Our Business Is God’s Kingdom

Posted on August 9, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
God is light
Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash

John 1:10-14 He {Jesus} was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. {11} He came unto his own, and his own received him not. {12} But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: {13} Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. {14} And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Why Are We Here Today? Why Am I A Christian?

When Sherry and I were stationed in England for the United States Air Force we had the wonderful opportunity of riding these big red double decker buses in London. We’d taker our boys to the top floor of the bus – an upper “uncovered” floor – and enjoy a wonderful view as we rode around town. It was wonderful to ride those buses – that is, when you could get on them.

There were several times when our family was waiting at a bus stop, excited to ride the bus … and the bus driver passed us by without stopping! It wasn’t just us, but this happened frequently throughout London. Someone finally complained about this to the London Transit Authority, the organization that maintains the city buses. The London Transit Authority issued a public paper that stated the following:

“It is impossible for us to maintain our schedule if we are always having to stop and pick up passengers”

The Transit Authority forgot what its purpose is. Without passengers, the bus is useless. Without passengers, the Transit Authority makes no money. The business of the London Transit Authority is to take people around town in buses.

What Is The Business Of The Church?

The Business of the Church is to introduce the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom to a world that neither knows Him, nor wants to know Him. We are Light bearers & Seed sowers.

In our text today we see a tension between Jesus and the world He made. Jesus made the world. Jesus made every person who has ever been made. The Bible says:

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word {that’s Jesus}, and the Word {that’s Jesus} was with God, and the Word {that’s Jesus} was God. 2 The same {that’s Jesus} was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

The Bible says “All things were made by him”. That’s Jesus. The Apostle Paul said of Jesus:

Colossians 1:15-18 Who {that’s Jesus} is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature {Jesus is the Source of all life}: 16 For by him {that’s Jesus} were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him {that’s Jesus}, and for him {that’s Jesus}: 17 And he {that’s Jesus} is before all things, and by him {that’s Jesus} all things consist {are held together}. 18 And he {that’s Jesus} is the head of the body, the church…

The Business of the Church is to tell others about Jesus, and as they believe on Him this will bring the Kingdom of God more and more to this present world.

We share what Jesus did for us to the lost. Our intent is not to make the world more religious. Our intent is not to bring more Baptists into the Church. Our intent is to share Jesus with others through prayer, through sharing, through growing more aware of Biblical truth.

Jesus sent His disciples into the world to offer people a relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. You cannot offer what you do not have. You must first have a daily relationship with Jesus, following Him and loving Him. It is the lovers of Jesus Christ that inhabit the Kingdom of God.

But it’s a battle. It’s always been a battle. Our text tells us that when Jesus Christ HIMSELF was in the world, that …

John 1:10 He {Jesus} was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew him not.

When Jesus Christ began His earthly ministry, He was spurned by the world He was in. When Philip of Bethsaida met Jesus, he ran to his friend Nathaniel, and told him:

John 1:45 We have found him {that’s Jesus}, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Oh, how EXCITED Philip was! “We have found the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Come on! Let’s go see Him.” Nathaniel’s response is like most of those in the world. Nathaniel said:

John 1:46 … Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?

Oh Beloved, Jesus came to an Israel that He loved FIRST, because … and hear me – God always keeps His promises. God promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David that Messiah would come through Israel. Time passed, and Israel drew far away from God. But “God is faithful!” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

“His own (people) received him not”. When Jesus came to the synagogue at Nazareth and began to teach, “His own (people)” refused to hear Him. They said:

John 1:54-57 Whence hath this man {Jesus} this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57 And they were offended in him.

Jesus created this world. When Jesus Christ came into the world, born of a Virgin (Luke 2:7), He did not suddenly “come into being”, nor was He “born” as a baby is born. Jesus came into the world a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, with a feed pen for His bed – but this was merely the outward package that God chose to wear. Jesus entered the world the way He did because of a promise God made, found in:

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

Immanuel (or Emmanuel) means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). God, through His Scripture and His prophets, foretold that the Messiah would come into this world through a virgin. This was a supernatural birth. “That holy thing which shall be born of thee {Mary} shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35).

God came into the world through a virgin,
Just as God said He would.
The God Who came into the world made the world.
This God-Man, Jesus, is the Creator of all things.
He came to rescue sinners, and to establish His Kingdom.
But the world, the cosmos, does not know Him.

There Is A Kingdom Of Light (of Christ)
And A Kingdom of Darkness (of Adam)

There is a kingdom of darkness – the fallen world and satan – and a Kingdom of Light – the saved believer and Jesus Christ. These two kingdoms are always in opposition to one another. The Kingdom of Light is driven by love for Jesus. Our Lord said:

Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

There is a battle for men & women’s souls going on. The world and those who embrace it are comfortable in their darkness. We are told in our context that Jesus Christ came into the world to bring LIGHT. And yet,

John 1:5 … the light (that’s Jesus) shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

When Jesus Christ walked on this earth, He gave a perfect expression of the love of God. Everywhere Jesus walked the Glory of God shined round about Him. He touched, caressed, loved, healed, replaced, raised – Jesus Christ walked this earth as a perfect expression of God in the flesh. In love, God the Son reached out and lovingly healed people time and time again. And yet, Jesus was largely rejected. Why? Our Lord Jesus told us in:

John 3:19-21 … this is the condemnation, that light (that’s Jesus) is come into the world, and men loved darkness (that’s sin & self) rather than light (that’s Jesus), because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light (that’s Jesus), neither cometh to the light (that’s Jesus), lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light (that’s Jesus), that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

What is happening in the world today is the same thing that has happened since the beginning of humanity in Eden. There are two Kingdoms – the kingdom of Adam, and the Kingdom of God (that’s Jesus). These two kingdoms are at war with one another. The first shot was fire in Eden when Adam followed the created rather than the Creator.

The Creator said “Don’t eat of that tree”, but the created said “Do”. Adam, the created, followed the created rather than the Creator.

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

All humanity fell into spiritual death. All humanity became blinded to the Light of God. All humanity turned away from the Kingdom of God and turned toward the kingdom of many gods. If you are a part of Jesus’ Kingdom, you follow the King of Light, not the darkness of the created. 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.

Those who are Christ’s walk together, following Jesus, walking in the light. The lost do not do this. The lost, comfortable in the darkness, feel that they do not need Jesus. The devil, his demons, and the fallen themselves conspire to hide the glorious Gospel of salvation from the world. The Apostle saw this, and said:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: {4} In whom the god of this world (that’s the devil) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God (that’s Jesus), should shine unto them.

Though salvation is free to all who will accept it, you must be led by God to repent or turn away from sin and – with arms wide open – receive Jesus Christ as Savior & Lord. We plant the seed. God shines the light.

Once saved, Jesus said that you enter His Kingdom of Light. Jesus said:

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

As believers in Christ, we continually try and share Christ – the Light of God – with a blind world. We share – we do not coerce or force. There was a Christian barber, who, after prayer, thought that he should share his faith with his customers. The next morning when the barber got up out of bed, he prayed, “Lord, give me an opportunity to share my faith today”. Opening his shop up, an elderly gentleman came in and said, “I need a shave”. Of course, sir, hop up in the chair. I’ll be with you in a moment. The Christian barber went in the back room and prayed: “Lord, You’ve sent someone for me to witness to. Give me the wisdom to know just what to say. Amen!”. The barber approached the customer with a razor glinting in one hand, and a Bible, saying “Good morning! Are you ready to die?”.

What we are offering in Christ to people is not just death insurance – but life insurance. Eternal life insurance. Jesus died to make payment for our sins, but Jesus rose from the grave to show us that sin itself is to die.

If you profess to be a Christian, and think that you are saved so you can freely sin & walk in darkness, then the devil has deceived you … You quite probably aren’t a Christian!

Children of the Kingdom are not bound to sin. The Scripture says:

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

Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Matthew 1:21 … Jesus will save His people FROM their sins …

Jesus came to “take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Christ cannot be seen by those dead in their sins – but we who are Christians, alive unto God, born again by the Blood of the Lamb, are children of the Kingdom of Light. We are to be Light.

When A Nation Rejects Jesus, It Is Imperiled

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

When Messiah came, Israel as a nation rejected Jesus. Why? 1. Israel blended with the world, and 2. Israel moved from a relationship with God to religion. And yet, God is faithful. God promised in:

Psalms 89:3-4 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

God made this promise – the promise that the Messiah would come through the line of David – because David loved God. If Israel had continued to walk in a relationship with God as David did, then perhaps the nation would have celebrated and recognized the coming of Jesus. But Israel forgot their calling, and began to worship religion rather than a relationship with God. Jesus warned Israel when He said:

Luke 13:5-9 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. {6} He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree {the fig tree is a picture of Israel} planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. {7} Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? {8} And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: {9} And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

If God Cut Down The Fig Tree Israel,
He Can Cut Down The Stars & Stripes

The hope of our nation is Jesus Christ. We must remember Jesus’ command, a command given just before He ascended unto Heaven. He said:

Acts 1:8 … ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Jesus suffered and died to save sinners like you and I. Jesus suffered on Calvary to “save a wretch like me”. Jesus was:

Isaiah 53:3 despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows (that’s Jesus), and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him (that’s Jesus); he was despised (that’s Jesus), and we esteemed him not.

Jesus did that for you and I. Jesus did that for every sinner who walks this earth. Jesus died for the straight, the gay, the transsexual, the queer. Jesus died for the murderer, the liar, the slanderer, the gossip. Jesus died for the self righteous, and the pure evil. Jesus died for all, that whosoever will can come to Him and be saved both from and out of their sin.

We who are Christ’s by faith are walking billboards for His Kingdom. We represent our Jesus!

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

As Christians in this evil world we must be careful to keep our Church centered on glorifying Jesus, our Blessed Savior. We must encourage one another to walk as the Scripture commands the children of God to walk, in Love to both God and Man. Many churches have become entertainment factories, as divorced from Christ as the Israel that rejected Him. Many who claim Christ as Savior no longer support God’s Church with either attendance or tithe. Yet the Church, as was Israel in the Old Testament, is God’s means for evangelizing the Lost while glorifying the Savior Jesus Christ.

During World War II every building, every Church house in Ireland was kept in “blackout” conditions after a certain time every night. Preachers spoke to congregations in darkened buildings. Lights were extinguished, lest the Germans see the light and drop bombs on the church buildings in town. One preacher, Donald Grey Barnhouse, was speaking when someone accidentally turned the lights ON in the church. The congregation gasped, and Barnhouse stopped speaking. One man cried out “What happened! Why did he stop preaching?” Someone had to explain to that man what happened, because, you see, that man was blind. The blind cannot see the light. The Church has to tell the blind about the Light that is Jesus!

The Saved Are Supernatural Sons Of God

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

  • A son of God is born not of blood. Your mother or father’s salvation does not apply to your account. Your grandmother or grandfather’s salvation does not pass down to you. It is “not of blood”. Friend, Jesus said “… YOU must be born again.” (John 3:7)
  • A son of God is born not of the will of the flesh. There is no good work that you can do in the flesh that will bring you into Christ’s Kingdom. Jesus said, “the work of God is this: believe in the One the Father has sent” (John 6:29).

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

  • A son of God is born not of the will of man. I cannot make you be saved. I cannot do as that barber did with his razor. As much as I’d love to see every soul on this earth in Heaven, you must make the choice. I pray you choose to believe in Jesus.

Only in Jesus will you find the life God wants you to live. Oh Beloved, come. Hear the Spirit’s cry. Call out to Jesus. Repent, and be saved. May God the Holy Spirit and His Word move you this very day. Amen and amen!

Oswald Chambers wrote, “The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person’s life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you.” (My Utmost for His Highest)

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Christians Are The Church

Posted on August 9, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 12:

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

I enjoyed Ronnie Burn’s teaching last Wednesday night. He covered a lot of good doctrinal teachings. One thing that Ronnie brought up was the often heard statement,
“I Don’t Have To Go To Church To Be A Christian”

Ronnie’s response to this was “you don’t have to go home to your wife to be married”. That’s a good response. A husband who never goes home to his wife is indeed a poor husband. A Christian who never assembles with other Christians is indeed a poor Christian. You enter the Christian way of life by faith alone in Christ alone. The early Protestant Reformed Church called this Sola Christus, “Through Christ Alone”. Salvation comes to a person who, repenting of their sins, receives the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. As an old time Evangelist Vance Havner once said,

“Going to Church doesn’t make you a Christian, any more than
going to the garage makes you a car!”

Going TO a PLACE never makes a POSITIVE spiritual difference! You can faithfully go TO a place – like the Temple or the Church house – and be far away from God. Jesus illustrated this in Luke Chapter 18. A Pharisee went TO the Temple, but the Publican stood OUTSIDE the Temple. Listen to this:

Luke 18:11-14 The Pharisee stood {in the Temple} and prayed thus with himself, 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. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The Pharisee went TO the TEMPLE, but was FAR from God. The Publican stayed OUTSIDE the TEMPLE, and yet God “justified” him. Going TO a PLACE does not save you! Never has, and never will.

Biblically, The Church Is Not
A Building That You Go To

I want to re-examine that question, “Must I go TO Church to be saved?” I submit to you that this, in itself, is a bad question. In the Old Testament the TEMPLE was a shadow of what God would one day do in Christ. People went TO the TEMPLE to make sacrifice for sins. These were shadows of the Cross. No one was ever actually SAVED by animal sacrifices. It was but a temporary thing. Under Christ, we no longer go TO the TEMPLE. Listen, Beloved,

EVERY BELIEVER IS A TEMPLE!

This is clearly taught in the Scriptures. We read:

1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

And again, 1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Preach This!: If the TEMPLE is the Christian, then WHAT IS “THE CHURCH”? The Church is a GATHERING of TEMPLES, of believers in Christ. Temples are commanded to gather together. Temples are forced to be together. Scripturally,

If you are SAVED, you are COMMANDED and MADE to connect together with other believers as a “Church”!

The word “Church” is first found in the New Testament from the lips of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in:

Matthew 16:18 … upon this rock I will build MY CHURCH

The Church belongs to Jesus. The Christian belongs to Jesus. You read that earlier in 1 Corinthians 6:19: your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Word Study: You do not belong to you anymore. You belong to Jesus. The word “Church” is the Greek is the Greek ἐκκλησία ekklēsia which means “those who are CALLED OUT of this world”. You no longer belong to this world. You belong to Jesus if you are saved. You are created to walk in union with others who are saved.

The second time the word “Church” occurs in Scripture is when Jesus discusses CONFLICT RESOLUTION in the gathering of believers. I don’t have time to go into this (it is another sermon), but it is found in Matthew 18:15-20.

The third time the word “Church” occurs in Scripture is in the Book of Acts. The Apostle Peter has been preaching faith in Christ to a crowd on the Day of Pentecost. The Bible says:

Acts 2:40-41 … with many other words did {Peter} testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Those who “gladly received his word were baptized”. These who were baptized were “added unto them about three thousand souls”. The 120 Christians in the upper room grew by 3000 – now there are 3120 believers in Jesus. These believers did not scatter, but assembled together to worship the Lord. THEY HAD NO CHURCH BUILDING, BUT MET IN THE TEMPLE ON SOLOMON’S PORCH. We read:

Acts 2:42-47 And they {the disciples} continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favor with all the people.

The Church – a group of Temples – gathered for four reasons: “the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers”. Now here’s the clincher. The Bible says:

Acts 2:47 …. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The saved are part of the Church. The two go hand in hand. The saved belong to Jesus. The Church belongs to Jesus. The saved gather together.

It is popular today among Generation X (those born after the Baby Boomers) and Millennials to disregard and minimize the Church. I come across articles all the time like “12 Reasons Millenials (sic) Are Over The Church”, or “Why millennials are leaving the church (sic)” where well meaning young people bash the Church for not addressing their needs. One writer said,

“We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers.”

In other words, the Bible is not cherished as the final source of truth. The writer went on to say, “We want our LGBT friends to feel truly welcome in our faith communities”. A Bible affirming Church will love the LGBT community, but they will be quite uncomfortable under the preaching of Bible truths. So will those engaged in heterosexual sex outside of marriage, which is sin. Here’s the bottom line:

The Church – the gathering of Temples that belong to Jesus – is Christ’s property. Jesus Christ is the Head of His Church.

Ephesians 1:22 And {God the Father} put all things in subjection under {Jesus Christ’s} feet, and gave {Jesus} as head over all things to the church …

Ephesians 5:23 … the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. (this verse has many of the lost hopping mad!)

Jesus also is Head of the Body, the Church (Colossians 1:18). Why should we gather as the Church? Why MUST we gather as the Church? Because:

Spiritual Power Is Found Only In The Gathered Church

1 Corinthians 12:1-2 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

The “APOSTLE’S DOCTRINE” we are talking about in this gathering of the Church is “SPIRITUAL GIFTS”. Spiritual gifts are so very important. Why? The Apostle tells us that “ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led”. When we were unsaved, without Christ, we were LED ABOUT by DUMB IDOLS. What is a DUMB IDOL? Well, an IDOL is a false god or goddess, something that is not the True God, but an imitator that is not God but pretends to be God. The IDOL is “DUMB”. The word translated “DUMB” is the Greek ἄφωνος aphōnos, which means “without a voice, without significance, unmeaning, destitute of the power of language”. An idol has no authority, no voice, no sense. When we were lost we followed the senseless foolishness that the world itself follows. We see these things in our world today:


Gender Disphoria (A male desiring to be female, etc)
Redefinition of Marriage (same sex)
Normalization of Abortion
Critical Race Theory as new racism

These things were just as prevalent in the ancient Roman and Grecian worlds as they are in our current America. Why? Because the farther a person draws away from God, the more empty and “dumb” their LOGOS becomes. When King Solomon drew away from a daily relationship with Christ, he wrote:

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. 3 What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?

Life becomes empty – just mere existence – when we draw away from Christ. The Apostles did not want the Christian to go down this path. If you do not stand together, Christians, then satan will tear you apart. Thus the Church. The Church is where the power of God is vested. When the Church comes together, loving God and loving one another, it has spiritual power. When the Church comes together and works together in love – both vertical and horizontal – then Jesus is in our midst. It does not matter how small the gathering is. Jesus said:

Matthew 18:20 where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

A mega-Church is not more effective than a mini-Church is. As long as the Temples are “gathered together in MY NAME”, under the authority of Jesus, seeking to please Him and Him alone.

The Church is Christ centered.

1 Corinthians 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

When someone says that Jesus is “accursed” (Greek ἀνάθεμα anáthema) – when Christ and His teachings are minimized or disregarded, when Christ is outside of the assembly or excommunicated – then it is certain that the Spirit of God is not in the assembly. There are many gatherings of professing Christians today that fall into this category. When the local Church gathers, the main subject will always be Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you ALL THINGS, and bring ALL THINGS TO YOUR REMEMBRANCE, (listen now), whatsoever I HAVE SAID UNTO YOU” (John 14:26). If someone denigrates or ignores what Jesus has taught, this is idolatrous or dumb teachings. However, if what has been said emphasizes “Jesus is the Lord”, then this is Holy Spirit driven guidance.

It is in the gathering of believers that the Holy Spirit operates. Bible teacher A.W. Tozer some 50 years ago said:

“If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church (in Acts), 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.”

The Evangelist Vance Havner wrote:

“We are seeing much today of service without the Spirit. There is an appalling ignorance of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in our great church bodies. It is not what is done for God that counts, but rather what is done by Him, the work of His Spirit through our yielded wills. Programs, propaganda, pep, personnel, these are not enough. There must be power. God’s work must be done by God’s people God’s way. The Quakers got their name from the fact that they trembled under the power of the Spirit. At least their faith shook them! Too many of us today are shaky about what we believe but not shaken by what we believe!”

When the Church comes together in love toward God and toward one another, the Holy Spirit moves through the meeting. The Apostle notes:

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

The Apostle Paul was trained by the Rabbi Gamaliel, and you can see his education in this text. What Paul is telling us quite simply is this:

The Holy Spirit is in each believer gathered together as Church. The Holy Spirit will manifest different gifts through each believer in the Church gathering. These gifts all benefit the whole of the gathering of believers, the Church. These gifts are not given so they can be used selfishly, but generously, to the glory of Jesus.

In verse 7 we read “the MANIFESTATION (outward evidence) of the (Holy) Spirit is given to every person to profit (bless) withal (with all).” The Apostle then begins to number some of the gifts that are given by the Spirit to the Church:

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

These “gifts” are not talents that a person has. These are Holy Spirit driven manifestations that were evident in the early Church. What gifts are given by the Holy Spirit are based upon the spiritual needs of that gathering, of that Church. Who determines the gifts given? We read:

1 Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

It is the Holy Spirit Who determines the giftings given to each gathering of believers. The intent of the Holy Spirit is to UNIFY the body of believers – the Church – into a cohesive body, with Jesus Christ as the Head of that gathering.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.

It is the Holy Spirit Who unites the members together into One Body, One Gathering, One Church. A disharmonious Church is NOT Spirit driven. When there is division and confusion in the assembly, this is because the members are not honoring Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is not empowered.

It Is Pride & Selfishness That Destroys Churches

1 Corinthians 12:15-20 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.

Every member in the gathering of believers is important – but not every believer has the same giftings. The Church only works when every believer:

1.  Loves God with their all, and loves their neighbor as Jesus has commanded (Matthew 22:37-39). 
2.  Loves their fellow believer just as Jesus sacrificially loved us (John 13:34; 15:12, 17).
3.  Loves God enough to be open to His leading, to discovering and utilizing your spiritual gift in the gathering.
4.  Suppresses their own pride, but is willing to lovingly serve rather than to be served.

The Apostle Paul said, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). You cannot love as Jesus loved over the Internet. You cannot love as Jesus loved through a phone text. The Kingdom of God grows as our love for one another and for God grows. We are to have – “through the Spirit of God a unfeigned or pure love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ” (1 Peter 1:22). God calls us as believers to gather with other believers in assemblies called “Churches” for the glory of Christ and the furtherance of God’s Kingdom. I want to end with these Apostolic words:

1 Corinthians 12:23-27 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. (think about your feet. I have ugly feet – but oh, how I love them!) 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked. 25 That there should be no schism (no division) in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

The Christian is God’s Temple.
The Temples gather together as the Church.
The Church operates by the Holy Spirit,
To love God, and love one another.

May God the Holy Spirit touch your hearts by this teaching, for Christ’s glory in this present age. Amen and amen!

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The Heart Of The Child Of God

Posted on August 1, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
Control your heart!
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

The message for today is “The Heart Of The Child of God”. How can you tell a Christian from a non-Christian? It is based on the heart. Listen Beloved:

The only way you can enter the
Family of God is by repentance

Repentance is the bowing down of the human will to the will of God. Without repentance, there can be absolutely NO salvation.

Repentance is the heart willingly bowing to Jesus Christ as Savior.
Repentance is the hand of faith reaching out, and grasping God’s hand.
Repentance is in the broken spirit and in the crushed and bleeding heart.
Repentance is when one cries out to God, “Uncle! I give up!”
Without repentance, the Holy Spirit will not come to you,
to cause your new birth.

Word Study Repent is the Greek μετανοέω metanoéō, {pronounced met-an-o-eh’-o}, which means “to change the mind, to reconsider”, and is a key word in soteriology, the Doctrine of Salvation. Repentance is the first part of every ancient sermon. If you have never repented, then you are never saved by grace. The Herald of Christ, John the Baptist preached,

Matthew 3:2 … Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ clearly preached,

Matthew 4:17 … Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The Apostles went out preaching,

Acts 3:19 … Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord

Repentance is the first requirement of salvation. Repentance recognizes that neither I nor you are God nor gods, but there is but One God, and Jesus Christ his Messiah. The men of Ninevah repented at the preaching of Jonah (Matthew 12:51), and God spared that city destruction. Jesus told us all:

Luke 13:3 except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

To repent is to say that God is right, and I am wrong. To repent is to not just internally change your mind, but to externally change your direction. A person is saved when genuine repentance comes. Jesus said,

Luke 15:10 … there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

God offers salvation to every person through Christ. There was a time in human history where God “winked at” the foolishness of man, “but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).

Repentance is in the very heart of the Christ follower.

Greg Morse from Desiring God ministries noted:

“If someone’s conversion to God is true,
lifelong repentance will follow. …

… The mouth of one not born again can say true things for a time. Unchanged eyes can cry. A dead tongue can sincerely sing worship songs for a season. And turning away from Christ, repenting of him, can prove it all was false.”

When Augustinian Monk Martin Luther rejected the false teachings of the Catholic Church of his day, he nailed 95 Theses or statements of faith on the exterior of the Church door. The very first of these statements was:

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Matthew 4:17), He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.

I was ordained to ministry August 22, 1999. Since preaching the Gospel these past 21 years and 11 months, God has blessed me to see the seed sown come forth into new eternal life. I have baptized very many people, and many continue this day in service to Jesus. Yet there are some who, as Jesus said:

“Received the {gospel} seed in stony places. They heard the Word of God, and with joy received it, but had no root in themselves. Tribulation or persecution came because of God’s Word, and they fell away”. (my paraphrase of Matthew 13:20-21)

They just didn’t last. I remember one young lady that I baptized four times at her request. The problem was, she – and the others who fell away – had no genuine salvation. Genuine salvation – Holy Spirit created, and Christ purchased – endures or overcomes. 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.

Word Study “They went out”. This is the Greek ἐξέρχομαι exérchomai, {pronounced ex-er’-khom-ahee}, which means “to leave an assembly, forsake a people, to flow away from the body”. The same word is used in Matthew 10:14 when our Lord said:

“whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out (exérchomai) of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.”

At the first Lord’s Table, it was Judas Iscariot who went out before the Table was served. He went out to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

John 13:30 {Judas} then having received the sop went immediately out (exérchomai eutheōs): and it was night.

Now certainly exérchomai is not always used in a negative sense – it can refer to leaving on a more positive note. But in our context of 1 John 2:19 it is clearly used in a negative sense.

Christian, You May Sin Grievously,
But God Forgives Generously

Pastor Greg Morse wrote, “Christians sin, and at times sin grievously. But they do not make a LIFESTYLE of sinning. It is impossible to do so. “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9). Those with the {Holy Spirit} repent of sin and turn away from it, encouraged by the disciple of a loving Father.”

David is the writer of Psalm 51. Let’s think about David for a moment. God made a covenant with King David in 2 Samuel 7. This was an unconditional covenant that was reiterated in 1 Chronicles 17:11-14.

2 Samuel 7:12-15 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

God made this unconditional covenant with David (called the Davidic Covenant). It was not long after this that King David betrayed God, committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheba, and had Uriah the Hittite, one of his mighty men of valor, murdered (see 2 Samuel 11). The Bible says “the thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27).

David committed sexual sin.
David lied.
David conspired, drawing others into his sin.
David betrayed a friend, an honorable man.
David murdered this man to cover up his sin.

When the Pastor steps on your toes in the sermon, don’t get mad and quit the Church. Do like David did when Nathan challenged him. REPENT!

David not only repented, but he wrote Psalm 51, confessing his sin, and encouraging others to walk in the light with Christ. The Hebrew introduction to Psalm 51 reads:

[[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba]]

David vs Saul vs Judas: David did not lose the covenant God made with him, nor is there any evidence that David lost his salvation. But David repented. What was the difference between David and his predecessor Saul? Saul had no root in himself. What was the difference between the eleven Apostles and Judas Iscariot? Judas had no root in himself. Both Saul and Judas lived and worked in proximity to the Lord, but there hearts were not given to the Lord. They were not born again. The Apostle Paul preached:

Acts 13:22 … when {God} had removed {Saul}, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.

God looks at the heart. God knows who loves him, and who doesn’t. The Christian loves Christ. Jesus said:

John 8:42 … If God were your Father, ye would love me …

Judas Iscariot The Christian loves God. The Christian loves the Kingdom of God more than his or herself. The Christian is the One Who repents to be saved, and lives daily in a state of pliable repentance. Once more, consider Judas Iscariot. Judas was in proximity to Jesus for 3 ½ years. Yet he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

When Judas Iscariot was confronted with his sin, he did not go to Jesus nor to God the Father to repent. Judas repented HIMSELF (Matthew 27:3). He did not go to God. He went to the chief priests and Pharisees, saying “I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). What did Judas do then? He thought he would make it all better by his own hand! The Bible says:

Matthew 27:5 … {Judas} cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Judas did not repent to God. Judas repented to man,
but David repented to God.

What did DAVID do when confronted with his sin? David cried out to God. Hear his words of repentance:

Psalm 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Godly repentance – the repentance that a Child of God makes – leans into the MERCY of God.

David cried out, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness”. David is fascinated with the mercy and “lovingkindness” of God. The word “lovingkindness” is the Hebrew חֶסֶד cheçed, {pronounced kheh’-sed}, which means “a loving kindness or goodness faithfully given to those in need”. David’s heart was tender toward God, and he believed that – though he was imperfect – that the perfect God Who we love will always faithfully love His children. David knew himself to be frail and faulty, but believed God to always be faithful.

Godly repentance does not seek to “make it better”, but calls solely on God.

Psalm 51:2-3 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

The Child of God in sin will seek God’s grace by acknowledging their sin. The Child of God asks God to “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin”. The Child of God does not rename sin, nor justify sin, but “acknowledges transgressions”. We must confess – not justify but confess – our sins before God.

Sin is a horrible affront to God. David wrote:

Psalm 51:4 Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

I find this statement very intriguing. “Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned”. C.H. Spurgeon wrote in Treasury of David:

“The virus of sin lies in its opposition to God: the psalmist’s sense of sin towards others rather tended to increase the force of this feeling of sin against God. All his wrong doing centered, culminated, and came to a climax, at the foot of the divine throne. To injure our fellow men is sin, mainly because in so doing we violate the law of God. The penitent’s heart was so filled with a sense of the wrong done to the Lord himself, that all other confession was swallowed up in a broken hearted acknowledgment of offense against him.”

David sinned against Uriah and his wife, Bathsheba, but his primary sin was against the Lord Who saved him. When we sin, our sins are always exposed to God. The Apostle said in Hebrews 4:13,

“all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of
Him with whom we have to do”

The Lord Jesus Christ paid for our sins on Calvary. We are “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20), the Blood of Calvary. Let us “glorify God in our body and our spirit, for we belong to God”. We are “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 7:23). Let us not live to please ourselves, or our neighbor. Let us live to please Him Who purchased us from damnation.

Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Word Study “hyssop” was a plant that the priests used to ceremonially cleanse a person from sin. In Leviticus 14:4-7 a blood dipped hyssop was sprinkled on a person seven times to cleanse them. David did not go to a priest or another fallen person for cleansing from sin. He went to God. Only God can forgive sin. Only Jesus can cleanse us of sin. Jesus said of Himself:

Luke 5:24 … ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins …

Man cannot forgive sins, but God can. The Incarnate God, Jesus Christ, can forgive sins.

Beware, Christian, For Sin Always Has Consequences

Psalm 51:8-9 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

If God seems far away, it is probably
because He is not your Lord!

The devil wants the Christian to hang on to his or her sin. If we hide the sin, if we ignore or rename the sin, we court not only the loss of our joy and gladness, but we open ourselves up to the discipline of God. David speaks as if he has been deafened. He said, “Make me to hear joy and gladness”. The Christian has the joy of the presence of God. God comes to His people, and SPEAKS to His people. There is nothing more joyous and gladdening to hear the sweet comfort of Jesus. Jesus said:

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Active and unconfessed sin removes from us the word of the Lord. We cannot hear our great Shepherd when we are bound to worldliness and sin. There is nothing more blessed than, when the trials of life come, I can hear my Jesus. He whispers to my heart by His Spirit and His Word. What a JOY it is to be in Him.

Sin cannot reign in the Christian life. Either Christ is on the throne of your life, or darkness is. There is no joy in darkness. David cried out to God:

Psalm 51:10-11 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

Word Study The word translated “Create” is the Hebrew בָּרָא bârâʼ, {baw-raw’}, which means “to shape, or create something out of nothing”. This word is used in the very first verse of our Bible:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God CREATED {bârâʼ} …

Sin damages our souls, and brings with it death. Sin is like poison, or cancer. Where it resides, it brings death. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). David cried out that God would restore to him a heart eaten up by sin, that God would “reset” his life from the evil he had done. David wanted to feel the presence of God once more. He said, “take not thy Holy Spirit from me”. God will not walk with us when we walk in darkness. We cannot lead God into the darkness. Like Prodigal Sons, sin takes us far from God’s presence … but God cherishes us, and wants us home. He wants us to be led of Him. The Scripture says:

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God.

Psalm 51:12-13 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Closeness to God comes only by a repentant lifestyle!

We cannot be used of God while in sin. Christian, confess your sins unto God. Trust in Him. Please, never forget that though God will forgive sin, there are consequences to our sins. God told King David:

2 Samuel 12:10-12 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

There are consequences with sin. Let us avoid sin. When we step into sin, let us immediately seek our God, and cry out for forgiveness. Let us repent daily of our missteps. David’s son Solomon, the child of Bathsheba, would one day write in Proverbs 6:32-33,

“But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonor shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.”

May God draw us ever closer to Him. May we all learn the repentant lifestyle that God calls us to. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen and Amen.

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Slow Down And Look

Posted on August 1, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by LOGAN WEAVER on Unsplash

Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 1.

In America today we are impressed by our technology, by the internet, by the powerful things that we have. We have “smart” phones and apps and WiFi. But I come from a simpler time.

I remember as a child the simple toys we had. Our toys were not high tech – but we had better relationships with one another.

My brother and I used to play soldiers on Grandpa Joe’s farm. Our weapons were simply tobacco sticks, and our jungle was the tobacco field. I remember my first radio was a little simple AM job that would fit in your pocket, and I believe the brand was Realistic. I remember 8 Track players, and my first tape recorder – a reel to reel model. There was a Christian show that came on every Sunday called Damascus Road. I remember dial up internet, and super slow speeds.

Everything we have today is faster, faster, faster. Recording tapes were replaced with Compact Disks, which were replaced with DVDs, and now most people “stream” their movies and music. When Sherry had our first child, she and the baby, a beautiful boy named Michael, stayed in the Base Hospital for three days. People have children now, and are home the next day. Heart surgery used to be a big deal, and you expected to spend weeks in the hospital. Now heart surgery is done one day, and you are home the next. As a boy I knew where the pay phones were so, if I was running late, I could call my parents on their one corded phone. Today everyone seems to have phones, and most people (not me, just yet) have smart phones.

We have SMART phones but NOT SO SMART people. When I was growing up, you memorized 15-20 phone numbers of people you were closest to. Now I can barely remember my number!

We want everything fast, fast, fast.

fast news
fast cars
fast relationships
fast food
fast medicine
fast religion

Fast religion is false religion. To learn of the God Who is requires simple – waiting upon the Lord – faith. We think ourselves advanced – but we are NOTHING compared to God. God describes Himself asיְהֹוָה Yᵉhôvâh, “The One Who Is”. God told Moses, “I AM the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. God is immense. He is everywhere, and knows all things. David said:

Psalm 139:7-12 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

God calls whosoever will to a simple faith in Him.

Faith Is To Simply Watch And Wait Upon God

John the Baptist was given a simple commission from God. He was to go into the wilderness, and to baptize those whom God sent. It was in the wilderness – unplugged – that John found the Messiah.

John 1:29-33 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not:…

This passage fascinates me. In the passage we see the witness of John the Baptist concerning Jesus Christ. Twice John tells us,“I knew him not”. This is the Greek eidō autos ou, and it carries the sense that

John knew Jesus as COUSIN, but not as CHRIST.

John the Baptist and Jesus were cousins. When Mary became with Child of the Holy Spirit, the Angel Gabriel told her:

Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, were cousins. Their children were cousins. They grew up not far apart, and perhaps played together as children. And yet John says, “I knew him not”. He knew Jesus as a cousin, but had no idea that He was the Messiah. How did John come to know that Jesus was the Messiah? John says:

John 1:33-34 But He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God

God told John, “Go out into the wilderness, and baptize the seekers I send you with water. The One Who comes to you with the Spirit of God descending on Him, this will be the Messiah.” What drove John to baptize faithfully, day after day, in the bleak wilderness, far from the city? The promise of God that as you baptize, as you do that which I tell you to do, as you heed Me, I will show you the Messiah. So day after day John the Baptist got up, and went out into the wilderness. He knew his calling. He knew what God told him to do. And with singleness of vision John looked for the Messiah.

Beloved, if you want to be blessed of God, you need to look for God. You need to wait upon God. You need to faithfully wait on Him. This is what John the Baptist did. God told him, “Go to the Jordan – baptize the ones I send your way – and look for the descending Spirit. That will be the Messiah!”

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

Proverbs 20:22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.

Did not Abraham see the Lord in the plains of Mamre, when he watched and waited for God, going where ever the Lord said (Genesis 18)? Oh, we must wait on the Lord and His timing.

Did not Elisha ask Elijah for a double portion of his power, when that old man was going to be caught up by chariots of fire (2 Kings 2)? Did not Elijah say “if you see me when I am caught up, you shall have the double portion”? Elisha watched, and waited on God, and received the double portion.

What of King David? If David had killed King Saul, rather than waiting on the Lord, then his reign would not have been as powerful as it was. David kept his eyes on God, and saw God’s blessing. When David took his eyes off of God and put them on the wife of Uriah, he brought cursing on his home. .

Oh, we must wait on God!

The first generation of Israel would not have perish 40 years in the wilderness had their gaze been on God, and not on the sons of Anak (Numbers 13:33). Their corpses would not have littered the wilderness, and they would have inherited the Promise of God had they waited upon Him.

Moses was blessed time and time again when he waited on God. Had he kept his eyes on God in Numbers 20, then he himself would not have lost the Promised Land.

How we need to put our eyes upon God. To unplug, and look, and wait on Him. When we, like John the Baptist, look for God’s blessing, then we will be blessed. John looked for Jesus moment by moment. When he earlier saw Jesus, he saw a COUSIN. But it was only when John saw the Spirit of God did he know that this was the CHRIST. Pastor John H. Jowett wrote:

“That is faith, to do God’s will here and now, quietly leaving the results to Him. Faith is not concerned with the entire chain; its devoted attention is fixed upon the immediate link. Faith is not knowledge of a moral process; it is fidelity in a moral act. Faith leaves something to the Lord: it obeys His immediate commandment, and leaves to Him the direction and destiny.”

Saving Faith Tells Others About Jesus

John 1:35-36 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; ..

Word Study Look again at the interesting wording of our text. “The next day after John stood”. The word “” is the Greek ἵστημι hístēmi, {pronounced his’-tay-mee}, which means “to make a stand, to stand up for”. The day before John stood up and said, “I am not the Christ, but THIS is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. THIS is the Messiah, the Savior and Lord we have waited for”. John was the ONLY ONE making this declaration, the only one standing for Jesus. But he made the stand.

Even if you are the only one, you must make a stand. God never does a great thing with great crowds. God uses the remnant, the few and the faithful, the Isaiahs and the Ezekiels and the Hoseas and the Habakkuks. I was reading an article the other day an article from Alpha and Omega Ministries on the American Revolutionary War:

“I heard some revealing and somewhat surprising statistics about the American Revolutionary War. This war between the American people and British Empire was for our independence and self-governance. The statistics given were from the First American Revolution fought for our national freedom. I heard it reported that only 3% of the population fought in the war, 10% furnished supplies, 37% fought against us, and 50% did absolutely nothing. I know, shocking and disturbing percentages. That 3% was only a remnant of the total population, but God delivered this new and young nation from their adversary through them.”

It is often not the majority that makes the difference, but the committed and faithful minority, the remnant, that makes the difference. John stood up for Jesus.

John 1:36 …. {John} saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

Two of John’s followers hear him, and they begin to follow Jesus. If you notice in the text, only Andrew’s name is mentioned. We do not know who the other disciple is – God does not give us his name. There is a reason for this. Read again with me:

John 1:37-39 And the two disciples heard {John} speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

Both Andrew and the other unnamed disciple follow Jesus. Both call Jesus “Rabbi”, a title used by the Jews to describe their teachers. What they meant in their hearts was that Jesus was a “Master”, the Greek διδάσκαλος didáskalos, {pronounced did-as’-kal-os}, or a “Master or Top Level Teacher”. They began to follow Jesus because, first of all, John pointed Jesus out. Secondly because Jesus told them to follow Him, to “come and see”. The Matthew Henry Commentary states:

“{John the Baptist} was willing to turn them over to Christ, for to this end he bore witness to Christ in their hearing that they might leave all to follow Him, even that they might leave {John}. He did not reckon that he lost those disciples who went over from him to Christ, any more than the schoolmaster reckons that the scholar lost whom he sends to the university. John gathered disciples, not for himself, but for Christ to prepare them for the Lord.”

Genuine saving faith points others to Jesus. The purpose of any Church and any Pastor is not to point people to us, but to Jesus!

John would later tell his diminishing group of followers:

John 3:28-30 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

We do not win people to the Church for the Church’s sake. We win people to the Kingdom of God for Christ’s sake. Jesus is the “bridegroom”, but we are not. Our mindset must be – MY MINDSET MUST BE – that “{Jesus} must increase, but I must decrease”. This is the only healthy mindset for those in the kingdom of God.

We point to Christ, not to ourselves.
We point to Jesus, not to the WE.
It’s ALL about JESUS! Period!

If people are receptive to the Gospel, they will hear Jesus say “Come and see”. Jesus asks every person “what do you seek?”. At that point, Andrew and the unnamed disciple have a choice. They can follow Jesus, or they can stay with John, or they can turn their back on God forever. Their choice – YOUR CHOICE, I hope – was to hear and follow Jesus. This takes TIME and COMMITMENT. Dr. Thomas Constable notes:

“Only by coming to Jesus could {these men} really comprehend what they were seeking spiritually. The same thing holds true today. The two men accepted Jesus’ invitation and stayed with Him for the rest of that day.”

There is a freedom that comes in following Jesus. When we follow Jesus, we detach ourselves from our old way of life. We, in following Jesus, find ourselves in a better place. The Bible says:

Romans 6:17-23 God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prior to following Jesus we all were hopelessly bound to sin. But the Lamb of God came, and, like Andrew and this other disciple, we begin to walk in the light of God with Christ. We do not deliberately yield our members over to sin, but ALL OF US follows Jesus. People seek Jesus because they, like these two disciples, are tired of the rat race, of the sin go round world. We who are saved are ready for something better – something we were created for,

We were created to walk with God. We were created to be in the family of God. We were created to follow Jesus. Not as Judas Iscariot followed Jesus – his was a following of hypocrisy. His faith was not focused on the Lord, but on money. The Scripture says:

John 12:6 {Judas Iscariot} was a thief, and had the {disciple’s treasury}, and {stole for himself} what was put therein.

Judas was with Jesus, but not of Jesus. As the Apostle John 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.

Those who are of the faith that saves are not just in proximity to Jesus, but they LOVE Jesus. We love Jesus because we know He is our Savior and Lord. Jesus Christ is our High Priest, the One and only One who brings us to God. As the Scripture says:

Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Does God Know Your Name?

John 1:40-42 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

I do not know why only one disciple, Andrew, is named of the two who followed Jesus. I suspect it has something to do with this:

Andrew told someone else about his faith in Jesus. Andrew led his brother to Christ.

Andrew responded to Jesus’ invitation. He “tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:3). Andrew found “his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus”. Andrew had been waiting for the Messiah, the Savior of God’s people. Now that he found Him, he wanted to tell those he loved about Jesus. He brought his brother Simon to Jesus. Jesus says to us:

Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Andrew merely led Simon to where Jesus was – and Jesus changed Simon to Peter. “Only John among the Gospel writers gives the Greek transliteration Κηφᾶς Kēphâs, {pronounced kay-fas’} of Simon’s new name.” (NET Bible notes). Why did Jesus give Simon a new name? Because when a child is born, the parents give this child a name. Simon – a very common name in the Jewish world – was born again by faith in Christ.

Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Simon was no longer just plain old Simon. He belongs to Jesus now. God promises to every child of His that:

Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Let us all turn our eyes upon Jesus. Let us simply focus on Him. Let us go home with Him, and lay down to rest at night with Him, and rise up in the morning with Him. Let us walk with Jesus, one moment at a time, one day at a time. Let us revel in His promises, and study His commands. Let us rest the pillars of our lives upon Him.

Where is your focus? If it is in Jesus daily, then your joy and confidence will not cease. Those who rest in Christ are blessed – not just in eternity, but right now. May God the Holy Spirit draw you close to His side. In Christ’s name and for his glory I pray this. Amen and Amen.

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The Mark Of The Lost

Posted on July 30, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by averie woodard on Unsplash

John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

The original books of the Bible had no chapter or verse references. These were all letters or writings that God gave to us through the Apostles and the Prophets (Ephesians 2:20; 3:5; 4:11-12). The Apostle Peter declared that “the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). My commentary notes that:

“The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton’s chapter divisions.

The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan’s verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions.”

Though chapter and verse references are additions made by men fort our convenience in reading and studying the Bible, I believe that our God still controlled the process for His glory.

I find it more than coincidental that this sad verse we’re studying today, John 6:66, mirrors the Mark of the Beast, the Antichrist, in Revelation 13:18.

What a profound statement we find in John 6:66. Read it again with me:

John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Do You Love Jesus, Or What Jesus Gives?

Word Study Let’s break this verse down. Jesus had “disciples” who followed Him. The word translated “disciples” is the Greek μαθητής mathētēs, which means “a student, a learner, a pupil, a follower of another”. There were a great deal of people who followed Jesus. What were they following Him for? Were they following Jesus because they loved Jesus? No, they were following Jesus because they loved what Jesus gave them.

The disciples who left Jesus were not following Him out of love for Him. They followed Jesus out of love for what Jesus would DO for them.

We see this in our context. You always need to read the context. If you flip back just one page in my Bible to the beginning of chapter 6, you read of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus took “five barley loaves and two small fishes” (verse 9) and blessing it, fed five thousand men (verse 10). The Bible says:

John 6:14-15 Then those men {the 5000 that Jesus fed}, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

These people saw Jesus as a miracle worker. They saw Jesus as Someone Who could easily overthrow the Roman Caesar. They did not love Jesus – they loved what Jesus could do. Jesus ran from such an arrangement. Jesus did not come to this world to be just another king, just another Caesar. Jesus came to this world to defeat Satan, to save humanity, and to establish the kingdom of God on the earth.

The Bible tells us that Jesus’ disciples headed out by ship to Capernaum, the next place Jesus wanted to go (verse 16). I believe they left a little early, just like we all get ahead of God at times. The Bible says:

John 6:17-20 {the twelve disciples} entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. 18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. 19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. 20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

When Jesus got into the ship, “immediately the ship was at the land” (John 6:21). Oh Beloved, it is so wonderful to be with Jesus! When we err, if we love Jesus, Jesus saves us and blesses us! He loves us back. Jesus said:

John 8:42 … If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

The mark of the Christian is that the Christian loves Jesus. There are many who profess to be Christian, but they only love what Jesus will give them, not Who Jesus is. Those who love Jesus keep His commandments:

John 14:15, 21 If ye love Me, keep My commandments … 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

The day after Jesus and His disciples go to Capernaum, those 5000 “disciples” who wanted Jesus to be King, found Jesus and the twelve gone. The Bible says that “they also took a ship, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus” (verse 24).

But Jesus could see what was in their hearts.
They did not love Jesus.
They loved what Jesus would give them.
They loved the all you can eat buffet.
They loved the 24 hour healing clinic.
Some love the idea of Heaven,
but could care less if Jesus is there or not.

Jesus was quite plain with these “seekers”. He said:

John 6:26-27 … Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Word Study These disciples “labored” for “meat” which perishes. The word translated “labored” is the Greek ἐργάζομαι ergázomai, {pronounced er-gad’-zom-ahee} which means “to toil, to work for”. It required effort for these people to get to Jesus. The ships that they used to get to Capernaum on were not motorboats. They were the motors on the boats. They paddled and raised sails. They expended energy. Why? They got to Jesus so that He could feed them more free meat, more free fish and bread. Jesus told them, if effect, “You labored to get to Me for the wrong thing. You wanted Me for what TEMPORAL thing I could give you:

a TEMPORAL healing
a TEMPORAL feeding
a TEMPORAL blessing

Jesus came, not to give us temporal meat. Jesus said:

John 4:34 My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Jesus came to this earth to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). Jesus Christ is the Promised Messiah. Jesus Christ is the “Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world”. Jesus Christ did not come to bring peace on the earth, but division (Luke 12:51). Jesus came into this world “that we might have life, abundant life” (John 10:10). Jesus said:

John 12:44-46 He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. 45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. 46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

Jesus came, sent of the Father, to save sinners and bring the saved into the Kingdom of God. The people asked Jesus:

John 6:28-29 … What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him {on Jesus} whom {God} hath sent.

But these “disciples” were blind. You can see this. Listen Beloved: It is possible to come and apparently follow Jesus for a time, and yet never be saved. These “disciples” did not love Jesus. They questioned Jesus.

They responded to Jesus,

John 6:30 What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

These people sought Jesus for another free meal. But now that He has rebuked them, they challenge Jesus. “Jesus, show us a signthat we might see and believe You”. They want to debate Jesus. These false disciples do not want the Word of the Lord – they want to be placated. These false disciples even know scripture. They quote Psalm 78:24,

John 6:31 … He gave them bread from Heaven to eat ..

Jesus Is The Fulfillment Of The Shadow
Made By The Manna

Jesus told them, “My Father giveth you the True Bread from Heaven” (vs 32). The Manna that God gave Israel in the wilderness was a foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus. NOW DON’T MISS THIS. This is very important. When God gave the Manna to Israel, He said:

Exodus 16:4-5 … Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. 5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

Every day the Israelite was to go out and “Gather of {manna} every man according to his eating” (Exodus 16:16). You were to gather the manna in the morning, the amount that you could eat. You were not to hoard manna, for old manna would spoil the next morning. And if you waited till the sun was hot and did not gather in the morning, the manna melted.

This manna is, according to Jesus, a Type of Christ, a foreshadowing of the Messiah. You are not to be focused on getting what Jesus has for you. You are to be focused on getting Jesus, the Manna from Heaven. The Child of God desperately needs Jesus. Jesus told them:

John 6:35 … I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Jesus is the True Manna of God. Jesus is the only One Who has ever “come down from Heaven”, just as the Old Testament manna came down from Heaven. This is not a concept that a lost person can readily grasp. God the Father gives the Manna. Jesus told these false disciples:

John 6:36-40 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And 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.

In order for a person to be saved, God must open their eyes to Christ. The Christian faith is a supernatural faith. Those without Christ are “dead in trespasses and in sins” (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). We do not raise ourselves to life. God opens our eyes, and draws us toward Jesus. Jesus said:

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Word Study God DRAWS or opens the spiritual eyes of the believer. The Greek word translated “draw” is ἑλκύω helkýō, {pronounced hel-koo’-o}, which means “to draw, to drag, to lead or impel”. In John 21:6 the word is used when the disciples cast their net, “and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.” The same word is used in Acts 16:19 when the lost “caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace”. God must intervene, and open our eyes, that we might be saved. When the Father draws us to Jesus, and we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, when we give ourselves away to Him, then we have His promise:

John 6:47-48 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 48 I am that bread of life.

Jesus follows this theme. As Israel ate the manna from Heaven (a shadow of Christ), in the Church Age we eat the Manna from Heaven, Jesus Christ. Now Jesus doesn’t mean that we are to literally chase Him down and cannibalize Him. What He means is, as Israel lived by eating the manna, the genuine Christian lives by eating THE Manna, Jesus Christ. Jesus said:

John 6:51, 53-58 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. … 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

As you eat physical food daily to sustain your physical life, the Christian feeds on Jesus daily, sustaining our spiritual life. Jesus, for the Christian, is more than a passing fancy. Jesus is everything. I need Jesus daily.

I need Jesus as my Prophet, teaching me the Word of God.
I need Jesus as my High Priest, giving me access to God My Father.
I need Jesus as the Lamb of God, for I hide myself in His blood.
I need Jesus as my Shepherd, for He defends me as I love Him.
I need Jesus as my Eternal Friend, for life is often lonely.
I need Jesus as my Lord, telling me what to do wherever I am.
I need Jesus as my Great Physician, for my life is broken.
I need Jesus as my Manna, for He feeds my soul.

Those “disciples” who followed Jesus to Capernaum for another buffet began to murmur. Jesus said:

John 6:61-64 … Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

Illustrate Jesus knew the hearts of these people. He knows your heart, whether you love Him, or just love what He might temporally give you. I had a young man come by our Church the other day, looking for temporal blessing. I handed him a new Bible, and took him to our pantry, and left him alone to get whatever he wanted. Afterwards, I followed his vehicle down to the gas station, where I gave him $20 worth of gas. It was later that I went back into our pantry. Do you know what I found? The new Bible I gave him, sitting on the shelf. The man wanted what Jesus could give, but not Jesus. Though he allowed me to pray for him and his family before I left him at the gas station, it was all an act. Which takes us back to the words of Jesus:

John 6:65 … Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

Christianity is a supernatural faith. God must open the eyes of the lost, so that they might believe in Jesus. When you are saved, you fall in love with Jesus – and Jesus loves you. Like Simon Peter, we who are saved will not leave Jesus as the false disciples do. Like Simon Peter, we say:

John 6:68-69 …. Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Oh, how I pray that more and more would come to have their eyes opened by the Father, through the Spirit, unto the Son of God! Oh, how my heart aches for those who, like these false disciples, like Judas Iscariot, are chasing the temporal rather than the eternal in Christ. As we enter the prayer portion of our service, let us pray that God will use us, and will through His Spirit, lead others to fall in love with Jesus. In Christ name I pray. Amen and Amen.

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Be A Blessing, Not A Virus!

Posted on July 25, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
Don't Be A Virus
Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash

Please turn with me in your Bibles to:

Genesis 47:1-10Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. 2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. 3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. 4 They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. 5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6 the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. 7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10 And JACOB blessed Pharaoh …

One interesting aspect of this Coronavirus Pandemic is that I have learned a great deal about bacteria and viruses. I used to think the two were the same. They aren’t. Bacteria are free living cells that can exist inside or outside of a body. Viruses, on the other hand, are a non-living collection of molecules that must have a host to exist in. Once they enter a living cell, they take over the cell, and force the cell to replicate that virus.

Preach! Each virus is focused on – not benefiting what it attaches itself to – but making MORE of itself even if it destroys the host. Viruses act a lot like proud and selfish people do.

Illustrate If viruses could talk they would say “I’m all about ME. I’m just doing ME. I don’t care what the rest of the body wants or needs. I just want to make MORE OF ME, and less of anything else.” Viruses are God’s parable – and God’s warning for us today.

God does not want viruses in His Israel, nor in His Church, the Body of Christ. He wants His people working together for the good of the Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote: 1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Those who are indeed Christians are all – TOGETHER – to be a part of “one body”. We are TOGETHER the Kingdom of God. We are TOGETHER the Church of God. We are not to be like viruses – replicating more of ourselves. No, we are to be good members, good citizens that work together for the glory of Christ and the spread of the Gospel Kingdom.

God has always had a Kingdom on this earth. He has always had a BODY of believers who were to work together to spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, God used Israel as His Body to share the Coming Messiah with a lost and dying world. In the New Testament, at this present time God uses the Church, a body of believers, gathered together for the glory of God. Old or New Testament, Israel or Church, when the members of that Body begin to act like viruses, they can infect the whole Body, and hurt Christ’s mission to the world.

What does this have to do with our text today? Simply this:

You can choose to benefit the Body you are in by minimizing yourself and glorifying God, or you can decide to be a virus, and do things YOUR way regardless.

Joseph Made A Choice To Magnify Christ In His Life

Genesis 47:1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh

When you read these words, you read them like an American. “Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh”. Big deal! What does this matter? Truth is, in ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh’s and other kings were often considered to be gods by their people. This is how they wielded so much power! You did not just come in and directly talk to a Pharaoh. You found his cup bearer, his secretary, and made an appointment. You went in to see Pharaoh on your knees. But Joseph just walks in, and talks to Pharaoh. How in the world did Joseph become such a confidant to the Pharaoh?

Joseph Lived For God’s Glory, Not For Himself!

As a young boy, Joseph was the favorite child of his father Jacob. The Bible says “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors.” (Genesis 37:3). Joseph was given special clothing that his brothers were not given. Further, “Joseph dreamed a dream” (Genesis 37:5), and in that dream he dreamed that Joseph would reign over them. His brothers “hated Joseph yet the more for his dreams” (Genesis 37:8). One day when Joseph was alone with his brothers, that the brothers threw him in a pit. Joseph’s brother Judah said:

Genesis 37:27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

The “Ishmeelites” are the children of Ishmael, the son that Abraham had with his slave Hagar. These Ishmeelites were merchants, people who bought and sold slaves. Joseph’s brothers sold him into Egyptian slavery.

Joseph could have become bitter, losing his freedom, and being betrayed by his family. Instead Joseph did as the Apostle directed:

Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Do not be a virus! Life is not about YOU, it’s about God. We may not be able to control our CIRCUMSTANCES, but we do control how we react. Live for God!

Illustration We are to live our lives so as to glorify God – even in the bad stuff. God has a purpose for everything that comes our way. Periodically I stand in front of a mirror and give myself a good talking to. “Jesus loves you, David. You are a Child of God! Life’s not about you. Live to glorify the Lord!” Oh, life is so hard at times – but God is still there.

Genesis 39:1-3 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. 2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that {Joseph} did to prosper in his hand.

Joseph, attached to the body of Potiphar’s house, could have murmured and complained at his situation. But Joseph lived for the Lord. We studied this text last Sunday night:

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

When the valley comes, focus on the Lord Who loves you. When thrust into a bad situation, DO what the Scripture says:

Colossians 3:23 … whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men

If God allows you to be in the position of a slave, be the best slave you know how to be. Don’t be a virus! Add to, and benefit the host you’re attached to. When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, he told her:

Genesis 39:9 … how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

How did Potiphar repay Joseph for his godliness? He had Joseph imprisoned! Jesus told us in John 16:33, “In the world you have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world.” Keep looking up!

Joseph was 17 years old when sold into slavery (Genesis 37:2), and Joseph would stay a slave imprisoned until he was 30 years old (Genesis 41:46). For 13 years Joseph looked to Jesus out of the pit that was his life.

If God Sends You To a Valley, Praise Him! Magnify Him! Live for Him. Don’t Be A Virus!If you live for Jesus, Jesus will live with you.

Genesis 39:21, 23 … The LORD was with Joseph {even in prison}, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favor …. the LORD was with him, and that which {Joseph} did, the LORD made it to prosper.

Joseph was always careful to put the Lord first. When in prison, and the butler and the baker of Pharaoh came to him with a dream, Joseph said:

Genesis 40:8 … Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me {your dreams}..

Joseph knew that the LORD loved him, and he, Joseph, loved the LORD. The LORD was not incidental to his life – but his very breath!

Two years later Pharaoh will have a dream, and will send for Joseph. When Pharaoh told Joseph that he wanted his dream interpreted, note how Joseph responded:

Genesis 41:16 … It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace …

As I said before, Pharaoh thought he was a god. But Joseph in effect says, “The TRUE GOD will give you the interpretation of your dream”. As soon as God used Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, Pharaoh said:

Genesis 41:38-40 …. Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? 39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: 40 thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

My Beloved, God will bless and use you, but only when you humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God (1 Peter 5:6). If you are saved, you are saved to serve the Lord Jesus. If you are NOT saved, you were made in God’s image, made to find your completion in Jesus Christ.

Joseph benefited any Body that he became attached to, because he looked unto the Lord. Attached to Body of Potiphar’s home, he lived for the Lord. Attached to the Body of a prison, Joseph lived for the Lord. Now attached to the Body of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh, Joseph lived for the Lord.

Reunited with his brothers, the highest authority save for Pharaoh, Joseph did not seek revenge. He told his family:

Genesis 45:4-5 … Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

And NOW Enters Jacob & His Family

God speaks to Jacob (Israel), Joseph’s father in a dream, saying:

Genesis 46:3-4 … I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

God tells Israel, “Go to Egypt. Your son Joseph is alive. Go and see him, for I have blessed him”. So Jacob takes his family, and all his children and possessions, and heads toward Egypt.

Joseph has taken care to magnify God, to live to honor Him Who saved him. But now here comes his family! Joseph is going to introduce his family to Pharaoh. This is a great thing. Pharaoh has nothing but respect for Joseph, and has seen God magnified in Joseph’s life.

Pharaoh is very interested – and probably looking forward to meeting the REST of the family that this astounding young Jacob came from.

Pharaoh is in for a surprise.

Joseph tries to coach his family in how to approach Pharaoh. Joseph said:

Genesis 46:33-34 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? 34 that ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

The Egyptians loathed shepherds. Egypt was an agricultural society, and sheep, if allowed to graze untended, will strip the ground of all vegetation. Joseph told his family, “If you’re asked, you are HERDSMEN, not shepherds”. This was not really a lie, for Joseph was going to tell Pharaoh “they have brought their flocks, AND their herds” (Genesis 46:32). Joseph just wanted his family to emphasize their cattle. So what do the brothers do when introduced to Pharaoh? They do the opposite. The Pharaoh asks, “What is your occupation?”. Their reply?

Genesis 47:3 … Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

Viruses. They do not listen to Joseph. They will not heed godly wisdom.

Genesis 47:4 For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

I am sure that, for Joseph’s sake, the Lord touched Pharaoh’s heart. If I were Pharaoh, I would be tempted to run these knuckleheads out of Egypt on a rail! But Pharaoh is gracious. He says:

Genesis 47:6 … the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

God is so good – even when we do not deserve it. God not only offers free land to Joseph’s family, but also offers jobs to anyone who needs it. Then Jacob comes forward to meet Pharaoh. The Pharaoh asks Jacob, “How old art thou?”. Notice Jacob’s reply:

Genesis 47:9 … The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

“few and evil”? Jacob had lived a blessed life – a better life than he deserved. Elder Mike Allison {Madison Baptist Church, Madison, Alabama} said it best:

“Think about Jacob for a while. He was brought up in a rich man’s house – Isaac was a rich man. He was bought up with servants to take care of his needs. Not only that, he was spoiled by his mother, and tolerated by his father. And then, when he did finally leave home at the age of 77, he spent the next twenty years having thirteen children and working for his uncle; who, even though {his uncle} tricked him over and over again, still he continued to get richer and richer. He {will spend} the last seventeen years of his life {from this moment on} living off the fat of the land of Egypt while many of its citizens were starving. With his son the number two man in the country, and he is given without cost the very best of the land. And here he is. He’s asked how old he is, and he uses that opportunity to tell how old he is – to complain. … He has an opportunity before a heathen king to give testimony to how God had taken care of him throughout his long life of 130 years, and he uses that opportunity to complain.”

Those who live like viruses may be Christians, for I believe Jacob was a saved person, but they leave little of the Kingdom of God on the earth when they depart. Their lives do little to change others.

Illustrate Periodically I look at obituaries of those who have passed on from this life into eternity. Often what is written is “She loved cats and dogs” or “He never met a stranger”, with little to no mention of what they did for the Lord in this life. Did you know that there is a Heavenly Obituary that God put in the Bible, found in Hebrews Chapter Eleven. In Hebrews 11 we read of many of the great saints, and the things they did for the Kingdom of God.

Abel honored God, even in death.
Enoch walked with God, and skipped death.
Noah listened to God, and floated above death.
Abraham lived for God, and through him we are blessed with Jesus,
Jesus who promise we who believe in Him will never die.

What is Jacob memorialized for? We read:

Hebrews 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

This is all Jacob did in his life that God felt was commendable. The Bible says that “Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years” (Genesis 47:28). Jacob lived 147 years, and all he ever did that God thought was worthy of praise was to “bless both the sons of Joseph”.

If you will be a BLESSING and not a VIRUS, you need to bind yourself to Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Luke 6:49, “But he that heareth {my words}, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great”. Bad things happen to everyone … but they happen more frequently to those who reject God’s Word. Live your lives for Jesus. If you are believers in Christ, do not live in yesterday, but pursue Jesus. The Apostle said:

Philippians 3:13-14 … this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

To be called into God’s family by faith in Christ is a HIGH calling. Live your life for Jesus. Live your life, not as a virus, but as a valued child of God. We all suffer. We all go through valleys. Look up! Look up, like the pastor John Bunyan. Though imprisoned, he wrote the wonderful book Pilgrim’s Progress. Though blind from childhood, Fanny Crosby wrote the words to over 8,000 hymns, many found in our hymnal.

Be a son or a daughter of God.
Be a blessing to others, light in darkness.

The Bible says in Genesis 47:10, “and Jacob blessed Pharaoh”. “Jacob” went through the motions of blessing Pharaoh, but only “ISRAEL” can truly bless Pharaoh. Jacob’s blessings to Pharaoh were but empty words to that man. Beloved, give glory unto the Lord Who saved you. Live, letting Him shine through your life! May God touch your hearts with His Word and His Spirit. Amen and Amen.

Posted in General, Genesis, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Life Verse From The King

Posted on July 18, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Raychan on Unsplash

Many Christians today choose our focal verse as their “Life Verse”. Please turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Proverbs, to:

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

It is no wonder that this is the “Life Verse” of many Christians. But this was also the “Life Verse” that an ancient parent shared with his child. We know this because of our context:

Proverbs 3:1-4 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4 so shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

This ancient father was telling his son of a Law that he was to follow. He told his son, “If you heed this law – this Life Verse I’m going to give you – you will have a long and peaceful life. This Life Verse is the secret to mercy and truth – if you break it, you will lose both. Memorize this. Bind it around your neck – let it effect your senses of smell, touch, sight, and hearing. Bind it to your heart and you will be blessed”.

Who was this ancient father? Proverbs 1:1 tells us that these are “the proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel” (see also Proverbs 25:1). Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. As he wrote these proverbs, these were truths that he discovered through his walk with the Lord. King Solomon wrote these proverbs to his son who, had Rehoboam heeded them, Israel would never have seen civil war.

The Happy Life Is The Surrendered Life

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

I loved listening to Adrian Rogers when he was on this earth, and I still listen to his God blessed recorded sermons today. Adrian once said:

“We live in the day of guided missiles and misguided men. We get places quicker than we used to, but we still don’t know where we’re going!”

Amen brother! People today are frantically searching for happiness. Years ago, many thought they would be happy when same sex couples could be legally married. Once the non-Biblical definition of marriage was made the law of the United States, people still weren’t happy. Others thought that happiness would come when heterosexual people could turn the wonderful intimacy of what should have been in the wedding bed into something as common as a handshake. We live is an age where sexual morals are extremely lax. Are people happy? No. Others thought the legalization of drugs like marijuana, happiness would come. Are we living in a happy place? No, people still aren’t happy. People, we should be happy. Sin is in – and yet we are not happy. Why?

The Bible tells us that while we are:

Romans 7:5 … in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

The things which the principalities, the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world (Ephesians 6:12) push as happiness cannot bring happiness – not lasting happiness. These things bring death. The Bible says:

Romans 6:23 … the wages of sin is death

Sin is that which emphasizes the pleasure of the flesh. Sin emphasizes me over thee. Sin produces self love, but lovelessness toward anything that is not self. Sin says in the Garden of Eden:

“Yea, hath God really said, you shall not eat of every tree of the Garden? It will not harm you! God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1, 4-5, author’s paraphrase).

Mankind was fooled in the beginning, and is being fooled the same way today. As humans we were made to be MORE than what Satan wants us to be. We were made to be children of God. We were made to walk with God. This is the only thing that will bring genuine and perpetual happiness: to

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart…

Let’s unpack this. What does the word “Trust” mean? This is the Hebrew בָּטַח bâṭach, {pronounced baw-takh’}, which means “to run to, to take refuge in, to hide yourself in, to confidently lean on or put your confidence in”. The sense of this word is to let the Lord take your full weight – to give Him all that you are. It is the life that says “not my will, but Thine, O God, be done”.

The more you rely on yourselves for blessing in life the less your blessing will be.

If you want to have a life at one with God then you must rely on Him, seeking His guidance through His Word in your whole life. This is the essence of true saving faith. Many people today say, “I believe in God”. Yet if you genuinely “believe in God”, then you bâṭach, {pronounced baw-takh’} Him. Our trust is not to be in ourselves or in others, but

Trust in the LORD

Who is “the LORD”? This is the Hebrewיְהֹוָה Yhwh. The original Hebrew had no vowels, so when we say this word (which sounds like air blown through the lips) we often add vowels to the name, making it either YAHWEH or JEHOVAH. The technical name for God’s name is Tet·ra·gram·ma·ton. One source notes that “All modern denominations of Judaism teach that the four letter name of God, YHWH, is forbidden to be uttered except by the High Priest, in the Temple. Since the Temple in Jerusalem no longer exists, this name is never said in religious rituals by Jews.” The name YHWH means “He Who is” or “I Am that I Am”.

God is the Creator of all things. God, the Creator of all things, is also the only Savior of all things.

Psalm 3:8 Salvation belongeth unto the LORD ( יְהֹוָה Yhwh) …

Only the Eternal I AM can save the creation that He made. “Salvation belongeth unto the LORD”. No one else can save but YHWH.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD ( יְהֹוָה Yhwh) is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

God is the only Savior of His Creation. Even more definitively we read:

Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD ( יְהֹוָה Yhwh); and beside me there is no savior.

God made all things. When Adam sinned, he sinned against the eternal Creator. When we sin, we sin against the Creator Who is without beginning or end. The offenses of sin against God are not erased by time nor by penance. And all are equally sinners. The Bible says:

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

We all miss the mark. The YHWH has said “beside me there is no savior.”. There are no other gods we can seek out. There is no way that even I can save myself. There is but one way to salvation, and that is through YHWH. When our Lord Jesus Christ came to this world to minister, Jesus told us:

Matthew 9:13 … I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The Apostle Paul would later write:

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And again, 1 Timothy 1:15 … Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners …

But has not YHWH told us that ONLY YHWH CAN SAVE? Yes, He has. So has Jesus lost His mind? No, for Jesus Christ is LORD. One day when talking with the Pharisees, Jesus told them:

John 8:56-58 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Jesus took the eternal and holy name of God – a name that the Jews were frightened to say out loud – and applied that name to Himself. Jesus Christ is YHWH in human flesh. God the Son, He was with God the Father and God the Spirit from eternity past. The Apostle declares of Jesus:

Colossians 1:15-17 {Jesus Christ} is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

“God was MANIFEST or made visible IN THE FLESH, was justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory” (1 Timothy 3:16). Jesus Christ is YHWH revealed. It is to Him, He said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). YHWH has:

Hebrews 1:2-3 … in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high

Jesus Christ is YHWH revealed. Jesus is the “Son of Man Who hath power on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6). Jesus Christ is God’s only Savior, YHWH’s only representative. It is Jesus Who – dying for the sins of the world (John 1:29) – alone has the power to forgive sin. Bob Beasley wrote in his book Proverbs 3:5&6, The Distilled Essence Of The Christian Life:

“Christ’s Godhood is total. He can’t be divided. He is the Lord God, the second person of the Trinity. He is both Savior and Lord, without division of mixture, and we need to receive Him as both Lord and Savior in order to be assured of our salvation.”

It is not how good we are that makes us saved, but how good Jesus is. The Bible says:

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

Salvation is a gift we receive from God when we rest full upon Jesus, the visible YHWH. We trust Jesus Christ alone to save us.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 not of works, lest any man should boast.

We are saved to serve our God. We are saved to serve Jesus. We do not give Jesus a PART of our heart – but ALL of our heart. The saved live to serve the Lord who saved them.

The Saved DO What God Says

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

When Abraham, the Father of Faith was saved, he gave us a pattern by which we live. When God called Abraham, He told that old man:

Genesis 12:1-3 … Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

God did not tell Abraham where he was going – just to go. Abraham went. God promised Abraham a child. When Abraham was 100, God answered that prayer. Then one day God told Abraham:

Genesis 22:2 … Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Abraham did not question YHWH. YHWH said to do it, so he did it. Ultimately God would provide a substitute for Abraham’s son. But note this:

Saving faith follows YHWH.
Saving faith follows the Lord.

Believers in Christ, saved by faith, are to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding”. God wants our all. What He says, we must do. Someone asked Jesus one day “who shall be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus:

Matthew 18:2-4 … called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, [3] And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. [4] Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus was quite clear. Unless you, as a little child, obey the Lord and do as He says, “ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”. Do not believe that you can pay lip service to Jesus as Savior, and refuse to heed Him as Lord. He has not left this option open to anyone. A person is saved by trusting in the Lord with all his heart – and salvation is proven when we trust in Jesus for our daily direction.

The Saved Look To Jesus First!

Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The word translated “acknowledge” is the Hebrew יָדַע yâdaʻ, {pronounced yaw-dah’}, meaning “to receive knowledge or instruction from”. The genuine Christian follows not the direction of the world, but the direction of the YHWH, the LORD. Jesus asks us:

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

The saved are to follow Jesus and His direction if they wish to be blessed. Jesus said:

Luke 6:47-49 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 he is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Whether your life goes through tragedy, and survives, depends entirely upon your willingness to follow the Lordship commands of YHWH in the flesh. Solomon put it this way:

Proverbs 3:7-8 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Read your Bible. Seek God’s face in prayer. Do what the Lord Jesus tells you to do. Don’t just HEAR Him, but OBEY Him. Believers, you are on great and holy ground when you heed and obey the Lord Jesus. We have YHWH’s promise:

Isaiah 58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

The Lord wants to bless His children by faith. He wants to give us wonderful lives now, and greater lives into eternity. God said:

Psalms 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

God does not send an angel to guide us. He guides us “with mine eye”. Our Savior has “numbered the very hairs of our head” (Matthew 10:30). “fear the Lord, and depart from evil”. If what you want to do is not in accordance with the Word of God, the Bible, then run from it. Solomon also added:

Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: [10] So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

When God in Christ saves a person, He saves their pocketbook and their wallet as well. All that we have is a gift from God. Life is a gift from God. Eternal life is a gift from God. Shall we withhold anything from our Jesus? He withheld nothing from us. The Scripture says:

Philippians 2:7-8 {Jesus} made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus Christ withheld nothing from you and I. He was beaten, bruised, and bled out for our salvation. Shall we who are saved by faith in Him withhold 10% of our increase? Shall we withhold our testimony, our witness from the world for which He died?

A faith that withholds anything from Jesus
is a cheap faith indeed.

If you withhold full obedience from Christ, and are never disciplined for it, then your salvation is a “fig newton of your imagination” (that expression came from Dr. R.C. Sproul). If you are saved by faith in Jesus, you are saved to serve. Solomon told his son – and us:

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: [12] For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

The writer of Hebrews quotes this same text, and follows up with:

Hebrews 12:7-8 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.

If you fall into the world, if you walk through this life professing Christ but never following Him as Lord, you can expect to be disciplined of God. It is NEVER all right to go against God’s Word. You are saved to serve.

Are you saved?

If Rahab had not obediently put the scarlet thread out of her family’s window (Joshua 2:18), she and her family would have died along with all of Jericho. Obedience is not optional. If Daniel and his friends had not worshiped YHWH rather than compromise with the world, then Daniel would have been a happy meal for lions, and his friends kindling in the King’s oven. Obedience is not optional. Bob Beasley notes:

“Daniel and his three friends trusted in the LORD with all their hearts, even in the midst of life and death situations, and leaned not on their own understanding of their difficult circumstances. … we need not fear because our God is trustworthy even in death.”

Do you know Jesus Christ? Is He your Lord and Savior? If not, today is a great day to call upon Him – and be saved! May God the Holy Spirit take His Words deeply into your hearts. Amen and Amen.

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The Blessing Of Brokenness

Posted on July 18, 2021 by bibleteacherorg

Mark 14:22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash

We had a wonderful revival this past week with Brother Brian Arnold. I think his messages – God anointed – gave us a challenge. Here is a man who lost his a leg when he was a child. That loss changed the course of his life. Brian learned to play the piano, and became quite a sensation in Branson, Missouri. Then when life seemed to be on track, and was getting better and better, Brian was hit by a semi truck, fracturing his neck, and paralyzing his left arm. Once more, the course of Brian’s life changed. Praise God for it! Brian hurt his arm before coming to preach our revival – his good arm. The doctor gave him the results of the MRI. Brian has torn his rotator cuff in two places, and tore a tendon! I hear you saying in your mind,

“How tragic this is! Why is the devil attacking Brian!
Why is God allowing this! Hasn’t he gone through enough?

Which brings me to the title of the message today. It’s called simply “The Blessing Of Brokenness”.

Before Brian was ever born, He knew him. Before God ever formed us in our mother’s womb, He knew us.

“The LORD, Who made all things, Who ALONE stretched out the Heavens, Who spread out the earth by Himself (Isaiah 44:24) – this LORD knew you before He formed you in the womb. Before you were born, God had a purpose for you (Jeremiah 1:5). The Almighty God set you apart before you were born, and calls you to His Grace (Galatians 1:15).

This wonderful God Whom we serve, the LORD He is God. It is He that made us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 100:3). God knows what is best for us. And everything that happens in our lives happens because God ALLOWS it, or because God CAUSES it.

There is a blessing found only in brokenness!

Had Brian not lost a leg, he would have never learned the piano.
Had Brian not lost an arm, he would have never preached.
What is God doing with Brian now?
He is God’s Workmanship, created to do good. (Ephesians 2:10)

And so are you. God made you, and God is the Potter, we the clay. He is the Master Artist, and we the masterpiece He is making. There is a blessing in brokenness!

Brokenness Removes From Us Pride

PRIDE keeps us from doing what God wants us to do. PRIDE makes us refuse to heed God, and makes us as gods in our own minds. PRIDE was the one sin that led Adam to fall away from God – effecting us all. The Serpent – that old devil – told Adam and Eve:

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.

It is PRIDE that hears God command, and says “I will listen not to God, but to others. God is a liar! He will not lead us to death. God is trying to keep me from being a god. That is my destiny … I must be a god!” Oh Beloved, PRIDE makes us into something that is not God’s best for us. God has told us:

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the {perverse or contrary speaking} mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

Life Of Samson: As a little boy, my mamma used to read me the story of Samson. Samson was a judge in Israel. God raised up the judges to be like local magistrates. They established laws, and drove out the enemies who hurt His people Israel. Samson had great strength. Samson’s birth was prophesied by God to the barren wife of Manoah. God told her:

Judges 13:3-5 … thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5 for, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

It was God’s will that Samson be a “Nazarite unto God” from the womb (Judges 13:5). The “Nazarite” was not allowed to cut their hair, but dedicated their lives unto God. To my knowledge there were only three Nazarites from birth in the Scripture: The Judge Samson, the Prophet Samuel, and the Herald of Christ, John the Baptist.

Samson’s job was to “deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines”. That was his entire job description. But Samson had several problems. First and greatest of all, Samson was prideful. Though the Israelis were NOT supposed to intermarry with unbelievers:

Deuteronomy 7:3-4 … neither shalt thou make marriages with them; … 4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods

Though Samson was supposed to be dedicated to God, we are told in Judges 14 that Samson saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. (Judges 14:1). Samson told his parents, “get her for me to wife” (Judges 14:2), though his parents encouraged him to marry an Israelite. Marrying a Philistine when you are suppose to “deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” is foolish. But PRIDE is like that. Samson had numerous troubles because of his Philistine wife. His greatest trouble came when he – prideful and arrogant – divorced his wife and began to take up with a prostitute called Delilah (Judges 16:1). Samson’s bad decisions and his utter arrogance would lead him to end up in a Philistine prison, his hair cut, and his freedom – as well as his eyesight – gone (Judges 16:21).

The Philistines “gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.” (Judges 16:23). Samson, bound and blinded, was brought out to the coliseum, and bound to the pillars of that place to be mocked. This broken Samson – no longer filled with PRIDE – cried out:

Judges 16:28 … O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

Samson then pulled the pillars of the house down. The Bible says, in Judges 16:30, “the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.”

This was Samson’s calling. Not to intermarry with unbelievers. Not to dally with prostitutes. He was called to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. He only did this when he was broken.

Tony Evans: Oh Beloved, there is a blessing in brokenness! Pastor Tony Evans said:

“We shouldn’t run from being broken. Even though it’s not pleasant, it will produce a better life. Brokenness is a blessing because it puts us on the road to a breakthrough. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Those who are spiritually broken will be blessed because they will see God, and God’s power will flow through their lives. Brokenness is a blessing because it puts us on the road to a breakthrough.”

God’s Israel: planted in Egypt by the faithfulness of Joseph – eventually was enslaved by Egypt. How horrible, I’m sure you are saying. But their affliction caused Israel to look to God for deliverance. The Bible says:

Exodus 1:12 … the more {the Egyptians} afflicted {Israel}, the more {Israel} multiplied and grew.

Not one of us enjoys affliction and brokenness, but faith, genuine saving faith, is found through affliction.

Life of Jacob: Faith also grows through affliction. Jacob stole, lied, cheated, and was generally a miserable wretch of a person. That is, until he met with Someone who “wrestled …. with him until the breaking of the day (Genesis 32:24).”

It was not until Jacob’s thigh was was pulled out of the socket that Jacob became Israel (Genesis 32:28)

This pattern is found all throughout Scripture. It is only in brokenness that most come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Saul was arrogant, a persecutor of the Church until he met Jesus on the Damascus Road. Saul became Paul, God’s Apostle to the Gentiles. As Paul pursued Christ, the Bible says that Paul had wonderful revelations and wonderful power from God. The Bible says that because of Paul “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks (Acts 19:10).” The Bible goes on to say:

Acts 19:11-12 … God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

Oh, He had power with God! But then affliction hit. The Apostle Paul said:

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 … lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The Apostle said “I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”. The weaker we are, the greater God can use us. What an amazing statement: “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong”.

It Is In Brokenness That We Come Together
With Christ And One Another

When Jesus walked on the face of this earth, where was He usually found? Was it among the self sufficient Scribes and Pharisees, or the highly political Sadducees and Herodians? No. The Bible often said:

Matthew 9:10 … as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

When the “In Crowd” asked Jesus “why do You eat with publicans and sinners?”, Jesus said:

Matthew 9:12-13 … They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But 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 for well people. He came for the broken. He came for the hurting. The sinner is just a person seeking relief in all the wrong places.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, Who flocked to His side? The Bible says “many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him” (Mark 2:15).

John the Baptist – wrongfully imprisoned by Herod, and broken himself – sent two of his disciples to Jesus with a question: “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? (Matthew 11:3).” How did Jesus answer John? Our Lord said:

John 11:4-6 Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

It is in brokenness that we stop trying to be self sufficient. It is in brokenness that we cease trying to rely on other broken people. It is in brokenness that we look up and see Jesus. Musician Lauren Daigle sings a beautiful song called Look Up, Child. In the song she says:

Where are You now, when darkness seems to win?
Where are You now, when the world is crumbling?
Where are You now, when all I feel is doubt?
Oh, where are You now, when I can’t figure it out?
Oh I, I hear You say, I hear You say,
Look up, child, ayy. Look up Child, ayy.
You’re not threatened by the war
You’re not shaken by the storm
I know You’re in control.
Even in our suffering
Even when it can’t be seen
I know You’re in control.

There is blessing in the brokenness. Brokenness blinds us to self, and causes us to look up. Look up, Child. Look up! Look unto Jesus. It is brokenness that leads us to Jesus. Didn’t Jesus say:

“Come unto Me, all Who have it all together!
Come unto Me, if you have no problems – I’ll help you!”

Did Jesus say that? No. He said:

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

It is brokenness that leads us to salvation. There is a blessing in brokenness. It is brokenness that leads us to one another. “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down (Psalm 145:14).” A Church is a body of broken people, totally reliant upon Jesus. We are not God’s critics, nor are we God’s advisor’s. We are God’s Children, Children by faith in Christ Jesus.

Jesus Loved Us So Much That
He Willingly Embraced Brokenness

Back to our focal text:

Mark 14:22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

Who were those gathered around the Table on this night of nights? There were eleven broken men, and one perfect Man, the Man Christ Jesus.

The Bible says “as they did eat”. Those around the Table were celebrating the Jewish Passover, a time in which Israel commemorated their salvation from Egyptian bondage. A lamb without spot or blemish would be the center of this Passover Meal, a lamb sacrificed for the sins of the people. But at this Table sat “THE LAMB OF GOD Who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus Christ, in just a few hours, will go to the Cross of Calvary, dying for my sins and yours. Jesus willingly accepted this calling. Jesus –

1 Peter 2:22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth

Would willingly give His precious Body over to the Romans, to be broken like this bread, for you and I. The Bible says:

1 Peter 2:23-24 … when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Jesus suffered hell on earth, so we would not have to go to hell beyond this earth. An ancient prayer from the Valley of Vision notes:

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,
Cast off, that I might be brought in.
Trodden down as an enemy,
that I might be welcomed as a friend.
Surrendered to hell’s worst,
that I might attain Heaven’s best.
Stripped that I might be clothed,
Wounded that I might be healed,
Athirst that I might drink,
Tormented that I might be comforted,
Made a shame that I might inherit glory,
Entered darkness that I might have eternal light.

Jesus Christ embraced brokenness so that we might be saved. Will you receive Him as Lord and Savior?

I wish I could go on with this, but we must now approach the Lord’s Table. Are you broken? It is in brokenness that we find blessing. If you are without Christ, your brokenness has brought you to Him, to this wonderful place and time. Will you receive Him as Lord and Savior? Will you lay your brokenness before Him, and pledge to follow Him both now, and forever? Let us, with hearts and minds wide open, turn our eyes to Jesus Christ.

For in brokenness, there is great blessing!

Amen and amen. May God, through His Holy Spirit, draw us all to His bleeding side!

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Without Repentance

Posted on July 8, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 11.

Before I knew the Lord Jesus, I desperately sought to fit in with the crowd. As a young boy I discovered the “joy” of eye glasses when only 7 years old. My test scores were horrible in first grade. One day the teacher noticed I was squinting as I looked at the blackboard. The school nurse recommended I go to an eye doctor. Boom! I had to wear glasses.

Throughout most of my school years I was picked on, bullied, and made to feel less than. Overweight, I was “fat boy”. With eye glasses I was “four eyed”. So I drifted toward the others who were outcasts, the shunned. I don’t say this to make you feel sorry for me. I don’t feel sorry for myself. The truth is, the devil has done this to many people throughout the history of man. Frequently I read in the obituaries of those who “died suddenly at home”. I suspect this is the result of drug abuse (which I toyed with before Jesus found me) and suicide or suicidal behavior (again, thank you Jesus for saving me). This is what the devil does. He wants to devalue us. I see the devil in so many things today.

The devil is in the Church that refuses to speak the truth in love.
The devil is in the racist of whatever color who devalues others.
The devil is in the classroom that teaches all ___ people are racist.
The devil is in the young girl shunned, until she gives her body away.
The devil tells us to be proud of sin, that there is no sin.
The devil tells us to hate one another.
The devil confuses us, drawing us away from the Bible.
The devil calls us back to Egypt, tempts us, tells us to follow lies.

My salvation came when one young man, Ricky Allen, invited me to Church. My salvation came when I came into that house of worship, a hot mess, where the Preacher spoke the truth in love. On that day I heard the call of Jesus to salvation. That was the best day of my life. As I studied the Scripture, I came across this verse:

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

I love that verse. It is this verse that anchors my heart to Jesus. This verse explains why I no longer follow the crowd, but follow Jesus. I pray that you, too, will stop following the crowd, and that you will follow Jesus with me. Let’s break this verse down:

“Without Repentance”

The words “without repentance” is but one word in the Greek, ἀμεταμέλητος ametamélētos, {pronounced am-et-am-el’-ay-tos}. The word can be translated as “irrevokable, without change of mind, without repentance”. To “repent” is to change your mind from what you thought to something else. Repentance always brings with it a change of behavior. This Greek word is only found twice in the Scripture: in THIS text, and in

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of (ametamélētos): but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

In order to be saved a person must first REPENT. There are many who PROFESS to be Christians, but are not, because they have never REPENTED. Genuine repentance comes from godly sorrow – a realization that what I was doing is not compatible to what God my Creator has ordered. There is a “sorrow of the world” that is NOT genuine repentance. There is the sorrow of Judas Iscariot who, betraying Jesus Christ, was ashamed of what he did before the priests of Israel, but cared little for what God thought. Judas killed himself, a sad testament to anyone who followed Jesus for over three years.

Repentance. It is by repentance – genuine repentance – that we are saved. John the Baptist preached:

“Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2)

Our Lord Jesus preached:

“Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

The Apostles preached:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19)

Repentance is not just something that we who are human must do – it is something that God Himself can do. When Israel kept rejecting the Word of God, the Lord God told Moses:

Exodus 32:9-10 I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff necked people: 10 now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee {Moses} a great nation.

Moses prayed for Israel unto God, and prayed for the glory of God. The Bible says:

Exodus 32:14 And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

God can repent. When God saw the spread of evil throughout the world, the Bible says:

Genesis 6:5-7 … God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth

Chad Napier of Christianity.com notes:

“In his “Exposition of the Bible” John Gill explained that God never changes his mind or alters his purposes, “though he sometimes changes the course and dispensations of his providence.” God knew of the resistance and the downfall of man before He created man. His original purpose as stated in Genesis 2:15 was for Adam and Eve was to live in the garden, cultivate it, and be prosperous. However, as is the case in all the dispensational periods, God knew man would rebel against Him. God’s repentance was not that he was surprised or should not have made man, but that the providence of man had to change because of the introduction of sin.”

When God’s creation will not do what God commands it to do, God can repent Himself, and change the circumstances or the blessings that He has given. But

God’s Ultimate Purpose Cannot Be Averted

God calls humans to repentance. He calls us to cease being our own gods, and to follow Him. When we follow Him then:

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

If we who are His by faith follow God, albeit imperfectly, God nonetheless will continue with us. But even if we rebel and reject the Word of God, God’s ULTIMATE PURPOSE will be fulfilled.

That’s what the Apostle is talking about in this text. As he wrote of Christ to the Roman Church, there were many Gentiles who began to teach that God was done with Israel. This nonsense is even taught in the world today. I have heard professors and scholars say, “Israel rejected Jesus Christ, so Jesus turned away from Israel forever, and put the Church in place of Israel”. That’s not true, and the Apostle addresses this. Read with me:

Romans 11:1-5 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of {Elijah}? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

When people see that word “election”, they get frightened. Do you know what “election” means? It means that GOD’S PURPOSE AND PLAN WILL BE FULFILLED. God’s call to a people has a purpose. When God called Israel out of Egypt, Moses told them:

Deuteronomy 6:23 {God} brought us out from {Egypt}, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

God made promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God made promises, and plans, and God’s plans will always be met.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

When God led Israel out of Egypt, God knew that both believer and unbeliever were within His nation. This has always been true of Israel, and has always been true of the Church. Believer and unbeliever are on the “membership rolls”, but God’s purpose will be fulfilled. God told Israel through the Prophet:

Isaiah 48:12-13 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

Notice how God addresses Israel. He calls that nation “Jacob and Israel”. When you read of “Jacob”, this was the unbeliever that God would one day make into “Israel”. It is God’s will that “Israel” possess the Promised Land. It is God’s will that the Messiah one day rule the world from Jerusalem in “Israel”. The God Who made the stars “stand up together” is the same God Who will one day redeem that nation. Why? Because God loves a challenge! God told Israel:


Deuteronomy 7:7-8 The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

What God has determined to do with Israel, He will do with Israel. Israel has a purpose, and God will fulfill His purpose in Israel. Why? Because He is God. Because:

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

What God has ordained will come to pass! It is a dangerous game any nation plays who stands against God’s Israel. Some say, “But Israel is filled with Christ killers, and haters of the Messiah”. That may or may not be true. But the Bible tells us to look deeper. We read:

Romans 11:7-12 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8 (according as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them: 10 let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?

God’s purpose in Israel was to one day bring Christ into the world. God’s purpose in Israel was the bring not just Jews, but Gentiles into the Kingdom of Christ. God’s purpose in Israel is to one day bring Messiah back into the world, to be the base where Jesus Christ governs the world from.

God is not done with Israel. We read:

Romans 11:17-20 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18 boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

The Church came about because some of the “branches” of Israel, the unbelieving branches, were “broken off”. Why were they broken off? Because of unbelief. The Apostle warns us:

Romans 11:21-22 … for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

God’s purposes will be fulfilled.

If You Are The Called Of Christ,
You Had Best Follow Christ

Israel lost their blessing from God because they frequently ceased operating by faith in Him. It is a foolish thing to presume upon God! If you have been called of Christ, then you are to follow Christ in your daily walk. We studied this text Sunday night:

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Preach! The GIFT of salvation always comes with a CALL. You are CALLED into God’s Kingdom. You are CALLED to follow Jesus. You are CALLED to be obedient children. You are CALLED to worship God. You are CALLED from lost Egypt to go to the Promised Canaan.

It is the devil’s lie that you can be given the GIFT and not be expected by God to fulfill the CALLING. Look at Israel. Look at how many times Israel was under the heel of an enemy nation. If you are called of Christ, you are to follow Christ. My brother in Christ Tim Laws once told me: “It’s hard to hear God’s voice when you’ve already decided what you want Him to say”. That is so very true. Let us heed God’s Word.

Let’s put away our thoughts, and turn to God’s Word for His standard. The Christian, saved by the GIFT of God, is CALLED to do and believe what God says. What God says is in God’s Word, not in our imaginations. If you are saved by the free GIFT, then you are CALLED, you are PREDESTINED to do what God called you to do. The Apostle put it this way:

Romans 8:28-31 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

You as Christians are Christians by GOD’S GIFT. If you are GIFTED, you are CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE. Not your purpose, but His.

If you believe “all things work together for your good”, then this is inexplicably tied to your CALLING. If you believe that you are “predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son”, this is tied to your calling. If you believe that you are going to Heaven, then you cannot neglect that holy chain of truths (verse 30)”

“whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified”

You are called. “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” (Isaiah 43:1) says the Lord. “Ye are not your own … For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). You belong to God, not to yourself. Joshua told Israel, “choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15). God does not call you to serve yourself. He calls you to serve Him, to love Him, to walk with Him.

This is where blessing is found, walking with and loving God every day. Blindness will be on Israel until the “fullness of the Gentiles comes in”. There will come a day – I do not know when – when God the Son will return for His Church. On that day of Rapture we who love Him shall feel His fullest embrace. Our bodies shall be changed, “and so we shall ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). God’s will for Israel shall be fulfilled.

Romans 11:26-27 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Israel shall be saved during the Millennium. God shall be triumphant! Praise the name of Jesus forever! Amen and Amen!

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Let The Right One In

Posted on July 5, 2021 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Ephesians 4:27, 30 neither give place to the devil. …… 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Sherry and I had a wonderful vacation with our grandchildren. We want to thank you all for allowing us to have that time – Jerry, Carlos, and all of you. As I’m getting older my arthritis won’t allow me to travel the whole way to Valdosta, Georgia without stopping. Sherry and I are accustomed to stopping -in Macon, Georgia, at what used to be a very nice Super 8 Motel. We’ve used this motel for 9 years now, and have always been happy with it. So when we reserved a room, we usually save money by making a non-refundable deposit on that room.

Bad idea.

When we got our assigned room this time, I noticed peeling paint, cracks in the ceiling, stains on the furniture … BAD stains. The bed was comfortable enough, so we decided to just put up with it. Before going to bed I decided to take a shower and, as I was showering, I smelt the distinct odor of sewage! On closer inspection I saw there was a crack in the floor of the shower, obviously near or in a sewage pipe.

I don’t believe that we’ll be going back to that place!

What does this have to do with today’s message? What used to be very nice was destroyed by poor maintenance and terrible visitors. Those in charge of the motel not only let the wrong people in, they refused to repair what the wrong people did. Just as that Super 8 Motel was trashed, many people trash their own “buildings” by letting the wrong visitors in. If you are a Christian, saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are encouraged to:

Ephesians 4:1 …. walk worthy of the vocation {κλῆσις klēsis, [pronounced klay’-sis], “calling”} wherewith ye are called …

If you are a Christian, you were “CALLED” to salvation by Jesus. You are “the called of Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:6), “called to be saints” (Romans 1:7). The Bible declares:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 … your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

If you are a Christian, you are a walking miracle. God saved you by His Grace. He called you to life with Him.

The day you called upon the name of Jesus you were …

1 Peter 1:23 … born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

“Born of His Spirit with life from above,
into God’s family divine,
Justified fully through Calvary’s love,
Oh what a standing is mine!

Adopted into the Family of God, the believer belongs to God. God owns everyone. God said, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine” (Ezekiel 18:4). Though all souls belong to God, the believer in Christ is particularly aware of this. God lives with you and is in you. He has promised to never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). You are God’s Temple.

You are to be in relationship with your Lord.

Don’t Let The Devil In

The first command we look at is:

Ephesians 4:27 neither give place to the devil.

Word Study Please pay attention to how our God words this command. “Give place” is the Greek δίδωμι didōmi τόπος topos, which means “to grant access or allow space or a place”. You are not the property of the devil. You belong to Jesus Christ. You are inhabited by God. You do not need to allow the devil, that old dragon, one little toehold in your life.

Do you know how Adam fell into sin, and by falling, caused all humanity to fall into sin? How is it possible that:

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:

Adam allowed the Serpent, the devil, a foothold into his life. Adam was in a perfect place. He had a perfect job, and a perfect wife. Adam had a perfect right to protect humanity from the effects of sin. But he allowed the devil to whisper into his ear. He heard the devil’s lies, and believing them, led us all from Eden.

The Apostle says in

Ephesians 4:17-20 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ

We are not to listen to the devil and his lies. We are walk in the light of God’s truth and God’s love.

We are not to allow him who has fallen from God into the Temple of our bodies. We are to follow Christ, follow our calling, to learn of what the Scripture says. We are to heed God’s Word, not the Devil’s lies. For the Devil is a liar. Jesus said of him:

John 8:44 {the Devil} was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The devil pushes lies today. He tells us lies in television, on the radio, on the internet and in social media. The truth is in God and what God’s Word says. The devil knows nothing but lies. The Apostle tells us:

Ephesians 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.

It matters what we say and do. It matters how we respond to lies. We are to love God with all our hearts. We are to remember the commandments that we MUST follow as believers, commandments that our Lord Jesus gave us.

Mark 12:29-31 ….. The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

We are to put away the devil’s lies, and speak the truth in love. We are to affirm what God has affirmed, and deny what God has denied.

We who are His are born again by faith in His Word. We must not depart from His Word. The devil today is doing his best to deny the Word of Christ in all things. He has crept into Churches and homes, quietly twisting truth, and turning from God. The world follows the devil, but we who are His must not. We must follow the Lord. We must affirm what our Jesus affirmed. The devil strikes at the family unit, doing his best to corrupt that which God has ordained. Our Lord Jesus affirmed:

Matthew 19:4-6 …. Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

We who love Jesus must love His Word. We must love the Bible that our Lord has given to us, and affirm His truth as our truth. Do not let the devil get his foot in the door. “Put away lying, speak every person truth WITH HIS NEIGHBOR”. The world will not like this, but we must speak the truth nonetheless. The Scripture says:

Romans 3:4 … let God be true, but every man a liar

Speak the truth in love.

When you speak God’s truth, the darkness will fight against you. Do not allow the darkness to enter in by drawing you into anger and wrath. The Bible says:

Ephesians 4:26 … Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Anger and violent harsh emotions allow the devil to come into your Temple.

C.H. Spurgeon notes, “I believe that some Christians make half the opposition which they get from the world by their own ill tempers and stupidity. They challenge conflict. Their actions seem to say, “Who will fight me?” and then, of course, somebody takes up the challenge. Do not act foolishly! If your soul is among lions and they are inclined to be quiet, do not needlessly excite them.”

Do not let your anger or your emotions control you – YOU control IT. Very few times in Jesus’ ministry do we see Him angered at anyone. When Jesus went into the Temple of God:

John 2:14-17 … and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

Word Study Some say that Jesus was “angry” when He chased the money changers out of the Temple. But the disciples said that He had ζῆλος zēlos, {pronounced dzay’-los} zeal, literally “indignation or jealousy over”. Jesus saw the money changers stealing the offerings of the children of Israel, offerings made to God, and putting that money in their pockets. Jesus was not overflowing with anger, uncontrollable, but controlled His emotions as He put things back the way they should be.

Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

What a horrid thing, that people would take that which belongs to God, and put it in their pockets! Jesus chased them out, but in no place do I see that He expressed “anger” or “wrath”.

The only time I can find Jesus angry in the
Gospels is in Mark 3:5.

Our Lord went into the Synagogue, and …

Mark 3:1-5 …. there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And {the Scribes and Pharisees} watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts…

Jesus was angry – and very sad – that these who should have been God’s people had become so hard hearted that they cared more for ritual than they did for a hurting child of God. Anger was an emotion that our Lord rarely used, and when He was angry it was tempered with grief. Jesus controlled His emotions – they did not control Him. Jesus did not allow His anger to mount into bitterness, nor did Jesus hold grudges. His anger was righteous anger.

Uncontrolled Anger And It’s Cousins Grieves God

We read:

Ephesians 4:30-32 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

It GRIEVES God when we allow anger to control us. It GRIEVES God when “bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking” are in His Temple, our bodies. These are all different expressions and degrees of anger. “Evil speaking” is βλασφημία blasphēmia, which is anger directed toward God. When anger in unrestrained it will grow until it not only offends those around you – it offends your Maker.

Illustrate An old married couple had their problems. The man lost his eyesight, but he could hear perfectly, and his wife was losing her hearing, but could see perfectly. When they traveled, she drove the car, and her husband helped her hear. They stopped at a rest area one day, and sat down near some friendly travelers. One man asked, “Where are you from?” The old lady turned to her husband and said, “What did he say?” The old man told her “He asked where we are from”, then told the stranger, “We’re from Columbia, Tennessee”. A woman asked, “Where are you headed?” The old lady asked her husband, “What did she say?” The old man told her “She asked where we are going”, then told the stranger, “We’re heading to Memphis, Tennessee”. Another man said, “I knew a woman in Memphis. She was the most bitter, cantankerous, evil woman I ever met.” The old lady asked her husband, “What did he say?” The old man replied, “He said he knew your sister!”

Do not let anger control you. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

Do not give anger it’s head – or you will lose yours!

Another way you lease room to the Devil is through THEFT. We read:

Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Theft and laziness are terrible things. God tells us all to be busy, to work together for the glory of His Kingdom. “If any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) is God’s prescription for laziness. We are not to steal, a violation of God’s eighth commandment. We are to work at doing good, not just to fill our bank accounts, but to “have to give to him that needeth”. A thief is never a happy person, for selfishness never brings blessing.

The professing Christian who rarely does anything for God is a thief. You have been given the gift of life, and the gift of eternal life, as a stewardship from God. The Bible says:

Ephesians 5:14-21 … Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Be Filled With The Spirit. Let God Fill You, Not Evil.

Salvation is entirely a gift of grace. It is nothing that we can ever earn nor deserve. But once saved, as believers we are called to work for the Kingdom of God, to lovingly serve the God Who saved us. We are to go through this life “walk(ing) circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil”. We are called to be the:

Matthew 5:14-16 … the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We as the people of God are to be busy, doing good, loving God and loving those around us. We are to be people of His Kingdom. We are to fill our lives with Him. The Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 15:10 … by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

And again,

2 Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

It is not by works that you are saved – but once saved, you will work for the Lord Who saved you. If you profess to be saved and never do anything for the Kingdom of Christ, then your salvation may only be a figment of your imagination. The stepbrother of Jesus wrote:

James 2:17-24 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Those Who Are Born Again Love God And Love Others

It grieves the Lord Who saved us when we allow the devil a foothold in our lives. If you have allowed the devil in, God calls you to REPENT. We read:

Ephesians 4:22-24 … put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Word Study The word translated “conversation” is the Greek ἀναστροφή anastrophḗ, {pronounced an-as-trof-ay’}, which means “manner of life, behavior, conduct”. That old YOU is dead and buried, if you are a child of God by faith in Christ. PUT OFF that old man, that “corrupt” way of living. Those who are in Christ “walk in the light as Jesus is in the Light” (John 8:14).

Our Christian calling is to live in the light with Him, following His Word, the Holy Bible. The Scripture tells us:

Ephesians 5:6-11 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were {in past time} darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

God tells us that, as His sons, we are to walk with Him in the light, not in darkness. We are to reprove sin, to repent, and to daily be more like Jesus. If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, turn to Him and receive Him as He is. He will change your life forever!

May God touch your hearts with His Spirit and His Word.

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