Who Or What Constrains You?

Posted on October 9, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-girl-holding-a-pillow-standing-on-bed-4814778/

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

A rich man gets in a horrible accident. Waking up in the hospital, he realizes what has happened. Crying out, he says “My Mercedes – oh, my poor Mercedes!”. A nurse at his bedside said, Honey, you’re confused. You could have died in that accident. Praise the Lord, but the only lasting damage you have is you lost your left arm”. He starts crying again, but this time says,

“My Rolex, Oh, my poor Rolex!”

You may say this is silly, but so many are so silly in the same way. The greatest thing that God has given you is your SOUL.

Many people, much like this man, have their priorities in the wrong place. They are living their lives for all the wrong reasons. Jesus said, “Whoever believes on Me, out of their life shall flow RIVERS OF LIVING WATER” (John 7:38). If the center focus of your life is anything but Jesus, in time your life will seem empty, dried up. I pray that through this message today you will come to give your lives to Jesus, and understand what the Apostle meant by “the love of Christ constrains us”.

The “Love Of Christ”

Throughout the Old Testament, God showed His love for His creation. God put Adam and Eve in a perfect “Paradise”, and even when Adam sinned, God covered his sin. Though Adam died spiritually, God did not take Adam’s life but took the life of an innocent creature. Adam was saved by the sacrifice of an innocent.

Man continued to fail God. The world drifted so far from God, that the Lord would have destroyed it all. Yet God loved us anyway. He had Noah build an Ark, and though God stayed the judgment of mankind for 120 years, God used Noah to save a remnant that would repopulate the earth.

Word Study: God loves us so much! Each time God loved us, we pushed Him away. And yet, He did not destroy us. His wrath tarried, for God promised that a Messiah would come to save us. The word “Messiah” is only rendered four times in the King James Bible, in Daniel 9:25-26; John 1:41 and in John 4:25. In the OLD Testament “Messiah” is theHebrew mâshîyach, {pronounced maw-shee’-akh}, which means “One Anointed or Chosen by God to govern or care for others”. The Kings and Prophets of the Old Testament were mâshîyach or anointed for service. Yet in Daniel God foretold of a special Person Who would be mâshîyach or “The Anointed One”. When we come to the New Testament and move into the Common Greek (Koine Greek), the word mâshîyach is not used to describe the Messiah, but “Christos” or “Christ” – some 559 times. In the New Testament Jesus is called “The Christ”, or “Jesus, the One Anointed of God”.

Kings were anointed to protect, rescue, and lead nations.
Priests were anointed to temporarily cover our sins before God.
Prophets were anointed to speak to us God’s Word.
Jesus was anointed to be both King and Priest to “whosoever will”.

Jesus is THE Christ. There is no other. Jesus is the King of Israel, prophesied by Micah:

Micah 5:2 (NASB) But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.

Jesus is THE Christ. He is the King of Kings and lord of Lords, the One that God said would sit on and rule this world from the Throne of David.

2 Samuel 7:12-13 (ESV) 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.

Jesus is THE Christ. His birth is unique, for Jesus is God with us, God become Man. The Prophet told Israel:

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel {meaning “God with us”.

The Angel Gabriel told Joseph, the future husband of Mary that she was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (see Matthew 1:21-23). Jesus is Eternal God lowering Himself to be like us, flesh and blood. The Prophet declared that Jesus, this Unique Person, would be King of All. The Scripture says:

Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV) … the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom…

Jesus is no mere man, fallen as we are.

Jesus Himself declared He was the ONE AND ONLY Christ!

Jesus told the Samaritan woman (John 4:25-26) “I am THE Christ”. There is NO OTHER CHRIST but Jesus. The Apostle wrote:

John 20:31 … (ESV) … these {things} are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, THE Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Jesus the Christ came to give us life, to bring us to God. Jesus came to save His people from their sins.

The Jews wanted Jesus to save them temporally, to help them defeat Rome. But Jesus did not come to just give us temporal salvation, but ETERNAL salvation. Jesus’ Kingdom is a Kingdom of love. Jesus came to this earth because of God’s love:

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Jesus’ Kingdom operates by LOVE, by DOING LOVE, by BEING LOVE. God loved us so much that He sent His Beloved Son to this earth, lowering Himself, giving Himself for our sins. If you love Jesus you will do as Jesus says.

John 14:23-24 … If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with Him. 24 He that loveth Me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

Jesus came speaking the “words of eternal life”. He came to this earth – eternal God the Son – telling us what eternal God the Father wanted us to know.

Jesus is (Matthew 16:15-18) … the Christ, the Son of the living God.

What was it that Jesus the Christ came to do for us? Once He revealed He was the Christ,

Matthew 16:21 (ESV) … From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Jesus came to this earth to die for us. He came to save broken us. The Apostle said:

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 … the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if One died FOR ALL, then were ALL DEAD 15 And that HE DIED FOR ALL …

Illustrate: Ligonier Ministries along with Lifeway Research did a two year study they called “The State of Theology”. In Statement Number 15 they asked people to answer this as TRUE or FALSE. The statement was:

“Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God”

71% of adults agreed with this statement – and two thirds of professing Christians believe that humans are born in a state of innocence. Yet this is not what the Bible says. The Bible states that – because of Adam’s fall – we are born into this world:

“by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3)

God made everything VERY GOOD according to the Bible (see Genesis 1:10, 21, 25, 31). Yet Adam’s fall brought us all into a state of separation and sinfulness. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 51:5 (ESV) Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

The Jews were well aware that they were sinners by nature, for yearly they sacrificed animals to cover their sins during Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

and in the New Testament:

Romans 5:12 … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned

and again, Romans 3:23 … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

The “Love of Christ” did not come into this world to make another political party or to be another king ruling the earth. The “Love of Christ” came into this world to make payment for our sins. The “Love of Christ” came into this world to free us from sin.

2 Corinthians 5:15 {Jesus} died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

It is the sin nature in us that makes us want to live FOR OURSELVES. Before we met Christ, every Christian followed after the flesh. How did the Apostle put it in

Ephesians 2:1-2 And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the {ways} of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

People who are not saved are driven by the “prince of the power of the air”, one of the titles given to Satan or Lucifer, the devil. Before meeting Christ and His love a person is driven by self and selfishness, by pride, by the “Prince of the Power of the Air” or by USELESSNESS. No one is innocent. If any were innocent, then Christ would have had no need to go to the Cross. For Whom did Jesus die for? Just the Jew? NO! The Scripture says:

Romans 5:6 (ESV) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

That’s you without Jesus. You are “the ungodly” if you do not love Jesus, if you do not obey Jesus, if you do not believe Jesus.
You are a child of Adam without Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive …

Jesus Christ came to this world to save us from ourselves. He came to make payment for our sins, and to turn us from our sins. Jesus came to save our souls by His death – and to lead us daily toward God through His life.

The Love Of Christ “CONSTRAINETH US”

Word Study: The reason that Christ left eternity and came to this earth, becoming perfect flesh, was to make payment for our sins on the cross of Calvary. But this is not where the story stops. He “CONSTRAINETH Us”. The word translated “CONSTRAINETH” is a verb, the Greek Present Active Indicative of συνεχω, sunecho, {pronounced soon-ekh’-o}, which means “to hold or bind together, to compress, to take captive or arrest, to compel, or wrap up in”.

If you have been loved by Jesus, and have lovingly received Him as THE Christ, then you are to be “constrained” or “bound together” with God and with one another in love. You are a changed creature is you belong to Jesus. You are to be distinct and separate from this present darkness. We read:

Hebrews 10:10 … we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The Bible says that Jesus “offered ONE sacrifice FOR SINS FOREVER” (Hebrews 10:12), and “by one offering He hath PERFECTED FOREVER THEM THAT ARE SANCTIFIED” (Hebrews 10:14). The death of God’s Son brings those who receive Christ as lord and Savior COMPLETE SALVATION. Not only are our sins covered, but God indwells us, and makes us a New Creature:

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

God is in YOU, Christian. If God seems far away, perhaps you have allowed yourself to be “constrained” by the wrong things.

Perhaps you are spiritually lazy, and have refused to submit yourself to the Word of Christ, the Scripture. Many are spiritually lazy today, anemic because they have not heeded God’s Word. Or perhaps you have heard the Word of God, but refuse to DO that which the Christ says. The Scripture says:

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

WHO shall separate us from the love of Christ? None of those things have a chance of separating you from His love. Whether it be:

TRIBULATION
DISTRESS
PERSECUTION
FAMINE or HUNGER
NAKEDNESS or WANT
PERIL or THE SWORD

ILLUSTRATE: These things do not separate us from the “love of Christ”. What separates us from the “love of Christ”, the Living Water of God, is OURSELVES. We can be lazy. We can sit in our recliners, watching television, skipping Church, and manufacturing reasons as to why we can’t serve Jesus. In time, we become like a dried up ketchup package. We LOOK good on the outside, but are “tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lay in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14). It is the Love of Christ that should hold us together. It is the love of Christ that should press in on us. It is the love of Christ that should “ARREST Us”. We do not belong to ourselves anymore. We are “Children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). What does this mean from a practical viewpoint? The Scripture says:

1 John 3:7-10 (ESV) Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

The Christian is “CAPTURED by the LOVE OF CHRIST”. The Holy Spirit indwells us. We do not chase after sin. Though we may sin – and every Apostle sinned as recorded in the Scripture – but when we do so the Spirit of God draws us home to Jesus. He convicts, He tweaks our conscience. We are given the ministry of reconciliation so that we can tell others of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men …

We do not compromise with the world. We fear God, and love our neighbors. We “persuade men” to come and give their lives to Christ. We are no longer bound to death, but belong to Jesus.

I Asked God For An Illustration. He Gave Me Lazarus.

Word Study: Jesus had a friend named Lazarus. The name “Lazarus” has a meaning behind it, which is, “Whom God helps”. Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus. The Bible tells us in John chapter 11 that Mary and Martha contacted Jesus, saying:

“Lord, Lazarus whom You love is very sick”. (vs 3)

Jesus loved Lazarus. We know He does, for the passage tells us numerous times that Jesus loved Lazarus. “The love of Christ constrains us”. He loves us all so very much. And yet, hearing that Lazarus was sick, the Bible tells us that “Jesus stayed where He was – without moving – for two more days after He heard about Lazarus” (vs 6). When asked about Lazarus, Jesus said:

John 11:4 “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”

Lazarus is not going to die. There is something the disciples, and we who are here today – need to see. After two days Jesus told the disciples it was time to go see Lazarus. Jesus said,

John 11:11 … Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

Lazarus was not just Jesus’ friend, but he was “Our friend”. Jesus went to “awake him out of sleep”. To make sure the disciples understood, Jesus told them:

Luke 11:14-15 … Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

The disciples have been following Jesus, but they are still fuzzy on what it means that Jesus is the Christ. Some still hold onto the idea that He will conquer Rome, and establish Israel as the capital city of His Millennial reign. Jesus is not here to conquer Rome. He is here to save us from spiritual death. He is here to give us the life God wants us to have.

When Jesus gets to Lazarus’ home, He’s met first by Martha, the elder sister. She blames Jesus. “Jesus, if You had been here, Lazarus would not be dead! But we believe that whatever You ask God, He will give it to You” (vs 21-22). Jesus told Martha:

John 11:25-26 …. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

These are some of my favorite Scriptures. I so love it. Where Jesus touches, death is dispelled, and the light is lit. Where Jesus ministers, the darkness retreats. When Jesus meets Mary, the younger sister, she says again “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died”.

Jesus wept. (vs 35)

Why did Jesus weep? I don’t believe it was because Lazarus was dead. Jesus knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. I believe it was because of unbelief. Mary and Martha had seen Jesus do the miraculous. Mary had sat at Jesus’ feet hearing the Word of Life. The disciples had seen Jesus raise people from the grave before. And yet, unbelief still abounded. Some accused Jesus, saying:

“Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?” (John 11:37)

Where is His power? Why didn’t He come? Why did He wait till Lazarus died to help him? Jesus commanded that they roll the stone away. Then Jesus prayed a short prayer:

John 11:41-42 Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed Messiah from God. But even now all do not believe. Jesus allowed His friend Lazarus to die so that He could prove that He was and will always be the Messiah. Jesus stood at the mouth of the grave, at the maul of death, at the opening of that black and forbidding place. And then Jesus said,

“Lazarus, come forth!”

Lazarus came out of that tomb. He came toward Jesus, hearing His voice. Once out of the tomb, others who were alive pulled the old wrappings of death from his body. Lazarus left that tomb. The living do not belong in a tomb.

If you are a Child of God by faith in Christ, you do not belong in a tomb. You are to come out of the darkness, and walk with Christ in the light, doing the things He bids you do. The love of Christ constrains US. Are you part of the US? Or are you a child of darkness. Your life and lifestyle prove who you are. Let us live for Jesus, loving Him and imitating Him Who gave everything for us. For Christ’s glory I preach this. Amen and Amen.

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Who Has Your Heart?

Posted on September 27, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Hernan Pauccara: https://www.pexels.com/photo/frozen-wave-against-sunlight-1210273/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to:

Luke 17:11-21 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. 20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

We All Have A “Heart” Problem

Illustrate: March 21, 2009 was a little crazier in San Diego, California than it usually is. Drug suspects were moving large amounts of money in a truck, and Drug Enforcement Agency personnel got wind of it. They contacted the Highway Patrol and asked for assistance in tracking and stopping the vehicle. The driver refused to stop. At one point “cash was hurled out of the truck onto Interstate 805”, according to one news source. At that moment pandemonium broke out. Drivers on the interstate slammed on their brakes and, without regard to their safety, jumped out of cars and ran into the highway to grab all the money they could. One High School student Marco Casillas ran into the moving traffic with his friends. “It was a dream come true, we were in heaven. We saw one {bill}fly on the windshield and it was a $100 on my face and we just stopped and grabbed it… We were scared. We were parked halfway on the freeway, and halfway on the freeway…[But] we are football players and we were being greedy, and we were running and taking it from everybody, but then it got taken away.” Before they could escape with the money, officers seized the $1000 he and his friends had grabbed. Officers recovered around $18,000 in cash, all of it illegal to keep. People could have been killed – but by the grace of God no injuries were reported.

Illustrate: Weird things happen in California. On November 20, 2021 an armored vehicle was carrying money for the Federal Reserve on Interstate 5 in Carlsbad, California. The vehicle’s rear door popped open, and cash poured out – again, bringing about a “feeding frenzy”. People slammed on brakes, jumped out of their vehicles, and ran into moving traffic to get as much money as they could while they could. The California Highway Patrol and the FBI noted that – though some people returned the money – many others left the scene with stolen money.

Some of you might be wondering, “Well, what’s wrong with that? After all, finder’s keeper’s, loser’s weeper’s!” Yet this was not found money. In the first instance, this was money that came from the sale of drugs and death to children, to someone’s child. This drug money was probably bathed in blood, as drug cartels often kill to amass their power over a territory. Drug pushers capitalize on the weakness and loneliness of people, often giving their victims the first few doses for “free”. Then after a person is enslaved to the drug, the pusher has them turn to prostitution and robbery to get their “fix”. In 2020 91,799 people died from drug overdoses. This is blood money! As for the Federal Reserve Truck, money taken from the central bank of our nation effects not only local banks, but impacts the stock market as well. What would cause someone to run into traffic, risking their life for a green piece of paper? A confused and darkened heart.

The Bible talks about the human “heart”. Now, the Scripture is not speaking of that muscle in your chest. The physical heart pushes blood through your body. If the physical heart stops beating, your life on this earth stops. The spiritual heart is the center most part of your soul.

What is IN the spiritual heart is manifest in what you OUTWARDLY do. Religion cannot fix a heart problem.

Our Lord Jesus put it this way. Jesus chastised the religious Pharisees of his day – because they twisted the Word of God to make allowance for their sinful practices. Their are many in our world who do that today – you might be one of them! Jesus told the Pharisees:

Matthew 15:7-9 (ESV) You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Preach: Jesus said of the Pharisees, “their heart is far from Me”. God gave us His Word, the Holy Bible, to show us His Standard and His Savior. We are to follow His Savior Jesus Christ with all our hearts. We are to love God with all our hearts. Jesus came to this earth not just to heal our physical bodies, but to fix our heart problem. He said:

Matthew 15:10-11, 17-20 (ESV) … “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” … 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

When we look around our America today, around our homes, in our schools, what do we see? Certainly there are good things out there. Certainly there are good people. But I’ll guarantee you, there were a lot of “good” people who stopped traffic to pick up and, yes, steal money that was not their own. They did not earn that money. They had a heart problem.

Jesus came, not to be a Hero, a conquering King,
but to be a Healer of our hearts.

What is the cause of evil thoughts, like racism and hatred?
What leads to murder?
Why would a person abandon his wife and child to sleep with another woman?
Why do we see such sexual immorality in America today – often in Churches?
Why do thieves steal?
Why would a person bear false witness and slander another soul?

These things come from a corrupt heart. Every evil we see in America, shouting out from the headlines, every injustice can be traced back to a corrupted heart. The corrupted heart says,

“I am all that matters. I am the center of the universe.”

We are born with corrupted hearts. We come into this world with hearts focused on ourselves, on our wants and desires. We see this illustrated in our text today.

Jesus Is The Healer Of Broken Hearts

Luke 17:11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

The Lord Jesus is traveling across the land, walking from one point to another. Why? Jesus did not just stay in Jerusalem and Judea. The Bible says that “He came unto his own” (John 1:11), but “His own would not receive Him”. Jesus Christ came not just for the Jew, but for whosoever will. Our Lord Jesus came to share the Gospel with “the Jew first, but also the Gentile” (Romans 1:16). He came not to just convert the hearts of the physical seed of Abraham, but Jesus Christ came to fulfill the promise that God made:

Genesis 12:3 (ESV) … in you {Abraham} shall all the families of the earth be blessed ..

Jesus is called of God to preach the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God. Repent, and give your hearts to Him!

When the heart puts anything or anyone on its throne, wickedness is the output of that life. The Bible tells us that:

Mark 1:14-15 …(ESV) after John {The Baptist} was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

John the Baptist ministered and preached of the coming of the Messiah, the One that God promised would come to this earth to fix what ails us. John preached, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Then the King came. There is no Kingdom without a King, and John preached that the King was coming. Then one day John saw Jesus.

John 1:29 (ESV) BEHOLD, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus takes away the sin of the world by paying for our sins on the Cross. He is the Lamb of God. Jesus takes away the sin of the world by entering our lives and by ruling our hearts.

John was pointing out Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not only the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, but Jesus is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”. Jesus is the Conquering Lamb of Revelation 17:14. Jesus Christ is the Avenging Warrior of Revelation 19:16. Jesus is, according to the Scripture,

1 Timothy 6:15 (ESV) … who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords

John preached on the coming of Jesus, until Jesus came. Then John was imprisoned, but Jesus kept preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus preached,

Mark 1:15 … The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel

Jesus preached the Gospel. He called people to Himself. Jesus is to be our King. Jesus said “Follow Me”:

Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19)
Follow Me, and let the dead bury the dead. (Matthew 8:22)
Follow Me, Matthew, and leave your money behind. (Matthew 9:9)
Follow Me, and take up your Cross. (Matthew 10:38)
Follow Me, and deny yourselves. (Matthew 16:24)
Follow Me, and give away all that you now worship. (Matthew 19:21)

Your heart is desperately wicked. If you are on the Throne of your heart. You are your own god. The kingdom of god – little g – is within you. Repent! Turn away from all the gods and goddesses that you have treasured up to this point. If your family is your god, REPENT! Jesus said:

Luke 14:26 (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.

“But” you object, “doesn’t the Law say that we are to honor our father and mother?” (Exodus 20:12). Yes, it does. Jesus is not saying that we actually despise our loved ones, but that we are to love Jesus MORE than we love our loved ones on this earth. I am not to rest on the throne of my heart, nor am I to elevate others as idols on the throne of my heart. When God gave us the Ten Commandments, the first of the Commandments was NOT to honor your father and mother. The FIRST of the commandments is to PUT GOD FIRST. God has said:

Exodus 20:3-4 (ESV) … you shall have NO OTHER GODS before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in Heaven above or that is in the earth beneath … 5 You shall not bow down to them nor serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God …

God is to be King of our hearts. “Know that the LORD, He is God! It is HE Who made us, and we are His..” (Psalm 100:3). Jesus Christ is God Incarnate, God amongst us, the King come to visit His people. When Jesus preached …

“The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.”

He was preaching the same thing John the Baptist was preaching. Jesus Christ is the long awaited Messiah. He is the Son of God come down to this earth to redeem us from our broken hearts, to fix what ails us. When a person is saved that person makes a God guided decision to put away all other gods and goddesses – and to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. At that moment Jesus goes onto the throne of our heart.

We are saved, and God the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives.

Surrender To Jesus Is The Solution To Our Need

When John the Baptist was imprisoned for his faith, he sent messengers to Jesus with a simple question:

Matthew 11:3 (ESV) “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

John has been imprisoned, tortured, starved, and will soon be beheaded. In the midst of this darkness, John began to wonder if, perhaps, he had stood up for the wrong messiah. At this time in Israel’s history there were many who professed to be “Messiah”, people who would save Israel from the Roman Empire. Yet one after another of these false messiahs were captured, killed, and became nothing but a brief blip on the radar of humanity. The Blessed Physician further expands this questioning by the great Prophet John:

Luke 7:21-23 (ESV) In that hour {Jesus} healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

When John’s men came and asked Jesus if He were God Incarnate, the Messiah, Jesus did not immediately answer. Instead Jesus “healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind {Jesus} bestowed sight”. The Pharisees said that Jesus “cast out devils by the prince of devils” (Matthew 9:34; 12:24). Yet the Bible says that when the Messiah came:

Prophecy Revealed: Isaiah 35:5-6 (ESV) Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

This is the Scripture Jesus was alluding to. When the Messiah came, the blinde shall see, the lame walk, the lepers would be cured, the dead would be brought back to life (see also Isaiah 26:19; 29:18; 61:1). Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the King of the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ is God the Son, and the Son of God.

Luke 17:11-13 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

The Bible tells us that “ten men that were lepers” cried out to Jesus. They had heard that Jesus was passing through, and had heard how Jesus was healing people. These men “stood afar off”. Why didn’t they come up to Jesus? Because Leprosy was a horrible and contagious disease that could kill God’s Israel. As a result, those who were lepers were set apart – extremely quarantined – by the Law of God. The scripture says:

Leviticus 13:45-46 (ESV) “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

These ten men – all nameless and unknown – are in a miserable place. They are lost to their families. They have no business they can conduct. They are shunned by society, “He is unclean. He shall live alone”. The leper is not supposed to enter the city. They are not allowed to ride in the back of the bus, nor in a segregated part of the restaurant. They are unclean, cast off and cast out. They have lost everything. If someone touches these lepers, that person becomes, according to the Law, unclean. The lepers “stood afar off”. They cried out:

Jesus, Master, have mercy on us

Word Study: Notice how they call to Jesus. He is ἐπιστάτης epistátēs, {pronounced ep-is-tat’-ace}, which means “The One Who is in Charge”. Jesus is the One in charge.

Who is in charge of your life? Do you pursue a little “g” god,
or is Jesus your epistátēs, your God?

Jesus is the Gospel. He is the King of God’s Kingdom. Jesus is the Savior and Lord of His people. Jesus is the YHWH – the Great I AM that the Prophet Jeremiah spoke of in Jeremiah 23:6. Jesus became the Son of Man – Incarnate – through the operation of the Holy Spirit of God on a virgin named Mary. He entered the human story by clothing Himself with flesh. But Jesus Christ is God the Son. He is epistátēs, the Master, the King of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus controls nature. When Peter had toiled all night and caught no fish, Jesus sent him back out. Master, epistátēs, we have toiled all night. But we will do as you say. (Luke 5:5). When Peter did as Jesus said, he caught so many fish that they broke the nets. Not long after that Jesus is in the boat sleeping with Jesus when a storm arises. They wake up Jesus saying “Master, epistátēs, we perish!” (Luke 8:24). Jesus rises – raises a hand – and the wind and sea calm down.

Jesus is greater than the Law or the Prophets. Peter, James, and John accompany Jesus to a mountain one day, and there see Him transfigured and speaking to Moses and Elijah (Luke 9:33). Afterward Peter says, “Master, epistátēs, let us make three altars here – one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah”. God the Father spoke from Heaven, “This is My Beloved Son: Hear Him” (Luke 9:35).

Jesus is greater than any need you have. A woman with uncontrollable bleeding reached out to, and touched Jesus. With just one touch she was healed. “Master, epistátēs, we do not know who touched You” (Luke 8:46). When the woman fell down before Jesus, affirming that she had touched Him, Jesus said:

“your faith hath made thee whole; go in peace” (Luke 8:48)

Jesus Christ is the epistátēs. He is the One and only Master. He is the King of the Kingdom. Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. The lepers stand far off. But Jesus sees them:

Luke 17:14 And when {Jesus} saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

The men heard Jesus’ words. Jesus told them to go to the priests. Why? Because Jesus honored the written Word of God.

According to the Law, only the priest of Israel could declare someone cleansed of leprosy. In the first recorded sermon Jesus preached, He said:

Matthew 5:17-18 (ESV) “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Jesus did not come to give us a “loophole” by which we can sin without guilt. Jesus fulfilled the animal sacrifices of the Law, but did not eradicate the righteousness of the Law.

The Law required that the healed leper present themselves to the priest. Once the person was recognized cleansed or leprosy, he was to make a sacrifice to God (Leviticus 14:4-7). Two birds were used. One bird was killed, and its blood sprinkled on the cleansed person and on the living bird. This was highly symbolic of what would one day come through Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus was sacrificed outside the camp (Hebrews 13:11-13) for our sins. Our Lord Jesus is resurrected, ascended back to Heaven to guarantee our salvation (John 3:13; 6:38). Our Lord Jesus “became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (Acts 2:27; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The Bible says, “as they went, they were cleansed”. Jesus healed these men, but they had to obediently go to the priest, and make sacrifice unto God. They had to do what Jesus said do. Read a little further:

Luke 17:15-18 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

Ten men called Jesus “Master, epistátēs”. Yet only nine really regarded Jesus as the Master, as the Son of God. All ten went to the priest, who offered sacrifice for them and pronounced them clean. But only one person returned to praise God for Jesus.

Only one leper was fixed where it mattered, in his heart. The other nine still had themselves on the throne of their hearts. If you are born again, you will return to Jesus. You will give glory to God by bowing your knee to Christ Jesus. Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh, saving us!

We do not know the nationality or the color of the other nine men that refused to return to and worship Jesus. We do know who the returning man was. Jesus calls him a “stranger” and a “Samaritan”. The one who worshiped Jesus is a Gentile. Jesus tells this man:

Luke 17:19 … Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Faith In Jesus Alone Makes Us Whole

Word Study: The phrase “hath made thee whole” is the Greek σώζω sṓzō, {pronounced sode’-zo}, which means “has saved you from suffering, from sin, from Messianic judgment”. Jesus is not speaking about the man’s leprosy. His leprosy was healed – along with the other nine lepers – when he presented himself to the priest as God the Son commanded. Here Jesus is speaking not of temporal salvation from suffering, but the salvation of the soul. The word sṓzō is first used in the New Testament in:

Matthew 1:21 … and {Mary} shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS, for He will SAVE (sṓzō) His people from their sins.

When Jesus was asked “Why do You spend so much time with sinners?”, He replied:

Matthew 18:11 For {I} the Son of Man is come to SAVE (sṓzō) that which was lost.

On the Day of Pentecost the Apostle Peter preached:

Acts 2:21 … whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be SAVED (sṓzō).

When commanded not to preach the Name of Jesus, Peter boldly said:

Acts 4:11-12 … {Jesus} is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be SAVED (sṓzō).

After pronouncing this man “saved”, his heart renewed and regenerated because of his faith in Jesus, the Pharisees asked:

Luke 17:20-21 … when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The Pharisees were asking the same question I hear people asking today. You see, Israel was in bondage to Rome. Would Jesus be the One Who led Israel in revolt, to bring about peace and freedom from the enemy? Jesus did not come to “fix” Israel, nor to “fix” Rome, nor to “fix” America. Jesus came to fix the human heart. An ancient Pastor name Augustine said:

“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord,
and our heart is restless until it rests in You.”

Where is your heart resting today? Beloved, open your heart to Jesus. Do not harden your hearts to His plea. Jesus came to this earth to save the broken hearted – He came to save those who believe in Him. I beg you, please receive Him as your Lord and Savior! Holy Spirit, please do this work. Touch lives for God’s glory. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen and Amen.

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Likewise …

Posted on September 26, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Kaique Rocha: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-hand-and-crescent-moon-447329/

Last Wednesday night we looked at the qualifications and responsibilities of ELDERS in the local Church. ELDERS are not OLD PEOPLE. The Biblical definition of an ELDER is

“Someone mature and maturing in the faith of Jesus Christ. Someone who spends regular time in the Christian disciplines of prayer, Scriptural study, and productive assembly with the Saints”

Elders are NOT to “be lords over God’s heritage, but … examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3). Let’s continue our study:

1 Peter 5:5-7 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

There are two poisons that the Holy Spirit through Peter the Chief Apostle now addresses: PRIDE and WORRY.

Salvation Requires Surrender To God.
Pride & Worry Are The Opposites Of Surrender.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon {God};
for {God} careth for you

Word Study: The word translated “care” is the Greek μέριμνα mérimna, {pronounced mer’-im-nah}, which literally means “distractions caused by anxiety, worry”. When our Lord Jesus talked about the “Gospel Seed” and the things that can destroy that seed from blooming into a right relationship with God, He said:

Matthew 13:3-4, 7, 22 … Behold, a sower went forth to sow {the Gospel}… 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell … 7 among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them … 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the Word; and the CARE mérimna of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

CARE or WORRY can cause a person to hear the Gospel message, and then to walk away without receiving the seed. When a person hears the Gospel, Jesus warned us all to “count the cost” (Luke 14:28) before giving our lives to Him.

To follow Jesus is to “forsake all that you have” (Luke 14:33)

Luke 14:26-27 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

The devil has crept into the Gospel message of many churches over the past 50p years of so, and has suggested that you can be saved without total surrender to Christ. This is a lie from hell.

You cannot be saved, and still be sick with sin. (Romans 6:1-2; 6:15)
You cannot be saved, and still abide in darkness. (1 John 1:7; John 12:46)
You cannot be saved, and carry hatred or racism in your heart. (1 John 4:20)
You cannot be saved, and ignore Christ’s commands. (1 John 2:4)
You cannot be saved, and not be born again. (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23)
You cannot be saved, and not be a new creature in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

If you hear a preacher preaching salvation WITHOUT
REPENTANCE, then RUN, for this is devilish doctrine.

Pastor C.H. Spurgeon stated:

“Grace which does not make us hate sin is false grace. We must preach repentance from dead works, and faith which works by love, and the people must be told that Christ has not come to save men in their sin but from their sin. On this we will be clear as the sun at noon.”

Salvation requires surrender to God. Salvation will make you different than the world, and thus hated of the world, just as it hates Jesus (John 15:18, 25). The darkness will always hate the light. There are many who hear the Gospel preached who, being in anxiety as to how it will effect their marriages, their relationship with their friends, and perhaps even their jobs, reject Jesus. Nine times out of ten people reject the Gospel out of PRIDE and ANXIETY or WORRY. If you come to God with empty hands, repenting of your old way of life and casting yourself upon Him, then you have His promise:

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

Let’s look at the word (God} “careth”.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon {God};
for {God} careth for you

Word Study: Here is why I like to look at the original text of Scripture, and not just the King James. The word “” is the Greek mérimna, but the word “careth” (though the KJV links the former word with the latter) is an entirely different word, which is μέλω mélō, {pronounced mel’-o}. This word means “to care about, to be deeply interested in, to have concern for”. Whereas mérimna refers to “anxiety, worry”, mélō means that “God is concerned about the smallest areas of your life, and watches over or focuses on you”.

When we begin to obsessively worry about events that are occurring in our lives, this is actually a function of PRIDE. We want to be in charge of every little thing. Yet there is no blessing in this way of living. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us:

Matthew 6:26-34 (NKJV) Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

We are told to “cast all our anxieties on God”. Why? “Because God is FOCUSED on our lives”. We are His children, if we have been born again by faith in Christ. God paid the greatest price for us that He could have paid. The Bible says that

1 Corinthians 15:3 … Christ died for our sins

1 Peter 2:22-25 {Jesus} committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. 23 When He was reviled, he did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to {God} who judges justly. 24 {Jesus} Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

God the Father and God the Spirit gave the most precious thing He could for our salvation. God gave His Son to the bloody Cross of Calvary. God paid the MOST for you at salvation when He sent His Only Begotten Son to die for your sins:

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because He hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

God gave more for your salvation than BILLIONS of dollars. He gave His Son. It is ARROGANT to believe that god gave so much for my salvation, that God will not CARE FOR HIS INVESTMENT. You are God’s investment. You are God’s Workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

If you are saved, you should not let worry or anxiety control you. You are to be controlled by the Love of Christ and by the Holy Spirit.

If it is true that “While we were yet helpless, Jesus died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6), and that “Jesus gave Himself to rescue us from this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4), and that “all things work together for GOOD to those who love the Lord, for those who are called according to HIS PURPOSE”, THEN WE NEED NOT WORRY. Worry and anxiety are useless things that lower our faith, and introduce the horrible sin of unbelief into our lives. The Contemporary Christian Group Cain sing in their song “I’m So Blessed”:

Trouble knocking at my door today
I ain’t gonna let it in
And worry wanna steal my joy away
But I ain’t gonna let it win
‘Cause on my best day, I’m a child of God
On my worst day, I’m a child of God
Oh, every day is a good day
And You’re the reason why
I’m so blessed, I’m so blessed
Got this heartbeat in my chest
No, it doesn’t matter about the rest
If I got You Lord, I’m so blessed

As We Surrender To God, We Surrender To One Another

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

The Elders – those who have a regular relationship with Jesus Christ through exercise of the Christian Disciplines (Prayer, Bible Study, Christlike Service) – are to be leaders in the Church. But they are not to be dictators.

The heart of Christianity is SUBMISSION. You cannot be saved without submitting to Christ. You cannot be a Church without submitting to one another. Be “CLOTHED” with humility.

There is absolutely no organization EVER that functions without submission. In the Godhead though Father, Son, and Spirit are all co-equal and co-eternally God, all three Persons voluntarily submit to each other respecting the roles they perform.

The Father sends the Son into the world (1 John 4:10)
The Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus and
proceeds from the Father (John 14:26; 15:26)

My commentary notes:

“… our salvation is based on the Father’s power and love (John 3:16; 10:29), the Son’s death and resurrection (1 John 2:2; Ephesians 2:6), and the Spirit’s regeneration and seal (Ephesians 4:30; Titus 3:5).”

SUBMISSION is not a dirty word. A business cannot run without submission. The military cannot effectively defend us without submission. No Church long remains a Church without submission. And marriage along with the FAMILY cannot thrive without submission.

A few years ago the Southern Baptist Convention revised our Baptist Faith and Message in the area of marriage. The statement

“A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.”

was added – and the uproar was heard around the world! “Women submit to their husbands! How dare the Southern Baptists! Don’t they know we are in the twenty-first century?” The liberal news channels on television had a field day, and feminist after feminist stood before the microphone to tell off us confused Baptists and our so called “Faith and Message”. Yet if you actually read the Baptist Faith and Message you would read:

“The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.”

This is Biblical, not humanist. We are called to – in the marriage – “submit yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21-23). Pastor and Author Randy Alcorn wrote:

“… the same Bible that says women are to submit to their husbands also says that a husband and wife are one (Matthew 19:6 and others). Fascinating parallel isn’t it? Does the Bible teach that women are inferior to men? Absolutely not. God made mankind (male and female) in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). But God does have different functions for male and female. Even in the natural realm, women get pregnant and men don’t. Men have sperm and women don’t. Within the God-ordained authority structure, men and women have functional differences even though they are one.”

We are told in tonight’s text:

1 Peter 5:5 yea, all of you be subject one to another

Our entire world fell into the destructiveness of sin because mankind did not practice SUBMISSION. Adam was told to submit himself to God, and NOT EAT that which God forbade. Adam was to care for the Garden of Eden and for Eve, but to obey God. Adam ignored the command of God. Eve was supposed to submit to her husband, but instead submitted to a talking snake (which was Satan, that old serpent (Revelation 20:2). Adam was supposed to be leading in the marriage, but instead took the forbidden fruit when Eve gave it to him. Where submission is lacking, nothing works right.

Salvation is not mine to hold on to, no more than it was mine to create. Salvation is a “gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are told in:

Titus 3:5-7 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

We are saved by Grace – not by works. But once saved, we SUBMIT ourselves to God, and turn away from the darkness of this world. We are told:

Titus 2:11-13 (ESV) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Jesus was even MORE SPECIFIC when He said:

John 10:27-30 (ESV) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will 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 the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

I will be quite plain here. If you live your life on this earth without regard to what Jesus has taught then you are patently NOT saved. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me LORD, LORD, and not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). The saved follow Jesus. Who stands apart from God and refuses to follow and submit? It is Satan, and his fallen followers. It was Satan who first said:

Isaiah 14:13-15 … I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the [angels] of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High [God]

Pride makes of fallen man and fallen angels a god. Worry robs the Christian of the joy of the Lord, as well as the “peace of God that passes all understanding”.

PRIDE says “I can do this without God”, whereas WORRY says “I must do this without God”. PRIDE says “I am as good and able as God” whereas WORRY says “I am not able – but no one else is able either”. PRIDE wraps its hand around a thing and hold it up under its own power. WORRY wraps its hand around a thing and refuses to surrender it to the Greater Power of God. Both emotions – and their accompanying actions – are not only sinful, but they are destructive. PRIDE causes the young person to experiment with drugs and sex, and generally leads to terrible destruction. WORRY robs the life – even the Christian life – of joy and peace. How do we avoid these twins of destruction, pride and worry? We submit ourselves unto the Lord. We trust Him and Him alone with our lives. We turn unto Jesus, and keep our eyes on Him. We do as the Scripture says:

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Look at Jesus. Sinless, He was willing to come at the command of the Father into a sin soaked world. Perfect, Jesus sought out not those who thought themselves perfect, but the least among us, the sinners. Eternal Creator God, Jesus lowered Himself to become a part of His own creation. And perfectly innocent, Jesus willingly went to the Cross of Calvary to redeem us from Satan and sin.

Oh Beloved, let us put away pride and worry. Because Joseph’s brothers were proud and anxious, they sold their brother into slavery. Joseph overcame this horrible evil by casting all his anxiety upon God, knowing that God cared for him. When Joseph reunited with his brothers, he told them:

Genesis 50:19-21 (ESV) … “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

It was anxiety and pride that led King Saul to sacrifice on God’s altar rather than to wait for the Prophet Samuel. The Prophet told him:

1 Samuel 13:13-14 “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Pride and worry caused Herod to kill the babies of Bethlehem, and to cut off John the Baptist’s head. Where ever pride and anxiety have a home, blessing is lost, and souls are not brought to the Kingdom of God. The Bible tells us:

1 Peter 5:5 … God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

There are four young Jewish men that stand out throughout human history as those who followed the Lord. These men were the Prophet Daniel, and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar demanded that these men bow down and worship a golden statue of himself that he had commissioned. They refused – and were saved from a fiery furnace. Yet later in his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar was made to lose his mind, so much so that he began to graze in the fields like a cow (Daniel 4:25-35). It is so true that “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble”.

How Do I Conquer Pride And Worry In My Life?
In Short, Find Another Hobby!

There are three positive steps you can take to conquer pride and worry in your life. First,

1 Look for a place of service in the Church. God puts us together as a Church on purpose. We are told in 1 Corinthians 12:18, “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose”. Each part of the Church – much like the human body – must submit to the other parts if we are all to be blessed. When one part suffers pain, all parts suffer pain. When one part is blessed, all parts are blessed. God wants there to be “no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together”. (1 Corinthians 12:25-26). Find your niche, and then serve in it. Do not expect to be served or waited on, but work for the good of the Body and the glory of God.

2 Control your tongue. Ensure that you are glorifying God and blessing the Body with that little flap of muscle. The purpose every Christian has is to remember that not only I, but other Christians belong to God. The Scripture says:

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

Be particularly careful with your tongue when you are offended or under stress. Try not to set a fire that will burn the Church down!

3 Take a look in the mirror, and realize that YOU are not the Church. You are just a PART of the Church. You need the Church as much as the Church needs you. Sister Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “The greatest disease in the West today is not tuberculosis or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love.” Jesus said:

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Nowhere in the Scripture are we commanded to love ourselves. We are commanded to love others. John Stonestreet of Breakpoint notes:

“The biggest factors behind the drop in life expectancy among Americans over the last three years are drug overdoses and suicides. In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, and approximately 45,000 people intentionally took their own lives. These deaths, along with alcohol-related deaths, have been dubbed “deaths of despair” … {there is a} 30-percent rise in suicide rates among 15-to-24 year-olds … As the sixth-century theologian Isidore of Seville put it, “to commit a crime is death to the soul; but to despair is to descend into hell.” If there’s a better word than “Hell” to describe the despair we are seeing in so many American communities, I’m not aware of it.”

This world needs Jesus. This Church is God’s tool to bring the glorious hope of Jesus to a lost and dying world. Let us strive to be one as we reach other to other in His name, for His glory. Through God’s Holy Spirit I pray. Amen and Amen.

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I Am Not a god

Posted on September 25, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by ArtHouse Studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/stone-mythical-creature-statue-in-jungle-4530527/

Turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 117.

Opening Illustration: A cowboy rode into town, and saw a crowd gathered around a gallows. The hangman standing by, there was a man clothed in leaves and branches. Everything he was wearing BADLY was leaves. The cowboy dismounted his horse, and went toward the crowd. He whispered to another townsman standing there, “Are they getting ready to hang this guy?” He replied, “Yes we are, stranger. This man kept telling us he was a bush, and kept dressing up like he was a bush. We warned him to stop it, but he refused. So we’re hanging him!” The cowboy said, “Hanging him because he says he’s a bush?” The townsman said, “No. We’re hanging him because he won’t stop rustling”.

Yeah, that’s a “dad joke”, or you might think a “bad joke”. But it’s a good introduction to the message today. Every time I turn on the television or radio, I hear people pushing “You do you, and I’ll do me”. According to the Progressive mind so prevalent today we as humans can make ourselves into anything we want to be. If I’m born a woman, I can be a man with enough surgery. If I’m a man, I can have radical surgery and hormones and breastfeed babies. In fact, some say that men can get pregnant. If I wake up and think I’m a kitten or a dog, then what I say is reality. I can bark or meow, and you must treat me as a “furry”.

We want to be God. We think we are God. We Aren’t God.

This mentality creeps into the churches – even our Church. It creeps into your Pastor. I was praying this past Monday and felt like God told me to “Go to the middle of My Book”. So I went to Psalm 117. I kept trying to “get a sermon” out of this text until God reminded me, “You are not God. You are David.” So I stopped trying to make a sermon, and asked God what He wanted me to say. Read with me:

Psalm 117 O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people. 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 117 is not only the middle chapter of the Bible,
but it’s the shortest chapter in the Bible.

Don’t let this confuse you. Psalm 117 is packed with great truth. If the Bible were an Oreo©, Psalm 117 would be that creamy center that holds it together. Psalm 117 is one of the SIX “Hāllel” or “Egyptian” Psalms (Psalms 113 through 118), so named by the Jews because they focus on praising God for His goodness and grace. The first and last words of this Psalm are:

Psalm 117 O praise the Lord … Praise ye the Lord

which is the Hebrew “Hālal Yᵊhōvâ”. The Hāllel was recited or sang before, during, and after many of the Jewish Feasts. Our Lord Jesus sang Psalm 117 & 118 just before His crucifixion. We are told in …

Matthew 26:30 (ESV) when they had sung a hymn (hymneō), they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Throughout the Bible we are COMMANDED to “Hālal Yᵊhōvâ” or “Hālal yâ” – Praise the Lord – over 250 times. Those who were most successful in our faith focused on Praising God. King David prayed:

Psalm 119:160-164 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. 161 Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words. 162 I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. 163 I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law. 164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.

It is no wonder that David was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). David focused on praising God for the blessings – and even the cursings – in his life. Why are we to praise God? A few years ago an unbeliever named Michael Prowse wrote an open letter in the London Financial Times. He wrote:

“Worship is an aspect of religion that I always found difficult to understand. Suppose we postulate an omnipotent being who, for reasons inscrutable to us, decided to create something other than himself. Why should he . . . expect us to worship him? We didn’t ask to be created. Our lives are often troubled. We know that human tyrants, puffed up with pride, crave adulation and homage. But a morally perfect God would surely have no character defects. So why are all those people on their knees every Sunday?”

God does not command us to worship Him because He is arrogant or prideful. God commands us to worship Him because we need to constantly remind ourselves, “I am not God”.

Only God is God. People are constantly asking me to be God. I cannot be God. I’ve been asked about the upcoming revival: “What if the revival gets rained on? What if there are mosquitoes? What if its too hot? What if a hurricane or tornado comes? The field is rough – somebody might twist an ankle!” Listen Beloved, I am not God. You are not God. We are to worship God the best way that we can, and constantly remind ourselves that we are not God. God is God. God is God.

Psalm 117 O praise the Lord … Praise ye the Lord

Our God is the LORD. He is Yᵊhōvâ. He spoke to Adam and told him:

Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV) … “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Adam heard Yᵊhōvâ. God made the instruction very clear. YOU, Adam, may not eat of it. God said nothing of Eve, but of Adam. God said, “Adam, I alone am God. You work for Me. You praise Me. You obey Me, and you will be blessed. But if you try to take on MY JOB, it will kill you!” Enter the Serpent. Adam sees the Serpent. Adam knows the command. Adam hears the Serpent (who is Satan – see Revelation 12:9) tell the woman:

Genesis 3:4-5 … (ESV) “You will not surely die {if you eat that which God forbade}. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Adam was intrigued. Yᵊhōvâ told him not to eat of this tree – but now this snazzy, talking serpent told him it was all right to do. Adam wanted to be like God. What did he do? He tried being God. The Bible tells us that Adam’s little experiment to be God did not work. We are told:

Romans 5:12 (ESV) … sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned

Romans 5:19 …. by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners

We praise the LORD because He alone is Yᵊhōvâ. We praise Him because He is God and we are not. We praise God not just on Sunday, but we worship Him throughout the week because He is God and we are not! The Bible says:

Psalm 96:4 (ESV) … great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

There is only one “Capital G” God, and He is the God of Scripture. All other “small g” gods are figments of our imagination. When I was a little boy I prayed to Jesus and to Santa Claus. I asked Jesus and Santa Claus to come into my room every night. I imagined Jesus riding in the sleigh with Santa, circling over my bed, driving away the horrible demons that hid in the dark under it. Santa is a wonderful concept, a spirit of giving – but Santa is no god. Santa is actually a secularized version of a Christian named Nicholas, who lived around 280 AD in Patara, near Myra, Turkey. He traveled the country side, giving away all he had to help the poor and sick. Saint Nicolas never rode in a sled, and he was not a god – though He was saved by believing on our God. Only the God of Scripture is God. God told His Old Covenant people Israel:

Isaiah 44:6 … the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

There is no God but our God. “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me” (Isaiah 46:9). We who are Christian affirm that “for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6). The idols that people follow are nothing but man made gods. “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one” (1 Corinthian 8:4).

Idols hurt people. When Adam tried to be God, he hurt the whole world. We are all born into sin because Adam did what he did. Idols hurt people today. In India there is a Temple where people worship rats. People bring food to the Temple, feeding these creatures and praying to them, even as these nasty animals carry …

“… hantavirus, leptospirosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV), Tularemia and Salmonella. Wild rodents also may cause considerable property damage by chewing through wiring in homes, car engines, and other places”.

In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mauritius people are starving to death, while cattle are worshiped by the Hindu faith. Hindus believe that each cow contains 330 million gods and goddesses. At festivals honoring Krishna, priests shape cow dung into images of the god. (Source: “Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches” by Marvin Harris, Vintage Books, 1974). India has more cattle than any other country in the world, but they may not be eaten, but only worshiped – along with monkeys, cobras, and other snakes.

Hāllel Psalm 115:3-8 (ESV) Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

Idolatry starves and kills a people. We may not worship cows, monkeys, or other animals, but we as Americans worship many things. We worship sports. We worship politicians. We worship things. We worship ourselves. Hey, “You just be You, and I’ll be Me”. You can be anything you want to be. This is idolatry. Only God is God.

Only God Is God, And Praise God, He Is Merciful To All!

Psalm 117 O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people. 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us

A Jewish prayer book of the Apostle Paul’s day – back in the early Church – had a well known and ancient prayer that the men of the Synagogue said weekly. The prayer was:

I thank You, O God, that You have made me a Jew, and not a Gentile.
I thank You, O God, that you have made me free, and not a slave.
I thank You, Lord God, that You have made me male, and not female.

That prayer may have made some of you uncomfortable. It sounds as if the early Jew believed that Gentiles (that’s us), slaves, and women are all inferior to Jewish men. The Jewish women would pray:

I thank You, O God, that You have made me a Jew, and not a Gentile.
I thank You, O God, that you have made me free, and not a slave.
I thank You, O God, that You have made me according to Your will.

So a Jewish woman prayed, believing she was better than Gentiles (that’s us) or a slave. Yet when God commands us to praise Him, what does He command?

O praise the Lord, all ye nations

The “nations” is the Hebrew gôy, which means “Gentiles, non-Hebrew people”. God calls on the NATIONS or the GENTILES to FIRST praise God. Then the Lord says:

praise Him, all ye people

The “people” is the Hebrew ʼummah, a reference to Israel. God wants the whole world to praise Him, for God equally values every person. There are no second class people with our God. Every person made is a person God made, and made on purpose. There are no mistakes with God. When God called an old man from Ur of the Chaldees named Abram to follow Him, God told this childless man:

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

God told Abram, who would become Abraham “I will make of you a great nation”. God would give Abraham a child, and through that child God would create the nation Israel. But God went on to tell Abraham “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”. The word “families” is the Hebrew Mishpâchâh, which means “every class of people, every tribe, every kind”. It was never God’s intention to be God over just Israel, or just a select few. God calls all people to Him to worship. God was going to bless all of fallen humanity. He would use Israel to do this.

God would use imperfect and broken Israel to bring the Savior into the world. God used Israel to give us all Jesus.

God created Israel through a childless Abraham and a barren Sarah. God would give Abraham the power and stamina to have a child with Sarah, and God would make Sarah fertile. But God would do a much greater miracle through Israel. God prophesied that He Himself would enter this world as a Perfect and Sinless Man. God said in:

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

The word “Immanuel” (ʿimmānû’ēl) means “with us is GOD”. Eternal God would become Perfect Man through a virgin birth. Why? Why would God so lower Himself? Because … hear me …

Psalm 117 O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people. 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us

We cannot save ourselves. Adam’s sin brought sin to all his progeny – that’s us. From the time Adam was cast from Eden with Eve, to this day and beyond, we are ALL SINNERS. A sinner cannot fix a sinner.

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

Man tried to be God and lost Paradise. So how can man return to Paradise. Only God can do this for us. Only God can save us.

Romans 3:24-28 … Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

God the Father – through the Holy Spirit – sent His Son into humanity through a virgin. The Angel Gabriel told that virgin:

Luke 1:35 The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

That same Angel Gabriel told Joseph, the betrothed of Mary,

Matthew 1:20-23 Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

God’s only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, came into this earth through a virgin. Jesus came to be “a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of God’s Israel”. To whom did Jesus come? For us all, “whether Jew or Greek, whether Bond or Free, whether Male or Female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Jesus came for every person, no matter how broken. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why do you eat with sinners?”. Jesus replied:

Matthew 9:13 … I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

As the Pharisees continued to criticize Jesus, He held firm, declaring:

Mark 2:17 … They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

God entered this world as a Perfect Man. The Messiah was prophesied to come to us.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful {,} Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Jesus Christ came into this world – eternally with the Father, very God of very God – and lowered Himself to be like us (yet without sin). Jesus then walked among us, doing miraculous deeds, doing good where ever He went. Yet His primary mission on this earth was to be the One Who would give us all access to God. The Apostle told us:

1 Timothy 2:3-6 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto 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.

How is one saved? Not by our works, but by faith in the Work of Christ. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 6:29 This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom {God} hath sent.

Only Jesus can make a sinner right with God. Only Jesus can bring whosoever will to a place of saving Grace, and can translate us into the kingdom of God. Only Jesus can make payment for our sins. Jesus Christ is the True Manna from Heaven Who gives life unto the world (John 6:33). Jesus is the Bread of Life, that, if you believe on Him, you will never thirst (John 6:35). It is Jesus Who came from Heaven to do the Father’s will (John 6:38). What is the Father’s will? Jesus said:

John 6:39-40 (ESV) … this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

There is no other God but our God. We are not gods. But God became like unto us to reach us, and bring Heaven to us, and us to Heaven.

God’s Truth Endures Forever

Psalm 117 O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people. 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.

God’s truth never ends. What God has said is “sin” in the Old Testament, is “sin” in the New Testament. God despises sin. Sin is anything that makes us out to be gods. Sin separates us from God, and separates us from God’s blessings. But here is a truth that is eternal. If you will come to the Lord Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Savior, He will not only heal you of your sins, but He will bring you into union with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We are told in:

Hāllel Psalm 116:5, 13 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. 13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.

Hāllel Psalm 118:8-9, 14 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. 14 The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.

I told you at the beginning that Hāllel Psalm 117 is the center chapter of the Bible. Many years ago three men were put to death – executed – on a hill called Calvary. The crowd mocked the Man in the middle, saying,

Matthew 27:40 … If Thou {Jesus} be the Son of God, come down from the Cross…

The thief on the left, dying, said the same thing to Jesus. “Are You not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39). And Jesus said nothing. But the thief on the right looked at that Man in the middle. “Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom”. And Jesus said, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). It is faith in Jesus Christ that saves. The truth will never end, but is a golden thread that will draw each believer into eternity.

Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If not, today is the day to call on Him and be saved. For God’s glory, and through the Spirit’s power I pray this. Amen and Amen.

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Elders Among Us

Posted on September 23, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by cottonbro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-man-holding-a-bible-10485422/

Last Sunday we ended our evening study with:

1 Peter 4:17-19 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

We are in a battle for the souls of men and women and children. Satan has from the beginning launched an all out offensive against the Church of Christ. His activity has tremendously increased over the last fifty years, beginning with the sexual revolution of the 60’s and 70’s, and today moving into the radical left with the “you be you and I’ll be me” movement. Satan has taken progressiveness into the classrooms where our children are being taught, seeking to drag all of America down a godless pit of humanism. John Stonestreet of Breakpoint wrote:

“A few months ago, a friend told me of something that points to the level of cultural infection. She had asked a friend of hers, a junior high school teacher, how many students in {her} class identified as LGBTQ. The answer, offered immediately in a sort of “don’t you know this” tone, was, “Oh, all of them do”. “All of them?”, my friend replied. “Are they sexually active?” “Not at all”, the teacher replied. “But none of them want to be straight or cis”.

It is more fashionable to be transgender or same sex (or even bi-sex) oriented than it is to be plain old vanilla heterosexual. This is where America has drifted to.

We had a few Presbyterians come to our church when the Cumberland Presbyterians began to normalize sexuality that the Scripture forbids. They stayed with us a few years, then drifted back to their churches. Why? Because Satan keeps hammering through the media that what the Bible says is abnormal is actually normal. It is not fashionable to cling to the Word of God. It is as Jesus said:

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV) Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

The narrow gate is traveled by few. It is uncomfortable. It is much easier to become a part of the crowd, to fade into the masses. But Jesus calls us to be the “light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). The Apostle asks this question:

1 Peter 4:18 … if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall
the ungodly and the sinner appear

Word Study: The word “scarcely” is the Greek μόλις mólis, {pronounced mol’-is}, which means “with much difficulty, not easily”. You could translate it “with much work”. It was much work to lead people to Christ in the days of Peter, and it’s getting harder every year. God can break through the hardness of the human heart, but Satan is, sadly, often more active than God’s children are. It is the Holy Spirit that must awaken the sinner to the Grace of God, but the Holy Spirit will not do His work if we do not do ours. The wondrous Gospel tells us that:

Romans 5:5 … hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

The world does not want to hear about Jesus – but we must stay strong in Him. We are going to have friction – difficulties – problems as believers sharing Christ with the lost. The Chief Apostle simply tells us:

1 Peter 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Trust in God. Keep your eyes on Jesus. And grow in your knowledge of God’s Word!

There Are False Elders, And True Elders

1 Peter 5:1-4 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

As the leadership in a Church goes, so goes the Church. Peter now begins to talk to the “elders”. This is the Greek πρεσβύτερος presbýteros, {pronounced pres-boo’-ter-os}, which is found sixty seven times in the New Testament.

Among the Jews, the presbýteros or elders were those who studied the Old Testament Laws and it’s teachings, the authorities.

The presbýteros were often Rabbis or other high ranking leaders in the Jewish Synagogues. The Jewish presbýteros got away from the Word of God, and started adding their own spin to that which God commanded. When these presbýteros saw Jesus and His disciples eating, they complained:

Matthew 15:2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

These Jewish elders ignored the parts of God’s Word that they didn’t like, and created laws out of thin air to judge others by. Jesus chastised them, saying:

Matthew 15:3-9 Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

The “elders” were not taking care of their aging parents, but abandoned them in their time of need. When asked “Why don’t you do something about your mother or father?” they would reply, “My free money is CORBAN, dedicated to God’s work and God’s Temple”. Then they wouldn’t donate the money, but would hide it. They did not love, and taught others to be equally loveless.

Tradition is not a bad thing as long as tradition is supported by God’s Word. The Jewish elders perverted God’s Command by their traditions.

Jesus told them, “You hold on to the tradition of men, but lay aside the commandment of God” (Mark 7:8). “You have made the Word of God of no effect through your traditions”(Mark 7:13). These are not the types of Elders that God wants in His Church – nor in His Israel. These people HATED JESUS, and often joined in with other unbelievers to attack our Lord. Who was it that attacked Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Matthew 26:47 … while {Jesus} yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders {presbýteros} of the people.

Who sat in the illegal night time trial of Jesus? The Bible says:

Matthew 26:57 … they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders {presbýteros} were assembled.

When it came time for Jesus to be executed, who was it that suggested to the multitude that Barabbas the murderer be released, and Jesus be crucified?

Matthew 27:20 … the chief priests and elders {presbýteros} persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

As Jesus hung on the Cross, suffering for our sins, who was it who led the multitude in tormenting our Lord?

Matthew 27:41-43 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders {presbýteros}, said, 42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

And when Jesus resurrected from the Grave, who was it who bribed the guards at Christ’s Tomb to tell a lie?

Matthew 28:12-13 {the chief priests} were assembled with the elders {presbýteros}, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, 13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

An “Elder” is not just a person who has a lot of Biblical knowledge. Several years ago one of my favorite Science Fiction authors Isaac Asimov wrote a comprehensive commentary on the Bible called “Asimov’s Guide to the Bible”. Published in two volumes, it was released in a single 1296 page volume in 1981. Asimov stated,

“I am an atheist, out and out. … Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don’t have the evidence to prove that God doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time” (Free Inquiry,Spring 1982, p. 9).

Bible knowledge itself will not make you an elder. The Rabbis of Jesus’ day knew the Bible, but not Jesus. The Priests of Jesus’ day knew the Bible, but not Jesus. Who is, Biblically, an “Elder”?

True Elders Look Like Peter, James, And John

1 Peter 5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

The Apostle defines an “Elder” or presbýteros as someone like himself. Peter says, “I am also an elder”. An elder is someone who spends time with Jesus. Peter often spent time with Jesus.

  • “Elders” makes themselves available to be with Jesus. When Jesus went to the Mount of Transfiguration to have an end times meeting with Moses and Elijah, who did He take with Him?

Matthew 17:1-3 … after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him

Jesus took special care to have three men – Peter, James and John – to be with Him at significant moments in His ministry. Why did Jesus take these three, and not the others? I believe it is because Peter, James and John were available for Jesus to meet with them. The other disciples were equally saved and called by Jesus, but Peter, when Jesus called Him, dropped everything to follow Jesus.

Peter, James and John loved to be with Jesus.

When the Ruler of the Synagogue called for Jesus to heal his little girl, the Bible says:

Mark 5:36-37 {Jesus} saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. 37 And {Jesus allowed} no man to follow him, {except} Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

Peter, James and John did not have to be chased. Jesus didn’t have to run from pillar to post trying to find them. They stayed close to our Master not because they HAD to, but because they WANTED TO. Because they made themselves available to Him, Jesus used them. We see the same principle in the Old Testament as well. Moses loved to be with Jesus (John 8:58), and every time Moses turned around, who was there? JOSHUA!

  • Elders want to be Jesus’ shadow, regardless as to what others think. They allow Jesus to mold them. Peter was a rough fisherman, and yet he was willing to be shaped by Jesus. When Jesus met Peter …

John 1:42 (ESV) … Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

Jesus renamed Simon as “Cephas” (which means Peter”. Why did our Lord do this? The Bible tells us in Matthew 13:55 that Jesus was known as “the carpenters Son”. The word “carpenter” is the Greek tekton, which means “a craftsman or builder”. An article at Lifeway Leadership notes:

“The majority of homes in Israel, as noted by Hebraic scholar James W. Fleming, are constructed with stone. Fleming explains: “Jesus and Joseph would have formed and made nine out of ten projects from stone either by chiseling or carving the stone or stacking building blocks.”

Jesus was a stone mason before He was known as Messiah. He called Simon “Peter” or literally “Rock” because our Lord was going to mold Simon like a mason would shape a rock. An elder has to be willing to let Jesus shape them, turn them into what He wants them to be. This is often a PAINFUL process. Yet the elder is willing for the Master Carpenter to hack and chip away all that is not God honoring and God glorifying.

  • Elders lead the Church to prayer and to the presence of Christ. The Bible says that, following Christ’s ascension:

Acts 1:13 {the 120 disciples} went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

If you are infrequent in prayer, you will never be an elder in the Church. Elders build a habit of prayer, believing that “where two or three are gathered together in Christ’s Name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). Elders are prayer warriors. One of the Elders that followed Jesus, the Apostle James wrote:

James 5:13-15 (ESV) Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders {presbýteros} of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Elders Are To Be Faithful In Doing Christ’s Work

1 Peter 5:2-4 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Elders are called to “feed Christ’s sheep”. They are to grow in the knowledge of the Lord by study of God’s Word, and are to share what they know with the Church. The Elders are NOT bosses of the Church. The Apostle says, “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock”. They are called to live their lives as examples for the Church to follow. Right after Jesus rose from the Grave, He spoke to Peter, saying:

John 21:15-17 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

The Elders show their love for Jesus by caring for and feeding His sheep. How do we “feed” them? We do what Jesus said. When Jesus prepared to ascend unto Heaven, He told us:

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Elders are to teach the things that Jesus has taught them. We are to “examples to the flock” in how we not only know the Word of God, but live it out every day. This is what the Church desperately needs in these latter days. The Church does not need worldliness, but the Word of Christ. Let us live together for His glory. In Christ Name I pray. Amen and Amen.

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Live Like You Are Beloved

Posted on September 20, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by nappy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-child-reading-holy-bible-935944/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Peter 4. Here we go!

1 Peter 4:12-16 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

I have always resisted the easy believism preaching of “God loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life”.

This type of preaching became popular in the later 20th century church, and often pops up in the current culture as well. I do believe that “God loves you”. But I’m not sure how “wonderful” the plan for your life is, as “wonderful” means “to inspire delight, pleasure or admiration”.

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. But we live in a fallen world absolutely opposed to the Biblical Jesus. If you live for Jesus, expect – at best – discomfort!

That’s what 1 Peter chapter 4 focuses on: S-U-F-F-E-R-I-N-G! I have talked with other Pastors who tell me they’d rather focus on the love of God and future Heaven, than they would on the darkness of this world. But Beloved, we live in a dark world. Not too long ago Canadian Authorities chased two brothers Damien and Miles Sanderson who killed at least ten (10) people, and wounded eighteen (18) more with knives. Why did they do this? Because we live in a fallen world.

Every dark and evil thing in our world today can be traced to sin. It is sin that separates us from God. It is sin that drags people down. It is sin that leads a person to alcohol or drug addiction. It is sin that creeps into marriages, and leads spouses away into adulterous liaisons. It was sin that caused self righteous religious people to destroy the twin towers in New York City, killing over 3000 people. It is sin that causes gender dysphoria, sin that leads to the same sex marriage, sin that endorses “free love”, sin that has caused the proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases, Monkeypox, HIV and AIDs. It is sin that has caused the breakdown of the family. It is sin that says a child is not harmed by being raised by one parent, though God has told children “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). The Apostle said:

Ephesians 6:2-3 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Long life is promised to those with father and mother. Break the design, you have harmed the child. Pastor John MacArthur defined the problem of sin this way:

“The root of all sin is autonomy and replacement of God with self. However small a sin may seem, it is an assertion that the person is acting independently of God”.

A Christian Is Beloved, Not A Sinner

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved …

Word Study: God calls the Christian – and His Church – “Beloved”. This is the Greek ἀγαπητός agapētós, [pronounced ag-ap-ay-tos’], which means “Beloved, highly esteemed, cherished, favorite”. Those who are “Beloved” are reconciled to God because they have been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. Reconciled and Redeemed, we are considered righteous because we have received Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Because we are “Beloved” (Romans 1:7), we enjoy grace and peace with God.
Because we are “Beloved” (1 Thessalonians 1:4), we are chosen by God.
Because we are “Beloved” (Colossians 3:12), we are holy and Heaven bound.

1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

Let’s start with the first part of this statement. I am saved because “Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh”. Jesus Christ suffered for MY sins. Jesus Christ suffered for YOUR sins. He was nailed to the Cross by a lost world, but His suffering served the purpose of covering our sins in the eyes of God. But it did something else. When Jesus died on the Cross, He made it possible for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives, and the regenerate us (make us born again). The Spirit also indwells us forever because of the work of Christ. The indwelling of the Spirit makes the believer dead to sin. We see this preached throughout the Scriptures. For example:

Romans 6:1-7 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

The old you died the day that you met Jesus as Lord and Savior. Those things that you used to do without regard to God, now when you do them they have the stench of sin on them. We who are saved do not want to be like the old man, but to be like the new man, the person anointed of Christ. No Christian should revel in sin. You have the Holy Spirit inside of you. The Apostle said:

Romans 8:10-14 if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

The “Christian” man who lives with his girlfriend, sexually violating her night after night without regard to the will of God, is but a plastic replica of the real. The “Christian” woman who carries a grudge against someone who harmed her years before but never feels a stirring of God within her against such things, is but a pretend Christian. Jesus said, “Every GOOD TREE brings forth GOOD FRUIT; but a CORRUPT TREE brings forth EVIL FRUIT. A GOOD TREE cannot bring forth EVIL FRUIT, neither can a CORRUPT TREE bring forth GOOD FRUIT” (Mathew 7:17-18).

Salvation brings a radical change in the life of a person. The “Beloved” of God, we are told,

1 Peter 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Those who are Beloved want to honor the God Who save them. Before we were saved, how did we act? We made life about SELF, about our own SELFISHNESS. We were like the other Gentiles:

1 Peter 4:3 … the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

Word Study: Now you might think “my sins weren’t that bad”, but in the eyes of God they were that bad. “We walked {past tense} in lasciviousness” (ἀσέλγεια asélgeia, [pronounced as-elg’-i-a]), that is, some of us sought to satisfy our lusts. “We walked in …. lusts” (ἐπιθυμία epithymía, pronounced ep-ee-thoo-mee’-ah), that is, “a longing for the forbidden”. We chased after false gods. We lived in “banquetings” (πότος pótos, [pronounced pot’-os]), “drinking bouts or carousing”. You might say, “But I never did any of these things”, and that may be true. But before you met Jesus, YOU were your own god. You did what pleased you, which is what the world does. Jesus died a horrid death on the Cross of Calvary for you, just as He did for the murderer or the child molester or the rapist. We are the Beloved of God. We support the Will of God, not the want of Adam. We desire the smile of God over the grin of the lost. We are not self righteous, for we know we are born again not of our power, but of the power of God. But we do not revel in sin. The Christian declares:

Galatians 2:20-21 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

I follow Christ’s Law and God’s Will not to be saved, but BECAUSE I am saved. “If we be dead with Jesus, we shall live with Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:11). Not just in Heaven, but NOW!

1 Peter 3:18 … Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God

He Who has always been JUST and righteous and pure “suffered for sins”. Why? So that He could “bring us to God”. We walk with God now, not with the world.

Christians, Like Jesus, Are Subject To Fiery Trials

1 Peter 4:12-16 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Word Study: Rather than preach “Jesus loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life”, Peter warns us that there is a “fiery trial”. This is the Greek πύρωσις pýrōsis, [pronounced poo’-ro-sis], which means “a burning by which metals are purified, a refiner’s fire”. When you ran with the world, in agreement with the things the world said, you could blend into the crowd. But when you live to honor God your Father things change. People believe Christians to be STRANGEthat you don’t agree with the things they say is right. They will SPEAK EVIL OF YOU, slander you and liable you. We are told this:

1 Peter 4:4-5 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

These unbelievers will be judged one day at a Great White Throne, a horrid affair mentioned in Revelation 20:11-12. The Gospel is to be preached to these – to all souls. Beloved, there is a hell. There is a Lake of Fire. It is a place where those who have rejected Jesus as Lord and Savior will hear:

Matthew 25:41 (ESV) Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

The Prophet Daniel called hell a place of “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). Jesus said that hell was so horrible that:

Mark 9:45-48 (ESV) if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

It has become fashionable today to believe that everyone by default – except those you don’t like – will go to Heaven. It has also become fashionable to believe that hell is but temporary, and that at worse you will be burned up in its flame. Yet Jesus spoke of hell when He spoke of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Did the Rich Man burn up in Hell’s flame. No. Jesus said:

Luke 16:23-24 … in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Punishment and separation in Hell is just as eternal as is life in Heaven (see Matthew 25:46). Those who reject the love of God and the grace of God in Christ will forever be separated from God in eternity. They are “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). Because Hell is real, and because every sinner and every saint will stand before God, we preach the Gospel.

1 Peter 4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

The lost are spiritually DEAD. But we preach the Gospel so that they might become like us – condemned of the darkness, but ALIVE ACCORDING TO GOD IN THE SPIRIT. We hope to gain souls for Heaven. We hope to be instruments that God will use to bring the lost inbto the Kingdom of God. Jesus died for us all to bring us to God:

1 Peter 2:24 {Jesus} his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

But we need to be aware that, as Jesus suffered while on the earth fighting the darkness, we, too will suffer when we stand up for Jesus.

As Jesus Suffered To Bring Us Salvation,
We Will Suffer Carrying The Message Of Salvation

1 Peter 4:13-14 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

If you are saved by faith in Christ, REJOICE if you are partners with Christ in suffering. Listen my dear friend. Many local churches today have twisted the Word of God to make it more palatable to the lost world. Many local churches fly rainbow flags, and preach “Love Always Wins”. I can point out numerous Scriptures that plainly declare those in sexual deviancy shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:20-21, et al.) The Blood of the Cross is not a free pass to wander away from God.

Those who are saved always pursue the Savior.
Those who are sheep always follow the Shepherd.
Those who are children of the Kingdom always follow the King.
Those who are sanctified always follow the One Who set them apart.

The Gospel we hear today is “God loves you. Just walk the aisle, then leave the Church and do what you will”. This is satanic, devilish, and not of God.

We who are saved “walk in the Light as Christ is in the Light” (1 John 1:7). We are called to pick up our Cross and follow Jesus. Jesus said …

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

Expect to be hated of the world. Expect to be despised, belittled, made fun of – and praise God for it. Do not seek to be self righteous nor arrogant in your faith – but keep your eyes on Jesus! We are told:

1 Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

Expect to have enemies if you are living for Jesus. If you are “reproached for the name of Christ”, be happy over this. This is a proof of your faith, that the Spirit of Glory, that is, the Spirit of God is on your life.

1 Peter 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Beloved, if you live for Jesus you will suffer. Jesus suffered. Jesus suffered from the religious leaders. Jesus suffered from the political rulers. Jesus told us:

Matthew 5:10 (ESV) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

You cannot expect to get to Heaven without a measure of suffering. If you never suffer reproach, never suffer shame, never suffer any loneliness or isolation for Christ’s sake … then perhaps you are TOO MUCH LIKE THE WORLD. Jesus told us all:

John 15:18 (ESV) If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

It is normal – in a battle – to have the enemy shoot at you. It is normal for the enemy to put forth propoganda to slander you. It is normal for the enemy to sneak into your outfit, into your unit, and sabotage you. When the writer of Hebrews spoke of our forefathers who stood up for God, He wrote:

Hebrews 11:32-38 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

In America we have avoided much of the persecution that Christians in other parts of the world go through on a daily basis. This is because America was founded on Christian ethics. But Beloved, I believe the same thing that Peter tells us:

1 Peter 4:7-8 … the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Peter encouraged the Church to prepare herself, and to love one another “fervently”. The darkness has been gathering for years while the Church in America has languished and compromised with the darkness. It is time for us to rise up and, loving one another, let the world glimpse into the Kingdom of God. Peter ends with:

1 Peter 4:17-19 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Let us honor God with our time, our talents, our temple, our treasure, and our ticker! If the Church does not stand firm in the preaching and modeling of the Gospel, then how can the lost be saved? They cannot. The Church is God’s Kingdom on the earth. Let us live for Him Who saved us. In Christ’s name I pray – Amen and Amen.

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Let’s Lose The Wrong Mind!

Posted on September 18, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by SHVETS production: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-person-putting-crumpled-paper-in-box-on-woman-7203718/

1 Peter 3:8-12 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Lose The World’s Mind – Pursue The Mind of Christ

As Christians (Christ followers), we are to be “of one mind”. As humans, we are always happy to be “of one mind” as long as it is our mind. But the “one mind” that we are called to have is “the mind of Christ”. This is what the Bible says:

1 Corinthians 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Preach: We have the Word of God, the Bible (Proverbs 30:5). “Every Word of God is pure: He is a Shield unto them that put their trust in Him”. We have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling us. “Even the Spirit of Truth; Whom the world cannot receive” (John 14:17). The Christian – born again of the Spirit – is given access to the mind of Christ.

The devil will do all he can to get us to rely on OUR mind or on the mind of THE WORLD. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

We as believers are to “with one mind and one mouth glorify God” (Romans 15:6). The Church must share the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ cannot be achieved without this key: “It is written”. We must head toward the Scriptures. This is where Jesus went in His teachings.

Jesus did not come to this earth and develop a new doctrine,
but to establish a New Covenant.

The Old Covenant required that people hear and heed the Law of God in their own power. God promised that – when the New Covenant came – that things would be different. God told His Israel:

Jeremiah 31:31-34 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

The distinctive feature of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant is NOT that God’s Law is abrogated – for Jesus said “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). The key difference in the New Covenant is that God will write His Law in our hearts. The New Covenant believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9). It is the Holy Spirit that guides us into all truth (John 16:13). Every believer under the New Covenant is indwelt with God.

Spirit Indwelt People Are To Pursue The Mind Of Christ

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Word Study: Believers are to “having compassion one of another”, the Greek συμπαθής sympathḗs, {pronounced soom-path-ace’}, which means “to be sympathetic toward, to feel the suffering of another, to be empathetic”. Every human is connected to another human. No one lives in a vacuum! Christians in particular should be empathetic toward the condition of others in the Church. The Bible says that in the Church:

1 Corinthians 12:18-20, 24-26 (ESV) But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 24 God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Compassion asks “What do YOU need?”, not “What do I want?”

Our world suffers from a lack of compassion. The devil says that things matter. God says that people matter. All people matter. Every life matters. The Christian who has experienced the mercy and grace of God should appreciate the value of every human life. God made every person on purpose. Sadly, many in the United States and around the world have lost the sense of the preciousness and value of life. The American Psychological Association in a recent article entitled “Worrying Trends In U.S. Suicide Rates” notes:

“The suicide rate increased 33 percent from 1999 through 2017, from 10.5 to 14 suicides per 100,000 people (NCHS Data Brief No. 330, November 2018). Rates have increased more sharply since 2006. Suicide ranks as the fourth leading cause of death for people ages 35 to 54, and the second for 10- to 34-year-olds. It remains the 10th leading cause of death overall.”

Word Study: Jesus came to heal the sick, to save the lost, to reach humanity with the message of God’s Love. We are to be compassionate toward others – especially our fellow believers. How does one show compassion? We “love as brethren”. This is the Greek compound word φιλάδελφος philadelphos, which means “show familial love toward others”. Treat others – particularly those in your local Church – as family. This concept is echoed throughout the Scripture:

Romans 12:10 (ESV) Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

1 Thessalonians 4:9 (ESV) Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,

Contextual Study: In this world we use one word for “love” – and it’s “L-O-V-E”. In the Bible, however, there are numerous words for “love”. In the Hebrew (Old Testament) we find:

– HESED, which means “lovingkindness”
– AHAB, which means “love”
– DOD, which refers to “romantic love”

In the New Testament Greek the words for “Love” are:

+ EROS, which refers to “romantic love”
+ PHILEOS, which is love between friends or brothers
+ STORGE, which is love within the family (brother to brother, child to parent)
+ AGAPE, which is to do good toward others, to be beneficial or benevolent

You are not required to “like” anyone in the family of God, but you are to “love them as family”, to treat them with the same respect you expect.

Word Study: Let’s go further. As family members in the Kingdom of God, we are told “be pitiful, be courteous”. The word “pitiful” is the Greek εὔσπλαγχνος eúsplanchnos, {pronounced yoo’-splangkh-nos}, which means “to be tender hearted toward another person, sympathetic”. The Pharisees never had pity on others. When Jesus went into the Synagogue and saw a man with a withered hand, our Lord had pity on him and healed him. How did the Pharisees respond?

Mark 3:2 (ESV) … they watched Jesus, to see whether {Jesus} would heal {the man with the withered hand} on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.

How hard hearted this is, and how hypocritical. Jesus asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” The Pharisees were without pity, without compassion. When, in another Synagogue Jesus met a woman who had been bent over and disabled to 18 years (Luke 13:10-17), Jesus healed that woman. The Bible says:

Luke 13:14-17 (ESV) the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus ahad healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by {Jesus}.

If you can feed your animals, or get your ox out of the ditch on the Sabbath, surely God would allow the healing of one of His people on that same day. Self righteousness is not only misguided, but it is often discourteous. The “ruler of the synagogue”, if he had a genuine grievance, could have taken Jesus to the side to quietly address the matter.

We are to have pity on others, to be courteous and kind in all that we say and do. Jesus set a high standard of love for His people. The Royal Law our King gave us is:

John 13:34 (ESV) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Love, compassion, courtesy, empathy for others are marks that a person is genuinely saved. Christians should love as Christ loved!

A mean spirited, bitter person is not saved. Christ is not in their hearts, and their destination is not glory with God in Heaven. The Scripture says:

1 John 4:11-12, 19-21 (ESV) Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. … 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

The Darkness Can Only Be Defeated With The Light Of Christ

If Christ has touched your hearts, He has also certainly touched your tongues, your hands, and your feet! We read:

1 Peter 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

We are called as Christians to not return blow for blow, evil for evil. Under the Old Covenant God had a system called “Lex Talionis”, or the Law of Tooth and Nail. In those days there were no police nor military to recompense evil. When someone committed a capital offense, God gave the nearest living relative the authority to bring justice to the offending party.

Leviticus 24:19-20 (ESV) If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.

Under the New Covenant, Jesus removed this
provision from the Law for the believer.

Matthew 5:38-45 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

The focus of the Church Age is to expand the Kingdom of God through whosoever will, to lead the lost to Christ. When we do God’s will and honor our Jesus, the Lord God blesses our lives. God extends our lives when we honor Jesus by loving others as Jesus did. We read:

1 Peter 3:10-12 (ESV) For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile {δόλος dólos, [pronounced dol’-os], meaning “trickery, deceitfulness, to catch someone with a snare or bait}: 11 Let him eschew (ἐκκλίνω ekklínō, [pronounced ek-klee’-no]) evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Those who “love life”, that is, the ones who regard life to be a great gift not to be wasted are the same ones who “see good days” or enjoy life. How do they do this? They do this by controlling their attitude by first controlling their tongues. The Apostle is actually quoting from The Hebrew Hymnbook, from…

Psalm 34:12-16 (ESV) What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Those who have the most blessed lives control their tongue and lips. They refuse to do the evil, but instead pursue Christ in their daily walk. When God’s Children do well, that is, love as Jesus loved, then God the Father will oversee us as He did His Son while He walked this earth. Beloved, you need to

Choose your attitude, and choose your actions. Do not let your environment or your feelings choose your actions. Do good, as Christ did good and does good.

The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

“Jesus did not command us to like our brothers and sisters in Christ. But we are commanded to love them; and once we start loving them we will start liking them. … Doing good is often difficult because as a general rule, evil is rewarded immediately and the reward of doing good is often delayed. But the rewards of good are better and far more secure than the rewards of doing evil.”

How Do I Respond If The Good I Do Is Repaid With Evil?

1 Peter 3:13-14 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

If you are a Christian, then you need to expect that you will be persecuted, hated, slandered, despised, thought of as weird or abnormal, and shunned. The darkness has never loved the light of God. The darkness did not come into the Garden of Eden as a Teddy Bear, or a cute Deer, but as a venomous Serpent. The Devil hates the Kingdom of God, and will do whatever He can to destroy it. Jesus told us:

Matthew 10:28 … do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell

As long as we are doing Christ’s work in Christ’s way, God will protect us and guide us through the various attacks we no doubt will suffer. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 118:6 (ESV) The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Rather than focus on the attacks or the inevitable “what ifs” that Satan will attempt to put in your minds, we are told to draw closer to our God. We are to:

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Draw near to God, to His light, when you are being persecuted. Our Lord Jesus was persecuted for preaching the truth. We ourselves will be persecuted for speaking the truth. Speak the truth anyway. Jesus told us:

Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus told us that “ ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (John 15:20). It is true that “through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

1 Peter 3:16-17 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. 17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

When trials come your way, examine yourselves, to whether you are in the faith or not” (2 Corinthians 13:5). If you are in the faith serving Jesus Christ, then keep on doing that. If you are NOT serving God, but selfishly meeting your own needs and desires, then STOP IT! We are told:

“it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer
for well doing, than for evil doing”

When we do evil, evil has its own punishment. The Bible tells us that “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). When we move into darkness, we suffer the death that is unique to darkness. But when we “walk in the light as {God the Father} is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7). The suffering we receive for doing good is but temporal, and finishes with a great blessing in Heaven. The suffering we receive for doing evil may last us a lifetime, and will rob us of eternal rewards.

Unjust Suffering Endured Will Lead To Victory

When you or I live as Jesus did, will there be times when our love and kindness is rebuffed and thrown back in our faces? Yes, that can happen. That happened with Jesus. Our Lord Jesus “once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God”. But there are many who reject Him and His Cross.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Jesus died on the Cross “that he might bring us to God”. He did this for “whosoever will”. And yet, many will reject Christ and die in their sins. In the next few verses we will read one of the most difficult texts of Scripture. Every commentary and Bible Scholar I have consulted have a different view of this text. We read:

1 Peter 3:18-20 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

The Apostle ties the ministry of Jesus Christ to the ministry of the Prophet Noah. After Jesus died on the Cross, He was “quickened {made alive} by the Spirit”. When Jesus died on that Cross, the world thought He was gone for good. In that three day interval our Lord “went and preached unto the spirits in prison”. Who are these “spirits”, and where is this “prison”? We do not know. What is this “prison”? It is a holding place that is not Heaven. We know from the context that these “spirits” were disobedient and stood against the preaching of Noah for 120 years while he built the Ark. God saved the eight souls who obediently got on the Ark, but the others all died under the judgment of the flood. When Jesus died on Calvary, He went and preached to these “spirits”, telling them He was the Messiah that was promised, the reason that the Ark was commissioned. Though we are left with many blanks, what we learn from this is that love transcends anything that evil can do. Love lives on, and preaches long after we leave this earth. Love makes the difference.

If you are saved, you are saved because Jesus loved you anyway. If others will be saved, we must share the glorious message that Jesus loves them still, and Jesus loves them anyway. May others come to the glorious Christ in faith, believing on Him, so that they might be saved. The darkness cannot be fought with darkness. We must walk with Christ in the Light. For God’s glory. Amen and Amen!

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We Desperately Need God In Us

Posted on September 16, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Tara Winstead: https://www.pexels.com/photo/art-writing-morning-business-8383410/

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 13. In Nehemiah chapters 11 & 12, Nehemiah records the number and types of people that are staying in Jerusalem, as well as in other cities surrounding Jerusalem. The priests were recognized and ordained, and the walls of Jerusalem were dedicated to God. On the day the walls were dedicated:

Nehemiah 12:43 … they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.

It is important to understand that – at this time in history – God’s people were Israelis, and they all existed under the Old Covenant. Under the Old Covenant animal/blood sacrifices were necessary for the covering of sin. The animal sacrifices and Feasts were given for a temporary covering for sin. The Book of Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 10:1-10 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Had the animal sacrifices been sufficient to cover sin completely then, the Scripture asks, why were “not {the sacrifices} have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins”. In the offering of sacrifices people knew that they were insufficient, so they came, year after year, and kept sacrificing. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of these animal sacrifices. He is the “Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36). We are told:

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

The Temple sacrifices were to be maintained in Israel until Christ came. In order for these things to be maintained, the Temple and the Priests had to be supported by the people. In chapters 11-12

Nehemiah Reestablished Temple Worship & Bible Reading

Then Nehemiah returned to the Palace of Shushan, and to the service of King Artaxerxes King of Babylon. His appointment was to allow him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, and to guide the people back to the Law of God.

Nehemiah 12:47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.

Things were as they should be, so Nehemiah was obligated to return to King Artaxerxes. The people turned to the Word of God:

Nehemiah 13:1-3 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; 2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

Once Nehemiah departed, the people continued to read God’s Word. In their reading they came across

Deuteronomy 23:3-6 (ESV) “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

The Ammonites and the Moabites were cousins of Israel, the children borne of Lot, Abraham’s Nephew, when Lot slept with his own daughters. Though God gave the children of Ammon and the children of Moab lands of their own, the Ammonites and Moabites held grudges against Israel. When God led Israel out of Egypt the Ammonites and the Moabites not only refused to help their cousins, they hired a prophet named Balaam the son of Beor to curse Israel. The King of the Moabites said:

Numbers 22:6 (ESV) Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.

Balaam went to God in prayer, and told God what the Moabites wanted. The Bible says:

Numbers 22:12 (ESV) God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

Though God told Balaam not to curse Israel, and he told the Moabites this, they persisted and Balaam went to do their bidding. But God stopped him by stopping his donkey, and actually spoke through the donkey to Balaam. Balaam went with the Moabites, but only blessed Israel. Though the Moabites could not get Balaam to curse Israel, in time they infiltrated the nation of Israel with their daughters. We read:

Numbers 25:1-3 (ESV) While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

Israel Was In Bondage Because She Departed From God’s Word

Whereas they could not have Israel cursed directly, they led Israel into cursing themselves by binding together with their godless daughters. God sent a plague on Israel that killed 24,000 people until Israel repented and returned from the false gods unto the Lord.

It was because of their hard heartedness and godless worship of false entities that the Lord forbade the Ammonites and Moabites to come into the congregation of Israel forever.

Preach: God will save whosoever will, but under either Old Covenant and New God does not want His people to blend their faith with the lost gods and goddesses. Churches flying rainbow flags will one day have to give an account unto God. Pastors that have blended with the spirit of this age, and have endorsed sexual immorality will have to give an account unto God. Pastors who preach there are many ways unto God, or that there is no Hell, or that Hell is a place of annihilation and not of eternal punishment shall have to give an account. God does not believe in blending His faith with other faiths. False faiths give numerous approaches to God. For instance, the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, iv, 11 notes “Howsoever man may approach Me, even so do I accept them; for, on all sides, whatever path they may choose is Mine”. Yet the Scripture says of Jesus:

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes
to the Father except by Me.” (John 14:6)

To those who believe God’s exclusion of the Ammonites and the Moabites from the Congregation of Israel is racist, I can only point out that God gave Ammon and Moab numerous opportunities to repent. Once they hardened their hearts – like the Egyptian hoard hardened their hearts – all that was left was the wrath of God.

Nehemiah 13:4-5 And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: 5 And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests.

How was “blended religion” introduced into the Temple? It was introduced by “Eliashib the priest”. He befriended “Tobiah”, the very same Tobiah who was friends with Sanballet the Horonite, who tried to stop the rebuilding of the walls. Tobiah is an Ammonite (see Nehemiah 2:10, 19; 4:3, 7) who did all he could to destroy the restoration of the walls. Eliashib allowed Tobiah to move into a room in the Temple “where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters”. In other words, Eliashib rented out part of the Temple, a part that was supposed to house the treasury that supported the Temple staff.

Nehemiah 13:6-8 But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king: 7 And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff to Tobiah out of the chamber.

We Are To Do Good To Our Enemies,
But Never Compromise Our Faith

Eliashib’s compromise with Tobiah is regarded by Nehemiah as “evil” (raʻ, [pronounced rah]). Jesus tells us to “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). But we always love God more. We do not compromise our worship and beliefs for the sake of pleasing the world. Tobiah did not belong housed in the Temple. According to the Law, only Levites and priests were to stay in the Temple (2 Chronicles 23:6), and only when they were on duty. When Nehemiah realized this was going on, we read “I cast forth all the household stuff to Tobiah out of the chamber”. Tobiah was an unbeliever misusing God’s Temple. Nehemiah wanted no part of it!

Nehemiah 13:9-14 Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense. 10 And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. 11 Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. 12 Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries. 13 And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were counted faithful, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren. 14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.

When compromise enters our faith, the tithe and the worship suffers. Nehemiah set the Levites and the singers back to work, and put men who were known to be faithful over the treasury.

Nehemiah 13:15-21 In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. 16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. 19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. 20 So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. 21 Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.

The people had drifted away from honoring God on the Sabbath Day. Nehemiah reminded the people that their violation of God’s Law is what brought their conquering and exile on themselves in the first place. “What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.” God will not accept send place in our lives. He wants to be first in our hearts – and He DESERVES to be so. Nehemiah ran the merchants off and demanded that the gates of the city be shut on the Sabbath day, lest the people continue down this wrong path. The Enduring Word Commentary notes:

“The New Testament makes it clear we are not under the law of the Sabbath in the same sense Israel was under the Old Covenant (Colossians 2:16-17), but we are certainly under the same obligation to make honoring God more important than making money or spending money.”

Nehemiah 13:22-27 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. 23 In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: 24 And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. 25 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. 27 Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?

Some of the Israeli men had drifted from God, and married pagan and unbelieving wives. They did this though God specifically commanded that Israel not intimately bind themselves with the lost. Nehemiah corrected the situation, some of them “plucking off their hair”. The people repented, and turned back to God. As the Book ends we read:

Nehemiah 13:29-31 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. 30 Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business; 31 And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

Nehemiah did what he could to fix the problems of Israel. But there is one thing that stands out – besides the blood sacrifices of the animals – between the Old and New Covenants. Though Nehemiah could reference the Law, and at times resort to physical violence to bring the people into one accord with God – it could not last.

In Nehemiah 10:30-39 Israel had promised that they would not bind with unbelievers, they would not buy or sell on the Sabbath, and that they would support the Temple.
Their promise lasted about 10 years.

No human endeavor can last because of the sin nature of man. Christ had not yet come to earth, and had not yet paid for sin. Christ had not yet sent the Holy Spirit of God to indwell the hearts of His people. Thus, sadly, Israel will fall again.

The Temple that was built by Solomon was destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians because God’s people would not honor His Law (2 Kings 25:9). King Cyrus of Persia (Ezra 1:2) allowed the Temple to be rebuilt under the leadership of Zerubbabel. In 39 BC King Herod would take control of the Temple, and would restore and expand Zerubbabel’s Temple with the work finishing in 63 AD. This Temple would be destroyed just 7 years later, in 70 AD as the Roman Army moves to overthrow the First Jewish Revolt. What does all this show us?

You can be religious. You can keep the Law. You can follow God for a time. But if you are not born again of the Spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, your false faith will not last. No faith that is primarily of works will save. Salvation is by faith in Christ Jesus. The Temple died after Israel rejected Jesus Christ as Messiah. Today, those who are born again of the Spirit (John 3:1, 3, 7; 1 Peter 1:3) through faith in Jesus Christ are the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-16; Ephesians 2:21).

And this Temple cannot be torn down by anything but faithlessness. Let us bind our hearts to Jesus, for the glory of God forever. Amen and Amen!

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Be Of One Mind (Do You Really Believe?)

Posted on September 12, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Andres Ayrton: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-in-park-supporting-each-other-6551313/

1 Peter 3:8-9 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

I believe the Bible to be divinely inspired, that is, it’s writing was directed by God through His Apostles and Prophets. Every one of these 66 Books reflects the mind of God. As God never changes (Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 40:8, et al), I believe each Book supports the other.

These Scriptures are 66 Books that are in one accord,
all to the glory of God.

Word Study: Since the Bible reflects the mind of God, I cherish and study every word. I hope you do, too. Let’s research our focal text for today. The first word in our focal text is “Finally”. I thought to look up the word “Finally” in the King James, and found the word “Finally” SIX TIMES in the King James. It is in – by order:

2 Corinthians 13:11 FINALLY, brethren, farewell …
Ephesians 6:10 FINALLY, my brethren, be strong in the Lord …
Philippians 3:1 FINALLY, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord …
Philippians 4:8 FINALLY, brethren, whatsoever things are true ….
2 Thessalonians 3:1 FINALLY, brethren, pray for us …

In the first FIVE instances where “FINALLY” is found, this is the Greek λοιπόν loipon, which means “Finally, moreover, furthermore, henceforth”. This is kind of like when a preacher says, “Finally or in conclusion”. By the way, when I do this it means nothing at all :). Listen – the word translated “FINALLY” in our focal text is the conjunction (δέ dé, {pronounced deh}), which can be rendered “AND”, “THEN”, “NOW”, “BUT”. The conjunction ties Biblical truths together. When we read:

1 Peter 3:8 {dé – AND / BUT}, be ye all of one mind…

Does Your “One Mindedness” Extend To God’s Design?

This tells us to look at what came before verse 8. We are called of God to “be ye all of one mind”, for we experienced “one mindedness” through something that happened or was written earlier in the text. What did God through Peter discuss earlier?

Biblical Marriage

When Satan wanted to destroy Paradise, and to entrap humanity in sin, he did so by perverting Biblical Marriage. The Bible says that the serpent tempted Eve to eat that which was forbidden, that

Genesis 3:6 … she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Adam could have stopped the transaction at any time, but did not. The Biblical truth is that Eve – the woman – was not even created when God gave Adam the command NOT to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17-18). As a matter of fact, God never commanded Eve to work, guard, or tend the Garden of Eden. “The Lord God took THE MAN, and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Who caused the fall of mankind into sin? The Bible says:

Romans 5:12 BY ONE MAN sin entered into the world, and death by sin …

Romans 5:17 BY ONE MAN’S OFFENSE DEATH REIGNED …

Adam was the Keeper of the Garden. Eve his wife was called of God to follow Adam. “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19). The Apostle said that “the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning” (2 Corinthians 11:3, ESV). The Scripture says:

1 Timothy 2:14 (ESV) Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

God designed marriage.

God designed marriage in the Garden of Eden.

Biblical marriage is based on the pattern of the Garden.

When our Lord Jesus was asked about marriage, He replied, “Haven’t you read that He which made them at the beginning made them MALE and FEMALE?”

Obergefell v. Hodges: In our day Biblical marriage and human sexuality is under attack. But this is no different than any other age of humanity. It may seem more widespread, but mankind has, from the fall of Adam, drifted away from God’s standards. In America, in 2015 the Supreme Court heard the case of Obergefell {pronounced OH-bər-gə-fel} v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644. Jim Obergefell sued the state of Ohio because Ohio did not recognize same sex marriages as marriage. Jim – himself a wife by his definition – wanted his partner named John Arthur to be recognized as his “husband”. The Supreme Court …

“… ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 5–4 ruling requires all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the Insular Areas to perform and recognize the marriages of same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as the marriages of opposite-sex couples, with all the accompanying rights and responsibilities.”

The Baptist Faith and Message that we adhere to states that:

“XVIII. The Family … Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.”

As God calls His people to “be of one mind”, He ties this to the context, which explores Biblical Marriage. The world not only MAY, but HAS defined marriage in ways that depart from what the Scripture says. This should not surprise anyone, nor should it be a great cause of alarm. Those who are unsaved “love darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). The Scripture says:

Proverbs 4:19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.

The lost soul “does not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness” (Psalm 82:5). Our Lord Jesus could not change the hearts of those hardened by sin and self righteousness. Jesus said,

Matthew 15:14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.

“If anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the Light is not in them” John 11:10). God has a standard – a design – for all things. God has a pattern for marriage. Those who love the Lord are to heed His pattern.

Do You Agree With God’s Pattern For The Godly Wife?

1 Peter 3:1-2 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

At this time in Church history, many women who were married to unbelieving men were hearing the Gospel of Christ and were – by faith – being saved. Many of these women had questions about how their faith should effect their marriage. Now that a woman is saved, should she – out of love for Jesus – leave her husband who was an unbeliever. After all, didn’t Jesus teach? …

Luke 14:26 (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.

Should the wife abandon the unbelieving husband. Peter says:

1 Peter 3:1 Likewise, ye wives

Word Study: The word “Likewise” is the Greek ὁμοίως homoiōs, which means “In the same way”. In chapter 2, the Apostle said:

1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.

The SERVANT was to SUBMIT their masters. Not to just the good and kind masters, but to ALL masters. Further we read:

1 Peter 2:13-14 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

The CHRISTIAN is to follow the laws of the land that are around us. Certainly we do not disobey the Word of God to do the word of man. As Jesus said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). We never rob from God the glory He is due. But insomuch as His command of our lives is not abrogated, we are to obey the laws of the land around us. When the laws of the land commanded that the Apostles not preach the Gospel,

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Christians are to obey the laws of the land as long as we may honor God in doing so. Servants are to obey even cruel masters. And now we have, “Likewise, ye wives”.

When God created the institution of marriage (and God created it – not the Supreme Court), Man was to be the leader and Woman
the follower in that union. Only Satan endorses anarchy!

This concept has come under attack because of certain forms of feminism and social justice militants. People think that submission is to degrade, or to make lesser. The truth is, no unit comprised or two or more persons can ever advance unless there is a leader. Let’s consider

The Trinity of God: Who is the Head or the Leader of the Trinity? It is God the Father. The Bible says:

1 John 4:10 (ESV) {God the Father} loved us and sent his Son to be the {atonement or covering} for our sins.

The Father sent the Son. He told His Son to GO. When Jesus came He said:

John 6:38 (ESV) I have come down from Heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.

Jesus was SENT. Jesus was under SUBMISSION. Jesus submitted to the Father so much that He said,

John 14:9 (ESV) Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.

The Father GAVE the Son for our sins (John 3:16). The Father MADE JESUS AN OFFERING for sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane three times, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42, ESV). Jesus submitted to the Father.

Does Jesus’ submission to the Father diminish Him as a Person? No! The Father said to the Son …

Hebrews 1:8 (ESV) … “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.”

The Son submits to the Father. The Holy Spirit submits to the Father, on the prayer of the Son. Jesus said:

John 14:16-17 (ESV) And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Neither Son nor Spirit are diminished by submitting to the Father. Submission does not denigrate you.

Compound units like God, like Governments, like Businesses, like Militaries, like First Responders, like Marriages and families must have leaders and followers, or they will not long exist.

Russell Moore wrote:

“In Scripture, every creature is called to submit, often in different ways and at different times. Children are to submit to their parents, although this is certainly a different sort of submission than that envisioned for marriage. Church members are to submit to faithful pastors (Hebrews 13:17). All of us are to submit to the governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17). Of course, we are all to submit, as creatures, to our God (James 4:7). … And, yes, wives are called to submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22; 1 Peter 3:1-6). … “to your own husbands” (1 Peter 3:1)”.

What does God tell Godly women who are married to ungodly men to do? Leave them? No!

1 Peter 3:1 … Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the Word, they also may without the Word be won by the conversation (ἀναστροφή anastrophē, the way of life) of the wives

Peter – who himself was married (Matthew 8:14-15; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38-39), lived for Jesus so that his wife could see how his life had changed. He now encourages women who are married to men who “obey not the Word” to live for Jesus, following the leadership of their husbands. A Godly and loving wife can make a great impression on an unsaved fellow. That man’s life is precious – Jesus died for him, too. Wives are to “be in subjection to your own husbands”. This is not to imply a woman should be degraded or humiliated by her husband. But that she should – insofar as it pleases the Lord our Savior – follow her husband’s lead. We are told:

1 Peter 3:2 While they behold your chaste conversation (ἀναστροφή anastrophē, the way of life) coupled with fear.

The Godly woman is the one who focuses more on her spiritual state than she does her outward shell. The Apostle does not say that women should not groom themselves, but that the priority in their lives needs to be their walk with God.

1 Peter 3:3-4 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Word Study: No woman has ever nagged her husband to the altar of God. The Apostle tells the wife to not focus on her fancy clothing or jewelry, but to instead pursue a “meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price”. Let’s look at these words. “Meek” is the Greek πραΰς praÿs, {pronounced prah-ooce’}, which means “mild” or “humble”, “Gentle of Spirit”. Our Lord Jesus preached in His Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek {praÿs} for they shall inherit the earth.

It is not the loud, the arrogant, the narcissist, the braggart that will inherit God’s Kingdom. It is the humble spirit that will stand with Christ in glory. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem just prior to His crucifixion, He rode in “meek {praÿs}, and sitting on an ass” (Matthew 21:5).

Word Study: The wife is also to have a “quiet spirit”. This is the Greek ἡσύχιος hēsýchios, {pronounced hay-soo’-khee-os}, which means “one who pursues peace”. This is commanded of all Christians. We are not to go about stirring up trouble, but are to be peacemakers (see 1 Thessalonians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 Timothy 2:2,11,12). The Apostle now refers to Sarah, Abraham’s wife:

1 Peter 3:5-6 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

Abraham is recognized in the Scripture as the father of faith. His wife Sarah is the mother of faith. She followed Abraham as he traveled following the Lord into the Promised Land. When Abram (young in his faith) asked Sarai to say “I am Abram’s sister” (Genesis 12:10-20), she did so, even though what he asked was faithless. God honored and protected Sarai, and later Sarah, as she followed Abram’s lead. Sarai never had to worry about being mistreated. Beloved, God will take care of you!

Do You Agree With God’s Pattern For The Godly Husband?

1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Word Study: Earlier the Apostle addressed the wives with “Likewise, ye wives”. Now he uses the same form, but toward the men: “Likewise, ye husbands”. The word “Likewise” is again the Greek ὁμοίως homoiōs Likewise, which means “in a similar manner, in the same way”.

The wife submits to the leadership of her husband,
but the husband submits to and honors his wife.

The Apostle Paul explores the man’s submission in the marriage in:

Ephesians 5:25-29 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

As Jesus loves His Church and gives Himself for us, we are to love our wives. We are to be willing to die for our wives as the need arises. We are to love our wives “as our own bodies”. Peter said – as the Spirit led him – that husbands are to “give honor unto the wife”. The phrase “give honor” is the Greek ἀπονέμω τιμή aponemō timē, which means “to bestow or dispense honor as befitting the rank of another, to highly value as a precious creation”. Paul related the marriage between husband and wife as similar to the marriage between Christ and Church. Jesus bestows honor and blessing on His Church. He demands that we excel, and works through the Spirit of God to make us excel. Jesus Christ gave up everything for our benefit as His Church. In like manner, the husband – once married – is to give up everything to His wife.

I find so many young couples today who – after experimentally “living together” (something the Bible calls “fornication” [Ephesians 5:3; Galatians 5:19; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; et al] or “sexual immorality” [1 Corinthians 6:18; Matt. 19:9; 1 Corinthians 6:13; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3]), they want to be married and yet remain single at the same time. The first thing I ask when young couples come to me is, “So whose bank account will be closed?”. I get some awfully silly looks. You cannot come into a marriage with an unmarried mindset. God has specifically designed marriage a certain way. In that marriage the husband leads the unit, the wife follows, and together they – with one mind – raise their children. The husband is to respect and care for his wife, following Christ as she follows him. The husband is to regard “as unto the weaker vessel”. She does not have the body strength that a man has. When husbands regard their wives as “weaker vessels”, this does not mean they are less spiritual or lower class citizens. The Apostle said:

1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life…

Your wife is just as valuable to God as you are. She is equally a believer-priest, with access to our High Priest, Jesus Christ. She is an heir of God just as you are. When salvation and the blessings of salvation are ministered by God, the Scripture says:

Galatians 3:8 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

It is in the marriage unit that we learn – through that intimate bond – how to respond to and interact with others. Going back to our focal text:

1 Peter 3:8-9 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

I believe that much of the madness that has grasped America and America’s Churches is because we as a nation has wandered away from God’s design for marriage. As goes the marriage, so goes the community and the country. If the marriage is a mess, then the fruit of that marriage, the children, will be a mess.

God calls His people to a better walk. We are not to “render evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing”. People learn to do this in the environment of a Biblical marriage. Children learn to respect authority in a Biblical marriage. May God lead you to the joy of a Biblical marriage! It is in this that you will “inherit a blessing”. And the good Lord knows, we as a nation need a blessing. For Christ’s glory, and through His Spirit. Amen and Amen.

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Christ Suffered & Left An Example

Posted on September 11, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by James Wheeler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/foot-prints-in-gray-sand-1522285/

The last time we met I closed the sermon with:

1 Peter 2:21-24 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

I thought this week to begin preaching through 1 Peter chapter 3. And yet, as I thought to do so, the Lord impressed on my heart that we need to more closely examine this passage – especially since today is Communion Sunday. Focus on these words for just a moment:

1 Peter 2:21 Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps

Christ Suffered For Us

The first part of this text I want to address is “Christ suffered for US”. Let’s define this. First of all, how did CHRIST SUFFER?

First of all, Jesus suffered DEMOTION for us

Jesus is the eternal Son of God, Heaven’s glorious King. When Jesus prayed before going to the Cross, He said:

John 17:5, 24 (ESV) … Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. … 24 … because you loved me before the foundation of the world…

God the Father loved the Son “before the foundation of the world”. Jesus Christ was with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit before creation was ever made. The Bible tells us that Jesus had a part in Creation. We are told in …

John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

When the Father said “Let there be light”, His command ran through Jesus Christ. When the Spirit moved on the face of the water, the Spirit’s power ran through Christ. The Scripture says:

Colossians 1:16-17 (ESV) … For by {Jesus} all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Christ Jesus, God the Son, is Creator God. All of Creation was formed “through him and for him”. The Father decreed Creation because He gave it as a Gift to his Son. Creation itself is HELD TOGETHER because of Christ. It is the love of Christ that keeps an asteroid from space from hitting earth, wiping us out. It is the power of Christ that holds all things together. Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The Christian believes that:

1 Corinthians 8:6 … there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

When John the Revelator looked into Heaven, He saw Jesus sitting on a throne. All around Jesus there was worship, and casting of crowns, as the people praised God, saying:

Revelation 4:11 (ESV) “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

The Scripture tells us that …

Hebrews 1:2-3 (ESV) in these last days {The Father} has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the Heir of all things, through Whom also he created the world. 3 {Jesus Christ} is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…

Our Lord Jesus took a demotion, allowing Himself to be incarnate through a virgin called Mary. When the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she was to bear a Child, he said:

Luke 1:35 … The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Holy God the Son, ever Eternal, was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death (Hebrews 2:9-14). Jesus allowed Himself to be made a HOLY THING, Someone never before seen in all of creation. God became Man so that He could pay for the sins of Man. The Bible says:

Hebrews 2:9 (ESV) … that by the grace of God {Jesus} might taste death for everyone.

Man is fallen. We have wandered from God, and are lost in the wilderness of Sin. So God sent us a Healer, a Hero Who would stand up for us. Jesus was demoted from God to Man for us.

Second, Jesus suffered DISGRACE for us

When Jesus came to this earth, it was not to a ticker tape parade, nor to a celebration in the streets. Jesus Christ was born in a little town called Bethlehem. The Bible says:

Luke 2:7 (ESV) {Mary} gave birth to her firstborn son {Jesus} and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Heaven rejoiced in amazement when Jesus was born in the manger than night, but earth barely knew it. A few shepherds came to see the “HOLY THING” called Jesus, but when they went out to tell others what they saw …. no one came. Jesus grew up in a small town named Nazareth. After John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the “Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), the Bible tells us that Jesus went out and began preaching. We read:

Mark 3:13, 20-21 (ESV) … {Jesus} went up on the mountain and called to Him those whom He desired, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve {Apostles}… 20 {Jesus} went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

His family thought Jesus had lost His mind. How could a Man be the Messiah? Yet Jesus declared He was the Messiah, that He was Eternal God in human form. Jesus told the Pharisees who constantly attacked Him:

John 8:58 … Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.

Taking the most Holy Name of God to Himself. The Pharisees knew that Jesus was claiming to be God Incarnate, for “they took up stones to cast at Him” (John 8:59). This was not the first time, nor the last, that the Pharisees would try and kill Jesus. Several times they tried to kill Jesus. When Jesus asked, “For what good deed are you going to stone Me?” (John 10:32). They replied,

John 10:33 (ESV) … “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. I have before proved it. But think, how hard it would be, knowing Who you are, to be stoned to death for declaring the truth. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Oh, how He was humiliated in this life! When Jesus healed people, the Pharisees said:

Matthew 9:34 & 12:24 … He casts out demons by the prince of demons …

When you do good, but it is slandered as bad, isn’t this a great hurt? Yes, Jesus suffered this. At any time He could have walked away, but He did not. The Prophet Isaiah said that when the Messiah came, His trademark would be suffering:

Isaiah 53:2-3 (ESV) … He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Oh, how Jesus suffered. With a wave of His hand
He could make it all go away.
His suffering shows us how evil sin is!

His suffering reveals to us the horror and ugliness of sin. It is sin that caused religion to slander Jesus. It is sin that hated Him Who did no evil. It is sin manifested outside the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus is taken. And yet it is the love of God that requires Jesus to walk that terrible green mile. The Bible says that – following a mock trial where false witnesses were hired to speak against Him – Jesus was turned over to the soldiers.

Luke 22:63-64 (NKJV) … the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. 64 And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?”

Though Pilate found “no fault in this Man” (Luke 23:4), the crowd – drunk with sin – demanded His death. “Release the murderer Barabbas, and crucify Jesus!” (Matthew 27:21). The soldiers took Jesus …

Matthew 27:28-31 (NKJV) they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

Then Jesus was crucified between two thieves. The Lord of Glory is nailed, naked, to a Cross, shamed and denied. Oh, how Jesus suffered! But the greatest suffering occurred when our sins were put on Jesus Christ and judged.

Did Christ Suffer For US Just To Take Us To Heaven?

The Bible says in Matthew 27:45-46 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

In English, a Rhetorical Question is one in which the questioner does not expect an answer. Jesus knew why He was forsaken. He was forsaken for our sins.

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Jesus bore our sins on His Body. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 5:21 For {God the Father} hath made {Jesus} to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

God put my sins, your sins, on Christ.
Jesus suffered DEMOTION for us.
Jesus suffered DISGRACE for us.
And finally,

Jesus suffered DEATH for us

Paying the penalty for our sins, Jesus died on that Cross of Calvary. Jesus could heal the lepers, the cripples, the demon possessed, the blind, the deaf, the dumb. Jesus could cure the physical hurts that we as fallen creatures often find in these pitiful human frames. Yet

of all that Jesus healed, He could not fix the penalty of sin
for us without willingly giving up His life.

No one took Jesus’ life. Jesus willingly laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:15-17). Peter said, “Jesus, I will lay down my life for Your sake” (John 13:37). But Peter did not. He, like us, is broken. But Jesus said, “I lay down My life. NO MAN TAKETH IT FROM ME, BUT I LAY IT DOWN OF MYSELF” (John 10:18). Jesus laid His life down. Why? The Scripture says:

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Jesus suffered for our sins, not just to take us to Heaven, but to “bring us to God”. How does Jesus bring us to God? He paid for our sins. He sends the Holy Spirit to call us. He is calling you to believe and receive Him, if you have not done so already. The Bible says “Christ suffered FOR US”. Who is the US? It is those who have RECEIVED HIM as Lord and Savior. The Bible says:

John 3:15-16 That WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE … 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.

Christ suffered for us to HEAL US OF OUR SINS. It is sin that is destroying America today. Sin is a fire that burns down all that is good. Sin brings disease, and death.

Jesus Christ came to KILL OUR SIN DEBT, to make us right with God, to bring us into the FAMILY OF GOD, to take us from darkness and into the wonderful light of God!

Jesus said, John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

Jesus did not suffer for us to give us an eventual home in Heaven with God. Jesus suffered and died to make payment for our sins so that He might bring us into the Family of God. The Bible says:

Acts 10:43 … whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins …

Romans 9:33; 10:11 … whosoever believeth on Him shall NOT be ashamed …

Those who believe in Jesus are saved from sin and darkness. God did not save us just to take us to Heaven, but to bring Heaven to us.

We who are saved are CALLED to be sons of God,
imitating THE Son of God.

1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Jesus’ death paid for our sins so that we could be made right with God. But listen:

Preach This!

Couldn’t Jesus have just became human, and go to Calvary to pay for our sins?
Why did He have to be born of Mary?
Why did He have to grow up in Nazareth?
Why did Jesus have to suffer so much prior to and at the Cross?
Why was Jesus DEMOTED, DISGRACED, and brought to DEATH?

Word Study: Because Jesus is our Example. As Children of God, Jesus established a pattern we are to copy. The word translated “EXAMPLE” is the Greek word hupogrammos {hoop-og-ram-mos’}, a very interesting word. The best way I know how to explain this word is to go back to grade school. I remember when I was very young and in school, we had these pads of paper with lines and dots on them. The lines and dots were there so that us children could properly form our letters. The teacher would tell us to form the letter “A”, then we would watch her as she formed the letter. We would try to copy her letter just as she formed it. In the very front of our writing pads we had a set of examples showing us how the letters should be properly formed. These examples were writing copies, the Greek hupogrammos {hoop-og-ram-mos’}. Jesus Christ is the hupogrammos, the writing copy. As our Writing Copy we are commanded to “follow his steps”. This is the Greek epakoloutheo {pronounced ep-ak-ol-oo-theh’-o} + ichnos {pronounced ikh’-nos} = which means to follow closely in the tracks or impressions of . What is intended for us is that we stay close to Jesus, following so close to Him that our tracks perfectly fit in His. Jesus gave us a pattern to follow.

Saved by Grace, we are to live in Grace. God has given us the Example as to how He wants us to live.

1 Peter 2:23Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously:

When Jesus was attacked, He did not attack back.
He left vengeance in the hands of the Father.

Illustrate: I have recently watched with horror as, in our political system and on social media, people are attacking one another. One side pours acid on the other, and then the other side pours lighter fluid. What is this doing for our country? It is burning it down. The Bible says:

Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Word Study: The lost world uses terrible tactics to attack each other. Beloved, the sons of God are to be like THE Son of God. What did Jesus do? “When He was reviled, reviled not again”. Jesus glorified God in His life, though He was hated without a cause. Jesus never fought fire with fire. The word “reviled” is the Greek λοιδορέω loidoréō, {pronounced loy-dor-eh’-o}, which means “to heap abuse upon someone, to reproach and tear down another”. Jesus refused to play Satan’s game. “When He suffered, He threatened not”. Jesus trusted in the Father. He did not seek to avenge Himself though He could, with but a whisper, have destroyed all of creation. Jesus will not – would not – do that. He came to save, not to destroy.

Do you know my Jesus?

If you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are called to follow in His steps. You are not to be a part of the evil that darkens our world today. You are called to “walk in the light, as Jesus is in the light” (1 John 1:7). We are children of Light, of Love, of God. We obey our Jesus. We end with this:

1 Peter 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Jesus is our Shepherd and our Bishop. We follow Him if we are saved. And Beloved, if you are not saved …. would you hear His call? Would you believe He died for your sins, to bring you to God? If you do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior, today is a GREAT DAY to be saved. May God lead you to the Great Shepherd Who laid His life down – and continues to lay His life down – for His sheep. Amen and amen!

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