect vessel. When God speaks to us, He does not do so through the sky – though He has done that. He does not speak to us through visions – though He has done that. Instead, God reached out to humanity through imperfect humans, and told us what He wants and desires for our lives. God did this because God has always been relational. He did not create Adam then abandon him to tend the Garden of Eden, but walked and talked with Adam “in the cool afternoon breeze of the day” (Genesis 3:8, AMP).

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy”. In the previous context the Apostle wrote:

2 Peter 1:17-18 {Jesus} received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

Word Study Peter said “James, John and I were there, and we heard the Father speak from Heaven”. THEY heard it – but WE didn’t. Peter goes on to say “We have also a more sure word of prophecy”. The words “more sure” is the Greek bebaios, which means “stable, steadfast, trustworthy, rock solid”. What Peter, James and John experienced was something they can only testify of. But the Bible says:

Hebrews 2:2-3 if the word spoken by angels was STEDFAST (bebaios), and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

The Prophets were “ANGELS” in the sense that they were messengers of God. The Word that God spoke through the Prophets is sure, rock steady because it is THE WORD OF THE LIVING GOD. It is not a man’s idea, but God’s directive. Evangelist Billy Graham said:

“ ‘God is love’ means that He tries constantly to block your route to destruction.”

Word Study It is God’s Word – His directive – that we must heed to protect ourselves from destruction. Peter said of the Scripture that “ye do well that ye take heed” (prosechō), “turn the mind toward, be attentive to respond to”. We are to dwell on the teachings of the Scripture. Why? Peter says:

2 Peter 1:19 … take heed, (prosechō) as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn…

Treat the Word of God as if the only flashlight in a dark environment, the only candle in a dark, dark cave.

Illustrate If you have ever had the power go down at your home, you’ve stumbled through the darkness looking for the flashlight. While in the darkness the most important thing in the world is the light.

1 John 1:5 (TLV) … this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you—that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

“God is light”. God is not darkness, but light. The very first commandment that God gave in human history was “Let there be LIGHT” (Genesis 1:3), and the Bible says “and there WAS LIGHT”. Light is a creation of God. Light is in God, and through God. The Psalmist said to God:

Psalm 119:105 (ESV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

God’s Word is our flashlight in this present darkness, this fallen world. There will come a day when we will not need the Scripture, for on that day we who believe in Jesus will be with Him Who saved us. There will come a day when Jesus will rule and reign on this earth, for our Jesus is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). When Jesus comes the darkness of sin will cease to grip this present earth, for Jesus is “The DAYSPRING from on high” (Luke 1:78). But until that day we who have believed on Christ “take heed to God’s Light”. We read and study the Word of God, and apply its precepts to our lives.

God’s Word is not temporal, but timeless. The Prophet said:

Isaiah 40:8 (ESV) The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

And Jesus said to Satan,

Matthew 4:4 (ESV) … Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Through Mary, God became incarnate Man.
Through the Prophets, God spoke to Man.

When Jeremiah wrote, he declared “The Word of the Lord came to me” (Jeremiah 1:4). When Samuel wrote, “The Word of the Lord came unto Samuel” (1 Samuel 15:10). King Saul was deposed from his throne because “he rejected the Word of the Lord” (1 Samuel 15:26). But David was given the Kingdom because in his song of deliverance he sang:

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

“God spoke to our fathers by the Prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). When the Bible speaks, it speaks with the very auithority of God, for it is God’s Word. Early Theologian John Calvin wrote:

“We owe to the Scripture the same reverence which we owe to God, because it has proceeded from Him alone.”

The Apostle Paul, the Apostle who Jesus called to reach the Gentiles, wrote:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Word of God is breathed out by God. It is the breath of Heaven. The Church that will be effective for Christ must cherish and apply the Scripture to its life. The Apostle said in:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV) … we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

The Word of God has no power in a person’s life if you regard it as the writing of men. But when you receive it as the Word of God, then it WORKS in the life of the believer. It grows the believer, strengthing the power of the Church on earth. As Dr. B.B. Warfield wrote:

“The Scriptures are throughout a Divine book, created by the Divine energy and speaking in their every part with Divine authority directory to the heart of the readers.”

As Scripture Is Holy Spirit INSPIRED,
It Must Be Holy Spirit INTERPRETED

2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

Word Study The words “of any private interpretation” is the Greek ídios epilysis. This means literally “an interpretation or explanation based on what you think or feel”. The Scripture was given to us by God the Holy Spirit. If you are a Christian, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Colossians 1:27).

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit that helps the believer in Christ to understand and apply the Scripture to their daily life.

We are told in 1 Corinthians 2:12 (ESV) “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”

God indwells us as the Holy Spirit not so that we can shape the Scripture according to our selves, our desires, but that the Scripture might shape us into the image of Christ. “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). The worldly will take the the Scripture and twist it so as to appease their desires and lusts. The Godly yield themselves to the Scripture, allowing the believer to live so as to honor Christ our Savior. When you “walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Pastor Paul Carter (Cornerstone Baptist Church, Orillia, Ontario Canada) wrote:

“Rather than grasping for a quote from the sixth or sixteenth century, Christians ought to be primarily concerned to study the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word of God. He is the Spirit of Prophecy. He is God in the flesh, so if we’re looking for some guidance on how to relate to Holy Scripture, we ought to look no further than him.”

When Jesus made the statement, “I and the Father are ONE” (John 10:30, ESV) the Jews picked up stones to execute Him. To defend Himself, Jesus referred to the Scripture:

John 10:34-38 (ESV) … “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Rather than argue His opinion with the opinions of the Pharisees, Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 with the caveat, “Scripture cannot be broken”. Though I don’t have time to explain all the nuances of what Jesus was saying in this sermon, suffice it to say that Jesus quoted Scripture, and applied it to HIS life. Why? Why would Incarnate God not rely on His own opinion? Because He wanted to show us “Scripture cannot be broken”. The Word of God was given to us, not to twist, but to live by.

In another instance the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, tried to get Jesus’ opinion on the afterlife. Jesus told them:

Matthew 22:29-32 (ESV) … “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

The Sadducees knew “neither the Scriptures nor the power of God”. They did not have the Holy Spirit in their lives because they were not born again of the Spirit (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23). In the Old Testament when God was recorded as saying “I am the God” of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God did not say “I WAS”, but “I am”. The very tense of the verb proved that God was the God of the Living, for if the dead ceased to be, then God would not be their God.

Game, set, and match.

When people attacked Jesus, they always brought TRADITION or SUPERSTITION unrooted in Scripture. Jesus knew that,

Hebrews 4:12 … the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit ..

The battles that Christ and His children by faith wage are not physical battles, but spiritual ones. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Our battles are unwinnable if we attempt to win them by our opinions and desires. Principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, spiritual wickedness in high places is all much more powerful than we are. Our power is of God. Our weapons are of God.

Christ’s Church in America began to drift away from the power of God when we began to modify the Gospel message to be “inclusive” to everyone, regardless as to whether they REPENTED or not. What God has said is sin is still sin. Again from Paul Carter:

“Jesus did not commission his people to undo the Old Testament; he faced the devil with Deuteronomy 8:3. He faced the Sadducees with Exodus 3:6. He faced the Pharisees with Psalm 110:1. Jesus clearly operated under the assumption that the whole Old Testament – properly understood – was binding and decisive and to be his follower requires you to do the same.”

When the devil attacked Jesus in the wilderness, our Lord did not defend Himself with His inherent power. Jesus defended Himself with,

Matthew 4:4 … It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:7 … It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Matthew 4:10 … it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Matthew 21:13 … It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Matthew 26:24 … The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

Matthew 26:31 … Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Jesus extensively quoted the Scripture in His earthly ministry, so much so that, if you took away all of His “it is written” statements – Jesus would have said very little.

You don’t get to have a smaller Bible than Jesus.

It is the whole of the Bible, the Scripture, that tells us of Christ (John 5:39). The Old Testament prepared people for the coming of Christ. The New Testament recorded the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ. Everytime a lamb or a dove was sacrificed before the altar in the Old Testament, the action showed that sin is a horrible thing that leads to death. When Jesus started His earthly ministry, the Scfripture says:

Luke 24:27 (ESV) … beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, {Jesus} interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself

We know that there is a God, and know that He is holy because of Scripture. We know that we are fallen, and that we all need a Savior from our sin.

Jesus is that one and only Savior!

It is the Scripture that leads us to Jesus Christ. Praise God for the Scripture.

Let Us Rely Solely On God’s Word

2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

As God the Holy Spirit moved holy, dedicated men of God, they wrote of our need for a Savior. They wrote of Jesus. There is no other Savior than Jesus. As our Lord Jesus prepared to go to the Cross for us, He once more referred to the Scripture in

Luke 24:45-47 (ESV) Then {Jesus} opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

How is a person saved? Not by our works, but by His work. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, suffered on the Cross of Calvary. He died, bearing the full penalty for our sins. But Jesus did not die and stay dead, but rose from the dead on the third day. He laid His life down, and picked up His life again. He surrendered to and suffered death for us, so that we might be saved. A person is saved THROUGH REPENTANCE, by turning away from doing things your own way, and turning to and relying on Jesus. Believing on His Name, a person is saved to serve God.

Being saved is not about ME, but about HE. Being saved because you are following Jesus. Being saved because you have given your allegiance to Him. Jesus cherished the Scripture. If you are saved by faith, His disciple, then you too will cherish the Scripture. As Sinclair B. Ferguson wrote in his book “Worthy”:

“The grace of God in Christ provides us with a new identity, a heavenly one; it follows that this—and not our natural identity—determines everything we do. Our identity, our citizenship, is heavenly. As Paul says elsewhere, our lives are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3) … So we are to “sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land” (Psalm 137:4). That’s not a matter of legalism, for “his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Jesus tells us that being yoked to him, the meek and lowly one, brings ease, not dis-ease, and rest, not restlessness, for our souls (Matthew 11:28–30).”

Do you know Him? If not, today is the day to give your life to Christ. Only by faith are you saved, and only by faith in His applied word do you grow spiritually as a believer. May God touch your hearts with His Word.

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Introduction To The Ten Commandments And The First Commandment of God

Posted on December 30, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus 20. As you’re turning there, I want you to see this clip from Cold Case Christianity:

View Clip Here

Introduction To The Ten Commandments

The first of the Ten Commandments is found in …

Exodus 20:1-3 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

I’m often asked “Why are there so many denominations in Christianity?” I like the way that J Warner Wallace said it,

“Because that’s who we are. That’s our nature as prideful, rebellious know it alls. We are all this way.”

It was human pride that caused the fall from Eden. Not God, but us trying to be gods. The devil told Adam and Eve:

Genesis 3:4 (AP) If you eat of the forbidden tree, you will surely NOT die. God knows that the day you eat of it you will be like Him, like a god. You will determine good and evil.

In our day today there is what is known as “An Epidemic of Despair”. The New York Times reported that “Nearly three in five teenage girls felt persistent sadness in 2021 … and one in three girls seriously considered attempting suicide”. There is rarely a day that goes by where I don’t see a death obituary that states “He or she died unexpectedly at home”. That’s code for suicide, or an unintentional death because of alcohol or drugs. The rise of “Woke Doctrine” in our society has fueled narcissism and borderline personality disorders. Why has this come about?

Because we have, as a society, divorced ourselves from the God Who made us and loves us.

For a person to be happy that person must understand that we cannot be God. It is impossible. In our songs – whether Country Music, Rap, or Rock – we sing about and set impossible standards of love for humans. Humans do not have the capability to love as deeply or as rightly as God does. We create graven images of God in our modern worship songs. As I listen to much of the Contemporary Christian Music I hear people sing things about God that are unBiblical, and are therefore a fantasy. God is defined by the Scripture He gave us, not by our wants and desires. When Jesus prayed for His Church, He prayed:

John 17:17 Sanctify them {O Father} through THY TRUTH. THY WORD IS TRUTH.

When our country was founded, our first Vice President (1789-1797) and the second President of the United States (1797-1800) John Adams stated:

“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Our founders knew this. God as the Founder of Israel also knew this. If Israel as a nation would be stable, its people must be “moral and religious”. They must have a relationship with the God Who made them. When Israel got to the base of Mount Sinai, around fifty days after they were saved from enslavement to Egypt, God constituted Israel as not just a loose conglomeration of people, but as a nation. The Ten Commandments were given as a basic constitutional structure for God’s people. Though God went further with the Law after the giving of the Ten Commandments (He gave them ceremonial laws, dietary laws, sanitary laws, and sacrificial laws to Israel), the Ten Commandments are the basis of stability for any of God’s people, whether Jew or Gentile.

Our Lord Jesus applied the Ten Commandments to the believer. When asked by a follower “what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”, Jesus replied:

Matthew 19:17-19 … if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. … Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

The Apostle Paul said:

Romans 13:8-10 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

James, the stepbrother of Christ, told us:

James 1:21-25 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

The Ten Commandments are found all throughout the New Testament. They are not to be ignored, but to be cherished as a gift that God has given to His people.

The Ten Commandments Are Not Chains, But
Are The Perfect Law Of Liberty

Exodus 20:1-3 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Evangelist Ronald L. Dart notes:

“Now I realize a lot of people don’t look at the Ten Commandments and think in terms of liberty. They have a habit of thinking that, well it’s kind of restricting, it keeps us from doing the things that we might want to do, but the problem is, a lot of things we might want to do will just put us back in slavery again. The Ten Commandments are introduced by this term, “I am the Lord your God that got you out of the house of bondage.” What we’re about here at Mount Sinai is liberty. Everything that follows is about liberty. … God didn’t bring Israel out of bondage to put them back in bondage again. Just read the introductory statement to the Ten Commandments of God, “I am the Lord your God, I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” We aren’t going there again!”

To break the commandments of God is to break yourself.

Again, I refer back to Eden. Had Adam obeyed the Commandment of God, we would still be in Paradise today, a place where there are no mosquitoes, no hard word, and no graveyards.

Death entered the world when Adam sinned, rejecting the Commandment of God. Death entered the kingdom of Israel when David ignored God’s Commandment, and took another man’s wife as his own. Eternal God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, adhered to the Commandments of God.

Jesus said in John 12:48-50 (NKJV) He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.

The command of the Father is EVERLASTING LIFE. The Bible says that

1 John 1:5 (NKJV) … God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

God did not save Israel from Egypt to enslave Israel, no more than He saves us to enslave us. God saves us to FREE us, to bring us into the LIGHT of God where we will have joy and peace.

This was the lesson that David learned the hard way. He would later prayerfully write:

Psalm 119:9-12 (NKJV) How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes.

The First Commandment Reminds Us Of
The Singularity And Uniqueness Of God

As Israel remembers their salvation through the Red Sea and the destruction of the Egyptian Army, God tells them:

Exodus 20:2 I am the Lord thy God

When Israel was in Egypt, they were exposed to the gods of Egypt. There were, according to one source I read, 44 male gods and 32 female goddesses in Egypt. Where Buddhism and Hinduism flourish, like India, there are some 300 million gods that are worshiped, and often the gods are at odds with one another.

Our God is not many, but ONE. God said “I am the Lord thy God”. He is singular, unified, and He wants a relationship with His people. When the second generation of Israel prepared to go into the Promised Land, God gave them the Law a second time in the Book of Deuteronomy. In that Book He wrote:

Deuteronomy 6:1-4 (NKJV) Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

God told Israel “The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”. Then The Lord summarized the first four commandments of the Ten Commandments by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”. Our Jesus did the same thing with the Commandments. When asked one day,

“Which is the GREAT COMMANDMENT in the Law?”

Jesus replied (Matthew 22:37-40) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The Law of God – the Ten Commandments – is divided into two parts. Love God with your ALL, and love your neighbor as yourself. Treat others the way you want to be treated. But ALWAYS REMEMBER that God is God and we are NOT!

There is only ONE GOD, and He is the God of the Scripture, the God Who gave the Ten Commandments at Sinai. Our God is uniquely One.

He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – but He is nonetheless ONE. Our Lord Jesus said,

John 10:27-30 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.

Jesus and the Father are ONE. When Jesus prayed for His Church, He prayed to the Father that “the Church may be ONE just as WE ARE ONE” (John 17:22). The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are uniquely One. Not three Gods, but One God in Three Persons. God told Israel:

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

God wants us to love Him before all else. God despises idolatry, because idolatry divorces us from what is meant to be our best. We were created to walk with God, not as gods, but as adopted sons and daughters. We were meant to rely on God, not on ourselves. The Bible tells us in two places:

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 … that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

Idolatry is no more than a MAGNIFICATION OF HUMAN PRIDE. It is when we reject the true God of Scripture in favor of a false god that is more pleasing to our lusts and our own satisfactions.

The late Tim Keller wrote in his book Counterfeit Gods:

“An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.”

There are many today who profess to be Christian, but follow a god of their imagination not realized in Scripture. The God of salvation says “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”. Why? Is it because God is jealous? Yes, He is. He made us to love us, and we will not be what we were fully intended to be until we fully love Him.

Idolatry began in the Garden of Eden, when Adam tried to make himself a god. It failed. Idolatry came to Israel soon after God gave them the Ten Commandments. God had told Israel:

Exodus 19:5-6 (NKJV) if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Israel heard this, and replied (vs 8) “all that the LORD has spoken, we will do”. And yet when Moses was 40 days on the Mountain, Israel demanded that Aaron (Exodus 32:1) “make us gods that shall go before us”. They worshiped a “golden calf”, giving this “god” credit for leading them out of Egypt. When God heard this from the Mountain, God threatened to destroy Israel and raise up a great nation out of Moses (Exodus 32:9). Had Moses not intervened in prayer, glorifying and honoring God, that nation could have died that day.

As it was, though Moses’ prayer spared Israel that day, this congregation would eventually die in the wilderness over a 40 year period because of idolatry.

When We Make The Primary Secondary, And The Secondary Primary, We Wreck God’s Work For Us

Why did Israel make the golden calf? They were driven by fear, impatience, selfishness. They loved themselves more than they loved God. We must always love God most. He must always be first in our hearts. God is the Giver of good things. I believe that God wants to give us good things. But that which God gives us must never be valued above the Giver of the good things. C.S. Lewis wrote about first things and second things. He said that first things are things that God designed to be first in our hearts – namely, loving Him; whereas second things are the good things that God has given us that are only good as long as they are secondary. I can think of a few illustrations.

I love my little dog Bella, I love her very much. I want no harm to come to her. But when she dies (and she will die) I will love God for the time He has given me with my pet.

I love my Church very much, but there will come a day I am here no more. Yet I will still love God for the time He has given me with my Church.

I love my children very much, but God saw fit to take one of my children away. Yet my love for God has no diminished, for He is the Giver of Children, that wonderful gift from Heaven. When Job lost all,

his servants,
his sheep,
his camels,
his sons,
his daughters,

Job said, (Job 1:20) Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.

God is in charge. What God gave, God took away. Does it not say,

Romans 8:28-30 we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Israel was predestined to enter the Promised Land, for God had promised that land to Abraham by faith. Even though the first generation failed to enter because of idolatry, the second generation entered. God’s will will be done!

The Christian is predestined to be “conformed to the image of His Son”, for the glory of God forever. This is why “all things work together for good to those who love God”. If you love God, and cherish His Word, everything that happens to you happens for a greater good. God is in control – not us. We are to trust Him. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).

Israel was not saved by the Law, but by following Jesus through the Red Sea. Had Israel not followed the Lord, they would have never left Egypt and slavery. Jesus said, “Follow Me”. God says “Follow Me”. Faith follows God. Israel was not saved by the Law, but Israel was PRESERVED by the Law. While they obeyed God, they were protected and blessed.

Do not believe you can be saved, and not follow the Lord. Israel was at Sinai because they followed the Lord there. God told them:

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

The first generation of Israel will lose the Promised Land because of Idolatry. The second generation of Israel will gain the Promised Land because the Canaanites were idolatrous. So God warned His people:

Slide 11

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 (NKJV) When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

Do you know why God dispossessed the Canaanites? Because their idolatry led them to sacrifice their children to their false gods. Americans do that today, and call it a “medical procedure” or “women’s health”. It is not. It is murder. It is idolatry. It is evil. God says, do not do that. Idolatry destroys your relationship with God and with others. It is the gateway to anarchy and absolute darkness. As Evangelist Dwight L. Moody said:

“You don’t have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them. Whatever you love more than God is your idol.”

May God lead us as American Christians to put Him first. Amen and Amen.

Posted in Exodus, Sermons Preached, Ten Commandments | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Witnesses Of Jesus

Posted on December 30, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

2 Peter 1:13-18 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. 15 Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. 16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary always announces it’s “word of the year”. This year the “word of the year” is “AUTHENTIC”, which means “not false or imitation, real, actual”. Sadly, I don’t think most people understand what the word actually means. What I’ve seen advertised is “be your AUTHENTIC self”, and they attach this to transgenderism or some other abnormal fetish. Being authentic today is subjective, meaning to be true to your feelings. John Stonestreet of Breakpoint notes:

“This new definition of “authentic,” that what I feel inside is the highest truth, would have baffled people in centuries past and still baffles many non-Westerners today. However, the real problem is that this new definition of “authentic” is utter nonsense. Truth is not primarily subjective but objective. Reality is not decided by individuals but given by a Creator. One of the things our Creator both demands of us and enables us to do through redemption is conform our inner selves to His will and design, which He reveals, objectively, in both creation and Scripture.”

Comedian and Author Brad Stein – also a conservative Christian – said he had no problem understanding the difference between male and female as a child. He had a sister, and one Christmas his parents got them both bicycles. The girl’s bike has a bar in front of the seat that goes downward to the lower frame, whereas his bike – a boy’s bike – has a bar that is horizontal in front of the seat. Brad said that the first time he was standing up and slipped off the petals – he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he was a boy!

That’s AUTHENTIC!

Of all the religions in the world, the Apostle wants us to know that Christianity is not based on myths or legend.

Christianity is GREATER THAN all these other religions, because Christianity was founded by God Himself, Who became the Messiah or the Christ.

The very “WORD” that created all things came into the world. The Bible says:

John 1:1-3 (ESV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

But it doesn’t stop here. The text then tells us

John 1:14 (ESV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us …

God became Man, Perfect Man, Sinless Man and dwelt among us. He was seen of others. The Bible tells us there is a God – and the Christ made flesh PROVES there is a God.

Jesus Proves There Is A God, And
Eyewitnesses Prove There Is A Jesus

Before Jesus came, people believed there was a God Who created all things. Yet there was much misunderstanding about this God. Then Jesus came – Perfect Man, God became Man. The Prophets foresaw the coming of God in the flesh, the “Immanuel”.

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The Gospels witness the coming of Christ. When God sent an angel to Mary to tell her that she had been chosen to carry the Messiah (Luke 1:26-35), Mary responded by saying “How can this be? I am a virgin.” Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and had yet to consummate their wedding. The Angel told her “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child developing inside you will be called the Son of God.” (GWT). Mary agreed to this. But there’s one problem.

Joseph.
Joseph Witnesses That Jesus Is The Messiah.

When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant – and he knew he wasn’t the father – the Bible says:

Matthew 1:19 (ESV) … her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Had Joseph raised a fuss – had he went to the High Priest and demanded that Mary be punished – under the Law of God Mary could have been stoned with stones until she was dead (Leviticus 20:10). I’m sure that Joseph was heartbroken at first. And yet, he was not vengeful. Joseph decided to “divorce her quietly”. When he went to bed that night the Bible says:

Matthew 1:20-25 (ESV) … an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, (meaning “God our Savior”) for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Here we have three witnesses to Christ. We have the Angel, who quotes the Prophetic Witness. Then we have Joseph Himself. Joseph had, as a young bridegroom, planned on taking Mary off on a honeymoon. He planned on being with her intimately. He hoped to raise a family. But Joseph surrendered his plans to God. The Bible says Joseph “knew her not until she had given birth to a son”. He put off his own intimate plans until the Messiah came into the world. Joseph would go on to have other children by Mary (see Matthew 13:55-56; Mark 6:3), so Jesus would have step brothers and step sisters.

After Jesus resurrected from the Grave He would make an appearance to His step brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7) – ANOTHER WITNESS. Jesus encouraged His other brothers to meet Him in Galilee (Matthew 28:10). Joseph both protected Mary and Jesus, and honored the Lord by being there through Jesus’ early years.

Had Mary been pregnant because of promiscuity, Joseph would have never stayed with her. This is a powerful witness to the Messiah. But we have greater witnesses.

We have the eyewitness accounts of the martyrs of our faith. Peter wrote:

2 Peter 1:13-14 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

skēnōma Peter speaks of being “in this tabernacle” in verse 13, and in verse 14 says “shortly I must put off this my tabernacle”. The word “tabernacle” is the Greek skēnōma, which means “a skin tent in which one dwells”. In the Old Testament the “tabernacle” – a manmade tent designed to worship God in – preceded the Temple that Solomon built. Peter is not talking about the Old Testament Tabernacle, but of his own body. The Apostle often spoke of the human body as a skēnōma or a temporary abode for the soul. The Apostle Paul wanted every Christian to know that our bodies that we now have are but skēnōma, temporary tents that our souls inhabit, until we get to Heaven. The Scripture promises:

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle (skēnōma) were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house (oikia, a proper residence) not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Often “we groan in our present tent (skēnōma)” (2 Corinthians 5:4), and look forward to the time we can be with the Lord in Heaven. Peter said that “shortly I must put off this my tabernacle”, that is, his soul must soon leave his body. Why? He said “even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me”. Peter knew that he was going to be crucified for his faith in Christ. Jesus had previously told Peter:

John 21:18-19 (ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Peter was told to follow Jesus. Our Lord told Peter that “you will stretch out your hands”, a reference to his own crucifixion. Of all of the original disciples, only John (the brother of James the Greater, a son of Zebedee) died a natural death around 96 AD. Before he died, John was boiled in oil then exiled to a desert island called Patmos to die. Consider the other disciples:

Andrew was crucified, bound not nailed in Greece
Bartholomew was skinned alive and crucified in West Asia
James the Lesser (son of Alphaeus) was stoned and clubbed
Jude (Thaddeus) beaten with a club then crucified 72 AD Turkey
Matthew (Levi) staked and speared to the ground Ethiopia
Simon Peter crucified 68 AD
Philip tortured, impaled by iron hooks 54 AD in Egypt
Simon (The Canaanite) crucified 74 AD then sawn in half
Thomas (Didymus) speared to death in India
Mark (John Mark) dragged to death
Luke (The Physician) hanged on an olive tree
Paul (Saul) beheaded 66 AD
James (Christ’s stepbrother) thrown 100 feet off a wall, beaten

The two earliest martyrs (outside of Christ our Lord) was James the Greater (John’s brother) was stabbed and beheaded (Acts 12:2), and the Evangelist and Deacon Stephen (Acts 7:59) who was stoned to death. What does all this have to do with the proof of Christ. I’ll explain.

Many parents teach their children about the mythical Santa Claus and more recently the Elf on a Shelf. The concept of Santa Claus is actually based on a Christian Pastor called Saint Nicolas of Myra (March 15, 270 – December 6, 343 AD). The original Saint Nicolas preached in Turkey. The Santa Claus of the North Pole with all the elves is a myth, a fable parents tell their children. Certainly it is done in good fun, and I’m not trying to be a Scrooge, or to judge you parents. But I do have a point.

Would you die for Santa Claus?
Would you be skinned alive and crucified for Saint Nick?
Would you be hung on meat hooks, and beaten to death,
To preserve the myth of that jolly Fat Man?

Some people have died for a lie, not knowing that it was a lie. In World War II, Japanese Kamikati Pilots would take an aircraft loaded with explosives and fly them into ships. They were told by the Emperor of Japan that their actions would earn them “Paradise”. More recently, Muslim terrorists have become suicide bombers because some half baked holy “Ian” told them they would earn “Paradise”. They died for a lie – but they didn’t know it was a lie. A religious group called “Heaven’s Gate” committed mass suicide (39 people) March 22-23, 1997 when they were convinced by their leader that they had to leave their bodies to achieve a higher state of “being”. Or you may have heard of Jim Jones, leader of the People’s Temple, led 909 people to murder-suicide. The devil can convince people that evil is good. As Jesus said, “The devil is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

No one would suffer martyrdom knowing that
they were dying for a myth or a lie.

The Christian martyrs died willingly in horrific ways because they were eyewitnesses to the reality of Jesus Christ. This is Peter’s point here:

The Eyewitness Accounts Were Not Delusions,
But Reality That More Than One Saw

2 Peter 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

The Apostle tells us that what he has seen are not “cunningly devised fables”. This is the Greek sophizō mythos, which means “inventive or clever myths”. These are not delusions or visions from false prophets like Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. Smith said that in 1820 the Father and the Son visited him ALONE and told him that ALL CHRISTIAN CHURCHES were corrupt. Three years later, Smith declared that the Angel Moroni visited him ALONE and gave him an everlasting gospel on golden plates called The Book of Mormon.

The founder of Islam, Mohammad claimed that when he was in the Cave of Hira, three kilometers from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that the Angel Gabriel came and told him ALONE that he was the true Messiah and prophet. Only Mohammad saw Gabriel in that cave.

Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Ellen G. White the founder of the Seventh Day Adventists all had one on one ALONE “encounters with God”. Yet their assertions do not ring true, as there are no other witnesses that were there when an Angel or God spoke to them.

This is not the case with Christianity. Peter said, “we WEre eyewitnesses of his majesty”. The Law of God given in the Old Testament did not allow one person to establish something as truth. The Law stated:

Deuteronomy 19:15 (ESV) … Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

The Apostle Paul, trained by the great Rabbi Gamaliel, well knew this requirement. He wrote:

2 Corinthians 13:1 (ESV) This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Two or three witnesses was God’s requirement on the seriousness of anything. “Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of TWO OR THREE WITNESSES” (Hebrews 10:28, ESV). Peter says that they are not following cunning myths, but they “were eyewitnesses of his majesty”. Peter says of Jesus,

2 Peter 1:17-18 For He {Jesus} received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

What is Peter speaking of? Jesus had three disciples that He chose from out of the twelve for special training. These were Peter, James and John. James and John were brothers, the Sons of Zebedee (Mark 3:16-17), and friends of Peter. All three were fishermen who had worked together, and had been with Jesus the longest (Luke 5:4-11). When Jesus resurrected Jairus’ daughter from death, only Peter, James and John were with Him (Mark 5:37).

One day Jesus called these three to go with Him:

Mark 9:2-4 (ESV) And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

Three men saw Jesus transfigured, and saw Jesus speaking with Elijah and Moses. These three men would not only see this, but would hear God the Father speak from Heaven saying “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. Peter, who would later become the leader of all the Apostles, and James the leader of the Church of Jerusalem, would both eventually suffer horrible deaths for preaching the Gospel of Christ. They would not recant. John would be horribly tortured and abandoned to die – but by the Grace of God he would live.

Christmas Is All About The Witnesses For
The Christ’s First Coming

On January 28, 1986 the US Space Shuttle Challenger was about to be launched. The engineer in charge of the rocket boosters, Alan McDonald, told NASA not to launch the Challenger. Though threatened and scorned, Alan stood his ground. The supervisors at NASA vetoed Alan. 73 seconds after launch Challenger exploded, killing 6 people. The University of Virginia noted that the disaster cost the United States over three BILLION dollars.

It didn’t have to happen.

Christmas is a time when we celebrate the coming of Christ – the one and only Messiah – into the world. God became Man, Perfect Man. His conception, His birth, and His later life was well documented by a might cloud of witnesses. The first witnesses were Shepherds, who were told by the Angel of the Lord:

Luke 2:10-12 Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

The Shepherds went to Bethlehem, saw Jesus, and went about the countryside telling others what they had seen. They saw “a Savior, which is Christ the Lord”. He is the Savior of His people. He came to the lowest to raise us to the highest. Eight days after His birth, Jesus was taken to the Temple to be dedicated and circumcised (Luke 2:21). There an old man named Simeon saw Jesus … for the Holy Spirit had promised that he would not die before he saw the Christ (Luke 2:26). Seeing Jesus, this old man …

Luke 2:28 (AP) … took Jesus up in his arms, and blessed God, saying, “Lord, let me now depart this earth in peace, just as You promised. My EYES have SEEN Your salvation, the Savior You sent for all people, both for the Gentiles and the Jews.”

Witnessing Christ, Simeon was prepared for death. You are not equipped for life until you are prepared for death. Are you prepared? Have you “seen” Jesus by the eye of faith? Have you received Him as Lord and Savior? If you have, you are ready for not just eternity – but for what tomorrow will hold.

Oh, how I pray that God the Holy Spirit touch your hearts, and lead you to Jesus. May God make it so. May God make it so. Amen and Amen.

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A Little Child Shall Save Them

Posted on December 22, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Habib Musliu: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-baby-in-yellow-swaddling-clothes-lying-on-white-fur-on-a-woven-basket-13670223/

Luke 2:1-7 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

In order to please God, we are told, we are to become like a little child. Jesus said:

Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

You cannot be saved unless you put off yourself, and become like a little child. The Bible says:

Mark 10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

The Bible tells us that in the Millennial Kingdom, the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth, that

Isaiah 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

There is no blessing unless you become as a little child before God. You must lay down your self sufficiency, and come to His open arms, trusting in Him. The importance of being a little child is seen in the birth of Christ Jesus in a Manger in Bethlehem.

In order to be saved, you must become as a little child.
In order to save us, God had to become as a little Child.

God Chose The Messiah’s Birthplace

Around 700 years before Christ was born, God spoke to a Prophet named Micah and foretold the birth of the Savior:

Micah 5:2 (ESV) But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The Ruler of Israel, the Messiah, would come forth from little Bethlehem. This Ruler’s “whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days (Everlasting)”. The Messiah would be from eternity, from God Himself. When Herod asked the Chief Priests and Scribes where Messiah would come from,

Matthew 2:5-6 (NKJV) … they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

A Baby would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. But He would be no ordinary Baby. The Prophet Daniel wrote some 500 years before Christ came:

Daniel 7:14 (NKJV) Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

The scope of the Messiah’s power would be that “all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him”. He will one day rule the world. But

Before He could save the world or rule the world, Christ must first become a Baby in Bethlehem.

Our God controls all things. The Bible says in:

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

Just as a river winds to and fro, it’s course was ultimately charted by God. In the same way the heart of man – even if he is a King – is in the hands of God. God controls the heart! As Mary of Nazareth grew closer to her due date, God turned the heart of the King to issue a decree:

Luke 2:1-5 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary…

Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone return to their home town, so that a census could be taken, and a tax enacted on every person. Why couldn’t Mary stay in Nazareth near her family while Joseph made the trip? This was a difficult 80 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Why not just stay home?

The genealogies of Christ are found in Matthew 1:2-16 and Luke 3:23-38. The two genealogies are different, as the one in Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage through His stepfather Joseph whereas the genealogy in Luke traces Jesus’ lineage through His mother Mary. One article I found noted:

“The lineage of Joseph and the lineage of Mary match with the same names from Abraham to David. Joseph and Mary were distant cousins. They each fulfilled the prophecy that the messiah would descend from the house and lineage of King David. Jesus’ legal title to the throne of King David was through Joseph, but his blood title to the throne was through Mary.”

BOTH Joseph and Mary were related by birth to King David, which required that BOTH return to Bethlehem. God moved the heart of Caesar to call for this taxing, that the prophecy of Christ’s birth be fulfilled in Bethlehem.

The Virgin Birth Makes Christ The “Only Begotten” Of God

Luke 2:5-7 … with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son

I want you to notice that Verse 7 states, “she brought forth HER firstborn son”. It does not say “THEIR firstborn Son” but “HER firstborn Son”. This was not her and Joseph’s son, but the Son of God given to her by the very power of God. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise to the Serpent, that old Devil:

Genesis 3:15 (AP) … the SEED OF THE WOMAN shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel …

as well as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV) “the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel”. This is uniquely Mary’s Son. God became Man – perfect and sinless Man – through the virgin Mary. It is, as the Scripture said:

Matthew 1:18 … When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

God became a little Child. God the Son became “begotten”, taking on flesh as we all do. And yet – within that baby – is all the infinite power of God. The Scripture says:

Colossians 2:9 For in [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead. Jesus Christ is pure God, fully God, wholly God, with all the power and magnitude of God. But in Him is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Jesus is fully God in fully perfect Human form. He is fully God and fully Man. Eternal God would inhabit humanity, first of all, through the virgin birth. Why would God the Son do this? Why was this Baby from this virgin in this manger?

To save us from our sins.

Jesus did not consent to be born as a little Baby just so we could go to Heaven. Jesus consented to be born into His creation to save us from our sins. This is what Gabriel told Joseph:

Matthew 1:21 {Mary} will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

The name “Jesus” means “Jehovah is salvation”. Humanity needs a Savior, One Who will save us from ourselves. Think of the most righteous men of the Old Testament. Think of Abraham, the man called “The Friend of God” (2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:23). Abraham did many things of faith, and so impressed God that God considered him a “friend”. Yet Abraham went in to Hagar, and produced Ishmael rather than wait on the promise of God.

Or Noah, a faithful preacher of righteousness. He preached and waited many years while building an Ark to God’s specifications. When he got off the Ark, Noah got drunken and indecently exposed himself.

Or Moses, who faithfully led Israel for 40 years. Then one day he disobeyed God, struck the rock that was Christ, and lost his blessing into the Promised Land.

Or King David, a man after God’s own heart. David stood in front of Goliath and killed him with a stone from a sling and the devil’s own ax. And yet as King, David doubted God and numbered Israel, for which He was punished. David took Uriah’s wife, and had Uriah murdered.

I could go on and on. The story of Scripture is that we as humans constantly fall short of the glory of God. We may walk with God – but we really need God to come to us. This is why God became a little child, why God the Son took upon Himself humanity. The Scripture says:

Philippians 2:7-8 (Jesus) … took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Made of the Holy Spirit in the vessel of Mary’s womb, God became “the form of a servant”. Why was He born to a Carpenter’s household? Carpenters are builders. They take raw materials, and put them together into a beautiful finished product. My Dad was an upholsterer, and people often brought him couches and chairs to renew, recondition, and repair. When Daddy did so, it was like it was brand new. Jesus does the same thing with people. He was born into this world to take the broken, the weak, the least and the lesser than and make us into sons of God.

Jesus is more than just a name. Christmas is more than just a holiday. Because Jehovah agreed to become that little baby, He became as Romans 8:29 tells us “the FIRSTBORN among MANY BRETHREN”. Jesus came to bring us into God’s family. If you have received Him as Lord and Savior, God is your Father, the Spirit your Companion, and Jesus your Elder Brother and Lord.

That Baby in the Manger had a purpose, and that is to call us to a life of purpose. The Bible says that because of Christ you are …

Romans 8:29 … predestinated [you] to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

You are to be like Christ, to live like Christ, to speak like Christ, to represent Christ. This is not something you yourself can do, but something that God will accomplish in you as you seek His face. At the appointed time Mary brought forth Christ, not because of anything she did, but because of what God did in her.

The Way Of Christ Is Obedience And Humility

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Many this Christmas will be focused more on the Christmas Tree and what’s under it, than on the Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes. That is so very sad. “swaddling clothes” are strips of cloth that were wrapped around babies to protect them from their environment. The clothes kept them from flailing their arms about where they might be hurt. They also kept the bugs and the sun off of the baby’s skin.

Mary laid Jesus in a “manger”, the Greek phatnē, which means “a crib or a stall, an eating place for animals”. In smaller towns like Bethlehem and Nazareth, many homes had lower levels where animals were kept at night. The humans slept in the upper rooms. Yet there was a reason for this. Jesus was born into the lowest of places, so He could be available for the least of people. The first visitors to the little Messiah were shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem. One commentary notes:

“God’s own Son made His appearance on earth in the lowliest of circumstances. This humble birth conveys an amazing message to creation: the transcendent God condescended to come to us. Instead of coming to earth as a pampered, privileged ruler, Jesus was born in meekness, as one of us. He is approachable, accessible, available—no palace gates bar the way to Him; no ring of guards prevents our approach. The King of kings came humbly, and His first bed was a manger.”

The manger was a borrowed crib, a place where creatures fed. Jesus would often use the symbolic language of eating to describe faith in Him. Jesus told those who followed Him:

John 6:54-56 (NKJV) Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

Later in His ministry, just before His death, Jesus would tell His disciples:

Matthew 26:26-27 (NKJV) … Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

That Baby lying in a temporary bed, a food trough, is the Savior of the world. If you intimately make Him a part of your life, He saves you from your sins and gives you entrance into Heaven. Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes, because this is what every parent did with their children. He was born into this world as you and I are. God told the Shepherds watching their flocks at night:

Luke 2:10-12 Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

The Shepherds would see the ordinary (a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes) in an abnormal place (lying in a manger). Jesus Christ is the Bread of Heaven, the Manna that gives us life. He is the “Savior, which is Christ the Lord”. The Messiah would come, as Micah prophesied:

Micah 5:4-5 (NKJV) And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; 5 And this One shall be peace.

Jesus Christ is our PEACE. He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to us all. The reason we celebrate Christmas is to recognize that only Jesus will meet our needs for peace. As another source states:

“who is there among us that doesn’t feel the need for peace? This babe, this Shepherd, Who has come forth from God to mankind, is the only source of lasting, eternal peace for the soul. As it is written, “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:13-14) …and speaking of God’s purposes in Christ, “and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His Cross” (Colossians 2:20)”

God became a little Child to save us. We must become little children to be saved. Oh, that God would lead you to believe on Him this very day. Only then will God bless you all richly this Christmas. Amen and Amen!

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Divine Arithmetic

Posted on December 20, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Nothing Ahead: https://www.pexels.com/photo/monochrome-photo-of-math-formulas-3729557/

2 Peter 1:2-11 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today I want to talk about the Divine Arithmetic Of Salvation. We see mathematical terms in our text today.

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied…

2 Peter 1:5 add to your faith

Last week we discussed how GRACE is the engine that saves a person. We are saved by faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is very true. And yet, I do not think that many who PROFESS Christ actually POSSESS Christ. One acronym that explains the GOSPEL of salvation is:


God created us to be with Him.

Our sin separated us from God.

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.

Paying the price for sin, Jesus paid the price.

Everyone who trusts in Christ alone has eternal life.

Life with Jesus starts now, and lasts forever.

It is the L in the acronym that too many people are confused about. Salvation is a free gift in that you cannot purchase it. But salvation cannot come unless you agree to follow Jesus. Salvation is a free gift, but it is also a commitment.

Salvation is not a “get out of hell” free card. It is an invitation to return to the Garden, to walk with the Lord.

Bible Scholar and Pastor Dallas Willard said,

“Most problems in contemporary Churches can be explained by the fact that members have never decided to follow Christ. We have taken His NAME, but have not taken His YOKE.”

There is no life with Jesus until you do a little DIVINE SUBTRACTION. There must be REPENTANCE.

I very rarely hear this preached, but it’s true. You cannot be saved – cannot receive the Gospel – unless you first REPENT. Our Lord Jesus preached:

Matthew 4:17 … REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand …

Repent = metanoeō, compound word, “meta” = to change; “noeō” = the mind. Repentance is to stop being your own god, and to choose through the power of the Spirit to follow Jesus. It is a subtraction of SELF.

When asked why He spent so much time with sinners, Jesus declared:

Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Jesus did not say “I have called sinners to SALVATION”, but He said “I have called sinners to REPENTANCE”.

Repeatedly Jesus told those who would listen,

Luke 13:3, 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Again, Jesus doesn’t say SAVED but REPENT. We do not save ourselves, but we do REPENT. Our Lord said in

Luke 15:10 … “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus sent His disciples out with the message “that people everywhere should REPENT” (Mark 6:12). The Apostle said that:

Romans 2:4 “it is the kindness of God that LEADS YOU TO REPENTANCE”.

Repentance is so very necessary to salvation. So what is repentance? It is Divine Subtraction. It is the removal of self from the equation. You cannot be saved on your own terms, but must be saved by surrendering yourself to God while seizing the Grace that He offers. There can be no half way.

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord

Repentance means that you receive Jesus Christ as LORD. Jesus never offered the Kingdom of God apart from surrender to Him. He used statements like “Follow Me”, or “If you love Me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS”, or

John 14:21 (NLT) Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.

We are not called to TOLERATE Jesus, but to LOVE Him. And that requires DIVINE SUBTRACTION. We surrender ourselves to God. The Bible says:

Luke 14:26-33 (ESV) If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

As believers in Christ we are called to love Jesus first and foremost. We are called to love Jesus more than our own lives. We are called to love Jesus no matter what life throws our way. And Beloved, if you are a Christian, we are told in our text that:

2 Peter 1:3-4 …His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature

God has given us all that we need for life and godliness. God Who saves us, “hath called us to glory and virtue”. We are not called to walk in darkness, but to walk in the light of Christ. God has called the Christian to be “partakers of the divine nature”. We are not saved just to go to Heaven, but we are saved to walk with Christ NOW and INTO ETERNITY. The Holy Spirit bids us REPENT. Jesus said, “Take MY YOKE upon you” (Matthew 11:29). We give our lives to Jesus, for He has given His life for us. This is REPENTANCE.

Walking With Jesus, God Will Teach You Divine ADDITION

The target of every Christian is to please God, to be like Jesus. Our faith is never stagnant. Having access to the Divine Nature, we are called of God to GROW.

2 Peter 1:5-7 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

We are told to be “giving all diligence”. The word “GIVING” is the Greek pareisphérō, which means “to contribute or bring in besides”. “DILIGENCE” is the Greek spoudḗ, which means “with haste or eagerness, to be earnest in accomplishing”. Faith is a wonderful thing – it is a gift of God. When we practiced DIVINE SUBTRACTION by repenting, God gave us faith in Christ.

God the Holy Spirit leads us to REPENTANCE:

Acts 11:18 (NASB) … God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life … (also see 2 Timothy 2:25)

God the Holy Spirit grants us FAITH:

2 Peter 1:1 … to them that have obtained like precious faith with us

But the same God leads us to ADD TO OUR FAITH.

2 Peter 1:5-6 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance…

What do we ADD? We are called into partnership with God to seek out and ADD:

  • Virtue is the Greek ἀρέτη arétē, (pronounced ar-et’-ay) which means moral goodness. We are not to be like the fallen world. We are warned in Scripture:

James 4:4 (ESV) … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

The world is constantly demanding that Christianity absorb its abnormalities, that the light become more like the darkness. But the only way that light can become one with darkness is to extinguish its energy. To absorb the world is to become something that Christ never intended. I have heard people argue:

Well, Jesus never said ANYTHING against transgenderism or LGBTQ+. If He never said anything against it, He wasn’t against it.

This is hogwash. Jesus saidGod’s Word was TRUTH (John 17:17). When Jesus walked the earth, the Bible the Jews had was the Old Testament we have today. Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). When asked about marriage, Jesus said:

Mark 10:6-9 (ESV) … from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.

Though Jesus never specified that one type of sexual sin was more evil than the other, He did specify that what God designed and decreed was male to female marriage. Jesus came for the Jewish people first (Matthew 15:24; Romans 1:16; 2:9-10), and the Jews that Jesus preached to were well acquainted with the Bible (our Old Testament). The Law of Moses was VERY SPECIFIC about sexual immorality (Leviticus 18 & 20), and the punishment that God levied on those who did so.

For Jesus to talk about every sexual sin to a Jewish audience familiar with the Law of Moses would be like coming to America and telling everyone to drive on the right side of the road. You already know that.

We not only add to our faith virtue or moral goodness, but we also add:

  • KNOWLEDGE. Learn of Christ. Study Him. Focus on Him. You cannot read and study your Bible enough. You cannot read and study what Christ said enough. Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28-29Come unto me, all [ye] that labor 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.

Watch what Jesus did. Note how He responded to others, especially those who were critical of Him. Follow in Christ’s steps, imitating Him. “Be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). Add to this knowledge,

  • TEMPERANCE (ἐγκράτεια enkráteia, eng-krat’-i-ah), also known as SELF CONTROL. The word “temperance” refers to how you control your body, your passions and your expression of passion. Christians are to be self controlled as temperance is within the Fruit of the Spirit. Jesus was self controlled. He controlled His anger, His tongue, and His appetites in a way that glorified God.

We are not to fill ourselves with ourselves. We are to become open vessels that God can use. Temperance is a crucifixion of the flesh, with its passions and desires:

Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: (enkráteia) against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

2 Peter 1:6-7 … and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

  • Add to temperance, PATIENCE (Greek hupŏmŏnē). We are impatient people, but God is patient. He allows the world to make bad decisions day after day without dropping the hand of judgment on the earth. We are to be patient, what the Scripture often calls “longsuffering” (2 Corinthians 6:6; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 1:11; 3:12).

Add to patience GODLINESS (Greek eusébeia). To be godly is to seek to please God.

The Scripture says,

1 Timothy 6:6-8 (ESV) … godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

  • Add to godliness BROTHERLY KINDNESS (Greek philadelphia). Be kind to others. When they mess up, be kind. If you must correct someone, be kind. To be kind is to be gentle.

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Proverbs 15:1-2 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. [2] The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

Finally, the Apostle says:

  • Add to brotherly kindness CHARITY. Love all. Let love rule your lives. The word translated CHARITY is the Greek agapē, which means “Godlike, selfless love”. The Scripture says:

Romans 13:8-10 (ESV) Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Why I Must LIVE My Faith While I Can

2 Peter 1:8-10 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

The Apostle tells us to “give diligence to make your calling and election sure”. Do you KNOW that you are saved? How do you KNOW? God has “called us to glory and virtue” (verse 3). If you have no desire to serve the Lord – if to you Jesus is just a means into Heaven – then you may not be saved. You are to make sure that you were called of Christ. As the old saying goes:

If you were put on trial to determine if you are a Christian – is there enough evidence there to convict you? If not, you may not be saved. Do not allow Satan to delude you. Make your calling and election SURE.

May God bless you richly with His Word.

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God’s Blessings Come Through Little Things

Posted on December 15, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/flying-yellow-bird-459198/

Luke 1:39-46 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord ..

I have a video from Homicide Detective J. Warner Wallace. He is a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center and an Adjunct Professor of Apologetics at the Talbot School of Theology. It’s only about three minutes – but it answers the question “Are there many ways to God?”

What makes Christianity unique is Christ Jesus Himself.

He was uniquely born into this world, unlike anyone who has ever been born. It was prophesied of God in the Old Testament that the Messiah or the Christ was going to come into this world uniquely through the Prophet Isaiah. Of all the Prophets of the Old Covenant, ALL heard the Voice of God but very few looked into Heaven. Ezekiel saw into Heaven, and Elijah was snatched up by a chariot of fire. I may be wrong, but the only other Prophet I can think of who saw into Heaven in the Old Testament was Isaiah. Having seen into Heaven, Isaiah was given a special glimpse at the coming Messiah or Christ. He saw the Messiah as the Coming King in:

Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The “CHILD” would be born, but the “SON” would be given. As the co-eternal Son of God Jesus could never be “born”, as God is never born but has always existed. The Scripture equates Jesus with God. He is “The mighty God”, God become Perfect Man. Jesus is “The everlasting Father”. He said “If you have seen ME, you have seen THE FATHER” (John 14:9). Jesus said, “I and the Father are ONE” (John 10:30). Jesus prayed for His Church, prayed to the Father that “the Church MAY BE ONE and WE ARE ONE” (John 17:22). The Father recognizes the Son as God, saying:

Hebrews 1:8 … THY THRONE, O GOD is forever and ever: the scepter of Thy Kingdom is a right scepter …

And as God is the Great “I AM”, the Eternal Present Tense, the Scripture says of Jesus,

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Isaiah also saw Jesus coming through a virgin named Mary. He wrote of this in:

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

The King James renders the Greek ʿalmâ as “A virgin”, but the New American Standard, the Holman Christian Standard, the English Standard, the New International Version, the New King James Version, and the Amplified Bible all render it as “THE virgin”. I think the latter is better. God hand chose Mary to be the mother of Christ’s humanity. The child born of the virgin would be called “Immanuel”, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

When the Angel came to Mary to tell her that she would have a unique Child – the Messiah – she was told that her cousin Elisabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Following the announcement that

Luke 1:39-43 And Mary AROSE in those days, and WENT INTO THE HILL country WITH HASTE, into a city of Juda; 40 … entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

As Mary left Gabriel and traveled to her cousin’s home, the Messiah within her was but a tiny thing – no bigger than the dot at the end of a sentence. God uses little things to do great works!

The fertilized egg begins to divide into groups of cells. There are no distinguishing features to that future child as of yet. And yet when Mary walks into Elisabeth’s home, and as soon as she says “Hello” tiny John the Baptist – six months old still in his mother’s womb – leaps! Elisabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of God overflows her life. And immediately Elisabeth begins to worship God. She recognizes that God has blessed Mary.

Luke 1:42 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

Elisabeth does not exalt Mary, but recognizes that God has blessed her by using her to fulfill Messianic Prophecy.

Why did God choose Mary?

First, God chose Mary to fulfill the promise He made through Isaiah and to King David. We have already seen that God promised in Isaiah that the Messiah would come of a Virgin. But God also promised King David as well as Isaiah that the Messiah would come through his lineage:

To David God said (2 Samuel 7:12-13, ESV) “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever”.

To the Prophet Isaiah God said, (Isaiah 11:1, ESV) “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

And to the Prophet Jeremiah God said, (Jeremiah 23:5-6, ESV) “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”

The Messiah MUST come from the lineage of David.

But here is the problem. Among the Jews, the lineage of the children was traced through the male line. Yet the Messiah would be born of a virgin, so there would be NO MALE LINE. How would God resolve this? He did so through BOTH Mary as well as Joseph her fiancee.

My commentary notes that the lineage of Christ in Matthew 1:1-16 is traced through Joseph’s line, the man who would be our Lord’s stepfather. The lineage of Christ in Luke 3:23-38 traces Jesus’ ancestry from MARY’S line.

Second, I believe that God chose both Mary as well as her relative Elisabeth to fulfill Bible Prophecy because both women were humble, God fearing people. Elisabeth, though she will bear a Nazarite Priest from her womb, was not pride filled. She was humbled that God would use her so. God outlined the strict requirements that the Nazarite Priest had to follow (Numbers 6:1-21), but

To my knowledge, there were only THREE Nazarite Priests from the womb: Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist.

It would be easy to be prideful over what God had done with Elisabeth, but she was not so. She recognized that God had blessed Mary, and humbly asked:

Luke 1:43 …. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

God will not save the arrogant, nor will He bless the pride filled. Elisabeth humbled herself before God as all Christians should do. She said:

Luke 1:44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Elisabeth not only recognized Mary as the mother of the Messiah, but encouraged Mary to believe that God was faithful, and would do as He has said. When believers come together, we do so to encourage one another in our faith. We are to point to the faithfulness of God, just as Elisabeth did with Mary.

Mary Sings In Response To Her Faith

Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

This portion of Scripture is often called “Mary’s Song” or “The Magnificat” (Which means “My Soul Magnifies”). The books The History and Use of Hymns and Hymn Tunes David R. Breed, 2009 & Favorite Hymns Marjorie Reeves, 2006 states that the following Scriptures were one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns.

Singing is not just a time filler in a service, but is a part of Christian worship. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 100:1-2 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

The Apostles taught the Church to sing. Paul said:

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Ephesians 5:18-20 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Singing does not have to be perfect, but it is to be “to the Lord with your heart”. God does not care if your singing is perfect, Pharisaical perfect, but that you sing to Him WITH YOUR HEART. One Author noted:

“We’re not called to sing because we’re great singers. We sing because God is great and greatly to be praised! And, by God’s design, one of the chief ways we praise him is through song. He is worthy of our song, so we sing! And as we sing, especially for those not naturally gifted, we exercise faith. As we open our mouths to sing, we must believe the truth that God is pleased with us. We trust that because of Jesus’s work for us, our Father loves us and wants to hear our voices. Because he is good and tender and faithful, he won’t turn away if we can’t carry a tune. In a world where we rely on our senses and instincts, this will take some adjustment. We must believe the Bible over our impulse to hide. We need to trust God that our relationship with him does not depend on our performance.”

There will be many things NOT in Heaven. There will be no SIN, no PRIDE, no DEATH, no GRAVES nor HOSPITALS. But most of all, there will be NO DISOBEDIENCE to God. Singing is an act of obedience to God. The Bible says:

Psalm 95:1-2 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Singing spiritually strengthens us, reminding us that our circumstances are not outside the control of God.

When Paul and Silas were imprisoned for preaching Christ in Philippi, the Bible says:

Acts 16:25 (ESV) About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them …

It was when they were PRAYING AND SINGING HYMNS TO GOD that God sent an angel to knock down the prison doors. Even released, Paul and Silas stayed where they were, ministering to the other prisoners.

Mary Praised God With All She Had. Mary was raised in a poor but God fearing home. She didn’t have much to give God, but she gave God what she had. She gave herself.

Mary honored the Lord with her BODY. Our text says “And MARY SAID”. You ARE what you DO. A lot of people SAY they are Christian, but their actions do not back up their words. MARY SAID. She spoke her faith. She was NOT ASHAMED. When God blesses you, you are NOT ASHAMED of what He has given.

King David was NOT ASHAMED of God’s statutes and laws (Psalm 119:80)
The Apostle Paul was NOT ASHAMED of the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16)
The Christian is NOT ASHAMED to proclaim Christ (1 Peter 4:16)

Mary’s song of praise was not just external, but INTERNAL. She said:

Luke 1:46-47 … My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

Mary humbled herself before the Lord Who blessed her so. Mary took no credit for her blessings. She said:

Luke 1:48-49 For {God} hath regarded the LOW estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

Word Study: Mary sang of her LOW ESTATE, the Greek tapeinōsis. The word tapeinōsis means “spiritual abasement, moral poverty, the fact that she was, in her eyes, unworthy and filled with guilt before Almighty God. The Apostle Paul used the same word in:

Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our VILE (tapeinōsis) body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

And James used it to describe the eventual humiliation of the proud but rich person who will stand before God unjustified and lost:

James 1:10 But the rich, in that he is made low: (tapeinōsis) because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

The Catholics consider Mary the Mother of Christ to be the “Queen of Heaven”, saying:

“Understanding Mary as queen mother sheds light on her important intercessory role in the Christian life. Just like the queen mother of the Davidic kingdom, Mary serves as advocate for the people in the Kingdom of God today. Thus, we should approach our queen mother with confidence, knowing that she carries our petitions to her royal son and that he responds to her as Solomon did to Bathsheba: “I will never refuse you.”

Any student of Christ knows that our Lord Jesus taught us to pray not to Mary, but to say:

Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

The Scripture says that we have “peace with God THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THROUGH WHOM WE ALSO HAVE ACCESS” (Romans 5:1-2). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6). We are told in Ephesians 2:18, “THROUGH JESUS we both HAVE ACCESS in one Spirit TO THE FATHER”. The concept that we address God through anyone … ANYONE outside of Christ … is foreign to the Scripture, a fabrication of religion. It is Jesus Christ Who is our “HIGH PRIEST FOREVER” (Hebrews 6:19-20). We as believer-priests “have confidence to enter the Holy Place BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS … we HAVE A GREAT HIGH PRIEST over the House of God” (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Mary added nothing to her calling, but honored God for it. We need not add a layer of intercessors – Mary or the Saints – that the Scripture never added. Mary was blessed not because she was sinless, the “Queen of Heaven” so called of Christ. Mary was blessed because God – in His infinite Grace – is pleased to use the humble but broken who will heed His word and His glory.

Mary Acknowledges The Proper State Of The Christian

Luke 1:50-53 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

God blesses only those who HUMBLE themselves before Him. Jesus came for whosoever will humble themselves to Him and His Gospel.He “scatters the proud” and “puts down the mighty”. Those who self sufficient, “rich in themselves” God “sends away empty”. But those who humbly follow Him will be blessed.

Illustrate A husband wanted to give his wife the perfect gift for Christmas, so he bought her the finest diamond ring he could afford. He knew she would guess what the gift was if he just wrapped the jewelry box and put it under the tree, so he put her gift inside a box of cereal and wrapped it up. The Monday before Christmas while her husband was at work she picked up the box that held her gift. Shaking it she heard what sounded like cereal. Quickly tearing the box open she saw “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes” and she went livid. Without opening the box, she took it outside, tossed it in the trash, and went inside fuming Outside she heard the sound of the garbage truck making it’s pickup. She had no idea what she had done.

Mary humbly followed God and was blessed with His mercy and grace. God uses the little things. He uses the broken, the humble, the willing but weak. Will you follow Jesus? Oh, how I pray you will! Oh Holy Spirit, drive Your wedge into the heart, and bring all souls to Christ. For God’s glory I pray. Amen and Amen. May God touch your hearts with His Word.

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The Nurture Of The Christian

Posted on December 13, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Tim Mossholder: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-leaves-2336117/

Turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Peter chapter 1.

I heard a preacher tell a story to illustrate a point – and I liked the story at first, but now don’t know about it. A young man wanted to be a dealer in Jade, so he went to an expert in Jade to learn all he could about it. He asked this wise old Jade dealer to apprentice him – and the old man agreed. He asked the young man to come back the next morning. When he did, the old man put a piece of Jade in the young man’s hand … then he began to talk about his life. As the old man rambled on as old people often do, the young man became impatient. “What does this have to do with Jade?”, he asked. The old man assured him that, in time, it would all make sense. He then began to ramble on about his life. At the end of the day, the young man returned the Jade to the old man, and went home, promising to return the next day.

Day after day the same thing happened. The young man would come to the old man’s business, he would hand him a piece of jade to hold tightly in his hand. Then the old man would ramble, telling stories about his life. This went on for about three weeks, and the young man had become so frustrated that he was about to quit. But one day he went in and the old man slipped a piece of Jade into his hand …. but it WASN’T. It didn’t feel right. The weight was off. It was too porous

The moral of that story – so the preacher said – was Jade and the Gospel Salvation offered by Christ are the same. Like Jade, you need to receive the Gospel, and hold on to it to know its truth. There is some truth to this, for you will never know the blessings of Christ unless you follow Christ. You must receive Him and love Him.

Prior to salvation we must submit to Jesus when He calls us, saying “Follow Me”. We surrender to Him. We GRASP THE CROSS and hold it in our hearts.

We willingly become “slaves of God”, as we studied last week. However, once we are saved we are NURTURED and GROW as Christians THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. That’s what we read in our text today.

2 Peter 1:2-4 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The Believer in Christ HAS BEEN Saved,
IS BEING Saved, and WILL BE Saved.

Return to the first words of our focal text. Read:

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord

What does God offer to us in the glorious Gospel, this “Amazing Grace”? God offers us GRACE and PEACE. The order of these words is important. It is always GRACE first, THEN PEACE. You will never see PEACE then GRACE – ever! This is a common theme in Scripture. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I could go on and on. Seventeen times in the New Testament this pattern is repeated. There is first GRACE, then PEACE. Now what does it mean by PEACE?

I was listening to some of the newer, modern day “Christian” songs the other day when I spotted numerous errors. I love the music of artist Tauren Wells. His recent song “Crazy About You” is a love song to God. Some of the lyrics are:

“He’s crazy about you
Died so you didn’t have to
Tore your failure apart
Now He wears your scars
That’s how much He loves you
He’s never been mad at you
He’s only been madly in love
And it’s never been about what you do
It’s always been about what He’s done
It’s something you just can’t hear enough
Oh, He’s crazy about you
Didn’t wanna live without you
He traded the stars for a chance at your heart
Just to show you it’s true”

Is that what the Bible says? No, I’m sorry, but that’s not what it says. The Bible does say:

John 3:16 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.

God gave us GRACE through His Son’s death and resurrection. But why was GRACE necessary if “God’s never been mad at you, He’s only been madly in love”? Why did Jesus suffer so horribly on Calvary if God has been happy with us all? What a cruelty that would be. The very next words of Jesus to Nicodemus are:

John 3:17-18 (ESV) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Another artist named Zach Williams sang Heart of God:

“I know you’re hurtin’, I can see it in your eyes
So pull back the curtain and take off your disguise
Whoever told you, you ain’t worth the fight
The cross tells a story that’ll change your mind
‘Cause there’s only love in the heart of God
No room for shame in His open arms
There’s beauty from ashes, so come as you are
And there’s only love in the heart of God
Come, prodigal children, it’s never too late
Run home to the Father,
let Him clothe you with grace
And bury your burdens, break free from your fear
Step out of the shadows, there’s no judgment here”

So close to being true … but THERE IS JUDGMENT HERE. The Bible depicts God as a HOLY God Who is ANGERED by sin. The Bible tells us that God is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY. The Prophet Isaiah looked into Heaven and saw the Angels flying about the Throne of God, crying …

“Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of Hosts: The whole
earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3)

and John the Revelator looked into Heaven and saw four powerful angels that never rested night nor day, but said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is,
and is to come”. (Revelation 4:8)

God is Holy, and Righteous, and Just – and we are NOT. We are all unnaturally separated from God by our sins. We are born broken. This is the bad news. But the good news is that our God has made a way for all through Christ. The Bible describes salvation as an act of GRACE that even Abraham, that grand Old Testament Saint, enjoyed. The Bible says:

Romans 4:20-5:1 (ESV) No unbelief made {Abraham} waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Illustration God does have judgment against sin. But rather than destroy us, He gave His Son in our place. He could have drowned us, but He gave us an Ark. He calls us to come, to get on that Ark, to surrender our lives to the Ark. When Noah got on the Ark, God sealed it. Noah couldn’t steer it – he could only remain in it, trusting, waiting. Noah couldn’t escape judgment by swimming next to the Ark. He had to be IN the Ark.

You are either IN the Ark, IN Christ, or you are UNDER the condemnation of God!

Christ came to Abraham and said, “Follow Me”, and believing the Pre-Incarnate Christ Abraham was saved by Grace. When Jesus comes to the person and says “Follow Me”, when we hear His Voice and follow Him, surrendered as Abraham was, we are justified by faith. We are made right with God because of our faith in Jesus. And Beloved, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. No longer are we at war with God. No longer do we walk in darkness as a normal way of life. Spirit indwelt, we seek to follow Jesus daily.

One day at a time, one step at a time. Back to our focal text.

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord

Grace and peace are not stagnant. You don’t just get saved, then drift your way to Heaven.

Salvation is a POSITION.
Salvation is a PROGRESSION.
Salvation is a PROMISE.

When you are SAVED – that is, when you hear Jesus say “Follow Me” and you begin to walk with Him in the Light of God, then your POSITION changes. Like Simon Peter, we are now “Servants – Doulos – of Jesus Christ”. We once served sin – we now serve our Savior. We seek to please Him. We are also sons of God. The Scripture says:

Galatians 4:6 (NKJV) And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

The Christian has a unique relationship with God because of Jesus Christ. We are no longer servants of sin, but are servants and sons of the Most High God. Those who profess to be saved but revel in sin and darkness are only deluding themselves. The Bible says:

Romans 6:16-18 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

If a person say “I am a Christian” and yet refuse to obey God, but choose to act as a lost soul, that person is still a lost soul. The Christian wants to grow in grace and peace. How do you grow in Grace and Peace? Again, our focal text:

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord

Word Study Grace and peace are MULTIPLIED (Greek plēthynō, to increase or abound) THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE of God and of Jesus. We gain this knowledge through the Bible, God’s Word. Jesus prayed for His Church in

John 17:17 Sanctify your Church through YOUR TRUTH, O God: Your Word is TRUTH.

As God the Son never second guessed His Father, neither do we second guess our Father. What He has said is TRUE. We need to study this Book, and let it have its effect on us to make us more like sons of God. God wants us to be STRONG in our faith.

As the salmon swims upstream to get to its birthplace to spawn and die, the Christian will swim against the currents of this world to get to Him Who gave us life!

I heard Adrian Rogers put it this way:

“The faith that FIZZLES before the FINISH
was FALSE faith from the FIRST!”

If you are truly in Christ, you will remain with Christ. HE IS YOUR LORD.

Our Father Has Given Us All That We Need To Grow

2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

God did not call us to salvation, then leave us on our own. God our Father “hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness”. Now some would read this text and add “Eternal” before the word “life” had God not added the words “and godliness”. Pastor Paul Tripp stated:

“This passage is describing the ‘here and now’ benefits of our salvation. Listen, it’s not enough for us to believe in life after death – we need to start believing in life before death. If we understand our identity that we’ve been given in Christ, we can live filled with hope and courage. Christ has not just forgiven you. He has completely and fundamentally changed who you are, and because of that, you can live in a very new and different way.

If you remember that in your marriage, if you remember that in your job, if you remember that as you face the situations and relationships of life, it will make a tremendous difference in the way that you live. You’ll begin to produce new and surprising fruit, and you’ll be used by God to help others remember their identity.”

What did the Old Testament Saint have under the Law of Moses? When they sinned, they had to take an animal sacrifice to the Temple – often several days journey – and have a priest kill it, and sprinkle its blood over them. But the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ did not enter the Temple in Jerusalem, but entered into Heaven itself. Jesus did not enter with the blood of animals, but

Hebrews 9:12 … He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

You cannot learn this by feelings, but by knowledge of God’s Word. It was no fallen man who stood before God for you, but the Son of Man, the Messiah, Jesus Christ the Son of God. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 9:24-28 (ESV) Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

If you are IN CHRIST, you have been given a COMPLETE SALVATION. “Sin has no dominion over you – YOU ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE” (Romans 6:14). You have a complete salvation.

You not only have a COMPLETE SALVATION, but you have an INDWELLING SPIRIT, a partnership with God.

It is the Holy Spirit Who causes the believer to be “born again”. As we are told in verse 3, “his divine power hath given unto us all things”. We are not Christians because we know more than others. We are Christians because God has made us Godly. The Bible says:

Romans 8:9 (AP) … if ANY PERSON DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, they do not belong to God

Christians are saved by faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We As Believers Can Rest In The Promises Of God

2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

I am told there are some 300,000 promises of God in the Scripture for His Children. He saved us so that we might make a difference in the world. Jesus said in:

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Jesus Christ called us into the Family of God to shine for Him, to make a difference. We are not called to be a part of the fallen world, but to be a grace oriented people. We can give by teaspooons, or we can give by gallons. The more you follow Christ, reaching out, loving, being the Children of God, the greater blessing you will bring yourself and others.

J Hudson Taylor felt led of God to bring Christ to inland China. Church Times notes:

“IT WAS in June 1865, while walking alone on the Brighton {Beach in England}, that Hudson Taylor, as he later wrote, “surrendered myself to God for this service” – to lead the mission to Christianise inland China. “I told {God} that all the responsibility must rest with Him.” He prayed for 24 fellow workers, two for each of 11 inland provinces that were without a missionary, and two for Mongolia. He then opened a bank account under the name “China Inland Mission” with “ten pounds and all the promises of God”. The {China Inland Mission} was born.”

Are you saved? God wants to nurture you, to use you to bring ligjht into this dark world. Theologian J.I. Packer said:

“There’s a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. When you truly know God, you have energy to serve Him, boldness to share Him, and contentment in Him.”

Do you know Him? If you do not, today is the day to come follow Christ with us. Do not delay. God has given you time to choose – choose Jesus Who gives life. May God the Holy Spirit move on your hearts this day. Amen and Amen.

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God Used A Little Old Couple

Posted on December 8, 2023 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Gustavo Fring: https://www.pexels.com/photo/happy-senior-couple-in-love-with-bunch-of-fresh-flowers-in-nature-4148984/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Luke Chapter 2, though we will largely be in Luke Chapter 1. I thought as we came toward Christmas that I would talk about the holiday. What about Christmas? It might interest you to know that the earliest Church – the Church formed by the Apostles that Jesus hand picked – this Church did not celebrate Christmas.

The birth of Jesus is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-20. And yet …

In the record of Christ’s birth we do not know the time when Christ was born, for the Scripture does not say.

The early Church put more emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus than it did on His birth. Jesus’ birth in a manger in Bethlehem is certainly a very important part of our faith. When Christ was born, the Bible tells us that the first announcement of His birth was to the shepherds:

Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

How did we come by December 25th as the time to celebrate Christ’s birth? The earliest Pastors believed that Christ was crucified on the 15th of Nisan, 33 AD. Many Bible scholars consider this to be March 25th. Around 300 years after Christ’s crucifixion the Church came to believe that Jesus was concieved 9 months from March 25th, the day that He died on the Cross.

The early Church Pastor known as Saint Augustine (Augustine of Hippo, born November 13, 354 died August 28, 430) wrote in his Sermon 202 “On The Trinity”:

“For he [Jesus] is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also he suffered; so the womb of the Virgin, in which he was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which he was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before him nor since. But he was born, according to tradition, upon December the 25th.”

Though we don’t know for certain what day Jesus was born, it could have been in December.

Some have said that Jesus could not have been born in December, because neither shepherds nor sheep would be out in the winter. That’s not true. The Weather Channel reports that temperatures in Jerusalem in winter range from 47.12°F to 57.2°F. The WeatherBase notes that the average December temperature in Jerusalem is 49°F. Those who have visited the Holy Land in winter have seen sheep out in the snow.

So it is possible that Jesus was born in December – though we do not know for certain. Neither the Bible nor early Church writings specify a date for His birth. We do know this:

Before Jesus Could Be Born, God Had
To Create His Herald

When God promised to send the Messiah to save us, He promised that He would be “the SEED of the WOMAN” (Genesis 3:15). Women do not have SEED, but EGGS. So God was foretelling a birth that would be accomplished WITHOUT the intervention of man. Jesus Christ – God Incarnate – would be begotten of the Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.

Luke 1:35 (NKJV) The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

As the Son of God, Jesus Christ is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16). This is no mere mortal. He is the SON OF GOD! He is the One that the Father addressed, saying

Hebrews 1:8 … unto the Son {the Father} saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

The Immortal will become Mortal. The Unchangable will change Himself into something “lower than the angels”. He is “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us”. (Matthew 1:23).

God must have a Herald.
The King must have a spokesman.

It was prophecied 430 years before the Christ came that God would send His messenger:

Malachi 3:1 (NKJV) “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.

It was prophecied 700 years before Christ’s birth that God would raise up a herald. His job was to be the VOICE for the King. The Scripture prophesied:

Isaiah 40:3 (ESV) A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Where would this Messenger come from? Would he come from the Palace as Moses did? Would he come from Ur of the Chaldees as Abram did? Would he come from the sheepfold as David did? Yes and no. Moses, Abraham, and David all came from different places physically, but spiritually they all came from the same place.

They were all broken. They believed in God, and served Him to the best of their abilities, but they were broken. Abram was named “The Father of”, though he and his wife were childless – and beyond having children. Moses murdered a man, and fled to the desert of Midian for 40 years, a fugitive from Pharaoh. David was the smallest and least of Jessie’s children, often ignored and put down by his family.

All of the people God used were NOT famous, NOT powerful, NOT rich. They believed in God, though they were broken. The herald of Christ will come from a LITTLE old broken couple.

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

The herald of the King of Kings will not come from the palace. “Herod, the king of Judaea” is a greedy thief, a gold digger who stole the Throne of David. An Idumean, Herod is the ancestor of Esau, not Jacob. As an Idumean he has no right to sit on the Throne of David. Only those descended from Jacob – who would later be named Israel or Prince of God – have that right. The Bible says:

James 4:6 (ESV) … God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

1 Peter 5:5 (ESV) … God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Proverbs 3:34 (ESV) … Toward the scorners {God} is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.

Herod stole what was not his, and received accolades and bows over that he stole. But Zacharias and Elisabeth his wife kept on believing in God even when things did not go their way. The Scripture says:

Luke 1:6-7 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course …

Zacharias was in danger of losing his lineage. He and his wife were childless, and not likely to have children because of their advanced age. Yet these people loved the Lord. Though things were not going their way, “they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless”. They did not depart from their faith. They were always “before God”. They obeyed God though they were shamed that they had no children. It was a common belief among the Jews that “God closed the womb”. When Rachel got upset with Jacob in that she was without children, the Scripture says:

Genesis 30:2 … Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

The Jews believed that it was God Who gave “blessings of the breasts, and of the womb” (Genesis 49:25). It is “God Who fashions us in the womb” (Job 31:15). So as Elisabeth aged without children, the other wives began to believe and perhaps whisper how God was punishing her or Zacharias for some sin.

I am sure Zacharias was tempted to walk away from God and his calling. His duty was to light the incense (Luke 1:9-10) that burned while the people prayed – and yet God had not answered his prayers.

Yet the couple did not. They trusted God, and served Him faithfully even though their lives were broken and empty. Zacharias and Elisabeth remind us that God has a right time to do what He does. He wanted Jesus to be born around six months after the herald. God had a plan. As Zacharias was serving the Lord we read:

Luke 1:11-13 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

The “altar of incense” represented the prayers of God’s children rising up to Him. As the Angel of the Lord appears to Zacharias, he stands “on the right side of the altar”. God has heard his prayers – that is – though Zacharias is in a hopeless situation, he has never stopped praying.

Oh that we would praise God in the dark, and praise God in the light. Praise Him in the valley, and praise Him on the mountaintop.

We are frail creatures subject to failure ands breaking, but we have a God Who loves us and will be faithful to us. As a priest Zacharias was familiar with the Law which promised:

Deuteronomy 7:9 (KJV) Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, THE FAITHFUL GOD, WHICH KEEPETH COVENANT AND MERCY WITH THEM THAT LOVE HIM and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

God will not be unfaithful to His people. He watches what we do. He had watched Zacharias for years as both he and his wife aged. God watched their faithfulness in service, and came to offer a child to Zacharias at a time when only God could have made a difference. Why did God wait? Because God knows the best time. We are to rest in God’s timing, knowing that He knows best.

It is not faith to move forward when you have a road map.
It is not faith to do a thing when you have all the resources at hand.
It is not faith to serve Him only when the bank account overflows.
Faith is to trust God no matter what.
Faith is to believe that God is able.
Faith is to do your part, and trust God to do His part.

2 Corinthians 9:8 (KJV) And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Luke 1:12-13 (KJV) … when Zacharias saw {the angel}, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.  [13]  But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

God has heard your prayers Zacharias. The child you have long waited for is coming through Elisabeth. This should have caused Zacharias to jump for joy. God heard your prayers. Praise Him! Praise Him! Zacharias, you shall name this baby “John”.

“John” means “God is Gracious”!

Zacharias, name the baby “John” to remind yourself daily that I the LORD am “gracious”, filled with mercy. I love to fix the broken. I love to use the faithful.

Luke 1:14-16 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.  [15]  For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. [16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

The baby John would bring a blessing to those around him, and would grow up to be blessed and bless others. John would be the greatest Herald ever known.

John would be “filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb”. This shows us that the filling of the Spirit is not something we earn or deserve, but it is a gracious gift from God.

Luke 1:17 {John} shall go before him {the Messiah} in the spirit and power of {Elijah}, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

John would be as great in ministry as was Elijah, one of the few people in the Scripture that never experienced death.

God Can Bless Little Strength,
But Cannot Bless Unbelief

Things were going quite well up to this point when Zacharias did something God cannot stand. He disbelieved God. He should have praised God for this wondrous answer to prayer, but instead said:

Luke 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an OLD MAN, AND MY WIFE WELL STRICKEN IN YEARS.

Zacharias made his inabilities and his wife’s shortcomings greater than the power of God. The Scripture tells us:

Hebrews 11:6 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.

We must trust in our God even when things seem impossible. “With God, all things are possible” (Genesis 18:14; Luke 1:37)

  • When LITTLE David stood before Goliath he saw a big man but a bigger God. Taking a LITTLE stone, God defeated Goliath. Nothis is impossible wioth God.
  • When LITTLE Daniel stood before a GREAT lion’s den he did not focus on the lions but on The Lion of Judah, God Almighty.

Conversely, God will not bless the faithless.

  • When the first generation of Israel stood before the Promised Land they saw a big people – the children of Anak – but a little god. They could not enter until God weeded out the faithless. Then and only then the second generation entered the land.

But God is faithful.
God will keep His Word.
The Herald must come so that the Messiah can come.

If Zechariah will not honor God with his lips, then the Lord will take away the power of his lips.

The angel tells him:

Luke 1:20 (KJV) … And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, BECAUSE THOU BELIEVEST NOT MY WORDS, WHICH SHALL BE FULFILLED IN THEIR SEASON.

The believer loses his voice when faithlessness reigns. The Church loses its audience when it will not speak life and light to a dying and dead world. Many Churches today do not have a Voice because they do not speak God’s Word but a twisted version of it. God will remove your Lampstand and your Light if you will not speak Christ.

God took Zacharias’ voice away so that he could not minister in the Temple until John was born. Yet God was gracious. Zacharias repented of his unbelief, and named his boy John just as God decreed. God could have taken Zacharias’ life but instead just took his voice.

2 Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, yet HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL: he cannot deny himself.

God is faithful! So how is your faith? Remember that God will not bless faithlessness. He that wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord! (James 1:6-7). Do not be double minded. Be single minded for God. Or as Joshua told Israel:

Joshua 24:15 (KJV) … choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

I choose the Lord Jesus. I choose my Heavenly Father. I choose the blessed Spirit. I choose to believe God is able, regardless as to the state of my life.

What do YOU choose?
May God touch your hearts with His Word.

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