Jesus Called Disciples and More Healings

January 5, 2026 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Book of Luke Chapter 5

In the time of Jesus, every teacher had his own company of disciples.

Jewish Rabbis had theirs, Pharisees had theirs, John the Baptist had his, but the difference in the disciples of Jesus Christ was that He chose twelve men Himself.

This inner circle of men had to forsake their lives and follow the Lord Jesus wherever He went.

They also continued the ministry of Jesus after He returned to Heaven.

The most important thing was that they were trained to carry the ministry of Jesus forward after He was gone.

They changed from disciples to Apostles.

That word apostle has a similar meaning to ambassador.

We should realize that the Lord Jesus also appointed another seventy men and commissioned them.

Luk 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
Luk 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Luk 10:3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

A disciple of Jesus Christ will submit to baptism, submit to the teachings of God’s Word, and obey all the Lord Jesus has commanded.

The Lord has told all His disciples that He will make us fishers of men: Mrk_1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Jesus would have all mankind caught in the Gospel net!

*Luk 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

Lake Gennesaret is the same body of water known as the Sea of Galilee.

The call of men is needed more today because the world has more than eight billion people in it who need to hear the truth of the Gospel and make a decision for themselves.

We can see that these people wanted to hear what the Lord Jesus had to say.

They wanted to hear the Word of God!

They had a hunger and thirst for things that the Lord Jesus was saying.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We need that same hunger and thirst today for the truth.

*Luk 5:2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets.
Luk 5:3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

Have you ever noticed how sound travels so well when you are on the lake?

I believe the Lord Jesus had a booming voice that could be heard from a great distance, but no man can talk over a large, disorderly crowd hanging all over him.

Simon Peter makes his fishing boat available to the Lord Jesus, so Simon participates in the work of the Lord.

Like a pastor preached recently, “What do we have in our hands to give unto the Word of the Lord”?

Do we make available our resources to the work of the Lord?

*Luk 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
Luk 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

The work of the Lord is not all drudgery; the work of the Lord can be rewarding.

Now, this is not saying that Jesus teaches a prosperity Gospel, but God will reward those who are on the battlefield of the Lord, but it is rarely financial, other than meeting our needs.

Peter and those with him had fished all night and had taken nothing.

This is the outcome I have most of the time, but catching fish is not the main reason I go fishing.

Here again, the Lord Jesus had a reason for the miracle that He was about to perform.

The title Master comes from the Greek word meaning teacher.

Sometimes the same Greek word for teacher is used as the title doctor.

Peter was an experienced fisherman, and he knew if the fish did not bite in the night, they were not going to bite in the daytime, but the Lord Jesus wanted to start working on Peter’s faith.

The Lord also wanted Peter to accept Him as the Messiah who has control of all nature.

The lesson from the Lord Jesus was out with the old and in with the new.

A New Covenant was beginning, and it would have better results than the Old Covenant.

The lesson for us all is that we can place our faith in the infallible Word of God.

As we build on our Christian lives, doubt must be replaced with obedience.

There are no hopeless situations for the child of God.

The results of obedience will always be a blessing.

When we are drawn to God, we need to obey our hearts.

I can remember a few weeks before I came to this church, I was walking in my yard, and the Holy Spirit asked me why I was throwing my life away because of the way I was living.

I only knew the truth of that day when I came through the doors of this church.

Peter was having a similar feeling on this day with the Lord Jesus.

*Luk 5:6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
Luk 5:7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

The miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ showed that He could do things that only God could do.

There are many charlatans out in this world today, but none of them can do what only God can do. And we must not be fooled by them.
The Holy Spirit will not allow their lies to be true.

Those who claim the power to heal should go to the closest hospital and stop the suffering of those on the inside.

If Peter had only caught a few fish or even a net full of fish, he would have thought little about it.

The Lord Jesus wanted Peter to feel the willingness to serve the Lord.

If Peter thought he was exhausted, he was about to find out what true exhaustion was all about.

Peter’s net could not hold all the fish, and he called for another boat to come to help. Both boats had so many fish in them that they were in jeopardy of sinking, which the Lord would not have allowed because it would have defeated His purpose.

The Lord Jesus knew exactly how many fish it would take to sink those boats!

When we make decisions in this life, we must make those decisions according to the Word of God and our faith.

Peter’s faith began to rise.
Peter’s faith rested on the Words of Christ, “At Thy Word”. No one else could have talked Peter into letting down his nets he had just cleaned.
Peter’s faith led to obedience without questioning.

Many of us are disappointed at what this life offers, but we find that as we walk in step with Jesus Christ, we learn what blessings are all about.

Peter became overwhelmed because of his own sin of doubt.

*Luk 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Luk 5:9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

Peter understood exactly what had happened!

Peter was overwhelmed by his own unworthiness!

Peter understood that he had just witnessed a miracle.

The people on the shore are not mentioned, but they were there, many of them, because they had witnessed or heard of the many miracles of healing that the Lord Jesus had performed.

To Peter, the Lord Jesus was no longer Master but now Lord. We know Him as Lord of lords.

Peter came to the Lord Jesus upon his knees in confession of his sins.

1) Peter confessed to his sin of unbelief. He had questioned the Lord’s will. He had to acknowledge that the Lord’s power was not of this earth.

2) Peter confessed that Jesus was indeed Lord. In this verse, the Greek word “kurios” means supreme in authority.

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

Peter acknowledged that the Lord Jesus was the authority that must be obeyed, and we had better understand this also.

3) Peter confessed his fear and his reverence as Peter was in awe of the miracle that the Lord Jesus had just shown him.

This reminds us of the Prophet Isaiah: Isa 6:5 Then said I, 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.

Peter was close to salvation as we know it:

Rom 10:9 That 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.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

And others had witnessed this miracle.

*Luk 5:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Luk 5:11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

This passage tells us when these men realized that Jesus is Lord of all, and they were determined to follow Him.

This passage tells us something else.

We know that in typology, this fishing boat is in type the Church, and the Church cannot do anything without the Lord Jesus Christ being onboard.

Jesus Christ challenged these men to follow Him and become fishers of men.

It is the job of the Church to produce and train fishers of men with those who answer the call of Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit.

To Peter, it was now obvious that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah come from God, and he had what we all need.

A reverent fear of God and an actual fear of the Almighty God and the Lord Jesus, sensing this fear, said, “Fear not”.

The Lord Jesus had not come at this time for “judgment”. He will judge this world when He returns the second time.

So, we too can “Fear not”.

In actuality, the world has already been judged, and we are judged as sinners.

This is the reason the Lord Jesus came to earth the first time.

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

What do we know of our own calling?

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

There were two of the disciples of Christ who were named James.

Here we have James, the brother John was the son of Zebedee.

It is this James with his brother John and Peter who become the Lord’s inner circle.

This James is never mentioned apart from John.

This is the James that King Herod had killed with a sword.

There is another James, the son of Alphaeus, called James the Less, because he was shorter than James, the brother of John.

There are also two other men named James.

James, the half-brother of the Lord, who later became the pastor of the Church in Jerusalem.

It is this James who wrote the epistle of James.

Then there was James, the father of Judas Iscariot.

Those who are called of God will forsake all and follow the Lord.

Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

*Luk 5:12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

There are some things we should see here.

Leprosy is a type of sin in the New Testament.

In the salvation plan of God, we must first acknowledge that we are sinners.

Then we must acknowledge the cleansing.

In reality, we are not healed from our sin; we are cleansed from our sin.

Only the Lord Jesus Christ can cleanse us of our sin.

We must be washed to become clean.

Rev_1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Is the Lord Jesus also the Great Healer? He certainly is, and He can heal us from any ailment.

Mat_14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

He will do neither without a show of faith.

Luk_9:11 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

This leper, who came to Jesus, was sustained by his hope. He saw hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our only hope in this world!

He called Jesus Lord because he knew that Jesus is Lord of lords.

1Co_12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

We must realize just how dirty and defiled we are on the inside and on the outside before we can be cleansed of that defilement.

We must humble ourselves before the Lord, who only can cleanse us!

Leprosy was the most terrible of diseases in the day of Jesus and was greatly feared by the people, and we should see sin in the same way today.

It would cause disfigurement, and many times it was fatal; again, sin causes these same things.

It is no wonder that leprosy is a type of sin in Scripture.

The leper was considered unclean.
The leper was judged to be the walking dead.
The leper was an outcast and banished from society.
The leper was considered polluted and incurable.

Sin will cause these same things, but because of the mercy and grace of God, He looks deep into our hearts, and He knows there can be something special in each of us if we will only trust Him.

The leper had asked the Lord Jesus if He could be willing to help him, and the Lord said; ‘I will”.

*Luk 5:13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

We see that the Lord Jesus Christ is willing to help anyone if they show faith in His powers.

The Lord Jesus is always moved with compassion for those who are hurting in any manner.

This leper acknowledges that he is hopelessly lost and the only thing that can help him is God’s “Grace”.

Only “Grace” can heal a leper because only “Grace” can cleanse us of our sin!

So many have become desperate in our world today because this world cannot help them, and if it could, it refuses to help them.

The Lord Jesus reached out and touched this man when no one else would ever touch a leper for fear of getting the disease.

Every leper was considered untouchable!

The Highest of all God’s could go low enough to touch the unclean leper when no one else would.

The Lord Jesus Christ will reach out and touch all who are considered untouchable in our world if they trust Him.

The Lord Jesus is always willing to help those who have faith that He will help them.

How did Jesus heal this leper? It was that sword in His mouth. He just spoke the words “be thou clean,” and this man was cleansed.

We can all be cleansed by the Word of Jesus Christ.

What did the Lord Jesus do throughout the time He was upon this earth the first time?

Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

For this, He was crucified!

*Luk 5:14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

What did this man need to do next?

This man needed to worship and offer thanks to God and learn to obey the Word of God before doing anything else.

Remember, this man did not have a place on his body that was not covered with leprosy.

In typology, he was deep in sin. He wanted to run and tell the world that he was now.

We must understand that the Lord Jesus had come to this earth as a lowly servant, and He did not want people to think more of Him than this.

Jesus Christ did not do the things He did for self-exaltation.

Jesus wrote all prophecy, and He knew some would try to make Him king, but it was not the time for this to take place.

It was highly unlikely that any lepers were healed in those days. A priest had to go through a detailed list of laws to ever confirm that any leper was cured.

This leper still needed a certificate from a priest saying he had been cleansed.

Book of Leviticus, Chapters 13, verses 38-59, and Chapter 14, verses 1 through 32 will give us some idea about the cure of leprosy.

*Luk 5:15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
Luk 5:16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

The fame of our Lord actually interfered with His ministry so much that Jesus had to withdraw to the wilderness and talk to His Heavenly Father.

This is another great example for us.

When the world interferes with our relationship with our Savior, we need to get alone with God and tell Him what we are going through.

Jesus had the message of salvation and the power to heal, but the message of salvation is much more important!

It was God and prayer that were the source of His power, and He needed much time alone with God, just as we all do.

*Luk 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

As the fame of the Lord Jesus grew, the old religionists came to investigate.

Above all, the Lord Jesus Christ was at this time Teacher, and it is His message that is of greater importance.

This committee had representatives from all over the country. Every major area was represented.

These people could not get along with each other, but they came together to critic the Lord Jesus.

These critics did not come to help Jesus in His ministry of salvation, and they certainly did not come to learn from Him.

They came to investigate and observe Him. They were like spectators at a ball game, except salvation is not a game. Salvation is a God thing, and God sent His Son to show us the only path to Salvation.

What did the Lord Jesus do? He just kept on doing what He was doing and paid them no attention.

Rom 14:4 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.

We are not here to judge any minister who is serving in the name of our Savior.

We were never called to be judges but witnesses!

*Luk 5:27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
Luk 5:28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
Luk 5:29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.

When the Lord Jesus Christ began building His disciples who stayed with Him, He chose those who were the outcasts of society.

This man called Levi is the same as Matthew, who wrote the Book of Matthew.

Levi was a dreaded tax collector.

The tax collectors of that day were normally Jews, and it was Rome who set up the tax standard, but most of the tax collectors were rich because they collected more than was required.

For this reason, they were hated because they worked for the Roman government.

To the Lord Jesus, Matthew was just a sinner like we are all sinners, and we should see other people as sinners just as we are sinners.

We may be better off than those who reject the Lord Jesus, because He has made a way for us to get to Heaven, but we are not better than anyone we meet, lost or saved.

In fact, Christian Pride can interfere with the job the Lord has given us to do.

We should have a testimony about what salvation has done for us, but the message we have is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus went forth, whether it was from a house or a city, because it was time for Him to be busy about His Father’s business.

What is the business of our Heavenly Father? 1Ti_2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

By associating with a man such as Levi, Jesus was exposing Himself to ridicule and acceptance by the upper class of Jerusalem.

These outcasts were not acceptable to the social network of society, but Jesus loved them.

We must understand that we were all outcasts from Heaven until we accepted the truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as the Lord Jesus humbled Himself before these outcasts of society, we have to humble ourselves before Him.

Everything that the Lord Jesus did was an example for us to learn as we are to be more like Him in all His ways.

Matthew made a great feast in his home, and there were many more of the tax collectors there because they were each other’s only friends.

Matthew’s heart was now filled with joy, and he wanted all his friends to learn of God’s Messiah.

Matthew forsook his riches and became a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus wants us all to do the same thing today.

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

As always, the super religious crowd found faults in the way that the Lord Jesus worked His ministry, and these outcasts of society were not wanted in their religious circles.

They were not acceptable!

*Luk 5:30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
Luk 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
Luk 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The religious crowd saw Jesus Christ only as a person who associated with the rejected of society.

Today, this would be the drunks, those who consume drugs, those who have addictions to all sorts of illegal substances, those who are in jails, and anyone else who accepts the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus called us to witness His truths and not be like those who only judge people to see if they think they are acceptable.

If you did not keep the laws of the religious crowd on that day, you were ceremonially unclean and rejected.

Thank goodness we are not under the law, but under grace, God’s Amazing Grace.

The Lord Jesus said to this crowd that only those who realized they were sinners needed a Savior.

All those who are righteous in their own eyes do not need anything.

These are those who are sick, but they do not know it.

They will never call the doctor, so they can never be healed.

The Lord Jesus came to save sinners.

The Lord Jesus died to pay the sin debt of all sinners, even those who think they are not sinners.

The Lord Jesus gave His life for the life of all sinners!

The righteous crowd does not accept the fact that they need repentance!

They say they do not need saving.

Those who trust in some false god say they do not need saving.

Those who are rich think their money can buy them salvation, so they do not need saving.

Those who trust in the ways of the world say they do not need saving.

What does God teach us?

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 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.

And God the Father adds: Psa_2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Pro_6:15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

Pro_1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

Today is the day of salvation, don’t wait until it is too late to call upon the Lord!

Amen

Jesus’ Temptation, Teaching, and Healing

December 29, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus’ Temptation, Teaching and Healing

Book of Luke Chapter 4

When we need to know how to act in any situation, all we need to know is how Jesus would act in that situation.

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

We have no greater example to follow than the Lord Jesus Christ!

This will not always be an easy thing to do.

Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

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

We must never get confused. The Lord Jesus is God in the flesh!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Jhn_1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Our greatest problem that we face in our Christian life is that we just do not handle temptation very well.

If Satan finds out what works on us, he will use that against us unless we wise up to him.

Victory over temptation is our greatest challenge as we walk in the ways of Jesus Christ.

Every temptation we face today is the same as the ones the Lord Jesus faced in His lifetime in the flesh.

*Luk 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Luk 4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

Then Jesus was baptized.

The Lord was the fulness of the Holy Spirit.

Here the Lord Jesus shows how to handle the temptations of the Devil.

The Lord Jesus Christ was about to launch the most important work of Yahweh.

The work of the Lord Jesus Christ was to determine the eternal fate of this world we live in today.

It was the Holy Spirit who led the Lord Jesus into the wilderness so that He could be tempted.

Mar 1:12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
Mar 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Mat 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

The Lord Jesus could not begin His ministry unless He could stand up to temptation.

The devil is our adversary, and we must know how to deal with him!

1Pe_5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

If Satan, the Devil, is not afraid to tempt the Lord Jesus, then who do we think we are that we will not face his temptations?

The Lord Jesus is not tempted as the Son of God, but He is tempted as the Son of God who is also the Son of Man.

God allows this so we know that we have an example of the Son of Man, the man Jesus could withstand the attacks of the Devil.

We can too if we learn how the Lord Jesus accomplished this.

The Lord Jesus, one hundred percent God but also one hundred percent man, had to be totally committed to the salvation plan of God the Father.

He needed to gain the victory that was needed so that whosoever believed these things could be saved for an eternity in the presence of God.

God’s plan included the cross, the way of sacrifice and suffering, to help others.

The Lord Jesus would always be tempted to use His power of God to end His temptations, and had He done so, we would all still face that Burning Lake of Fire we know of as Hell.

The man Jesus had to be assured that the God Jesus had the power to deliver him and conquer temptation.

We must be winners of the trials of life.

1) Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit.

2) Jesus was led to spend time alone with God the Father.
We must spend some time alone with God.

3) Jesus was led to be tried and tested.
It is our trials that test us and make us stronger.

4) Jesus was led to fast and pray.
Most of us pray, and maybe not enough, but very few of us take fasting seriously.

We must understand that God is not allowing us to be tempted so that we will fail! God is allowing our temptation so we can have victory over it.

Temptation comes from our heart; temptation does not come from God!

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

We are never singled out for some special temptation. The same temptations can happen to all mankind.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

There is only one way to overcome temptation!

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Let’s watch the Devil do his dirty work.

*Luk 4:3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
Luk 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

The Devil knew exactly that Jesus was the Son of God, but if he could get Jesus to use His godly powers to sustain His human side, then Satan would win this battle.

Jesus had gone forty days without food in a fast that was intended to prepare Him to begin His ministry.

Jesus, the man, knew He needed all the help He could get from His Heavenly Father, and by fasting, He wanted His Father to know how much He would give up completing His ministry.

Remember the Lord Jesus came to die for us, but Satan was not aware of all the plan of God.

No doubt Jesus was hungry, and those river stones probably looked a whole lot like a baked loaf of bread.

Certainly, He had the power to make some food if He wanted to, but His forty-day fast and prayer had given Him much spiritual strength.

All the power that Jesus had at that time could not be used to sustain Himself.

He had to live as a man in order for God’s will to be done and He refused to go against the will of His Father.

He could only use those powers that He had to help mankind!

Mat 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Jesus had to be who He claimed to be, just as every Christian is to be who they claim to be.

Each Christian and his ministry is to follow in the ways of Jesus Christ.

1) If Jesus used His power upon Himself, then it could not be said that He trusted His Heavenly Father.
2) If Jesus used His power upon Himself, it would be like saying that man could use their own abilities upon themselves instead of helping a lost world to come to know their Savior.
3) If Jesus used His power upon Himself, He would be teaching that men could use their own abilities to build themselves up instead of honoring God for His power.

If you are a Christian, you already know that we could not survive in this world without our Heavenly Father supplying our Spiritual means.

Food alone is not enough to sustain us; we need the Word of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit.

We must clearly understand that we may be better off than those who are lost, but we are not better than anyone else in this world, nor should we see ourselves as better; our pride will get in the way of God’s work.

There is a Spiritual hunger that food cannot satisfy!

*Luk 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Luk 4:7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
Luk 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Satan does not give up easily, and we should understand this fact.

As we grow up in this wicked world, we are taught that we must have ambitions to succeed.

In the devil’s evil mind, he thought that Jesus, with His great power, would also have ambitions beyond those of His Father.

We must never believe that Satan does not have some powers, even though his powers are allowed to take place under the watchful eyes of God.

Satan never has control of this world, but the fact is, he can control every unbeliever because God allows it.

2Ti_2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

What were the ambitions of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Luk_19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Satan made a bold claim that he controlled the possessions and the glory of the world, which was a lie.

Satan may be the “prince of this world,” but every prince serves a King, and the Devil serves the Almighty God, Yahweh.

Dan 4:25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Satan is only the author of confusion.

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Satan offered this part of the world that he influenced over to Jesus if Jesus would fall on His knees and worship him.

1) Could Jesus compromise His standards and behavior?
2) Could Jesus compromise His loyalty and faithfulness to His Heavenly Father?
3) Could Jesus give up His ministry and His mission?

The Lord Jesus was quick to answer: Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Jesus could not follow the ways of worldliness and still be God!

We can have all the ambitions we want as long as they are in the Will of God for our lives.

God wants us to do the very best we can in everything we do, but not sin.

All sin is an abomination to our Heavenly Father!

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

*Luk 4:9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
Luk 4:10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
Luk 4:11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Luk 4:12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Again, we see that Satan is persistent, so we must be strong in the Lord.

We may not know what or where this pinnacle was located, but we do believe that the roof of Herod’s portico of the Temple, which overhung the ravine of the Kedron Valley, was six hundred or seven hundred feet high.

Surely this would have been the place that Satan would use, for no man could survive such a fall.

Jesus allowed Satan to take Him to this place because Satan had no intention of throwing Him off, but he wanted Jesus to jump off under His own power.

God had said that He would take care of His Son no matter what happened.

Psa 91:9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
Psa 91:10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Psa 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Psa 91:12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

This was not the will of God for the life of Jesus the man!

Satan tempted Jesus to die some other way than the cross.

Luk 9:21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;
Luk 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

We know that Satan did not know about the cross.

1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

If Satan had known, then those wicked men in Jerusalem would have known.

If you listen to this world, you will begin to believe that that are many ways to get to God’s House in Heaven, but reality is that there is only one way and that is God’s way.

God’s way is the way of the Cross!

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1Co_1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Heb_12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Again, the Lord Jesus was quick to answer, and He answered for all of us: It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

When God says there is only one way to get to Heaven, He means what He says, and He says what he means!

*Luk 4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
Luk 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
Luk 4:15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

Though Satan is much smarter than the sinner, he does not have a chance against the wisdom of God.

This is the major reason why we need the wisdom of God.

Satan did not have anything else with which to tempt the Lord Jesus at that time, but we see he would linger in the background until he thought he had something else.

Satan began working on the people of Jerusalem and those who represented the government of the Jews and the government of Rome. Those who did not have the power to resist him.

For us, the Church, we can see that Satan is a loser!

This man, Jesus, had defeated Satan and shows us that we can defeat Satan by making use of the Word of God.

It is God’s truths that defeat the Devil!

The Devil knows he is a loser, but he does not ever give up!

We must remember that Satan does not have to convince the sinner who already belongs to him.

Satan can spend the majority of his time trying to confuse God’s people, and he is good at it.

He has been doing it for two thousand years.

Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
Rom 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

When we have victory over temptation, we will be able to see our lives change, and we will be able to see that change in others.

What did the Lord Jesus tell the Church, and the Holy Spirit confirm? Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

*Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

The Lord Jesus was not a Nazarene because He took some oath. The Lord Jesus was a Nazarene because He was raised in Nazareth.

Those people in that synagogue would be very familiar with Jesus, who was raised by Joseph and Mary, who kept the Sabbath and the Laws.

At the age of thirty, Jesus was allowed to teach and this is the place and He began His ministry here at this place.

There is something in the Book of Isaiah that these other Jews needed to take to heart.

Here it is not the man Jesus who is speaking it is the Son of God who is speaking: Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Here again, we see the Triune God. We see the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus, and Yahweh, and it is here where the Lord Jesus first claims that He is the Messiah, sent from Yahweh.

*Luk 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

We should be able to understand that when the Lord Jesus read the Scriptures, it was far different from when others read.

The author of a book knows his intentions when he reads his own words.

The Lord Jesus treated those Scriptures with reverence, and is another example for us when we read those same Scriptures.

The Messiah was anointed by the Holy Spirit.
He was called by the Holy Spirit.
He was equipped by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit goes with God’s Messiah everywhere He goes.

This is the same job the Holy Spirit does with every child of God today.

1) The Lord Jesus came to preach the Gospel, the Good Tidings of Yahweh.
He would preach to those who were poor financially, but more importantly, to those who were poor in spirit.
He was to preach deliverance to those who were captives of the Devil.

2) The Lord Jesus came to minister. To help and heal the brokenhearted. Give sight to those who were blind spiritually and physically. The Lord Jesus came to make us free from this wicked and evil world.

3) The Lord came to preach the Day of Salvation!

The Lord Jesus read from Isaiah sixty, verses one and two, but He did not read from verse three because verse three dealt with judgment.

The Messiah will deal with “judgment” when He returns with His saints.

Luk_21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

When the Lord Jesus finished reading, He sat down, but He was not through.

*Luk 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

We may not realize it, but after the reading of the Scripture, the preacher would sit down to preach.

This is the way it was done in the Jewish synagogues.

All eyes were focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ as He sat down.

Jesus told them they were looking at the beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy of Isaiah.

This was to be the work of God’s Messiah.

It made them mad that He, the son of Joseph, could say such things, and they would have murdered Him if they had been able to do so.

Jesus left and came to Capernaum and spoke at the synagogue in that place for several Sabbaths.

Jesus also began to heal many of their sicknesses and ailments.

*Luk 4:38 And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her.
Luk 4:39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.

When we follow the life of Jesus Christ, we will see many miracles, and we should know there is a reason behind every miracle that He did.
,
For instance, the Lord Jesus could have healed everyone who lived during His life here on earth, but Jesus chose to heal certain ones, and He had a reason for each one.

Some say Jesus cured or healed the neediest.

The Lord Jesus had just left the synagogue in Capernaum and went to the home of Simon Peter.

Peter was a married man, and his mother-in-law was ill.

Notice she had a great fever.

Even today, the marshes associated with the River Jordan are the most fever-stricken regions of Israel.

In most cases, it was malaria carried by the mosquito.

It could cause jaundice in those who frequently have repeated attacks of this fever.

Typhoid was also common in this region.

This mother-in-law was critically ill and would probably not have lived through the fever at this time.
She was helpless and could not even speak.
She was so weak, she could not get out of bed.

I do not know how many of you have been this sick, but I have during cancer treatments and chemo. It’s terrible to think you might be gone by the next day but it is wondeful to know that if you do die you will wake up in Heaven.

The Lord Jesus just spoke the Word, and her fever was gone.

All the Lord has to do is speak the Word, He does not have to be present for the healing to take place.

Joh 4:52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

Next, we see that whoever was in the home at that time compelled the Lord Jesus to heal her as He had those at the synagogue.

We can see that no matter what the Lord Jesus was doing as He began His ministry, it was always okay to take our needs to Him.

He is never too busy to deal with God’s children.

If and when you go through these days, you will find that the Lord Jesus is your only hope!

Also, notice that fever obeys the Lord just as if it were a person.

The power of this miracle is shown as this lady immediately rises, completely healed, and begins to minister to those in Peter’s home.

As many had witnessed this miracle, they left to bring back all those who were sick in that city.

*Luk 4:40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.

The Lord Jesus had been busy this day as His ministry began, but He never said no, “I’m too tired to do more”.

The Lord never gets tired of showing us His Grace!

2Co_9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

No matter when we call upon the Lord today, He is always willing and ready to help us.

Notice it did not matter what disease was presented to the Lord Jesus; He had the power to heal.
No matter what misery was brought to the Lord, He was able to remove that misery.

We see where those who were helpless had been brought to Jesus; they were so helpless.

No matter how helpless we are, we can always reach out to the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus did not overlook any illness or infirmity.

Jesus spoke to some illnesses, and some He just touched them, but they were all healed.

Some of those who were brought to the Lord Jesus had their bad health caused by the Devil.

*Luk 4:41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.

Notice that those demons knew exactly that Jesus was the Son of God.

Notice also that the Lord Jesus does not want any testimony from demons.

The Lord Jesus does not want His name associated with false preachers!

Demons were a deity and spirits. They were superhuman, but they were not supernatural!

Psa 106:37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,

Deu 32:17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

Some people believe that demons are the spirits of dead evil people, but this is proven to be false by Scripture.

Remember that rich and evil rich man and Lazarus? Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Some people believe these demons are the remnants of those wicked people who rejected the preaching of Noah.

This theory comes from those who believe in the Gap Theory. They believe there is a great gap of time between Genesis Chapter 1, verse 1 and verse 2.

We know that God did not make man until verse 26, and besides this, we have Scripture that says sin entered because of Adam.

Rom 5:12 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:

Some people believe that these demons were the offspring of angels and women from the verse in Gen 6:2, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

That these giants became the demons that hound us today.

The majority of Christians believe that these demons are a remnant of fallen angels whom God has left unconfined.

Many of these demons followed Lucifer, and God allowed some to roam free.

Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

We know that at least most of those angels that followed Lucifer, God has already bound: 2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

Another group is confined in a more secure pit: Jud 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Even some of these will be released during the Tribulation Period: Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Demons are called spirits because they have no bodies: Mat 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

Demons are not omnipresent but exist locally and cannot go very far from where they are located: Act 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

Demons are intelligent, but they do not know all things; they do know who the Lord Jesus Christ is: Mar 1:24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

Demons will lead you away from Christ if you listen to them: 1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Demons have some power. Mark 5:3-4
Demons can inflict disease. Luke 13:11
Demons can influence the mind. 2 Cor 4:4
Demons will deceive you. 1 Thess 3:5
Demons can possess you. Throughout the Gospels

Demons can deceive nations: Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

After praying alone, seeking the presence of God, Jesus became a traveling evangelist.

Jesus prayed often alone during His ministry, another great example for us!

*Luk 4:42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.
Luk 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
Luk 4:44 And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.

We need some time alone with God!

Jesus had been preaching and healing for at least twenty-four hours, and He was exhausted.

Many desperate and helpless people were trying to find Him, and it is the same today.

Many desperate people are seeking something that they do not know, and it is our job to tell them where to find it.

It is in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

We will need to stay in touch with God and seek His help.

After all, it is His plan, and we are to become a part of His plan.

We cannot save anyone, but we can lead them to the One who can.

The Lord Jesus was determined to complete His mission, and He had very little time to do it.

He already had a date with a cross on Mount Calvary.

Isa 50:5 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
Isa 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
Isa 50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

Amen

The Message of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus

December 22, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Message of John the Baptist and Jesus’ Baptism

Book of Luke Chapter 3

In Chapter 2, we can read about the Lord Jesus as a twelve-year-old, but just a few verses later, we find our Savior at thirty years old.

The rule of the nation of Israel and the Head of the priests is in the hands of people who do not care about Yahweh and will reject His Messiah.

Pontius Pilate has been placed in Jerusalem to rule over God’s land.

Herod, a descendant of Esau, has been placed as King of Israel, and we know that the descendants of Esau have always been haters of God’s people.

Oba 1:6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!

Oba 1:10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

There are two High Priests, but there is no time when God said there should be two High Priests.

Joh 18:13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.

At the end of this book, we will see how these political and religious leaders conspired to bring the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross that Jesus came to die on.

The first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah, was and still is the pivotal point in the history of our world!

The earth that rejects our Divine God got a chance to see Him and what He stands for.

The impact that the Lord Jesus made upon this world can never be overstated.

John the Baptist paves the way.

*****Luk 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

Luk 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

Luk 3:3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

Luk 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Luk 3:5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

Luk 3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Luke gives us an accurate picture of history in the early days of John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is showing us just how corrupt the government and the religious circles were on that day.

The false High Priest, Annas, had been removed from office by the then Roman procurator, Valerius Gratus, but he continued to hold power over the High Priest office, with Caiaphas being his stepson.

Rome wanted control over the religion of the Jews, and this was their way of doing this.

This is the same thing China, and some other nations, keep control over some churches that teach Christianity.

God had commanded that all High Priests were to be in the line of Aaron.

God’s call to John the Baptist came while he was in the wilderness, which was a sparsely populated area.

God found John in a most obscure place.

God always knows where we are and what we are doing.

The Word of God can reach any place at any time because the Holy Spirit goes where He pleases.

Today, the Holy Spirit is the most powerful Deity on the face of this earth, and we know that He will not always strive with man or mankind.

The call of God is a personal matter, and this is the way God continues to work.

He loves personal relationships with each of us.

This Jordan is not the nation Jordan that we know of today, but the River Jordan where John could find a place to baptize those who repented.

We will notice that John would not baptize those who would not repent of their sins.

The Church has been lax in this regard.

The Lord Jesus Christ said: Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

In other words, the Lord Jesus states that there are no exceptions to this command.

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

The work of John the Baptist was in fulfillment of prophecy.

Isa 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God

Isa 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Notice John does not call them back to the Laws of Moses; John calls them to repent of their sin.

We must repent of our sin and our old life before we can be members of God’s family!

They had to recognize that they were sinners just as we do today.

John was called to serve God rather than to serve religion!

Religion will send you to Hell. Only Christianity can get you to Heaven.

John, as a descendant of his father Zacharias, was to train for five years and then serve

at the Temple when his time came, but God had other plans for John.

If our ministry does not align with God’s plans, then we are in the wrong ministry.

What is repentance?

Repentance means that if anyone wished to be forgiven of their sins, they would turn from their sins and change their lives; then and only then could they be baptized.

It should be obvious that we cannot do this without the Holy Spirit, but it must be our goal.

Baptism was a sign to their neighbors and the world that they were changing their lives because they wanted God’s forgiveness.

As Christians, we follow in baptism because we follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Act 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent:

Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

There would be no animal sacrifice; there would only be a living sacrifice.

Rom_12:1 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.

John’s baptism was a sign that a man wanted forgiveness it was not the means of forgiveness.

Baptism does not wash away sins!

It would be that changed life that would determine if these things came from the heart, just as it is today.

Forgiveness of sins is conditional upon that repentance and that changed life.

A person who truly repents will turn away from sin and turn to God!

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, 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.

The Holy Ghost(Holy Spirit) will not move into a dirty house!

Act 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;

Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

It was John’s job to prepare the world for the coming of the Lord, and He would come first to the Jews because this was His promise, even though He knew they would reject Him and would then go to the Gentiles.

Amo 4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Amo 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

The Jews will not reject the Lord Jesus a second time!

*****Luk 3:7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

We had better be aware that the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not for entertainment.

That sad fact is that John the Baptist would not be allowed to preach in many churches today because he preached the truth, and neither would the Lord Jesus Christ for the same reason.

John preached the coming “judgment” of God. People do not want to hear about the judgment of God!

So many today concentrate upon the love of God, which is very great, but they reject the judgment of God on the unbeliever, and they are wrong.

No matter what different preachers preach, there will be a day of God’s wrath!

I admitted to God that I was a terrible sinner because I was!

In fact, I am still a sinner only saved by the “Grace” of God, and He is still working on me.

A viper is the great enemy of souls!

Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

A sinner is anyone who has voluntarily violated the divine law; a moral agent who has voluntarily disobeyed any divine precept, or neglected any known duty.

All sinners are devoted to sin.

1Ti 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.

1Ti 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

The wrath of God is not coming to those who fall in love with Jesus Christ and believe in Him.

The wrath of God is coming upon those who reject any part of the Word of God!

The only unforgivable sin is rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Eph 5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

To follow the truth of God is noticeable in those who do!

*****Luk 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

The proof of a saved soul is repentance!

Valuable fruits of repentance are speaking truth and doing things that are according to the will of God. Such fruits come from the new life that a person receives when he repents.

The concept of having Abraham as their father made the Jews feel safe because their pride would not allow them to believe that any child of Abraham should ever be lost.

That same pride said that any single Jew was of more value than all the people in all the nations of the world.

The Talmud stated that God made the world for the sake of the Jews, which is not true, and the Bible never says such things as these.

The Lord Jesus put an end to this nonsense: Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What is the truth? Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

It’s called faith! Faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that has been done to save us.

Rom_4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Rom_4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Gal_3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

To disagree with the Lord Jesus Christ is to bring the judgment of God upon yourself!

*****Luk 3:9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

God is the Divine Woodsman who cuts down trees, and He has laid His axe at the roots of the trees!

This is God’s warning to us all!

To be honest, we cannot produce good fruit in our lives without faith in the Gospel and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

For these Jews, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple was less than a generation away.

*****Luk 3:10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

Luk 3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

Luk 3:12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

Luk 3:13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

Luk 3:14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

When “judgment” is preached without prejudice, people begin to understand what God is saying.

To the first group, John answered that we are to share our blessings with others.

To the second group, John answered that we should not rob others to enrich ourselves.

To the entire group, John answered that we share our prosperity with those who have nothing.

The fruit of salvation goes much deeper than these practical things. John gave these people a good idea of where to start.

We can see the reality of removing hate and increasing love.

How can we tell we are in the last days?

2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Along with all these things, we see there is no natural affection for our neighbors.

The one thing that drives our politicians today is hatred. They hate each other with passion; it drives them to make laws that each other hate instead of doing the job they went to Washington to do.

They are a pathetic bunch, for certain.

A question has come up about our military following illegal orders.

We should understand that God does not condemn any soldier for doing his duty.

A soldier who goes above his duty and simply becomes a murderer will be condemned by God, but even these can be forgiven.

When John says to do no violence to any man, this is what he is saying.

We follow orders, but indiscriminate killing, especially of the innocent, should not take place.

All terrorists are murderers!

God demands a changed life!

When we are filled with the fruit of the Spirit, it will be noticeable to those we are around.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The Messiah would be mighty.

The Messiah would be more worthy than any man.

The Messiah would use the Holy Ghost.

The baptism of John the Baptist was a full-immersion baptism and not a sprinkling.

John’s baptism was with water, but the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ would be with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

This fire would be unquenchable!

John preached the truth of the Scriptures, but also as a Prophet, he preached the words God told him to preach.

John the Baptist preached the same no matter who was in the audience.

*****Luk 3:19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

Luk 3:20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

When God gives His preacher a message to preach, it is to be preached as instructed, not watered down, not distorted, nor twisted.

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

Herod was as much a sinner as we all are!

A corrupt and sinful life will always bring the wrath of God.

I hope our politicians, those who claim the Lord Jesus Christ, do not forget this, and those who do not know Him will certainly see that wrath aimed at them in the near future.

It has to be hard to be a Christian in Washington, but it is not impossible, and they must know they are there because it is the will of God, and they are there to hold back evil and corruption in our nation.

I do not believe that Herod would have killed John, but Herod had an evil wife.

Mar 6:17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her.

Mar 6:18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.

Mar 6:19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:

Mar 6:20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

When John preached, he told it like it was.

When sin is relevant in our rulers, it makes it easier for the entire nation to be in sin.

Corruption in our leadership just causes corruption throughout our nation, as we have seen and are still seeing.

Herod the Great was living in sin, the sin of adultery; he was, as we know, also a murderer, and those soldiers who murdered those children were also murderers because that was a command that they should have refused.

When our military stops the drug trade, they are not murderers or killers because those who spread the drugs are the killers, and our politicians need to be with our President and our military.

What is the truth? We will never truly prosper in sin! 2Ch 24:20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.

The judgment of God is coming to this wicked world!

Jud 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Jud 1:15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Jud 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

*****Luk 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

Baptism is an act of obedience to God.

If the Lord Jesus Christ is obedient to His Heavenly Father, who are we to think we can be disobedient?

We know that our Lord Jesus had no sin, so we must know that Baptism is not for the removal of sin; it is being obedient to our Heavenly Father.

We had better know that every time Heaven opens up, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the object of admiration of Heaven.

Joh 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

What did Stephen see? Act 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

Act 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

The one thing that sets these people apart from all others is the fact that they heard the message of John the Baptist, and they responded.

God wants this whole world to hear His message so that everyone in the world will get a chance to respond to the truth of God.

What did the Lord Jesus do differently from the others who were baptized?

1) He demonstrated that He, the Son of God, was fulfilling all righteousness.

Mat 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

Mat 3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

Mat 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

2) He was demonstrating His humiliation, that He was a man, fully man.

Jesus was required by our Heavenly Father to live obediently, just as all men are to live obediently to the Word of God.

The Lord Jesus had to live a sinless life to accept all our sins on His body.

Jesus became the Som of Man. Mat 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Birds and foxes are cunning and wicked, but God still cares for them; however, His Son does not have a home on this earth because His home is in Heaven. It is the same for every Christian.

It is God’s will for every human to hear the Gospel, and they all respond positively to it!

1Ti_2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

No man is above any other man in the eyes of God. If God expected His Son to be obedient to all the Word of God, then how can we say God will understand if we keep that secret sin or any other sin?

This is why the Lord Jesus was baptized!

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, 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.

We must all repent and be baptized!

The Lord Jesus also obeyed God in prayer.

As He was being baptized, His mind and His thoughts were upon His Heavenly Father.

This is another thing that gets our prayers into the throne room of God.

Baptism is the most significant act of discipleship and must be followed by a changed life.

This is where many churches fail today. There is no change in life.

God will not waste His “Grace” on those who will not change their lives!

Prayer is something we must all do!

Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

*****Luk 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

God is pleased with us when we are obedient and following the steps that Jesus took to be obedient; we are on the right path to the Glory World.

1) When the Heavens opened up it showed us that God was approving the ministry of Jesus to begin, and it began that day.

2) When the Heavens opened up it showed John that prophecy was fulfilled, and the Lord Jesus is truly the Lamb of God.

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

The Lord Jesus would soon give His life for us: Gal 2:20 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.

The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the bodily shape of a dove.

We now get to see the Triune God.

God the Father speaking from Heaven, saying This is My Son.

The Holy Spirit(Ghost) descended from Heaven in the shape of a dove.

The Son of God receives the blessing of God.

Mar 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

Mar 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

Mar 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

When we love the Lord, God will do things that tell us He is much more than just real.

Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

We begin to understand just how wonderful Heaven is going to be.

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

*****Luk 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

The Lord Jesus was about thirty years old in His body when He began His public service.

If He had tried to begin at an earlier age, no one would have paid much attention to Him.

Num 4:23 From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

He is an heir to King David.

He is an heir to Abraham.

He is an heir to Adam.

He is the Godly Heir. He became the Messianic Prophet of God.

Amen

His name is Wonderful!

The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ

December 22, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Virgin Birth of Jesus

Book of Luke Chapter 2

We should understand that the word virgin means exactly what it says.

The Lord Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, just as prophecy intended.

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

There is no better way to describe this birth than to say a Virgin Birth.

Mat 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Mary was a virgin before the birth of Jesus Christ, and Mary was a virgin after she gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many Christians today say Mary died as a virgin, but I trust the Scriptures.

Mrk_6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

I believe these are the sons and daughters of Joseph and half-brothers and half-sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We should also understand that the Jewish priests all had to marry virgins, and the Lord Jesus can only accept the Church as the Bride of Christ if it is without spot and without blemish.

The Lord Jesus Christ is right now our perfect High Priest!

This is the reason He died in our place so that the Church to be not just forgiven but “justified”.

Just as if no sin had taken place.

Rom_5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Chapter 2 Verse 1

*Luk 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

Prophecy had said the Messiah of God would be born in Bethlehem.

Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Bethlehem means the “house of bread”.
Ephrathah means “fertile”.

Our Messiah is the true food of His people.

Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Seven hundred years before the birth of the Messiah, the prophet Micah said it would take place.

Mary lived in Nazareth with her family, and she was now heavy with child.

We ask ourselves, does God have powers that we do not understand? It’s called the providence of God.

God had given His message of the virgin birth through one of the most powerful angels that stood before Him, Gabriel.

God, in His own power, caused the virgin birth through the power of the Holy Spirit, the greatest power upon this earth today.

God used the most powerful man in the world at that time, Caesar, to get the Virgin Mary to Bethlehem before the Lord Jesus Christ was born somewhere else, making the Word of God have errors.

There are no errors in the prophecies, and there are no errors in the Word of God!

At this time, Caesar Augustus reigned in Israel because there was no throne of God upon this earth.

God uses all the rulers of all nations to fulfill His own plan for this world.

Pro 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Joseph also has to go to Bethlehem because King David was from Bethlehem.

Mary did not have to go to Bethlehem, but she was also a descendant of David through his son Nathan.

*Luk 2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
Luk 2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

When Cyrenius was governor of Syria, Publius Sulpicius Quirinus governed the province of Syria, in which Judea was then included.

Cyrenius was second in command, but he would still be referred to as governor, so this is not a mistake of Scripture as some claim.

The one thing we know for sure is that the fullness of time that Jehovah had determined had come.

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Daniel wrote: Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

So, these things took place just as God had said they would, and the priests of Israel should have recognized the hand of God in these things.

The High Priest had for many years been chosen by Rome and was not a descendant of Aaron, and they were more interested in their pocketbooks than the Word of God.

*Luk 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
Luk 2:5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
Luk 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

Bethlehem Ephratah was only six miles from Jerusalem, and it is the same place that provided the sheep for the sacrifices at the Temple.

Rachel had died giving birth to Benjamin there.
The story of Ruth takes place there.
The early years of the life of David were there.

Today it is called Beit Lahm, which means “house of flesh”.

Today, those men in this place wear the green turban, which shows them to be the undisputed descendants of Mohammed.

Much of Judah at this time showed signs of war, but the world of that day of Augustus was, for the most part, at peace under this cruel ruler who sat on the throne in Rome.

In verse five, we see that Mary is still espoused to Joseph because they had not consummated their marriage, and they would not until after the birth of Jesus Christ.

An espousal was considered sacred, though that marriage had not been consummated.

We could say that the Church is espoused to the Lord Jesus Christ, waiting on Him to come get His Bride and take us home to show His Father His wife.

*Luk 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The way the family of Jesus was treated in Bethlehem was a prophecy of the way the world has treated Jesus Christ ever since.

Many disagree, but we see here that the Holy Spirit confirms that Jesus was considered the firstborn of the Virgin Mary.

If there is a first, then there must be a second.

The Lord Jesus was not born in pleasant surroundings. We all know the smell of stables.

He was turned away by people from the very beginning, as He is today.

If the world had cared, a room would have been provided for this young mother.

This mother had only herself to bring for this birth, as she herself wrapped this child Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger.

The Lord Jesus was born into a corrupt world under the rule of a Roman dictator, with Herod the false king of Judea.

None of these things stopped Shiloh from coming.

Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

It is the simplicity of Luke’s Gospel that is a mark of truthfulness.

We know the Holy Spirit does not allow error in the Word of God.

Much of the world missed the first coming of Jesus the Messiah, and most of the world will miss the Second Coming of the Messiah.

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

*Luk 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luk 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luk 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luk 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

We could probably say that no one has actually seen a real angel, yet these same shepherds got to see a real angel; in fact, they got to see a Heavenly Host of angels.

In the time of Christ Jesus, shepherds were seen as the lowest class of people in Judea.

People just did not see shepherds praising and glorifying God.

Shepherds just had a bad reputation, and they were snubbed by the religious groups.

Religious groups have not changed since that time, and they still snub the True Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus said Jhn_10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

The Lord Jesus said Jhn 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Because of their work, shepherds could not attend the services at the Temple, and they were looked down upon for this.

All people, but religious people, know that tending animals is a seven-day-a-week job.

They could not keep the ceremonial laws of washing and cleansing, so they were despised.

We can see that the Almighty God does not think much of religion, so He gave His first message of salvation to these lowly shepherds that everyone else considered to be dirty, rotten sinners.

I was a dirty rotten sinner myself.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God!

What had Abraham said to Isaac? Gen_22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:

John the Baptist, the forerunner for Christ, said: Jhn_1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Again, John 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

John the Apostle wrote: Rev_7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Again, Rev_19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

One more: Rev_22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

Praise God for His precious Lamb that took away our sin.

The shekinah glory of God, which symbolized the Divine Presence of God, had not been seen in over four hundred years.

Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Hab 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

The angel’s message was a message of reassurance and “Good News”.

The Messiah was now among His people; it was time to go visit Him.

The Jews required a sign, so the sign was that they would find Him lying in a manger, the feeding place.

Angels make a great impression, so these shepherds now had the fear of the Lord.

The bright light was the Shekinah glory of God and did not come from the angels.

The Messiah had come for all people and not just the Jews.

When the Messiah returns in the clouds, He comes for His own people. All those who have accepted His Messiah.

Rom_9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

The Messiah came as our Savior, not our judge nor a politician.

The Messiah came for miserable sinners.

A wise man once said that the only thing we have to offer when we meet our Savior is a “dirty rotten sinner”.

This Savior, the Lamb of God, is the Lord Jesus Christ!

He is the Anointed One of God and Lord of all creation!

He is Yahweh, the God of the Covenant.

On His first night, the Messiah could be found in the “City of David” because He is also the promised Son of David.

Israel was expecting a Messiah who is a Mighty Warrior, dressed wonderfully and sitting upon a throne, but that Messiah has not yet returned; but He will.

They would only see a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes who was so poor that He was born in a stable because He had come as a lowly shepherd and not as King.

*Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Suddenly, this angel of the Lord was not alone; there was an army of angels with him.

There are many angels, and all of Heaven could have come down to glorify the God of Heaven.

Rev_5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
There are just too many to count!

Angels do not really understand the salvation plan of God, but they do know who their Creator is.

These shepherds got to see a little bit of Heaven and Heaven’s power.

They cried out for the glory of the Highest possible Being they knew.
They cried out for the One they know that dwells in the Highest Heaven.
They cried out for peace on earth.
They cried out for the goodwill of all mankind.
They cried out for all mankind to be reconciled to God.
They cried out for the sin problem on earth to be solved.

Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

*Luk 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
Luk 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Luk 2:17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Luk 2:18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

All these things had excited these shepherds so much that they left their flocks and went with haste to Bethlehem.

If the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ does not get us excited, then we are missing out on the greatest event that happened on this earth.

These simple shepherds felt that the time to act upon that information was right now.

Once we realize we have a Savior, we need to act upon that information immediately!

Once they knew what the angels had said was true, they too began to tell the world about God’s Messiah.

They had believed those angels, but they would not be believed.

No one yet knew that God was coming down to earth to live within His people.

Nothing is said about Mary and Joseph except that they were there.

To these shepherds, it was all about that babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.

When these shepherds told others about all the things the angels had said, it did not stir the people because they were still looking for a mighty king.

To them, it would be too shameful for the Messiah to be born in a nasty stable.

They had no faith in the truth of God!

Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus, would keep all these things inside her.

This is the sweet view of “Grace”, which is silent and waiting upon the Lord.

The perfect gift from our Holy God!

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Amen

The Birth of John the Baptist

December 8, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Birth of John the Baptist

Book of Luke Chapter 1 Verses 57 through 80

Elisabeth’s pregnancy goes full term without complications, naturally.

John’s life began to develop in his mother’s womb, just as all babies do.

Elisabeth already knew that she would have a son because the angel Gabriel had said that God had decided.

God had decided the name for this son would be John and not Zacharias or another name from the family of Zacharias.

The birth of John the Baptist brought great joy to this family because they had recognized that the birth of John was due to the mercy of God.

The birth of John the Baptist was a significant event for every generation, including today.

*Luk 1:57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
Luk 1:58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

Elisabeth had forgotten her baroness because it had been replaced with joy.

We too can have joy because we live in a time when the Lord Jesus Christ could return in the clouds at any moment.

The Lord Jesus Christ said His return could be somewhat compared to the birth of a child.

Joh 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Joh 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

Because the birth of John was a miraculous birth, many people wondered what manner of child he would be.

Elisabeth had forgotten all those years she could not have a child.

She was ready to give her love to this child of God.

Her friends and family had come by to rejoice with her.

The birth of John the Baptist was proof again that God will do what He says He will do.

The birth of John was of God’s power over nature.

The birth of John was evidence that God is the God of life.

Nothing is impossible for God.

Luk 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Psa 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Prophecy was fulfilled.

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

The Lord Jesus said that John was the fulfillment of these prophecies: Mat 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

The birth of every child is an awesome miracle of life.

The birth of John showed us a merciful God who so loves us.

The birth of John the Baptist is not much different from our own birth.

It is our job to prepare those we meet to meet the Lord Jesus Christ.

John was used in God’s plan of salvation, and we have the same job on a smaller scale than John had.

God allowed John the privilege of being the forerunner for the Messiah.

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

All of the family and friends of Elisabeth rejoiced with her.

The mercy of God was not just for Elisabeth but was for the entire world!

God always does exactly what He says He will do!

*Luk 1:59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
Luk 1:60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
Luk 1:61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
Luk 1:62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
Luk 1:63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

It was on the day of circumcision, the eighth day after the birth, when a Jewish child was named, and most names came in relation to the father and the father’s family.

John was named by God Himself, and some of these friends of Elisabeth were confused.

We should know that it is on the eighth day that the blood of a newborn will clot to stop the bleeding, naturally.

This is why God chose the eighth day.

Lev_12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham.

Gen 17:9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
Gen 17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

We should also understand that circumcision is also a type of Christ.

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Those friends and family of Elisabeth and Zacharias could not grasp that something new was at hand, a New Covenant.

John was circumcised as a sign of the New Covenant that God was about to make for His people.

Most of the Jews have not accepted the New Covenant even today, but they will while going through the tribulation period of seven years.

Rom_11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

The Jews did not stumble to be rejected but once they stumbled, God offered His “grace” to the Gentile world with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy.

The fact that this son was named John is enough proof that this whole event was true!

Zacharias confirmed it by naming the child John.

Immediately, the chastening of Zacharias ended, and his voice returned to him.

*Luk 1:64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
Luk 1:65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
Luk 1:66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias knows that John will be his only son, but he does not give him his own name, which was tradition.

By doing so, he renounces his rights to John and acknowledges that he is giving him to God.

He originated from God; he therefore belonged to God!

Zacharias had a baby dedication by dedicating him to God.

Unbelief had closed the mouth of Zacharias, but faith had made him free!

Jhn_8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Zacharias had not spoken in nine months, but the first words he had were to praise God.

All those who were there did not understand what was going on.

They could not explain it, nor could they deny it.

They could not understand because they had no faith.

The one thing they knew was that John was something special because they could tell the hand of the Lord was involved in these things.

They went about all Judaea telling them what had happened on that day of John’s circumcision.

They would not forget what they had seen and heard but kept them in their hearts.

After our salvation, we should be praising God continuously.
We should be amazed that the Lord would do such a thing as die for our sins.
We should be spreading this “Good News” everywhere we go.
We should see that our destiny lies in the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Psa 111:9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.
Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Psa 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

*Luk 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

There is one thing we know for sure, and it is that God will never go against His own words.

God will never break a covenant that He has with us as a group or that He has made with us individually.

No sooner than when his tongue was loosed, Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Once Zacharias obeyed God, God removed His chastisement from him, and he was healed of his dumbness, and he could speak again.

1) Zacharias was forgiven for his sin of unbelief.

We must be aware that every time we question the Word of God, we are committing the sin of doubt, doubting God, doubting our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, it is by faith we are saved!

2) Zacharias being filled with the Holy Spirit is a great picture of what happens to every child of God who accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.

We believe and obey God, then and only then, are we filled with God the Holy Spirit.

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, 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.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

*Luk 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
Luk 1:69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
Luk 1:70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
Luk 1:71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
Luk 1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
Luk 1:73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
Luk 1:74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
Luk 1:75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

The birth of John is the reason for this song of prophecy by Zacharias, but this song is about the yet unborn Jesus Christ.

This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit at work.

The Holy Spirit will always, ALWAYS, lead us to the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is this same God of Israel who is God the Father of Christianity!

Just as Jehovah will stand up for Israel as He has done many times already, He is now standing up for Christians throughout this world.

Notice an important thing here: Zacharias is speaking as if these events are already fulfilled, while they are still in the future.

Why, because God’s promises are guaranteed. God will do just as He says He will do!

It is God Himself who visited this earth in the person of the Messiah.

God will not neglect this earth until He has taken all His children to our new home on the New Earth.

Why has the Messiah come first?

1) He came to redeem His children.
2) He came to rescue His children from sin
3) He came to save His children.

Though it is wonderful for those who have faith and accept the Gospel, God paid a tremendous price.

He paid a life for a life!

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Just as promised, the Messiah would come from the House of David.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

That word “horn” is always a symbol of strength, power, and might.

The Lord Jesus, the “Horn,” is the Mighty One of salvation because He alone possessed the might, the strength, and the power to save.

We should also add that He is willing.

These are acts of “mercy and grace”.

These acts prove that God remembers His covenants.

Every prophet of the Old Testament is proven to have told the truth, and they were murdered just because they spoke the truth of God, just as many are murdered today just because we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God is working on His plan for this world at all times; He never rests from looking out for His children.

Jesus is the same Messiah named in the Book of Genesis.

Gen 3:15 And 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.

The world may have driven a nail through the feet of Jesus, but He still walks through the lives of Christians, and He will walk again upon this earth.

Satan will not overcome that blow to His head.

God will remember the promises made to Abraham.

Gen 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
Gen 26:4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

We may think there is turmoil in and around Israel now, but things are going to get worse until the Lord sits upon the throne of David.

God saves us so that we might serve Him and fulfill the purpose He has for each of us upon this earth.
God saves us so that we can live righteously and serve Him forever.

We can be at peace knowing that we do not have to fear what the world can do to us because the worst thing the world can do to us is the best thing that can happen to us.

We must have a clear understanding that we do not need to fear our enemies; we have been saved from them!
We will stand one day in the presence of our Holy God in a new world designed especially for us.

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Now back to John the Baptist.

*Luk 1:76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
Luk 1:77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
Luk 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
Luk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luk 1:80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

John would be a prophet of God.

There had been no prophets for four hundred years, and John would be the first prophet since the prophet Malachi.

Here in this same verse, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Highest.

Jhn_10:30 I and my Father are one.

Highest means the Supreme God, just so no one gets confused.

John was to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the “Dayspring from on high”. The morning light, the rising sun.

The Messiah, Our Lord Jesus, was sent to give light to those who had been in darkness.
The Messiah was sent to those who are in the shadow of death.
The Messiah was sent to guide our feet through this sinful world.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

The only place in Scripture we see anything about the childhood of John the Baptist is in verse eighty.

He was a boy with a strong heart and commitment.
He had a strong will and decisiveness.
He was strong in his convictions.
He was a servant of the Most High God!

He was committed to follow, obey, and serve God.

He separated himself from the world until it was time for him to preach.

John stayed in the desert till the day of his showing.

John is not told to form a political party.
John is not told to make known God’s thoughts to His people.
John is not taught all the fighting methods of his day.
John is not told to form an army.
John is told to trust the Lord!

Our one greatest test is, “do we have faith in the truth of God”?

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Amen

An Angel Foretold of John the Baptist

December 1, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Book of Luke Chapter 1 Verses 4 through 25

An Angel Foretold John’s Birth

Who was Luke, who wrote the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts?

Luke was a physician, maybe the most educated of all the writers of the Scriptures.

Luke was a Gentile, the only Gentile writer of the Scriptures.

He was familiar with the Greek and Roman world and the Gospels.

No doubt he was very familiar with the Apostle Paul.

He stresses the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the person of Christ, and the ministry to the Gentiles.

Luke is seen with Paul at Troas, a city in Asia Minor.

Luke went to Jerusalem with Paul when Paul was arrested.

Luke was with Paul when he was a prisoner in Caesarea.

Luke was with Paul when Paul was imprisoned in Rome.

Paul called Luke the beloved physician: Col 4:14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Paul called Luke a fellow worker in the spreading of the Gospel: Phm 1:24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

Luke was the last one to remain with Paul in his imprisonment.

The writing of the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts was probably in the first century 58-62 AD, because Luke did not mention the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and he would have.

Who was this Theophilus? Some believe he was a Gentile convert to Christianity and possibly a high official in the Roman government.

This is suggested by the use of the words “most excellent”.

Because that name, Theophilus, means “Lover of God”.

We should know that there were many early attempts to narrate the life of Jesus Christ, but the four Gospels give us all that we need to know and preserve everything that was accurate and essential when those others did not.

We know that the Gospels were led by the Holy Spirit, and only the books that were guided by and approved by the Holy Spirit make up the canon of the Bible we have today.

Luke gives us an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus Christ. Luke was not an eyewitness, but he chose to get his information from those who were eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Luke is the Gospel of salvation. Luke uses the words salvation and Savior many more times than the other Gospels.

The Book of Luke gives us an orderly view of the whole life of Jesus Christ.

Luke’s Gospel is a record of historical events that are being verified every day!

We will begin in verse 4

*Luk 1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

It may be that the purpose of the Book of Luke is to look at the Lord Jesus Christ as Man, the Son of Man.

Joh 19:5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

Pilate realized that “here stands the Man of God, who has fallen into the hands of mere men and our Lord Jesus came willingly.

The intent of Luke was to establish the truth of Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah.

As Christians we must know that Christianity is based upon the truth of the Almighty God!

The Gospel is more about God’s creating power than His deliverance.

Believers are “Born Again” a new creation of God!

Tit_3:5 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;

Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

To become a Christian is to be accepted by the only true God, our Creator.

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

The greatest feeling we can have as believers is to know we have been accepted by our Creator and chosen to join Him in Heaven in His house.

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Let us look at the birth of John the Baptist.

*Luk 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
Luk 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

The parents of John the Baptist were righteous parents; they were godly parents.

This is the foundation that every child should have.

This family was childless because Elisabeth was barren.

So, John the Baptist was a promised child.

The name Zacharias means “Remembered of Jehovah”.

That phrase “the course of Abia” has a meaning.

There were 24 groups assigned to the Temple, of all the descendants of Aaron, and Zacharias was in the eighth group.

Each group served in the Temple for one week twice every year.

John’s mother was Elisabeth, and her name means “One whose oath is to God”.

Elisabeth was the daughter of a priest.

She was a pure woman, a virgin at her marriage.

All priests were required to marry a virgin.

The Bride of Christ must be considered the virgin wife (without sin) of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ

Like everyone who has ever lived, they had human problems in their lives.

They were committed to each other, and they were committed to Jehovah.

They spent their lives doing the things that pleased God.

They obeyed the commandments.
They obeyed the ordinances.
They were blameless.

These things do not mean they were perfect.

None of us can be perfect until we reach Heaven’s gates.

They were faithful and living in such a way that no one could charge them with open sin.

This should be the same for Christians of today.

They had now become elderly.

John was promised to these godly parents right at the end of the reign of Herod the Great.

This Herod also reigned at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and died during the time that Joseph had taken the Lord Jesus to Egypt to keep Him safe, though Herod could never have harmed Him.

It was the providence of God.

We know that Herod murdered every child in Bethlehem up to the age of two years old.

Herod the Great was a wicked man.

*Luk 1:7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

We should remember that God had promised His Messiah since the time of Moses.

Deu 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

The Messiah would have a Jewish mother.

Elisabeth had spent her entire life knowing that she could never be the mother of the Messiah because she was barren.

This was the wish of every Jewish mother.
Some even considered baroness as a punishment for sin.

1Sa 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

She felt she was disfavored and displeasing to God.

God was about to change things for Elisabeth.

*Luk 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
Luk 1:9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

For Zacharias, burning incense in the Temple was a great honor.

A priest would probably only get one chance for this duty their whole lifetime.

This duty was chosen by lot, and the lot was cast to choose one of those who had never had this opportunity, and finally, near the end of his life, Zacharias had been chosen.

The incense was burned upon the altar by a priest before the morning service and after the evening service.

The aroma of the incense was just like a prayer, as it enveloped the sacrifice and that aroma before the throne room of God.

We should understand that the golden incense altar represents Jesus Christ as our Mediator.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

The golden altar of incense stood squarely in front of the Mercy Seat, depicting Jesus Christ interceding at God’s right hand.

Having a son to be born into any family at that time was also considered one of the greatest blessings from God.

Both Zacharias and Elisabeth had remained faithful even though they were childless.

Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

*Luk 1:10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Zacharias and Elisabeth had many friends, and those friends were praying for Zacharias while he performed this great honor, and he also was praying.

We should be praying for our pastor the whole time he is preaching and giving us the Word of God.

1Ch 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

If we do not see anything else, we should be able to see that we must patiently serve the Lord continuously all our days because He knows what we are going through, and remaining faithful is the only path to great blessings.

Things were about to change for this godly family.

*Luk 1:11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Luk 1:12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
Luk 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luk 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Luk 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
Luk 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Luk 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

No doubt that Zacharias and Elisabeth were people who prayed, and they may have seen prayers answered for others, but they dearly wanted a child and preferred a son.

We must realize a son was more apt to help them in their old age than a daughter in that day.

Zacharias was even praying while he was performing his duties in the Temple.

Zacharias was in God’s House and working near the Holy of Holies on the right side of the Golden Altar of Incense.

It seems that the right side is always the right side of the Lord to be on.

Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

This was the place for prayer, and the angel of the Lord said Zacharia’s prayer had been heard in Heaven.

In the Book of Luke, we see more about angels than any other of the preachers in his day.

Notice the first words of the angel were “fear not”.

Zacharias had nothing to fear, for he was a godly man, but not a perfect man, because we see that doubt entered into him.

The Hebrew name for John is Johanna and is the name of four other Israelites.

John the Baptist
John the Apostle
John Mark, who traveled with Apostle Paul for a short time.
John, the Kindred of Caiaphas
John, the father of Simon Peter

John, the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, would be a great man of God.
John would cause his parents to be proud of him.
John would be great in the sight of God.
John would be like one of the prophets of old, Elijah.
John would take the vow of the Nazarene.
John would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth.
John would cause many to rejoice.

There had been 400 years of silence of the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament, during which God did not speak to His people, and no Scripture was written.
The 400 years of silence began with the warning that closed the Old Testament: “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse,” and this period ended with the coming of John the Baptist, the Messiah’s forerunner.

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

The thing we can see is the fact that God does reward those who are faithful to Him.

Next, we should understand that there is no good time to quit on God, especially in our older years.

1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

John the Baptist was the prophet of the New Testament and turned many to the Lord.

John the Baptist was the forerunner of the promised Messiah, and John preached and lived a whole lot like the Prophet Elijah from the Old Testament.

Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

*Luk 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
Luk 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

We should understand that it is never too late for God to answer a prayer, so we must never quit praying.

Zacharias had lost confidence in himself, and he and his wife had a hard time believing this angel.

Zacharias had forgotten that he was a child of God and not a child of the world.

There is nothing too hard for God to accomplish at any time in our lives if we do not give up.

Jer_32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

Jer_32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

We either believe in God or we don’t, at our own peril.

It is only our Heavenly Father who can overrule the laws of nature!

The angel Gabriel is one of those angels who stand in the presence of God, awaiting God’s commands.

Isa 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

Mat 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

We know that Michael is the most powerful angel, but we should not believe that there is any weakness in the angel Gabriel.

The name Gabriel means “Hero of God”.

Gabriel always brings “Good News”, but Zacharias also got some bad news because of his doubts.

*Luk 1:20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
Luk 1:21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
Luk 1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

We should understand that angels have no spirit. They speak straight up and do not show emotion.

They speak the message that God has given to them just as He spoke it.

To not believe what an angel tells you is to not believe in God the Father who gave him that message!

We should understand that God’s angels are very powerful and they speak reality.

Because of that moment of doubt, Zacharias would spend the next nine months not being able to speak at all.

The Jews still have a problem with the truth of God that they need to change.

They expect God to show them a sign so they can know the truth.

1Co_1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

Gabriel was not offended by what Zacharias said, but the reaction of Zacharias was an offence to God.

We need to be careful how we respond to the Word of God.

The Bible is more about commandments than it is about suggestions.

If we reject any part of the Word of God, we will certainly not have the ability to share the Word of God with others.

God will not allow us to speak words of distrust or unbelief to those who need to hear the truth of the Gospel.

We should understand that the chastening of the Lord can sometimes be painful.

Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

We should be more like Jeremiah when we have made such a mistake.

Jer 10:24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

We need to ask for God’s mercy in His chastisement.

When the Lord sits as King of this world from Jerusalem, He will put a stop to all unbelief and distrust, just as He did to Zacharias.

One of the major problems in our prayer life is that we do not believe that God will do what we ask of Him.

Why pray at all if we do not have enough faith that God will answer our prayers?

Can God change the course of nature? At any time, He so chooses to do it!

Zacharias was to lead these people waiting on him in prayer after his work was complete, but he could not because God had taken away his voice until the time that John was born.

*Luk 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luk 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Luk 1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Zacharias had lost the use of his voice, but he still fulfilled his duties despite being chastised for unbelief.

He did not quit on God!

He finished his course, and he returned home.

Elisabeth, after conceiving, hid herself for five months.

We have to think that she needed time alone with God to absorb all that was happening to her and to prepare herself for the job of being a godly parent even in her elder years.

Zacharias and Elisabeth lived to see God fulfill His promise.

When God makes a promise, He will keep that promise!

Elisabeth is conscious of the fact that God has shown His favor to her, and she is thankful.

She had wanted a child all her days of marriage, but it had not happened.

She had been barren, but by a miracle of God, her barrenness was over.

She did all the things she could do to have a healthy baby because she knew John would be used mightily by God.

This child, John the Baptist, would represent the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament as he would preach to the world the soon coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we answer God’s calling, we become a part of God’s salvation plan and the providence of God!

Amen

God’s Gift of Love

November 24, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom Celebrates God’s Gift of Love

Song of Solomon 1 through 8

The Song of Solomon is written about the love of a husband and a wife for each other.

Most scholars believe this book was written by King Solomon.

We know that Solomon wrote many songs, but this song is the only one approved by the Holy Spirit to be included in the canon of the Bible.

1Ki 4:32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

This book is probably written to the Jews, but we know that every book of the Bible was also written to the Church.

There are several ways that could be used to interpret the words of this book, but it is always best to use a literal view of the Scriptures.

2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Wisdom Celebrates God’s Gift of Love.

We should interpret this book and its text naturally and plainly.

It is a song about human, married love as God intended it to be.

The marriage between one male and one female is the only approved marriage in the Scriptures.

Everything else is an abomination to God and living in sin.

We should be able to see an actual, historical relationship of King Solomon and his most loved first wife, a Shulamite woman.

We can also see in typology that this marriage could be used as a type of the relationship of our Lord Jesus Christ to His Church.

It should also represent our own love for our Savior.

The one thing we must do as we study the Bible is not to make this story fit some cultural mold.

Almost every king in the day of King Solomon had a harem, and it was expected of them largely for the purpose of expanding their seed.

Many of the king’s marriages were for political purposes to build alliances with kings of other nations to provide security, but also prosperity for his nation.

The Bible in no way defends the practice of polygamy!

Deu 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

God uses the leaders that he puts in place in every nation.

King Solomon was living in sin!

Neh 13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless, even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

We can also understand that none of Solomon’s marriages to this harem were romantic or loving.

Many of these wives were considered possessions.

Most of these wives lived with this and accepted it.

These things remained this way until the coming of Jesus Christ, as he brought changes even to the Jews.

Jesus Christ elevated the status of women at that time and still does today.

A relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is the best relationship that any of us can achieve, male or female.

It is the epistles of the New Testament that reveal God’s intention in every marriage of a male and a female.

There are no other God approved marriages other than a male born a male and a female born a female to each other.

The marriage of King Solomon to this Shulamite woman was not political.

We can see the beauty of marital love and God’s approval of the sexual relationship within a godly marriage.

We can also see a type of Spiritual relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church (The Bride of Christ).

*Son 1:1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
Son 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
Son 1:3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
Son 1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.

If we love the Lord Jesus Christ, then we should love the Word of God.

We know from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation that the Word of God is all about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We also know that every word, every phrase, every passage in the Word of God is inspired by God Himself, and it is profitable for teaching, for reproving, for correction, and for training in righteousness so that we can be equipped for the good work of the Gospel.

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

This Song of Solomon is no different; it is the inspired Word of God!

This is not a song about Solomon; it is a song about love!

It is a song about human love, romantic love between a man and a woman.

These are the words of the bride as she states her passionate love for her bridegroom.

She does not name him. It was needless because all who know her know who her Bridegroom is and is the only One in her thoughts.

If we put in the name of Jesus Christ, then those kisses of Jesus are meant to imply everything in Christ, and with Christ, Jesus in his person, and Jesus in his fulness, suitableness, and all-sufficiency, so on our part the kiss of grace implies everything that can denote love, adoration, faith, dependance, homage, subjection, and praise.

If we apply this action to ourselves, it should mean that we cast ourselves on the Lord Jesus as a poor, dying sinner in need of salvation, saved by His blood.

We can see that His kisses had an intoxicating effect on this wife, His bride.

In most cases, this ointment is the oil of the olive, which many times is often perfumed.

Oil in the Bible many times refers to the Holy Spirit.

1Sa 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

This wife could only imagine the scent of her husband, whose ointment was just right for her senses.

In the same way, His fragrance filled the air around Him; his good name, His character, and His reputation had saturated the community of those who had made themselves pure through the blood of Christ.

Remember, a good name is better than precious ointment.

She loved the way He smelled, but most of all she loved who He was.

No wonder those who were pure loved Him.

He was the most sought-after man in the Kingdom.

She was now the envy of all the other maidens just as the Church is the envy of flase religion today.

*Son 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Son 2:2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Son 2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Son 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Son 2:5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
Son 2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
Son 2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

The term “the Rose of Sharon” is often associated with our Lord Jesus Christ, symbolizing His beauty, His perfection, and the love He offers to all who believe in Him.

Many see “the Rose of Sharon” as the Church or as the Believers who are cherished as the people of God.

Many see “the Rose of Sharon” as it describes the intimate relationship between our Lord Jesus and all those who love Him, and the love God has for His creations.

Nowhere in the New Testament is our Lord Jesus actually referred to as the Rose of Sharon.

He is referred to by many as the Rose of Sharon because many see the Rose as the most beautiful of all flowers.

Sharon is a place, and it is one of the largest valley plains in all of Israel.

In the time of King Solomon, it was considered a wild and fertile plain and had many beautiful flowers that grew wildly.

Sharon was known for its beauty and majesty.

Almost all Bible scholars say this Shulamite woman was the person who is described as the Rose of Sharon, as King Solomon’s bride.

Many say she is described as a black woman, and she could have been, and there would have been no problems if she were.

What she was saying was that she was not like all those other women who were spoiled with riches, but that she worked out in the elements of the seasons, including the sun, and the sun had darkened her skin compared to the fair maidens of Israel.

This young shulamite was saying that she was not one of those dainty spoiled children of royalty.

She was not afraid of hard work.

To us who love Him, this passage refers to Jesus as being the Bridegroom and the Church as His Bride.

If the Church is not a hard working church it is not the Bride of Christ.

The Holy Spirit is using the “lover” analogy to describe the personal relationship that He wants us to have with God’s Son.

Our Scripture says that she is the Rose of Sharon, a type of country flower, and is indeed a type of the Church.

In type, the Church is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily among the thorns.

The Church is the Lily among the thorns of worldly people.

It is Solomon who speaks up to his bride, saying she is as a lily compared to the thorns of other women, as the Church is in this world.

As far as Solomon was concerned, there was not another woman in the world like his Shulamite bride.

She may have seen herself as pretty, but she did not see herself as something special, she confessed she was just an average, everyday wildflower.

She was not seeking compliments, nor a false sense of modesty; she was just being sincere.

She said that Solomon was like an apple tree in a forest of other trees.

Apple trees did not grow in the forest of Israel at that time, and if one was found, it was because someone had dropped a seed from an apple they had brought from somewhere else or a passing bird.

Solomon had snatched her away from hard labor, and she was comfortable in his shade. Solomon had actually rescued her from her previous life.

His fruit was sweeter than anything she had ever known.

We can see that this apple tree is in type as the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Church now lies in His shadow His safety.

In verse four, we see this bride give her testimony to her friends of how her life had changed, as if they were all in the banquet house where she is the honored guest.

In type, we see that the Born-Again child of God, as they have entered into that Heavenly House of the Lord, and sitting at the table of the Lord Jesus Christ, no longer the Bride but now the wife.

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

This young bride had to admit she was lovesick and overwhelmed by the love shown to her by her husband, the King.

In type, this is the Church sitting at the feet of Jesus, amazed at the love He has shown to us.

She does not talk so much of her love as she does of His love for her.

Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

As he embraces her, she feels that moment of rest and security that she has never had in life.

She wishes to remain in His arms forever.

The left arm is the arm that comes as it was from His heart; the right arm is the arm of His power.

The fact that his left hand is under her head also means that he lifts her head to look at him.

The fact that his right arm embraces her means that he keeps it protective around her.

Deu 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

Love cannot be forced upon anyone, or they will lose their security.

Those female gazelles and female deer are shy animals and will flee at the first sign of danger.

This Shulamite had a great desire to consummate the marriage, but she knew she must remain chaste until that time came, and she warned all those around her.

She made her friends promise her that they would also wait for the right person.

In type, we see that we must make a strong commitment to the Lord and stick with our convictions.

Rom 12:1 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.
Rom 12:2 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.

*Son 3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
Son 3:7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
Son 3:8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
Son 3:9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
Son 3:10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
Son 3:11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

The wedding custom of that day in Israel was that weddings did not take place at the Temple nor at any Synagogue, but rather in the couple’s homes.

There would be a procession to the bride’s home led by the Groom, who would then escort her back to their own new residence.

Next, a wedding feast was given, which could last up to a week or longer.

Though the wedding feast was prolonged, that couple would consummate their marriage on the first night.

Verse 6 tells us that King Solomon and the Shulamite began their procession back to Jerusalem.

This verse tells us what the onlookers saw.

King Solomon, the richest man in the world, would have provided for an extravagant ceremony.

That pillar of smoke reminds us of the time that the Lord Jesus led the Jews out of Egypt.

The bride is perfumed, which tells us of her excellent virtues and service, which are acceptable to God and the Grace of Jesus Christ, which are a sweet savor to our Heavenly Father.

He makes His Bride enriched and beautiful with the perfume and powders. The spices of Arabia were famous at that time.

Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2Co 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

That wilderness was a place of bondage and misery, sin and humiliation, but Jerusalem was the mountain of the Lord.

Psa 68:8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Today the Church is passing through the wilderness, and the Church must follow the Lord Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of lords to New Jerusalem.

We must leave the wilderness of sin and unbelief to have an everlasting union with our Savior.

As the Church has been recognized, then the Bridegroom must be recognized.

Those sixty valiant men were twice the number of men who usually traveled with the King, but He wants the bride to feel safe.

We can see that the bed is a type of the Church, which is beautiful through the beauty of Jesus Christ.

Which is also safe by the protection of Jesus Christ.

In which Jesus Christ is glorified, and all believers enjoy sweet fellowship with Him throughout eternity.

We should understand that God will use whatever it takes to protect His Church from the wiles of the Devil.

Every valiant man was prepared to fight to prevent danger to the Church.

That darkness is the world of Satan, the Devil.

1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
1Th 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

No matter how bright the Church shines, it cannot shine like our Savior.

That chariot is where the Bride and the Bridegroom ride together is in typeology the Gospel, where our Savior was triumphant, and the Church rides into Glory.

1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Heaven is going to be the most beautiful place we have ever laid eyes on, and we do not have the words to describe how Heaven will be.

We are still to be busy with the work the Lord has given us to do, even while we know the Trumpet could sound at any moment.

John the Baptist said John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Weddings just do not seem to be important in today’s world.

Many couples just move in together to see if they are compatible and most of them separate because they forgot relationships take commitment.

*Son 4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
Son 4:13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
Son 4:14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
Son 4:15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

In that day, many gardens were enclosed to keep animals and strangers from having access to them.

Solomon was saying that his bride was like an enclosed garden that only he had access to.

The Lord Jesus feels this way about the Church as He strives to keep the Church pure, if the Church looks to Him only as the Head of the Church.

The true Church is defended by the providence of Almighty God and reserved for His use.

Whosoever loves the Lord Jesus Christ and shares their love with Him alone will shut themselves off from other objects of love.

Mrk_12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Solomon was praising this Shulamite for her purity until the marriage ceremony was completed.

The Shulamite was bringing to her husband a precious gift, a gift that could only be given once.

This speaks to all the fair maidens in the Church.

It is a gift for that one special person on the wedding day. The same one who has that endless love for them.

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Solomon continues to describe how lovely his bride is to him.

She was the greatest orchard.
She was the most pleasant of all fruits.
She was the most fragrant flower.
She was the most aromatic herb.
She was like the best of all perfumes.
She was the sweetest of all sugar canes.
She was the most fragrant of all the oils.
She was the most divine of all females.
She was the most anointed of all oils.
She was a living fountain of water.

She was now ready and available to refresh the life of her husband.

Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psa 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

*Son 5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Solomon knew it was this Shulamite who made him complete.

Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Nine times in this one Scripture, Solomon uses the word “my”.

His bride had given all she had to him.

This is exactly what the Lord Jesus expects from His Church.

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
1Jn 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
1Jn 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

No doubt that our young people should take a good look at the Song of Solomon once they know what it means.

*Son 5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
Son 5:3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
Son 5:4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
Son 5:5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
Son 5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

There comes a time when the honeymoon is over and reality sets in.

Before we get to this passage, let’s just keep in mind how much of the Church has left the Lord Jesus, and He is outside the door of the Church wanting to get back in.

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 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.
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

This is the Church Age we are in today.

In Chapter 5, Verse 2, we begin to see that the newness of marriage has passed, and life has set in. Life can be harsh even for those who have such great love.

This Shulamite was no longer “my bride”, but she was “my darling”.

His darling wife locked the door on him and did not let him in.

It is possible this new bride of Solomon was dreaming and had two dreams, but maybe one was a dream and the other was reality.

Either way, she was alone in the bedroom, and we do not know why.

As a believer, there may be times when we think that we are so armored up that we have lost our focus on the Lord.

If we ever lose our focus on the Lord, we are treading in dangerous waters.

This change in love is noted in the Scriptures.

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Solomon knew she was unhappy with him, and we may not know the real reason, but He is King, and He has a large harem, and as king, he had many obligations.

He explains that he has been working as his head was filled with dew and his hair with the drops of his sweat.

She refused his advances. She was already washed, disrobed, and was in bed. Why should she dirty her feet she said to herself.

She refused to unlock the door. It is possible that she was just too tired.

We do not have to think that Solomon was trying to force the door open, probably because he could certainly have had the door opened if he chose to do so.

Husbands must realize that their wives could get tired with all the homework they have to do and many work outside the home.

It seems she was angry with Solomon for some reason.

We have to wonder how a husband with over one thousand women could ever have a true husband-to-wife relationship.

This Shulamite began to realize that she was not the queen in her household.

Solomon did not really understand God.

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

Solomon’s bride was hurt, angry, and resentful, but her heart began to soften, and she repented of her anger, and her desire for him returned.

She notices his hands as he reaches for her.

The Lord Jesus said: Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Psa 45:8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

When she reached the door to let her husband in, she could smell the myrrh that he had left behind upon the lock.

The Shulamite paid a high price for not letting her husband into the bedchamber.

We will pay a high price when we reject the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jhn_3:18 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.

Solomon had not rejected her.

Solomon had remembered the place where they had first met and had not forgotten the love he had for her.

*Son 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Son 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

A seal was a piece of metal, usually round or oval, which meant it was a sign of belonging to the king.

Seals are sometimes worn on the finger as a ring or upon a string or chain around the neck.

It would be applied to softened wax to seal some document or other government papers.

Every Christian wears the seal of the Lord: 2Ti_2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

That seal is the Holy Spirit: Eph_1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

We are sealed until the day the Lord Jesus returns to take us home: Eph_4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

The Shulamite bride of King Solomon wanted such a seal on Solomon’s heart so he could not give his heart to another.

She said to Solomon, “Place me as the seal as a signet ring upon thy heart”.

Love is as strong as death.

She wishes to be united in the closest way with her lover and valued as his most precious possession.

She knows that jealousy is like the fires of hell, unquenchable.

She knows that no amount of water could put out such fervent love as she has for Solomon.

It is a fact that love is life itself.

We need the Lord Jesus Christ because we need His love and lest we forget, He is the Light of Life.

Jhn_13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another

Eph_3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph_3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Amen

Trusting the Word of God

November 17, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom Remembers God’s Word

Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapters 11 and 12

In this last lesson in the Book of Ecclesiastes, we will see how the Holy Spirit describes us in our youth and then in our elder years.

When we were young, it was the years of our greatest strength. We didn’t even think about how we would be as we got older.

Most of us can remember the energy and the drive we had then, compared to how we feel today as we have aged.

The Holy Spirit tells us that we should have made the most in our productive years because, as we age, we lose the ability and the strength to do the things we should have done while we were young.

We will reap in our old age what we sowed in our youth.

The laws of sowing and reaping will always hold true.

Whatever we sow, we will reap!

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

We all would have been much wiser to think about how things would be when we got older and worked harder to put back when we were young enough to do it.

*Ecc 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
Ecc 11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

Though there are many interpretations of this verse, the most logical is that of Charity.

Give our bread to anyone who needs it.

It can also mean to diversify our assets.

To the farmer, do not sow all your seeds in one field or plant all your seed at one time.

One bad season could wipe you out.

That old saying, “do not put all your eggs in one basket,” is true even when it comes to investments.

We should help others as much as we can, not thinking of gratitude or return but only of our duty as God’s children.

If we can help those who seem to be utterly lost, it may not be recognized by them, but God knows.

The true meaning is that we first have to invest to have a result.

We should do our best to invest in the Lord’s work because we will always get a great return from the Lord.

Jesus Christ again is our greatest example as He invested His life that we might have life and have it abundantly.

Jhn_10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jhn_20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Our own retirement could be better if we invested in it while we could earn an income, which goes away with age.

It’s the same with witnessing; the more time we invest in witnessing greater the opportunity to win souls to the Lord.

It’s the same for the farmer. He must take the grain out of the barn so it can be invested by sowing it back into the earth.

All these things require faith in the only One who can provide results, Our Heavenly Father.

*Ecc 11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

We should be very clear; God will judge this earth because of sin!

This world is filled with those who say a loving God will never judge the people He created so harshly, but they are wrong because they ignore the Word of God, He has given to us.

2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Many think God is just too good to cause such harm to the sinner:

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Rom 3:5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
Rom 3:6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
Rom 3:7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
Rom 3:8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

Many think they will escape the judgment of God:

Rom 2:2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
Rom 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

God will judge many before the end but all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will be judged!

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Just as dark clouds bring rain, God’s judgment will fall upon all who reject the Word of God.

We will reap what we sow.

Just as sure as the time that the Holy Spirit decides that He is wasting His time on some sinner, they are cut off from the source of life, the Lord Jesus Christ.

A tree that has lost its nourishment from the soil will die and fall and remain where it lies until it rots away.

*Ecc 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
Ecc 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

Many people wait to plant their garden until the conditions are ideal, and that garden is not as productive as it could have been because they waited too long.

We cannot just sit around with our arms crossed, afraid to take that first step in any situation, because of possibilities or impossibilities.

There are no perfect times to do important things, and after the first step, the second step is easier.

We know that the future is not guaranteed except for the Christian, but the day that we go home to be with the Lord, we do not know.

We do not even know what will happen tomorrow!

We just cannot know what God is going to do day by day.

We cannot predict; we cannot understand or fully know what the Lord will do, nor when He will do it!

If we are going to sow the Gospel seed, we do not need to first look at the forecast for the day.

That is just hunting for an excuse not to do it.

*Ecc 11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

When we have a job, we get up in the morning and go to work, and work till the end of the day.

We do our job no matter what the conditions of that day are.

It is the same with the work given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We should get up that morning and go to those fields white with harvest and stay till the end of the day, no matter what the conditions are.

We have found that the life of a Christian will seldom be in ideal conditions, and much of the time, we will be unproductive.

2Ti_4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

Heb_6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Another thing that is sure when we meet Jesus is: 1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

*Ecc 11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

As Christians, we should enjoy all the years of our lives because every stage of life offers pleasures that cannot be relived.

Every day we wake up to the sun is a good day.

When we compare those days to the dark days of the grave, when our eyes are closed and we cannot open them.

The good days of our life will not be as many as we would like, and the sorrowful days will be more than we would like.

There is no comparison between the years of old age to our youthful years when we thought we could take on the world.

The days of our youth were sweet compared to these days in our aged bodies.

No matter our age, we are to enjoy the life God has given to us!

In our elder years, we may not feel the joy as we did in our younger years, but we still have those memories to keep going.

If we wait till we are old before we seek our purpose in life, we will be disappointed as we realize we have waited too long to do something for God.

He will still use us, but we are limited by our remaining strength.

We may not find satisfaction in what we accomplished in our younger days, and little time and little strength to make things better.

We must understand that life without God is truly meaningless.

My worst day as a Christian is still far better than my best days being without God!

Psa 39:7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.

*Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Ecc 11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

We are commanded to rejoice and be happy while we are young.

But “a huge but”, as long as we find our strength in the Almighty God.

What are the “impulses of his heart”? Psa 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

Our heart is the center of our life! Job 31:7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;

Our eyes are the instruments of our heart!

Our faith is the key to what we see. What we are looking at and the way we are looking at something is determined by our faith!

Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

2Sa 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

Joy is the purpose of life, but to have good joy, we have to verify it by being aware of the judgment of God.

For our joy to be real, God must be involved in it.

What young people do not realize is that they have very little time to be young.

The young people do not realize that almost every aged person still has the spirit of a young person within them, but it is trapped and imprisoned by the jail of age.

God provides things for our enjoyment, but before we act upon those things, before we follow the desires of our hearts and what our eyes see, we must know that God will judge us for our behavior.

We can enjoy what life has to offer, but only according to the written Word of God.

The key to these things is our faith: Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

We have responsibilities as children of God!

Our young people have responsibilities as the saved of God!

We must know that our joy will be overcome by a sense of judgment if we are disobedient to God!

We must remember the words of our Creator.
This is where Adam and Eve failed, and it was this action that brought sin into the world to begin with.

*Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Ecc 12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

As I got older, I realized that my younger days were over before I knew it.

We know that the Theory of Evolution is completely false, and now most of those same people are trying to convince us our world was built for us by aliens from distant planets.

We have a Creator, and we are created beings, and our Creator is entitled to have authority and control over our lives, and we will answer to Him.

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

God will judge us for what we have done in our lives.

God asks us to believe Him and live according to the truth of His Word, and things will go well with us.

It is the unbeliever who is doomed to Hell!

When we were young, we thought we had the world by the tail, yet when we get old, we do not have so many joyous days.

Most of us are ready to go home to be with our Heavenly Father, so our pains will go away.

The joy we have remaining comes from knowing our children and grandchildren are living according to the Word of God and will join us one day in Heaven.

We all should thank God every day that He gives us to enjoy.

The clouds of rain come in the storm, but after the storm is over, the clouds leave, and the sun returns.

The storms of old age stay with us until the day God calls us home.

When one storm passes, another storm is already forming.

*Ecc 12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
Ecc 12:4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Ecc 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

The keepers of our bodies are the hands and the arms, which are our best instruments to defend our body, which begin to tremble as we age.

The strong men are our thighs and legs, which give us strength in our bodies.

The grinders are our teeth because they grind the food we eat.

Our eyes look out the windows of our eyelids through which we see.

These are the watchmen of this house that the Lord has given to us, but as we age, they can no longer defend and care for our house.

The doors on the street represent the ears and the lips.

We need these things to communicate with our loved ones, but it becomes more difficult as we age.

The sound of the grinding mill is low because we have very little interest in what is going on in our world.

We get up with the birds because we just do not sleep well anymore.

The daughters of song are our vocal cords, and our voices are not as strong as they used to be; people can hardly hear us.

We are afraid of the high places, we hate the stairs, and we stay off the ladder because of our fear of falling.

If we go out walking, we are always watching the traffic because we are afraid that we cannot get out of the way of that stray car that is not paying attention.

The almond tree blossoms refer to our hair if it is gray or white or even exists anymore.

We are like grasshoppers that can no longer jump but drag their body along.

We know that our day to go home to our Heavenly Father is close, and our bodies will be put away.

Our family will mourn us, but will they learn the lessons of salvation?

We will go to our eternal home if we have prepared with our Savior.

We remember we live in a house of clay, but we are moving into a permanent dwelling.

2Co 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
2Co 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
2Co 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

How valuable are we to our families?

To God, we know our souls are the most valuable part of us, and He will claim that soul for Himself to live with Him forever in a new body.

*Ecc 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Ecc 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

Life is very precious to us all, but these bodies we live in are very fragile.

We can say that the silver cord is the thread of life because life is so fragile that it is certainly just hanging by a thread.

We must understand we have no life without the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Just as our Heavenly Father is the fountain of life: Psa 36:9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

So has His Son life: Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

Apart from God, everything else is dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ for life and existence.

Life does not exist in its own right!

Life is not even spoken of as “made by” or “through the Word of God” but as we only exist through Jesus.

Jesus will only give true life to those who believe in Him.

Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John the Apostle wrote: Joh 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Joh 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Our life is like that gold-colored bowl suspended by a thread that is slowly becoming rotten by this sinful world, and will one day snap, dropping that bowl to the ground, and because it is only a gold-colored bowl, it will shatter as it hits the ground, and the light of life will end.

Life is only gold colored and not true gold until it accepts the truth of the Gospel, and then life becomes a valuable jewel that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the sustainer of life, and life cannot exist without Him!

Once that golden bowl shatters, it returns to the dust it was made from, but that soul returns to our Creator who gave it.

That spirit of life is the soul, which was God breathed into each one of us.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The body without the God breathed spirit of life, the soul, is then dead!

That body will return to the dust of the earth from which it was made.

Job 34:14 If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
Job 34:15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.

The body without the spirit is dead.

Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

For those who are saved, the Holy Spirit will also return to Heaven because He promised never to leave us.

The pitcher at the fountain, when it is broken, can no longer provide that life-giving nourishment, and the broken wheel at the cistern can no longer bring up that life-giving nourishment.

That body is dead, that short life is over, and Solomon says that life has meant nothing; it is vain.

If we do not accept the purpose of life that God has given to us, then we have wasted the life that God has given to us, and that soul will suffer everlasting judgment.

Death is empty and meaningless without God, our Creator, and His Son, Jesus!

*Ecc 12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
Ecc 12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
Ecc 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
Ecc 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

No doubt that King Solomon was the wisest man to have ever lived besides Jesus Himself, but Solomon did go through much of the same foolishness that we all have.

Solomon never completely gave his heart to God.

1Ki_11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Solomon became the writer of this book to impart some of that knowledge to us.

Of course, he was guided by the Holy Spirit, as was all the Word of God.

King Solomon knew he was a sinner like us all, and as a parent, he wanted us all to avoid the pitfalls of life he had fallen into.

There are many principles of life in these books that carry the name of King Solomon that are good for all people to learn.

These words of Solomon are true because the Holy Spirit will not allow false words into the preserved Word of God.

These words are inspired by God.

There is only one true Shepherd because there is only One True God.

There are millions and millions of books out there today, but there is no greater knowledge than the Books of the Bible.

Mankind will never come up with anything that can take the place of the Bible.

The Word of God is the only source of complete truth.

Only the Word of God can be perfectly and wholly trusted in this world and the world that is to come.

We will be blessed if we study the Word of God and carry it forever in our hearts!

Amen

The Importance of Life

November 10, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom Recognizes What is Important

Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 7

From the earliest times, the name given to a child was supposed to indicate some characteristic of that child.

Today, we mostly set a nickname on them, and sometimes it sticks for life.

We should ask ourselves; do we have a good name?

The Lord Jesus says that we can get a new name: Rev_2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

We know we are all appointed to a day of death, which really means life to the Christian, but dying with a good name is far better than being born into prosperity.

Death is appointed to every person.
Death is a matter we all need to take seriously.

We know that after our salvation, the most important factor for being successful in this life is wisdom, but only that wisdom that comes by the “Fear of the Lord”.

King Solomon was better known for his wisdom than he was his riches.

It is more important today to live wisely than it was in the day of Solomon.

The Holy Spirit has given us this collection of simple, practical sayings that we can live by.

We must live wisely day by day.

Every day we live is good or bad according to the choices we make that day!

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

We already know that the most important decision we will make in this life is that decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in salvation.

So, we have to learn what matters in this life. The world will offer nothing but confusion!

We must learn to discern between the good and the bad; Php 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Php 1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
Php 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Precious ointment in the day of Solomon was so valuable that only the rich could afford it.

Average people could seldom afford to waste what little money they had on such things as perfume.

This ointment cost nearly a year’s wages; Joh 12:3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Joh 12:4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
Joh 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

The Holy Spirit is teaching us that if we have to choose between a good name and a lifestyle of the rich and famous, it would be best for us to choose the good name.

Many of us will question whether the day of our death is more important than the day of our birth.

If we had not been born, how could we ever die that death? This is a promotion for the Christian.

If the Lord Jesus Christ had not been born as a human, how could He ever die for our sins?

To me, the difference is that the Lord Jesus had a miraculous birth, but we are all born in sin.

The time we have between the time of our birth and the time of our death is the time that we get to make the right choice about the Gospel.

For the Christian, the time of our death is a promotion to the glory world.

Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Php 1:22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Php 1:24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

I feel a whole lot like the Apostle Paul felt about this thing.

I do not want to stay one more day upon this earth than is necessary, but I know for some in my family it is better for me to stay here for as long as God will allow me.

The truth for the Christian is: 2Co 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

For the unbeliever, these things are not true because they do not have the promise of eternal life; they live every day with the promise of eternal death.

*Ecc 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

We should understand that the day of a person’s death is better than a joyful feast is only true if Jesus Christ is not involved!

We who love Jesus Christ know that to depart this world is very much better.

Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

Any reasonable person will admit that going to a festival is more enjoyable than a funeral.

No one gets excited about attending a funeral of a family member or a friend.

For me, death hits me right in the heart because in Vietnam, I saw death, and it is terrible, and I would rather not be around death because it brings back memories I would love to forget.

I accept this scripture because I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.

To those who do not know the Lord Jesus as their Savior, it is better to go to the house of mourning because death is something that every living soul needs to take seriously.

There is death coming to this body of flesh we live in!

Most of us will reflect on our own mortality at a funeral.

In many cases, God the Holy Spirit will go to work at funerals, and in their conscience and thoughts, they will begin to feel that there can be some kind of life after death.

We must take the time to think about what we can do to prepare for our death and help others to prepare for their death.

Ecc_12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Even if you do not believe in God, our Creator, you should wonder why we do not live longer in this great world of technology.

Heb_2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

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

It is a Holy God who holds the power of life and death in His hands.

God is not saying to avoid the right causes for celebrating because God gives much to celebrate.

If we wait till the day of our death, we will have missed out on God’s promise of life.

*Ecc 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Ecc 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

We can feel sorrow or sadness for many reasons!

Our emotions depend upon the cause of our distress.

We cannot wish that death would simply go away.

There will never be a life-giving serum that will overcome death.

This was God’s purpose for sending His Son to death.

There is no life in pleasure because pleasure is short-term.

Sorrow brings benefits to life that pleasure cannot.

Sorrow causes us to release our emotions and draw closer to others.

The world looks at life on the animal plane, while the child of God looks at life on the Spiritual plane.

Life is not hopeless if we look through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Those who take the “leap of faith” into the truth of the Gospel will not be in despair because of hopelessness.

Solomon says life is in vain, while Jehovah says true life is in our future after this short life we live today.

We must allow sorrow to do its work in our lives while thinking about the sorrow that our Lord Jesus Christ endured both on and off the cross, then we can see the impact it had on His life, which is our life.

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

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

It is a fool who rejects the truth of Jehovah God!

*Ecc 7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
Ecc 7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
Ecc 7:7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.

None of us likes to be corrected.

None of us like to be scolded.

None of us like to be criticized.

People just prefer flattery and compliments.

The fool is blind to Spiritual things.

If we want to be serious about God’s plan for our lives, we have to deal with wise people who will help us live our lives.

Those who have the “fear of the Lord” cannot take away all our grief or solve all our problems, but they can show how to deal with them.

A fool has nothing to offer to those with a broken heart!

A fire for cooking will not last very long if it is built out of thorns and has no effect on the cooking pot.

It is foolish to see if the pot is boiling.

Thorns do not even make the pot warm.

It is a fool who thinks he will not see death at any time.

It is a fool who seeks only laughter but is blind to the essentials of life.

In reality, humans are poor judges of what is real and of lasting value unless we know the truth of the Gospel!

A gift intended as a bribe might cause us to act differently from our understanding of the truth if we allow it.

There are two ways to make a wise man mad.

1) By suffering oppression from other so-called wise men.
2) By being offered a bribe to oppress others.

This is the vanity of worldly wisdom that causes corruption and loss to those who cannot afford any loss.

*Ecc 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

At the beginning of a matter, it is not clear how it will develop, but only at the end of a matter.

It can only be determined if it is useful information and important if we wait until the end to form our judgment.

It is the same in Spiritual matters as it is in practical living.

Sometimes our lives are like unfinished projects. They start good, but we run out of steam before we can finish them.

It is better to finish something we have started than to start something new in almost every case.

To the righteous man, we must realize that the important things in life are not quickly completed.

The things that really matter require commitment, determination, and discipline.

It is not always easy to live the Christian life!

Again, the Lord Jesus is our example: Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

We may not think of it, but it is a great thing to come to the end of our lives knowing that we have completed the thing that God had planned for us to accomplish.

We need patience to continue in the plan of God for our lives and see it to the end.

Heb 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Life is too short, and our opportunities are limited for us to make a name that is good as our days come to an end.

God does not lead us to begin something that He will not give us time to finish!

*Ecc 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

People who can hold their temper are wise for many reasons.

Pride is the reason for those who cannot and lack patience.

Many people get mad at God when something tragic happens in their lives or the life of a family member.

Many people get mad at God when it does not seem that God will answer their prayers.

These people will get mad at other people for these same reasons!

The Word of God stresses the importance of controlling our anger.

Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

We can be eaten away with anger.

Any sin of the flesh can be conquered by following the Word of God.

1) We must know that a quick temper is a sin.
2) We must realize that we are wearing the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
3) We must listen to the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
4) We must die to ourselves, allowing Jesus Christ to live through us.
5) We must be prepared to battle the temptation to become angry by memorizing and recalling Scripture when it is needed.

Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

*Ecc 7:10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

When we talk about the good old days, the Lord Jesus teaches us, we are not thinking right.

It is not profitable to live in the past!

When we think back, we tend to think of only happy days, and we forget that our past had its bad days, too.

The world is always changing, so expecting things to stay the same is unrealistic.

This world we live in is in constant deterioration, not progressing into a better world.

We are to focus on today and not tomorrow.

God will be just as faithful tomorrow as He is today.

Listen to the Apostle Paul:

Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

*Ecc 7:11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
Ecc 7:12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
Ecc 7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
Ecc 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

Wisdom is a source of wealth and is precious, and is to be used wisely.
Wisdom is greatly desired.
Wisdom is one of the gifts we can get from God just by asking Him for it.
Wisdom is gained from those who have gone on before us.

If we receive an inheritance, it is something that was earned through the efforts of those who went before us.
It is the same with wisdom.

Wisdom is somewhat like money. It can be used wisely, or it can be thrown away.
Wisdom will retain its value unless we foolishly forsake it.

Jehovah God is the source of perfect wisdom, and He will share it with all His children.

There is no other knowledge that gives life like the knowledge of God the Father and God the Son, the Gospel.

No one can change anything God has done or what He says He will do!

The more we dispute God, the less we will understand!

We must remember one most important thing!

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Why would we want to change anything God has already done when He did those things for His children’s betterment?

God brings prosperity and adversity to our lives, and He has His reasons.

When we are on the mountain, we need to enjoy it to the fullest because it will not be very long before we are in a valley.

Listen and learn from Job:

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

God’s wisdom helps us accept that we cannot know what tomorrow will bring, but we do know what our ending will be.

Our faith must stay steady.

God is not committed to our short-term happiness.
God is committed to our salvation and our character after salvation!

We cannot go through this life wondering, “What if I had done things differently”?

It is our Heavenly Father who is in control of the years, the months, the days, the hours, the minutes, and the seconds of our lives.

We are to learn from the things we go through and be better because we went through them!

God knows what is best for us!

*Ecc 7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
Ecc 7:16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Ecc 7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
Ecc 7:18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

Many times we as Christians are miserable because we see wickedness prosper while Christians suffer.

1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

It seems the ungodly prosper in this world and no one cares if they do it illegally.

It is only when we know the truth that we begin to understand.

Psa 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
Psa 73:18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
Psa 73:19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.

I do not think we realize until we get old just how fragile these bodies we live in are.

We should be amazed that these bodies last into the seventy years that are mentioned in the Scriptures.

Why do bad things happen to good people, and why do the wicked prosper in their wicked lives?

When we look over the things in this world, we see that life is far different from what we expect.

God does not always reward the righteous, and God does not always punish the wicked.

Some people believe that only the good die young.

The truth is that there are no guarantees in life.

There is no formula for a long, prosperous, trouble-free existence.

The truth is it is a sin to elevate ourselves over others in our judgment!

We must never elevate ourselves to the place of God.

It is a sin to think we are wiser than God!

It is a sin to assume that living righteously places God under some obligation to us.

God will keep every promise He has made to us in His own time and in His own place of choosing.

We are not to become Pharisees and make salvation a works doctrine.

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

We must never think we can commit a wicked deed and prosper as the wicked did when doing that same deed.

A life of excessive sin will most times lead to premature death.

We see this every day in the news.

Our world is becoming worse just as the Lord has said.

2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

The only answer we need to the things we see is for us to continue our walk in the name of Jesus Christ.

We must walk daily in the “fear of the Lord”.

As long as we are on this earth, we will have to learn to deal with the brutal reality that we live in a sinful and wicked world.

Our Heavenly Father is never unjust, and He never makes a mistake.

We should understand that death is our friend and not our enemy.

The Lord is always working out things for the good of us: Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

What happens here on earth is not our final outcome!

There is ultimate condemnation coming to the wicked!

Psa 37:1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Psa 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

*Ecc 7:19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
Ecc 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

There is great strength that comes from the wisdom of the Lord!

It is by the wisdom of God that this world could conquer sin, if this world wanted to conquer sin.

We know that the world is too involved in sin to want sin eradicated.

We will face temptations all day in this world.

This world is the domain of the Devil.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Sin will rob us of our effectiveness in this world.

Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

We must face sin and deal with it according to the Word of God.

Our penalty for sin has already been paid at Mount Calvary.

We know that God is always right.

God’s wisdom warns us of the dangers that lie ahead of us until He takes us home.

Amen

Staying Focused on the Word of God

November 3, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom’s Observation of Vanity and Vexation of Spirit

Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 4

What is the providence of God? It is a continuous and progressive revelation of Jehovah God, whose never-failing providence orders all things both in Heaven and Earth.

Belief in Providence stands or falls with belief in a personal God.

The Lord Jesus has taught us that the laws of nature are the established methods of His Heavenly Father’s workings and that they fulfill and reveal His Will.

Mat 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Mat 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

Mat 10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Mat 10:31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Mat 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

As humans, we like to ignore the problems that exist around us because they trouble us and rob us of our happiness.

We just do not want to be a part of the difficulties and crises around us.

The truth is that life is full of problems.

Every day, we see people who are the victims of the circumstances of wickedness and the sin in our world.

Did God cause these things? Certainly, He did not.

Does God cause our pain and sorrows? Absolutely not.

I should say in chastisement, we could have some pain, but we must be one of God’s children to receive chastisement.

These are the things the “god of this world” causes; 2Co_4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Great men and many politicians stand up and tell us how they are going to make this world a better place, but they all fail.

Today, there are some rich men who want to leave this world and establish another place because they see that there is nothing that can make this world better.

They are all wrong because only God has a plan for this world that will work!

1Co_1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

This world must turn to the Almighty God and have faith in His providence, and it begins with faith.

1Jn_4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

1Jn_5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

We must keep our eyes focused upon the God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ!

King Solomon saw all these things in His wisdom, and He came to the same conclusion.

*****Ecc 4:1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

Ecc 4:2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

Ecc 4:3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Why did Solomon write this verse?

Ecc 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

Ecc 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

The world is full of injustice, yet the world goes about trying to solve minute problems that cannot be solved without first stopping injustice.

Much sorrow in this world comes from injustice!

The true power in our world is in the hands of oppressors.

God solved this problem with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isa_19:20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

As wise as King Solomon was and with his great wealth, he could do nothing about this oppression, this injustice, or this inequality.

In fact, he was part of it. We know the children of Israel suffered under his high taxes.

Solomon became frustrated, and he should have.

The politics of America is at a stalemate, and the politicians are frustrated because they cannot do anything about it as they are seeking worldly answers to avoid a Spiritual truth.

Unless America turns back to the God of the Bible, we will remain divided, and we see that those who are pushing communism are showing strength when they should be ignored.

We should understand that power always lies with the oppressors because power is the breeding ground of oppression.

Power corrupts, as we have seen in the last twenty years of our own nation.

When reformers take over power, they turn into tyrants, which will not solve the problems.

When the Lord Jesus saw this in Jerusalem, what did He do? Jesus wept.

Then He was crucified.

Psa 69:20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Solomon’s only conclusion was that the dead are better off than the living.

God says those who choose His Savior are far better off than the dead.

Jhn_11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Solomon said even the stillborn and aborted are better off than those who experience life in this world.

They will not see the evil activity of the oppressors, nor the grief of the oppressed.

Solomon is right about one thing. These stillborn children and all the aborted children are already in Heaven, and they will certainly miss out on the wickedness of this world.

As far as we who believe, all these things should drive us closer to God!

As Christians, we are not to become so self-consumed that we are blind to those who are oppressed.

We have the answers to the world’s problems, and it is in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no other answer to the world’s problems!

*****Ecc 4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

The truth is that in most workplaces, each worker constantly lives in a state of competition with other workers.

Those bosses are always looking at who shines the brightest.

Because we all want to be successful, we get caught up in these things.

Envy and jealousy in the workplace cause all sorts of problems.

It causes problems in the workplace, and it causes problems in the home.

Remember Joseph; Gen 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Remember the brother of the prodigal son;

Luk 15:25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

Luk 15:26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

Luk 15:27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

Luk 15:28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

The desire to succeed becomes meaningless when envy rules the heart.

Envy robs people of satisfaction and the true purpose behind achievement.

What is God’s answer? Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

*****Ecc 4:5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

Here we see the fool who has seen what hard work is accomplished by others, and many of them do not get a fair return for their labor.

This fool folds his hands and only works hard enough to get paid.

He will never amount to much, and his reputation will follow him.

We already know that to be lazy is a sin.

We already know that God says those who are lazy should not eat.

So, in reality, this fool is destroying himself, and he can blame no one but himself, though he will not accept it is his fault and blame it upon his circumstances.

Isa 9:20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

God expects us all to have a good work ethic.

Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

*****Ecc 4:6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

We have seen people who are obsessed with working to outdo those around them, which caused some to be envious of them.

Then we have seen those people too lazy to work at all and destroy themselves.

Now we see people who are zealous because they are greedy and covetous and can never get enough.

The one who has worked enough with one hand to satisfy his family and, on the other hand, spends time with his family, lives in peace.

The person who works to have both hands full is still not satisfied, is full of turmoil, and is restless.

Those who are filled with the wisdom of God and have the necessities of life can experience peace.

Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

When we are full of the wisdom of God, we can face less stress and lie our heads at night in peace!

Those who can never get enough to satisfy them never have peace of mind.

We must do our best to be good stewards of the things God allows us to have.

1Co 7:17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

*****Ecc 4:7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

Ecc 4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

Ecc 4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

Ecc 4:10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Ecc 4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

Ecc 4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

What is loneliness?

Loneliness is considered an epidemic by the Surgeon General of the United States.

It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.

God always knows what He is talking about!

It is said that there are far too many lonely people on this earth.

Many work hard and earn a lot, but have no one to share those things with.

Loneliness is the emptiness of the human soul.

Some people let work be their family, and it just does not work out in their favor.

We need some relationships in our lives.

We have to do things to change this situation if we are suffering from loneliness.

We do need people around us to share our lives with.

We must understand that people whom we can share our lives are much more important than material things we can possess.

We need to love and feel loved.

We need companionship that comes from others.

We need our emotional needs met.

We need those around us who bring meaning to our lives.

We need the joy that others can provide us.

We have that feeling of satisfaction that we receive from being a companion to others.

Two people can do things that one cannot.

With two, there is always someone to help in certain situations.

In the days of Solomon, people had to walk everywhere they went, and the same desert that brought heat during the day brought cold at night.

Two people traveling together could better fend off the cold.

Two people can defend themselves better than one who is alone.

In fact, three would be better than two in this situation.

There are three characteristics in the lives of each child of God.

1Co_13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

We could also say that the three persons of the Holy Trinity are why our bond with our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be broken.

Jhn_10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

We as Christians should reach out to those who are alone.

Many who need the Lord Jesus Christ could end their loneliness: Psa 142:4 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

Psa 142:5 I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

*****Ecc 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

Ecc 4:14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.

Ecc 4:15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.

Ecc 4:16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

If the word wise means having the wisdom of God, then it is far better to be a poor but wise young man than a rich and foolish old king who rejects the Word of God.

That old king will still reap what he sows and be held accountable for it.

Power has caused many good people to become wicked.

Solomon is a great example of these things. He was a godly young man, and God allowed him wisdom far greater than any man, and yet he allowed his wicked wives to change him, and his kingship suffered because of it.

He had the power and the wealth to do anything he chose to do, and he chose wickedness over godliness.

People are fickle; we should remember the same people who shouted “Hosanna” when our Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem a few days later said, “Crucify Him”.

We live in the same world today where the minds of people are changed by the politics of our world.

Everything changes because nothing but the Word of God lasts forever!

We cannot please everyone, but we must do our best to trust the wisdom of God and serve Him.

He is our King forever!

When we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, we find that the rich and the poor have changed places.

The children of God inherit the riches of Heaven, while the rich old kings become poor in this world, and their riches become meaningless.

It is those who are lost in this world who are caught in the chains of the Devil, who, after giving their heart to the Lord Jesus, become the kings and priests of the Kingdom of God.

Rev_1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev_5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Many believe that this passage is written in the thought of Joseph, who was made second only to Pharaoh.

Gen 41:39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:

Gen 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

Gen 41:41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

Gen 41:42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

Gen 41:43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

It is the same for the Christian during the Millennial Kingdom, when God’s people will be rulers who will be second to King Jesus.

Rev_3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

One day in the future, the Lord Jesus Christ will sit as King of this world for one thousand years, but He will rule with a rod of iron.

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

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Every one of us has the desire to be respected and liked by others, and we have it in our power to make this so.

If we live according to the Word of God, God’s people will treat us as a brother or a sister.

Most of the world will show us hatred because they hate the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our identity must be found in our value to our Heavenly Father and who we are in Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ died so we could be saved, and He arose from that death to show us who He is.

This is what truly matters in our lives!

This is what makes us family to the Almighty God, and nothing upon this earth can change this.

Those who trust in their popularity and in what others think about them will never be satisfied.

They will fail to please the Lord, and they will die in their sin.

Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Amen

LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD

Taking time to read the Bible

Jesus Called Disciples and More Healings

Jesus’ Temptation, Teaching, and Healing

The Message of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus

The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ

The Birth of John the Baptist

An Angel Foretold of John the Baptist

God’s Gift of Love

Trusting the Word of God

The Importance of Life

Staying Focused on the Word of God

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