Transfiguration (Red Letters #41)

Posted on September 6, 2020 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash

After rebuking Peter for saying that Christ need not go to Calvary, Jesus told His disciples that Calvary was only necessary for Him, but it is necessary for THEM. Just as Jesus would die on Calvary to make payment for our sins, we who would follow Jesus must die on Calvary, surrendering our lives to God. Jesus said:

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

Jesus denied Himself – His position as Son of God and His power as God the Son – in order that we be saved. To receive the salvation that Jesus has given to us we MUST also go to a Calvary.

We must, like Jesus, deny our self, take up the Cross, and follow the Master. To those who refuse to go to Calvary, they shall lose their birthright, eternal life from Christ. To those who cling to this world and to the old self there shall never be a change. You can gain the whole world, but in return you lose your own soul. You must surrender to the Lord, trusting Him, believing Him as Lord and Savior. This is non-negotiable. If you do not, you have no hope for life afterward. Jesus told His disciples,

Just as I surrendered to the Cross for You,
You must surrender to the Cross for Me.

Jesus said in verse 27:

“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and
then he shall reward every man according to his works.”

The Messiah will one day return, and reward every person according to their works. I can hear you now. You have been told by many preachers that salvation is a gift of God, not of works, lest any person should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Human works will not secure salvation for anyone. There is no good that you can do that will impress God, causing Him to save you. But there is ONE WORK that you must do. Do you know what it is? When crowds followed Jesus to Capernaum right after He miraculously fed the 5000+ men, women, and children, many asked:

John 6:28 What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Jesus’ answer was simple. He said: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom {God the Father} hath sent.” (John 6:30). You are to believe Jesus. All judgment is given into Jesus hands (John 3:35; 5:22). There is coming a judgment day where the Son will judge every person according to their works. Have you followed Christ, denying yourself, resting in Him? If not, you will not be blessed, nor are you saved.

Right after Jesus speaks of His judgment on us all, He says:

Matthew 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Jesus Transfigured Is Jesus In His Kingdom

As this is the last verse of Matthew chapter 16, this verse has confused many commentators and Bible Scholars over the years. The reality is the original scriptures had no chapter and verse divisions. These were put in place by men, and men are fallible. Verse 28 of chapter 16 actually should be verse 1 of chapter 17. We know this because of a little word AND. Read with me:

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

The Transfiguration of Jesus is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Mark and Luke there is no chapter break between Jesus’ statement and the incident at the Mount of Transfiguration. For instance:

Mark 9:1-4 And {Jesus} said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. 2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

Jesus had a reason for everything He said and did. He told His disciples He had to go to Calvary for them, and they had to go to Calvary for Him. Then Jesus said, “Some of you will not see death, till you have seen Me in the Kingdom of God”. The Mount of Transfiguration is a fulfillment of what Jesus promised to His disciples.

Prayer And Revelation

Matthew 17:1 …. Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

Luke tells us:

Luke 9:28 … {Jesus} took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

Jesus took Peter, James and John apart from the other Apostles. He had something He wanted these three men to see. As leaders, they needed to see the power of prayer. These men would be very important in the beginning of the early Church. Peter is the Chief Apostle, the leader of the missionaries that will go out for Him after Jesus ascends into Heaven. John will be the longest lived Apostle, a man who teaches us all how to love the Messiah. And James will be the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem, the most dangerous place in the world to have a Church.

As these men pray, God allows these men to see the Kingdom of God come with power. The central figure of the Kingdom is our Lord Jesus Christ. We read:

Matthew 17:2 and {Jesus} was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

Word Study The word translated TRANSFIGURED is the Greek μεταμορφόω metamorphoō, which means “to change or be transformed from one state to another”. When Jesus walked this earth, He was God the Son, veiled in human flesh. The Father said to Jesus:

Hebrews 1:8 … Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.

God became Man and dwelt among us. Jesus would one day tell John, exiled on Patmos, that:

Revelation 1:8 I {Jesus} am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of how the Old Covenant sacrifices and the Holy of Holies were shadows of the Coming Messiah. In Hebrews 10 we are told the Law of Sacrifice in the Old Covenant was but a shadow of good things to come. The animal sacrifices spoke of the need for the covering of sin. Yet these sacrifices were but temporary until God made a permanent way (Hebrews 10:1-4). For “it is NOT POSSIBLE that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins”. This is why Jesus came into the world. Under the old Covenant the Priest took the Blood into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the sins of the people. A veil covered that holiest of places.

That veil represented the flesh of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:19-20 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

As the Apostles prayed, God drew back the veil from the Holy of Holies. He exposed the wonderful Being of our Lord Jesus Christ. His Godness shined through, a Godness that had not been seen to that point. Mark says:

Mark 9:2-3 {Jesus} was transfigured before them. 3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

Jesus was transfigured (μεταμορφόω metamorphoō) before them. Mark uses the same word, whereas Luke says “as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering” (Luke 9:29). We speak of scientific metamorphosis, where the caterpillar becomes the butterfly through that miraculous cocoon. The caterpillar looks common, and has none of the beauty that the butterfly has. I think the Scripture used the perfect word to describe what happened to Jesus on that mountain. The Scripture, prophesying of the Christ, said that when He was first on this earth:

Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

When people first saw Christ, He looked like every man. He was no movie star. He was, to most who saw Him, just a carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:55). He is a nobody from Nazareth. “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3).

And then God the Father drew back the veil!

Dr. Kent Hughes writes in his commentary, “For a brief moment the veil of Jesus’ humanity was lifted, and His true essence was allowed to shine through. The glory which was always in the depths of His being rose to the surface for that one time in His earthly life.”

Suddenly Peter, James, and John see Jesus as He truly is. He is God incarnate. He is the Only means unto Heaven. He is the Only means by which we may have peace with God. He is the Lamb of God, offered but once for the sins of the world. He is the Promised Redeemer. He is the Shekinah Glory of God behind the veil that the frightened priest make sacrifice to. He is the Kingdom of God coming in glory and power!

Oh Beloved, it is prayer that opens the door, and causes the scales to fall from our eyes. It is prayer that lets us see Jesus as He is. Prayer “opens my eyes that I may see wondrous things out of God’s Law” (Psalm 119:18). When Elisha prayed, “Oh Lord, open my servant’s eyes so he may see” (2 Kings 6:17), the servant’s eyes were opened so that he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When Peter, James and John prayed, the blinders fell off. They saw Jesus as He is, as He has always been.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. (John 8:12; 9:5)
His Kingdom is a Kingdom of Light.

Those who come to Christ in faith are a transformed people. Daily we give…

Colossians 1:12-14 … thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Christ, With Elijah And Moses

Matthew 17:3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and {Elijah} talking with {Jesus}.

Our Jesus, Who is shining with the Shekinah Glory of God, is now not praying, but holding a conversation with Moses and Elijah. The first thing I’d like to relate is this: how did they know this was Moses and Elijah? Peter, James, and John had never met either Moses or Elijah. Moses had been dead about 1400 years prior to this wonderful vision. Elijah had been received unto glory around 900 years prior to this time. How could they know who these men were. Beloved, they knew because they were in the Presence of Christ.

I have had people ask me “Will we know our loved ones in Heaven?” This text is proof that, yes, we WILL know our loved ones in Heaven. When we are in the presence of Christ in glory, we shall know what He knows. He knows His Sheep, and we shall know His Sheep. The Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now (on this earth) we see through a glass, darkly; but then (in Heaven) face to face: now (on this earth) I know in part; but then (in Heaven) shall I know even as also I am known.

Illustrate When I came to the Church this past Tuesday, I saw the cutest thing, something that is actually an illustration of the text I just quoted. On the front steps of our Church building, right at the entry doors, a visitor was knocking on the door. Yes, a visitor! It was a wild turkey! I sat in our driveway, watching from my car, until I realized what the bird was doing. It saw its reflection in the glass of our double doors, and was pecking at it, trying to hit the ghostly image it assumed was another bird. I crept up and tried to get it’s picture, but it saw in the reflection, and took off! But this is so appropriate to our message today.

While we are on this earth we see through a glass, darkly. We don’t see the full picture. But when we enter Heaven because of Christ’s loving sacrifice, we shall know as we are known. No one will have to tell me who Isaiah, Moses, Elijah, Joseph, or any of the other Saints are. When we enter glory and are in the presence of Christ, glorious Christ, all shadows and darkness will be gone. Dr. W.A. Criswell said, “How do you know how to swallow? Did you know to swallow is one of the most complicated anatomical processes in your anatomy? But I never think about it. I just swallow. That is an intuitive knowledge. I was not taught it when I was a baby. I knew it. It is an intuitive knowledge, Moses and Elijah.”

In the Presence of Christ there will be no hidden things. We will know and love one another equally. There is no marriage, nor giving in marriage, but we will be like the angels in Heaven (Matthew 22:30). Praise God, death will be gone forever!

Seeing Moses and Elijah brings out another point. Some people believe that, when you die, your soul sleeps in the ground until the resurrection. Yet this text proves this to be incorrect. Moses died, as I said before, about 1400 years before – and yet here he is talking with Jesus. And Elijah. A chariot of fire took Elijah from this earth some 900 years before (2 Kings 2:11). Elijah was not sleeping somewhere, waiting for the bodily resurrection. No, both Elijah and Moses are with Jesus on the Mount, talking with Jesus. It is this beautiful figure that would give James the courage to pastor the Church at Jerusalem. Though the first martyr of the Church will be the Deacon Stephen (Acts 6:5, 8; 7:59), the first Apostle to be killed will be James (Acts 12:2). Herod will have James killed. But James will meet his fate without fear. What does God tell us who have believed on Him?

Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Moses is a picture of the Christian who has died, believing in Christ. He is not sleeping in a grave somewhere. He is alive, and with Jesus. Moses died in the service of the Master. Some of us will die in the service of the Master, but we will be souls around the Altar of God in glory (Revelation 6:9; 20:4). Our BODIES will sleep in the ground until the Coming of the Lord:

1 Corinthians 15:52-53 …. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

But until that trumpet sound we, like Moses, will be with our Jesus. But what of Elijah? Elijah never suffered death. He represents those who are on the earth when Jesus returns for His Church.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 … if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Jesus will come, and receive us who love Him and believe in Him. His Church shall not suffer the wrath of the Great Tribulation, but we, like Elijah, will be caught up to be with the Lord. Praise God for this great truth. Moses and Elijah, those dead and those raptured, bound together in the glorious Kingdom of Christ!

Why did Moses and Elijah meet with Christ on that mountain? We read:

Matthew 17:3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with {Jesus}.

They came to talk to Jesus. What did they discuss? Well the Blessed Physician tells us:

Luke 9:30-31 … there talked with {Jesus} two men, which were Moses and {Elijah}: 31 who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

Moses and Elijah Are Representations

Word Study Moses represents the Law of God. The Bible tells us “the Law was given by Moses” (John 1:17). God gave the Old Testament Law of sacrifice and rituals to Moses. The Law of sacrifice had no power to save. When Moses spoke to Jesus, he spoke of our Lord’s DECEASE which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. When I read that text I thought, “what a strange translation – what does it mean?” So I looked it up. The word translated DECEASE is ἔξοδος éxodos, {pronounced ex’-od-os}. Moses spoke to Jesus about HIS exodus. When God saved Israel from Egypt, He carried His people out of Egypt, protecting them as they went, and called this the “Exodus”. As Moses led Israel in Exodus, Jesus Christ leads His Church in Exodus. When we come to Him, He forgives us our sins. He carries us away from fallen and pagan Egypt, and brings us into His glorious kingdom.

As Moses speaks to Jesus, I can imagine what he must have said. “Jesus, when You gave us the Law on Sinai, every sacrifice, every ritual was just a shadow of something better. The Law said in Leviticus 17:11, “it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul”. The Law said in Hebrews 9:22, “without shedding of blood is no remission {of sin}”. Oh Jesus, thank You so much for coming from Heaven to this earth. Thank You for being willing to go to Jerusalem, to become THE Lamb of God that takes away all sin.”

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

And Elijah, he represents the prophesies of the Messiah, the promises God made through His Prophets. Elijah was the greatest of the prophets. As Elijah spoke to Jesus, I can imagine him saying: “Jesus, we were blessed to foresee Your coming. Lord, thank You for fulfilling the Word of the Lord to us all. Through Isaiah (53:5) You said, ‘he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.’ Lord, You must die if we are to be redeemed,

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

What a glorious moment in time was this Transfiguration! John would later write, “we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). Peter would later say, “{we} were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (2 Peter 1:16-17). James would never speak of this in Scripture, being martyred so soon after Christ’s ascension.

Was Peter Wrong? Let’s Rethink This

As this wondrous Transfiguration is shown, as God rolls back the curtain and let’s us glimpse into the Holy of Holies, Peter speaks up. We read:

Matthew 17:4-8 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for {Elijah}. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

I have often thought that Peter misspoke when he suggested that “three Tabernacles” (σκηνή skēnḗ, {pronounced skay-nay’}) be erected on this mountain. Now, I’m not so sure. First of all, Jesus never corrected what Peter said. When the Father spoke and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him”, Peter, James, and John were frightened. Jesus did not chastise Peter like He did when Peter suggested that Jesus not go to Jerusalem. Jesus told him then, “Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense to Me!” (Matthew 16:23). Now Jesus just goes to these frightened men, touches them, and says “do not be afraid”. No rebuke. Just comfort.

Also, the Father did not rebuke Peter. The Father just clarified the truth when He said, “This is My Beloved Son; hear ye Him”. As Moses represented the Law and Elijah the Prophets, the “Law and the Prophets”, or the Holy Scripture, is what Jesus came to fulfill. Jesus never, ever deleted the Law and the Prophets, but commanded that we follow them. For instance:

Matthew 7:12 all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Matthew 22:38-40 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

God’s Word, His Holy Bible, is to be cherished, for it teaches of the Christ. I believe the Scripture is still valid, still to be honored. Though we no longer perform ritual sacrifices and shadows for the atonement of sin (for Christ has come, and we are no longer under the Law of sacrifice), the Scripture is still God’s Word and is to be honored. But the emphasis as we study the Scripture is ALWAYS CHRIST JESUS. The Law and the Prophets are interpreted through the Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We are always careful to remember:

Jesus is the Father’s Beloved Son: Hear ye Him!

The Law and the Prophets point to Christ. All of Scripture heralds Christ. Scripture is important, for it speaks of Jesus. Do you know Jesus? Do you know Him? Have you received Him as the Scripture presents Him? Oh, how I pray that you have. You will not be transfigured until you see Him transfigured, and you receive Him transfigured into your life by faith. May God the Holy Spirit lead you, by His Word, to His Son this very day. Amen and Amen!

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The Mob And The Rule Of Law

Posted on September 4, 2020 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Florian Olivo on Unsplash

I never know what I’m going to preach until God puts it on my heart. This morning I was searching the Internet for news. The major news networks do not give news, but opinion and bias. I just want to be informed. Anyway, in one of my news feeds I found an article entitled “Tennessee In National Spotlight With Harsh Penalties For Protesters”. The article, written by Nikki Junewicz, focused on a bill passed by our state legislature. Bill 8005 passed in the Tennessee House with 71 Ayes, 20 Noes. The Bill passed in the Tennessee Senate with 25 Ayes, 4 Noes. Governor Bill Lee signed the bill into Law August 20, 2020. The Law “revises certain criminal laws concerning vandalism, assault, disorderly conduct, rioting, obstructing traffic, camping on state property, and other offenses; authorizes the TBI to investigate certain offenses”.

Every citizen in Tennessee should appreciate this law, especially after watching other cities across America burn as rioters and looters “peacefully protest”. Camping on state property is not allowed, and is punishable by up to 6 years in prison and a fine of up to $3000. Aggravated Rioting is now a felony, with prison time up to 15 years, and fines may be imposed up to $10,000.

This bill does nothing to limit our First Amendment privileges. The First Amendment to our glorious Constitution states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

America is great because, as citizens, we can PEACEABLY assemble, and PETITION the Government for a redress of grievances. When people riot, they are causing lawlessness. When humans come together and allow the flesh to take over, when humans begin to disrespect property and other people, this destroys the structure of law that makes our nation great. Martin Luther King Jr did much to advance the Civil rights of American citizens, and did so without tolerating rioting, arson, or looting. I quote from the article:

“Democratic Representative John DeBerry of Shelby County is not backing down in his support of the law, taking a firm stand against the protests, condemning those who compare them to the Civil Rights movement. ‘I saw it, I saw men and women stand with courage, integrity and class and they changed the world, because what the world could see in them was the lie that was being told about them,’ says DeBerry.

That’s why DeBerry says destruction of property should not be tolerated. ‘The way they did it, they had on their suits, their ties, their shirts, their hats, they locked arms and they marched peacefully and Dr. King stood for that which was peaceful,’ says DeBerry.”

I heartily endorse any person to peacefully – PEACEFULLY – protest, whether I agree with your viewpoint or not. This is the glue that maintains our Republic. But rioting and burning, toppling statues and destroying public property, these are not the actions of citizens, but of a mindless mob. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 14:33 God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

If God is not the Author of confusion, then riots are not God endorsed, nor do riots promote an atmosphere where the Gospel of Grace can be shared. Mobs and riots are not new. The Way of Christ is not well liked by the lost world. Our Lord Jesus came to this earth to teach us the Way of Grace and Peace. Our Lord Jesus came and gave His life for us all so that we could become citizens of the Kingdom of God. Riots, looting, burning, killing, these are all symptoms of lawlessness and devilishness. These thing are not conducive to the Kingdom of God.

Christians Are Never to Be Part Of The Mob

In Acts chapter 19 the Apostle Paul is sharing the Gospel throughout an area called Ephesus. When Paul first entered Ephesus we read:

Acts 19:1-3 … it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.

The Apostle Paul found twelve men who were “disciples”. They were acquainted with John the Baptist’s ministry, and were baptized by John in the Jordan River. These men had never met Jesus, though they heard John preach that the Christ was going to come. Paul informs these men that they must believe on Christ Jesus (verse 4), that Jesus has come and given Himself for their sins. The men believed, and were baptized in the name (under the authority of) the lord Jesus (verse 5).

Paul then headed to the Synagogue at Ephesus. The “Synagogue” was the local assembly of believers in Judaism. Paul, Himself a Jew, entered the Synagogue not just a day, but the Bible says:

Acts 19:8-10 {Paul} spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9 But when {many} were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. 10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Paul continued to share “The Way of Christ” in the Ephesian Synagogue for about three months. As the religious members of the Synagogue began to vocally try to stir up the “multitudes” against Paul, the Apostle left the Synagogue and rented a place to speak, the school of one Tyrannus. No one knows who Tyrannus was, but that’s not important. Paul used the resources God provided, and stayed in Ephesus for two years, sharing “the Word of the lord Jesus”. The Bible tells us:

Acts 19:17-20 … the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

As Christ was peaceably preached by the Apostle – not by riot nor by force – the Gospel went forth. Nothing good ever comes of rioting and burning. Paul followed “the Way of Peace”, which is what Jesus calls us to. As Zacharias prophesied:

Luke 1:78-79 … the dayspring from on high {a title of Christ Jesus} hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Paul did not raise up rioters when the Synagogue was denied him. He found other avenues, and continued to share “the Way of Peace”, the message of the lord Jesus Christ. As hearts were changed people began to leave the cult of Artemis, the Ephesian fertility goddess, and began to come to Christ to be saved. As they did this

the people who came to Jesus did not burn BUILDINGS in Ephesus, but their own occult BOOKS and means of false worship. Those who turn to Christ walk with Christ.

Though Paul did not lead nor start any riots, his presence caused a riot to occur. You see, when the way of Christ is shared, those bound in darkness do not like it. Our Lord Jesus told us:

John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

As The Way of Christ grew, this growth effected the idolatry business. You see, there were people getting rich by selling idols of Artemis, also called Diana, in Ephesus.

When Mobs Are Formed,
They Usually Have An Ulterior Motive

Acts 19:23-24 … And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;

Before Paul came to Ephesus, Demetrius and the other silversmiths made quite a bit of money selling idols of Artemis/ Diana. But now that Paul is preaching Christ, God is changing the hearts of the people. As more and more people are turning to worship of the true God, less and less are buying idols.

And Demetrius is upset over it!

Money and power was what Demetrius worshiped. He could care less about the pagan worship of Artemis. So Demetrius decides to gather a mob. That’s how mobs start. You have a ring leader who is charismatic, and a charlatan.

Acts 19:25-28 called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. 26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27 so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at naught; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. 28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

Notice how Demetrius works. He starts out with “Sirs”. He panders to his audience. Secondly, he focuses on the wealth that they are losing. The crowd has been disenfranchised. It has been ROBBED by that THIEF PAUL. Paul is taking food out of their babies mouths! But then, after focusing on the loss of income, then Demetrius turns to religion. “The temple of the great goddess Diana {is} despised, and her magnificence {is} destroyed!”

This is how the devil works. He never comes directly at you, but sneaks up on you. The propaganda that Demetrius focuses on is money and religion – and then he focuses on the city itself. He gets the crowd chanting, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians”. What is the result?

Acts 19:29 … the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theater.

This is a picture of Portland, Oregon.
This is a picture of Seattle, Washington.
This is a picture of Oakland, California.
This is a picture of New York, New York.
This is a picture of Richmond, Virginia.
This is a picture of Austin, Texas.
This is a picture of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Beloved, riots and destruction, with anarchy, are not new things. Lawlessness has taken over. The mob has no mind of its own, but strikes out, following feeling and anger. When the Apostle recalled this moment in his life in later writings he said:

1 Corinthians 15:32 … I have fought with beasts at Ephesus …

The mob, controlled by rage and feelings, is like a wild BEAST. That’s what the Apostle said. In Acts we see a perfect illustration of a rioting mob. We read:

Acts 19:32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.

The message of the mob is noise. “Some cried one thing, and some another”. There was no focus. I listened to a video recording of a mob speaker in Oakland, California, leading the mob to chant “Death to America”. Another mob, headed by a Black Lives Matter activist, shouted he was “Ready to put D.C. cops in their graves”. Mobs have never done any good in society. It was mobs that lynched innocent Black people in the south. Notice that in the riot at Ephesus “the {larger} part {did not know why} they were come together”.

Elected Officials Must Disarm The Mob

When mobs form, someone must stand up and speak reason to quell it. Those who are our elected leaders must stop the mob before it grows beyond all control. It saddens me to see elected officials stand back, and do nothing when mobs form. It also saddens me when elected officials who ought to know better make judicial statements, rather than supporting the rule of law. Where lawlessness grows, society is destroyed.

Alexander, an enemy of Paul, stands up to try and calm the crowd down. But Alexander was a Jew, just like Paul was a Jew. The Bible says:

Acts 19:34 … when they knew that {Alexander} was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

The crowd would not allow Alexander to speak. Many of our young people are taught this technique on college and university campuses. When speakers are scheduled that have an opinion different than the crowd, rather than hear out the speaker, the crowd shouts him out. There is no educating a mob. There is no good that comes from a mob.

Listen to me. When mobs form, our elected officials do not need to “become buddies” with the mob. They do not need to endorse the mob. They do not need to enable the mob, and allow them to deface public property. Our elected officials need to speak up, and remind the mob of the rule of law. The law is like cold water on the fire of the law. As Ephesus is in the midst of a riot, an elected official does his job. Read with me:

Acts 19:35-41 And when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. 37 For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. 38 Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. 39 But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. 40 For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. 41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

The town clerk, an elected official, stood up to the mob. He acknowledged that Ephesus was a place where Artemis/ Diana was worshiped, and allowed. But he warned the crowd that they stood in danger of being “called into question by that day’s uproar”. The Roman Empire did not tolerate rioting and lawlessness, and would have mobilized the Roman Legion to that area had they not calmed down. I applaud our Governor and our Legislature for standing up for the rule of Law. As the Apostle said in another place:

Romans 13:1-4 … Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

In America we are blessed to live under a rule of law. As Christians, and as citizens, we are obligated to obey the Laws, and respect our first responders who help maintain law and order. As God’s people we need to be in prayer for our elected officials, that they would realize their great responsibility is not to pander to a mob, but to protect the businesses and bodies of American citizens.

May God touch your hearts with his Word, and His Spirit. Amen and Amen!

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Godliness With Contentment

Posted on September 2, 2020 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by KAL VISUALS on Unsplash

One of the words I have often heard abused by professing Christians – particularly during this Covid-19 pandemic – is the word “happy”. I have heard the word in this context:

I’m not happy with my job.
I’m not happy with my boss.
I’m not happy in my marriage.
I’m not happy in my Church.

When the professor makes this claim, it is usually followed with:, “I’m going to leave, and …

I’m going to find another job.”
I’m going to find another boss.”
I’m going to find another spouse.”
I’m going to find another Church.”

In the United States of America you can make a life choice and make a life change any time you want. After all, our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, states:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”.

This wonderful Declaration states that one of the rights that all humans have is the pursuit of happiness. That’s a wonderful thing, the basis of freedom. But if you are a Christian, what is it that God directs you to?

Does God Tell You To Seek
HAPPINESS Or HOLINESS?

What should my pursuit be? Tonight we’re going to examine a letter written by the blessed Apostle Paul to one of the young Christians he led to the Lord and was mentoring. Paul wanted Timothy to succeed, especially as Paul was going to send Timothy out to help establish local Churches. The Apostle told Timothy in

1 Timothy 6:6 … godliness with contentment is great gain.

Godliness And Happiness Are Tied Together

The world teaches that self must be satisfied. If you are not HAPPY, then you a right to be HAPPY. As a result people in America and all around the world chase after things, thinking that these things will bring happiness.

If you are saved by faith in Christ, the Lord wants you to be happy. But happiness as a Christian, born again of the blood of Christ, is not achieved by worldly standards. Christian, you were saved by faith in Christ to become godly, like unto the Son of God. The Scripture says:

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

Salvation takes us from a state of godlessness to a state of godliness.
Salvation takes us from a kingdom of darkness to one of Light.
Salvation takes us from selfishness into a place of selflessness.
Salvation takes us from this world, and points us to a higher plane.
Salvation takes us from slavery to sin, freeing us to serve the Savior.
Salvation takes from us our old life, and gives us new life.
Salvation takes us from the rat race, telling us to run with Christ.

If you as a Christians are seeking happiness in the old ways of the world, you will never find it. It has been my experience when a selfish person is given something, they always want more. The selfish are never satisfied. What they are given, in time, ceases to bring pleasure – then they want more.

As Christians, our happiness is tied to godliness, to behavior in keeping with what our Father calls us to be. The Bible says:

Job 5:17-21 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 18 for he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. 21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

God disciplines His Children, those who are saved by faith in Christ. The Christian is happiest when following God. The commands:

Ephesians 5:1-3 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

Christian, the Spirit of God lives in you. You cannot be happy while using people as tools to satisfy your bodily pleasure. To follow God is to love as Christ loved, a sacrificial not a selfish love. Jesus Christ is the AUTHOR of salvation FOR ALL WHO OBEY HIM (Hebrews 5:9). When the Christian draws away from the Master, unhappiness besets us.

There can be no happiness for the Christian who does not pursue God. There can be no happiness for people who will not heed what Christ has said, what the Scripture directs. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 144:15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.

As Christians, we are kings and priests unto God (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). Under the Old Covenant God’s Priests, the Levites, received no inheritance of the Promised Land. Why was this?

Deuteronomy 10:9 … Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.

This is truly the best inheritance. The priests of Israel had no inheritance but God. But Beloved, that is the greatest thing. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but GOD is the strength of my heart, and MY PORTION forever” (Psalm 73:26). When God is our Portion we know that He will meet all our needs. Didn’t our Jesus say:

Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore {do not worry}, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

God is our Portion. We may not have land, but God, Who made the land, will insure we have a place to stay. We may not have money, but God, Who controls the nations, will not let us go hungry.

We are HIS priests, HIS children, HIS people,
and HE is OURS!

Psalm 146:5-9 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6 which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: 7 which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: 8 the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: 9 the Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

Are You In An Unhappy Place?
Look To God For Happiness!

We as Christians have a Power Source far greater than anything this world has. Are you in a bad spot? The Apostle addressed those in the Roman Empire who were SLAVES:

1 Timothy 6:1-2 Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. 2 And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.

The word “SERVANTS” here is the Greek DOULOS, a reference to slaves, bond slaves, or those in lowly, servile conditions. At this time in history the Roman Empire actually had more slaves or every color than it had citizens. In our day and age the cancel culture wants to wipe out all mention or memory of slavery in American history. I believe this is foolish. There have been slaves of all colors throughout all of human history. I despise the thought of it, that a person would use another person like an object. But it happened. What does the Bible say to those who are in slavery, or in terrible jobs working at slave wages?

The Lord directs those in slave like situations to “honor and serve the master that the name of God and his doctrine not be blasphemed”.

Our Lord Jesus willingly entered this earth as a lowly human. He came to serve, not to be served. Jesus trusted the Father, and submitted to Him in all things. The Bible says:

Proverbs 16:20 … whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.

Do you trust in the Lord ONLY when things are going your way? Then you are not trusting in the Lord. To trust in the Lord is to obediently serve Him no matter what place you find yourselves in. To be godly, we are to imitate Jesus.

In the ancient world, slaves often cleaned the feet of their masters when they came home. In that world animal excrement was often found in the streets where people walked. To clean a person’s feet was the lowest job a person could be given. Hear the Scripture:

John 13:3–5, 12-17 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; 4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. … 12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Did you notice the last words Jesus spoke in our text. HAPPY ARE YOU IF YOU DO THEM. If you’re not happy, ask yourself,

Who am I serving right now? Myself, or someone else?

Be honest with yourself. WHO have you served TODAY? WHO have you served YESTERDAY? WHO will you serve THIS WEEK? It’s not service if you’re being paid for it. Are you bending your knee and washing someone’s feet? If not, you will never be happy.

Too many people today treat the Church like a marketplace. They come to Church, sit down, and say “Now make me happy”. God will not make you happy apart from making you godly. Godliness and happiness are tied together. If you are not serving God by serving others, you will NEVER be happy!

To Be Happy, Lay Down Your Life For Others,
Just As Jesus Showed Us To Do

In Romans chapter 14 there was a battle going on in the Church that Paul addresses. In Rome there were many pagan gods and goddesses, many temples dedicated to the worship of these false idols. Animals were sacrificed in these temples, so many animals that many of the temples offered the meat for sale at bargain prices.

Some of the Christians in the Church at Rome began to buy this discounted meat, a thing which offended others. This caused a stir in the Church. The Apostle told the Romans:

Romans 14:1-4 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

The Apostle commanded that the believers cease drawing battle lines over meat, and instead come together in love focusing on Christ. The Apostle said:

Romans 14:19-22 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which {God} alloweth.

The Christian way of life calls us to godliness, which is by faith serving one another. The Christian is not a consumer, but a producer, a giver, just like Jesus gave. HAPPY IS HE that condemns not himself in what God has allowed. A good thing becomes a bad thing when it causes your brother or sister to fall from faith.

Even if the Scripture allows it, put it away
if it hurts your weaker brother or sister in Christ!

Monetary Gain Will Not Bring Happiness

1 Timothy 6:3-5 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 5 perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

The Bible never tells us that it is a sin to be rich. In fact, there are many places in Scripture where God has blessed His Children by faith. When Joseph continued to faithfully serve God though sold into slavery by his brothers, the Lord blessed him:

Genesis 39:2 the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

David’s son Solomon loved and respected God. The Lord told him:

2 Chronicles 1:11-12 God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: 12 wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.

When we seek to do as God calls us to do, loving Him and loving others, God will meet our needs. He will give us what we need. If we put God’s Kingdom first then all else will fall into place.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 … godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Money is a great temptation, and has caused many to fall away from the Gospel. God calls us to be content with what He has allowed us to have.

Money and stuff does not bring happiness. Only a right relationship with Christ does this. Many who have chased after the riches of this world have brought misery on themselves and on others. We should instead be content with the riches we have in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul was pleased to ..

Ephesians 3:8 … preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Illustrate When we trust in riches and pursue riches, this will lead to an unhappy state. I like to watch educational shows on television, and saw one episode about something called the Angler Fish. The creature has an appendage on its head that looks just like a worm. The fish goes and buries itself in the sand of the ocean bottom, then, leaving this appendage sticking out, begins to wiggle it. It’s not long before a fish comes along and takes a bite on the bait, then, GULP, the fish is gone. Money is like that. It tempts people, and traps people, then ultimately destroys people. If you have been blessed with riches, then use them for the glory of God.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18 that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

If you, dear Christian, have been blessed with money or talent or position, then use these things for the glory of God. God gave you these blessings so that you can bless others, not so you could hoard what you have. Jesus warned us of the danger of trusting in riches.

Luke 12:16-21 The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

In that parable you see the trap of riches. Sooner or later we must all stand before our Creator. Have we used what God has given us for His glory, or are we hoarding riches, while scrabbling for more? “Let not the rich person glory in their riches. Let them instead glory in knowing the LORD our God” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

If You Will Be Happy,
Run Toward Jesus & Run Away From The World

1 Timothy 6:11-12 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

The Apostle loved to use athletic metaphors. Paul was ministering among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles were avid followers of the sporting events Caesar offered in the coliseums. In Hebrews 12:1-2 the Apostle tells the Christian to “run with patience the race set before us”.

In our text today (as well as in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27) the Apostle uses BOXING as an illustration of the Christian walk.

We are to “fight the good fight”. I’m sure you have all seen boxing matches. Have you ever seen when one fighter gets overwhelmed by the competition, then he goes into the clench. He wraps his arms around the opponent, rendering his punches ineffective, and giving himself a moment to revive. When life begins to beat you down, go into the clenches. Not with the opponent, but lay hold on eternal life, the life to which you have been called. Focus Heavenward. You are children of the Lord Jesus Christ:

1 Timothy 6:15-16 … Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.

You belong to Jesus. Avoid the profane and vain babblings of science falsely so called (1 Timothy 6:20). You are children of eternity. Let your happiness come from this place, the place where we will one day be, if we belong to Jesus.

May God touch your hearts with His Word and His Spirit. Oh God, revive us again. Revive your Church. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen and Amen!

Posted in 1 Timothy, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Keys Of The Kingdom Of Heaven

Posted on August 30, 2020 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Jason D on Unsplash

Matthew 16:15-19 {Jesus} saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Last week we heard Jesus ask His disciples, “Whom do you say that I Am?”. Peter spoke up. “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God”.

When Protestants and Catholics read the rest of the text, we interpret it differently. Catholics (and Beloved, if they are saved by faith in Christ, they are our brethren) read where Jesus said:

Matthew 16:17-19 Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven

Catholics believe that, with these words, Jesus made Peter the Pope or highest authority of the Church. Catholics believe that the Pope is a major foundation of the Church, that he is infallible (without error). Catholics believe that Peter alone has the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. I disagree with this for a few textual reasons.

Jesus Died For Us All, Even Sinful Peter

First of all, Peter is not infallible. Right after Peter told the Lord “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, we read:

Matthew 16:21-23 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

No man, outside of Jesus Christ, is infallible. We are all sinners, Pope or otherwise. We all fail. We are fragile creatures, a point recognized by the Apostle when he wrote:

2 Corinthians 4:6-8 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

We who are saved are as fragile and fallible as earthen vessels, easily broken, easily misled. The foundation of the Church is no mortal man. The foundation of the Church is …

1 Timothy 6:15 {Jesus Christ}, the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.

The Peter who acknowledged that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God is the very same Peter that Jesus would later call Satan, who savored not the things of God but the things of this world. So no, the Church is not built on fallible man. The Church is built on the infallible Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus had to die on Calvary for us all.

“He drank a cup of wrath without mercy, that we might drink a cup of mercy without wrath” (Oswald Chambers)

So what did Jesus mean when He told Peter,

Matthew 16:19 … I WILL give unto thee
the keys of the kingdom of heaven:

What are these “keys”? That’s what I want to talk about. Notice Jesus’ exact words to Peter. Jesus doesn’t say “I am NOW giving you the keys”, but He says “I WILL give unto you the keys”. This is a promise of a future blessing. They keys were not given to Peter, nor to anyone just yet. Jesus promises “I WILL give the keys”. Do you see that?

At this point in human history the Church has not yet begun. Jesus said:

“upon this rock I WILL build my Church”

Not “I am building”, but “I will build”. Just like the Church is still future, the keys to be given are still future. There is something that must happen before the Church can be. At this time in history the Temple is still standing. People are still making animal sacrifices, waiting for the Messiah. The Messiah has come, The Christ, the Son of the Living God. But something else must happen. Christ must go to the Cross of Calvary, making payment for our sins.Once the disciples heard the great truth that Jesus ALONE is THE Christ {Messiah}, THE Son of the Living God, the Bible says:

Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Jesus MUST go to Jerusalem. He MUST suffer under the hand of the religious establishment. He MUST be killed. He MUST lay His life down, and MUST rise again on the third day. The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29) must die for us. Sin is no trifle before God. Sin is an offense against an Eternal Being, the God Who made all things. Born into this world of sin, born of parents who are sinners, we are the offspring of Adam, sinners all. The Apostle said:

Romans 5:8-12, 15 … while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: … 15 … if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Adam brought sin into the world. The madness that we see on the news, the riots, the murders, the evil trying to make lawlessness normal, these are all the marks of the lost sinful soul. Those without Christ cannot do well before God, and rarely do well among man. The plowing of the wicked is sin (Proverbs 21:4). Every act of human good done before God without Christ and His shed Blood is like unto filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Jesus said “A bad tree cannot produce good fruit” (Matthew 7:18). The Bible teaches that every human is born physically alive, but spiritually dead to God:

Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged {from God} from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

Jesus had to die for our sins. He alone is THE Christ, THE Son of the Living God. The Son of God died on Calvary for the sons of Adam. The Apostle said:

Romans 3:9-18 both Jews and Gentile … are all under sin; 10 as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 and the way of peace have they not known: 18 there is no fear of God before their eyes.

Creatures that are fallen from God cannot enter into God’s Heaven. They must be given the keys, for Heaven is locked out from those who are lost.

Jesus Will Only Give The Keys Of Heaven To Those Who Confess To The World That
“Jesus Is The Christ, The Son Of The Living God”

As Jesus speaks to His disciples this day, the Church is future and the Keys to be given are yet future. Jesus must go to Calvary. The Church is built on two future things:

The Cross And Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and
The Coming of the Holy Spirit

The Spirit had not yet been given to man, for Christ had not yet died for our sins. Jesus declared …

John 7:37-39 If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

The Coming of the Holy Spirit cannot happen until our Lord goes to Calvary. The Lord began to teach the disciples that He had to depart, and that the Spirit of God had to come. We read:

John 14:15-17 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Once Jesus went to Calvary and rose again, the stage could be set that the Holy Spirit come unto God’s people. To those who confidently confess that Jesus ALONE is THE Christ, THE Son of the Living God, God has sent the Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to the Christian to teach us more about Jesus:

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

John 15:26 … when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Jesus had to go before the Spirit could come. This is why Jesus spoke of the Church and the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven as a future event. The Spirit could not come and indwell the Children of God until the Son made our adoption possible. Jesus told His disciples:

John 16:7-14 … Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me:

When Jesus Christ died on Calvary, He made payment for the sins of the world. When we call on Him, believing, He promises that the Spirit of God will come to us. It is the Spirit of God that brings the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Holy Spirit comes to every professor of Christ Jesus. The Bible declares:

Romans 8:9-11 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

On the day that Jesus commended Peter for understanding the greatest truth ever told, Jesus had yet to go to Calvary. That was coming. But in order for God to save man, it would require more than just the sacrifice of Calvary. God would have to change us. We are born into this world sinners, children of Adam. But HEAVEN IS GOD’S HOME. Heaven is not where the Children of Adam go. Heaven is where the Children of God go.

It Is God The Spirit That Brings Us Both Life,
And The Keys To Heaven

“It’s not our color or behavior that define who we are. At the core of who we are is God, the essence of existence. And sometimes we lose sight of that.” (Armstrong Williams)

We are born into this world spiritually dead. But when we confess that Jesus is THE Christ, THE Son of the Living God, then God sends His Spirit to us to make us fit for Heaven. Salvation is more than just a creed. When you confess Christ, believing on Him, God sends His Spirit into your life. You change. You must change.

Heaven does not have open borders. Heaven is God’s home, a place where God’s Children go. Apart from Christ we are Adam’s Children. But confessing Christ, God sends His Spirit to us, to change us from children of Adam to Children of the Living God. Jesus said:

John 3:3 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Heaven is God’s Home. You cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, unless you are BORN AGAIN. You cannot make yourself born again. You cannot. You could not make yourself born the first time, nor can you make yourself born the second time. Hear the Lord:

John 3:6-8 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

There are many who profess to be Christian, but their profession is but outward, much like the profession of the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees of Jesus’ day. God must come to you and change you. He promises to do so when you confess that Jesus is THE Christ, THE Son of the Living God. When you,

Romans 10:9-11 …. if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Do you wish to enter Heaven? You need the keys. Profess Christ as He is, and God will bring you the keys. God will come to you, and cause you to be born again. Your portion is to lay your life down, to turn from being your own god, and turn to the Son of God. The Christian is the person who has

1 Peter 1:22-25 … purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Oh that God would reveal the great truth to you, and that you would believe. When you believe on Christ the Holy Spirit will do His part.

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

If you are a Christian, indwelt by the Spirit of God, you have they keys of Heaven. If you have the keys, you have the RIGHT to be in Heaven. If you have the keys, your DESTINATION is Heaven, where you will live in eternity. But also if you have the keys, you have the right to offer them to others.

If You Are Saved, Share The Keys With Others

Matthew 16:19 I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

People have argued about the meaning of this passage for years, but I see no difficulty in it. If you have the keys of Heaven, if you have confessed Christ as Lord and Savior, and God the Holy Spirit has changed you, then share these keys with others. If a soul is saved here (loosed from sin and death), then it will be loosed in Heaven (forgiven and adopted into the Kingdom). The Apostle Peter used the keys on the Day of Pentecost. Our Lord Jesus, having paid for our sins, told us:

Matthew 28:18-20 … All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you

In Acts 2 Peter shared the keys with crowds in Jerusalem, and 3000 entered the Church that day. In Acts 8 Peter shared the keys in Samaria, and in Acts 10 he preached to the Gentiles. Where people believed and confessed that Jesus is The Christ, The Son of the Living God, the Holy Spirit came and changed both hearts and destination. People are bound in their sins, enslaved to this world. But where Christ Jesus is shared the Spirit can work. Bonds can be broken. Sinners freed. But if you refuse to take the keys, then what is bound on earth is bound in Heaven. When you leave this earth, you will not go to Heaven, but Hell.

Beloved, the choice is yours.

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

Do you know Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior? If not, lay your life down to Him. Believe that He gave Himself on Calvary for you. And, once you are converted, strengthen your fellow believers (Luke 22:32). Oh, how I pray that God’s Spirit touch your souls, that you come to Jesus this very day. May God the Holy Spirit make this seed cast a reality. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen and Amen!

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Faithful Sayings Of Paul

Posted on August 29, 2020 by bibleteacherorg

Five times in the Scripture the Apostle Paul says, “This is a faithful saying”. Now the Bible tells us that:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

ALL Scripture is God breathed (theopneustos), and is profitable. This means both the New and Old Testaments. The Bible is true in all that it affirms, and true in all that it reports. None of the Scripture is disposable.

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

So why did Paul speak of “faithful sayings”? These are, I believe, catechisms or teachings of the early Church that highlighted important aspects of our faith. One commentary suggests that the early Church began to develop short, creed like phrases to help people remember the Gospel. I thought I would talk about these “faithful sayings” tonight.

1. Jesus Christ Came To Save Sinners

1 Timothy 1:15 … This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Word Study πιστός λόγος {pistos logos}, literally means “Faithful is the Word”. This is an interesting phrase for, as you know, “The Word” is another name given to our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

The Word, Jesus Christ, “came into the world”. Prior to His incarnation, the taking on of human flesh, Jesus was with the Father and the Spirit from eternity past.

John 12:44-46 .. Jesus cried and said, 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.

John 3:17 God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Jesus Christ “came into the world”, sent from the Father, sent through a virgin, made of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus Christ is the “seed of the woman” prophesied in Genesis 3:15. Christ the Creator and Director of Creation stepped onto the stage He made. He enter history with His Story. Jesus Christ came to save sinners.

The Church often forgets this great truth. We get settled into our pews, our comfortable padded chairs, and focused on the nice buildings we are in. If a visitor comes in who is different, perhaps dirty, perhaps with different customs, sometimes we inadvertently and perhaps even unconsciously stand back from them. But the first and greatest creed of the Church is …

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Jesus did not go through all the prophetic trouble that He went through to save “good people”. Jesus told the Church of His day, a Church run by Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, and Herodians:

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

I have heard some outside the Church speak somewhat smugly as to why they never assemble with the Church. “The Church is filled with hypocrites and people, many of whom are worse than I am”. I agree with you. But Beloved, what did you expect? Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Those who are found in Church assemblies will always be sinners, broken people.

If you’re staying away from Churches because sinners are in them, that’s as foolish as staying away from the hospital when you’re sick because
“there’s sick people in them”!

If you think you’re too good for Church, you don’t need to go anyway. If you think you’re good enough to go to Heaven, then Jesus isn’t for you. But Beloved, the Bible says “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Bible says:

Romans 3:12 … there is NONE that doeth good, NO, NOT ONE!

Jesus came into the world for sinners, just like you and I are. The message of the Gospel is to repent and believe, to turn to Jesus as your Savior and Lord. The Apostle Paul was at one time as self righteous as YOU are. He went about capturing and killing Christians at the behest of the Sanhedrin. But then Saul met Christ on the Damascus Road, and Saul turned into Paul. Even as an Apostle, Paul says “I am the chief of sinners”.

Are you a sinner? Then turn to Jesus. “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). Jesus came for you, no matter what sin you committed. He came to save you, just as He saved me. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

2. Our God Is A God Of Order,
Hence The Church

Salvation of the sinner is the first faithful saying. The second faithful saying deals with the Church. We read:

1 Timothy 3:1 .. This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

Word Study Though the King James translate this text as “This is a true saying”, the Greek is still πιστός λόγος {pistos logos}, literally meaning “Faithful is the Word”. In 1 Timothy chapter 3 the Apostle speaks of the qualifications of Bishops and Deacons in the Church.

I am always amused when people speak against what they call “organized religion”, and then sneer at the Church. Some may even talk of being “non-denominational” as if that makes their group better than the other groups. When I hear the foolish talk about “organized religion” I say, “So you are for DISORGANIZED religion?” Our God is a God of order. You see this in creation. His hand is on every tree, every blade of grass, every animal. The Bible declares:

1 Corinthians 14:33 God is not the author of confusion …

When God created man and woman, He used order. The Bible says:

Ephesians 5:22-25 … Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

The God Who created order in marriage, also created order in the Church. Christ gave Himself for the Church. God has always reached out to the world through groups of people. In the Old Testament, Christ reached out through Israel. In the New Testament He reaches out through His Church. If you are saved by faith in Christ, you are to belong to a local congregation called “the Church”. As Peter preached the Gospel, the Scripture says:

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

The Lord “nourishes and cherishes His Church” (Ephesians 5:29). Christ is the Head of His Church (Colossians 1:18). Nearly every New Testament writing is addressed “to the Church”. There is no Christianity without the Church. The two go hand in hand.

3. The Christian Is Called To Be Godly,
Not Worldly

1 Timothy 4:6-9 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. 7 But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. 9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

Usually when I head to Church meeting with my wife on Sunday mornings, I will pass two or three runners, out exercising themselves in the cool morning air. There’s nothing wrong with bodily exercise. I need to do more bodily exercise. However,

Godliness – being like God in thought and deed – is always profitable.

How does one become “godly”? We do so by feeding our souls the Word of God, the Holy Bible. We read, study, and meditate on it’s words, words of God. A Godly person does not rely solely on the Sunday morning sermon or Sunday School to be blessed. Just as you eat daily (or I assume you all do), we must feed on the Word of God daily. Jesus said:

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

Many professing Christians are today unable to contribute anything of kingdom value to American society because they feed their souls

profane and old wives’ fables

supplied by godless television … and yet spend little time reading or meditating on the Word of God. There is an old computer term called GIGO. This means, GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT. What you feed your soul makes a difference. The Apostle tells us that the Christian is called to:

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

It is valuable to attend Church services, to hear the sermons, the Bible teaching, the Sunday School and Training Union classes. But you must also spend time in the Word of God yourselves if you are to grow spiritually. You must actually HEAR the Word, then DO what you have been told. God has given to each Christian

2 Peter 1:3 … all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue

Godliness is actually devotion to God IN ACTION.

We are to walk with God on a daily basis, seeking to be pleasing to Him in our lives. Godliness is not just a warm fuzzy good feeling. It is like Enoch, who walked with God, pleasing Him (Hebrews 11:5). The devoted Christian will practice the Presence of God where ever he or she goes. Church of England priest William Law stated:

“Devotion signifies a life given, or devoted to God. He therefore is the devout man, who lives no longer to his own will, or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God, who considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes all the parts of his common life, parts of piety, by doing everything in the name of God, and under such rules as are conformable to his Glory.” (from A Serious Call To A Devout And Holy Life)

Godliness is a habit developed over time, each day walking more and more with God. Some walk with an idolatrous god, a little ‘g’ god that is not reflected in the Scripture. Many young Christians, brought up by “Baby Boomers”, today see God as just some wizened old man up above. As John Murray wrote in Principles of Conduct:

“The fear of God is the soul of godliness.”

When the Apostle spoke of ungodly mankind, he said “there is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18). If you are a Christian you need no longer fear the wrath of God (1 John 4:18), but as a Child of God you can be disciplined for walking in ways that displease the Father. This is why the Bible says:

Philippians 2:12-13 … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

As God’s Children, we want to please our Heavenly Father. When we displease Him, he can and does punish us (Hebrews 12:7-8). To be Godly is to be Christlike, to imitate the Father. Too many today believe in a God of Love, but do not realize that this same God is also a Holy God, a God of Wrath. As Navigator Jerry Bridges notes:

“The love of God has no meaning apart from Calvary. And Calvary has no meaning apart from the holy and just wrath of God. Jesus did not die just to give us peace and a purpose in life; he died to save us from the wrath of God. He died to reconcile us to a holy God who was alienated from us because of our sin. He died to ransom us from the penalty of sin—the punishment of everlasting destruction, and of being shut out from the presence of the Lord. He died that we, the just objects of God’s wrath, should become, by his grace, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”

Godliness is profitable because it blesses our lives. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

4. Our God Is Always Faithful
And Will See Us Through This Life Into Glory

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

The day that every Christian is saved, that believer surrenders his or her life to God, in exchange for the life of Christ. We believe that He died for us. Repenting of our sin and self service, we bow the knee to Calvary. The Bible says:

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

My righteous standing before God does not come because of any good works that I do, but based on the good work of Christ on the cross. The old me died on the day I received Jesus as Lord and Savior. I now belong to Jesus. The old David is dead, thank God! The Scripture says:

Colossians 3:1-3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

I no longer own me. Jesus owns me. He is in charge of my life. I am His son and servant. And He will keep me until the end.

The Apostle told the Corinthian believers:

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?

The day I was saved, I gave Christ title to my life. And He will be faithful to deliver me at the end of this life into glory everlasting. As the Apostle said in another place,

2 Timothy 1:12 … I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

As one pastor put it, “Christ did the most for us at salvation. Will He abandon us now that we have been purchased by his blood? No!”. Our Lord is faithful.

5. Christians Are Not Saved By Works,
But If Saved, Will Do Good Works For God

Titus 3:4-8 But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 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. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

No Christian is saved by works. But once we are saved, we WILL work for God. We WILL be good citizens of the Kingdom of Light. The Apostle said in another place:

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.

Salvation is an entirely free gift from God. But note the very next verse in Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Saved by faith, the Christian is a new creature in Christ: old things are passed away, behold, all things are new (2 Corinthians 5:17). The person who says “I am saved” but walks as an unbeliever walks IS A LIAR. These are not my words, but Scripture’s words. The Apostle said:

1 John 2:3-5 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Jesus said, “he that follows Me shall NOT walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). The Apostle said, “you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). And John again said:

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

You cannot be saved, and be the same as you were before. Jesus changes you. If you know Him,you know these five sayings to be true. And if you do not know Him, today would be a great day to call upon the name of the Lord.

For whosoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved!

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

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Strange Fire And The Priesthood

Posted on August 24, 2020 by bibleteacherorg

Leviticus 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.

All Christians Are Priests Before God

Once saved, a Christian has an eternal purpose. We are to do good works for our Savior and Father. The Bible, the whole Bible, was given to teach us how to live lives of purpose as believers. The Bible says:

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

ALL Scripture – the entire Bible, is theopneustos, inspired by God, breathed by the Almighty. It is God’s breath of spiritual life to His people. Believers are to apply the Scriptures to their lives so they can do good for God. We read:

Ephesians 2:10 … we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We are saved by calling on the Lord Jesus Christ, repenting of our sins.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

But once saved, we who are Christ’s enter God’s Kingdom as kings and priests unto God our Father, as the Scripture says:

Revelation 1:5-6 … Unto {Jesus} that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Leviticus is a great Book for all Priests to read. Certainly there are many things in the Book that do not apply to our lives today. There are, however, principles contained in the Book that every believer-priest should know.

Under the Old Covenant (Testament), the Priests were Levites. Now under the New Covenant (Testament) every believer in Jesus Christ is a priest,
and Jesus Christ our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16)

When Christ died on the Cross the veil covering the Holy of Holies in the Temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), signifying the end of the Old Covenant priesthood and the start of the New Covenant priesthood. Today “there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). The Apostle addressed the New Covenant Priesthood in:

1 Peter 2:5-9 … ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in {Zion} a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious … 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light ..

As believer-priests our lives are to be “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1-2) unto our Creator and Lord. We live to please our God.

Titus 2:11-14 … For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; 14 who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Priests Are To Do God’s Work God’s Way

The Priest is a Priest by the Grace of God. We do not earn nor do we deserve such a great honor. God commands that His Priests (that’s you and I, Christian) live in the way that is pleasing to Him. Let’s explore our text:

Leviticus 10:1-3 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. 2 And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.

When we read what God did to Nadab and Abihu, our first reaction may perhaps be that our God was a little unreasonable. They offered “strange fire before the Lord” and immediately “the fire of the Lord devoured them”. Why such a harsh sentence? The Bible tells us that Nadab and Abihu were born to Aaron, Moses’ brother.

Exodus 6:23 … Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Nadab and Abihu were the two eldest of four sons of Aaron, the man that God would soon call to be High Priest over Israel.

Word Study Nadab’s name {נָדָב Nâdâb, pronounced naw-dawb’} means “a free or generous gift”. Abihu’s name {אֲבִיהוּא ʼĂbîyhûwʼ, pronounced ab-ee-hoo’} means “He (God) Is My Father”. These men were born and raised up by Godly parents who named them wonderful, hopeful names. Like all Israelites Nadab and Abihu were born into chattel slavery, and suffered that harsh way of life with all the Israelis. Nadab and Abihu experienced the overwhelming Grace of God as young men.

  • Nadab and Abihu saw God bring ten plagues on Egypt, and lived through the night that the death angel passed over every home covered with the Blood of the Lamb (Exodus 12:23).
  • Nadab and Abihu Saw God lead Israel by pillar of cloud by day, and pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:22). Oh, what a joy that must have been!

  • Nadab and Abihu saw God part the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13), and walked between the towering waves as if on dry land. They also saw the mighty Egyptian Army destroyed by water, as our MIGHTIER God rendered judgment on those unbelievers.
  • When Israel bivouacked at Mount Sinai, Nadab and Abihu saw God and LIVED! The Scripture says …

Exodus 24:1, 9-11 {God} said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. … 9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10 and they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. 11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

I believe that Nadab and Abihu got to see the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, the manifest Member of the Godhead. God told Moses “you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20). God the Son took a human form, and actually ate and drank with them. Oh, how Jesus loves His people. He calls to us with a sweet whisper …

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Nadab and Abihu were called, along with their father Aaron, to be Priests unto God. God gave them the Book of Leviticus to teach them how to fulfill their office. God never judges harshly. He is Love, and tolerates our failures on a daily basis. But God expects us to do what He says, because what He says is so very important. Jesus said:

Luke 12:48 … For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required …

The Actions Of The Old Covenant Priests Foretold The Coming Of The New Covenant Christ

When God established the Tabernacle along with the Old Covenant Priesthood, He required that His people perform animal sacrifices to provide a temporary covering for sin. These sacrifices foreshadowed or looked forward to the coming of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, Who taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Animal sacrifice was important, because God wanted everyone to know that sin is not a trifle. Our God is holy, righteous, and just. Our God cannot even LOOK on sin (Habakkuk 1:13) without being compelled by His holiness to punish it. Sin is an affront to our Holy God. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34).

Sin demands death! Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Hence the Brazen Altar and it’s perpetual flame.

As God instituted the Old Covenant Priesthood, He directed them on the “Brazen Altar”:

Leviticus 6:8-9, 12-13 … the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 9 Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. … 12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

The fire of the brazen altar was never to go out. Why? Because when sin is atoned for (by the burnt offering) God can be present with His people. Fire, or Light represents God. It is God Who created Light (Genesis 1:3). When God presented Himself to Moses, He was a flame in a burning bush (Exodus 3:2). When God led Israel from Egypt, at night He led as a Pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21-22).

The Priests were to keep this fire burning day and night. When the Tabernacle moved, the fire was carried with it. This fire was special because God Himself started it. We read:

Leviticus 9:23-24 … the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. 24 And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

The fire in the brazen altar represented the Presence and Judgment of the Lord. The Scripture says,

Deuteronomy 4:24 & Hebrews 12:29 … {our} God is a consuming fire …

That Brazen Altar was a type or a foreshadowing of our Lord Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. The animal without blemish was slain, and the fire {God’s judgment} of God consumed it. When Jesus Christ Himself comes from glory to this earth, He goes to the Cross making the shadow {the Brazen Altar} obsolete. When Jesus cried out “It is finished!” (John 19:30), He was saying that the Old Covenant is passed and the New Covenant has come. Praise God, we no longer need to sacrifice animals for sin today, because

2 Corinthians 5:21 … God made {Jesus} to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The Old Covenant Priests were to keep the Brazen Altar burning. There was another Altar, however, called the Altar of Incense. This altar stood before the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy place.

The Altar of Incense represented the prayers
of believing people going up to God.

God cannot hear your prayers (Isaiah 59:2). But once sins are paid for (the Brazen Altar), then prayers can go up to God (Altar of Incense). God told the Priests:

Exodus 30:7-8 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

The incense burned was the prayers of the people for whom God would give His life. These prayers “were set before God like incense” (Psalm 141:2).

The fire that lit the Altar of Incense was ALWAYS
taken from the coals of the Brazen Altar.

Leviticus 16:11-13 … Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, … 12 and he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: 13 and he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

Why was this order important? Because God wanted His Priests, both Old Covenant and New Covenant, to know that sin MUST be atoned for if our prayers are to be heard. We cannot pay for our sins, our offenses against the immortal God. It takes the Blood of sacrifice, the death of the innocent. Under the Old Covenant this was the blood of an animal that was without spot or blemish. Under the New Covenant, this is the Blood of Jesus Christ, Who died for us.

Nadab And Abihu Took STRANGE Fire
To The Altar Of Incense

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

Word Study What is “Strange Fire”? The late Dr. R.C. Sproul notes, “What is ‘unauthorized fire’, or, as it is rendered in other translations, ‘profane fire’ or ‘strange fire’? … the word profane comes from the Latin profanus, which literally means ‘outside the Temple’.”

As we have seen, Nadab and Abihu were supposed to take coals from the Brazen Altar, and these coals (representing the cleansing of Christ’s Calvary) gave them access to God. Instead, they took STRANGE fire to light the incense. They took fire from without the Tabernacle, man made fire, not God given fire.

You may say, “Well, what’s the difference? Fire is fire, and any old fire can light the Altar of Incense.” Here’s the difference. There’s a little phrase that comes right after the strange fire is mentioned. The little phrase is:

which he {God} commanded them not

When the Lamb without spot or blemish was slain, and burned on the Brazen Altar, the fire (representing the Judgment of God on sin) devoured the sacrifice and not the people. When coals from the Brazen Altar were used to light the Altar of Incense, God heard the prayers of His people. But when the Priests skipped the Brazen Altar and went straight to the Altar of Incense, they were standing before God, unholy in His sight. God explained their sin quite simply:

Leviticus 10:3 I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.

God blesses His Priests when they set Him apart and treat Him with respect. We live in a day where people have little respect for the Lord. Many of Christ’s Priests (that’s you, Christian) are living their lives based on feelings and not on what God has said. When anyone tries to approach God, the Holy God, the wonderful God Who saves us based on our own merit, then we will not be blessed.

In America today we are too flippant as Christians in serving our God. We need to heed the Scripture. We need to approach our Heavenly Father through the Brazen Altar, through the Blood of Jesus Christ. This is what will bless! This is what will put wings on our prayers.

Once you understand the relationship of the Brazen Altar to the Altar of Incense, then you live your lives ever thankful for what Jesus Christ did for us. I have often read a passage in Isaiah, never quite understanding it until today. The text is found in:

Isaiah 6:1-4 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

This is a beautiful picture of Heaven that Isaiah was allowed to see. Was he overjoyed? No, he was frightened nearly to death. Isaiah cried out:

Isaiah 6:5-8 … Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

When Isaiah saw our God, and compared himself to the absolute holiness of our God, he cried out in fear and repentance. Then notice an angel took a coal from the altar. This is what the Brazen Altar represents, what is fulfilled in Calvary. The angel touched Isaiah’s lips with this coal, symbolic of the Altar of Incense. Your sins, being paid for, now give you access to God. You now can approach Him in prayer and fellowship. But you must have the coal on the lips. You must have God’s coal on the Altar!

God’s Church, and God’s New Covenant Priesthood, must approach the Father through the sacrifice of the Son. It is because of Jesus that we have access to God. The coals of Christ’s death cover our sins, and make us clean before God. As the Apostle said:

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

The Churches that are dying today are composed of believer-priests who are offering strange fire to God. They are bypassing Calvary, and going straight to God in the Holy of Holies. The message God gives us all is:

Leviticus 10:3 … I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified….

We entered salvation and Christ’s Kingdom by repentance and turning to Jesus Christ. We live our daily lives, in God’s Presence, the exact same way. We honor His Word over “feelings” and above “peer pressure”. Our God is an awesome God, and His people will obey Him if they wish to be blessed.

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

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Who Is Jesus To You?

Posted on August 23, 2020 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Laura Siegal on Unsplash

Matthew 16:13-18 When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, {Elijah}; and others, {Jeremiah}, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art THE Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Who is Jesus to you? This is perhaps the most important question you can ever ask yourself, for the answer will change the direction of your life.

Are You Following Jesus, Or An Idol?

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

Let’s notice first of all where Jesus was. He was in the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi. Mark tells us in:

Mark 8:27 Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Cæsarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

Jesus was actually heading into the various villages and towns that made up Cæsarea Philippi. This area is only mentioned twice in the Bible (see above), but it’s an interesting area. First, the area is Gentile territory. No Jews went into the area because of the idolatry that was so prevalent there. Cæsarea Philippi was the location of the cave of Pan, the Pagan god of sexual pleasure. Ryan Fraser wrote an article for the Jackson Sun called Caesarea Philippi: The Gates of Hades. In the article he recounted his trip to Israel, and his visit to this area. Describing the “Cave of Pan”, Ryan wrote:

“To the pagan mind, the cave at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld (Hades), where fertility gods took up residence during the winter. People committed detestable acts to worship these false gods. Caesarea Philippi’s location was especially unique because it stood at the base of a cliff where spring water flowed. At one time, the water ran directly from the mouth of a cave set in the bottom of the cliff.”

The Pagans made sacrifices to idols at the mouth of this cave called “The Gates of Hades”. You ask me, “What significance does this have to this sermon”? Read again what Jesus told Peter upon his confession of Jesus:

Matthew 16:18 I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Word Study The words translated “GATES OF HELL” is in the Greek πύλη πύλη ᾅδης {pylē hadēs}, The Gates of Hades. Jesus was, I believe, standing in front of this Pagan site of idolatry. The Gentile inhabitants of Cæsarea Philippi believed that this cave was the entrance into the underworld, the other side of the veil. They believed the gods received people into the Pagan heaven through this portal. When Peter told Jesus:

Matthew 16:16 Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus told Peter that the great truth Peter boldly spoke is the means by which Jesus builds His Church. The pagan belief systems represented by that cave called “The Gates of Hell/ Hades” will not prevail against Christ’s Church.

Is Jesus Just Another “John The Baptist”?

Many people today have many ideas as to Who Jesus is. If you ask people “Who do you think Jesus is?”, you will get a variety of answers. People in America today are familiar with the name “Jesus Christ”. If you ask them the same question Jesus asked His disciples:

Matthew 16:13 … Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?

You will get a variety of answers, even in the local Churches. Jesus’ disciples told Jesus:

Matthew 16:14 … Some say that thou art John the Baptist

A lot of people today believe this about Jesus. Jesus is a great spiritual leader. Jesus is no different than John the Baptist (the forerunner of Christ) or Mahatma Gandhi. When Gandhi was asked why he did not embrace Christianity, he replied:

“…to be a good Hindu also meant that I would be a good Christian. There is no need for me to join your creed to be a believer in the beauty of the teachings of Jesus or try to follow His example.”

A United Methodist preacher Dr E. Stanley Jones wrote in his book “Mahatma Gandhi: An Interpretation”:

“On the day that Mahatma Gandhi was killed, I arrived in Delhi just an hour and a quarter before the tragedy … {it was} the greatest tragedy since the Son of God died on the cross.”

I am sure Dr. Jones spoke sincerely, but he fell into the same trap many fall into. You see, many people see Jesus as just a great man, another John the Baptist. They see His death as a tragedy, contrary to what Jesus said. Gandhi was murdered by an assassin. Jesus, on the other hand, laid His life down for us. He said:

John 10:17-18 … I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. …

When John the Baptist was murdered by Herod (Matthew 14:10; Mark 6:27), this was not a death he chose. If John were given the option, I’m sure he would have chosen to live. But Jesus – both knowingly and willingly – laid His life down for our salvation. Jesus Christ is not just a great man, but He is God Incarnate. The Apostle said:

Philippians 2:6-11 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But 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. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

John the Baptist was an exceptional man, a man that God blessed. But John the Baptist, like Mahatma Gandhi, was but a man. Jesus Christ is God Incarnate. He is the Living Word of God become flesh.

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

Jesus Christ made all things. He is the beginning and end of all things. Jesus calls Himself:

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

It is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, Who is the God of Scripture. This same God said in:

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

There is but One God Who is “the First and the Last”. This wondrous God created everything that you see. We are told in:

Isaiah 44:12-13 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.

John the Baptist was a great prophet. According to Jesus, he was the greatest prophet who ever lived. Jesus said,

Matthew 11:11 … Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist …

Yes, John was great. John was a great leader, and hoards of Jews went into the wilderness to seek out John. But John was but a mortal. Jesus Christ is eternal God become flesh. Jesus Christ is the One of Whom the Father said:

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

And to remove all doubt the Father reiterated again:

Matthew 17:5 … This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

The Father did not call John the Baptist, or Gandhi, or any other religious leader throughout human history “My Beloved Son”. Jesus only holds this distinction. The Father said, “Hear ye HIM”. Jesus is the sole representative from the Trinity, the manifest Member of the Godhead.

To say that “Jesus is another John the Baptist” is actually blasphemy. Jesus Christ is God. To make God into a man is misleading, and blasphemous. John was great, but Jesus is infinitely greater!

Is Jesus Just Another “Great Prophet”?

Returning to Jesus’ question:

Matthew 16:13 ..Whom do men say that
I, the Son of man, am?

The disciples had not only heard that Jesus was John the Baptist, but …

Matthew 16:14 … Some say that thou art … Elijah; and others, {Jeremiah}, or one of the prophets.

What is wrong with this? Jesus, when He visited His hometown of Nazareth, referred to Himself as a Prophet. He said:

Matthew 13:57 …. A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.

Jesus called Himself a Prophet. So isn’t Jesus just a great Prophet? No, Jesus is more than this. You can see this in how Jesus addresses Himself in the question. Again, Jesus asked,

Matthew 16:13 ..Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

Jesus called Himself “the Son of Man”. When we hear this phrase, it means nothing to us. To us it just sounds like Jesus is saying He’s a human. But the phrase “Son of man” has great emphasis in the writings of the Prophets. You see, from the time of Adam’s fall, and the destruction it wrought on all of humanity, God has promised that a Redeemer would one day come. On the very day that Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, God told that old Serpent Lucifer (and Satan/ Lucifer was the serpent. See Revelation 12:9, 12:15, 20:2; 2 Corinthians 11:3):

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

A Messiah would come Who would crush the devil’s head. This Messiah would be born of a woman, virgin born (Isaiah 7:14), a Holy Thing never before seen in creation, made by God the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). But this “Son of man” would be much more than a normal human. When the Prophet Daniel saw the coming of the Messiah, he wrote:

Daniel 7:13-14 … I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Every Rabbi, every Jew looked to the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. They knew that one day the Messiah, THE Son of man, would come. This Messiah would be given:

Dominion, everlasting Dominion
Glory
The Eternal Kingdom of God
All People will worship Him

Jesus specifically named Himself the Son of Man. “And whom do people say that I, THE SON OF MAN, am”? Before the Messiah came, God allowed humanity to temporarily cover their sins via animal sacrifice. This was but a temporary covering, proved by the fact that Israel had to make these sacrifices over and over again. The writer of Hebrews clarifies this truth, saying:

Hebrews 10:1-10 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. … 9 then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The Messiah – “The Son of man” – came from Heaven to take away our sins once and for all. No other human has the ability to give us a right standing with God. The Bible declares that “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But ONLY the Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Lord, has power to bring about forgiveness of sins.

The Prophets spoke of the coming of the Son of Man.
Jesus Christ IS The Son of Man!

When Jesus came to Nazareth and …

Matthew 9:2 … they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

The Scribes and Pharisees thought, “This man blasphemes God!”. For Who can forgive sin but God? Sin is an offense against God, so only GOD can forgive sin. Jesus went on to say:

Matthew 9:6-8 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

The multitudes got it wrong. They thought, “Oh, God has given this man such power!” But God had not given Jesus this power. Jesus said, “I, the SON OF MAN, have POWER TO FORGIVE SIN”. No one else has power to do that. Only Jesus. Only the Messiah.

When the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of violating the Sabbath Day, Jesus told them:

Matthew 12:8 … the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

The Messiah, God in the flesh, is the One Who established the Sabbath Day. He Who made the rules is He Who can change the rules. When Christ rose from the grave on the Sabbath Day, His Church began to honor the Sabbath not on the 7th day, but on the Messiah’s resurrection day. Why? The SON OF MAN, the Messiah, is Lord of the Sabbath.

Jesus Christ can forgive sins because Jesus Christ is God our Messiah. But Jesus Christ can forgive sins because Jesus Christ our Messiah paid for our sins.

Mark 8:31 {Jesus} began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

As Messiah, Jesus Christ paid for our sins. He is …

John 1:29 … the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world.

Jesus Christ is not another Great Prophet. He is the Messiah, the Only means by which a person can be saved. Jesus said:

John 3:13-17 … no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the SON OF MAN which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him MIGHT be saved.

Knowing Jesus As The Christ Opens Heaven’s Gate

When Peter told Jesus, “You are THE Christ (Messiah), THE Son of the Living God”, Jesus replied:

Matthew 16:17-18 … Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The knowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, the sole Savior sent from Heaven to this earth, is divinely imparted. God must speak it to your hearts. The knowledge that Christ is THE Messiah, and that there is NO OTHER MESSIAH, is what separates Christianity from the idols of this world like “The Gates of Hades”. There are many who PROFESS to be Christians. But Beloved, you are not a Christian if you cannot pass this litmus test. The Apostle James established this litmus test many years ago. He wrote:

1 John 2:22-23 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is THE Christ? He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

Whoever denies that Jesus is THE MESSIAH, the ONLY MEANS of salvation – this person is A LIAR. This person is ANTICHRIST, for this person has denied BOTH the Father and the Son. Whoever denies that Jesus is the ONLY WAY unto the Father is believing in a false, Pagan christ. John went on to say:

1 John 4:2-3 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

There is only one way unto God, and that way is by faith in Jesus Christ. You can only receive this knowledge when the Father opens your eyes to it. The solid foundation of the Church is this truth. Sadly, there are many Churches that have turned from this great truth to believe another Gospel. This little ‘g’ gospel tries to blend with the world so as to appease the world. But there is no salvation available through the other messiahs.

Peter’s profession of “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (verse 16) brings several great gifts from Jesus.

Matthew 16:18 …. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter

If you know Jesus as Messiah, then Jesus knows you. Jesus said “I know My sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:14). Jesus knows you, dear believer. He knows your name. He knows your needs. He knows you!

Matthew 16:18 … upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Church of Christ is built on the solid truth that Jesus is THE Christ – there is no other. The false gods of this world are just that – false. Jesus Christ is the only way to peace with God (John 14:6).

Matthew 16:19 I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven…

Those who have the keys are those who have the right to enter in. We are saved and adopted into the family of God by faith in CHRIST Jesus. Salvation is only possible through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how I pray that God’s Spirit lead you to Jesus Christ today. Amen and Amen!

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Living On Purpose For Jesus

Posted on August 19, 2020 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Jordan Madrid on Unsplash

Philippians 1:12-24 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13 so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14 and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24 nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

Who Are You Living For?

What are you living for? Some people are just marking time. They are not living – they are just surviving. Life is a gift from God, and every day should be lived on purpose with God.

I don’t believe that the year 2020 is an accident, or that it is a coincidence that the Covid-19 virus has consumed us as a nation this year. The numbers 20/20, separated with a slash, are a measure of vision. As a little child my vision – that is, my eyesight – was very poor. I am legally blind without my glasses. But with eyeglasses my sight is 20/20, which is clear and normal vision for a human.

The year 2020 has been a vision check for our nation. Too many people do not have 20/20 vision, and even more have poor spiritual vision. As this year began with the Coronavirus, we went into a shutdown in nearly every state. Suddenly people heard something they always knew. We all will one day cease to be on this earth. That is the nature of life. No one lives forever on this earth. No one. Those who are Christians believe what Jesus told us:

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

Everyone physically dies. We have known this forever. But we do not place the truth in perspective in our lives. Everyone dies – but we think it will always be someone else. When we pass someone on the highway we are but 2 feet from death. If that person approaching you is texting and distracted, nothing stops them from coming into your lane and abruptly into your life. The Bible tells us:

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

We all have an appointment with death. We do not know when that is, but we know that it is coming. The writer of Hebrews went on to say:

Hebrews 9:28 … so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many …

Death is coming. Staying at home will not stop that. Death is inevitable. Hiding out in a basement will not correct that. We all have an appointment with death. However, if you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He has promised that your soul will continue on into eternity with Him.

Life Without Christ Is Not Life At All

Life with Christ is a daily challenge, but life without Christ is a life without purpose. The Apostle Paul was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel of Jesus. The world does not like the Gospel of Jesus. The worlds loves a modified gospel (little ‘g’) of jesus (little ‘j’), but not the true Gospel. The True Gospel says that we are to REPENT:

Acts 2:38 Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

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;

REPENT means to turn away from the world. BELIEVE means to turn toward Jesus. The Apostles preached to both Jews and Gentiles:

Acts 20:21 … repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Christ is a person who has been saved on purpose by God. A Christian is a person who has purpose because of God. The Christian is in the world, but not part of the world. The thought that a Christian can be saved, then go back to living his or her life without regard to the Lord, is utterly foreign to the Scripture. We who are Christians love everyone, and share the Gospel of Christ with everyone.

But we are not part of this world.

The stepbrother of Jesus wrote:

James 4:4 … know ye not that the friendship of the world is {to be the enemy of} God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Christians are members of Christ’s Kingdom. We are citizens of Heaven FIRST and FOREMOST. We live for and in God, and to the glory of Christ. Jesus warned us that living as Christians would bring us the animosity of the world. Jesus said:

Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

This is the place that Paul was at. He had been living his life on purpose, serving the Kingdom of God while here on this earth. Every Christian is called to this place of service. We are to be “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jesus saved us, and left us in this world so that we can lead others to Jesus. But doing this comes at a price.

Philippians 1:12-13 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13 so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

Paul has been captured by the Roman Empire, and is on his way to meet with Caesar Nero. Paul was imprisoned between two guards, and headed toward a certain death. Death was coming, rapidly coming for Paul. But Paul was not complaining. Why? Because Paul realized that each day is a gift from God. Paul realized that he was at peace with God because of his faith in Christ. When Paul looked at his impending death he was not frightened, but exhilarated! He said:

the things which happened unto me have fallen out
rather unto the furtherance of the gospel

What were the “things” that Paul faced? He didn’t name them, but I can guarantee they were not good. Paul suffered. He suffered terribly. In another place Paul wrote:

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

Paul was not discouraged, but encouraged. His spiritual vision was 20/20. He was not focused on comfort and safety, but on glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul knew that living for Jesus would alienate him from the world he once knew, but he wanted others to enjoy the life in Christ that he had. Paul said, in effect:

“There is a purpose in my bondage, and that that the Gospel of the Kingdom be spread throughout Rome”.

Was Paul going to be beheaded? Yes! But before he died, Paul would be able to spread of Christ in the innermost Palace of Rome. Gentiles who never heard of Jesus would hear of Him Who died for us all. Paul lived his life on mission for the Master. Beloved, we who are saved are to do the same. We are not to spend our days watching the television, dreading the boogie man we call the Coronavirus. No! The trials that have come on this country, on the Church, and on the Christian have come not because some leader, either Democratic or republican, failed to protect us. No! The trials that have come are here for the furtherance of the Gospel. The Apostle said:

Philippians 1:14-15 … and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

As Paul looked confidently to the Lord to fulfill His purpose in him, believers around Paul were emboldened by his example. Christian, others are watching you. Look up! Paul’s willingness to stand up for Christ even when the state was against him caused other preachers to stand up. Some of these preachers were false teachers whereas others were sincere lovers of the Lord. Nonetheless this did not discourage Paul. He said:

Philippians 1:16-18 … one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

Paul was not concerned of the motives of the other preachers. He was just happy and blessed that Jesus was being preached. God told Ananias when Paul was knocked down on the Damascus Road:

Acts 9:15 … Go thy way: for {Paul} is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Philippians 1:19-21 I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain

God had a purpose for Paul’s life, just as He has a purpose for yours. Paul kept his eyes on the Lord, and on the purpose that God had for him.

The More You Live On Purpose For God,
The Less You Worry About Death

Illustrate Where is your focus? I have always been somewhat afraid of heights. This is interesting, because I am an Air Force retiree, and was often exposed to heights. Our electronic system had a piece of equipment that was in the tail section, some 40 feet off of the ground. To reach it, you had to use a B-21 lift, which was a hydraulic platform made of extruded steel. I always dreaded having to change out this part, as I had to be 40 feet in the air on a lift that wobbled and swayed in the breeze. Do you know how I got through it? I focused on the mission at hand, and rested in the assurance that the lift was more than adequate to keep me in the air.

Paul focused on the Christian mission. The Christian is to live FOR CHRIST. We who are saved belong to God.

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

We who are saved are the prized purchased possessions of God. The Holy Spirit of God lives in us. We are not our own. We are to live for the Lord Who saved us. If we live, we are Christ’s. But if we die, it is all good, for it is nothing but gain!

The purposeless life is the miserable life. The lock-downs that we have gone through with the Coronavirus have actually done more harm, than good. David Deavel a senior contributor the The Imaginative Conservative notes:

“Dr. Mike deBoisblanc of John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California, told reporters that suicide had vastly increased. “We’ve never seen numbers like this, in such a short period of time,” he said. “I mean we’ve seen a year’s worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks.”[5] Two months later, in a webinar for the Buck Institute, CDC Director Robert Redfield told listeners that when it came to high school students, “We’re seeing, sadly, far greater suicides now than we are deaths from COVID. We’re seeing far greater deaths from drug overdose that are above excess that we had as background than we are seeing the deaths from COVID.”[6]

The Washington Post, one of the cheerleaders of shutdowns, reported in July that suspected overdoses jumped nationally by 18% in March, 29% in April, and 42% in May of this year. The Post noted that the reasons for the spike include not only the joblessness and isolation that were created but also the fact that “many treatment centers, drug courts and recovery programs have been forced to close or significantly scale back during shutdowns. With plunging revenue for services and little financial relief from the government, some now teeter on the brink of financial collapse.”[7] Economist Charles Steele has suggested the excess deaths this year due to suicide and overdose could be over 70,000.[8]”

{5} Amy Hollyfield, “Suicides on the rise amid stay-at-home order, Bay Area medical professionals say” (May 2020).

{6} COVID Webinar Series at https://www.buckinstitute.org/covid-webinar-series-transcript-robert-redfield-md/

{7} William Wan and Heather Long, “‘Cries for help’: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic,” The Washington Post (July 2020).

{8} Michael Austin, “Study: 111,000 Children Will Starve to Death Because of Economic Shutdowns,” The Western Journal (July 2020).

The Apostle did not spend his time worrying about what might be, but instead focused on what God promised. The Apostle John, martyred by exile to the Island of Patmos, declared:

1 John 2:22-25 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. 24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

God promised those who received Christ as Savior and Lord that we have eternal life. The Apostle Paul told the disciple Titus:

Titus 1:2-3 … in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 3 but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior;

What God has said is true, is true. Let us keep our focus on our Jesus, and our minds dwell on His purpose in us. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived according to Scripture, said:

Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

We can all understand why a “good name” would be valuable. If people do not trust your character, you won’t get far in this life. But how can the day of one’s death be BETTER than the day of one’s birth? It is because, if you know the Lord Jesus as Savior, death is a promotion, not a demotion.

Philippians 1:22-24 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24 nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

Paul was not concerned about dying. He actually couldn’t wait to get Heaven where our Lord is. Paul would have understood that old hymn we often insincerely sing:

This world is not my home

I’m just a-passing through

My treasures are laid up

Somewhere beyond the blue.

The angels beckon me

From heaven’s open door

And I can’t feel at home

In this world anymore.

Oh Lord, you know

I have no friend like you

If heaven’s not my home

Then Lord what will I do?

The angels beckon me

From heaven’s open door

And I can’t feel at home

In this world anymore.

When I was in the Air Force, the hardest assignment I ever had was to spend 14 months in Kunsan, Korea. It was hard because I had to be separated from my family that whole time. One thing kept me going throughout that tedious tour. My wife sent recordings every week, sounds from home. I kept my focus on home, until the day I was home.

Christian, where is your focus? Where is your home? The life you live now is so very temporal. “What is your life? It is a vapor, a fog that vanishes with the rising of the sun” (James 4:14). This life is fleeting. The next life is eternal. Keep your eyes on the eternal. Keep your eyes on Jesus. The Apostle ends with these words, and so do I:

Philippians 1:27-30 Only let your {way of life} be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 and in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 30 having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Do not be afraid, Pilgrim. We are on the road home. Let us look to Jesus! May God touch your hearts with His Word and His Spirit. Amen and Amen.

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Beware Of The Leaven Of …

Posted on August 19, 2020 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Ingmar on Unsplash

Matthew 16:1-6 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet {Jonah}. And he left them, and departed. 5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Mark 8:11-15 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. 13 And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

As I have said repeatedly, when we study the Gospels, it is best to look at parallel texts. Today we look at an incident in the life of Christ. Jesus had had a wonderful few days. He fed 5000 Jews with 5 loaves of bread, and 4000 Gentiles with 7 loaves of bread. At the end of this last miracle we read:

Matthew 15:37-39 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken {bread} that was left seven baskets full. 38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. 39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala. (Mark calls this Dalmanutha, Mark 8:10)

Magdala was the home of a lady called Mary of Magdalene, out of whom Jesus cast seven demons (Luke 8:2). Jesus is well known in Magdala because of Mary and the other miracles that He has done in the power of the Spirit. No sooner than Jesus made landfall we read:

Matthew 16:1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

A Wicked And Adulterous Generation Seeks A Sign

The Pharisees and Sadducees were continually asking Jesus – and the Apostles who continued to preach after His ascension – for a “sign”. These men had seen all the signs that they needed to see. Jesus had raised the dead, caused the cripple to walk and the deaf to hear. He gave sight to the blind. Jesus feed large groups of people – 5000 Jews and 4000 Gentiles – with just a tiny amount of bread. Jesus had proved Himself the Messiah, and boldly proclaimed:

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.

The Sadducees and Pharisees demand to “show us a sign” is just a way of attempting to irritate Jesus, to cause Him to lose His temper and perhaps stumble spiritually. Unbelievers used these satanic tactics with the later Apostles. Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 1:22-23 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

Neither Jesus nor the Apostles spent time producing “signs” for the Jews (the Pharisees and Sadducees). The Evangelist Mark tells us Jesus responded:

Mark 11:12 And {Jesus} sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

Jesus “sighed” over their desire for a “sign”. Why? Because their hearts are hardened to the Gospel of salvation. They saw all the signs they needed to see. But the hardened heart cannot be reached. Jesus told them:

Matthew 16:2-4 {Jesus told them}…. When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet {Jonah}.

Word Study People see what they want to see. When it benefits them, or they think it benefits them, they will watch and learn. But if the sign requires a change of mentality or a change of behavior, the “wicked and adulterous” generation rejects the sign from God. Jesus called these Pharisees and Sadducees “wicked and adulterous”, the Greek πονηρός καί μοιχαλίς γενεά (ponēros kai moichalis genea), literally means “a people who seek to do wickedness and adultery, destroying marriages and homes”. Jesus called these people “hypocrites” because they were two faced. They pretended to be right before God, yet in their actions they sought out Satan and did their best to destroy society. When Jesus calls them ADULTERERS He heaps the greatest of condemnation on them.

Among the ancient Jews, adultery was viewed as a sin as grievous as murder, rape, or kidnapping. Adulterers were to be taken outside of the city and were to be stoned with stones until they were dead (Deuteronomy 22:23-24; Leviticus 20:10). Adultery, like murder, tears at the fabric of a civilization. It destroys the nation by destroying the family. As such, God viewed sexual sin of this nature as a heinous crime.

The farther a nation wanders from Biblical marriage, the farther that nation moves from God. When those who are suppose to lead the nation in righteousness no longer do righteousness, then the darkness gets greater and greater.

God watches a nation, and blesses it or
allows it to fall into its own curse.

Jeremiah 29:23 23 … because they have committed villainy in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord.

Hosea 4:2-3 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

All around us we have evidence, “signs”, that there is a God Who made us. Jesus clearly presented Himself as Messiah, the One sent from glory to save His people from sin. But rather than see the sign, the Pharisees kept asking “show us a sign”. They were like Satan Who, tempting Jesus in the wilderness, said:

Matthew 4:6 If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus refused to give Satan a “sign” that He was the Messiah, for God had already proved Him so at His baptism. Didn’t the Spirit of God descend upon Jesus like a Dove? Didn’t the Father speak from Heaven, saying,

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

Didn’t Jesus heal? Didn’t He teach the Word of God with power? Didn’t He prove Himself the Good Shepherd by giving and loving and doing? Yet these religious hypocrites demanded more, more, more. Jesus told them:

Matthew 16:4 … A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.

This is the second time Jesus made this statement. Just a few days previously Jesus told the Scribes and Pharisees:

Matthew 12:39-40 … An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: 40 for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Beware The Leaven

Jesus warns His followers, His Church, of becoming “leavened” by the world. We read:

Matthew 16:5-8 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

Jesus said “beware of the leaven of
the Pharisees and of the Sadducees”.
Mark adds “and of the leaven of Herod” (Mark 8:15).

When the disciples heard this, they thought that Jesus was talking about them being poor stewards. Jesus had just fed 4000+ Gentiles with 7 loaves of bread, and the disciples took up seven baskets of leftover bread after all were filled (Matthew 15:37). They did not bring but 1 loaf of bread with them, and felt guilty about their negligence. When Jesus said:

beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
of the Sadducees (and of Herod)

they linked this statement to their failure in planning, in using the gifts that God gave them. Jesus chastised them, saying …

{vs 8} O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves,
because ye have brought no bread

Why did their minds focus on the bread? Because they were not focused on Jesus. They heard the word “leaven” and immediately their minds went to bread.

What is leaven, and what is it’s
significance in the Scripture?

Leaven is YEAST. It is used to ferment beers, but its most common use is in bread making. Leaven is added to bread to make it rise. A tiny amount of yeast mixed into a bread dough will cause the loaf to double in size. Once cooked, the yeast dies, but leaves behind both flavor as well a soft texture.

Early in Israel’s history God used leaven, or the lack thereof, to teach them about sin and righteousness. Only two places in scripture does God command Israel use leaven:

  • When the Peace Offering was given. The Peace Offering was given whenever God’s people wanted to praise Him for the peace they enjoyed with Him. The Peace Offering was the only sacrifice worshipers could eat. Leviticus 7:11-13 tells us,

    And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the Lord. 12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. 13 Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.

    The unleavened bread represented the sinless life, whereas the leavened bread represented the sinful life. The Peace Offering emphasized that sinful man had peace with the Holy God because of his Grace. No leaven could be burned on the altar of God (Leviticus 2:4, 5, 11), but the leavened bread was shared among the people.

  • When the Feast Of Pentecost was celebrated. Lambs without spot or blemish were sacrificed to God. Two “wave loaves … shall be of fine flour, baked with leaven; they are the first fruits unto the Lord” (Leviticus 23:17). The lambs without blemish were sacrificed and burned, but the wave loaves were given to the priests. The Lamb was symbolic of Christ, Who has no sin. The wave loaves are symbolic of God’s Church, both Jew and Gentile, who are imperfect, marred by sin.

Leaven or yeast was often used in Scripture to signify sinfulness. Sin, like yeast, when imparted to a community, will spread and grow if not addressed. It is this image that the Apostle Paul shares with us, problems that He addressed in the early Church. In 1 Corinthians 5 the Apostle addresses unrestrained sexual sin in the Church.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

The Church’s attitude toward one of its members in sexual sin should be one of mourning, not celebration or acceptance. Sin is sin, and sexual sin is particularly grievous. The Apostle said:

1 Corinthians 6:18 (NKJV) Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

Using the illustration of sin as leaven, the Apostle told the Corinthians,

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: 8 therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Just as leaven or yeast spreads throughout a bread dough, sin spreads throughout a people if is not restrained.

When Jesus said “Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees, and of the Sadducees, and of Herod”, He was not speaking of physical bread.
He was speaking of spiritual bread.

Jesus now illustrates this with the feeding of the 5000 Jews and the 4000 Gentiles:

Matthew 16:9-12 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

What Jesus said in our text above is almost exactly the same thing recorded in Mark 8:15-21. Jesus asked His disciples to:

remember the five loaves of the five thousand,
and how many baskets ye took up?

Notice that Jesus says absolutely nothing about the fish – only the bread. He asks basically about the leftovers. When Jesus was given five loaves of bread, and 5000+ were fed by Him, twelve baskets of leftover bread was taken up afterward. What does this tell us?

If you have a relationship with Jesus,
you will always have more than enough!

the seven loaves of the four thousand,
and how many baskets ye took up?

Again, our Lord took the little 7 loaves of bread, and not only fed 4000+ Gentiles, but had seven baskets of bread left over. Only when Jesus reminded them that a relationship with the Christ always blesses, always gives increase to our deficiencies, only when Jesus emphasized this we read:

Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the DOCTRINE
of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Word Study The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herods all have a singular “DOCTRINE” in common. What is “DOCTRINE”? The word “doctrine” is the Greek διδαχή didachḗ, {pronounced did-akh-ay’}, which means “the teachings or word of a certain group or person”. Jesus was telling His disciples:

  • Beware of the teaching of the Pharisees. The Pharisees teach that RELIGION is enough, that RELIGION will bring you into the place God wants you to be. The Pharisees taught a rigid observance of the Law of God, but rejected a daily relationship with Christ Jesus. How were the Pharisees? They were VERY HARD HEARTED toward the truths of God. They had little to no love for others, and focused on self righteousness. The God that made YOU, made that person NEXT TO YOU as well. Religion without Christ is not enough, but it produces a very mean creature. Jesus illustrated this in ..

Luke 18:9-14 {Jesus} spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood 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 in the Temple was HIS OWN GOD. Note the phrase in verse 11, “he prayed thus WITH HIMSELF”. His prayers were not addressed to God, but toward those around him, and toward himself as he fed his pride. The Law of God …

Romans 7:12 … is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

It is good to keep God’s Law, to do what He says. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). When we do what God says, we do it with an eye toward pleasing Jesus Christ Who loved us, and gave Himself for us. We are ever mindful that we are creatures of Grace. We are saved because of Jesus. It is the relationship we have with Him that brings us into the family of God and into the gates of Heaven. The doctrine of the Pharisees – law without Christ – makes a very hard heart. That individual will care nothing for those around him.

  • Beware the teaching of the Sadducees. The Sadducees were anti-spiritual and very secular. They believed in the power of the human spirit, for they did not believe in the Holy Spirit.

Acts 23:8 … the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

The Sadducees rejected the supernatural, and believed more in the power of the human spirit rather than the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Sadducees believed the only Heaven you would ever have would be on earth right now – so let’s live for today! Very materialistic, the Sadducees focused not on eternity, but on the here and now. The Sadducees might have written a book called “Your Best Life Now!”, because they did not believe in an afterlife. The belief of the Sadducee is found all throughout the Church today. Those who enjoy the leaven of the Sadducee aren’t really interested in telling others about Jesus Christ, because they – at heart – do not believe in eternity. Sadducees today go by many different titles. One group called “Social Justice Warriors” push for changes in the way that people are treated, but never focus on sharing Christ with the same people.

  • Beware the teaching of Herod (the Herodians). The Herodians believed in the power of politics to transform the human condition. Throughout scripture we often find the conservative Pharisees conspiring with the followers of Herod, the Herodians, to destroy Jesus:


Mark 3:6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy {Jesus}.

Mark 12:13 And they sent unto {Jesus} certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch {Jesus} in His words…

Herod was not a descendant of King David, but was an Idumean, or an Arab. When Jesus Christ came to this world, a Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem to kill Him while He was but a baby. Throughout His ministry, Herod and his followers watched Jesus. They saw Him as a threat to Herod’s Throne, and waited for a time to destroy Him without causing riots in Jerusalem.

The Doctrine of Herod is politics, political aspirations, without Christ. There are many professing Christians today who expect the state to fix what ails America. Whether Republican, or Democrat, or Libertarian, or Independent, they expect a politician to clean up the morality of a nation. Beloved, it is not the government’s job to bring the light to our nation. It is God’s job.

The danger of the leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians is that it teaches a type of Kingdom of God devoid of Christ and His Spirit. The Church is only “the Light of the world”,

Matthew 5:14 {Jesus said} Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

While Jesus Christ is in the Church:

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

The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians all sought a better world without Jesus Christ. There is no better world without Jesus. With Jesus, a little is much, because Jesus will make the little, much. Without Jesus it is not Christianity. Without His Word and His Presence, it is not the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ must NEVER be excluded from our services, and our lives.

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

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Standing Strong In Chaotic Times

Posted on August 16, 2020 by bibleteacherorg
Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash

Psalm 123 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. 2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us. 3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

This Psalm – though small – has a lot to tell believers in the Bible living in America today. This small Psalm – just 4 verses long – is a prayer for deliverance from a believer who is emotionally spent. What has worn him down, and what is his solution – the solution that God speaks to his heart? He is overwhelmed with the unsaved and godless world around him. He is, as Larry Norman once said, “A Stranger in A Strange World”.

#1 Believers In Scripture (Like Jesus) Will Suffer

Those who believe in and live according to Scripture like Jesus did, will always be persecuted by those who do not believe in and live according to the Scripture.

The world enjoys the darkness of sin (John 3:19; John 12:46). The Scripture shines light on the darkness.

Many people today love a type of scripture that teaches “all will be saved and go to Heaven”, but despises the Scripture that teaches obedience to the King of Heaven.

Many who profess “Jesus is my Savior” believe they are going to a Heavenly Kingdom one day, and yet refuse to live their lives under His Kingship here on the earth. Jesus and Heaven are for later. Now there is the earth. Now we can do as we please, for we are our own kings and queens. No one sets our standards but our peers, our social media “friends”.

Word Study This is what is taught. God forbid – in any age – that you believe the Scripture! This has always been the case. The writer of Psalm 123 says “we are EXCEEDINGLY FILLED with contempt”. What does he mean? The Hebrew for “EXCEEDINGLY FILLED” רַב rabשָׂבַע sâbaʻ {pronounced saw-bah’} means “we have had more than enough”. He repeats this phrase in verse 4:

Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

The Psalmist is saying “our SOULS are SATURATED with the SCORN and CONTEMPT of those around us, those who are FILLED WILL PRIDE but have no knowledge of God”.

We live an a society today where this nation – founded by Christians – is now anti-Christian. If you believe God’s Word is true and state this truth in any public place, you will be shouted down, mocked, and treated as evil.

So many Christians today have been so bullied by the pagan culture around us that they have compromised with evil, and keep silent rather than be rebuked. The Bible is said to be outmoded, and any who stand up for it’s truths are archaic and against progress.

Today even the state is getting involved in attacks against Christianity. The Supreme Court of the United States should be wholeheartedly endorsing the First Amendment, protecting the rights of Christians to worship. Instead even our Chief Justices have turned a blind eye to state terrorism of the Church. But this isn’t new.

In England prior to the colonization of America the state religion was Anglicanism, and Bible believing Christians who did not agree with the state owned Church of England were persecuted. William Penn, the eventual founder of Pennsylvania, was imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1668-1669, accused of “heresy”. His crime? He was a Quaker. His beliefs were not endorsed by the King nor his Church. Penn told the King:

“If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by Him. … Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”

Quakers were not allowed to worship in buildings. Locked out of his Church building by the state (does this sound familiar?), Penn preached in the street in front of the building. Penn was charged with “unlawful, tumultuous assembly that disturbed the king’s peace”. When William Penn was tried, the jury refused to declare him guilty. The Judge was furious, demanding …

“a verdict that the court will accept, [or the jury itself] shall be locked up without meat, drink, fire, and tobacco. … We will have a verdict by the help of God or you will starve for it.”

After the jury refused to find William Penn guilty three more times, the Judge fined the jurors, and had them locked up. It is this incident that led William Penn and other believers to come to the Americas, seeking religious freedom.

Only a nation founded by Christians would have allowed competing religious views to have freedom of worship.

In Atheistic, Marxist, Hindi, and many Muslim countries today, Bible believing Christians are persecuted and often killed. From The Voice of the Martyrs:

“When Poonam quietly left Hinduism in 2012, the Bible she obtained instantly became her most prized possession. The young Indian wife and mother of three secretly read God’s Word in her home each day, growing in her understanding of God’s love for her. But she feared that her husband would discover her new faith, and he soon did. After overhearing her praying a Christian prayer one day, he found her Bible and angrily tore it to pieces. “From today on you stop reading the Bible, and as long as you live in this house you better not pray!” he scolded. Poonam’s husband then beat her, eventually kicking her out of the house and refusing to let her see their young sons and daughter. Her Christian faith cost her everything.”

Jesus made it a point – His number 1 point – that those who are saved are now members of another, Higher Kingdom. Just as Jesus was at odds with those bound in sin and in state supported religion, He told us that we, too, would be persecuted. Listen to His words:

Matthew 10:22 … ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

1 John 3:13 … Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love …

Luke 6:22-23 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

We who are Christians cling to the truths of the Word of God because our Master and Savior Jesus Christ held the Scripture in such high regard. Jesus quoted Scripture throughout His earthly ministry, saying “it is written”. In fact, the phrase “it is written” is found some 80 times throughout the Bible as the prophets referred to the Holy Bible scriptures. The Apostle, via the Scripture, commands the Christian to:

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

Our bodies do not belong to the darkness, but to the One Who saved us. We are purchased possessions of God, freed from sin and bound to His Will. We are called to live according to what our God and Savior says is right and righteous, to live as “living sacrifices”. The world will call this crazy, insane. The world will declare the Book we follow to be out dated, the tool of haters. But we love. We love God, and we love others. It is not love to endorse the slavery of sin nor the morality of darkness. Jesus Christ set us free, so we live valiantly, hopefully, looking to Him.

#2 Believers In Scripture (Like Jesus),
Look To Their Sovereign Father ALWAYS

To say that Psalm 123 is a “Psalm of Lament” is to mis-label it. Sorrow is not the main message of this Psalm. The title of this Psalm (along with 14 other small Psalms) is “A Song of Degrees”. My favorite preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, stated that these 15 Psalms …

“were chanted by the Lord’s people as they went up to the temple. They are “Songs of the Goings Up;” so some read the word. Those who delight to spiritualize everything find here Ascents of the Soul, or language fitted to describe the rising of the heart from the deepest grief to the highest delight”.

Psalm 123 looks upward to God. It was said by God’s Old Testament believers as they went to their Church building, the Temple. Persecution of the believer is not mentioned until the end of the Psalm. Though fed up, the believer does not look at the persecutors or the haters, but we read:

Psalm 123:1 Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens.

Note first of all the word “Eyes”, found four times in this little Psalm. The eyes of the persecuted are not focused on the persecutors. They are focused UPWARD. UNTO THEE lift I up mine eyes.

The Eyes Of The Christian Is On The Sovereign God

The believer in Scripture knows that our God is Sovereign, that He is in control of all things. The Bible says:

Psalm 2:2-4 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Our God is in Heaven, He does all that He pleases (Psalm 115:3). It is God Who made all things, and God Who controls all things.

Psalm 113:4-9 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, 6 who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! 7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; 8 that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. 9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

Our God could squash all opposition to His people, and at times does so. But there are other times when our God – though He does not cause the hatred and the scorn – He allows it. “But why”, you might ask, “why would our God allow us to be attacked by the godless?”. Because our Lord desires the salvation of the world. He wants the world saved, for it to willingly turn to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What did Jesus Christ our Lord tell us?

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

He that “believeth not in Christ is condemned ALREADY”. The smoke of hell clings to their souls. Their destination is not glory, where the Son of God will reign over His people. Their destination is damnation. This is why the Christ is forbidden to take vengeance, or to attack back those who attack Him. What did the Apostle write to the Roman Christians, even as he was in bondage for preaching the Gospel of salvation.

Romans 12:9-21 Let love be without {hypocrisy}. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; 11 not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; {devoted to prayer}; 13 distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. … 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

God allows evil to come to His Children so that others can see Christ Jesus in us. Jesus was persecuted, and loved anyway. We are persecuted, and love anyway. The ability to stand strong, looking unto our God in spite of persecution, is proof of our salvation. Jesus said:

Matthew 10:30-33 …. the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

You deny Jesus when you compromise what He holds dear in order to be well thought of by those in darkness. Salvation never comes to a soul without repentance. The Evidence Bible notes:

“The Scriptures speak of “repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). We turn from sin to the Savior. This is why Paul preached “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). The first public word Jesus preached was “repent” (Matthew 4:17). John the Baptist began his ministry the same way (Matthew 3:2). Jesus told His hearers that without repentance, they would perish (Luke 13:3). If belief is all that is necessary for salvation, then the logical conclusion is that one need never repent. However, the Bible tells us that a false convert “believes” and yet is not saved (Luke 8:13); he remains a “worker of iniquity.” Look at the warning of Scripture: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 John 1:6). The Scriptures also say, “He that covers his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesses and forsakes them [repentance] shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Jesus said that there was joy in heaven over one sinner who “repents” (Luke 15:10).”

We who belong to God by faith in Christ look to Him, knowing that He watches over us. We live for the smile of our Sovereign God.

The Eyes Of The Christian Is On Our Heavenly Father

Psalm 123:1 Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens.

When we who believe in the Scripture look up, we not only see a Sovereign God, but we see a Heavenly Father Who loves us. In the New Testament the Scripture says that believers in Christ are adopted by God – we are His Children. We read:

Galatians 4:4-7 … when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Heaven is our Home, and God our Father. We who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are, in the words of Galatians 3:26, “all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus”. Because THE Son of God, Jesus Christ, shed His Blood on Calvary, we who have received Him are His adopted Children. We have a home waiting for us in Heaven, a “mansion” that Jesus is preparing for us (John 14:1-3) who believe that He is the ONLY WAY unto God (John 14:6). What has Christ given us?

Romans 8:14-17 … as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

As Jesus suffered, was persecuted, we will be persecuted. Yet this is not a discouragement, but a blessing. If we were of the darkness we would be at home in the darkness. But we belong to God our Father. He is:

Matthew 6:9 … Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

#3 Believers In Scripture (Like Jesus),
Are TOGETHER Members Of His Kingdom

Psalm 123:1-2 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. 2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.

In verse 1 we see the speaker talking in the first person. “I lift up my eyes”. But as we move to verse 2 we see the speaker talks not just for himself, but for a group. “Our eyes wait upon the Lord our God”. Believers serve the Lord together in unity.

Since the pandemic we call the Coronavirus has hit America we have seen on social media quite often the statement:

“The Church is not the building. The people are the Church”.

Many of those who post or proclaim this (and I do agree with it) are professing believers who refuse to come together with other believers to worship God. It is true that the Church is not a building. But it is also true that the Church is not one person. The Church is a community of like minded believers who gather together to worship the Lord.

Some Churches cannot afford buildings. Some Christians, living in areas where it is fatal to worship Christ, can only come together secretly, in groups. In the first century Church believers met in catacombs, underground graveyards, for fear of being executed. But Christians nonetheless met together. The Church is NOT the Church on the Internet. The Church is a community of faith that meets together to share the Word of God. On the Day of Pentecost when the Apostles first preached the Gospel following Christ’s ascension we read:

Acts 2:41 …. they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls …

Who was added to the Church? Those who received the Gospel, and were publicly baptized in water. What did they do once they were saved? Did they sit at home, posting pithy sayings on Facebook? No. Here was the Church:

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

“THEY” heeded the APOSTLES DOCTRINE, the teachings of the Scripture, the teachings that Jesus gave to them. They heard SERMONS – together. They FELLOWSHIPPED. They BROKE BREAD, or enjoyed the Lord’s Table TOGETHER. They PRAYED. They didn’t have a big building, but they got together as a body and lived as citizens of God’s Kingdom.

They took care of one another. The first Church:

Acts 2:44-47 …. 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. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The first Church met in the TEMPLE and in HOMES, which, if I am not mistaken, are BUILDINGS. They got along with one another. And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved. The Church is a body of believers that, working together, they live by Kingdom principles as taught by the Word of God. Nothing else is a Church. Nothing. It is not one member, but many, who look to the Head (see 1 Corinthians 12).

If you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, He is this to you whether you are in the building we call “Church”, or whether you are home or at work. You are part of the Kingdom of God. You cherish Jesus, and live for Him. His Word, the Holy Scripture, matters to you. This is the Christian indeed. Are you? Are you saved? Or are you just religious? If you are not saved, today is the day to repent, turn to Jesus, and receive Him into your life as both Lord and Savior. May God guide you to do so this very day. In Christ’s name, and for His glory we pray. Amen and Amen!

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