Without …

Posted on April 24, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Max Muselmann on Unsplash

Today we shall focus on texts from Hebrews 9 through Hebrews 12. To start, please turn with me in your Bibles to:

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Without The Blood, There Is No Salvation

Word Study: The word translated “without” is the Greek χωρίς chōrís, [pronounced kho-rece’], which means “separately or apart from”.

I believe every person who is honest will admit that we are all broken. We are not broken because God made us this way. We are broken because of Adam. God gave Adam a clear set of rules to obey – and he broke them. So God gave Adam what He promised to give him. “The day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die”.

It was sin that caused God to send Adam and Eve outside the Garden of Eden. But before God sent them out into a sin influenced world, God shed the blood of animals to cover Adam and Eve’s sinful act of rebellion. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

That poor animal had nothing to do with man’s fall, yet that animal was sacrificed. It’s blood was shed, and the shed blood provided a covering for man’s sin. “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Leviticus 17:11, ESV). The blood of the innocent animal was slain from that time forward. When the Law was given to Israel on Mount Sinai, the Law told Israel to make sacrifices in first the Tabernacle (the mobile Temple), and then later in the Temple.

Animal Sacrifices Were Temporary: To explain how offensive sin is to God, the Lord for many years gave humanity the animal sacrifices. The center of the Tabernacle or the Temple was the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy of Holies. At this Holy of Holies the High Priest made sacrifice for the sins of the people. God “winked at” (Acts 17:30) sin, giving Israel a temporary atonement or covering for sin in the animal sacrifices. The Gentiles never made these sacrifices, but the Jews did. The Tabernacle or Temple was the only place that forgiveness of sin could be granted. The Temple and the Altar of the Ark were given to Israel to show us how sin horribly separates us from God. But Israel did not understand.

Early in His ministry our Lord Jesus chased the money changers and the sellers out of the Temple (John 2:14-16), causing the Jewish Leaders to ask:

“What sign do You show us for doing these things?”
(John 2:18, ESV)

What they were asking Jesus for was authority. They were asking, “By what authority do you do these things, running the sellers out of the Temple. Show us your identification. Show us your right to vote. You have no right to do this!” Jesus replied simply,

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
(John 2:19, ESV)

The Jews thought that Jesus was talking about the Temple. They said, “It took 46 years to build this Temple – and You think you can raise it up if it’s destroyed?” But Jesus was talking about Himself. Jesus was foretelling His death, and His resurrection. Jesus would die on Calvary, and would rise from the grave in three days. Jesus would chiefly be executed at the request of the priests and the Pharisees, who had forgotten why the Temple and the Altar existed.

God would eventually destroy the Temple because of their failure. As Jesus and His disciples passed by the Temple one day, the disciples remarked …

“Look, {Jesus}, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” (Mark 13:1, ESV)

Our Jesus replied, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” WHY WOULD THE TEMPLE BE TORN DOWN?

Because of sin.
Because the Messiah – the Lamb of God – had come.

As humans, we minimize that which the Bible calls “sin”. We shouldn’t, but we do. Sin is to God as poison ivy is to us. God despises sin. His nature is sin free. God hates sin. Sin is anything that runs contrary to God’s design.

Sin brings darkness. Sin brings suffering. The Psalmist said of God, “You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You” (Psalm 5:4). God hates sin because God is holy, without sin. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). Sin is to God as:

Putrefying sores (Isaiah 1:6)
Heavy burdens (Psalm 38:4)
Defiling filth (Titus 1:15; 2 Corinthians 7:1)
Binding debts (Matthew 6:12-15)
Darkness (1 John 1:6)
Scarlet stains (Isaiah 1:18)

God hates sin. Sin calls for death, separation from God. God despises sin because it causes His creation (us) to be far from His embrace. Sin separates us from God (Colossians 1:21). Evil is sin’s outworking.

BEFORE THE CROSS the ONLY place you could receive forgiveness for sins was at the Temple.

BEFORE THE CROSS the ONLY way you could receive forgiveness of sins was by sacrifice of animals via the priests of Israel.

What Animal Sacrifices Teach Us

Only by the shedding of blood is there remission of sin. Why was it shedding of animal blood? Because a sinner cannot pay for the sins of another sinner. Man is fallen. We are all broken, all sinners. Innocent animals were sacrificed to cover man’s sins, but this covering was temporary and insufficient.

A perfect Man was needed to make proper payment for our sins. There were no perfect Men, so God made one!

The broken cannot make a perfect Man – so God decided to do so. God Himself entered into His creation as Jesus Christ. The Book of Hebrews tells us that it is only Jesus that can make purification for sin (Hebrews 1:3). It is only Jesus Who – among all humans – entered this world without sin. It is Jesus that the Father said,

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

Jesus Christ is God the Son, Who came into this world to save us from our sins. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 2:17 {Jesus} … had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation {to COVER} for the sins of the people.

Before Jesus came, the only means by which sin could be covered was by animal sacrifice. Jesus entered this world through a virgin, born of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was, is, and will always be without sin. Jesus came to be both the High Priest of the believer as well as the Lamb of God that takes away sin (John 1:29). The Scripture says:

Hebrews 4:14-15 (ESV) Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Under the old Temple system of the Law the blood of animals was offered to cover sin. But when Jesus came, He came – a perfect Man – to give Himself for our sins. We are told:

Hebrews 9:12-14 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood {Jesus} entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

It is the Blood that caused God to pass over judging and condemning people. He told Israel, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you”. The blood of the animal represented a temporary covering for sin. But when God became Perfect Man, and yielded Himself up for our sins, faith in Him makes a permanent covering for our sins. What does the Scripture say?

Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

It is the blood that saves us. It is your faith in the blood of Christ, His once for all sacrifice, that covers your sins so that we might “serve the living God”. How do we know that

1 John 1:7 (ESV) … the Blood of Jesus, {God’s} Son, cleanses us from all sin

? … We know this because Jesus, truly dying, rose again from the grave. Jesus told the Jews, “Tear THIS Temple down, and I will raise it up in three days”. We saw that before. Jesus did this. He rose from the grave.

The Campus Ministry formerly known as “Campus Crusade for Christ” notes:

“Jesus made numerous appearances to His followers. He comforted the mourners outside His tomb on Sunday morning. On the Road to Emmaus, He explained things about Himself from the Old Testament. Later, He ate in their presence and invited them to touch Him. Scripture records that Jesus was seen by more than 500 at one time. Some may argue that a few people could have agreed to a deception, but how can one explain the collaboration of 500 people?”

It is the blood of Jesus Christ that paid the penalty for my sin, and your sin. If you do not receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, believing He is the one and only way to have your sins covered – then you are under the condemnation of God.

You Must Believe (Have Faith In)
The Lord Jesus To Be Saved

The first text we studied was …

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Word Study: where the word translated “without” is the Greek χωρίς chōrís, [pronounced kho-rece’], which means “separately or apart from”. The next time we examine this “without” (chōrís) is in the text of:

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

The Blood shed by Jesus was shed for us all – but if you do not receive this truth by faith then you cannot be saved. “WITHOUT (chōrís) faith it is impossible to please {God}”. God requires the guilty to be punished. His holiness demands this. But God will allow an Innocent to take our place. The Innocent that takes our place is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God’s Only Begotten Son. That phrase, “Only Begotten”, means that Jesus, though a Member of the Godhead, lowered Himself to be born into this, His creation. God became Man for one purpose.

To die for our sin.

As God, Jesus is pre-existent with God the Father. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS GOD” (John 1:1-2). Jesus is equal to God in all aspects, as He is God. But “the Word BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US” (John 1:14).

God became Perfect Man, with the intent of bringing
Imperfect Man to God.

Jesus Christ is perfect and “WITHOUT SIN” (Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews 9:28). To be saved you must trust what the Scripture declares of Jesus. The Evangelist Billy Graham said,

“Faith is believing and receiving what God has revealed
in His Word, the Bible.”

Though we are fallen creatures, Jesus is NOT. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. We must have faith in Him, calling upon Him and Him alone to be saved. Jesus Christ and the Cross of Calvary replaces the animal sacrifices and the Temple and Ark of God. Jesus Christ dying on the Cross replaces the lamb that was slain. Jesus Christ is the:

“Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”
(John 1:29, 36)

There is no other Lamb. There is no other way. There is no other Messiah. There is no other truth. The Psalmist, looking forward to the coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ, wrote:

Psalm 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

When Jesus walked this earth, where was He often found? Among sinners. The Pharisees could not understand this. They asked, “Why does your Master eat with publicans and sinners?” Why would He Who is sinless spend so much time among sinners? Jesus told the Pharisees:

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

Jesus did not come to this earth to enable sinners to sin. Jesus came to this earth to make payment to God for the sinners sin, and to lead the sinner “to repentance”.

Faith – genuine faith – is both a COMING TO
and a STAYING WITH God.

What does our text say?

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

Faith is not a temporal thing. Faith is a reclining on God, an absolute reliance on His promises. Jesus Christ is “a friend of publicans and sinners”. He doesn’t want any to stay in sin – for sin is horrendous! But Jesus “came to call SINNERS to REPENTANCE” (Mark 2:17). What wonderful news the Gospel is. We are told:

Romans 5:8-9 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.

God does not leave sinners in the sins. No, but God causes a REPENTANCE from sin to those who believe. One of my favorite Bible stories is that of Zacchaeus, a tax collector. His story is only found in the Gospel of Luke. The Bible tells us that Jesus saw Zacchaeus up in a tree, and called to him:

Luke 19:5-6 Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And (Zacchaeus) made haste, and came down, and received {Jesus} joyfully.

This is faith, saving faith. Zacchaeus’ sinful lifestyle choices caused him to be shunned, and up a tree. But Jesus called Zacchaeus, and Zacchaeus “received {Jesus} joyfully”. Embracing Jesus, Zacchaeus said:

Luke 19:8 Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

Salvation – genuine salvation – is always accompanied with repentance, a change of heart. Whereas Zacchaeus once worshiped money, now he worships Jesus. He loves Jesus more than he loves sin. And Jesus said:

Luke 19:9-10 This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

A true “son of Abraham” is the person who exhibits the faith of Abraham. The Apostle Paul put it this way:

Romans 4:3, For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. .. 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. 11 {Abraham is} … the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

Salvation comes by faith in God’s provision of salvation. Abraham believed God, and his faith in God was counted to him as righteousness. Beloved, you must believe.

You must receive Jesus Christ as the LAMB of God.
You must receive Jesus Christ as the LORD of life.
You receive the LORD and the LAMB by faith.

Genuine Salvation Is Always Accompanied
With External Evidence

Word Study: Where else do we see the word translated “without”? {The Greek χωρίς chōrís, [pronounced kho-rece’], which means “separately or apart from”}. It is found in:

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

On the day that you understood the need for the Blood, and have called upon Jesus and Jesus alone for salvation, God the Holy Spirit does a work in your life. He brings the believer in Christ to a place where we are “children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). We are adopted into the Family of God by the Holy Spirit (). And – listen Beloved – our outward actions and works begin to be in accordance with the holiness of God. The only Apostle to die of old age was John. The Apostle wrote:

1 John 3:10 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.

James, the stepbrother of Christ put it this way:

James 2:20, 26 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? .. 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

If you are saved by faith in Christ, you walk in LIGHT, NOT IN DARKNESS. You follow after Jesus. You live your life to please your Heavenly Father. Billy Graham said:

“I cannot work my way to Heaven. After I receive Jesus as Savior, I prove my faith with my works. … After I’m saved, I’m sinning every minute of every day I’m not working for Jesus …”

There are many on local Church rolls all around the world who profess to be children of God, saved by faith in Jesus. And yet, they walk in darkness. Does not the Scripture say:

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

If you are saved, truly saved, your life will show it. You will walk separate from the world. You will shun sin. When you fall into sin, you will repent of sin quickly, and get back in step with Jesus. You will love God and love others. Jesus said:

John 8:12 … I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

God the Holy Spirit does not make stillborn children. If you walk apart from God as a believer, God will chasten you until you repent. If you do not repent, you may find yourselves meeting death prematurely. Christians are to walk in the light of God and His Word. If you are a Christian, you have this promise of God:

1 John 3:2-3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

“As Jesus is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). The Christian belongs to God. The Christian is purchased by the Blood of Jesus. The Christian is to walk in the light. If you are indeed saved, your works will show it. You will love God with your all. You will love your neighbor as yourself. You will lover your fellow Christian sacrificially. This is the truth of the Scripture. This is the Word of the Gospel.

May God the Holy Spirit move in your lives, drawing you to His side this very day. Amen and Amen!

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The Apostle’s Prayer

Posted on April 24, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Revelation … the 9th book from the end of the Bible. As Wednesday night is “Prayer Meeting” night, we have been looking at various prayers in the Bible. The early Apostles asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). With those words Jesus gave us what we today call “The Lord’s Prayer”. Though the “Lord’s Prayer” is a beautiful model of prayer, there are many prayers in the Bible. The Bible is given to us to grow us as believers. The Apostle said in

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect (ἄρτιος ártios, [pronounced ar’-tee-os] COMPLETE or MATURE AS A BELIEVER), thoroughly furnished unto all good works (we are ORDERED to do GOOD WORKS – Ephesians 2:10).

God gave the Scripture as the means by which the Christian grows into spiritual maturity. As the Word of God increases in the soul of the believer and in the life of the Church, the Gospel spreads. When “the Word of God increased … the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly (Acts 6:7). When Herod the King was destroyed by the angel of the Lord, because he gave not God the glory, “the Word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:23-24). God’s Word grows us.

Are you in Hebrews 13? We will look at:

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

This is one of five prayers found in the Book of Hebrews.

What is interesting about the Book of Hebrews is that – unlike the other Apostolic writings – this Book does not tell us who it’s Author is.

Yes, I know God wrote the Book. The Apostle Peter tells us that the “prophecy came not by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The Church has long held that the Book of Hebrews was written by an Apostle, but God never told us which Apostle wrote the Book. God had a reason for this.

The early Church was persecuted for following Jesus, persecuted by both Gentiles as well as Jewish leaders. By masking the writer of this Book, God protected him from attacks from Judea and from his own family.

What can we learn from this prayer?

1. A prayer does not have to be LONG to be effective – but it mustglorify God. There are many short prayers in Scripture that God answered. There is the Prayer of Peter, when he was walking on water and started sinking:

“Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30)

Jesus answered that prayer, for He reached out His hand to catch and keep Peter from drowning. There is the Prayer of Blind Bartimaeus, who asked Jesus,

“Lord, let me receive my sight.” (Mark 10:51)

Or the Prayer of the Ten Lepers,

“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13)

Jesus Christ is LORD. He is MASTER. The Bible says:

Philippians 2:8-10 And being found in fashion as a man, {Jesus} humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, … 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is LORD. This is the name that the Father has given to the Son. LORD. This is the name that the Spirit acknowledges is Christ’s. HE IS LORD. When we confess Him LORD, we give glory to God the Father.

Our prayers must glorify God – not ourselves. It must glorify His limitless Grace, and our unbounding weakness. When the Pharisee prayed in the Temple he prayed:

Luke 18:11-12 … God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

The Pharisee glorified himself in the prayer – not God. The Publican, however prayed:

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)

We can pray and ask many things of God – children often ask their parents for things which they ought not have, things which the loving parent will never grant. And yet, God does not mind our asking it – though He will not grant it if it does not glory Him and benefit the supplicant. In the Apostle’s prayer today, he prays “to {God} be glory for ever and ever”. Every prayer should glorify God! One of the shortest prayers in the Bible is one our Jesus prayed in:

John 12:28 Father, glorify Thy Name.

The Father answered Jesus immediately. He said, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again”. The prayer that glorifies God will be answered, for God will glorify His Name.

2. Prayer that God honors must be true to the teachings of the Scripture. God will not honor prayer that does not honor His Word. Notice how the Apostle weaves Scripture truth into his prayer.

Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant..

There is a lot of Bible in this prayer! Our God is “the God of peace”. It is God Who initiates peace between us and Him – though He Himself is the aggrieved party. God made peace with us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die for our sins. The Apostle wrote earlier:

Hebrews 13:12-13 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

God “sanctif[ied]” or set us apart from the lost world by shedding of “His own blood”. Jesus willing “suffered without the gate”. This means He stepped out of His comfort zone, and went outside the gates of Jerusalem to a garbage dump called Golgotha to make payment for our sins. Jesus went to a place outside of the civilized world to give Himself for us. We should be willing to remain sanctified or set apart from the lost world, as Jesus was and is.

The shedding of blood “without the gate” is what makes us right with God. We read:

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

We have “peace with God” not because we are worthy, but because Jesus Christ took our condemnation on Himself.

He bore the blows that we should have received for sin. We honor God by receiving Christ as Savior.

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.

Those without Christ cannot pray and expect anything from God – unless their prayer is to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When we affirm what God has declared, that

1 Peter 2:24 … {Jesus} Himself bore 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 died for us. But He not only died, but rose from the grave.

Hebrews 13:20 the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus

It is God the Holy Spirit Who caused Christ to become incarnate – made of flesh. The Angel said to Mary, “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.” (Luke 1:35). The Spirit gave Jesus flesh. The FATHER resurrected Jesus from the dead. In Acts 2:24, Peter preached “God raised Jesus from the dead”. And we are told in

Galatians 1:1 … God the Father, who raised {Jesus} from the dead …

The Bible also says that Jesus raised Himself from the dead (John 2:9; 10:18). God raised Christ from the dead. Jesus is the acceptable sacrifice for our sins. But Jesus is also:

Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant..

the “great shepherd of the sheep” as well as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Jesus Christ is our Sacrifice, but He is also our Savior and Lord. He lives to lead us as His people. We are saved by “the blood of the everlasting covenant”. Jesus as perfect Man died for us. Jesus as perfect Man paid for our sins. Jesus as perfect Man was raised from the grave. But Jesus as GOD leads us. His Blood is eternal. Because of Christ, we who are saved are in an “everlasting covenant”.

3. Prayer that God honors brings requests according to God’s will. We read:

Hebrews 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Word Study: The verb rendered “Make you perfect” is the Greek καταρτίζω katartízō, {pronounced kat-ar-tid’-zo}. It doesn’t mean to make perfect, but to bring to a state of usefulness. We see the verb used in

Matthew 4:21 …. mending {katartízō} their nets

for fishermen restoring their nets to what they originally were meant to be. The word is used by Paul in:

1 Corinthians 1:10 … I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together {katartízō} in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Where the Church is called into unity in Christ.

The word {katartízō} means to be restored to what you should have been, to be completed, or made fit or able.

Believers are called to work TOGETHER for the glory of God. God’s people are called to do all of God’s will, doing good toward God and those around us for the glory of Christ’s Kingdom. We do not belong to this world, but to Eternity. Again we read:

Hebrews 13:14-16 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 15 By {Jesus} therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

The Apostle’s Prayer is that the Church not just HEAR the Word of God, but DO it, knowing that – though it be unpopular on this earth – we do not belong to this earth.

The commentator Arthur W. Pink writes:

“…a man cannot be a good Christian without doing God’s will. If it be God’s will that he should restrain from an act or practice, he dare not proceed to do it: see Jeremiah 35:6; Acts 4:19. On the other hand, if it be the revealed mind of God that he should do something, he dare not omit it, no matter how it cross his inclination or fleshly interests: “To him that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). It is not enough that we thoroughly understands the will of God: we must do it; and the more we do it, the better shall we understand: John 7:17.”

The Apostle prayed that the Church would learn to DO God’s will – and in so doing, we learn more of God. Jesus said:

John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

The Apostle is praying that Christ’s Church would be busy to do our Lord’s Will. He prayed that God would …

Hebrews 13:21 Make you {complete} in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ;

that the Church would work together to do good works as God defines good works, and that every work of the Church would be “well pleasing in his sight”. We are called to please our Lord in our individual lives. We are called to please the Lord by the outward works we produce for Him. We are reminded daily that our God is the Silent Witness of all we do or don’t do. The Scripture says:

Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

As His Church, as His People, let us live …

1 Thessalonians 2:4 … not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

Let us …

Colossians 1:10 … walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God

God expects our loving labor for Him. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 14:6). The faith that saved is is a “faith that worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6). The Apostle’s prayer is that the Church BE the Church, BE the Lighthouse of God in a dark and doomed world. While there is life in us, let us live for our God, serving Him “acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).

May God touch our hearts to do so, especially in these dark days of America. Amen and Amen!

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Prayer Makes Us Like God’s Own Heart

Posted on April 19, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

As this is Wednesday night and our focus is “Prayer Meeting”, I have taken to giving a devotional that focuses on Biblical Prayers. Tonight we are looking at a prayer of David found in Psalm 16. God said of David:

Acts 13:22 (ESV) … I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.

Why did God call David “a man after my heart”? Was it because David was flawless? No, for David as King allowed sin to entice him into evil. Everyone knows of David’s murdering of Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:9-10), so that he could take Bathsheba to be his wife. David already had a wife, King Saul’s younger daughter Michal (1 Samuel 18:20-27), when he pursued Bathsheba. While David was a fugitive, running from King Saul, he married Abigail (1 Samuel 25:39-41), the widow of a surly shepherd named Nabal. David also “took Ahinoam of Jezreel” (1 Samuel 25:43) to be his wife. David also married “Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, the mother of Absalom” as well as “Haggith”, the mother of Adonijah (1 Chronicles 3:2). To say that David had a “complicated” family life is an understatement!

David was flawed, but David pursued God in prayer. God was the true Love of His life.

Is God The True Love Of Your Life?

Psalm 16:1-2 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. 2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

Of all the relationships David pursued, he pursued God most of all. David had a deep, personal relationship with God. David saw our God as the true Source of all goodness.

God is indeed the Source of all that is good. The Bible tells us that at the end of the sixth day of creation:

Genesis 1:31 … God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God is the Source of goodness. God made everything “very good”. It is humans that make things less than good or bad. The stepbrother of Jesus writes:

James 1:13-17Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

God is good. He is the Source of Good. Temptation is a desire to do evil. Temptation does not come from God.

God tries our faith, allowing hard things in our lives to grow us to be closer to Him. But God never, never brings temptation to evil.

God is incapable of tempting us to evil – this is what that old serpent, the Devil (Revelation 12:9; 20:2; Genesis 3:1-2) does. He and his minions whisper lies and deception into our hearts through outside sources, tempting our hearts to turn away from God. As David started his prayer, he prayed:

Psalm 16:1 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

Word Study: The word translated “Preserve” is the Hebrewשָׁמַר shâmar, [pronounced shaw-mar’], which means “to take charge of, to guard, to watch and protect, to restrain or keep me from, to put a hedge or a fence around”. David is asking God to do what Adam did not do. The Bible says:

Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep (shâmar) it

Had Adam guarded the Garden, and chased the snake off of it, we would not be in the sinful mess we are in today. David asks God to guard his soul, to keep him – flawed as he is – from going off the rails of righteousness. David tells our Father God:

vs 1 for in Thee do I put my trust

David has “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). He does not trust in his strength or in his abilities, but casts all his hope upon God his Savior. David prays:

Psalm 16:2 … O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

David prays unto the Lord, “Thou art my Lord”. As he prays, he is utterly surrendered unto God. David first says,

“Thou”

The ancient worshipers of other gods did not believe that their god personally cared about their lives. The God of Israel – the God we serve – was very relational. From the Garden of Eden to where the Lord walked with Adam “in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8), to God’s personal contact with Abram, the father of faith (Genesis 12:1-3), we see our God wants to have a personal relationship with His creation. This was not so in pagan religions. In his book “Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament” by John H. Walton, he writes (page 145):

“In a well known Assyrian prayer entitled A Prayer To Every God, the worshiper is seeking to appease a deity from anger over an offense that the worshiper has presumably committed. {In this prayer, the worshiper} does not know which god is angry, and he does not know of anything he has done wrong. … {he prays hopelessly} “Although I am constantly looking for help, no one takes me by the hand; when I weep, they {the gods} do not come to my side. I utter laments, but no one hears me; I am troubled, I am overwhelmed: I cannot see. Man is dumb, he knows nothing … Whether he is committing sin or doing good, he does not even know ..”

This is very different from the God of the Scripture. Our God is the Source of all good. But our God shares what is sinful, and what is right with us as His creation. We know what is right and wrong, what is light and darkness. We are called to follow our God in the Light, in the revealed truth that He has given us in His Word. David prays:

Psalm 16:2 … O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

Since God is the Source of all that is good, our goodness does not benefit God. As believers, we are not called to do good because it helps God out. King David got to thinking one night, and had a conversation with Nathan the Prophet:

2 Samuel 7:1-3 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; 2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. 3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.

God had been so good to David and Israel that he wanted to build God a house, a place of worship. The “Ark of God” or the “Ark of the Covenant” (Exodus 25:10-22) symbolically represented the Presence of God with His people. Within the Ark were the tablets of the Law, which reminded God’s people that it is the Lord – not man – Who establishes good and right. There was also a jar of manna which symbolized God’s provision for His people, as well as Aaron’s Rod that budded which proved that God can bring life out of death. This Ark of the Covenant resided in a tent, the Tabernacle. David’s thought was:

“God is so good to me – and to us as His people – that I want to do good to Him. I’ll build God a house to stay in.”

Nathan wasn’t against the idea initially, but God spoke to Nathan that night.

2 Samuel 7:5-13 (ESV) ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

God told David, “You want to build Me a house. I need no house. But I will build My people a House, and build your House. I will put One of your children on your Throne, to rule and reign forever”. This was a prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ.

When we do good, it does not add to God, for God is all good. “Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to Thee”. We are called as His Children to do good, not because our doing good will add to God, but because our doing good is a source of OUR blessing.

Psalm 16:2-3 my goodness extendeth not to Thee; 3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

Doing good as God defines good blesses us. Doing bad as God defines evil hurts us. “My goodness extendeth not to Thee; 3 But to the saints that are in the earth”. Doing good blesses the Saints, those who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we DO GOOD, God blesses us. The Scripture says:

Psalm 34:14-17 (ESV) 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. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

We “do good” not because “good” saves us (for Jesus said “No one is good, except God alone” [Mark 10:18]), but because doing good preserves us.

We are to “do good” in a world that does bad, because “doing good” is blessed of Jesus. Jesus told us:

Luke 6:27-36 (ESV) … I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. … 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

As God does good, we are to do good. As God does good to the undeserving, we are to do good to the undeserving. This alone brings stability and light into this present darkness. The Apostle wrote:

1 Thessalonians 5:15 (ESV) See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

Galatians 6:10 (ESV) So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

2 Thessalonians 3:13 (ESV) … brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

We who believe are to DO GOOD as God defines DOING GOOD. Why? Because it blesses us, it blesses our community, it blesses our nation. When people chase after false gods, they are not doing good, but evil. It is an evil thing to chase after an idol. An idol did not make this earth. An idol is “nothing at all” (1 Corinthians 8:1), and “there is no God but One, the God of Scripture”. An idol is a figment of the imagination.

Psalm 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

People say “there are many ways unto God”. That is absolutely untrue. There is but ONE WAY unto God, and that is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). God will not bless those who chase after false gods and goddesses. God will not honor worship that departs from His Biblical Word. God will not honor those who will not come to Him in faith, believing that Christ was sent to redeem us from all sin. Jesus Christ …

Titus 2:14 (ESV) … gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are ZEALOUS FOR GOOD WORKS …

Saved by faith in Christ, we are saved to do good as He defines good. We are to live our lives for Him Who loves us so.

Our Desire Should Always Be God Himself

Psalm 16:5-6 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. 6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

The Puritan Preacher Jonathan Edwards preached (The True Christian’s Life a Journey Towards Heaven):

“God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of Him is our proper happiness, and is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.”

David said, “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup”. Many today are not content with their lives, because they are trying to find contentment within themselves, or through things. This does not bring contentment. The Apostle said:

Philippians 4:11-13 (ESV) … I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

The Apostle found his portion in the God Who loved him, and loves us. When your portion is found in the dark sources of this world …

identity politics
gender dysphoria
sexual deviations
temporal blessings in things
mammon or the love of money
fame or power

…you will find in time that these things are but temporary satisfactions. The greatest satisfaction is to possess, and be possessed of God. If you’re not a possessor of and possessed of God, you get into weirdness and evil. Look at the headlines:

From ESPN: First Known Transgender Athlete Wins Championship

From National Review: {Supreme Court} Judge Refuses To Define “Woman” During Confirmation Hearing

From FOX: Biden Administration Endorses Transgender Youth Sex Change Operations

Evil is defined as that which is wrong as God defines wrong, but cloaks itself in rightness and blessing. God does not create evil – and God hates sin. The Scripture says:

1 John 1:5 (ESV) … God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Romans 2:4-6 (ESV) … do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will render to each one according to his works

Our America is going into deeper and darker evil because our citizens are seeking happiness in sin and self. Our Churches have abandoned the Gospel of Christ, teaching worldly “social justice” rather than love of God. The Apostle warns “those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury”.

God delays the punishment of sin, and gives one more day of life, because He is steadfast in His love toward His creation. He calls us out of darkness, and into His marvelous light. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 36:5-9 (ESV) Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. 7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! … 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

In God’s light, we see light. God – the Source of goodness – shows us the way to go. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). God’s light gives us life, eternal life. “The God Who said ‘let light shine out of darkness’ has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Psalm 16:7-9 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. 8 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

We who are saved by Grace through faith in Christ live for the Lord Who loves us. He is our portion. Our hope is in Him. Our God has conquered the grave. To those who love Him above all else, we will be with Him in glory. David closes with:

Psalm 16:10-11 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Word Study: This verse has been misinterpreted by many because of the King James translation. The word translated “hell” is the Hebrew שְׁאוֹל shᵉʼôwl, {pronounced sheh-ole}. When we hear the word “hell”, we think of the place of torment, where unbelievers in God go. We think of the rich man of Jesus’ parable in Luke 16:23, “in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments”. We think of what Jesus said of hell, that “it would be better to cut off a foot, than to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched” (Mark 9:45). David is not talking about the place of eternal punishment where the unbelieving go. David is speaking of the Grave. How do I know this? Because Peter preached this Psalm on the Day of Pentecost, and applied it to Jesus Christ Who rose from the dead (Acts 2:23-32). Jesus did not go to “hell”, but to the Grave. His body went into the tomb, but on the third day He was resurrected, and is alive forever more. The Apostle Paul also preached this text of Christ while in the Synagogue of Antioch in

Acts 13:35-37 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: 37 But {Jesus}, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

Here is the good – no, the GRAND NEWS. For those who have believed on Jesus, they shall not suffer the corruption of the grave. Though we may die physically, because of Christ we shall live beyond the grave. For Jesus has promised:

John 11:25-26 (ESV) … “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

God is the Portion of those who believe in Jesus. Our health will decline, and circumstances in life may bring pain into our temporal lives. People may misuse and abuse us. But we are to do good regardless as to what others do – and cling to the Lord as David did. May God move your hearts to do so this very day. Amen and amen!

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Resurrection Changes Everything

Posted on April 19, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Daniel Burka on Unsplash

Luke 24:1-12 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

I came across an article – entirely by chance – entitled “5 Founders Whose Businesses Cost Them Their Lives”. I read about:

  • The founder of Baskin-Robbins, Burt Baskin died of a heart attack at 54 years old. His son John said that Burt’s death was due to the very product he made. “He was a very big man who ate a lot of ice cream”, John said.
  • Another businessman, James Heselden the owner of the Segway Company (the two wheeled carts that you ride standing up), died when he drove his Segway off of a 30 foot cliff.
  • In 1914 a young chemical scientist named Sabin Arnold von Sochocky developed a paint made with radium that would glow in the dark. It was a boon for our military in World War I, for pilots and soldiers could now read the gauges and dials ion the dead of night. There was only one problem: Radium causes cancer. After killing 50 workers at the U.S. Radium Corporation, von Sochocky died of Radium injuries at just 45 years old.

People die. This is the nature of life. Founders of businesses die, founders of religions die. The founder of Islam, Muhammad died in 632 AD. The founder of the Indian Independence Movement, Mahatma Gandhi died from an assassin’s gun in 1948. People die. The Scripture says:

Hebrews 9:27 … it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment

Today we commemorate the death of another Founder, and we will celebrate His death by partaking of what we call “Communion” or “The Lord’s Table”. There is one big difference in the death of Christianity’s Founder and the death of all others.

Jesus didn’t stay dead!

Executed on a Roman Cross after several hours of brutal torture, Jesus’ death was not a mistake nor a miscarriage of justice. Jesus told His disciples:

John 10:15 … I lay down My life for the sheep {His people}

The Great Shepherd, Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be slandered and railroaded into an execution. But Jesus told us:

John 10:17 … I lay down My life, that I might TAKE IT AGAIN …

Jesus promised that – though He would die willingly on that terrible Cross – that death would not be able to hold Him. On the Day of Pentecost – some 50 days after Jesus rose from the Grave – Peter preached:

Acts 2:22-24 (NLT) People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and His prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed Him to a cross and killed Him. 24 But God released Him from the horrors of death and raised Him back to life, for death could not keep Him in its grip.

Death could not hold Jesus. Jesus told us:

Matthew 12:40 (ESV) For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus Christ died on that Cross so that we who believe in Him can have access to the Holy Father, Creator of all things. God the Father covered our sins by the death of Jesus. The Apostle says,

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

Jesus is not dead. He died – but He rose again. The resurrection of Christ from death is a key truth in Christianity.

The Resurrection Changes Our View Of Death

Luke 24:1-3 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

Very early in the morning on the first day of the week {Sunday} the Bible tells us that Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James along with other women (Luke 24:10) came to the tomb of our Lord Jesus. Jesus had been crucified on the day before a high Sabbath (John 19:31), three days and three nights before this moment. The women had hastily prepared His body for burial.

Some unbelievers claim that Jesus really didn’t die on the Cross, but just swooned and later revived. Yet the soldiers who crucified Jesus were experts in death. Before they allowed Jesus’ corpse to be taken down from the Cross, we read:

John 19:33-35 {the executioners} came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.

When blood separates from the plasma or water in the blood it is sure proof that a person has died. Jesus was dead.

Joseph of Arimathaea a very wealthy follower of Christ sought out the governor Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. (John 19:38). He along with the influential Nicodemus,

John 19:39-40 … brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. 40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

Jesus’ body was prepared hastily, before the sunset, for the High Sabbath of Passover was at hand (Luke 23:7-16). Once Jesus’ body was wrapped and laid in the Tomb, a stone was rolled over the mouth of that cave to seal it. A guard was placed on the Tomb, and the Tomb sealed with Pilate’s mark (Matthew 27:66).

In our focal text we see these women coming back to our Lord’s Tomb “with spices they prepared” to better prepare Jesus’ body for the tomb. They expected to see an armed guard and a sealed door. They found nothing that they expected.

Jesus wasn’t there!

Luke 24:2-5 {the women} found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

Jesus was not in the Tomb, but “two men in shining garments” were. Were these angels, or men? When you read of the account later (see our context in verse 23) these are actually ANGELS.

Angels announced the birth of Jesus
It is fitting that angels announce the resurrection of Jesus

These angels are at the Tomb as witnesses of the resurrection. In the Law of God, a truth is established …

Deuteronomy 19:15 … at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

These two were witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. Their message is simple: What Jesus said, Jesus did!

Luke 24:5-7 … Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

Jesus Christ – Eternal God in perfect human form – was born into the creation with one overall purpose. He had to die for our sins. But He also had to rise from the grave to be our Living Savior and Lord. Jesus told His disciples repeatedly …

Luke 9:22 {Jesus said} The Son of man {a favorite title Jesus used for Himself} must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and BE RAISED THE THIRD DAY.

Luke 9:44-45 … Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. 45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

Luke 18:31-33 {Jesus} took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: AND THE THIRD DAY HE SHALL RISE AGAIN.

Jesus told them over and over again – nevertheless the Bible says “they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not”. What “hid this saying” from them was their own humanity. It is not normal human experience to see someone die, be laid to rest in a grave three days, then that person come back from the dead. They heard, but did not process it. It was only after the angel reminded them of Jesus’ words that:

Luke 24:8-9 … they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

The two witnesses at the Tomb sent the women back to the Apostles, “unto the eleven”. Judas Iscariot had already killed himself after betraying Jesus, and the eleven that were left were mourning Jesus’ brutal death. When the women came and told them that Jesus was raised from the dead,

Luke 24:11-12 … And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Though Peter ran to the Tomb, not all who heard of the resurrection of Christ believed. That is surprising to me. It should not surprise anyone that Jesus would rise from the grave. After all, Jesus repeatedly raised people from the dead when He walked on this earth. Jesus defeated death repeatedly while He walked this earth. He defeated death for …

a widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17)
a ruler’s daughter (Luke 8:49-56)
and Lazarus His friend (John 11:38-44)

Our Jesus defeated death. The glorious Gospel that we preach is not just that Christ died for our sins, but that Jesus defeated the grave!

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen …

The actual death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very foundation of the Gospel of salvation. You cannot be saved unless you believe Christ both DIED then ROSE AGAIN. Jesus walked on this earth for forty days following His death and resurrection. He was SEEN by many who, in turn, were willing to die affirming that they saw a Living Savior. The Apostle Paul said:

1 Corinthians 15:17-22 … if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 21 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.

In order to be “saved” a person must “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that GOD HAS RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD” (Romans 10:9-10). Without the resurrection death is still man’s greatest enemy. But since Christ has conquered death we can say with the Apostle:

1 Corinthians 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Illustrate: Death was not permanent for Jesus, and will not be permanent for us who believe in Him either. The resurrection changes our view of death. I heard the story once of a family traveling, the windows on their car lowered so they could enjoy the day. Suddenly a wasp flew into the car. The little girl, on seeing the wasp, cried out. “Daddy, don’t let it sting me!” Quickly the father reached out, and grasped the wasp in his hand, crushing it. The father was stung by the wasp, but the child was not.

Death, like a wasp, flies uninvited and unexpected into the window of our lives. Yet we need not fear death. Jesus reached out and, grasping the wasp of death, took its sting on Himself. “Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?” We are more than victors because of Jesus Christ!

The Resurrection Brings Our God Near

Right after the Angel testifies that Christ is risen, and the women go and tell the unbelieving Apostles, we read of two others on the Emmaus Road. These two were there when the women reported what the angels said – but they did not believe! These are two disciples, one of whom is Cleopas. They are walking the seven mile road between Jerusalem and Emmaus, and are sad and recounting the horror of Christ’s death.

Luke 24:15-17 … while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

Why did Jesus draw near to these two men, and not the eleven Apostles that were back in Jerusalem? I believe it was because they were sad, low of spirit. They saw Jesus – the great hope of Israel – die on the cruel Cross of Calvary. They are mourning His death. The Scripture says:

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Jesus asks these men why they are so sad, Cleopas says that what saddens them is …

Luke 24:19-24 … Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. 22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher; 23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

These men saw Jesus as many see Him today – a Great Prophet, a Great Teacher, a Great Man. They thought that Jesus was going to redeem Israel from Rome but, alas, Jesus was crucified by the leadership of Judaism. Cleopas says “the women didn’t find His body, but said that angels told them He was risen … but we couldn’t find Him!”

Beloved, the women couldn’t find Jesus because they were looking in the wrong PLACE. These men couldn’t find Jesus because they were looking for the wrong PERSON.
But Jesus found them!

Preach This! Jesus Christ is not found in a tomb. And Jesus is no mere Prophet. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords (1 Timothy 6:15). These men’s eyes were blinded to Christ because they expected a simple King, a simple Prophet, a simple Man to lead Israel away from Rome. God is more than that. Jesus is more than that. Jesus Christ came to redeem His people Israel, to redeem all that will believe on Him as Lord and Savior.

Luke 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people

Jesus redeemed His people from the sacrificial Law, being the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29):

Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Jesus has also redeemed us from sin and iniquity:

Titus 2:13-14 … our Savior Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

We who are His are redeemed from ritual worship and religion, so that we can walk with the Risen Savior:

1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Jesus Christ redeemed us from circumcision and ceremonial laws and rituals that have no lasting effect. He purchased us with His Blood so that we can become Sons of God by faith in Him. Jesus corrects these two men, saying:

Luke 24:25-27 O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jesus gave these men a Bible class. He took them to the Old Covenant Scriptures and showed them how each of the rituals of the law were but shadows that foretold the coming of the Messiah. We no longer practice ritual sacrifices because Jesus Christ took their place. We no longer practice ceremonial abstinence from certain foods, for what God has declared clean, do not call it unclean (Acts 10:13-15). We no longer practice ritual circumcision, because in Christ their is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

As Jesus explains these wonderful truths Cleopas and his friend arrive at home, and they invite the Lord to eat with them. As of yet they do not know this is Jesus. But we read:

Luke 24:30-32 … as {Jesus} sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Go And Tell Others That Jesus Lives!

Cleopas and his friend nearly run the 7 miles back to Jerusalem. Like the women at the tomb of Christ they can hardly wait to share the news: Jesus is alive! The Bible says:

Luke 24:36-43 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

If it seems that the Apostles were somewhat hard to convince concerning Christ’s resurrection, the truth is I believe each one of us – if we had gone through what they went through – would have been just as difficult. Jesus told them:

Luke 24:44-48 These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

Now that the Apostles had experienced the Risen Savior they were now empowered to preach Him among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Jesus Christ came to save all people from sin, death, and the grave. He is the Risen Savior. We are to preach repentance and remission of sins in His Name – through His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus Christ is alive! He is alive, and leads His Church this very day.

The resurrection of Christ changes things. It even changed the day the Church met. Prior to Christ God’s Israel worshiped and rested on Saturday. But since Christ rose from the grave on the first day of the week, Sunday became the New Testament Church’s Sabbath Worship (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; John 20:19; John 20:1). Jesus Christ is alive. The devil could not stop Him. The Pharisees could not destroy Him. Death could not keep Him. The grave could not hold Him.

Jesus Christ is alive! He is alive! Do you know Him? Do you know my Jesus? If not, may God the Holy Spirit and His precious Word open your eyes to see Him this very day. Amen and amen!

Posted in Easter Messages, Luke, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My God Enlarges Me

Posted on April 12, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
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Turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 4 – one of the wonderful prayers of a Prayer Warrior and King named simply “David”.

Psalm 4 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. 3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord. 6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

One of the greatest weapons that a Christian has is the weapon of prayer. One of the great prayer warriors of yesteryear, E.M. Bounds said:

“God shapes the world by prayer. Prayers are deathless. They outlive the lives of those who uttered them. … Prayer honors God, acknowledges His being, exalts His power, adores His providence, secures His aid … Prayer is a trade to be learned. We must be apprentices and serve our time at it. Painstaking care, much thought, practice and labor are required to be a skillful tradesman in praying. Practice in this, as well as in all other trades, makes perfect.”

Sadly, rather than pray too many of us sit at home and watch a worldly and demon influenced television, a screen that spews out incessant hopelessness, gloom and doom.

As a nation we underwent two years of a worldwide pandemic called the Coronavirus. During that period many Americans allowed the government to strip them of their God given rights in order to “protect” the populace. We were imprisoned in our homes, businesses and churches were shut down, and the American economy horribly disfigured by “stimulus” packages that only promoted laziness and a dependency on the government as if it were God Almighty. Neither government nor politicians are God Almighty. There is but One God – and He still reigns supreme over the universe! Rather than panic, obsess, or withdraw from society when afflicted, do what King David did.

King David Called On God First When Tried By Life

Psalm 4:1-2 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

The Psalms are not only songs that the Hebrews sang, but they are prayers that God recorded for our blessing. When David was afflicted, he did not cry out against the affliction first. Notice the first thing David did was call upon God. No panic. No “oh is me”. He calls upon God.

  • Notice that David does not ASK God to hear his prayer. David COMMANDS God to hear him.

Word Study: “Hear me” is the Qal Imperative of עָנָה ʿānâ (pronounced aw-naw’), or “Pay attention to me!”

“Have mercy upon me” is the Qal Imperative of חָנַן ḥānan (pronounced khaw-nan’), or “be gracious to me, bend down and bestow kindness or grace”.

“Hear my prayer” is the Qal Imperative of שָׁמַע šāmaʿ (pronounced shaw-mah) + תְּפִלָּה tᵊp̄illâ (pronounced tef-il-law’). This means not just to “hear or take heed of”, but it also means “to obey”.

As we read this, we think, “How dare David – or anyone – command God to do anything!?” But if you think this, you miss the point. David is commanding God not as a god himself, but as a child would cry out to a parent. Notice that David calls God …

Psalm 4:1 Hear me when I call,O God of my righteousness:

David calls God the “God of my righteousness”. The Bible tells us that “God is righteous”. What God does and is is ALWAYS right. When the Prophet Daniel acknowledged the sins of Israel, he said:

Daniel 9:14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

God is righteous, God is just. The Angel declares:

Revelation 16:5 … Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be

God always does the right thing. God’s way is always right.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

There is no error in God. Any error is in MAN, in US. God is pure, and righteous, and holy. And we are fallen creatures so far away from God by nature, that we infinitely fall short of His glory. But to those who receive the Lord as Savior, to them God credits righteousness. To those who seek God

Titus 1:2 … in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began …

… those who “call upon the Lord for salvation”, these people are sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. What does the Scripture promise?

John 1:12 But as many as received {God}, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

  • God is the “God of MY righteousness” because He credits righteousness to our spiritual account when we receive and believe in Him.

We cannot be righteous enough to be acceptable to God on our own. But when we call upon God, call upon Jesus to be our Savior and Lord, when we believe that He and He alone is the payment for our sins, our High Priest, our Lord …. we become sons of God. God is the “God of my righteousness”. I am “righteous” because I have believed in and received Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Believing in Him, God has IMPUTED or CREDITED righteousness to my life. The Apostle said:

Philippians 3:8-10 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Because of God and His faithfulness the believer is marked “righteous” simply because we have trusted in and responded to Him in our weakness. Because God is faithful, and David called out to the lord to be His Savior, David is marked as righteous.

The Christian properly understood is one whom – upon believing on Christ – God has marked us RIGHTEOUS, and adopted us into His family through the operation of the Holy Spirit.

We are predestined unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to God the Father, according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:5). We have received the Holy Spirit of Adoption, by which we cry out, ABBA, FATHER (Romans 8:15).

  • The true Christian belongs to God, and God belongs to him. God is our Parent because of our relationship to Jesus Christ.

Illustrate: When David commands God in prayer, he is commanding as a child would command a Parent. My children have the power to command me when they are in affliction. Years ago, after a long day of work in the Air Force, I came home to rest. Having just settled down I heard the cry of my eldest son. “Daddy, I need you!” Immediately I jumped up, and ran to where my son was, ministering to him in his need (he had broken both arms in a freak accident). If I as a broken and fallible parent can be mobilized by the call of my sons, how much more can God be mobilized when we cry out to Him as His children?

David Reminded Himself That Pain Has A Purpose

Psalm 4:1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress…

If you are a child of God by faith in Christ,

and if God is infinitely in control of all things,
and if God loves you as His child
if all these things are true …

then pain has a purpose. David reminds himself this great truth.

  • Pain drives us into God’s arms.

Just as a child with a skint knee runs to its parent, pain drives us into the arms of God. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

The GREAT I AM, Yahweh, is near to the sufferer, because pain breaks away our false bravado and disingenuous faith. Pain makes us realize that we desperately need the Savior. Pain casts down all the false gods and goddesses that we as Americans have engineered to take the place of God. The Prophet, afflicted and hurting, cried out:

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

1 Peter 5:7 (ESV) Casting all your anxieties on him, because (God) cares for you.

Rather than worry and fret, God tells us to trust Him, to cast our anxieties and uncertainties on Him. In this confusing and uncertain world, our Heavenly Father “cares for you”.

  • Our response to pain proves our salvation.

There are many alleged “Christians” in the world that have little to no relationship with God in Christ. They believe they are saved because they,

said a sinner’s prayer
shook the Pastor’s hand
had a clerk put their name on a church roll
had holy water sprinkled on them as a child

Pain cuts through the plastic and the fake Christian credentials. Peter told the suffering early Church Christian:

1 Peter 1:6-9 (ESV) In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The genuine Christian stands with Jesus, though all the world hate him, and all the demons of hell attack. The genuine believer in Christ has this characteristic: THEY OVERCOME. This is what the Apostle says:

1 John 5:4-5 (ESV) For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The end time Church (and we ARE the end time Church) will be plagued with false and plastic “Christians”. Yet God says this:

Revelation 2:7 … To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:11 … He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

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

Revelation 3:21 … To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

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

Do you get the scriptural point? The faith that does not abandon Jesus in the midst of pain and trial is the genuine, God pleasing faith. Life is pain. God gives us the power to overcome all things for His name’s sake!

David Acknowledged His Suffering,
But RESTED In The Fatherhood Of God

Psalm 4:2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

Word Study: The word “leasing” is the Hebrewכָּזָב kâzâb, (pronounced kaw-zawb’), which means “falsehood, lying, deceit”. The sons of Adam will attack the Sons of God, telling lies about them. The world pursues “vanity”, the Hebrew רִיק rîyq, {pronounced reek}, which means “the worthless thing”. The world is constantly seeking the worthless thing, or whatever “reeks”.

The world pursues that which REEKS. We as believers in Christ are to shun the reeking, the stinking, the useless, the vile, the empty, the foolish.

As David acknowledges the worthless ways of the sons of Adam, rather than be discouraged, he says,

Selah!

Word Study: The word “SELAH!” means “to pause or rest, so as the exalt”. It means that David commanded himself to turn his attention from the ways of the lost, to pause, and to look upward, to focus entirely on His Heavenly Father.

  • Control where you focus your spiritual eye. SELAH. Rest in Christ. Rest in the love and fatherhood of God.

David speaks to his own soul, his spiritual heart directing his spiritual eyes to look godward. David prays:

Psalm 4:3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.

If you belong to God, you are “set apart for” God, by God. God’s eye is on you – ALWAYS. Jesus told us that – if we are saved – we are to be distinctively different from the lost world.

The lost world can be described in one word: ANXIOUS

Look up the word “ANXIOUS” in the dictionary. To be “ANXIOUS” is to be:

worriedconcernedapprehensive
fearfultroubledbothered
disturbeddistressedfretful

If any of those words apply to your life, you are not where God wants you to be. As believers in Christ, we are set apart by and belong to God. Jesus told us:

Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV) … do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

If you are “ANXIOUS”, then do what Jesus said. Turn off the television and radio. Turn off the computer. Get off of social media. Leave your smart phone on silent. DO the things that help build the Kingdom of God. DO the things that please your Heavenly Father. Love God. Show love toward others. DO RIGHTEOUSNESS. Command your soul:

Psalm 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

  • Rather than being led by your heart, direct your heart. Command your soul to focus on the goodness of God.

If you give way to your emotions, your life will be like a chicken with its head cut off.

David refused to let his emotions rule him. He often commanded himself. Consider …

Psalm 103:1-3 (ESV) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases …

or as in Psalm 42:5 (ESV) Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation

David spoke to his soul, commanding and reminding himself that God is faithful, powerful, truthful, and most importantly, his loving Father. This is what made David “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Pastor Ryan Griffith (Cities Church, Saint Paul, Mn) writes:

“When you are fearful, do you command your soul to trust in the Lord? When your affections are low, do you command your heart to bless the Lord? As Paul Tripp is fond of saying, “no one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you more than you do.” In the particularly difficult moments of the day, how do you talk to yourself?… do you specifically exhort yourself to hope in God?”

In the Law of Moses, God told His people that when they went to battle the enemy, “you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 20:1). God commanded that Israel NOT be afraid, but that they remember that God is in control, and God is with them. God told the officers of Israel’s Army:

Deuteronomy 20:8 (ESV) … the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’

The “fearful and fainthearted” were not needed in the midst of battle. Anxiety is like a cancer. See how anxiety afflicted Israel when Goliath was on the battlefield (1 Samuel 17:11). “Saul and all Israel … were dismayed and greatly afraid”.

To Israel and Saul, Goliath was too big to kill. But when David came along, he saw a loud mouthed giant who was too big to MISS.

What was the difference between David and Israel at that moment? David’s focus was on the God Who saved him. Israel’s focus was on a loudmouthed giant. Beloved, remember that:

2 Timothy 1:7 … God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Christians, Let Us Offer The Sacrifices
Of Righteousness

Psalm 4:5-8 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord. 6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

God saved us so that we might serve Him. Let us “offer the sacrifices of righteousness”. What does this mean? The Apostle tells us:

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Dedicate yourselves in living for the Lord Who saved you, and keeps on saving you. Do not “freak out”, but faith up. Look for God in whatever you are going through in your life. When Satan whispers treason in your ear, rebuke him in the name of Jesus. “I don’t belong to you, you old devil. I belong to God, your Creator, and my Father. Get thee behind me!” God is in control. Trust Him. “For thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety”.

May God the Holy Spirit draw you close to Him this very day, and every day, for the glory of Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord. Amen and Amen!

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Who Is This Man? A Palm Sunday Message

Posted on April 12, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Cody Board on Unsplash

Matthew 21:1-11 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

When Jesus came into Jerusalem, the city itself asked the question:

Who is this?

The Multitude Wanted A Physical Savior

Word Study: There was “a very great multitude” that went in front of this Man riding on “a colt, the foal of an ass”. The “multitude”, the Greek ὄχλος óchlos, [pronounced okh’los], means “a crowd, a throng, a huge number of people”. “Multitude” is a favorite word of Matthew the Tax Collector. Matthew uses this word forty times to describe the people that followed Jesus. As Jesus …

Matthew 4:23-25 … went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

Multitudes followed Jesus because He cared for and healed the sick and broken. Jesus cast out demons, and healed everything from mental illness to deadly diseases. There were so many people following Jesus for relief of their suffering that when He taught …

Matthew 5:1 … seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain, and sat down …

so that He could teach the people. Who is this Jesus? To the multitudes, Jesus is a miracle worker, a medicine man. Jesus even went beyond this. When Jesus was in Capernaum, the place where He met and called Matthew to follow Him,

Matthew 9:18 … came a certain ruler, and worshiped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

As Jesus headed to the unnamed Ruler’s home, a woman in the crowd, “diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years” (Matthew 9:20) saw Jesus. Thinking to herself, she said:

Matthew 9:21 … If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole

Touching Jesus – just the hem of His garment – caused her to be healed immediately! Jesus told her,

Matthew 9:22 … Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith has made thee whole!

Who is this man who can heal without a thought? But He is more, more than just a Healer. When He reaches the Ruler’s home, the mourners are crying over this twelve year old girl who has died. This Man said:

Matthew 9:24-25 … Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25 {Jesus responded, and}He went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

Who is this Man Who not only heals, but raises the dead? The crowds around Jesus grow larger and larger every day. Then it comes time when the Jew must go to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. What a special time Passover is! It commemorates the time that God saved Israel from Egypt. The lamb without spot or blemish was to be taken into the home, and killed. It’s blood was placed on the home of the believers, and it’s meat roasted and eaten. The Jews called this Feast Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. God told Israel,

Exodus 12:13 (NIV) The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

The blood of the lamb would make atonement – a covering from the wrath of God – on the home that it was on. Israel left Egypt because of the Passover. Every year Israel was to celebrate the Passover. “In the generations to come, You Israel shall celebrate the Passover. It will be a lasting ordinance.” (Exodus 12:14).

Multitudes are following Jesus – and Jesus is heading into Jerusalem. Why is Jesus going to Jerusalem? Because the Passover must be celebrated. But this Passover will be different from the other Passovers that Israel celebrated. Why? Because of this Man.

This Man Is The Fulfillment Of God’s Promises

Who is this Man, this Jesus? We see a glimpse of Who He is in our text. He needs to go to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover at the Temple. We read:

Matthew 21:1-11 And when {Jesus and His disciples}drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage{the “House of Unripe Figs”, eastward of Jerusalem}, unto the mount of Olives {a mountain range east of Jerusalem}, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is special this time. He must enter Jerusalem on “a colt the foal of an ass”. Jesus was going to ride into Jerusalem on “a colt of a donkey that no one had ever ridden before” (Mark 11:1-3). Why is this important. Because over 540 years ago the Prophet Zechariah foresaw the coming of this Man to Jerusalem. Zechariah wrote:

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

When the King of Kings – the prophesied Messiah – came into Jerusalem, He would ride “upon a donkey (a jackass), a colt the foal of a jackass”. Jesus rode this young donkey into Jerusalem “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet” Zechariah. This Man is the fulfillment of Prophecy. When Adam sinned, and brought sin and death into the world by his disobedience:

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:

God made a prophecy to Satan, the evil serpent who led Adam into sin. The Lord promised that old devil:

Genesis 3:15 …. I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

This was God’s first promise that a Messiah – a Redeemer would come and destroy the works of the devil. God was not going to abandon His creation, but He would save it. From the day that that promise was given, mankind waited for the Savior. God prophesied that the Messiah …

… would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy (Luke 2:4-6)

… would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)

Jesus was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:22-23)

… would come from Abraham’s line (Genesis 12:3)

Jesus came from Abraham’s lineage (Matthew 1:1)

… would come from the Tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10)

Jesus came from the line of Judah (Hebrews 7:14)

… would inherit King David’s throne (Isaiah 9:7)

Jesus is the inheritor of King David’s throne (Luke 1:32-33)

… would be called “Immanuel, God with us” (Isaiah 7:14)

Jesus is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23)

… would have a Herald go before Him (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Jesus had John the Baptist go before Him (Luke 3:3-6)

There were at least 44 prophesies made in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah. These prophesies were all fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was prophesied Messiah would be a Nazarene (Isaiah 11:1), would bring light to Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2), would speak in parables (Psalm 78:2-4; Isaiah 6:9-10). I could go on and on. Throughout Matthew’s Gospel the phrase:

“That it might be fulfilled”

is repeated ten times. This Man, this Jesus, is the One Whom God promised would come. He is God the Son. Jesus is a Prophet, but much more than a Prophet. He is God with us, God incarnate, God in human form. Demons were afraid of Jesus!

Mark 3:11 … unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

The multitudes, seeing the miracles that Jesus did,

Matthew 21:9 … the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

Who was Jesus to these multitudes? Jesus is “he that cometh in the name of the Lord”. The multitudes saw Jesus as a present King over Israel, Someone who would cast down Rome as Moses cast down Egypt. They cried out as they laid their outer garments and palm leaves before Jesus:

Hosanna in the highest

Word Study: “Hosanna” is what the multitudes are crying out. “Hosanna” is actually three Hebrew words yāšaʿ nā’ ‘ānnā’, which is a short prayer that means “save us now, I beseech Thee, O Lord” (contracted from Psalm 118:25-26). What the crowd is chanting is: Save us now, we beseech Thee, Oh Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!

The multitudes see Jesus as a temporal King Who will rescue Israel from Rome.

Herod saw Jesus as such a King – and for this reason had all the children two years old and younger killed in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18). This, too was a fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 2:17-18; Jeremiah 31:15). This was not the first time the people would cry out to Jesus to make Him King. In John 6:15 the people tried to make Jesus King – but He refused their efforts.

The people do not need another King. The people need the Messiah, the Savior. The people need the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36). Jesus is not riding into Jerusalem on a white horse as a conquering King. He is riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, a young donkey. Jesus is coming not to overthrow Rome, but to overthrow Satan and his forces of evil. Jesus is coming to Jerusalem as the fulfillment of every prophecy ever made concerning our deliverance.

Who is this Man, Jerusalem asks. The multitude said:

Matthew 21:11 … This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Yes, Jesus is a Prophet – but He is more than a Prophet. He is the Lord God incarnate. He is the Savior, the Lamb. Yet Jesus is NOT the Prophet of Nazareth. His hometown does not believe Jesus is the Messiah. They mock Him, saying:

Mark 6:2-3 (ESV) “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

The multitude wants Jesus to be their new King, one who will overthrow Rome. And Jerusalem, the Capital City that the King should rule from, does not know Who Jesus is.

Jesus is the Messiah. He is coming to Jerusalem one last time to be sacrificed for our sins. He is coming, not to the Temple to have His blood shed, but to Jerusalem to be executed on a Hill called Calvary.

In just a few days, the multitude that praised Jesus and demanded He be King, would turn and demand His crucifixion. The same crowd that now cheers will in a few days jeer, and mock as Jesus hangs dying for our sins.

Who Is This Man Who Disrupts The Temple?

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry our Lord entered the area of the Temple. In the Courtyard of the Gentiles Jesus found a marketplace. Jesus “found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” (John 2:14-17). Some 3 ½ years have passed, and Jesus is entering Jerusalem for the last time. Has Israel learned their lesson?

No, for what does Jesus discover?

Matthew 21:12-14 Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

Jesus did not come to be a temporary fix to our problems. Jesus Christ came to save whosoever will, and through that salvation to change our hearts to become children of God. Jesus told us:

Matthew 15:17-20 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

As humans, we need more than a better form of leader. We need to be saved from ourselves. We need a new heart. Jesus can give us new hearts.

Just as Jesus had “the blind and the lame come to him in the temple; and He healed them”, Jesus alone has the power to heal us. We are all born with a heart problem. Jesus, as the Author of the New Covenant, came to fix our hearts (that is, if we would come to Him in faith). The Prophet Jeremiah spoke to Israel in one of their worst times in human history. Israel had wandered far away from God, just as Israel was far away from God while Jesus walked this earth. God spoke through Jeremiah, saying:

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (ESV) “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

God promised that He would come to Israel with a New Covenant, a Covenant that came with a heart transplant. It is this Holy Week that Jesus will institute what we call “The Lord’s Table” at the end of the Feast of the Passover, just before Jesus goes to the Cross. We will celebrate that Lord’s Table next Sunday, on Easter morning. Jesus told His disciples:

Luke 22:20 (ESV) … This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:25 (ESV) … “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Jesus rode into Jerusalem because the Old Covenant, the Covenant of animal sacrifices, of festivals & feasts, and of circumcision, these things do not change the heart. The Bible says that these things called “The Law” served but one purpose. The Apostle said:

Galatians 3:24-25 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The Law of Sacrifices & Rites was but a shadow of what would come in Jesus Christ. The Law could not work on our hearts. But through Jesus, His sacrifice on Calvary made payment for our sins. The Scripture says:

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

Jesus had to chase the marketplace out of the Court of the Gentiles at the beginning of His ministry because “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). You can make a Law, force people to obey it, but if their heart is unsaved by God, they will sneak around and do it all over again. This is what humans do. Jesus Christ came to replace the Mosaic Law by a Higher Law, a New Covenant. And those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior are also recipients of the Holy Spirit, Who works a mystery in the life of the believer. It is because of Jesus that the Spirit comes, but it is because of the Spirit that we are born again, indwelt, changed daily, and made the workmanship of God.

Religion is not enough. You need a relationship with God through Jesus Christ His Son.

The money changers and sellers had to be cast out of the Temple twice. The heart is not changed by the Law. This same crowd that is praising Jesus will, in just a few short days, be demanding:

“Let Him be crucified!”

Pilate, the Roman Governor, will attempt to release Jesus from crucifixion. He will ask the crowd to allow Jesus to depart, and Barabbas – a known murderer – to be put to death. The crowd will cry out:

“Let Him be crucified!”

Pilate asks, “Why? What evil has He done? I find no fault in this Jesus”. Yet the crowd will demand all the more,

“Let Him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:20-23)

What evil had Jesus done? He went against the status quo. He called evil, evil. Jesus reached out to sinners, seeking to bring their souls to God. Only God can save. Only God can change the heart. The Scripture says:

Psalm 3:8 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord …

Psalm 62:1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

It is Jesus Who will save. It is Jesus Who can change the heart. Will you not come to Him while you can? The Physician Luke tells us something else that happened when Jesus came into Jerusalem. We read:

Luke 19:41-45 And when he was come near, {Jesus} beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. 45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought

Before Jesus went into the Temple to cast out the money changers for the second time, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. Why? Because He knows that the people for whom He came, they will reject Him. As a result, Jerusalem – and Israel – will be destroyed by Roman forces a few years later.

No nation can long stand with wickedness in its heart. No people can survive who reject the love of God and the love of neighbor. Israel will not listen.

Will you listen? Will you hear Jesus calling you to His side? Oh, dear Lord, that you would save our nation, save our communities. I beg you, give yourselves over to Jesus this very day. Jesus can, and will fix you. To God be the glory! Amen and Amen.

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Who Is In Jesus’ Family?

Posted on April 5, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

Luke 8:19-21 Then came to {Jesus} his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. 20 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. 21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

Jesus had a physical earthly family

His earthly mother Mary is at the door of the house, but cannot get to Jesus. God used Mary to bring forth Christ. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior of all who will believe on Him. Jesus is …

Revelation 1:5 … Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood …

Jesus is Man. Jesus is Perfect Man. Jesus is Sinless Man. You ask, “How can there be a sinless Man?”, and my answer is, “Only if He is a Unique Creation and God”. Adam was sinless in the Garden of Eden, but when Adam sinned, “by one man – Adam – sin entered into the world, and DEATH BY SIN; and so death PASSED UPON ALL MEN, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12). All humans born naturally are born sinners. This is a problem because, though God loves us, God is holy, without sin (1 Peter 1:16; Isaiah 57:15).

God is holy – but we are not!
How can the gap be bridged between God and Man?

A Perfect Man, a Messiah, a Savior, cannot come through human effort. Humans are fallen. God must make a way. God must enter the creation as Man. This is what happened in Jesus. Jesus Christ is ETERNAL GOD THE SON. He declared Himself …

Revelation 1:8 … Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

“Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the Ending” is a title given only to God, “The Almighty”. Our Lord Jesus existed with God the Father and God the Spirit from eternity past. God left eternity, and came to this earth through a virgin named Mary. Yet though Jesus has a beginning as a human, as God Jesus has always been. Colossians 1:17 tells us, “Jesus is before ALL THINGS”, and John 1:3 declares, “All things were made by Him. Nothing ever made was made without Him”.

Jesus Christ is THE Son of God, THE Eternal Son Who came to be among us. He was born through supernatural action. Gabriel told Mary His mother:

Luke 1:35 … The Holy {Spirit} 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.

Jesus is indeed “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Born of a virgin named Mary, Joseph, Mary’s husband, did not lay with his wife until after Jesus was born. Once Jesus was born, Joseph went on to love his wife Mary, and to have other children by Mary.

Jesus was NOT an only Child!

When Jesus preached in Nazareth, those He grew up with said:

Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

Jesus had four stepbrothers – children of Joseph and Mary – along with several sisters who are unnamed. When Jesus began preaching the Kingdom of God and His Gospel, many of His friends – and probably His earthly family – believed “Jesus is beside Himself” (Mark 3:21). We are told in …

John 7:5 (ESV) … For not even his brothers believed in {Jesus}.

His brothers and mother would – after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection – come to believe in Jesus. On the Day of Pentecost 120 believers would gather in an upper room, and pray together, waiting for the promise of the Spirit. This small Church was …

Acts 1:14 … with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers

Yes, later His earthly family would believe in Jesus. Later Jesus’ stepbrother James would refer to Jesus as “our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1). But at this point in His ministry, none of Jesus’ immediate family seems to believe that He is the Messiah.

THEN Jesus’ Unbelieving Earthly Family
Came To See Him

Luke 8:19 Then came to {Jesus} his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.

Our text starts with THEN. The THEN tells us that we need to see what occurred before Jesus stopped at this private home to teach.

Luke 8:1-3 And it came to pass afterward, that He {Jesus} went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with Him, 2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, 3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

Word Study: Jesus is traveling with a small group of believers. He is going through “every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God”. The words “preaching and shewing” are the Greek κηρύσσω καὶ εὐαγγελίζω, kēryssō καί euangelizō which means “to publish or proclaim openly the Gospel or Good News”. The twelve Apostles are with Jesus. There are a few women with Jesus. “Mary called Magdalene” is there, a person whom Jesus cast seven demons out of her. There is also a woman named “Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward”. This woman had been afflicted, but Jesus cured her. Joanna is the wife of King Herod’s Cupbearer (see also Luke 24:10), a very important position in the King’s household. The Gospel of Christ had reached into the home of His greatest enemy, Herod. There is also a “Susanna, and many others” who are ministering to Jesus, meeting His physical earthly needs. God is providing a way for the Gospel to go forth, to be spread to small villages and large cities.

Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

Word Study: There is a large crowd following Jesus. In the midst of this crowd, Jesus speaks a “parable” (παραβολή parabolḗ, [pronounced par-ab-ol-ay’]). The disciples asked Jesus:

Matthew 13:10 … why speakest Thou unto them in parables? …

Jesus told His closest disciples:

Luke 8:10 … Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

The Parable is given to the Child of God by faith in Christ. The Parable is NOT given to the unbeliever to help them better understand spiritual truths. The Parable is given to HIDE the deeper truths from the lost. A Parable cannot be understood unless Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit gives us the key to it. The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life. You cannot learn your way into being a Christian. You must be born again, born supernaturally into this family. Look when Jesus speaks this Parable:

Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

A Sower Went Out To Sow

Luke 8:5-8 A Sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Those who are spiritually deaf – lost people – will hear the words of this Parable, but it will mean nothing to them. Only those with “ears to hear” (Matthew 11:15; 13:9; 13:43; Mark 4:9; 4:23; 7:16) are going to get any benefit from this Parable. To all others it is but noise.

Preach!: You must be born again! You must have received Jesus as Lord and Savior. You must have believed that Jesus is the Only Begotten of the Father. You MUST BE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD BY FAITH. Jesus explains the Parable to those who will come to Him and listen.

Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

“The seed is the word of God”. Jesus has gone throughout every city and village, proclaiming He is Messiah, proclaiming that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life: that no one comes to the Father BUT through Him (John 14:6). Jesus is the Owner of the “keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 16:19). It is Jesus Who “has the keys of hades and death” (Revelation 1:18). There is “none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). There is a large crowd following Jesus not just for what He proclaimed, but also for what He has done. Jesus sowed the seed. He did not plow the field, nor break up the ground. What was this seed?

John 6:39-40 … this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. (40) And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Jesus said “every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jesus has promised eternal life to whosoever believeth on Him. Jesus sowed the Gospel Seed regardless as to who stood in front of Him. Whether it was a leper, a deaf person, a crippled person, a Jew or a Gentile, Jesus proclaimed Himself the Only Christ, the Messiah. Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He told us:

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) 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 alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus did not choose where to sow. Where ever He was, He sowed. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Jesus sowed. The Sower sows. The Sower does not water, nor cause the seed to grow. The Apostle said:

2 Timothy 2:23-26 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. (24) And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all [men], apt to teach, patient, (25) In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; (26) And [that] they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

The Sower sows the Gospel. The Sower does not sow the word of the world, but the Word of God, the Holy Scripture. Will all sowing be productive? No!

Luke 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

It’s interesting that the first condition of the Sowing of the Good News is that the seed fall “by the way side”. Some people hear the Gospel. They hear that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God, prophesied to come and save us. They hear that:

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

They hear that “unto us was born in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). They hear that Jesus came to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Though these hear the Gospel clearly preached by Jesus, nonetheless the “devil” comes, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved”. That old Devil we call Lucifer, and Satan, and the Great Dragon, and that Ancient Serpent (Revelation 12:9) is constantly warring against the spreading of the Gospel.

The Devil robs the seed of the Gospel in various ways. He brings in strange doctrines. He teaches that “only a certain class of person will be saved”. The devil loves to teach that “the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is insufficient to save the soul”, that salvation is part Christ and part my efforts. The devil brings in strange doctrines that say “saved, we may remain in our sin”. No, no! Did not the Scripture say in Matthew 1:21, “Jesus shall save His people FROM THEIR SINS”. The Gospel seed changes the heart in which it is sown. “God be thanked, that YE WERE (past tense) the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine that was delivered you” (Romans 6:17). What does the Gospel seed do? It frees us!

Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

The Gospel is not just stolen by Satan, but it can take root on shallow ground. Jesus said:

Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

Some hear the Gospel, and receive it, but only in a shallow way. There are some who willingly receive the Gospel when they are in hospitals, or in hospice, or at some bleak moment in their lives. They want to receive Jesus as a “Savior” to save them out of what they are being afflicted by. They just want a temporary relief. Jesus said that these believe at first, but then ..

… in time of temptation {they} fall away.

Word Study: The word translated “temptation” is the Greek πειρασμός peirasmós, [pronounced pi-ras-mos’], which means “a trial of a person’s fidelity, integrity, or virtue”. The stepbrother of Jesus, James wrote:

James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations {peirasmós}, 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

God allows trials to come our way to test and strengthen our faith. The faith that cannot stand up to a trial is a faith that cannot save a soul. Many today see Jesus Christ as a spare tire that they are to call on when life gets tough. Jesus Christ is no spare tire. Jesus Christ is the Way to the Father, the entry into the Family of God. When a trial crushes a person’s faith, that person was not truly saved in the first place. The Apostle said:

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

Of that large crowd around Jesus, there was a third type of result there from the sowing of the Gospel. Jesus said:

Luke 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

Word Study: Today we would call this type of person “the Nominal Christian”. This is the person who has decided to stay attached to the world, but also wants to stay attached to Jesus. Jesus does not call this “nominal Christianity”, but a life that is “choked”, the Greek συμπνίγω sympnígō, [pronounced soom-pnee’-go], which means “to strangle completely, to choke utterly, to press around so as to suffocate, to press on every side so as to crush”. Are these people saved? I don’t think so, but it’s hard to tell from the text. Jesus said:

John 10:10 … I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Jesus chastised those who followed Him that “would not come to Me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40). If your life looks like that of the lost, and you “bring no fruit to perfection” – you bear nothing for Jesus – then you should carefully examine your salvation. The Bible says:

Philippians 2:12-13 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

If you are mentally and physically bound to worldly living, the Scripture calls you to repent. The stepbrother of Christ wrote:

James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

I would not want to meet my Maker while bound to the sinful ways of this world. Beloved, the person who receives Christ as Lord and Savior is CHANGED. Though you will not be perfect, the Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 17 (ESV) For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and {Jesus} died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. … 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The saved believer follows after Jesus, not the world. We love and seek Him daily! The Christian is meant to be FRUITFUL.

Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Word Study: This is the Normal Christian Life. The Christian is first of all supernaturally saved. Hearing and believing the Gospel of Salvation, that person “calls upon the Name of the Lord” and is saved (Acts 2:21). Let’s look at the words “HEARD” and “KEEP”. They “heard” the Word of God. They “heard” Jesus. This is the Greek ἀκούω akoúō, [pronounced ak-oo’-o], which means “to harken to, to stop and apply that which you heard to yourself”. The Gospel will not save you when you apply it to others around you, but not to your own life. Some people on hearing the Gospel think, “Oh, that’s not for me. I’m a good person. I’m in good shape. I don’t need a Savior”. I assure you, if you think this, then you will never have a Savior. The Gospel must be applied to your heart by YOU.

Word Study: The word “keep” is the Greek κατέχω katéchō, [pronounced kat-ekh’-o], which means “to hold onto, to hold fast, to possess it, to guard it”. You regard the Word of Salvation, that precious Gospel, as a precious thing. You will not release it, but cling to it. When I was overseas, one of my most prized possessions was my PASSPORT. It showed that I was a citizen of another country, under another sovereign’s laws. The Gospel is the Christian’s passport to glory – and I will never give it up. The Apostle said:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 … the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

No Christian makes light of the Gospel of Salvation. We cherish it. We guard it. We live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

You Must Be Born Again

Returning to our starting verses, we read:

Luke 8:19-21 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. 20 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. 21 And He answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

Heaven is God’s Home. Heaven is where the Children of God will one day go. How can I become a Child of God? I must “hear the word of God, and do it”. I must hear the Gospel and, applying it to my life, repent and surrender my life to Jesus. Jesus recognizes no relatives of His that have not believed in Him. None. Not even His own stepbrothers.

Let us give ourselves wholly to Him. For the glory of God, and to honor Jesus – call upon Him and be saved! May God the Holy Spirit draw you into Christ’s family this very day. Amen and Amen!

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Who Is God?

Posted on April 5, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 1. Jeremiah comes right after Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Solomon, Isaiah, JEREMIAH. Jeremiah was known as the “Weeping Prophet”. Why? Because God had been good to Israel, but Israel turned away from God. God’s people were chasing sin. God’s people had become indistinguishable from the lost peoples around them. So God sent Jeremiah to a hard hearted people with an uncomfortable message.

Jeremiah preached to Israel more than 40 years. The Book of Jeremiah, is the longest book in the Bible by Hebrew word count. It has 22,285 Hebrew words.

Jeremiah Teaches Us The Goodness
& Faithfulness Of God

We see God’s goodness in Jeremiah’s appointment: We are told in Jeremiah 1:1 that these are “the words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin” (1:1). Jeremiah is the “son of Hilkiah”. Jeremiah’s father “Hilkiah” is the Hebrew חִלְקִיָּה Chilqîyâh, {pronounced khil-kee-yaw’}, which means “The LORD {YHWH} Is My Portion”. The Priestly Tribe of Israel, the Levites, were given no land when they entered Canaan. As priests, God was their Portion (Deuteronomy 10:9; 18:1-8). As the son of a Priest, Jeremiah should have been a Priest himself. However, his father was of the lineage of priests that came from Abiathar. When King Solomon came to the throne, his elder brother Adonijah conspired with the Priest Abiathar to take the throne from Solomon. Solomon ordered his brother Adonijah’s death for this treasonous treachery. But rather than kill the Priest Abiathar, Solomon fired him, and exiled him and his family to (1 Kings 2:20-27) …

“Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.”

Jeremiah, though of the line of priests, could not be a priest because his family was deposed from that office. Jeremiah was – in effect – punished for something he had no control over. Growing up, I’m sure Jeremiah felt less than and at a loss. But our God does not punish the innocent for the guilty. God called Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 1:4-5 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

The word “Then” tells us that Jeremiah was called to prophesy when Jerusalem was at its lowest point. God’s people had turned away from the Lord to follow false idols and selfishness. God allowed Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon to invade Judah, and deport its citizens four times (605, 597, 586, 582 BC). In 586 BC Jerusalem fell, and the Temple was destroyed. Why? Because God’s people stopped following the Lord.

But God in His love nevertheless raised up a Prophet to call His people to repentance. Jeremiah was that Prophet.

See the Goodness of God! God had a plan for Jeremiah’s life, just as He has a plan for yours. No one can mess up God’s plan that He has for you BUT YOU. When God made the world, He made it good, because God is good. The world is not a mess because God made it so, but because WE made it so. God made us “in His image, and after His likeness” (Genesis 1:26). God gave us dominion over this planet. God gave us a companion, a spouse of the opposite sex. When the couple became one flesh (Genesis 2:24), they multiplied and filled the earth. When we look at the intricacy of our bodies, we, along with King David, can say:

Psalm 139:14 I will praise Thee {O Lord}; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Our God is SO GOOD! Adam brought sin into the world, and “death by sin. Death passed upon all people, for all are sinners” (Romans 5:12). God could have destroyed all of humanity by wiping out Adam and Eve, but God did not. Why? Why did God allow mankind to continue on? Because “the goodness of God endureth continually” (Psalm 52:1). It is the “the goodness of God {that} leadeth thee to repentance” (Romans 2:4). Praise Him, that …

Psalm 103:10-11 (ESV) {God} does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him;

God did not have to give Jeremiah another chance – but He did. God told Jeremiah that his life was planned before he was even a zygote! “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee”. God wanted Jeremiah to be His Prophet. Jeremiah was frightened by this call.

Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

When Moses was called to lead Israel out of Egypt, he gave God a similar excuse as to why he couldn’t fulfill the plan of God. Moses said, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” (Exodus 4:10). God told Moses, “Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” (Exodus 4:11-12).

If God calls you, He will equip you to do what He calls you to do. Just trust in Him.

God is not only GOOD, but God is FAITHFUL
(1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13)

God tells Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 1:7-8 … Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

Then God, we are told,

Jeremiah 1:9 … the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

God Is Not Just Good And Faithful, But God Is HOLY

So many people today think of God as “Good”, “Faithful”, and even “Love”. God is indeed all these things. But God is also HOLY and RIGHTEOUS.

Why was Judah being afflicted by Babylon? Was it because God was forgetful, or less than powerful? No! It was because His people began to be UNHOLY and UNRIGHTEOUS.

God’s people are NOT to be UNHOLY or UNRIGHTEOUS. When Jesus Christ was born into this earth, the Angel told Joseph:

Matthew 1:21 {Mary} shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

When God saves a people, He does not allow them to remain in their sins. When God saves a people, He expects His people to follow Him. He said:

Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God.

1 Peter 1:14-16 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

God will not bless an unholy people. He will not bless an unrighteous child. Our God is Holy. Our God is Righteous. I don’t think people understand this concept – even those I have great respect for. For instance …

Illustrate: I was listening to a group of Christian musicians called Mercy Me the other day, hearing their new song entitled “Flawless”. In the song they sing:

“Well let me introduce you to amazing Grace.
No matter the bumps, No matter the bruises;
No matter the scars, Still the truth is;
The cross has made, The cross has made you flawless.
No matter the hurt, Or how deep the wound is,
No matter the pain, Still the truth is,
The cross has made, The cross has made you flawless.”

Is it true that “the Cross has made you flawless”? No, it’s not true. The Cross doesn’t make you flawless.
The Cross makes you blameless.

You will not find a scripture anywhere in the Bible that says that the Cross makes you flawless. You are flawed, and will be flawed while you are on this earth in this life. Jeremiah was “but a child”, unable to do God’s Work. But God told him, “I’ll put the words in your mouth. I’ll give you the words to say.” Moses likewise was not flawless, but flawed. “I am not eloquent”. The Cross doesn’t make you flawless, it makes you blameless. Here’s the Scripture:

Colossians 1:19-23 (ESV) … For in {Jesus} all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through {Jesus} to reconcile to {God} all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 {Jesus} has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation[g] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

The Cross does not make us flawless. The Cross makes the believer in Jesus three things:

holy
blameless
above reproach

Adam traded …

Paradise for Perdition,
the Garden of Eden for Gehenna,
daily communion with God with contention against God.

Though God is good and faithful and merciful, Adam betrayed God, and brought sin into the world. God is HOLY. He is WITHOUT SIN. When the Prophet Isaiah looked into Heaven, what did he see?

Isaiah 6:1-4 … I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim {angels}. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

When Isaiah saw God in His holy glory, he cried out “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”. This is the natural state of man. God is holy, without blemish, righteous and true. When we see Him face to face we realize that we do not measure up to God. He is pure. We are flawed, broken creatures. Only when an angel took a burning coal from the altar of God and put it on Isaiah’s lips (Isaiah 6:6), only then was Isaiah’s iniquity purged (Isaiah 6:7).

This is a picture of the Cross of Christ.
The Cross was God’s Altar of sacrifice.
The Lamb of God died on that Cross.
The Lamb of God paid our sin debt on that Cross.

The Cross of Christ does not make us flawless. The Cross makes the believer “holy”. When you believe on the Only Begotten Son of God, God Himself marks you, and enters your life. You become one of His Children. Flawed yes, but a Child Who loves the Father, a Child Who loves Jesus. Because Jesus took the penalty for my sin on Himself while on that Cross of Calvary, I as a believer am “blameless”. Jesus took my blame. He took my punishment. Praise Him, He took the whipping that I should have taken. But not only this, God makes His Children by faith “above reproach”. Jesus not only took our penalty on Himself, but Jesus imputed His righteousness TO US (Romans 4:22-24).

God saved Israel out of Egypt, and Israel is not to be like Egypt anymore. Egypt is worldliness. God saves the Christian out of the world. The Christian is to live in the Kingdom of God, emulating Jesus.
We are not to be like the world.

God gives Jeremiah two visions:

Jeremiah 1:11-12 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

The first vision is “a rod of an almond tree”. The almond tree was also known as “the watching tree”, as the word “almond” is the Hebrew shaqed, but the word for “watching” is the Hebrew shoqed. God was watching over Judah. He was watching to see if they would repent and return to Him Who loved them. Further, it is a “rod”, which is the Hebrew maqqêl, {pronounced mak-kale}. This word is used of the staff that a traveler might use for walking (Genesis 32:11), or when riding an animal (Numbers 22:27). When David went to meet Goliath, he carried a staff with him (1 Samuel 17:40). God was watching His people, watching their unfaithfulness. God was coming to punish them if they would not repent.

The second vision that God gave Jeremiah was …

Jeremiah 1:13-15 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. 14 Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.

Jeremiah saw a “seething” pot, the Hebrew nâphach, {pronounced naw-fakh’}, which means “a blowing or breathing pot”. When God made Adam from the dust of the Garden, the Scripture says “God breathed {nâphach} into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7). What is coming to Judah is not a breath of life, but a breath of death, defeat, destruction, and disaster. Though Babylon is coming, it is God Who is driving this. Through this God says:

Jeremiah 1:16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

God punishes sin. God and sin are not compatible. When God (who is GOOD) saves us, He does not save us so we can follow other gods or the works of our hands. He saves us so that we can live as children of the Kingdom of God.

Two of my favorite Presidents are Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. They were both very humorous men. One story I heard of Abraham Lincoln is that one day he wanted to go out riding, but the horse he tried to ride was extremely skittish. Every time he tried to mount the horse, it would back away, or start bucking and kicking. At one point the horse hooked one of it’s rear hooves in the rider’s stirrup. President Lincoln said to the horse, “If you’re going to get on, my friend, I’m going to get off!”

Who’s In Charge Of The Horse?

I believe what President Lincoln said to the horse is what God is saying to us in America today. He’s saying, “If you’re going to get on, I’m going to get off”. God saved Israel so that Israel could serve Him. He told Pharaoh,

Exodus 7:16 (ESV) Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.

In the same way, God saves the Christian so that we might serve Him. Pastor Rick Warren said:

“You were saved to serve God. The Bible says, “It is he who saved us and chose us for his holy work not because we deserved it but because that was his plan” (2 Timothy 1:9a TLB). God redeemed you so you could do his “holy work.” You’re not saved by service, but you are saved for service. In God’s Kingdom, you have a place, a purpose, a role, and a function to fulfill. This gives your life great significance and value. It cost Jesus his own life to purchase your salvation. The Bible reminds us, “God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God” (1 Corinthians 6:20 CEV).”

When God saves you, He saves you not to be comfortable, but to live within His plan for your life. We are saved out of the world, and into His Kingdom. The Scripture says:

Romans 14:17 (ESV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

If you are in God’s Kingdom by faith in Christ, it is not about YOU …

It is not about YOU …
It is NOT about YOU …

It is about God. We are called to “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. We are to be like Jesus. If we are in Christ, we are to …

1 Timothy 6:11 flee {the}se things {of the world}; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness …

You may stand alone with God. Yet if you do, you will be in a great place. God told Jeremiah that punishment was coming to Judah because she rejected Him as God. But God told Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 1:17-19 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. 18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defensed city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

David stood before Goliath and won. Why? God was with him.

Moses stood before Pharaoh and won. Why? God was with him.

Jeremiah will stand before Judah and win. Why? God was with him.

Stand with the Lord, and you shall be blessed. May God make His Church to do so, for the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen and Amen!

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Jesus’ Prayer From Calvary

Posted on April 1, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
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Turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 22.

The disciples watched everything Jesus did. Watching Him pray:

Luke 11:1 … as {Jesus} was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

One of His disciples came to Jesus one day and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples”. That was when Jesus taught them what we call the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer we know best in is Matthew 6:9-13, but the Lord’s Prayer is also recorded in:

Luke 11:2-4 And {Jesus} said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

This, I’m sure, is a different “Lord’s Prayer” than the one most of you have memorized; but Luke’s account has all the same elements as does Matthew 6:9-13.

The Lord taught His disciples
How to pray by His example

The Apostles recorded the thirty eight times Jesus prayed in the Gospels. As an Orthodox Jew, Jesus prayed at least three times a day as the Jews normally did. “Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud: and God shall hear my voice!” (Psalm 55:17). Jesus prayed all night before He chose the first twelve Apostles (Luke 6:12-16). Jesus prayed various times as He met great challenge and darkness. Jesus prayed in Gethsemane all night prior to his capture, trials, and crucifixion.

Jesus also prayed while He was being crucified, one of the most terrible and shameful forms of death. Jesus prayed as He hung on Calvary:

“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)

Jesus Quoted Psalm 22:1 in His Prayer From Calvary

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

Jesus prayer is the introduction to what is known as the Psalm of the Cross. the Psalm begins with the prayer our Lord Jesus on the Cross. Jesus cried out:

My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?

Why did the Father look away from the Son? Why would Father – who always called Jesus “Beloved Son” – forsake Jesus? Because the penalty of our sin was laid fully on Jesus. The Scripture says in

Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

God is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13). The Father laid upon Jesus our iniquity and our transgressions. Jesus Christ came into this world to die on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus came knowing that He was the Lamb of God that takes away sin.

As the Messiah (and David) pray, there is the sense that God the Father is not listening.

Psalm 22:1 … why art Thou so far from helping Me, and from the words of My roaring?

Though these words are not recorded as a prayer that Jesus said from Calvary, I believe
Jesus could have prayed this.

Dr. Bob Utley (retired professor of hermeneutics), in his Bible Commentary, notes:

“ The psalmist is calling on God in direct address with intensity and passion. They know each other! Just a note about Jesus quoting the first part of this psalm from the cross, by that He meant (or an inspired gospel writer) for future readers to read the whole psalm. Quoting the first line was a way to denote a context on a Scripture scroll. ”

Jesus always walked hand in hand with both Father and Spirit. Yet now it seems as if God is so far away, that He might not hear my prayers. Jesus is the Son of Man Who came to this earth living a perfect and sinless life. His mission is to give His life for our sins. In taking sin on Himself, Jesus is cutting Himself off from both Father and Spirit.

Psalm 22 is not only a prayer of David, but it is a prophecy fulfilled when Jesus died for our sins. He did so by losing contact with our Father because of our sin. This prayer continues:

Psalm 22:2-3 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Though God was seemingly far away, the Psalmist presents a person who continued to both seek as well as to praise the Lord.

Though suffering, Jesus does not attack God in His suffering. He calls God “holy”, and the One Who “inhabit{s} the praises of Israel”. He prays God’s past faithfulness.

Psalm 22:4-6 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

The fathers of Israel trusted the Lord, and He delivered them. But God’s only Begotten Son could not be deliver.

On Calvary, Jesus was treated like He was nothing. “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” (Isaiah 53:3). I believe in His honesty He would have shared with the Father – as David did – the suffering he was going through.

None was more reviled in His life than Jesus was. As He was on the Cross,

Psalm 22:7-8 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Again, this is prophetic, as it was fulfilled . Suffering, none offer any comfort. They mock Him, and scorn Him.

Matthew 27:39-43 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, 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.

Jesus received nothing but mockery and pain. Though when He was reviled, reviled not in return; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.

David prayed,

Psalm 22:9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly. 11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. 13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

All (even the Presence of the Father) turned against Jesus while He was on the Cross. . Surrounded by enemies Jesus continues to pray. The Prophet speaks. He prays, acknowledging the terrible pain that gripped Him. His “bones are out of joint” because of the crucifixion. His heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. Jesus is physically exhausted. Blood loss has caused loss of strength and dehydration. “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws”.

Psalm 22:17-19 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 19 But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

Again, this could be Jesus’ prayer. Stretched out on the Cross, you would be able to count the ribs of the condemned. The Bible says in:

John 19:23-24 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

Jesus is hanging on Calvary, all of His dignity gone! And yet, He continues to pray, to find His strength in His Father.

Psalm 22:20-23 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. 22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

Though afflicted, this Seeker sought deliverance from His suffering, while continuing to honor the Father. He vowed, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee”. God would be glorified and praised. If you take Psalm 22:1-22 as a prayer, you see a pattern of how we could pray, though afflicted.

Rather than hiding yourself from God, be honest and forthcoming. Bring your questions to the Father. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” (vs 1). It is ok to share your pain to the Father. It is ok to ask questions. Yet, we are never to condemn God for whatever might come. At no point in this prayer does the sufferer “punch down” on God. As the Psalmist went through hard times in His ministry, He called on God for strength. He called on God to be Present.

In the first 22 verses we see what could be a prayer from the Cross. But as we turn to verse 23 and following, this is no longer a prayer. The remaining verses DO NOT SPEAK TO GOD, BUT SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC. You might call these verses an anointed Word:

Psalm 22:23-24 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

We are encouraged to praise God, giving Him glory even in the midst of the trial. If the trial has come to you, it has come at the behest of the Creator. Because we “fear the Lord,we praise him”, because He is good. Our God has never his Himself from the afflicted, but hears our prayers.

Psalm 22:25-27 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

The prayer still praises God, because our God is good! (Psalm 73:1). The Scripture says, Matthew 5:45, “God maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust”. Our God is in control! “For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations”(Psalm 22:28). The Jesus Who was reviled, mocked, and tormented relies fully on the Father.

When Jesus is Lord of this earth, “all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before {Him}”. That Day is coming – and I’m looking forward to it. This Psalm ends with the promise of the future:

Psalm 22:29-31 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. 30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. 31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

May your future be firmly rooted in Jesus Christ. Let us worship Him, for He is worthy. As J Vernon McGee once said in Thru The Bible,

“in Psalm 22 we see the cross, in Psalm 23 the crook (the Shepherd’s crook), and in Psalm 24 the crown (the King’s crown). In Psalm 22 Christ is the Savior; in Psalm 23 He is the Satisfier; in Psalm 24 He is the Sovereign. In Psalm 22 He is the foundation; in Psalm 23 He is the manifestation; in Psalm 24 He is the expectation. In Psalm 22 He dies; in Psalm 23 He is living; in Psalm 24 He is coming. Psalm 22 speaks of the past; Psalm 23 speaks of the present; and Psalm 24 speaks of the future. In Psalm 22 He gives His life for the sheep; in Psalm 23 He gives His love to the sheep; in Psalm 24 He gives us light when He shall appear. What a wonderful picture we have of Christ in these three psalms!”

Let us learn to pray like Jesus prayed. And now, to our prayer service. Amen and Amen.

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Be Strong – Grow In Grace

Posted on March 28, 2022 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. A few weeks ago we studied the “faithful sayings” of the Apostle Paul, pistos logos, “faithful is the Word”. We looked at:

2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

I noted then that, if as believers we deny Jesus, that is, to allow that there are other ways to be saved apart from Jesus, or if we affirm that anyone but Jesus is the Messiah, then He will deny us. We can have a crisis of faith – we have all experienced that at times. But we cannot deny Him, or we will be denied.

Look at verse 1:

2 Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Paul exhorts Timothy – a missionary he left at Ephesus – to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”. It is GRACE that saves a person. If we are saved BY GRACE, then our salvation is not of WORKS, otherwise GRACE is no more GRACE (Romans 11:6).

We are not saved by:

religious ritual, by bead counting, by praying to a saint or to Mary.
We are not saved by animal sacrifices, nor by holy water, nor by
ceremonial baptism (which is but a like figure of salvation – 1 Peter 3:21). We are not saved by genuflection, by a human priest’s blessing,
by last rites, by institutions, by human efforts.

We are saved by Grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT OF GOD, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast”. It is the sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross that saves me. When I received Jesus as Lord and Savior, believing Him to be the one and only Messiah, the Savior, and believed He died for my salvation, and rose from the grave for my justification – then God the Holy Spirit saves me. It is the Spirit of God that causes the Christian to be “born again”. Not as we were, but as children of God.

It is GRACE that brings us to the new birth. It is GRACE that makes the new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Rituals do nothing. The Apostle said:

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

But Grace Is Not A Temporal Thing

The Christian is SAVED by GRACE (Ephesians 2:5), but GRACE is also what we live in. The Bible tells us to:

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Grace is something we GROW in. Our focal text says:

2 Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

We are “strong in the grace” when we – when afflicted or placed in the crucible of life – run to the arms of Jesus rather than relying on our strength. “Blessed is the one whose strength is in God” (Psalm 84:5). “Blessed is the one who trusteth in God” (Psalm 84:12). “Blessed is the one that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. But cursed is the one who trusts in man, who makes flesh his arm, whose heart departs from the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5-8). Oh Beloved, we need to be “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”.

How do we grow in Grace?
How do we get STRONGER in Grace?

We rely upon the Word of God. We rely upon the teaching of the Prophets and the Apostles, this thing we call the Holy Bible. The Apostle tells Timothy (and Timothy is helping establish local churches in Ephesus):

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Paul says, “the things that thou hast heard of me”, the truths that Paul wrote in the Bible, Timothy was to heed that Word. Timothy was also to teach what he had been taught by the Apostle to “faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also”. The Church and it’s power is derived from the teachings of the Apostles and Prophets found in this Bible.

There was a time when Baptists were called “people of the Book”. When we came together as a Church, every Christian would bring their Bible. We believed the Bible to be the Word of God, inspired of God, and written by holy men as they were “moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). When Jesus was in the Upper Room, teaching His disciples just before His crucifixion, He told them:

John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

The Holy Spirit would come to the Apostles first to teach them the truth of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit would minister to the Apostles first,

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

In the Old Testament, God moved on the Prophets to write the Word of God, the Bible. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit of God moved on the Apostles, causing them to write the sacred scriptures. The Southern Baptist Faith and Message states that the Scriptures are:

… written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21. (Section I, Baptist Faith & Message, 2000)

The Church and the Christian have lost their power in this present age because we do not believe the Scripture necessary nor sufficient. Consider how few come to our Wednesday night and Sunday night services. If our people believed the Scripture to be sufficient, they would come to hear it and apply it to their lives. Listen Beloved:

You are only STRONG in GRACE and GROWING in GRACE when you feast on the truths of God’s Word.

The early Church grew because …

Acts 2:42 … they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

They “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine”, that is, the writings the Apostles made that we today call the New Testament. These men wrote as empowered by God the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul told Timothy to heed HIS WORDS, and to TEACH THESE WORDS to other people of faith.

Timothy helped local Churches organize in Ephesus. When Paul wrote to the Church at Ephesus, not how he described the Church:

Ephesians 2:19-22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; {20} And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; {21} In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: {22} In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

The Church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets”. Paul is speaking of the Bible you have. The FOUNDATION of the Church is not strange and worldly philosophies, but the Holy Scripture, rightly read, studied, and understood.

Illustrate: Recently in USA TODAY I read:

“Penn swimmer Lia Thomas becomes first
trans woman to win NCAA swimming championship”

This biological man beat the women with the best time. The liberal world cheers this. Yet the “Washington Examiner” noted:

“Thomas, formerly known as Will Thomas, competed on the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s swimming team for the first half of his collegiate career before deciding to transition and join the women’s swimming team. When he made the switch, Thomas went from ranking #462 as a male to #1 as a female. He went on to break multiple records at the national level this season. In one December race, he beat the girls swimming against him by nearly 40 seconds. On Thursday, he finished the 500-yard freestyle two seconds ahead of every other swimmer, two of whom were Olympians.”

This is what happens when people depart from the Word of God. The Scripture defines God’s design, whereas Americans today are defying God’s design. What God has established as true and proper are found in this Scripture, this Holy Book. We read:

2 Timothy 2:3-5 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

We as Christians are in a battle for the souls of mankind. On our side is the Holy Scripture, a Scripture that the world, and much of the Church, does not believe. This is why there is mass confusion in America today, because we have as a nation and as a Church departed from the sufficiency of the Scripture. So many professing Christians sit watching hours of television, flooding their souls with the word of man, while ignoring the Word of God.

If you love and adhere to God’s Word, you are going to be in the minority. You will be ridiculed by the enemy. You perhaps will be banned from social media, or even imprisoned for what you believe. Yet we are to continue our allegiance to Jesus Christ and this Word of God – even unto the death.

2 Timothy 2:7-10 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. 8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: 9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. 10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Our cause is right, and just. If we are saved by Grace, the Holy Spirit indwells us:

Romans 8:9 ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

You are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19), and the Spirit of God inhabits you. The Apostle Paul was imprisoned for preaching the Scripture, that “Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead”. Paul said, “I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound”. The Word of God cannot be bound, though we can be. God’s Word is sufficient. God’s Word is sure. It is God’s Word that leads us to Grace and salvation. It is God’s Word that strengthens our faith daily.

We Are To Avoid The Word Of The World,
While Embracing The Word Of God

2 Timothy 2:14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

We are not called to “strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers”. These are the words of the world, the words of Satan. As early as the Book of Genesis – in the Garden of Eden – Satan attacked the Word of God. Satan will always attack the Word of God. What did the devil, that old serpent, say to Eve?

Genesis 3:1 … Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

His accusation – though left handed – was that God was withholding something good from Adam and Eve. Then Satan directly attacks the Word of God:

Genesis 3:4-5 … Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

This is what the devil and the world does. It contradicts the Word of God. It makes God out to be a liar, or a Simon Legree, or Someone worst. As soon as Satan got Eve to suspect the Scripture, it was very little time before she ate the forbidden, and gave also to her husband with her. This is what the devil and the lost world does. They promote a word that causes “subverting of the hearers”, not blessing. If the devil can get you to receive the word of the world over the Word of God, then he can effectually destroy your walk with God. The Apostle told the Church at Thessalonica:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

When the words of the Bible are received as “the word of God”, then these words “effectually work{s}” in our lives. The New Testament scriptures are not the words of men, but are the Word of God. The Apostle said in another place:

1 Corinthians 14:37-38 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. {38} But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant …

We are to empty our hearts of the word of the world, and trust the Word of God. The Great Evangelist D.L. Moody wrote:

“I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.”

Human opinion may or may not be right. Human philosophies lead to mass confusion. But God’s Word, the Bible, is true and reliable. Solomon wrote:

Proverbs 30:5-6 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. {6} Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

We cannot compromise with the world.

Christians Are To Study The Scriptures,
In Partnership With God

2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

How does one know if they are a genuine Christian? We “Study” the Scriptures. The word “Study” is the Greek spoudazo {pronounced spoo-dad’-zo}, “be diligent to study, apply oneself toward, to focus on and apply to the life”. The word “approved” is the Greek dokimos {pronounced dok’-ee-mos}, which means “genuine, true, of good value”. How does one know you are a Christian? By studying the Word of God. By not just reading it, but applying it’s teachings to your life. If your Christian walk is in accordance to the Word of God, then you are where you need to be.

The Pharisees often attacked Jesus, believing themselves to be genuinely saved and anointed of God. Yet Jesus often chastised the Pharisees because they turned away from the Word of God, twisting it by their traditions. Jesus indicted them, saying:

Mark 7:9-13 … Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. {10} For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: {11} But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. {12} And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; {13} Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Jesus declared that the Pharisees were charlatans, pretenders to faith, because they did not adhere to the Scripture. The Scripture commands that we “honor our father and mother” (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 15:4). We are to take care of our families. The Pharisees developed a system called “Corban”, and dedicated moneys that they wanted to preserve as “Corban” or dedicated to God. When their parents needed help, the Pharisee would say, “The only free money I have is Corban, dedicated to God”. By their man made laws and customs, the Pharisees violated the Word of God.

The Lord orders us to study Scripture but not human opinion. Human opinion comes from a sinful source, and ultimately does not profit the user. What does Paul tell us:

2 Timothy 2:16-18 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

We are to study and revere the Word of God, but are to “shun profane and vain babblings”. We are to reject the liberal agenda. The liberal, progressive nonsense that television is pushing as normative is destroying the family in America – which is what Satan loves to do. These things are “profane and vain babblings”. “Profane” is the Greek βέβηλος bébēlos, {pronounced beb’-ay-los}, which means “wicked, unlawful, unholy”. The words “vain babblings” is but one word in the Greek κενοφωνία kenophōnía, {pronounced ken-of-o-nee’-ah}, which means “empty discussions, words that are useless and fruitless”. As Christians, we are NOT to engage in the false teachings of this world. We are to SHUN the PROFANE, the WICKED, the EVIL. We are to SHUN the empty things the world promotes as truth. Why? Because these things do nothing to build UP our faith. They, on the other hand, tear down our faith. In short,

Turn off the Television, and open the Book!

You prove yourself a genuine believer by measuring up to the Word of God. Let us assume you say:

“I am a Christian going to Heaven. I am also living in a sexual relationship outside of Biblical marriage.”

What does the Scripture say? We read in Scripture of those who live in sexual sin in:

Romans 1:21-32 … when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

A cursory reading of this Scripture tells us that the person who says,

“I am a Christian going to Heaven. I am also living
in a sexual relationship outside of Biblical marriage.”

is not true. The Christian’s lifestyle will adhere to the standard of this Book. We learn of Christ from this Book. We learn of salvation from this Book. We learn how a child of God is to live from this Book. “Profane and vain babblings” always lead to “more ungodliness”. We are not to allow this nonsense into our midst.

The Apostle very rarely names people in his writings, but here he speaks of two men:

2 Timothy 2:17-18 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

The word of the world “eats like a canker, a cancer”. There are many churches today infected with the cancer of the word of this world. Paul refers to two men, “Hymenaeus and Philetus”, who brought the word of the world into the local Church. Paul talks about “Hymenaeus” here, as well as in:

1 Timothy 1:18-20 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

“Hymenaeus and Alexander” were blasphemers, speaking untruths against God. They might have been the first among those who preach an “all faiths inclusive” doctrine, or what gibberish I often hear, “there are many ways to Heaven”. This is blasphemy. Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: No one comes to the Father BUT BY ME” (John 14:6). False teaching and false teachers always lead people away from the faith, and away from Grace. This is why we are to reject it.

God’s Word is true.

Let us end with these words:

2 Timothy 2:19-20 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.

The Lord knows who are His children. If you are a Child of God, you are to “depart from iniquity”. The Family of God is a GREAT HOUSE, a fantastic dynasty ordered with Christ at its Head, and believers – built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets (the Bible). In any GREAT HOUSE there are many different containers. Some containers are “vessels of gold and of silver”, whereas others are “vessels of wood and of earth”. Some vessels contain honorable things, but others dishonorable.

We are to strive to be vessels of honorable things. We do this by studying and applying God’s Word to our lives. We believe what the Apostles and Prophets believe. We adhere to the truths of Scripture, though none go with us. The Apostle says,

2 Timothy 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

The Lord will not use you unless your view is HIS view. Your mind must be HIS mind. We are to follow His Word. The days are short – judgment is coming. Jesus could come any day. May God move on us to cherish His Word. Amen and Amen.

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