In Relation to God the Father - 3

= Reconciliation with God

Romans 5:10

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Ephesians 2:12-13

that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

= Sanctification

1 Corinthians 6:11

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Acts 26:18

to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Faithfulness of our God

"How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears." — 2 Samuel 7:22

The promises of God to Abraham and David, the work of God through Jesus, and the miraculous preservation of both the Abrahamic and Davidic lines to Jesus are nothing short of miraculous. They are testimony to God's faithfulness and power. When we get discouraged by the unfaithfulness and blasphemy so prevalent in our world, we need to remember the faithfulness of our God and his awesome power displayed through his chosen people.

Thought 

. You, O Lord, are my only solace.  You, my Father, are eternal.  But I am divided between time gone by and time to come, and its course is a mystery to me.  My thoughts, the intimate life of my soul, are torn this way and that in the havoc of change.  And so it will be until I am purified and melted by the fire of Your love and fused into one with You. – Augustine

[Message No: 8012]

Handling difficult circumstances

Philippians 3:8-11

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing  Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ    and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,  but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness  that comes from God on the basis of faith.    I want to know  Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings,  becoming like him in his death,    and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection  from the dead.

Curling Up with the Good Book 

2 Timothy 3:14-17

Reading the Bible convicts, inspires, and helps us to live for Him—and guides us into the truth (2:15).

In our reading, let’s not forget to find time to curl up with the greatest book of all, the Bible.

God can speak unto the chaos of your life

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart,  O God,

 and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

. When life isn’t fair

1 Thessalonians 5:24

The one who calls  you is faithful,  and he will do it.

Unseen Realities

From Ephesians 6

When we see evil winning in our world, we shouldn’t give in or try to fight it in our own strength. Instead, we’re to resist evil by putting on “the full armor of God” (vv. 13-18). Studying Scripture, meeting regularly with other believers for encouragement, and making choices with the good of others in mind can help us “stand against the devil’s schemes” (v. 11). Equipped by the Holy Spirit, we can stand firm in the face of anything (v. 13).

[Message No: 8011]

Greatest reason for thanksgiving

For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” — Isaiah 57:15

As many of us leave our season of Thanksgiving and transition into the season of Advent, we remember our greatest reason for giving thanks: Jesus’ coming. After all, Advent means “the coming,” and in particular, the coming of God to earth in Jesus. God loves us so much that he refused to just be God far off from us. He chose to come near to us, and be one of us, in Jesus. God is holy and beyond us (Isaiah 6:1-6), yet he became one of us in Jesus because of his mercy and grace (Isaiah 57:15). In Jesus, God surrendered his divine privileges and humbled himself so we could see both God’s grace and our own path to him in his greatness (Philippians 2:5-11).

Thoughts 

. Before God can deliver us we must undeceive ourselves. - Augustine of Hippo

. Great Commission

  Many Christians will not witness unless they sense the Spirit of God prompting them to speak to a particular person.  I’m not that spiritual.  I share my faith whenever and wherever possible.  As far as I’m concerned, the starting gun went off 2,000 years ago with a loud, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”  My conscience continually prompts me to speak. 

- Ray Comfort

Unfolding 

Psalm 119:130

The unfolding of your words gives light; 

 it gives understanding to the simple.

Clouds and Darkness

Psalm 97:2

Clouds  and thick darkness  surround him;

 righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Why cannot follow Thee now?

John 13:37

Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

[Message No: 8010]

Passage of our Time

We were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. — Job 8:9

While Job never learned why he suffered, he did learn his place in the universe before the Almighty God (Job 38-41). When we are young, time passes so very slowly — especially if we are waiting for something special! But as we get older, the years fly by more and more quickly.

Yet despite all our learning, despite all our experience, we come to two great awakenings: our knowledge compared to what there is to know is so very small and our place in the passage of time is so very short. Both of these awakenings prepare us to turn our lives and future over to our God [In 2021] who longs to bring us to himself.

Will there ever be any room for him?

1. There was no room for Jesus in the economic world.

2. There was no room for Jesus in the legal realm.

3. There was no room for Jesus in the realm of the religious order.

4. There was no room for Jesus in the world of politics.

5. Let's look at us today--to you and to me. Do we have room for Christ in our lives?

Questions in 2 Kings 

9:22

When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”

 “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel  abound?”

9:31

As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri,  you murderer of your master?”

10:4

But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, how can we?”

10:9

The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these?

10:13

he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?”

 They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah,  and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother. ”

[Message No: 8009]

Questions in Prayer - 2

+ Upon what condition do we receive what we ask for?

1 John 3:22

And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

Mark 11:24

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

What does God promise? 

Jeremiah 33:3

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

+ Should we pray for one another? 

James 5:16

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

+ What should we do when afflicted? 

James 5:13

Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

+ Should elders of the Church be called when any one is sick?

James 5:14

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

+ Did God hear Elisha for his servant? 

 2 Kings 6:17

And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots  of fire all around Elisha.

+ What does God say of those families who call not upon Him?

Jeremiah 10:25

Pour out your wrath on the nations 

 that do not acknowledge you,

 on the peoples who do not call on your name. 

 For they have devoured  Jacob;

 they have devoured him completely

 and destroyed his homeland.

[Message No: 8008]

The End Has Come - 2

. Lamentations 1:9 - Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself.   

. Ezekiel 12:22 - Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?   

. Ezekiel 21:2 - Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,   

. Ezekiel 40:2 - In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south.   

. Matthew 24:6 - And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.   

. Matthew 24:13-14 - But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.   

. 1 Peter 4:7 - But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.   

Kind

. Genesis 6:20

Two  of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind  of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.

. Matthew 9:29

Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;

. Luke 6:35

But love your enemies, do good to them,  and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children  of the Most High,  because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

. 1 Cor. 13:4

Love is patient,  love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

. Eph. 4:32

Be kind and compassionate to one another,  forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you

[Message No: 8007]

Who God Really Is? - 6

. King of Israel – Matthew 27:42

He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.

. King of Kings 

1 Timothy 6:15

which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Revelation 19:16

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

. Lamb of God – John 1:29

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

. Last Adam – 1 Corinthians 15:45

And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

. Life – John 11:25

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

. Light of the World 

John 8:12

 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 9:5

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

. Lion of the Tribe of Judah – Revelation 5:5

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

. Lord of Lords 

1 Timothy 6:15

which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Revelation 19:16

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

[Message No: 8006]

Unless you believe … ?

I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins. — John 8:24

The crucial phrase, somewhat disguised by our translations, is this one: "Unless you believe that I AM, then you will die in your sins." As John so often does, he grabs a simple phrase, fills it full to the brim with meaning, and leads us to see Jesus in a dramatically fresh way. Jesus is I AM, God with us. How could God love us so? We can't know the full answer to this, but we can surely believe and rejoice and live for his glory.

The Gospel According to Matthew

Author: Anonymous. But early tradition unanimously ascribes to Matthew.

Date: A.D. 50-75

Theme: Jesus is the fulfilment of Old Testament Prophecies concerning the Messiah; His Disciples  are called to a new covenant, to live at a higher dimension than the old ever realized.

Key Words: Fulfil, the Kingdom of Heaven, Son of Man, Son of God, Church. 

The Gospel According to Mark

Author: Mark

Date: A.D. 65-70

Theme: The suffering Son of Man, Son of God.

Key Words: Authority, Son of Man, Son of God, Suffering, Discipline & Gospel.

False Prophecies

Isaiah 8:19

When someone tells you to consult  mediums and spiritists,  who whisper and mutter,  should not a people inquire  of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

Isaiah 29:4

Brought low, you will speak from the ground;

 your speech will mumble  out of the dust. 

 Your voice will come ghostlike  from the earth;

 out of the dust your speech will whisper.

[Message No: 8005]