Jesus and the Soul of Man

May 23, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

More Lessons from the King

Book of Matthew “Continuing” Chapter 13

If we want to understand the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven then, there is no better place in the Bible to find out than these parables that were preached and taught by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember a parable describes a “Spiritual Truth” from an earthly truth!

*Mat 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Mat 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Mat 13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Verse 38 describes this field as the world, and it probably means the same in this verse. There is no reason to think differently.

So what is this treasure and who is this man?

In the first two parables, the sower was the Lord Jesus Christ, and the seed was the Word of God or the “Gospel” the “Good News”.

We know that to the Lord, the most valuable thing upon this earth is the soul of man.

It is so important that the Lord gave His life for our souls!

Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

In this verse we see that the Holy Spirit describes the “soul” to be of much more value than the totals of all this world.

This leaves us to believe without a doubt that this man is the Lord Jesus Christ, who laid the glory of Heaven aside and came to this earth to give all that He had, even His life for the “for all our souls”.

The only thing we need to know is why it was hidden?

What we need to realize is the mystery of Israel and the mystery of the Church in these two parables.

Israel is that treasure hidden in the field:

Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

Psa 135:4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

When the Lord Jesus Christ came from Heaven, He found His people hidden in a field.

By His death, Jesus bought the whole world and with it, all the people who are His earthly treasure.

Jesus died for all people, but He also died for the nation of Israel.

Joh 11:51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
Joh 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

We do not read that Jesus then got possession of that treasure so, this treasure is still hidden in this field which He bought with such a great price for the sake of owning that treasure.

This is the key to these two parables!

Israel is the Lord’s peculiar treasure.

Jesus has purchased His earthy people yet still, Israel is that hidden peculiar treasure, until He returns to get His Church first, then back to earth to get this treasure of Israel.

Israel will then be “justified”, “separated” and become a Spirit-filled people!

The Lord Jesus died for the nation of Israel, but the results of that death are not at this time complete.

Israel is still hidden in the that purchased field in this world!

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Much of the so-called Church says that God has cast away and forgotten these people, but this is far from the truth!

True Israel is that treasure still hidden in that field that was also purchased by the blood of Jesus, who will come again!

1) To complete the redemption of His Church at the Rapture and
2) Reclaim Israel.

The One pearl of greatest value is the Church.

Eph_5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

This pearl is taken out of the Sea, way down from the dark bottom out of the mouth of an animal!

We are told that a miserable grain of soil, embeds itself between the animal (the oyster) and its shell and this process continues until a beautiful pearl is produced.

A pearl of great price.
A pearl with the colors of the rainbow from Heaven are blended together.

It is then taken up and becomes the priceless jewel in the crown of the kingdom.

This pearl is a type of the Church!

This pearl is still forming today and has not yet reached the beauty it will one day have, when the Lord calls the Church home!

The Lord returns to claim the treasure that is still hidden (Israel), He will bring that Pearl (Church) with Him!

*Mat 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Mat 13:48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
Mat 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
Mat 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The kingdom of heaven is not the Church Age?

At the end of the Church Age, the Lord recalls His Church to remain with Him forevermore.

At the end of the Church Age, the seven years of Tribulation will begin.

In every age there is miscellaneous multitude of young and old, good and evil, people who move about this world at liberty in the wide expanse of what we call life.

It is the same for the fish that move about in the many oceans and seas.

God has dropped His invisible lines down into the Sea of Life and they are silently and slowly creeping in around us!

God will separate the wheat from the tares at the end of the Church Age.

Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

God will gather this large net into the shore one day and that day is not as far off as we may realize.

This shall be at the completion of the seven most horrible years upon this earth.

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.

In the previous parables, the Church and Israel have been regathered.

So this is not the “Gospel Net”, as in the Church Age, as it is sometimes called.

We already know that the seas represent the nations.

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

The angels will be used to separate the wicked from the just.

The wicked will be cast into the ever-burning flames of Hell.

As far as these disciples are concerned, they know nothing of the Church Age at this time and will not realize it until after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and Pentecost.

We have learned from these 7 parables of the mysteries of the kingdom of heavens beginning with the Apostolic Age and then the conditions we face up to the end.

These last 3 parables have shown us the mystery of Israel, the mystery of the Church, and the mystery of the ending of these ages.

All these things were taught to the 12 disciples. That great multitude only heard the first 2 parables.

Even those 12 chosen would not understand these things until they were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

So Jesus then asked, “have you understood these things”?

*Mat 13:51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mat 13:52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

You see, since we know and understand these things, we are beginning our preparation to go out into the world in obedience to Jesus Christ just as the Apostles did!

The word “scribe” as used here means those who are skilled in the Word of God, who read and can make sense of the Word, as Ezra said, to the people of this world, especially those to whom God has called.

The old things are those things in the Old Testament that refer to the Messiah and the truth of God, and those new things are all the things of the New Covenant or the New Testament.

We need to understand, and we need to proclaim in a loving way to those who remain lost, this is the only opportunity they will have to spend time with those who are good according to the Word of God.

Once they leave this world their eternity will be filled with violence and eternal damnation.

We do not just walk up and tell them this for they need the “Gospel” before they need any bad news!

Those new things are summarized in these parables!

Then Jesus teaches us that once He has revealed all He came to reveal, He will be going back to Heaven until these Ages run their course, of course under His supervision.

*Mat 13:53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
Mat 13:54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

We can understand His own country as Nazareth and the area around Nazareth.

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.
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.

Jesus had never preached in this synagogue of Nazareth, His hometown, where He grew up with Mary and Joseph, but it was now time to do so.

No one had paid much attention to this Son of God as He grew, but they would now hear the true Word of God.

They were now astonished at His wisdom and this wisdom was from God, Jehovah God.

To His hometown, Jesus declared that He was the Messiah come from God.

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.
Luk 4:22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

Yes, this Jesus was the same Jesus who had a stepfather named Joseph who had trained Him to be a Carpenter.

This was a very humble family!

*Mat 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mat 13:56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
Mat 13:57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
Mat 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Yes, this mother was the Virgin Mary, selected by God to bring the Messiah into the world.

This is the place where we learn some about the children fathered by Joseph, which were James, Joses, Simon and Judas and there were sisters also, which means more than one sister and some say three sisters.

The Lord Jesus was rejected because the people of Nazareth could not understand where such a man from such a humble family could have the wisdom of God!

The Virgin Mary had become housewife and mother and neither Mary nor Joseph had achieved any prominence nor had any of the children and nothing else changed with this family of children until the Lord Jesus was crucified and then He raised Himself from that grave.

The people of Nazareth decided that Jesus could not be who He claimed to be!

Jesus was rejected because these people were offended at Him!

The word offended means they stumbled over the truth!

They could not imagine that someone they had seen grow up, to be the Messiah sent from Heaven.

They could not imagine a man from their own little city could make such claims as Jesus was making.

This became the same sentiment of all of Israel.

Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Mat 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
Mat 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

This is where the world is at today.

If we think about it, how else would God have made Himself known.

He could have come down in a rocket ship and the whole world would have believed.

Many would have believed in fright.
Many would believe and tried to destroy Him.

The Book of Genesis says we were created in God’s image, yet the same book says that God is Spirit.

So the image of God is not in looks, but in traits and the Lord Jesus Christ is the express image of His Father and the example we are to follow.

So we must choose to shrink King Jesus down to our level, or to accept Him for who He says He is!

If we look at all the miracles that He did, then we must accept Him as the Messiah.
If we look at all the prophecies that were fulfilled in Him, then we must accept Him as the Messiah.
If we believe the Word of God, then we must accept that Jesus is the Messiah.
If we look out at our created world, then we must believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

The Lord Jesus Christ is 100% God, and He was also 100% man.

There is no other explanation!

If Jesus is the Messiah, then He is our Lord and Savior, and this is my belief!

Unbelief leaves no alternative to salvation!

Unbelief hurts our God who has tried His best to show us the truth!

So choose to believe the truth and be saved, or choose to disregard the truth and suffer the wrath of God.

To not choose is to disregard the truth!

The greatest sin in all the world, is to be ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Amen

The Messiah Confirms His Mission

May 2, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Confirmed His Kingdom

Book of Matthew Chapter 11

What is the truth, there is more effort necessary to be saved by grace than by works!

A life of faith is a life of self-denial! It is not easy, though God’s grace will prevent it being too difficult.

All the eager and enthusiastic followers of Jesus Christ must seize the kingdom and must win it as a prize of war.

In this sense, the Lord Jesus announced Himself as the Redeemer, who had come to save the world, to destroy the works of the devil, to annihilate the powers of evil, and to bring men from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.

He reconciled men to God, gave them access to God, united them to Him as His dear children, and made His people one with God as He Himself is One with His Father.

We cannot therefore think we can just walk into Heaven without facing obstacles!

*Mat 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

We know that Jesus had sent the 12 chosen disciples out to preach that the Kingdom of God is at hand.

They were to go to the Jews only at this time.

What did the Lord Jesus do at this time? He went and preached in their cities.

What was the key to the messages of the Lord?

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.

We know that John the Baptist was locked up in prison because he preached the truth to the government of Israel.

To King Herod he said, it is unlawful by the Books of Moses for him to marry his brother’s wife with whom he had committed adultery.

Herod had committed that sin and he locked away John the Baptist to shut his mouth.

This tactic is still in use today in many places.

What did the laws of Moses say?

Lev 18:16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.

Lev 20:21 And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.

John was locked up and later beheaded in a trap setup by a wicked woman.

The disciples of John were a bit confused because John himself was dealing with some doubts.

*Mat 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
Mat 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

Most of us will go through periods of doubt so we need to keep the truth of the Scriptures close to our heart.

We could say our doubts are wavering faith, which is dangerous if allowed to continue.

John had predicted the coming of Christ just as the Old Testament Prophets had foretold so John preached.

Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

The Lord Jesus had just begun His ministry, but what our Lord was providing was a means of salvation for the entire world and most of the Jews had a real problem with this.

They wanted a king that was like the Old Testament King David and who would free them from the tyranny of Rome.

Judgment would come later, but we can also say “Judgment” begins the moment people reject the truth of God, just as eternal life begins the moment, we accept the Lord Jesus Christ.

John was seeking a more visible proof that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah.

John wanted the Lord Jesus to proclaim that He was the Messiah and the things the Lord had already done were according to the Old Testament prophets.

The message of the Lord Jesus is still salvation at this time!

Psa 118:25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Psa 118:26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
Psa 118:27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

So Jesus began to answer them.

*Mat 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John “again” those things which ye do hear and see:
Mat 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Jesus said, go show John what you have seen and what you have heard.

We should notice that word “again”. It looks like John had ask for proof more than one time.

The healing miracles that Jesus had done were impossible for man to accomplish!

The sermons that Jesus had preached, He preached with authority like no one that had come before Him in the name of the Lord.

His birth place was known by most of them!

The virgin Mary was not accepted by many of the super religious but only by true believers.

Joh 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

The many prophecies that had already been fulfilled by His life.

There was no doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, but none of the Jews had seen, that Jesus first came to save, and He would later return in “Judgment”.

Luk 4:32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.

Joh 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Joh 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

We either accept that the Word of God is true, or we will believe the lies of this world.

The biggest problem the world has, is that word “Gospel”, they just do not want to understand it.

The word gospel means, “good news” or “good tidings”!

The “Good News” of salvation.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The world simply loves “bad news”. This is why most news channels are accepted because they give nothing but bad news!

The Lord Jesus Christ was fulfilling Scripture just as it was written!

People just do not want to accept the Word of God as it is written and many of those call themselves believers!

So what do they believe?

Who are those who are blessed today?

*Mat 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

All the things that the Lord Jesus had done from the time He was a babe in Bethlehem, prove that He is the Messiah!

The Lord Jesus did not just profess to be the Messiah, He proved that He is the Messiah.

Some of the Apostles struggled in their faith also, but they soon believed when the Lord Jesus walked out of that tomb as prophesied!

Joh 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Joh 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

The one thing, that many miss is that they struggled to believe that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, but many more did affirm that there is truly a sovereign God.

Many today deny there is a Holy God, all the time bragging on their personal god!!!!!

Mother Earth, Earth Day, Allah, Buddha and much too many to name them all.

The Lord Jesus is exactly who He claims to be, and it would be a much better world if more people believed this fact!

I am not looking for a Messiah to come, I am looking for the Lord Jesus Christ to come again!

Joh 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

Why did wicked people want to murder a man that never did anything bad?

Who can figure that one out?

Jesus said take the time to read the Bible and you will see!

Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Joh 5:41 I receive not honour from men.
Joh 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

If you take the time to study the Word of God, you will see that there could be no Messiah if it is not the Lord Jesus Christ.

People are waiting on a fairy tale while the truth stares them in the face!

Jesus then says, what were you looking for when you saw John the Baptist?

People were looking for the Messiah and John said it is not me, but many insisted that John could have been the Messiah.

*Mat 11:7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
Mat 11:8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.

Some people thought that John was wavering in his faith, but this is really not true.

John wanted to be sure that Jesus was the Messiah, if not then he still had much work to do.

When the Lord gives us a task to do, we are not finished with it until the Lord says we are finished with it!

John was not a wavering reed, but he was a man solid in his convictions!

John was not a man that dressed in fine clothes to impress the people, John was a man of discipline and self-denial.

John was the voice that said the true King is Coming.

John was the greatest of natural men, but not as great as the least of true believers.

John the Baptist was the last of the Prophets of days of the Law.

John came in the power of Elijah to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ.

John was not afraid of Herod or of what Herod could do to him.

John did not preach for the applause of men nor did he weaken his sermon before the doubters.

John preached the message given to him by the Lord and he did not stop until he was beheaded and then his legacy continued as Jesus said.

John did not sway with every breeze of change as we see today in the modern church.

John stood firm on the Word of God.

John the Baptist was much more than a prophet!

John was the last of the priest in the line of Aaron and He passed that priesthood over to the Lord Jesus Christ!

*Mat 11:9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
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.

We must understand that the Old Testament pointed to the coming of Jesus Christ, the true Messiah. Christ and Messiah are the same word when it comes to the Lord Jesus.

John the Baptist said: “He is here”. John prophesied of the salvation that comes by accepting that the Lord Jesus is truly that Messiah.

Joh 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.

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

What are we looking forward to?

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:

You see John the Baptist was himself a fulfillment of Prophecy with the job of preparing the way for the Lord and after he had done so, his ministry was complete and the world destroyed him as they did most all prophets of God, but not before they had preached the message of God!

Then the Lord Jesus bragged on John just a little bit.

* Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Mat 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Jesus said the John was the greatest of all-natural men, but true greatness comes only to those who are “Born Again” into the family of God.

All those Old Testament Saints were at one time inferior to anyone who of God’s saints by the work of Jesus Christ.

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

John was perfect by the works of the Law and there were others like him and none as great as those “justified” (already Judged) by the faith in Christ Jesus.

All those who insists upon justification by the Law are still under the curse from the time of Adam!

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;

These things are not so hard to understand!

The preaching of John the Baptist was the signal for all mankind to press for the mark as Paul put it.

Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Far too many reject this truth!

Jesus Christ is still calling today, but He will not continue to do so for very much longer or He will have lied to His Church!

God does not lie!

As Christians we need to take this time to seize the Kingdom of God and it is prepared for us to do so with “faith” in the works of Christ!

John preached to repent, and this part of his preaching is true today! We must repent of our evil ways and Jesus Christ is the tool of that repentance and our example to follow!

John could not preach the cross because it had not happened.
John could not preach the resurrection because it had not taken place in his lifetime.

Today it is our privilege to know the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All the called, of God are to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, no other message has the importance of this message!

John was the last of the true prophets of God!

We now have the completed Word of God which has replaced all prophets of God.

We do not need prophets anymore!

*Mat 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Mat 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
Mat 11:15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Again the Lord Jesus says that John the Baptist was an end of an Age. The Age of the Law!

John was the bridge that connected prophecy to the fulfillment of prophecy when it comes to the Messiah!

Jesus Christ is that true Messiah, there is no other!

Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

John was that promised man that came in the power of Elijah, not Elijah but he was like Elijah.

Joh 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Joh 1:22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
Joh 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

Some believe John was the resurrected Elijah, but I believe Elijah has not returned as of yet, but will be one of the two witnesses of the 7-year Tribulation Period.

John did resemble Elijah in many ways, but he says so himself that he was not Elijah.

We know that all Scripture is given to us by the Holy Spirit.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

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.

Jesus completes this passage by saying if our ears are working, we need to listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say, and this is said many more times.

If God says it one time, then it is enough, but when God repeats Himself then we had surely pay attention!

*Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Here is a personal invitation from the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible.

Christ pleads with those who have no other steps to take and who fill their journey is unbearable and over.
Christ pleads with those who are about to explode and cannot take any more of this world.

Christ does not mention what causes these things, because He has personally felt this kind of pressure.

Heb_4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Christ knows what we are going through!

You see it does not matter what we are going through, Jesus Christ is the answer to that thing!

This is a simple invitation that opens the door to great things and things that will last throughout eternity.

The solution Christ offers is rest. We can rest our weary soul when we know the Lord.

We see that Christ offers this rest only to those who want to learn from Him!

We must put some effort into knowing the Lord Jesus Christ!

We become over-burdened in this world.
We see that worldliness and carnality do not bring much pleasure and is not a lasting pleasure.

We must choose:

Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

We get tired of the power of sin in our lives.
We see that earthly possessions do not last.
We see that fame is just emptiness.
We see that power is just loneliness.
We see that religion is not what it is made out to be and just full of rituals that are meaningless.
We see rules and regulations that do nothing more than rob us of our freedoms.

Life in this world causes exhaustion.

Searching for the truth, but never coming to the truth leaves us empty.

Only the Lord Jesus and help us with these things in this life and He promises a great life that will last throughout eternity.

Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Let us just take on the yoke of Jesus.

*Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

When Christ was upon this earth, He was meek and lowly, but He was not lacking in power.

God cares for those who love Him!

All the traits of God are perfect!

Yes, Jesus was meek and yes Jesus was lowly but He did not lack in power!

Jesus was perfect in in His understanding.
Jesus is perfect in His patience. (I Know this is true because He saved me!)

1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Jesus will always offer encouragement and we must too!

Jesus, custom fits His yoke upon us, to match our problems and gives us the answer and help we truly need!

God made us so He knows how to custom fit our yoke!

To find the rest that God promises we just need to learn and labor under the leadership of our Savior and our Master!

Jesus is not a taskmaster He only requires obedience. After that, it is all downhill until we reach the Highest Hill of Heaven!

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Amen

Jesus the Preacher, the Sermon on the Mount

April 4, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Changed Things like a King

Book of Matthew Chapter 6

Last week in Chapter 5 we read of the inward holiness of all those whose home would one day be in Heaven.

These are all those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

We should clearly understand that our journey to Heaven begins when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ into our heart and begin our walk of sanctification with the Lord.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

To come out from amongst them is to repent!

You see what we do with our Christian life does matter to the Lord.

God expects us to be kind to one another.
God expects us to do good in the world.
God expects us to get personally involved in the goodness we learn from the Lord Jesus Christ.
God expects us to be personal witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact we are not being Christians unless we do these things.

Our fleshy nature must show an inward holiness because we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

All our intentions must be pure!

We must be pure in our giving.
We must be pure in our prayers.
We must be pure in our fasting.
We must be pure in our desires.
We must be pure in our actions while we are barely being seen!

*Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Most people see the word “alms” as relating to giving, especially the giving of money, but the Greek word “eleemosune” actually means “acts of kindness”, “acts of compassion”, “acts of righteousness”.

Alms giving is doing good toward others without seeking a reward for your actions or drawing any notice to yourself.

Alms giving is a Christian duty and comes second only to witnessing for Christ and living in obedience to the Lord.

In fact living in obedience to the Word of God includes the giving of alms!

Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

When we accept this as being the truth and it is, then we must be alert to the deception of the giving of alms by those who put on a show as they make a big deal out of the giving of alms as many of the Pharisee and Sadducee did in the time of Jesus.

It happens today when buildings are built, and someone’s name is placed upon it and many such things as this. Pews are in someone’s name.

*Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

We have not talk about that word “therefore” in a while so let us not forget the meaning of the word.

Therefore means: For that; for that or this reason, referring to something previously stated.

In other words pay close attention to what was said in verse 1 when we read verse 2.

If we broadcast our alms giving, seeking glory for ourselves, then we are hypocrites then what we have done will not get a reward in Heaven.

In fact hypocrites do not even make it to Heaven!

Hypocrite is someone claiming to be Christian in their beliefs, but their actions prove otherwise.

Our Capitol city of our nation, is full of professing hypocrites.
The modern-day, Church is full of professing hypocrites.
Anyone denying the truth of the Scriptures is a hypocrite if they claim to be Christian, meaning like Jesus Christ.

Singers who refuse to sing in Church unless they are guaranteed a certain amount are hypocrites. They know the church uses love offerings as a gift, or alms giving.

Evangelist, who refuse to preach unless they are guaranteed a certain amount, are hypocrites.

Pastors who are called to preach but reject a church because of the salary offered are hypocrites.

Church members who claim Jesus Christ but pick and choose over the Gospel they will commit to are hypocrites.

Those who would rather have a reward here on earth rather than Heaven’s Glory are all hypocrites!

Then the Lord Jesus gives us the remedy.

*Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

The more secretive we are in our charitable giving the better the reward in Heaven!

We know it is impossible that our left hand not to know what our right hand is doing but the Lord is saying no one else needs to know!

Our charitable giving is personal and individual.
Our charitable giving should always be for the promoting of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We should not dwell on our giving, if it is not given for the joy of giving it is not given for the right reason.

Once we have given our alms for the right reason then we have placed it in the hands of God, and we should forget about it and allow God to do His work!

*Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

The only person who knows all “ALL” our secrets is our Heavenly Father. There is nothing we can hide from God!

When we have followed these guidelines in our giving, then the Lord will many times reward us in this life where many will see how God has blessed us.

The truth is a true relationship with the Lord can be seen as coming from the heart and a devotion to God in absolute sincerity.

We cannot increase the size of our Mansion in Heaven.
We cannot increase our wealth in Heaven because wealth has no meaning in Heaven.

We can know that there are rewards other than these things that God has for those who are true to Him!

Any time we appear as a hypocrite we will lose rewards that we could have gained.

A Heavenly reward is out of this world!

We all need some help in our prayer life and there is no such thing as being prayed up!

*Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Do we pray with a motive?

Prayer is having a conversation with God! Sure there is a place for corporate prayer but if you are like me, much of what I talk to God about is just between He and I!

It is important for good godly men to pray in the Church.
It is important for good godly women to pray in the Church.
It is important for others to pray while we pray.
It is important for our children to hear us pray.

But still, the majority of our prayers should be between us and God and we must always end our prayers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we do not take our prayer life seriously, we certainly become hypocrites.

We do not have to have a reason to begin a conversation with our Heavenly Father!

He always wants to hear from us!

When we are speaking to our Heavenly Father, we can speak to Him about anything and we do not always have to make a request of Him.

This is the prayer the Lord is speaking of here in this passage. One on one prayer with the Living God.

Hypocrites pray to be seen of men.

This does not mean that when we have altar call all those who go to the altar go to be seen of men.

This is a perfect time to pray because it normally takes place at the end of the message that is given to the Preacher.

This is a time when a heart is touched and just wants to talk to the Heavenly Father.

What Jesus describes is something else entirely.

A hypocrite may stand up while the message is still being preached and disturb the message claiming a movement of the Holy Spirit. This is not to say that this could not happen but there must be a movement of the Holy Spirit.

Anytime we draw attention to our conversation with God then we are praying to be seen of men.

God expects us to pray even though He already knows what will happen in our lives.

To pray shows that we trust that God can change the outcome of certain things, which He can.

We must certainly understand, God will never go against His written Word!

There is nothing we can say to God that will make Him change His plan that begin before creation.

The most important thing we can pray for is “forgiveness”!

We hold the most important gift God has given us, which is the freedom to choose!

The most important prayer is to pray for the forgiveness of our sin.

God will not hear any prayer until He has first heard this prayer!

Psa 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Our greatest challenge in our prayer life is to make sure our Heavenly Father will hear our prayers!

This is the right motive for praying!

If our prayers are heard by our Heavenly Father, then we have prayed a good prayer.

We must live our lives so that our prayers are always heard by our Heavenly Father!

We must remember the answer to our prayers comes by the will of God for our lives.

We cannot change God’s will for us except by refusing.

When we are praying in public when we should be praying for that public and not for ourselves.

Our prayer life should consist of public prayer, but we must establish all prayers in our closet prayers!

We must be willing to spend some quiet time with the Lord!

We should be willing to go to God at any time and before every situation that affects our lives.

Praying is not to chant over and over!

Our prayers should be in the language that we use every day. God understands every language!

No one language, except foul language, is more important than another!

*Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Vain repetitions mean at least two things:

1) Saying the same words over and over again as in a chant. These prayers do not come from the heart and God is not listening.

2) Using certain religious words or phrases thinking God hears just because we are using religious talk. Wrong, God hears a one-word prayer if it comes from a sincere heart. Such as “Help”.

Ecc 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
Ecc 5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

We should never just rattle on without thought of what we are saying! Knowing this we must certainly not ever stop and close out our prayer until we have given God a chance to speak.

After all we are praying to receive and answer most of the time.

It is also OK to pray to God when we are not expecting and answer. We are His child, and every true father likes to speak to his children.

God already knows our needs and He promised to meet our needs.

There are times when we may feel He is not meeting our needs, but our most important task is to be living in the Will of God.

If we are not living in the will of God, then why should He meet our needs?

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

Then the Lord says our prayers should be something like this:

*Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Why can we call the Creator of this world Our Father?

1) With respect to Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, all those who choose to believe the Work of Christ toward our salvation.

Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

2) Because we are “Born Again” into the family of God and filled with the Holy Spirit.

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

3) Because we have received the free gift of “Grace”. God’s Riches at Christs Expense we can call God our Father.

2Co 1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

4) Because we have chosen to live by the Will of God and not our own will, God is then our Father.

Gal 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, “according to the will of God and our Father”:
Gal 1:5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

If we do not acknowledge God as our Father, then why would He even listen to us?

A wise earthly father does all he can for his children even if he does not grant all his child’s request the child still calls him their father.

We must respect our Heavenly Father as also God with all Power but with all Goodness also!

There is no other way to have a conversation with our Heavenly Father if we do not acknowledge Him and we must reverence Him for who He is, the Almighty Living God!

Then we can proceed with our prayer.

*Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

The Kingdom of God is greater than all the kingdoms of this world.

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.

If we cannot believe in a Heavenly Kingdom, then why take the time to pray.

Mar_11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and “shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass”; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Rev_3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Rev_21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

If we cannot believe these things and have a desire to be with our Heavenly Father in His Kingdom, then we are wasting our time praying to the One True God.

Our Heavenly Father holds power over all His creation, and we need to live according to His will on this earth!

If we cannot do the will of God, we cannot be in the family of God!

Mar_3:35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

*Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

We must desire the “mercy” of God!

We must take no thought for tomorrow we need God’s mercy day by day!

That daily bread is not just the food we eat but also that Heavenly Manna.

Mat_4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

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.

We do have a specific need for our sustenance, but we should never be praying for luxuries.

We must include Jesus!

Joh_6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Joh_6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Joh_6:48 I am that bread of life.

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.

*Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

We must understand that sins are debts, shortcomings in our service due to God.

We in debt to duty, worship, and most of all obedience to the Lord.

Obedience is where Adam failed!

We must understand that forgiveness is a favor that comes by God’s “Grace” through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our hearts must be free of ill-will toward all others!

We must first be forgiving to those who have sinned against us before we pray for our own forgiveness.

Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

We must understand that God supplies His “pardon” to us only according to these terms!

Our Heavenly Father promises to pardon us if we are obedient in all these things!

We cannot deal falsely with God and expect answer to our prayers!

*Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

God will never tempt us Himself!

Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

As Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to face temptation, we will also face temptation, but He will also deliver us out of that temptation.

2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

God will always make a way to escape that temptation! It is the worship of false gods that will cause God to lift His hand of protection away from us!

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.
1Co 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who made a way for God to deliver us from temptation.

Gal 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

All God requires of us is to pray and to pray for forgiveness!

King Jesus has already solved the sin problem for each believer!

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

God is in the business of saving souls!

Psa 121:7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
Psa 121:8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

That word “Amen” says we understand what we must do, (our part) and the God promises to do His part.

2Co_1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

However we word our prayers, they need to based, upon these things of this prayer as taught by Jesus Christ our Savior.

Why would He defend us if we reject His teaching!

We must be just as forgiving as we expect our sinless God to be!

*Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

What is the truth? If we cannot find it in our heart to forgive someone who has done us wrong, then we cannot be saved because our heart is still wicked.

Jer_17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

We cannot say we believe if we do not possess the trait of “mercy”!

Without “mercy” a loving God would have completely destroyed this world.

Psa 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
Psa 86:16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

God would not be God if, He was not merciful!

How can we expect to be accepted into the family of God if we do not show that same “mercy”?

What will God do to those who refuse to forgive? Listen to what Jesus says.

Mat 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

To be forgiven:

1) We must confess our sins.
2) We must have faith in God and believe he is capable of forgiving such unworthy sinners.
3) We must repent, we must turn away from our wickedness, forsake our sins, and turn to God believing in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ to save our souls.
4) We must forgive “all” those who wronged us. Hard feelings and anger are sins that must be confessed to show we are sincere in seeking the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father.

When we refuse to forgive then we become a judge of another person’s sin:

Luk_6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Without these things we cannot be saved and do not be fooled by naysayers!

God makes a promise to forgive to all those who also are willing to forgive.

We are all still sinners, but those sins will be forgiven upon request.

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.

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

It all goes back to that forgiving heart that shows “mercy”!

*Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

We have seen this word “fast” in some of our recent lessons and we can see that Jesus takes for granted that we as Christians will have a time when we need to fast to prove to God, we are serious about some request.

The most dangerous fast is the fast that is wrong!

Fasting as a “hypocrite” is wrong!

Why do we fast?

1) We fast to gain a sense of God’s approval and of self-approval. This is wrong!
2) We fast to fulfill some religious act. This is wrong!
3) We fast gain religious recognition. This is wrong!
4) We fast to genuinely meet God for some special purpose. This is the only reason to fast!

Our heart must be pure!

Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

We must desire the knowledge of God!

Hos 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

We must not act super-spiritual!
We must never be over-confident in ourselves, our confidence must be in the Lord.
Our fasting experience is our own and not to be broadcast.
We must never act like we are suffering from our fasting experience.

If we cannot give up a couple of meals for the Lord what does that say about us!

The more secretive we are with our fasting the closer we are to an answer from God!

No one else needs to know about our fasting it is between us and a Holy God.

We must fast to God alone, there is no other reason to fast!!!!!!!

We fast when we are feeling a call from God a call to get alone with God and discuss His calling.
We fast to prove to God He is most important to us.
We fast because our needs come from Him as He promised.
We fast because we are serious in our request.
We fast to break the bondage of our habits.
We fast to remain physically fit to serve the Lord.
We fast because God and God only, has the answers to our request!

Amen

Jesus Is Tested

March 21, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Was Tested as a King

Book of Matthew Chapter 4 Verse 1 through 11

We should remember the numbering of the Chapters and verses in the modern Bible did not exist in the time of Jesus so if we back up to Chapter 3 in the Book of Matthew, we find these verses.

Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

It is this time that the Lord Jesus Christ began His earthly ministry!

The next thing we see is the beginning of our lesson today.

We will find Jesus being tempted of the Devil.

What is temptation? We could say temptation is “enticement”. Enticed to do things that go against the Word of God!

The source of all temptation is Satan and the works of Satan.

Satan can be effective in his works of temptation because we live in the flesh.

We know that God cannot be tempted and neither does He tempt any of His children nor is He the source of temptation to those who are lost.

Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

When we read that Jesus is tempted of Satan, we should understand that it is because Jesus was 100% man still being 100% God.

It was extremely important that Jesus, while in His flesh be sin free, impeccable. After salvation this should be our goal.

We will see that Jesus did not just wander into temptation but the Holy Spirit who drove Christ Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil.

There is no place we can go upon this earth that we will not be exposed to temptation!

The Holy Spirit drove Jesus Christ into the wilderness which may not be far from where Jesus was baptized of John the Baptist.

*Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

We must never understand that this was the only time that our Lord Jesus faced temptation because He was tempted throughout His ministry upon this earth, but He cannot be tempted now that He is back in Heaven as said in the Book of James but also in other places.

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

We should understand that if Christ Jesus was so tempted then, while in His flesh, then it could have been possible that He could have sinned if He so chose to.

To be a true man then Jesus was capable of sinning!

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:
1Pe 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
1Pe 2:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

We should understand as a test of our own goodness, God will allow us to be tempted of Satan.

All human goodness needs the strain of temptation.

We will never have a testimony until we have been tested!

We do not know what form Satan took in his temptation of Christ Jesus, but we do know he took the form of a serpent when he went after Eve.

When we read and study this passage, we know this temptation was terrible enough but the worst of the times of the temptation of Christ came in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Luk 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

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.
Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Heb 12:4 “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin”.
Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Before this temptation began our Lord Jesus first fasted.

*Mat 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Fasting has been in the Church from the beginning and again our example is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Fasting has a place in our relationship with the Lord.

Fasting is a means to teach us self-discipline.

Fasting is a means of preparation for beginning a ministry as it seems the Lord Jesus was doing here in this passage.

Fasting is not a means to obtain God’s Grace!

Grace comes by beginning a “sincere” relationship with the Lord by accepting the work He did for our salvation.

All fast are not acceptable to the Lord.

Isa 58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Isa 58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
Isa 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
Isa 58:10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
Isa 58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

We are bought and paid for with the blood of Jesus, making Jesus our new owner. We should hate man-made slavery, but it is a privilege to be a slave to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Fasting is not a substitute for righteousness.

The ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ began with a fast for 40 days and forty nights and there can be little doubt that Jesus was very hungry.

We should understand that Satan (the Tempter) will usually show up when we are in a period of physical and mental weakness.

He will then try to confront us with his lies.

*Mat 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

In this temptation of our Lord we must remember that Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. If Jesus in the flesh could not fulfill His ministry without being sustained by His Godly power, then no human would be able to do so.

Jesus had to refrain from using the power of God to sustain Himself. It will obvious He did use some portions of Godly power to help others as we study the Gospels but never for Himself!

These are called miracles which He still does today!

God will help us because we do not have the power within ourselves to do so!

In fact the greatest lesson we will learn in life is, that we cannot help ourselves to obtained salvation, we need the Lord Jesus Christ in a personal relationship to be saved.

The Lord Jesus Christ possesses the only means of salvation. Do not be fooled by naysayers!

By the end of those forty days, Jesus in His flesh had reached a point where it was critical that He get something to eat.

Satan knew this as he had been spying on Jesus all this time.

There is nothing outside God’s creative power except the power to do wrong!

There is hardly anywhere you go in Israel where you will not see stones and many of those stones were round and to the hungry eye, they could appear to be small loaves of bread.

It would have been really easy for the Lord to do this.

In fact John the Baptist said God could just as easily raised up humans from those same stones.

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.

Jesus later said if He needed to hear praise He could just as easily gotten praise from those same stones.

Luk 19:40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Yes, He could have easily changed those stones into bread, but He did have a response to the tempter.

*Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The message of Satan: Go ahead and trust yourself, you do not need God.

The message of Jesus to Satan: I choose to live by God’s ways!

This must be our answer! We must choose to live according to the Word of God!

Jesus had all the power of God, but it is always best to live by the Word of God!

As humans we may be bound by our human necessities, but when we base our existence on our necessities, then these things will become our standard for living.

God lives upon a greater plain and He knows we have human needs, and it is He, that supplies those needs so, we need much more than life’s necessities.

We need God! We do not need some false god, we need Jehovah God, and we need the truth of life and the truth of Spiritual life!

We have in our possession a Book of Truth. The world can only provide lies with very little truth because higher powers have decided that the public is too ignorant to know the truth.

God on the other hand is not afraid to give us the truth!

Our physical life is but a short period of time, but our Spiritual life is forever!

Jesus quoted part of a passage from the Book of Deuteronomy.

Deu 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; “that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live”.

Every human being has a spiritual hunger that must be satisfied yet, so many settle with falseness, and they are never really satisfied in this life.
Many reject the need for spiritual things, and this leads them to a miserable life.

Many choose some sort of substitute for the truth and they ruin their bodies and their minds. They are happy one day and miserable for many more days, and livein endless cycles of denial.

We can only be at peace when we have the satisfaction of the Lord Jesus Christ and depend upon the truth of the Scriptures for true life now, and endless life forever.

When we get to Heaven, we will be more alive than we can ever obtain here upon this earth.

The Devil did not like the response of the Lord, so he took the Lord to Jerusalem.

*Mat 4:5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Mat 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

As there was not a designated pinnacle upon the roof of the Temple, the Greek word used here means the highest point of the roof of the Temple. The apex of the building.

The word pinnacle in architecture, is a term used for a wing-like projection and was most probably one of the Temple porches that overlooked the Kedron Valley that is between the Mount of Olives and Mount Moriah which adds to its height.

We should understand that the city of Jerusalem also sits upon a hill and at this time of Jesus, Jerusalem was probably the highest capitol city in the ancient world.

In the Gospels only Matthew describes Jerusalem as the Holy City.

Again the Devil quotes Scripture. We must understand that Satan has read every bit of Scripture and he can understand it as much as any lost person can, but without the Holy Spirit he cannot understand the truth of the message of God.

Here, the Devil quotes from the Book of Psalms.

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.

Of course God could get safely off the top of any high peak, but in the flesh the Lord would have perished.

The angels would have certainly rushed to His rescue.

We must remember that Satan was trying to get Jesus to use His godly powers to save Himself.

He did not have to prove Himself to Satan. Satan knew exactly who the Lord Jesus was.

Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

If Jesus was a human Messiah, then certainly God the Father would have not allowed Him to be injured.

The Lord Jesus gives us a great understanding of the truth of God!

No matter our relationship with our Heavenly Father we must never tempt God.

God will do exactly what He says He will do and in most cases He will go far beyond what He says, but we must never test God just to see if He is telling the truth.

What our Heavenly Father says is the truth without question! God is not to be tested! God is to be trusted!

Faith is the greatest key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father!

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.

The Lord Jesus replies sternly to Satan.

*Mat 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

We must clearly understand, the only way we can obtain the glory of the Lord is by obedience!

God gave us His Word so we could know the truth and decide ourselves who to believe!

This is where Adam failed and this in the one thing we must overcome!

Again Jesus quotes from the Old Testament, the New Testament had not been written.

Deu 6:16 “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God”, as ye tempted him in Massah.

At Massah, Moses and Aaron had displayed distrust in Jehovah when they tried to glorify themselves with a miracle of God.

Num 20:7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
Num 20:9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
Num 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
Num 20:11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
Num 20:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

We should understand this as the one thing that kept Moses from leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land.

We as the Church understand that it is by “obedience” to the Word of God that we enter into God’s true Promised Land, the New Heaven.

We must never tempt our Heavenly Father!
We must always obey the written Word of God!

The Lord Jesus Christ in His flesh could never misuse the true power He had while He was upon this Earth!

Again, Satan was defeated but Satan will never stop until the Lord is through with him, but he can only tempt us, he cannot force us to sin if you are one of God’s children by Jesus Christ.

We sin when we choose to go against the Word of God!

*Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

What is the greatest sin we do as Christians today? We compromise our ministry and our mission in the work of Christ with this evil and wicked world!

We lose our testimony and are all but useless in the work the Lord has given us to do!

It is not important to know if there is such a mountain in this world.

It is important to know that as powerful as Satan maybe, he does not have absolute power on this earth and he never has had that power.

It would have only been important to Satan if he could convince the flesh side of the Messiah that he did have this power.

In these three temptations we have seen the truth of the temptations of the Devil.

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.

Our Lord Jesus was tempted in these three things.

Satan maybe the prince of this world but he will be judged and spend eternity in Hell just like every other non-believer!

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

He is also called the prince of the power of the air:

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

We should clearly understand that Satan only has limited power, and that limited power is under the control of Jehovah God!

Many a national leader has fallen under the trap of that same offer Satan made to the Lord Jesus Christ.

We see it every day in the USA, the craving for power.

Eventually the Antichrist will step upon the scene and he will crave for worldly power.

Luke wrote it like this:

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.

Satan is indeed the ruler of darkness, but darkness is always overruled by Light.

Shine a light into a dark room and you will see darkness flee to its limited places to hide where darkness becomes shadows that move about as the light moves about always hiding from the light.

Jesus gives Satan His greatest rebuke.

*Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

We must understand that though Satan is powerful, he does not have the power of God.

God will never lead us into temptation, but this is Satan’s favorite game!

We are to put on the armor of God and take our stand even if we are facing the Devil!

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

We must know who has the greatest power!

1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Satan cannot overcome the child of God unless we allow it to happen.

We are to worship only the Lord our God and He only are we to serve! It is just that simple!

The Devil gave up for a moment, but he tempted Jesus all the days he was upon the Earth.

*Mat 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

The Lord Jesus Christ describes to us actual scenes. We do not know what form the Devil used and it is not important.

These were not dreams that the Lord had but a reality, and it will be the same for each of us that love Him.

Satan just does not give up!

If Satan is bold enough to tempt the Lord, knowing who He was then, why should we think he will not come after us.

Now he may not come himself. Remember Satan can only be in one place at a time, but he will send one of his demons.

Satan will do his very best to ruin our Christian testimony, but without his temptations, we would not have a testimony to begin with.

We have the power within us to resist the Devil, the Tempter, Satan, the Deceiver, or whatever you want to call him!

It begins with Scripture.

Many Churches today listen to preachers who twist the truth because they have sold out to Satan.

They preach from perverted text with intent to deceive because they are already sold out to the Devil.

If you know the Scriptures then run them out of the pulpits of America, and you will witness the greatest change this nation has ever had!

The angels did come to minister to the Lord for no doubt he was weak, which is another lesson for us.

Even in His weakness, the Lord easily overcame the full power of Satan with His flesh side!

Jesus Christ is our example in everything we do for the Lord God!

Amen

Born To Be King

March 14, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Was Presented as a King

Book of Matthew Chapter 3

We should understand that the Gospels are not intended to give us a day by day, account of the life of Jesus.

The intent of the Gospels are to teach us how the Church was to begin.

The intent of the Gospels are to teach us God’s plan of salvation.

The intent of the Gospels are to teach the Jews the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.

We will find a thirtyyear gap between chapter 2 and chapter 3 of Matthew’s Gospel.

This chapter begins with the forerunner, John the Baptist.

A fulfillment of prophecy.

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.

Chapter 3 Verse 1

*Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

“In those days” means the days the Lord Jesus Christ walked upon this earth.

This wilderness was a true wilderness. It was a wild, barren and desolate place and it was in this same area where we will find that the Lord was tempted of Satan.

In general, when the Bible speaks of a wilderness in the New Testament it means a less cultivated place opposed to pastureland that is plowed regularly.

John lived in the true wilderness.

John was the forerunner for Jesus Christ, and he had begun his own ministry.

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.

God had sent many prophets and many true priests and many messengers to the Jews and yet they had rebelled against them all, killing many of them.

We know that John the Baptist would also be murdered for taking a stand against a wicked government but not before his ministry was complete and the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ had begun.

What was his message?

Repent, for the kingdom of God was at hand.

To repent is not just to feel sorrow and regret but it is a complete change in lifestyle, a complete change in your heart, and a complete change in your way of thinking!

Daniel best describes the kingdom of God:

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

The Lord’s kingdom is not of this earth.

Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Joh 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Though the Lord will rule this earth as King for 1000 years, His true Kingdom will be in the New Jerusalem where all the saints of God will join Him to be with Him forever and forever.

*Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

We already have seen this prophecy but let us see it again.

What is “make His paths straight”?

The image of making His paths straight is as building a highway leveling the mountains, filling in the valleys making a sure path to God’s future kingdom, even though that road would be a narrow one.

Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The Lord Jesus Christ provides that only pathway to God’s rebuilt Heaven. Not many ways but one way and that way by the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is the job of every Christian to prepare the way of the Lord to the lost!

The ways of John remind us of that Old Testament prophet Elijah.

*Mat 3:4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

You cannot be a prophet of God without spending a lot of time alone with God!

John chose the wilderness of Judah.

2Ki 1:7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?
2Ki 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

The raiment of Elijah was made of camel’s hair or the skin of a hairy animal.

That raiment sounds like it would be rough but in fact camel’s hair was a good material for clothing, keeping out the heat, the cold, and the rain.

A prophet of God would never wear clothing that could deceive a person.

The Christian is told to wear modest clothing:

1Ti_2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

Jesus asked the religious leaders this question:

Mat 11:7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
Mat 11:8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
Mat 11:9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
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.

Jesus loves and respects all those who prepare the way before Him:

Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John the Baptist brought baptism by immersion to a reality.

*Mat 3:5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
Mat 3:6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

The preaching of John was real.
The preaching of John was about the truth.
The preaching of John was about repentance.

John had the same message to the poor, the rich, to the religious elders, and to the government!

There was no baptism without first confessing your sins and confessing repentance.

What is our first confession? We must confess we are a sinner.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Our next confession is the need of a Savior, and there is only One Savior.

2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1Jn 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

Next comes baptism:

Baptism was not new because baptism was practiced in all ancient religions.

For John, baptism was an outward sign or repentance and a changed life. To be baptized was also to promise the Lord we would have that faith in His cleansing of our sins.

The full immersion baptism must represent the death the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The full immersion baptism must be done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost!

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Baptism cannot save, it is only an admission that Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved from a Devil’s Hell!

If you cannot believe all these things, then you are only taking a bath and a hundred baptisms will never get you closer to the Lord and a sprinkling can only get you wet!

John preached hard against religious deceivers:

Mat 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Mat 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mat 3:9 And think 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.
Mat 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

If we refuse to repent, then we cannot receive the Holy Spirit.

If we do not show the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, then we are not saved.

What is the fruit of the Holy Spirit?

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 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

These Pharisee and Sadducee were not going to repent, and they did not bear the fruit of the Spirit.

We should understand the meaning of being called a “viper”.

A viper is full of deadly poison and venom. The doctrine of false religion is full of malice against the truth and is deadly in that it will separate you from the love and the presence of God!

We live in a world today where the truth is rejected, and the poison is received.

Notice John was a true preacher and not afraid of organize religion.

Both John and the Lord Jesus Christ would not be welcome in the Church of today!

It is not baptism with water that saves!

It is being washed in the blood of Jesus and then baptized with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will not live in a false house.

*Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

You see until you accept that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one and the only way to remain in the presence of God, then you cannot be a home for the Holy Spirit.

1Co_3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

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?

You cannot be a Living Temple of God until you are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.

1Co_6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Heb_9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

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:

Do not be fooled by organized religion!

Jesus will thoroughly cleanse this earth from all sin, and none will be allowed in Heaven!

We are not as worthy as John and though he was the forerunner, a great prophet, who even made Herod tremble, said he was unworthy to be even a slave to the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must be washed with the water of the Holy Spirit which means surrounded, immersed, inside and outside by and with the Holy Spirit.

It means a new birth!

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.

Joh_3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The fan of Christ Jesus is the “Gospel”!
His floor is the “Church” which is covered in a mixture of wheat and chaff.

Jesus will gather the wheat, those who are washed in the Spirit, to take to Heaven, and He will purge all who reject Him for a lifetime of torment!

Even Jesus was baptized to show us all that repentance is real even though He had no sin to repent of.

*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.

Jesus teaches us that we must set our life apart unto our Heavenly Father in a renewed spirit of dedication.

Jesus always did the will of our Heavenly Father and we must do our best to do the same!

Joh_5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

The One and Only Living Example we have is the Lord Jesus Christ who teaches us by example.

Being 100% man but truly 100% God, Jesus made sure his human side did never exalt Himself above other humans.

He was and is higher than the highest but showed himself as a humble human being who lived in the will of His Heavenly Father.

Jesus needed to be baptized but he needed to be baptized by John specifically.

Jesus had traveled by foot from Nazareth of Galilee to where John was on the River Jordan which was a long walk.

It is on this day of His baptism that the Lord Jesus Christ began His earthly ministry!

It was John who had been preparing the way for Him.

The Lord Jesus identified Himself with the ministry of John the Baptist.

What was John’s message? “Repent and be baptized for the Kingdom of God was at hand”.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the door, not the doorway, but the door to the Kingdom of Heaven!

He is the founder of Christianity.
He is the Head of the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
He is the purchaser of all Righteousness, which He did on the Cross.
He is the Ideal Man our true Example!

John already had stated that the Messiah was much greater than he and said to the Lord “I need to be baptized of thee”.

John was not one to humble himself before anyone. He boldly preached the truth of God, but we must all humble ourselves before our righteous God!

All manner of people had come to John to be baptized but John knew he was nothing compared to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Neither are any of us!

There is no disgrace in humbling yourself before the Master!

**Jesus came to fulfill every law written by Moses and He did, He was the perfect man, to become the perfect High Priest.

Exo 29:4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
Exo 29:5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:
Exo 29:6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
Exo 29:7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

** Jesus came to pay “every man’s” penalty for breaking those same laws, there 613 laws given by Moses.

** Jesus demonstrated to the fullest extent His humiliation in becoming a man.

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.

**Jesus identified Himself with all those He came to save!

**Jesus became the pattern for every human being!

**Jesus began His ministry, as the High Priest always entered his ministry in such a ceremony.

When Jesus came up out of the water, our Heavenly Father recognized His Only Begotten Son.

*Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The Heavens opened. We will get to see this one day soon.
The Holy Spirit descended like a dove.

Remember this was a sign given to John the Baptist to verify the Messiah.

Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
Joh 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

The voice of a Holy God spoke about His Son.

“Noticed God said, “my beloved Son”.

One day when we get to Heaven our Heavenly Father will say welcome home son or welcome home daughter.

Amen

King Jesus Came To Save

February 28, 2021February 28, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Was Born as a King

Book of Matthew Chapter 1

The Book of Matthew. Nowhere in the Bible nor in this blessed book does it say the Matthew was the writer, but the evidence is very strong that he is.

Before the year 100 A D, the early Church historians had already accepted that Matthew was the writer by the Holy Spirit of this great book.

Remember:

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.

The key word in this passage is “ALL” which includes the Book of Matthew and the writer Matthew.

Matthew wrote in the Hebrew tongue also using the Hebrew dialect so the early Christians which before 100 A D were mostly Jews could completely understand.

In fact we can say that the Book of Matthew was written to the Jews the Hebrew children.

We can also say the Book of Matthew was written to the Church because Matthew was a Christian writer.

Matthew was claiming the Messiah who came to save the entire world.

The Lord can save anybody, anywhere, anytime!

The Great Deliverer had arrived just as God had promised!

The purpose of the Book of Matthew is to show us the Lord Jesus Christ is the true Messiah but also Savior, and soon returning King of kings and Lord of lords.

Matthew begins by proving that the prophecies of the Old Testament will be fulfilled by the Messiah who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Book of Matthew is built around the teaching of the Gospel in a way that is not complicated and easy to be understood.

The Lord keeps salvation simple. You come to Him with a repentant heart and ask for His forgiveness and He will forgive!

Matthew teaches us of our soon coming King.

Matthew begins with the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

*Mat 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew begins with proof of the reality of the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We see the genealogy that was extracted from public archives which were carefully preserved and placed under the special care of the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin are the supreme council of the Jewish people in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Sanhedrin Council can be traced, in the Mishna, to the seventy elders whom Moses was directed to establish with him making seventy-one.

Num 11:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
Num 11:17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.

We see that this council was directly established by the Lord.

The one main question that would be asked by ordinary Jews was “Is He Of The House Of David”.

The name most used by the Jews and by foreigners was: “thou Son of David” used 16 times in the “Gospels”.

Mat 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

Matthew proves that the Lord Jesus is the Son of David and also the Son of Abraham, being then also the son of Adam.

This genealogy extends from father to son whereas, in the Book of Luke the genealogy extends from son to father.

Say what we will about the differences in these two genealogies, the fact remains they both trace the Lord Jesus back to King David, therefore making the Lord Jesus the rightful heir to the throne of Israel according to the commandment of Jehovah God.

The “Virgin Birth” was the means used our Heavenly Father used to cause this to happen!

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.

The doctrine of the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ is equally important as the doctrine of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Our Heavenly Father gave to King David the promise of eternal government!

2Sa 7:12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
2Sa 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

This is the Lord Jesus that fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies!

*Mat 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

If we read closely this line of genealogy, we cannot help but see the “begats” stopped at Joseph. We see that Joseph had a father who was named Jacob after his forefathers, but Joseph did not begat the Messiah. By the power of the Holy Ghost, Matthew simply states that the Messiah was born of Mary just as the prophecy had stated and Joseph had to adopt Jesus placing Him next in line for the throne of Israel that did not exist at that time, as Israel was a conquered nation under Roman power. Rome was very cautious of anyone claiming to be King especially of the Jews.

*Mat 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

We should understand that Matthew divided the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ into three sets, each containing fourteen steps of descent because it was a practice familiar to readers of Jewish antiquities.

1) The first period of Israel’s history symbolizes God giving birth to Israel through Abraham and giving dominion through King David.

2) The second symbolizes Israel losing its dominion and being enslaved as a result of God’s judgment upon sin.

3) The third period of Israel’s history symbolizes Israel’s ultimate triumph through the Messiah and and God’s liberating power, still in our future.

Matthew continues by the Holy Spirit to the birth of the Messiah.

*Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

The Bible explains in great detail the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ according to prophecy.

Remember what the Prophet had said:

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.

This precious young lady had been admired by many and yet slandered and abused by many more in her time and in our day.

An espousal in the time of Christ was betrothing by promise. Today we would say engaged. An engagement can be broken at any time, but an espousal could only be broken by divorce.

Both the man and the woman, because a true marriage can only take place by one man to one woman according to the Scriptures, would promise to stay pure, they both being “virgin” until the time of the wedding.

This Scripture says it so plainly. Mary being espoused to Joseph, “before they came together”, she was found to be pregnant with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even today the world just refuses to believe such a thing even when in our day any virgin can become pregnant by artificial insemination.

Adam was born without a mother or a father and so was Eve.

These things are not hard to understand if we just trust the Word of God.

If we are to be believers, then we must believe!

The birth of Christ was by the Holy Spirit!

Never before had a man been born “through the Holy Spirit”!

It is important that we trust the truth of the Word of God!

It is also important that we believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was 100% man but also 100% God.

Jesus was born of a virgin by the Holy Ghost.

Our Messiah was not of man but of God.

Emmanuel means “God with us”.

The Greek word for Christ and Messiah is the same word “Christos”.

Messiah is the Hebrew word and Christ is the Greek word and both refer to the same person and they both mean the exact same thing!

The “Anointed of One”. The Anointed One of God!

When the Lord came to this earth as the Messiah “Christ” the Hebrew people were praying dearly for Him to come because of the oppression of Rome.

We know the God always hears the cries of the oppressed!

Life was hard in those days!

People felt that God could not wait much longer.

This is the same feeling we have today!

In fact the believers knew the prophecies of Daniel and knew that time was near,

Many claimed falsely to be the Messiah.

Even Barabbas was an insurrectionist who was leading a rebellion against Rome before he was captured, though we do not see where he claimed to be the Messiah.

He was certainly a murderer as was the government of Rome!

Many believed that Christ would come by the line of King David and free the Jews from the oppression of Rome.
Many believed the Messiah would be a great military leader.
Many believed the Messiah would be the great Spiritual leader who would bring righteousness to all the earth.
Many believed the Messiah would be the One who would bring Peace to all the earth.

All these things are true, but we must wait upon God’s timing.

Jesus the Christ is the Messiah!

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

Mar 14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
Mar 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Joh 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

The name Jesus shows that He was a man.
The name Christ shows that He is God’s “Anointed”, God’s very own Son!

He is the true Prophet:

Deu 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deu 18:16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deu 18:17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
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.
Deu 18:19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Compare:

Luk 7:16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

He is the Highest of High Priest:

Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Compare:

Heb 7:23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
Heb 7:24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Heb 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Heb 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Heb 7:28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

He will be King of Kings and Lord of lords:

Compare:

Joh 12:13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Joseph, not understanding at this time, but still loving Mary did not intend to make her a public example.

*Mat 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

As men, we can understand the predicament of Joseph, but not many of us would be as understanding as Joseph.

I can tell each of you though, until you have had a visit with the Holy Spirit, you will never understand these things.

Joseph was certainly a righteous man and he did not want an ugly divorce to be with Mary all her days.

Joseph did not want to expose her to a public disgrace!

You see, an espousal was so important that Mary would have been exposed to authorities and she would carry this the rest of her life.

Joseph struggled with his decision. Joseph was in a predicament!

The birth of Christ Jesus was a predicament for Joseph.

Joseph loved Mary dearly and he did not want to see her hurt, but like most men he lost his trust in her being a faithful wife.

As a man of God, Joseph was not Mary’s judge, God was.

We must understand that love covers a multitude of sins!

1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

In the Jewish marriage there were three steps.

1) There was the engagement. The parents usually determined who their children would marry.
2) The betrothal. At a certain time, the couple would agree or disagree with the engagement. If they agreed the betrothal was legally binding.
3) The marriage. The consummation of the couple would take place.

We know that Joseph did not consummate his marriage to Mary, until after the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We all wish our young people would take more time in their decision to marry and to live together before marriage is sin!

While Joseph thought on these things, he had a visit from on High.

*Mat 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

We should understand that when the Lord has something for us, he will not leave us in the dark about it.

Joseph was born in the line of King David.

Joseph thought of nothing else but about his marriage which showed his great love for Mary his espoused wife.

Joseph went to the Lord seeking answers and the Lord responded by sending the angel Gabriel.

We know Gabriel as one of the three archangels of God.

Gabriel spoke to Joseph as in a dream and gave Joseph the answer to his thoughts.

Maybe not the answer Joseph thought, but the answer that was the right thing to do!

Joseph did not feel like a king, but he might be king of Israel if not for Rome.

Joseph would not have claimed the throne because it would have caused his death.

Joseph was awakened to the fact the Messiah would come and come to his own household as a babe born of Mary.

At this time Joseph was just a carpenter.

We must get alone with God when the decisions we are trying to make, go beyond us and we need help.

We might be surprised at the message we hear from the Lord as was Joseph.

The Messiah would be born JESUS. (Jehoshua) which means Savior, Deliverer.

The Messiah would first come to save, but not first as King, though He would be born as King once Joseph adopted Him.

Since Jesus cannot die, he will be King forever!

He will save His people from their sins!

The Hebrew form Joshua means Jehovah is salvation. Jesus would be this Savior!

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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.

Why was this done? To fulfill prophecy!

*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.

When God says something is going to happen then we can trust that it will happen!

The Lord Jesus Christ came first to save.

He returned to Heaven as the High Priest to those who believe!

This same Jesus will return as King!

Act_1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Just because most of the world rejects this truth does not make it any less true!

Prophecy is the Word of God, not the words of men!
Prophecy is the future revealed by God Himself!
The prophet is a messenger of God and not the spokesmen of God!
Prophecy must come true or God would be a liar!

It is impossible for God to lie!

Heb_6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

Matthew began by saying this is way the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about.

a) Mary was found with child by the Holy Spirit.
b) What is conceived inside her came by the Holy Spirit.
c) All this was done according to prophecy. Isa 7:14
d) All this took place to fulfill prophecy.

Matthew did not give us the details of the birth of Christ.

It is important for us to know that the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah are fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. (Jesus Christ)

The Jews needed to know the Messiah was born of a virgin just as proclaimed by the prophets!

The Lord Jesus Christ was not born out of wedlock as proclaimed by the naysayers.

Joseph took Mary to be His wife even though he did not consummate his marriage to Mary until after the birth of our Lord and Savior.

*Mat 1:24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
Mat 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

You know when the Lord gives you something then you can be at peace of mind as you go about life.

Joseph was going to Marry the love of his life and raise a family and none of that had changed.

There would be one addition to the family that Joseph had not planned on, but it would not change his responsibilities.

Joseph already obeyed God as did Mary, and none of that would change.

When we trust the Word of God it is not important what the world thinks!

Not many people would ever believe what the Angel Gabriel had told them both.

Mary had some assurance from her cousin Elisabeth who had also received a great miracle.

Joseph was merciful and gentle toward Mary even though the child she carried was not his own, but He would be raised as his own.

Joseph forgave as he was forgiven, and he had the attitude of a believer.

We know Joseph raised his son well as any father would because the Lord Jesus was also known as a Carpenter, which showed that Joseph loved his son and was preparing Him!

Mar_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.

His family also considered His brothers and sisters!

Oh what a Savior!

Amen

King Jesus Rules This Earth

August 9, 2020 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Millennial Kingdom

Book of Revelation Chapter 20

In Chapter 19 we saw the Lord Jesus Christ bring the “Judgment” of God upon all those who had the “mark of the beast” and all those who fell down to worship the image of the beast.

The Earth is almost completely destroyed!

The Lord Jesus will now set the captives free, but King Jesus will also rule for one thousand years and He will rule those who remain with a “rod of iron” which means He will make the laws, which we know will the same Word of God we have today and He will not tolerate any deviation from His law.

Jer 30:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 30:2 Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
Jer 30:3 For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
Jer 30:4 And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.

The Lord Jesus will not rule a destroyed earth because He will remake the earth, as it was in the days of Adam “before sin entered into the world”.

Jesus will reclaim what Adam lost!

*Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Who is the identity of this angel?

We know that Satan was just an angel. He was not the greatest of angels, nor is it ever said that he was a strong angel.

He was just an angel who was to lead the worship of the other angels in Heaven!

Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Because Satan was just an angel, even though an Archangel (Lucifer), it will only take another angel to subdue him.

Personally, I hope the Lord just allows the smallest angel in Heaven to do this thing.

Before the Lord will begin to rule for one thousand years, there are some things that need to be taken care of.

The first being Satan needs to be bound and out of the picture.

He is just a tool in the Lord’s hand, and he will not be needed for those one thousand years!

*Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Notice, he is named the Devil, Satan, the dragon, and that old serpent, just so we will know he is the same one who deceived Eve, who caused Adam to sin, and who we have found throughout the Scriptures and now here in the Book of Revelation.

Satan has never been bound during the Church Age, but he is under the complete control of Jehovah God, the Lord Jesus Christ!

He must have the permission of the Lord before he can plague a child of God.

He is allowed a lot of freedom with those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

What do we know about the Devil? He was an original angel named Lucifer and dwelt in Heaven.
He is one of the main reasons there will be a New Heaven, a New Jerusalem, and a New Earth.
God only lives in places that are pure!

He rebelled against Jehovah and was cast out of Heaven onto the earth where he became prince of the power of the air and the (little g) god of this age, he is still allowed to accuse God’s children.

During the Great Tribulation, he will be limited to the earth, and have no more contact with the Lord.

At the end of the Great Tribulation, he will be bound, chained, in the bottomless pit for one thousand years, where he will just be one of the others who are already there. He has no importance in the bottomless pit!

Lucifer’s only significance is that he is just a tool in the hands of God!

This is the subject of our lesson today.

Just so we know, spirit beings can be chained with a heavenly chain!

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;

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.

Those heavenly chains are chains of darkness. They are everlasting chains that only God can remove!

For one thousand years, the mouth of that old accuser will be taped shut and closed.
For one thousand years, old Satan will be amongst the other angels that rebelled.
For one thousand years, people can live without temptation.
For one thousand years, the Devil cannot lead anyone into sin.

For those who live today, we see that only Heaven has the power to overcome the evil wickedness of that old Serpent who first brought sin into this world!

For those who live today, we can see that there is coming a day when doors will not have to be locked and people can walk the streets without fear of being robbed or molested in any way.

The Lord Jesus when He came from Heaven, He did not come alone!

*Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Just who will sit upon these thrones?

Dan 7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

If there are to be “judges” then obviously there will be people to judge, and the only ones who remain alive are those who refused the “Mark of the Beast”.

They rejected the Mark of the Beast, but they have not yet accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

The Millennial reign of Christ will be a time that is far different from any other period of history, but there will still be only one salvation plan!

There will still be only one Word of God! The exact same book we call today, the Bible, and there will be no perverted versions of the Bible.

Those that sit to “judge” will have these same Scriptures as the guide to Judgment!

1Co_6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

I personally believe that the Saints of God will judge the Gentiles that remain.

I personally believe it will be the Apostles who will judge the Hebrew children who have survived.

Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

These are the words of Jesus, so they must be taken just as they are written.

There are many who survived the Great Tribulation or there would be no need of judges.

These judges will be somewhat as described in the Old Testament to defend the truth of God!

No one will be allowed to go by their own thoughts, nor live according to their own ways!

It may also be true that the “martyrs” will remain closest to the Lord.

We have the Church (the Bride of Christ) who will be on a one thousand-year honeymoon.

We have the resurrected saints, the 144,000 Hebrew evangelist, and martyrs from the Great Tribulation.

There will be at the last, a resurrection of the dead who will all go to the White Throne of Judgment where they will be judged.

This will not take place until the end of the one thousand years!

*Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

It could be said that the Rapture of the Saints of God does not reach its climax until the Bride of Christ returns with the Lord to this earth for the Lord to rule for one thousand years.

Luk 14:13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
Luk 14:14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

It could also be said that this is the first resurrection outside the “Church Age”. The period of time called the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble”.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

What do we already know?

Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mat 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Mat 27:54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

At the resurrection of the Lord, many Old Testament Saints also arose from their graves and we hear no more about them.

Who is to say that some similar thing did not occur as the Lord Jesus sat down upon His earthly throne?

In reality there are but two resurrections!

Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

1) There is the resurrection to life. Which may take place on more than one occasion.

2) There is the resurrection to damnation, that will take place only once!

This is exactly what we understand from verse 6.

All those who serve with the Lord when He sits as King of kings and Lord of lords, are all part of that group who are those who have been resurrected to life and the second death holds no power over them.

We should understand that there will be many alive that are not in glorified bodies at this time, but have lived through the Great Tribulation or there would be no need for judges nor priests.

All these will live for one thousand years under King Jesus as He rules with a rod of iron.

There will be many births but there may be no death or limited death.

The earth will be restored to be like it was in the first days of Adam before sin entered in this world.

There will be no temptation!

No one can be in the family of God who has not been tempted to do evil.

We must all have a testimony!

To accomplish this, The Lord will release Satan for “a very” short season.

*Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

What has happened during those one thousand years?

1) To begin with:

Amo 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
Amo 9:14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Amo 9:15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

Eze 36:33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.
Eze 36:34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
Eze 36:35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

Isa 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Isa 35:2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

Isa 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

Isa 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isa 55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Joe 3:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

But the Lord will rule with a rod of iron:

The population will have grown tremendously.

God has one rule!

All those who will live throughout eternity with Him will choose to do so. Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ does not force Himself upon anyone!

What we see in our nation and in this world, there are those who always try to force themselves upon people. Today intimidation is the tool most used.

Even these who have been raised in perfection must get the opportunity to hear the lies of Satan and then make their choice.

The end is always the same! To be on the side of the Lord is to be on the winning side!

The One who turned Satan loose is the same one who bound him.

He is just a tool in the hands of the Lord who has a purpose just as we all do.

One thousand years locked up in Hell’s prison will have no effect in rehabilitation for Satan. He is the same evil and wicked person he has always been, and he will immediately seek an army to battle again with the Lord.

He does not seek angels.
He is still limited to the earth.
He will again try to bring chaos to this earth.

We should understand that most of Israel, and after the one thousand years, many have been born and the population of earth is tremendous.

They have lived one thousand years under the hand of King Jesus and the Saints of God.

The Lord has met all the needs of the people all these years.

The one thing missing has been “temptation” and we will see how easily it is for humans to be deceived.

We see this every day in America where Satan’s tempters are working so hard to destroy America and then Israel.

*Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Again a mighty army has been put in place to march on Jerusalem.

Notice the Lord allows these things to take place up to the point that Jerusalem is again cut off.

God does what God does! He will put an end to this rebellion for ever!

God will eliminate the last army to come against Him.

He will not use other humans for they have proved to be loyal and faithful.

The Antichrist and the False Prophet are still in the Lake of Fire and Satan takes on whatever shape he needs, to deceive, and he is good at it!

When God sends fire down from Heaven, every sinner of those one thousand years will be destroyed instantly and the only one standing will be Satan and he will be totally humiliated, before the Lord confines him to the Burning Lake of Fire for eternity.

Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Satan will join those who he had enlisted to help him.

*Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

There will no great reunion when these three are in the same place. We could say that misery loves company, but they will not ever see each other again.

Satan will live forever knowing that he had been to Heaven and he knew how wonderful Heaven was and he will now be where all those who rebel against our Heavenly Father and His Son and His Spirit and he will feel that misery forever.

Remember this place was specifically designed just for Him.

This is his “final judgment”!

He will never be loosed again!

Satan and all his demons knew this day was in their future!

Mat 8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
Mat 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Their freedom to torment humans was finally over!

There was but one thing that remained for all those who had rebelled against the Messiah.

Judgment Day

*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.

We can be sure that God promises a “final judgment”!

A “judgment” when all those who have rejected the truth of the Scriptures will be resurrected to face the Lord Jesus Christ as he will judge them.

Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where 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.
Act 17:32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

The righteousness is “being right morally” according the truth of the Scriptures and the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead to be King of kings and Lord of lords, but also Judge of judges!

We already know that God does exactly what He says He will do, and this fixed day is according what we see written in our Scripture in Revelation 20 verses 11-15.

2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

This would be at the end of His Millennial Kingdom.

There is every reason to believe that we will all face “judgment” at one time or another!

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;
Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
Rom 2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
Rom 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Rom 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Rom 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

The theme of our passage in verse 11 is that this will be the “final Judgment” of all those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Even all secrets will be revealed!

Luk 12:2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
Luk 12:3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Luk 12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

The bottom line is, that it is far better to confess your sins, which God will immediately forget, and repent to live a life according to the Scriptures, and confess the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.

Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Psa 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
Psa 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
Psa 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Psa 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

No matter who we are or what we have done in our life, if we are serious with Jesus Christ and confess our sins, they will not be remembered in Heaven!

God has the records of our guiltiness and it would be far better for us if our life of sin would be blotted out of those books and our name found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!

You see it is also at this time that death will be cast into the Lake of Fire and there will be no more death only life eternal.

This is also the time that Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the new home of all those whose names cannot be found in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

We must have faith in the truth of God and the truth of our Savior.

I cannot imagine anyone who would want to spend eternity in misery in the Burning Lake of Fire.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know.

Amen

The Lord of Glory, The Second Coming of Christ Jesus

August 2, 2020 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Coming of Christ in Glory

Book of Revelation Chapter 19 Verse 11 through 21

The one event that much of the world has been talking about and waiting on from the beginning is the “Coming of the Messiah”.

Most every religion has some sort of a messiah!

For the Church we know that the Messiah has already come to this earth and He first came to die to bring a means of salvation to everyone if they would just believe Him before they died.

For the Church we know that the Messiah would return!

His return is in two stages!

1) He will first come to take His Church away because of the promise that His Church would not see His wrath poured out upon those who rejected Him. He would come as a thief, in a cloud, unseen to the human eye.

2) He would then return in full view with the armies of Heaven and rid this earth of sin, and to fulfill certain promises He made to the Hebrew children, the Jews.

This time had come!

We know the Messiah is the Lord Jesus Christ and to us, He is the Lamb of God, the Husband of the Bride.

The Church is the Bride and since the Church was caught out from this earth, the Judgment Seat of Christ has taken place, the wedding of the Church, the Bride of Christ, has taken place, and the Church has accompanied the Lord to begin a one thousand year honey moon upon this earth that will be remade after the wars of Armageddon.

How had the Lord first come?

Mat 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Mat 21:6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
Mat 21:7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
Mat 21:8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
Mat 21:9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Mat 21:10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
Mat 21:11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

In our lesson today we will witness the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He will be coming as a victorious King!

Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

King of Israel as told to King David, and as King of His creation exposing the lies of Satan!

Why are so many things happening upon this earth that seem to cause harm? All His creation is right now groaning in anticipation of His Second Coming.

Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

*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.

How do we know this is the Messiah?

He is called “Faithful”. The Lord Jesus Christ is “Faithful”! He will do exactly what He says He will do, every time.

The only thing that moves the hand of God away from His wrath, is repentance!

We can rely on the Lord to do as He says!

He is called “True”. There is no one and nothing that are more true, than the Word of God and our Lord and Savior!

Truth is the complete opposite of false!

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.

There is nothing in the hands or the heart of man that can overcome the truth of God!

Every evil and wicked person can count on the Lord to be true whether they believe or not!

He will be true in His “judgment” and He will be “faithful” to His Word!

He is returning to this earth to “judge” all those who have rejected Him and to make war with Satan and those with Him who want a war!

It should be obvious that the liberals including the liberal media want a war and a war they will have, but they are on the losing side!

Why will the Lord make war? Because it is the right thing to do to appease Himself for the mistreatment of His followers and because He said He would.

He will be fulfilling all remaining prophesy when He returns this Second Time!

*Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

We should clearly understand that when we see Jesus, we will not be confused about who He is!

It will be obvious that we are in the presence of the Almighty God!

His eyes speak of His omniscience.

He wears many crowns, but these are not the garland crown of the rider in Chapter 6.

These are the true crowns of power as the Lord Jesus is the ruler of all nations and He comes as the Supreme King of this earth.

And He had a name written that no one upon the earth knew.

As Christians we know Him as “Faithful” and “True”.

He comes as King of this world and the true King of Israel!

He comes in “righteousness” because this is His unchanging character!

Before He sits as King, He must first be Judge and Executioner!

The Apostle Paul wrote by the Holy Spirit:

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 every where 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.

Because He is the Almighty God, He is beyond the reach of human intellect.

It is inconceivable that such a God as He can truly exist, until you have known Him!

None of us truly know just how “Great Is Our God” nor can we know!

Our greatest treasure of the description of our God is the “Written Word of God” that He has given to us!

*Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

The war the Lord Jesus has caused to happen is like no other war that has ever taken place!

His vesture is dipped in blood because it is He who fought the battle.

We will notice in the next passages that the clothing of the armies of Heaven are still wearing their white fine linen.

Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Psa 58:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
Psa 58:11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

Isa 63:1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Isa 63:2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
Isa 63:3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
Isa 63:4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

The Lord does not need an army to fight the Battle of Armageddon!

He alone will fight this battle.

He will bring us along as Judges and to be kings and Priests in the nations that remain.

The angels come because they will be needed.

The Hebrew children will take care of the rebuilt Temple and serve the Lord.

He is called the Word of God because every bit of the information in the Bible has proven to be true and our Savior, King Jesus is the truth.

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.

Jesus is the only one wearing bloody garments!

*Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Does anyone want to know what our clothing requirements will be in Heaven.

Fine linen, white and clean.

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.

The Bride of Christ is on a honeymoon all our battle garments left behind when the Lord took us home to be with Him forever.

Wherever He goes we go!

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.

I believe these horses to be literal as animals that exist in Heaven.

The Lord on the other hand has some special things that go with Him in the times of His wrath.

*Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Back in Chapter 16 we read about the seven last plagues. This sharp sword is the tool used by the Lord and it means that when the Lord speaks things happen.

In has been that way since the beginning of time!

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

God spoke His creation into existence and when He speaks things just take place just as He directs them to take place!

We know that there will be those who refused to take the “Mark of the Beast”.

We know that many of them became martyrs but not all.

We know the Lord has protected the Hebrew children throughout the Great Tribulation.

The Bible mentions some who helped these Hebrews some say Jews.

There will be many alive when the Battle of Armageddon is over, though many multitudes will die.

All those who took the Mark of the Beast, and all those who worshipped his image will all have been slaughtered.

These that are left will live and multiply during the one thousand years that King Jesus will rule this earth.

We see that King Jesus will rule with a “rod of iron” which means those who are alive will follow the written Word of God exactly as God intended.

There will be no deviation.
There will be no other laws of man.

But there will be no Satan to cause problems.
There will be no temptation to sin.

There will be a remade earth where there will be all things supplied that are needed.

There will still be work to do because the Lord will still hate laziness!

The Lord will rule all nations.

The Saints will sit in places to judge, places to guide, and places to worship to assist all people.

By the way there will be no discrimination!

Once the wrath of God subsides, we will all see our loving Savior!

Isa 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

*Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

As long as Jesus has been in Heaven, He has been our Advocate and he still wore the garments of as the Highest of High Priest.

As He returns to earth, He will wear the garments of a King, in fact King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

There is no higher authority than the Lord Jesus Christ.

We see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords as He has completed His battle.

The blood showing that the war of Armageddon is over, and the victorious King of the Jews is returning but also the High Priest who has made the sacrifice for sin.

Isa 63:3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

The feast prepared for the beast and the fowl of the earth has been made ready!

*Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

This day was foretold by most all the prophets:

Eze 39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
Eze 39:18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Eze 39:19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

We might ask, How could we see an angel standing in the sun?

I believe this is the Lord for there is none more glorious than the Lord. The Sun is dim when compared to the glory of the Lord!

Isa 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Remember the blood will flow as deep as the bridle of the war horse, so many of the armies of the Beast have been slaughtered.

The appointed kings of the Beast will be with their armies.

The Lord has controlled the air and all air power was His own!

The Lord has stopped all sea power as the blood of the waters had caused all in the seas to perish including the ships and submarines.

It is only the land-based militaries that could come to Armageddon for destruction.

Remember the Lord has told us of these things for more than 2000 years.

These armies were mere puppets led to their death by the Antichrist.

Remember the False Church had been crushed by the Beast and he assumed the power of the false church.
The political system has failed, and some kings had left, and the Antichrist had placed new kings in their place.

The Apostle Peter said because we know all these things it should affect the way we live today.

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

We must reject any and all sin in our lives!

We have no right to take advantage of the “Grace of God”, knowing the end of all these who reject the Lord.

We must be ever thankful for a Lord Jesus who took such pain just so we could miss out on the wrath of God!

The war of the Antichrist ended before he realized it had started!

*Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

When John saw the army of the Antichrist he would have been astounded. Remember this army is so large that at their death the blood will flow as deep as the bridle of a horse in this valley, where this war will take place.

Rev_14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

A furlong is an eighth of a mile. Six thousand and six hundred furlongs is 825 miles.

We know that just one nation had a 2 million-man army and all the armies of the world are gathered against Israel.

Satan thinks he brought this army but in fact it is the Lord who has gathered this army!

Have you ever heard that saying “too many chiefs and not enough Indians”?

We have the greatest “human” (empowered by Satan) military commander who has ever lived, the Anichrist.

He has brought with him his own spiritual leader (the false prophet).

He has brought with him his (ten) hand-picked kings of the earth and their armies.

There are stories in the Bible of what happens when there are too many leaders.

They have come for one reason. To eliminate Israel and all the Jews from the face of the earth.

The Hebrew children have Jehovah’s promise that He would fulfill the promise made to King David.

2Sa 7:10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,
2Sa 7:11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
2Sa 7:12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
2Sa 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
2Sa 7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
2Sa 7:15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
2Sa 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

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

Psa 89:27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
Psa 89:28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
Psa 89:29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

Psa 89:33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
Psa 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
Psa 89:35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
Psa 89:36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
Psa 89:37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

Since this unbreakable Covenant was made by Jehovah, who cannot lie, then the outcome of this war is already known!

The first thing the Lord does is remove the Beast.
The next thing the Lord does is remove the False prophet and both of them are tossed “alive”, into the Burning Lake of Fire.

The next thing the Lord does is to begin the slaughter of these 10’s of millions in these great armies, with most of them killing each other.

Joe 3:12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
Joe 3:13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Joe 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Joe 3:15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
Joe 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

*Rev 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

It will be a very short war!

We get no written account accept, for the beginning of this battle and the ending of this battle with the Lord having victory.

There is not one word of the fighting or the engagement because there is no power on earth that can compare to the omnipotence of our Lord!

Remember the Lord has “all power”!

In the end we humans are nothing but dust!

Psa_103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

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.

All that humans can do in the face of the Almighty God, will be in vain!

The remaining chapters deal with the victory of the Lamb.

Amen

The Book of Revelation the Seven Last Plagues

July 5, 2020 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Seven Last Plagues

Chapters 15 and 16

Just as most of the people who remain have sworn an oath to the Beast (Antichrist) and received the “Mark of The Beast” believing the Beast, will make things better.

Just when things are so bad that the people are in need of relief and the Antichrist promises that relief, but He is a liar.

Just when the people of earth that remain believe that things just cannot get worse, they get much worse.

The Lord God Jehovah is just getting started.

There are still some who did not take the “Mark of the Beast” and they will also go through these terrible things, but they will be saved out of them.

Many of them already martyrs for refusing the “Mark of the Beast”.

We should clearly understand that nothing is over, till the Lord says they are over.

Just as the Lord was about to take His last breath as He hung on the Cross on Mount Calvary, He said it is finished.

Joh 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
Joh 19:29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

What was accomplished? The plan of salvation for all believers was “finished” on that cross.

There is no other method to appease God beyond accepting the “work” that the Lord Jesus Christ did to provide our salvation, by paying the sin debt that was required for every human being that has lived since the time of Adam.

Even all those that were held in Abraham’s Bosom had to believe the work that the Lord did for the salvation of all those of the world.

Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Eph 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

There is only one hope for salvation and this hope is even extended into the Great Tribulation!

Jesus Christ did all the work and our only requirement is faith in that work.

In these Scriptures Jesus will say it is over. He will use the words “it is done”.

What will be done? The full wrath of God will have reached its fulfillment!

*Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Rev 15:5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
Rev 15:6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

The seven last plagues.

In case we miss it, there is a Temple in Heaven and guess what, my home and your home and every believers home are built around the Heavenly Temple.

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
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.

Every believer will live in the Father’s House, in His Holy Temple.

But this day our Heavenly Father will show His wrath to those who have taken the “Mark of the Beast” who will live their final days in misery at the wrath of God.

Then in Hell, and then in the Burning Lake of Fire.

They are already in misery. They will see and feel and live in even more misery before they die and be sent to Hell for even more misery and after the “White Throne Judgment” into the Burning Lake of Fire, where they will endure everlasting misery in a place they cannot die to avoid it, just because they rejected their Creator.

This word wrath does not just mean they will endure God’s anger until His anger does not exist.

This word wrath means they will endure God’s never-ending anger upon them!

These angels come out of the Temple because their orders can come only from God Himself.

God’s “Two Witnesses” have finished their work and they are back in Heaven, their work complete.

Remember it takes two witness before God will allow death.

The angels assigned to deliver the Gospel to the entire world have finished their work as Jesus had commanded, and have returned to Heaven and their place.

Mat_24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

With all things accomplished as written then Jehovah would do just as He said He would do!

*Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

Notice those vials full of the wrath of God were not inside the Temple because anger should never be inside the House of God.

We did not use it, but in verse three in the Song of Moses, we see that all the acts of God are “just and true”!

Verse four says these “judgments” are made manifest.

The “judgments” of God are justified, and they will be according to His written Word!

These things in these vials must be completed before the Millennial Kingdom on earth can begin! All these things that written in the Word of God.

The Antichrist will be put down forever!

The False Prophet will be put down forever!

Satan will be chained up for 1000 years then released, for a very short season, and then sentenced to the Burning Lake of Fire!

To those who have questions, Satan will not be king of the Burning Lake of Fire, it is just his eternal home of misery just as it will be for all those who reject Jesus Christ.

It was in fact designed and created for him and the angels that followed him!

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:

God never intended to have to send humans to this place, but they have chosen this fate themselves!

We must not forget the number seven used here can be said to be the complete nature of the “Wrath of God”!

God has no other alternative left for sin except to completely destroy it!

Once God has commanded this action, Jehovah stood in all His glory and no man was able to enter the Temple of God.

To be sure there are no men in Heaven!

The Lord Jesus will come to this earth in all His glory and just His glory, being so powerful that sin will be eradicated wherever the Lord places His feet upon this earth.

Sin cannot stand before the Glory of God in any form or fashion!

God is long-suffering.
God is patient.
God is good.
God is kind.
God is love.

But God is also a consuming fire!

Deu 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

God deals with sin with blood and fire.

If you are not covered by the blood of Jesus, you will be consumed by His glory!

Isa 28:21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
Isa 28:22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

This strange thing is about to take place!

*Rev 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Rev 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

What we need to clearly understand is when Jehovah pours out these vials (bowls), His wrath will flow without mercy.

At no time in the Scriptures has Jehovah showed His wrath without it being tempered with “Mercy”.

God will show no mercy at this time!

He was warned and warned and warned again. There will be no more warnings! There will be no escape!

God takes no pleasure in showing His wrath.

God will eradicate ungodliness and wickedness and immorality from the face of the earth, just as He warned and just as He promised!

We have just been through a time of pestilence (plague) throughout the world so we now realize that a plague can affect the entire world.

Plague number one:

That word “noisome” means terribly destructive.

That word “sore” means boils or ulcers.

It will be similar to leprosy but far worse.

It will be a cancer outside the body that is incurable.

It will be sin exposed to the pure liquids from Heaven that will eat them like an acid.

I cannot imagine someone with running boils and running ulcers, still falling down to worship the Antichrist (the Beast).

I am sure they will also be begging for him to help them, but he cannot, nor will he be able to.

Some of these plagues actually happened on a smaller scale in Egypt in the days of Moses.

Exo 9:8 And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
Exo 9:9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:10 And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.
Exo 9:11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
In reality “boils” are caused by “bad blood”!

“Boils” reveal “corruption” in the body!

These things will only happen to those who have the Mark of the Beast!

“Judgment” in all its bitterness had finally began.

The “fury” of the Lord that He would have rather not used, will no less be used on all those have the “Mark of the beast!

Not just in Jerusalem, not just in Israel, but all across the earth where men dwell!

*Rev 16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

Remember we are seeing the wrath of God without mercy and its best just to understand this Scripture just as it is written.

We need to go back to the Book of Genesis.

Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

What we should understand from our verse three, is that those seas are no longer water but blood not because of the blood of the sea creatures but because it is the blood that killed all the sea creatures because the Seas could no longer sustain life.

This is not just the Mediterranean Sea but just as in Genesis it is all the Seas as they are one Sea.

We should probably also understand that these bowls (vials) were probably poured out in rapid succession.

*Rev 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Rev 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
Rev 16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Rev 16:7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

The Seas as we know are Salt Waters, now we see that the fresh waters are also affected because in reality all the waters on our planet are connected.

Job 28:23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
Job 28:24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
Job 28:25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.
Job 28:26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
Job 28:27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

Job 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Job 36:28 Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
Job 36:29 Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?

Without water there is no life and drinking blood will only cause death.

All, freshwater species, will die because of the blood.

Again this to has happened on a much smaller scale.

Exo 7:20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
Exo 7:21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

God’s warnings are over, “death” is the key word during this time near the end of the Great Tribulation.

The prophets, the preachers, the saints of God have been murdered for centuries on end, just because of faith and the Word of God.

Even the Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood for all the world if the world would just show a little faith.

That blood that has been in the soil and the seas all these years would now surface in the Seas, and the Lakes and the Streams and the Springs and the waters of the earth would be blood and that blood would no longer sustain life because it is the blood of death.

The Lord God Jehovah is right to do these things, because of the injustice the world has caused to His children.

And Christ Jesus is not yet through.

*Rev 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

I just wonder sometimes if all those who claim “Climate Change” are just afraid that what God says is true, but they still have some notion that they can defeat Jehovah.

They forget that Jesus Christ laid down His life and He then pick His life back up and the truth is He can never die!

I for one do hot handle the hot weather as well as I did when I was young, but this fourth bowl (vial) is pour directly on the Sun.

The Sun will have enough power to scorch the skin of those it reaches, who are unprotected.

Just what will protect you from the Sun that sends our fiery flames? Not much, and fire will break out everywhere with no means to extinguish its flame!

There will be a heat wave around this world, one such that has never been seen!

These people who can stay alive will not feel sorrow for their wickedness, they will only blaspheme and curse the Lord even more.

They still do not realize they are going to die.

How any could survive is only in the hands of the Lord.

We know the true Jews are in a place protected by the Lord, possibly the caves of Edom.

What had the Lord said?

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Over and over the Lord has warned of this day.

Old Testament

Psa 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
Psa 21:10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.

Zep 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

New Testament

2Th 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
2Th 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

The world is ready for the coming of the Lord today! For they will not repent!

*Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

Some may say “well finally some relief”, but this darkness will not bring relief!

In fact this darkness is just a little taste of Hell.

So dark that you can feel it.

In so much pain but cannot find relief nor even see enough even to move.

Even then those hot flames will still burn but be invisible to the eye, such as the burning of the petrol in a formula one race car.

The pain of God’s Wrath cannot be avoided, and there will be no relief!

They will curse God even more!

Isaiah wrote that this would be a “gross” darkness.

Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

But the Lord is not yet through.

All the world that remains hate the Lord so much, along with the Antichrist it is time for them to be gathered for one final battle, so the Lord makes a way for them to be gathered in the valley of Jehoshaphat.

Nah 1:5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
Nah 1:6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
Nah 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Nah 1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Nah 1:9 What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.

The Antichrist, The Beast does not even realize what is taking place.

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

*Rev 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
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.

At first glance it would seem that this sixth vial (bowl) does not seem to be much.

If we look closely, it not only says the way of the kings of the east is made clear, but the final preparations of the Great War called Armageddon have already been completed.

We know the Euphrates River has existed since the time of Creation and more or less has kept its tract even after the great flood just for the reason we read about in this chapter.

For those who do not know, there is a great dam built on the Euphrates today and it is possible to almost stop the flow of this great river that has supplied water to many people for a long time.

Nearly 2000 years ago Jehovah said He would dry up this river basin to allow a great army to come to Jerusalem from the East.

Say what we will and guess if we must, but the largest army in existence is the Chinese Army and it lies to the East.

In earlier studies we already know that the great armies of the North will also converge on Israel, which the great armies of the North would be the Russian and the Turkish armies.

The armies of the West would be the revived Roman Empire, which by the way I would hope would not include the USA, but there is little doubt that this is true, except the Scripture that mentions “on the wings of a Great Eagle”.

It is a fact that God has cursed every nation that goes against Israel, so they all will serve their purpose in this Great War that can only end one way.

The Antichrist has now the means to march all the armies of the world to Israel in an attempt destroy her, simply because the Lord has said that this is His land.

Hatred, we are fools if we do not see hatred growing today throughout the world.

What are these unclean spirits (like frogs)? The means to instill even more hatred!

Isa_11:15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.

All the world has given in to the Antichrist, (the Beast) and he has total control of all the great armies of this world.

God does not redo things He has not already done!

1Ki 22:20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
1Ki 22:22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

The Lord used one lying spirit to convince Ahab to go to his death.

Jehovah will use three unclean spirits, to convince the Antichrist to go to his defeat along with all these great armies.

They are “spirits of devils”!

Notice they have the power to perform miracles to show the mighty (perceived) power of the Beast.

It takes a fool to challenge the Almighty God and Satan has been defeated at every turn, and now he will lead most of the remaining people of this earth to their death because of his great hatred for God’s creation.

That war, Armageddon, is used by many men and women, but this is not really a war.

God says it is a slaughter! Armageddon means “slaughter” and it will be a slaughter!

Why would King Jesus speak at this time to John? It is just a reminder!

*Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Jesus will come as a thief to carry the Church away.

In fact the departure of the Church will be explained away by the Antichrist and the only ones who will take notice will be the Hebrew Children.

They will become jealous!

Rom_10:19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.
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.

What will happen to true Israel?

Rev_12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

The Lord has come again as a thief and moved the intended victims of the Antichrist to safety.

Those who die in the war of Armageddon die for nothing and it will be a slaughter!

*Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

Let us review:

The Trumpet Judgments.

Hail, fire, and blood cast upon THE EARTH; one third trees, and one third of all living things burnt.
One third of SEA made blood; one third of creatures therein and of ships destroyed.
One third of the RIVERS made bitter; many men destroyed.
One third of the SUN smitten; one third of the day darkened.
Star from heaven falls into the ABYSS; he sends forth locusts; men seek death; Hebrew name of their king is Abaddon.
Armies from the EUPHRATES destroy one third part of men; men repent not.
The two witnesses of God WITNESS for him and work MIRACLES; WAR against them by the beast.
VOICES in heaven; the JUDGMENT; earthquake, lightning and HAIL weighing over hundred pounds.

The Vial Judgments.

Vial poured ON THE EARTH; sores upon the followers of the beast.
The SEA made blood as of a dead man; every soul therein destroyed.
RIVERS made blood; declared to be God’s vengeance upon [ALL] men.
SUN smitten; men scorched; men blaspheme, men repent not.
The THRONE and kingdom of the beast smitten; men, in pain, blaspheme God; men repent not.
The way prepared for kings beyond the EUPHRATES. Three unclean spirits of the dragon WITNESS for him and work MIRACLES; WAR by the world at (the Hebrew) Armageddon.
VOICES in heaven; the FALL of Babylon; EARTHQUAKE lightning and HAIL.,

We may from this comparison notice:

(1) The vials form a series of visions announcing God’s judgments against the wicked.
(2) The number seven as well as their character indicates the universal and complete nature of these judgments.
(3) The events portrayed occupy the same period in time as the seals and trumpets; that is to say, the period of the world’s history terminating with the last judgment day.
(4) As in the uses of the seals and trumpets, they are general indications of God’s judgments; and though particular events may be partial fulfillment, the complete fulfillment is in our time.
(5) In comparison with the seals and trumpets, we may observe some points in common and some in which the visions differ.
(a) Like the former visions, these may be divided into two groups of four and three.
(b) The structure of the vial visions is almost exactly parallel to that of the seals.
(c) The visions all terminate with the same events portrayed in similar language, though, as the three sets of visions proceed, more stress is laid upon the judgment of the wicked, and less on the victory of the redeemed.
(d) An episode occurs after the sixth vial of almost identical nature with, though much shorter than that after the sixth trumpet.
(e) The severity of the nature of the vial judgments is conspicuous. Whereas under the seals one fourth was afflicted, and under the trumpets one third, there is nothing to indicate any exemption in the vial visions.
(6) The reason of the employment of the term “vial,” or “bowl,” is most likely to be found in the expression, “cup of God’s anger,” in Rev_14:10.

It indicates the pouring out of God’s wrath in an overwhelming and irresistible flood.

It is, therefore, significant of retribution more dire than that symbolized by the trumpet, just as the trumpet indicated greater severity than the seals.

When we read where so many of this world died during these “vial” judgments what we see is a world under total confusion.

The Antichrist, the beast has proven to be a total lie!

The Lord Jesus Christ has proven to be the truth!

Never has this world seen so much confusion, so much chaos, and so much discord.

All these people are at a loss to explain what is happening to them!

They had rejected the Word of God, but the Word of God had been true all along!

Psa 102:25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Psa 102:26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
Psa 102:27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Isa 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The kingdom of Satan is crumbling, and he has no power to stop it!

Only ruin can be seen wherever eyes can see.

Jer 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
Jer 4:24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jer 4:25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jer 4:26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

Jehovah in His “great anger” had accomplished what He said He would do!

The remaining chapters give us greater detail of all these things, but the truth is King Jesus has just stepped out upon the world stage.

Amen

Jerusalem Will Be Delivered

February 2, 2020 / Bobby Mayfield / 2 Comments

The Deliverance of Jerusalem

Book of Zechariah Chapter 12

We must always remember, whose words are recorded in the Bible that is given to us!

The Word “all” concerns every Hebrew and Greek word in the “Received Text” or the Textus Receptus from which we get our English translated King James Version Bible, which is one of the few remaining Bibles that come from the truth.

All other Bibles come from text that have been altered by some man or some men and are full of errors!

When we have the Holy Ghost inspired Word of God, then we have the actual words of our Creator. The red letter, Bibles contain the words of Jesus while He was upon this earth, but all the Scriptures are the Words Jehovah sent down from Heaven!

Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

The Scriptures tell us about our Creator!

His thoughts.
His reasons.
His commands.
His meanings but most of all His “Love” for His creation!

When the Word of God is settled in Heaven, how could we as the created, think we could change the words of our Creator!

We need to meditate on this for a moment before we continue!

The most major thing that separates humans from the animal world is “words”. We need to hear words and we need to say words and it is words that comfort us and words that stir us up!

God settled this when He gave us His words to live by because we do not have it within us to live by our own words!

The Prophet Zechariah makes this very clear!

*****Zec 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

It was the Jewish nation, the children of Israel, who were predetermined to bring the written Word of God to the world and though they like all humans fail at all things we try to accomplish alone, they did give us the written Word of Jehovah God. The One True God!

That name Israel means “the people of God” so named by the Lord Himself!

Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

Had Jacob given in for one moment, he would have perished, and God would have chosen someone else to be His people!

The orthodox Jews still to this day, seek Jehovah and cling to Him.

The Church is bound by the Lord Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father, who is the One and the Same Jehovah. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, not three gods but One God in three persons. The three persons described in those same preserved Words that He has given to us!

It is our Creator who formed this nation. He chose Israel, so who are we to question His choice!

Not only did He create the heavens, which we know to be three.

The atmosphere that we breath up to the heights that the birds can fly.
The expanse where all the stars and planets that can be seen by the naked eye and with the most sophisticated instruments.
The Heaven of heavens that cannot be seen, the realm of Jehovah and the heavenly hosts.

This same Creator has formed a spirit within each of us, so that we by our spirit can worship our God who is Spirit.

Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

In our lesson today, our God, Jehovah says I want you all to know this one thing!

The world will tremble at the power that comes from the city of Jerusalem one day in the future!

*****Zec 12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

Just when Jerusalem is surrounded by a much overwhelming army of nations.
Just when things seem so bleak for the Jews and Judah.
Just when it seems all is lost.

What do we know for?

On the night before the exodus of the Jews out of Egypt, they took the blood of a lamb and painted the door frame of their homes, in fact in the shape of a cross and the death angel passed over them.

Exo 12:22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
Exo 12:23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

In fact, Jerusalem will be this “Cup” holding the blood of the Lamb and the armies of the enemy will stagger like a bunch of drunks and they will turn on each other.

We must remember that every nation who has tried to destroy the Jews has failed, and on this day, it will be a great destruction of all the enemies of God!

If you are an enemy of Israel, you are an enemy of God. This God is Jehovah, He is not Allah!

On this day everyone who came to cause harm to Jerusalem, will stagger back like a drunk and fall in destruction and not only Jerusalem will be free of them but all of Judah.

Jer 25:15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

The armies of the Antichrist will fall in so great numbers that blood will flow as a river.

Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

This will be the “Day of the Lord”.

*****Zec 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

The enemies of God will use every means possible to destroy Jerusalem, but the city will be like a stone just too large to move.

No matter how cunning these enemies, their every attack will fail.

We already know that every nation that tried to destroy God’s people have failed.

Among them already Rome, Babylon, and Hitler of Germany.

It looks like the world would wake up to the fact that God will not allow these people to be destroyed!

Over and over Jehovah has warned this world.

Isa 66:14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
Isa 66:15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
Isa 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.

Joe 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
Joe 3:17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Mic 5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

Mic 7:15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.
Mic 7:16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
Mic 7:17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.

This will be a terrible day for the enemies of God!

****Zec 12:4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

We know that the war horse of old would ride into battle without fear and deliver his rider into the conflict.

In modern warfare the horse has been replaced with armored personel carriers.

The Lord will cause these things not to operate and the men inside be driven mad and useless.

When military equipment fails in the modern-day armies and navies and airforces, these militaries are then made useless.

When GPS does not work, much equipment is useless.

When radar does not work, much equipment is useless.

When satellites cannot see, much equipment is useless.

When all the equipment of all militaries is made blind, they are for the most part, useless.

When the armies have to face off with their bare hands against Israel whose technologies will still operate there will be much devastation!

It is during this blind time when these armies will turn on themselves for everyone around them will appear to be their enemy.

The blind man in a wilderness can never find his way out of the wilderness and will perish!

*****Zec 12:5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

The Jews became jealous when they realized that the Church, the Saints of God were all called home to Heaven, before this horrible 7 years began, but now as the enemies of God are falling to their death outside the walls of Jerusalem and the people have remembered Jehovah these, Jewish leaders have their eyes opened for the first time and they see that strength comes only from our heavenly Father.

What had Jehovah said?

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2Ch 7:15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
2Ch 7:16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

This day had finally come!

And Jerusalem would stand before the world as the place where the Antichrist was defeated.

*****Zec 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

The invading enemy will be struck with madness and delusion! Is this some sort of chemical warfare that backfired?

The military machinery will be blinded. All the satellites, the GPS, and all guidance systems have been rendered useless by Jehovah, and all those soldiers are in a panic till they attack each other.

All the means of attack will be turned on themselves!

Remember many of these nations were enemies of each other, until the Antichrist brought them together and they will remain enemies!

The military machine of the Antichrist is in the dark and they will become afraid.

The days of these armies standing their ground will be over because they will see the “supernatural” things of Jehovah, also named “Elohim”!

Inside the walls of Jerusalem just the opposite is taking place. They now know that only God could have done such a thing and their faith will become blistering hot for the truth of the Word of God!

Eze 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
Eze 39:9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
Eze 39:10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
Eze 39:12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Eze 39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.

Before the Lord saves the city, all those innocents outside the city will be saved from harm! All those too weak to defend themselves will be saved from harm!

*****Zec 12:7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
Zec 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.

It will be those Jews and those who help them outside the city of Jerusalem, who will lead the charge.

On this day the impossible will take place!

It will be as David met Goliath! Where one river stone and a sling did take down the invincible giant!

What did David say?

1Sa 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
1Sa 17:46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

It will be the same this day in Judah and those of the earth will know that there is a God in Israel and He is real!

The house of David represents King Jesus.

King Jesus the “Captain” of the Heavenly Hosts.

Jos 5:13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
Jos 5:14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
Jos 5:15 And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

The armies of the world led by the Antichrist, will suffer an embarrassing defeat or I should say slaughter!

*****Zec 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

There will be a complete devastation and a total annihilation of all the armies of the world, who come against the Jews and Jerusalem!

Notice also, it does not say just armies but also nations. Those nations that come against Jerusalem!

Personally, I believe what the Bible says so I know this to be true!

Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Hag 2:22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

That “day” is the “Day of the Lord”!

That “day” is the “Return of Jesus Christ” to this world!

Before the Lord restores all lands to that of the time of Adam, all these lands where great nations once stood, will be as a wilderness!

Then God will show His covenant of “Grace”.

*****Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

At the same time the Lord is pouring out His wrath upon the enemies of Israel, the Lord is pouring out the Holy Spirit on all those in Jerusalem who are under siege.

We know the Holy Spirit brings “regeneration”.

To regenerate means to give life to.

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;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

At the first coming of the Lord, He was rejected and then crucified.

All the years since they have continued to reject the Lord Jesus Christ!

They know Jesus very well but just not as Savior! Much like the world!

You can either meet the Savior or you will meet the All-powerful King of all kings and Lord of all lords!

When they see their Savior on this day, “The Day of the Lord”, they will continue to reject Him until they see, that this is the same Jesus who was pierced upon the cross at Mount Calvary.

Then they will remember!

It is then, they will feel remorse for having rejected Him all these years, and they will humble themselves and pray!

1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
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.

These lowly Jews will finally look upon their Savior and the true Messiah.

They will realize what they have been wrong all these years!
The people will realize they have been led by false prophets!
They will realize that it was they who had attempted to kill God’s Son!
They will mourn even more than those who had mourned at the death of Josiah who fell while trying to pose a threat to the King of Egypt, when he should have stayed at home.

2Ch 35:22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
2Ch 35:23 And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded.
2Ch 35:24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
2Ch 35:25 And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.

There was a great mourning for King Josiah who died but there will be even greater remorse for the murder of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who has arisen to be their King!

And there was an even great mourning!

*****Zec 12:11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
Zec 12:12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
Zec 12:13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
Zec 12:14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

There will be no one in all Jerusalem who will not realize that this Jesus is indeed the true Messiah!

They will think about all those wasted years. All the sorrows and despair that could have been avoided, had they listened to John the Baptist.

They will be a broken nation which will cause sincere repentance.

When we are broken, it is then and only then, when most of us see the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The House of David represented the government.
The House of Nathan represented the prophets.
The House of Levi represented the priest.
The House of Shimei represented those who were descendants of King Saul who were filled with hatred.

Then all the other families that remained. All sorrowing for the rejected Messiah, but their Messiah that never forgot about them!

Don’t you just love the Word of God and the amazing truths that we have discovered?

Amen

Let’s Pray!

LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD

Taking time to read the Bible

King Jesus

Jesus and the Soul of Man

The Messiah Confirms His Mission

Jesus the Preacher, the Sermon on the Mount

Jesus Is Tested

Born To Be King

King Jesus Came To Save

King Jesus Rules This Earth

The Lord of Glory, The Second Coming of Christ Jesus

The Book of Revelation the Seven Last Plagues

Jerusalem Will Be Delivered

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