Repentance

To Fear the Lord

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom’s Instructions About the Fear of the Lord

Book of Proverbs Chapter 14

What is the “Fear of the Lord”?

If we go back to Adam, God’s greatest creation, mankind, we know that Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. We can only imagine the conversations they had as they strolled through the Garden of Eden.

Things changed once Adam had sinned!

Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Those private walks in the Garden were over because Adam now had a great fear of the Lord, and this fear came to him because of sin.

We see that Adam’s fear stemmed from his awareness of his sin.

God knew where Adam was hiding, but he wanted Adam to admit that he was now a sinner.

It is the same thing we must all do to improve our relationship with the Lord God our Creator.

It is because we have sin in our lives that we must have a reverent “fear of the Lord”.

Then the Lord Jesus came to save us.

Mat 10:28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Today, far too many live in fear of what this world is doing to them, and they have forgotten to fear the only One who can send us to Hell.

The Bible teaches us that we want to avoid Hell, and the only way to do this is to listen to what God has to say and be a doer of the Word of God.

*****Pro 14:1  Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

Remembering that wisdom comes from the “Fear of the Lord”, we can see that a wise woman makes her home her priority. Her primary focus is on her family.

She has not built with hammers and saws but with the qualities that make a home a home.

She builds an atmosphere that supports and strengthens her husband and her children.

This should be the priority in a wise woman’s home.

Today, with so many single mothers, these things cannot take place as they should.

God has ordained this role of the wife and mother.

1Ti 5:14  I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

Tit 2:4  That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Tit 2:5  To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

This does not mean that the husband should not be involved, nor does this mean that the woman cannot work or be involved in things outside the home.

It just means her priority is the “Fear of the Lord,” which makes her a wise woman, and then she can build with her husband a house that is a home.

Today, there are far too many who destroy the home through neglect. The first thing they reject is the Word of God, which makes them foolish, and they have no “Fear of the Lord”.

This kind of woman will tear down the family because she puts everything else first before her family and her husband.

Pro 31:10  Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

Pro 31:11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

Pro 31:12  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

It pays for the man looking for a wife to choose very carefully, and choose someone who has a reverent fear of the Lord.

It is the same for a woman looking for a husband.

*****Pro 14:2  He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.

If we have a reverent fear of the Lord, it will show in the way we live our lives.

Remember, God will judge us by the way we look at His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

People who have truly placed their trust in the salvation and redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ will live their lives according to the written Word of God.

We must declare the Lord with our lips and demonstrate it with our lives!

That word walketh means the way we live our lives, our conduct, and our behavior.

All those who claim to be Christian and walk like the world are not telling the truth!

Many denominations are split over this very simple truth of God!

1Jn 1:6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Repentance is still the great Doctrine of the Bible that we are to keep.

True repentance is a change of mind and purpose and life, with remission of sin is promised.

Remission refers to the penalty of sin.

Forgiveness refers to the person.

*****Pro 14:3  In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

We can say that the fear of the Lord is also demonstrated by the way people speak.

The words of a fool will bring his own destruction.

Psa 64:8  So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.

Whatever power that an arrogant fool thinks he has in the end will be a tool in the hands of the righteous.

They may cause us pain for a season, but in the end, they will bring their own destruction.

It can be said that a fool is his own worst enemy!

Pro 12:6  The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

*****Pro 14:4  Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Nobody likes to clean up a stall where animals are kept, nor the feeding trough, which is a crib or a manger.

If a farmer did not have an ox, he would have no crib to clean.

The farmer who has to clean the ox’s crib does so with a smile because the ox does all the hard work that allows his family to have plenty of food.

The farmer who is taking care of hardworking animals is better off than using his own labor to provide for his family.

A productive ox is far better than a barn that needs no cleaning.

There is a great reward that comes from a well-fed ox!

The same is true of Spiritual food. Walking by faith has its own difficulties, but we will not get to Heaven unless we do.

1Co 9:9  For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?

1Co 9:10  Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

*****Pro 14:5  A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

A faithful witness cannot be convinced to tell a lie!

A false witness is someone God hates!

Pro 6:16  These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

Pro 6:17  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

Pro 6:18  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

Pro 6:19  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

One of the things that is wrong in our court system today is the fact that so many lies are told, and no one seems to care, and no one is held accountable.

By the world’s standard, this may seem to be okay, but God’s standards are much higher than the world’s standards.

A foolproof test of a person’s heart is whether or not he or she will tell the truth.

A witness is someone who gives testimony in court or some official proceeding.

A Christian will tell the truth no matter the circumstance.

We even do wrong when we deal with our children at the time of Christmas and Easter.

Being faithful should mean much more than some lie for any reason, and we know that our Lord hates a liar, and there is no such thing as a white lie.

No amount of money should convince us to lie!

No promotion or promises should convince us to lie!

No threat of harm or danger should convince us to lie!

We are to remain as faithful witnesses no matter the cost!

Exo 23:1  Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Pro 10:18  He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

Pro 12:19  The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

*****Pro 14:6  A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.

There are times when those who deny God and God’s Word seek God’s wisdom, but they will never find it.

The Word of God will remain just another man-made book to them because they do not have the Holy Spirit to discern for them.

Wisdom is given only to those who have a reverent fear of the Lord!

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

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

1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

*****Pro 14:7  Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

Pro 14:8  The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

Pro 14:9  Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

God shares His wisdom with His children so we can know how to move away from foolish people.

No wisdom can be gained from a fool!

Time spent with fools is wasted time, and we are taught not to waste the little time we have on fools.

Eph_5:16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Col_4:5  Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Fools are deceiving themselves, and they will deceive anyone who listens to them.

When salvation becomes part of our lives, we can look back and see the flaws we were living with and do our best to fix those flaws.

This is called repentance, and we will need the Holy Spirit to be able to do this.

Spiritual blindness means the fool thinks he is acceptable to God just as he is and requires no change.

This one thing is causing the split of many denominations, and we must not get caught up with fools.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

As we see into the realm of the LGBTQ movement, fools scoff at the concept of feeling guilty for their sins and the need for atonement.

This applies to every person on this earth!

They deny the need to repent of their sins!

They deny that their lifestyle is living in sin and refuse to repent.

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.

There can be no righteousness unless we fully accept our accountability to God and are grateful for His mercy and His grace.

God made a way for us to escape His wrath, and we must do the things He has commanded us to do to be saved.

*****Pro 14:10  The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.

Neither our joys nor our sorrows can be wholly shared with another person.

No one can know how we truly feel, to feel that which we feel.

It is only our Lord Jesus Christ who can know these things about us.

2Co 1:3  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

2Co 1:4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

2Co 1:5  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

This is the exact reason He took on that body of flesh, so He could know exactly how we feel in terrible or even joyous situations.

We can be sure that as Christians, we will experience great times of joy, but we will also experience those times of mourning and heart pain.

Those who love us and love the Lord will give us room to go through these times and be ready to come to our aid if we request their help.

If we are in a Bible believing church, we can be sure that if we are going through some situation, there is someone in that church who has been through a similar situation, and this person will know the comfort that came from God when they needed it.

It is only Jesus Christ who knows the truth about us!

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

We should have a routine that starts with the Lord every day to prepare ourselves to go out into this wicked world.

We need that hedge of protection that God provides if we are His children!

We need to spend some time in the Word of God.

We certainly need to spend some time in conversation with God.

We must consistently walk in obedience to the Word of God all day.

We must not only avoid evil but also avoid looking like we are taking part in any evil or wickedness in this world we have become strangers to.

*****Pro 14:11  The house of the wicked shall be overthrown but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Pro 14:13  Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

Pro 14:14  The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

Pro 14:15  The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

We must prepare for our own end.

We must prepare for what will occur when our lives on this earth are over.

We must prepare to meet our God!

When our heart beats for the last time and our living spirit leaves our body of dirt, every individual will meet God in judgment.

Heb_9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

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 12:14  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, their body is just a house.

Those who have given their heart to the Lord Jesus, their body is a Tabernacle.

A house is a permanent dwelling; a Tabernacle is just a temporary dwelling place.

A house is a place for those who are settled, a tent or tabernacle is a place for those on a journey.

A house is more stable than a tent.

A house is of earthly value and more expensive than a tent.

To those who are lost, a house is more desirable, but the Word of God does not agree.

An earthly house is the best a lost person can hope for.

When they reach the end of their days without the Lord, that earthly house is destroyed, and they are homeless throughout eternity.

That soul that cannot die will spend eternity in Hell.

Those who love the Lord know their flesh is no more than a tent, and this life is only part of our journey, and we are only passing through this world to get to our permanent home in God’s New Heaven.

2Co 5:1  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Those who are lost trust in their own judgment, which will lead to eternal torment and eternal death!

Those who love the Lord Jesus trust in God’s way, the way that leads to true life, which is eternal life!

It is a tragic mistake to believe that there is no God who is our Creator, and we have to abide by His Word.

All those who are deceived have been deceived by Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, and Shintoism, and the Dalai Lama, Joseph Smith, Charles Russel, and L. Ron Hubbard, and any salvation by works.

Even those who are atheists have been deceived.

Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Rom 1:29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Rom 1:30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Rom 1:31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

We may all travel the mountains and the valleys of this world, but to God’s children, He will travel with them, and He is always ready to take them home at the end of that last breath here in this world.

These things are not true for all the others who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

These things are serious and not things that can be laughed at.

The backslider in heart is the one who turns away from God, and he will reap the rewards of his wickedness: Pro 1:31  Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

Pro 1:32  For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

We must understand that we will reap what we have sown while we are in these earthly bodies!

The backsliders are those people who seem to follow the Lord Jesus, but in their hearts, they have completely turned away from God.

1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

With the wisdom of God, we can take thought of our actions before we face them.

Those without God will believe anything and follow anything.

Even as Christians, it may be hard to see the concept of eternity, but it is real.

How we spend eternity depends upon what we have done with the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we are wise, we have prepared for eternity by believing the truth of God and accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who opened Heaven’s doors to accept those who have placed their faith in the Gospel.

The ones we are to reach with the Gospel are not the ones who have rejected the Gospel many times, but the ones we are to reach are those who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

*****Pro 14:16  A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

Pro 14:17  He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.

Pro 14:18  The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

Pro 14:19  The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

Pro 14:20  The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.

Pro 14:21  He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

We all know that things are going on in this world and in the heavens that we just do not understand.

We have seen things discovered that no one can explain.

Those who believe in the evolution theory have us all beginning as apes.

They have simple-minded people who could do nothing more than hunt game and raise a few crops just to survive.

God says that from the beginning of time, humans were city builders.

Gen 4:17  And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

Gen 4:21  And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

Gen 4:22  And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

We also know that after the great flood of this world, all the pyramids and ziggurats were built.

Gen 10:32  These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

Gen 11:4  And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Gen 11:8  So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

Gen 11:9  Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

These things can be denied, but it does not make them any less true.

Humans have always been able to build things!

We who know the Lord fear sin because we now know the consequences of sin.

Those who are fools are reckless and self-confident.

Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Foolish people are quick-tempered and do not try to control their tempers.

I know because I was one of them.

Even later, with PTSD, I became worse, but the Lord Jesus has shown me the way out.

Ecc 7:9  Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

A fool is someone who has heard that there may be a God who is our Creator, but they will not take the time to find out more about Him.

This is part of our sin nature we inherited from Adam. We are foolish by nature.

We can quit being foolish by choosing the “Fear of the Lord”.

The Word of God is our “hedge of protection” if we abide by it!

We must understand that the Devil will certainly bow before God on the day God chooses.

Evil will bow before the Church at God’s appointed time.

Evil will only profit in the world we live in now, but there is no evil in our future once God takes us home.

Rom 16:20  And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

As the Church, we are to see every soul as equal.

The rich may have many friends, but those friends are only there because of their wealth, and they all hate the poor man.

It is not to be this way in the Church of the Living God!

The Church will not be blessed unless the Church has “mercy” on the poor.

The poor are all those who have need of help financially and spiritually.

Psa 41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

The ways of the world will make us angry, but we are to do our best not to follow the ways of this world.

*****Pro 14:29  He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

Pro 14:30  A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

Pro 14:31  He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

It is not a sin to become angry; it is a sin to remain angry.

By remaining angry, we become fools: Ecc 7:9  Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

It is called self-control; it could also be called being sober.

Self-restraint means we are never to disregard the feelings of others.

We cannot remain healthy without a healthy heart.

He has a healthy heart, morally and physically, and is not cluttered up with anger issues.

Pro_4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Envy will eat away at our strength like heart disease and cancer eat away at our lives.

Envy is like a deadly plague trying to destroy our nation.

To oppress is to offer violence to the bodies, to the property, or to the conscience of others.

This happens to the poor more than it happens to any other group, though the oppression of Christ is rising in this world.

We can also see that protests have become nothing but a means to oppress those who do not agree with the agenda that is being pushed on them.

We can see that these things bring on the wrath of our Maker, our Creator.

No one has the right to oppress someone else in this world, and this includes wicked governments.

1Jn 3:17  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

1Jn 3:18  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Those who are wicked do not even realize what is in store for them!

***** Pro 14:32  The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

Pro 14:33  Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.

Pro 14:34  Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

Pro 14:35  The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.

Once we claim the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior with all our hearts, our future is set in stone. It cannot change!

We can live in peace knowing that no matter when death comes our way, it means life.

As Christians, we can look death right in the his face and say: 1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Those who reject the Gospel have no such hope. They may not believe in Hell, but they are in for a rude awakening on the day of their death.

Luk 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Luk 16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Almost every politician campaigns on making our nation better.

Some truly try, and others had no intention but only sought to make themselves prosperous.

Our nation cannot prosper through illegal immigration.

Our nation cannot prosper through the drug trade.

Our nation cannot prosper through lawlessness.

Our nation cannot prosper through corruption.

Our nation cannot prosper through immorality.

Our nation cannot prosper through spending more than it takes in.

Our nation cannot prosper through the profits of sin.

Only one factor determines whether a nation rises or falls, and it is righteousness.

Nations that follow God’s standards, that are governed by the Word of God, are great nations.

For America to be a great nation again, it must stop its downhill slide to Hell, and this goes for every nation.

Good citizens serve the best interests of their nations.

The wicked serve only themselves!

God’s principles will do the same for families, co-workers, and friends.

How Christians are to behave is written in plain language in the Word of God.

Wake up Church!

Amen

Judgment is Coming

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

From Judgment to the Presence of God

Book of Joel

Joel is another of God’s prophets that we know very little about and is called a Minor Prophet.

Joe 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

We know that the message of the minor prophets is just as important as that of the Major prophets. They are called Minor Prophets because their message is shorter. We know that the Holy Spirit used Joel to give Israel and the Church a message good throughout all the Ages.

2Ti_3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

The purpose of the Book of Joel is just like the message of all the writers chosen by the Holy Spirit, to turn the hearts of God’s people back to the LORD.

LORD being Jehovah. Jehovah designates God’s nature as He stands with mankind as the only almighty, true, personal, Holy Being, a Spirit, and the Father of all Spirits.

Num 16:22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
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”.

Our Lord Jesus says He is Jehovah in the flesh, the Father of all Spirits.

We will see that Joel may not mention Judah by name, but he begins with a description of God’s “judgment”.

Joel mentions the Day of the Lord more than any other Book in Scripture:

The Day of the Lord is the day of the Lord’s vengeance: Isa_34:8 For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

From Joel: Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

From Joel: Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

From Obadiah: Oba_1:15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

There are other Scriptures by other Prophets as important as these.

Our lesson begins with repentance.

What is repentance?

Repentance is first a change of mind.
It is second, a change of purpose.
It is then a change of life, and these things come with the promise of a remission of sin.

Repentance is walking in the opposite direction from the way we walked as sinners.

Repentance is coming out of the darkness of the Devil and into the Light of Jesus Christ.

Luk_24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

We can only do this if we have a true sense of our own guilt!

Psa 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Psa 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

We need to study all of Psalm 51 to learn how to truly ask for forgiveness.

What we know is that far too many who started with Jesus Christ are now forsaking Him!

This was readily seen during the time of Covid 19.

*Joe 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joe 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

The Prophet Joel gives us much information on the coming “Day of the Lord,” but before God’s Day of wrath, He will first call for repentance.

There is more to repenting than just saying you are sorry!

Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Joel is believed to be one of the prophets during the time of Joash who had Zechariah stoned between the courtyard and the altar on the Temple Mount.

How do we question our God, who pleads with His people to return to Him?

Anytime Jehovah calls for repentance then it is not too late to do so.

What we know is the Lord is patient, but His patience will one day run out.

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

God is tired of seeing the tearing of garments and wants to see the tearing of the hearts.

We must reach that point in our life where we hate sin but not the sinner.

We might ask ourselves why we should turn to the Lord.

1) The Lord is full of “Grace and Mercy” and has pure love for us.
2) The Lord will repent of His promised wrath if we repent and turn to Him.
3) He will answer prayers. Which means He can restore our economies and our bodies.

We may not understand the true power of Jehovah, but over and over in the Scriptures, God tells us exactly what he is going to do, especially on the Day of the Lord.

Returning to the Lord also means returning to worship of Him.

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Those who say we do not have to attend Church to be saved are one hundred percent correct, but after we are saved, we should do our best to obey all the Word of God, and it says not to forsake the assembling of the Church.

This passage says we should be assembling more and not less, for we know we are in those end times.

Every person who calls upon the Lord is to attend Church worship services and be sanctified, which means “set apart” for the Lord’s use.

In this day of Joel, the Lord told the priests and preachers to pray specifically that the Lord spare the people from the coming judgment on those who refuse to repent.

*Joe 2:14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
Joe 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Joe 2:16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
Joe 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

If we know anything about the Word of God, we know the Lord could return at any moment to get His Church, and His wrath will begin once the Church has been removed.

There may not be much time for anyone to repent, so now is the right time to repent, and it is certainly time to be sincere about it.

Sin is an inward thing that comes from a sinful heart, and repentance must come from the heart.

We must be sorrowful for any law of God that has been broken!

Until the Lord returns in “judgment” means we still have time to repent!

Repentance is essential to escape the “Day of the Lord” and the ‘Judgment” of God!

In the time of Jonah: Jon 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Jon 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

The Bible would not say these things if they were not true, but His judgment and His wrath are also true.

Things will get so bad in the “Day of the Lord” that there will be people who say, “Where is God?”, but they should have already considered what He said.

With repentance comes the Lord’s pity.

*Joe 2:18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

If we truly repent, no matter what we have done, the Lord will pity us. This is His promise!

Will we still suffer for our sins? Yes, but we are now justified, and our name is written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Chastisement leads to repentance.

We should know that the Lord is always jealous of His land, and the Lord will provide well-being for His land.

All those who attack Israel will find this out soon enough, but the Lord is jealous for all His creation.

Maybe this is why we see so much turmoil in the lands today, which we call climate change.

It is a Holy God who controls all our climate: Mar 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Things could be so much better if God’s people would return to the Lamb of God!

We should know that compassion is what the LORD will show to repentant people!

It is also the Lord who provides all our needs and who can end wars.

*Joe 2:19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
Joe 2:20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

The LORD promises mercy to all those who return to Him!

It is called the “Grace of God”.

Material prosperity can be restored.
Respect and honor can be restored.
Peace and national security can be restored.

These are just the little things that come to us when we love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of us see these words as the end of the War of Armageddon.

What had God 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.

In type, this happens in verse 17.

The LORD is still waiting for His people to repent and pray this prayer!

God the Father fulfilled His promise to send the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is in Jesus Christ that everyone can receive the gifts of God’s Mercy and God’s Grace.

It is in Jesus Christ that this world will be restored for one thousand years.

This is the reason Our Lord Jesus came to this earth to offer reconciliation, and He will return as King of kings and LORD of lords and all the promises that were made will be fulfilled.

*Joe 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Every denomination of the Church knows that “judgment” is coming, and once it has taken place according to the Word of God, it will be the end of human history!

The only thing that is left for all people to do is to repent!

Just before the Lord returns will be a time of unparalleled tribulations.

Those who are wise will not be victims of these tribulations because the LORD has given us a way out.

Those who love the LORD have the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We are not paying attention if we have not seen wonders happening in the heavens.
We are not paying attention if we have not seen wonders happening on this earth, no matter what scientists call them.
We should be waiting for something like an eclipse of the Sun and the Red Moon.

We of the Church know that our time is really short and we need to be working on our families with the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Day of Salvation is now!!!!!!!

*Joe 3:1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
Joe 3:2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat is the valley between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.

We should understand that the scattering of God’s people and the division of God’s land are an insult to the property of God.

Notice God says, “My people” and “My land” and He adds “My heritage”.

As I think upon this passage, I can recall the spot where the Lord Jesus will return.

Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
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.

When the Lord returns, He will return to the Mount of Olives to the place where He had ascended.

Zec 14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Zec 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zec 14:5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

I believe that this is the day the LORD will judge all the nations that have gathered to destroy Israel.

And Joel continues:

*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.

Every nation that has opposed the Kingdom of God, as well as all those hostile nations that surround Jerusalem, are to be awakened.

Joe 3:9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

Up until this time, the lord has been standing, but here, we see that He will sit on His seat of judgment.

Isa 50:8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.

The Lord says Bring them on, He is ready to meet them.

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.

The Lord says it is far past the time to harvest the fruit of the earth because it is rotten.

Rev_14:18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

God has already condemned these nations.

Multitudes and multitudes are in the valley of decision.

The nations have made their decision, and Jehovah will pronounce His decision at that moment.

Once the LORD begins, He will not end until it is over for wickedness and evil.

*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.

Multitudes in the Hebrew suggest the confused noise of a great multitude.

Isa 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
Isa 17:13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

On this day, there will be many cosmic disturbances. All the heavenly bodies will be darkened, and this does not mean an eclipse of the Sun or the Moon because it concerns all heavenly bodies.

Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Why? It is the Day God will punish this world for its evil.

Isa 13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Isa 13:12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

The entire Solar System will shake violently.

Hag 2:6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
Hag 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

Jer 25:31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

It certainly will not be a good day for the militaries of those evil nations.

There is much more that can be said about the Day of the Lord, but this would be a complete study in itself.

We can see that the Lord will certainly judge the nations of this world.

*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.

Israel will finally wake up to the truth of Jehovah as they see the work of the Messiah, who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev_5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

This will be the time for Israel to repent!

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

*Joe 3:20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
Joe 3:21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

Israel will become the honcho nation in this world for one thousand years, and Our Lord Jesus will sit upon the Throne of David and rule this world with a rod of iron.

Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Amen

The Lord Jesus Is In the Saving Business

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Servant’s Mission

Book of Mark Chapter 2

As we go through these lesson’s this quarter, we are going to see our Lord Jesus Christ as a Faithful Servant.

As the Lord Jesus is our example in so many things, He is also our example of how to be a servant of God.

He loves us as His dear children, but He expects us to serve Him, not as slaves but out of love and obedience.

We always seem to forget our disobedience is our greatest sin. Just ask Adam.

Before the Lord Jesus ascended back to Heaven, He gave us a job to do.

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.

This is the same job our Lord was doing before He went back to Heaven!

What is a servant?

A servant is a person who attends to another person for the purpose of performing menial tasks, at least that is the meaning used by the secular world.

The liberal side of America would tell us that all servants are slaves when a servant is a volunteer to do some work.

A child of God, who is also His servant, is someone who volunteers to get involved in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the Gospels that teach us how our Lord came here to serve His Father in Heaven, and give us the example we are to follow.

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:

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior, but He is also our loving Master!

Eph 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Eph 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
Eph 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

We can be servants to the Lord Jesus because we know we are more than servants, we are in the family of God, His brothers, and sisters in Christ.

Somewhat like families, who follow in the footsteps of a parent who has done well, we are to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, it is a family thing! We do the work that our family does that our Father in Heaven has decided, and His Son Jesus has shown us how to do it right!

Our Father in Heaven “is in the saving business” and we are to follow Him and be in His saving business.

The first part of chapter two teaches us the healing powers of our Lord, as He heals a man who was paralyzed.

This miracle is so great, not just because this paralyzed man walked under his own power, but we see that word immediately, which means old muscles that had not been used and joints that had not had to do any work, all immediately began to work in this body that had been paralyzed.

As this chapter continues our Lord Jesus takes a walk on the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, but not just a leisurely stroll because Jesus had a purpose behind everything that He did.

*Mar 2:13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.

By this time, the crowds that followed Jesus were too large to be contained in one home.

By this time, some of the synagogues were closing their doors to the Lord, because He spoke with authority and His message was a message of truth.

This same thing happens in America today, the government and the media decide what is right even when they are wrong and close the doors to the real truth. This is corruption at its highest!

Mar 2:6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
Mar 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

The people knew better and they flocked to Jesus to hear more about this coming kingdom He spoke of.

When these people had questions, our Lord Jesus could answer them because He knows all.

As a Servant to His Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus took every opportunity to teach the truth of the Scriptures.

And then, the Lord was also in the process of choosing the twelve disciples who would later become the twelve Apostles at least eleven of them would. One was a traitor!

*Mar 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

As the Lord Jesus walked and taught, He passed by a tax collector.

We can see that the Romans had a tax on just about everything like we have today.

Matthew was set up to tax the fishermen for their catch of that day.

Today there is a tax on rainwater in many places, and a coming tax on the methane gas that comes our farm animals, among other taxes to pay for our free spending governments.

In fact climate change is more about taxes than it is the truth!

Yes, the climate is changing, it has been changing since the Lord created it.

The greatest of all climate changes is the flood in the days of Noah.

Yet there is a greater climate change coming and it will be by fire and it will be devastating.

Climate change is then caused by sin more than anything else!

Yes, to live as humans we do produce some things that could harm our environment.

Yes we could do a much better job taking care of our world.

In fact it will be humans who will destroy our world. We are that foolish. Some governments are bound and determined to destroy our world.

No, it is not humans who are causing the climate change that we are see today.

It is natural elements that drive climate change just as they always have.

At least Rome was building roads to every nation that could be used to spread the Gospel.

We cannot get our own governments to fix the existing roads with the money dedicated for that purpose.

Our government is already plotting some sort of tax on electric vehicles to make up for road taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel that will be lost.

There was this man named Levi who was a tax collector who we know as Matthew.

The Israelites considered all tax collectors as traitors and sinners. They were bitterly hated.

They were looked upon as people who had sold their souls out to Rome.

Most of them were cheats and extortioners who lined their own pockets while collecting taxes for Rome and Rome did not care as long as Rome got what Rome demanded.

Most of them became wealthy off the backs of the people of their own nation.

We can believe that Matthew was this type of tax collector.

We can also believe that the Lord Jesus was always looking for an opportunity to save a lost soul.

Levi was an outcast and hated by those around him, but the Lord loved him as He did everyone else.

After loving on him for a moment, Jesus simply says, “Follow Me” and Matthew left the taxing table and followed the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew lived a life of being hated by those around him no matter where he went.

Matthew was surely craving forgiveness!

Jesus tells us all:

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

This is the same Matthew who wrote the Gospel that bears his name.

Most people called him Levi, even Mark and Luke, but Jesus called him Matthew and so, this is the name he chose for himself.

The name Matthew means “gift of Jehovah”. From then on, Matthew stressed God’s great mercy upon him.

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

The Lord invited Himself to dinner at Matthew’s house, and many more tax collectors were there and we see that the Israelites referred to them as “publicans”.

*Mar 2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.

There were many such men as Levi who were considered outcasts to society, but many of them were like Levi they wanted forgiveness for what they had done.

This dinner became a huge feast.

Luk 5:29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.

Matthew had discovered a peace and a comfort that he had never known, and he reached out to his friends who were like him, so they could learn of the peace that comes from forgiveness.

This world will not show forgiveness unless

It is a life-changing experience when we have a meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jesus gladly accepted the opportunity to meet with these sinners and Jesus took His own disciples with Him, even though they were wary of being associated with publicans.

Anyone who is willing to confess their sins has a willing ear to listen to them, when that ear belongs to Jesus Christ.

Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
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.

What this modern generation does not understand, especially those who are transgender or gay, is that the Lord Jesus Christ cannot help anyone who is unwilling to confess their sins and repent!

The Church is open to all comers no matter their sin but all those who know the Lord as their Savior have repented and been Born Again.

What did Jesus teach?

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

The self-righteous, the self-sufficient, the self-dependent, feel like they have no need to confess their sins and repent of them.

Our Lord Jesus did not ever act above or act better than anyone and this is a great lesson for us all.

Our Lord Jesus also did never compromise His message of repentance!

The Church cannot compromise today or more people will go to Hell because they think they have no need to repent!

The Church must open the doors to all who would enter, no matter their walk in this life, but to be forgiven we must all yield to the Lord’s message of confession and repentance.

Our faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work that He has done for our salvation, and then, we can confess our sins and begin that work of repentance with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Those unwilling to repent will find that they are not saved and in the end the Lord will say “I Never Knew You”.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Only after confessing the knowledge of the work the Messiah has done for our salvation and repenting of our sinful life, can we become that new person, being “Born Again” into a new life!

Those who are self-righteous will never understand these things!

*Mar 2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

If we have noticed the things that are happening in America, we must understand that the sins that America winks at are much worse than those that are already condemned.

Self-delusion, that we have no sin, is the sin that cannot be forgiven because it rejects the reason the Lord came in the first place!

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

There is no one in this world today who is not a sinner!

We can also know that we are to reach out to all sinners outside the Church, but we are not to run with them and partake in their sinful ways.

It is the sinner who can become a disciple and follow the Lord Jesus, and not the other way around.

You see, a religionist who is respectful of the ways of society, will become a judge to those who are trying to reach that society with the Gospel.

Christianity is not a religion; Christianity is medicine for the sin sick soul!

Religion is philosophy, Christianity is the truth of God!

The Lord Jesus expects us to change, but He also knows we need the help of the Holy Spirit to make that change!

It is the sick person (sinner) who knows he needs a doctor (Savior) because he knows he is sick (a sinner).

Those who do not know they are sick (a sinner) will not go to the doctor. (the Savior)

All those who have made themselves self-righteous will never repent!

Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

This is where the American society is failing today!

This is where the compromising Church is failing today!

Those who live in their own righteousness will not answer the call of Jesus Christ!

It is Jesus Christ who is the “Great Physician”!

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Those religionists just will not give up and they can ask some really foolish questions.

*Mar 2:18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

What is fasting all about?

Fasting is the laying aside of food for a period of time when we are seeking to know the Lord in a deeper experience.

Fasting is to be done with the object of seeking to know the Lord in a deeper experience!

There are three types of fasting:

1) Normal fasting involves the total abstinence of food but not water. The Lord Jesus fasted forty days.

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

2) There is the absolute fast for about three days.

Act 9:9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

3) There is the partial fast where there is just a restriction of diet.

Dan 10:3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
There are some physical benefits to this type of fast. It would be similar to dieting.

Daniel chose bread, meat, and grape juice to do without.

Remember all these fasts were done to get closer to the Lord!

When the early Church wanted to know the mind of God, there was a time of fasting and prayer and most all the church took part in this fast.

Very little fasting is done today!

What was the answer from the Lord Jesus?

*Mar 2:19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
Mar 2:20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

How could the disciples fast to get them closer to the Lord, when He was with them every day at this time?

The religious Jews fasted twice a week but for what purpose, we do not know because they were not getting closer to God.

They fasted simply because of religion. It was just another ritual for most of them! It was just another tradition with no real meaning! It was just something else they could brag about.

The disciples of John the Baptist also fasted twice a week just as the religious Jews because they did not have a clear meaning of the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ even though the Messiah was amongst them and John had pointed them to this fact.

They did not have the Holy Spirit until they understood the work of the Messiah.

What was the purpose of their fasting, it was just a ritual!

They should have been fasting for the release of John the Baptist, but it was time for John to cease and for the Messiah to step forward and John had also pointed this out to them.

They should have understood the purposes of the Messiah. They had little faith.

If fasting is not used to seek a closer relationship with the Lord, it has no purpose other than dieting to lose weight or for health.

Yes, we can fast for an answer to a prayer but if we do not have a close relationship with the Lord, how can we expect an answer to that prayer?

These religionists were just mocking the Lord Jesus asking, how could the true Messiah not teach faithfulness to religion.

Religion will not get you to Heaven! Only the Messiah can get us to Heaven!

If God had wanted John the Baptist out of prison, then he would be out of prison.

The time of John the Baptist had ended so, there would be no confusion about the true Messiah.

John was a powerful preacher whose message had been fulfilled.

Jesus simply stated there is a right way and a wrong way to fast.

In fact, Jesus again, as our example states, we must not judge others for keeping religious rituals.

Censuring and condemning others is uncalled for!

We must understand that all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ are condemned already.

We need to show them the only way to be redeemed and pardoned.

We will not be judged according to whether we keep or not keep religious rituals!

Only the Lord Jesus Christ can judge these things!

Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Rom 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

Jesus Himself said there were two reasons to fast.

1) Sometimes, we just do not feel the presence of the Lord, then, it is a suitable time to fast.
2) Sometimes, we feel we need that special empowering of the Lord to meet a special need, then, it is a suitable time to fast.

This fast must be sincere and we must lay out the rules of our fast with the Lord and the reason for our fast, and this fast must include sincere prayer.

We must understand that we are going to suffer in this world and it is going to get worse before we go home to be with the Lord!

We must also understand that the Lord is not trying to patch up our old way of life, but we will be “Born Again” into a new life, our old life passed away!

The Lord Jesus is not out to reform an old religious life, but He will regenerate us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
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.

*Mar 2:21  No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. 
Mar 2:22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

God says, if you want to alter the habits of some other person, we must begin by changing their principles.

If we are to plant the Gospel Seed into a rotten heart of some sinner and there must be some sign of progress.

To be a Christian is to be a new kingdom. That old life cannot be patched.

This is the downfall of many places of worship today. They are trying to patch up an old life and God says we must be Born Again into something entirely new.

There will be a New Heaven!
There will be a New Jerusalem!
The persons in both these places will be a New Person, the Born Again children of God.

2Co_5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Rev_21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

A patched up sinner will be worse than he was!

The word bottles in this Scripture means wine skins.

A new bottle made of an animal skin would be elastic enough to expand as the gases of fermentation built of pressure.

Old skins that had already been used would be hardened and they could not take the pressure of the fermenting process and that old bottle would burst.

Jesus said that He was bringing a new life built upon expansion and a new excitement for eternal life. A life never ending!

Our old sin nature cannot be repaired!

Just like corruption, it must be removed!

We must understand that all those old forms of religion in this world will one day perish and the only thing left will be Christianity.

The true foundation of life is the Lord Jesus Christ, and our “Born Again” new life will be clothed in the “Righteousness” of our Lord!

2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

We cannot be fixed in our own ways; we must be elastic and expandable in the life that Jesus offers to us!

Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Amen

God’s Judgment Is A Sure Thing

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

A Departed Glory

Book of 1 Samuel Chapter 4

A great lesson to learn in this passage of the Bible is that unbelievers will not be able to use Jehovah God to reach their own personal goals.

Israel was seeing something new from God.

Jehovah would begin speaking to Israel through the voice of a child.

We can also begin to see the importance of “childlike faith”.

We must encourage our children to have the right ideas about the Lord Jesus Christ, and not to get caught up in the things of this wicked world that is not going to get any better.

We must prepare our children, our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren for what lies ahead of them, and it is not limited to climate change.

God brought Samuel along to revive the truth of God and to restore true worship to Jehovah.

Samuel would also be the last Judge of Israel deciding all cases according to the Word of God.

All of Israel began to notice that Samuel was established to be the voice of God.

Another reality we will see is God’s judgment is a sure thing!
God’s judgment will take place just as He teaches us in His infallible Word.

Today we are surrounded by evil!

Bad men and terrible things are all around us.

Corruption is dictating politics in America!

Wicked bullies are in charge of many nations including our own nation.

According to the Word of God, tyranny is a doomed thing! Thank Goodness.

*1Sa 3:21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1Sa 4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.

The Philistines were the bitter enemy enemies of Israel.

Most Christians believe that the Palestinians in Israel are the remnants of the Philistines.

These Philistines were the fiercest of the oppressors of Israel as they tried to conquer the Promised Land given to them of Jehovah God.

The Philistines had the same goal which was to conquer all of Palestine and the Palestinians have that same goal today.

Palestine gets its name from the Philistines.

They want to push Israel off into the Mediterranean Sea. They hate Israel.

The Scriptures say they came from Caphtor. Some say this was the island of Crete, but it could also be a part of Egypt, which is more realistic.

The Philistines began oppressing Israel during the period of the Judges and continued their dominance all the time of the “Judges Era” until the time of Samuel, all because Israel lost their love for Jehovah.

They thought they could use Jehovah to meet their own goals.
They did not understand the ways of God and treated God as an idol.

Israel had fallen away from Jehovah and God used the Philistines to humble them and be a punishment for their sins.

The present invasion of the Philistines into Israel came when the soldiers of the Philistines marched their soldiers into Aphek and made camp.

Aphek was a city that belonged to the tribe Issachar not far from Jezreel.

Aphek had been the royal city of the Canaanites whose king Joshua had killed.

This city is not a great distance from Jerusalem which King David made the capitol of all of Israel.

The Philistines were bold and ruthless.

Israel came out to fight with the Philistines and they camped at Ebenezer.

*1Sa 4:2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.

We should understand that when Joshua led the armies of Israel, they had lost very few battles and each loss was because they had not been obedient to Jehovah.

Israel felt they could defeat any enemy at any time, but they had forgotten how they won those battles.

They won when the Lord was on their side, and they lost when He was not.

We would think they would realize this truth, but they had become blind to the Word of God and their hearts were gross.

Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

This is not the way of God!

The pure truth is that most people think the right way is their way and the way of everyone else is the wrong way.

This is the theme going on in America today!

One small group of people are trying to push their way of life upon all people by force and the government is helping them.

Only the Lord Jesus Christ has shown us the right way and that right way is to be more like Him and His ways!

Four thousand soldiers lost their life in that first skirmish because Israel was disobedient to the Lord.

Israel was guilty of the most horrible sins and wickedness.

All these gross sins are described in the Book of Judges.

You see God does not hide these things from us.

Most authors would have left out mentioning all those wicked things in the Book of Judges.

*1Sa 4:3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.

Why was Israel losing this war with the Philistines?

Isa 59:1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Isa 59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
Isa 59:4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

The officers of the armies of Israel held a council of war to decide the best way to defeat these Philistines, but when they should have repented and turned to God, they chose to use the sacred things of God instead of faith.

There is nothing in this world that can replace our faith!

It is true that the priest of Israel carried the Ark of God in the time of Joshua, but then the Ark was located in the Tabernacle at Shiloh after the battle of Jericho.

It was then time for “faith” to lead the armies of Israel and not the Ark which symbolized the presence of God, but the actions of Israel showed disdain for the things of God.

Eze 39:23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
Eze 39:24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

The judgement of God is terrible, and Israel should have known the truth of God.

They had forgotten their own national history.

The death of Eli and his two sons and the capture of the Ark were a clear picture of the “judgment of God upon Israel”!

The Ark taken from the Tabernacle brought a false hope for victory!

*1Sa 4:4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
1Sa 4:5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.

What is going on in the Church today? God is treated more like an idol than the Supreme God and a corrupt priesthood are making things much worse.

The army of Israel was puzzled because the Philistines had so easily won that first battle, wondering why God had allowed such a thing.

The Ark was a symbol of the presence of God, but in fact it was just an ornate wooden box that had no power to change the outcome of any battle.

We cannot be superstitious in our worship of Jehovah God!

So, when the Ark was brought to the battlefield the result was catastrophic.

It is the same for our salvation.

If we treat God like an idol and only call upon Him when we think it will do us some good and then spend the rest of our time doing things our own way, we may find that instead of salvation we will see the “judgement of God”.

The truth of God cannot be viewed superstitiously!

The Ark of God was not some good luck charm!

If the world and the flesh still rule in our heart, we certainly will not make it to Heaven because it is the Lord Jesus Christ who must rule in our hearts!

The Levites may have carried the Ark according to the Laws of Moses, but with the two sons Eli with them, it did not ensure the presence of God, in fact, it only insured Israel’s defeat.

Many already knew the prophecy of Samuel and the prophecy of God is always true and it is always real.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

In other words, to remain an unbeliever and blame everything on God’s people is a sure way to see the wrath of God.

Though the shouts of the army of Israel was loud enough for the Philistines to hear them, they would have no victory this day.

*1Sa 4:6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.
1Sa 4:7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.

The Philistines considered the Israelites to be foreigners even though they themselves were also foreigners having no place to call their home.

The same thing can be said of the Palestinians today. The land of Palestine was never their homeland. Those that did own some of the land taken over by Israel, were paid for that land and they left.

No matter what Israel thought of the Ark of God, God will not be used as some good luck charm!

It was wrong for Israel to do this thing!

For Hophni and Phinehas to be associated with this event, should have shown these Israelites that God was not in this thing.

All of Israel knew the sin of these two sons of Eli.

The Philistines became curious of what was happening in the camp of Israel and then realized, according to their frame of mind, that Israel had brought its god to the battlefield.

We have to realize that we cannot take God anywhere.

If God is in any such activity, He will already be there.

They had never seen such a thing before in all their battles.

Saying to themselves that it was Israel’s gods that defeated Egypt and the Amorites who these Philistines could not defeat.

The Philistines then determined to fight with everything they had, or they would become slaves of the Israelites.

They said, “woe to us” if we lose this battle.

Then these things gave them added strength.

*1Sa 4:8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
1Sa 4:9 Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
1Sa 4:10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

These Philistines had openly admitted that the God of Israel was stronger than their own false gods.

They rightly said Elohim, the plural form for God is a Trinity.

In fact God had destroyed Egypt before Israel entered into the wilderness.

This despair before Israel only made them more determined to defeat Israel which they accomplished, and thirty thousand more soldiers met with death on the battlefield because of a corrupt government.

A complete victory for the Philistines.

The Philistines saw Israel as only a band of escaped slaves and not a nation at all.

These Philistines became aroused to fight for their lives and launched a fierce attack on Israel killing many not realizing that Israel suffered from the “judgment” of the God who sat on that Ark.

Israel was so much in despair they did not return to their camp, but each soldier went back home in fear of their lives and of their family’s lives.

They realized that God had not fought for them on this day.

When we feel like God must act in our defense no matter how we treat Him, we are thinking wrong.

God will not be used to satisfy our own whims.

It is we that are to be in the will of God and not the other way round!

When we are unfaithful and have not repented of our sin, God is not obligated to come to our defense!

In fact God is not obligated to us in any way if we are not committed to Him.

Our hope is in the promises of God and our faith is that God will remain faithful to His promises.

It is us who must be committed to the will of God!

God will always conduct His sovereign plan, but for us to be a part of that plan, then we must obey the Word of God and repent of our sin showing faith in the truth of God.

Sinful, wicked behavior will always result in the “Judgment of God”!

Even in their wicked behavior, Israel made the necessary sacrifices and came to the Tabernacle at the appropriate time, but their hearts had waxed gross, and God looks into the heart.

These people were returning to the days of Noah.

Gen_6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

The world we live in is doing the same thing today!

What had God required of Israel?

Deu_10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Israel was failing in this.

Notice that phrase “to walk in His ways”.

A true child of God will walk in the ways of God and the example He has given to us is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God knows what is in our hearts!

Psa_44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Far too many innocent people fall in wars that are unnecessary.

The Philistines were the enemies of Israel, but God will sometimes use our enemies to bring His judgement!

Even the Ark of the Covenant to Israel was taken by a people who did not know the truth of God.

*1Sa 4:11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

The fact that Hophni and Phinehas died was a fulfillment of the prophecy given to Samuel and Samuel had made Eli aware of what God had said.

These things took place because of national wickedness and a corrupt priesthood.

If we look at America today, we see national wickedness and a corrupt priesthood, and it cannot be denied.

Why in the world would we think that God would do anything different today than He did in the time of Samuel.

The Philistines would regret that they had taken the Ark of God, but God would take care of this Himself without the help of Israel.

God will not be in the same space as a false god!

Once the Holy Spirit has moved into the heart of a Christian, the Devil nor his demons can move back into that Christian, but we can be sure he will do his best to make our lives miserable if we allow him to do.

Jas_4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Wicked behavior may be idolatry or a corrupt priesthood.

As for Eli, he had allowed his sons to continue in committing adultery in the House of God and stealing from offerings that were made to the Lord.

Eli had allowed his two sons to take the Ark of God into battle knowing what God had said about his two sons.

God will punish unworthy hands that refuse to repent!

So, no matter who that person is, God will bring judgment upon them!

If we remember where we came from, we will not expect God to do anything less than bring judgment!

1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
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.

Eli also died that same day again fulfilling the prophecy given to Samuel.

*1Sa 4:17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
1Sa 4:18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

It was twenty miles from the battlefield to Shiloh, but a messenger thought it was best for Eli to know that the Ark had been taken.

Eli did not respond much to this message of this messenger, until he found out the Ark of God was stolen.

The Ark had been Eli’s greatest concern, but he had allowed it to be taken from the House of God.

1Sa 4:13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

As Eli became excited and tried to stand, he fell, and his neck was broken, and he died the same day of his sons.

Meaning that when God speaks, we need to listen and when God warns us, He is very serious!

Eli had judged Israel for forty years, but he had also indulged in the sin of his sons and most all of Israel was aware of his sin.

The Bible mentions Eli being obese to warn all God’s priests that it is not good to live a life of indulgence in the riches of sin.

God’s judgment is fixed!

God’s judgment will definitely take place!

All those who reject the Word of God will face the judgment of God!

All those playing church without being sincere will face the judgment of God!

Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Mar 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mar 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Jesus Christ is specific.

We must deny ourselves and take up our own cross and follow Him.

The cross is a sign of death so, we must be willing to give our life in our own pursuit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The God of Glory had departed from Israel on this day.

Amen

The Devastation of Judgment

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Thunder Judgments

Book of Revelation Chapter 10

As we have gotten to this point in the Book of Revelation, the earth has been devastated with destruction. At least half of the world’s population has been destroyed. Those that remain are so full of pride and arrogance, that they refuse to repent of their evil ways and in fact still challenge the Lord.

Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

These are the same actions that Satan has taken since his episode in the Garden of Eden, when he received the curse of God.

Satan knows he will eventually loose his battle with the Lord, but deep inside his being he still retains that one thought of victory and he has instilled that into his followers.

Satan would rather they all go to Hell than to give up and this is where they are on this day. Losers but still rebellious!

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

You see Satan devours those that follow him, yet they are too blind to see what he is!

He is a murderer on the loose with all his weapons loaded!

The sixth trumpet has sounded, and it is time for the sounding of the seventh trumpet, but just as there was a break between the sixth and seventh seal, there is now a break between the sixth and seventh trumpet.

There will be a gradual transition for the sixth and seventh trumpet and we will see this transition in Chapters 10 and Chapter 11.

So let us get started.

*Rev 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

When John last saw the Lord, He was as the Lamb of God and now John sees what he describes as a mighty angel, in fact he says another mighty angel.

John had seen the throngs of angels in Heaven and no doubt some appeared to be of higher rank than others, so who is this mighty angel?

This could very well be an angel and a mighty angel, but it could also be the Lord from what we already know.

In the Old Testament the Son of God was called the Angel of the Lord.

Exo 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Then we find that this is the great I AM of the Bible.

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

When God appears upon the earth, He is the Son of God or Jesus the Messiah.

Seven times in the Book of Revelation we see an angel clothed with a cloud and each time it is our Savior.

The cloud is a symbol of the Lord’s “Majesty”!

Exo 16:10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

He had a rainbow upon His head which leads us to the throne room of God.

Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

His face was as the sun.

These words take us back to Revelation 1, which we know to be the Lord Jesus.

Rev 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

His feet as pillars of fire also to Revelation.

Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

In Chapter 11 we see a curious Scripture.

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

They could only be witnesses if they proclaim the Word of God, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

As we go through the next two verses there should be little doubt that this must be the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is not an angel, because He is the Creator and the Creator of all the angels!

*Rev 10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Rev 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

If this is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ, then He has two books.

Notice His right foot is upon the Sea and His left foot is upon the earth. This is a visible sign of “ownership”!

Psa 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

He is the Angel of the Lord.
He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
He is the Mighty Angel.
He is set apart from all the angels in Heaven.

He is “the One” who speaks, and this world speaks to Him, and to Him only!

This time the “Seven Thunders” uttered their voice.

When the Lion of the Tribe of Judah roars “His” Created world responds!

We met these thunders in Chapter 8.

Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

Here again, these seven Thunders are in full agreement to the destruction that is about to happen, but they speak in words that we cannot understand.

John heard what they said, and he was about to write those things down, but the Lord stopped him.

*Rev 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

What was John told to do by the Lord?

Rev 1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

We do not know how much John heard from these seven Thunders, but we see he was told not to write these things down.

Are they secrets?

The Lord promised not to keep any secrets from the Church.

Luk_12:2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

Amo_3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

We can only say that the words that John is not to reveal to us, these Seven Thunders will reveal themselves when that time comes.

These are things that cannot be understood at this time.

You know some things may just be too terrible for the Church to witness during the Great Tribulation.

Remember, if Jehovah had given Noah control of the door to the ark, Noah would have let those people who were drowning inside the ark because it was a terrible thing.

Some things will be much more terrible in the last days of the Great Tribulation and the Church does not need to see them!

*Rev 10:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

We should clearly understand that this announcement is made toward the earth, as “time” has never existed in Heaven!

But this message also clearly states that “time has run out for the people of earth to repent”!

The One who made this decision is none other than the Creator and His decision is not to be questioned!

Our Lord Jesus Christ is announcing that He is taking possession of all His creation, all of this tiny spec of dirt in the middle of nowhere from a galactic view. This place He had first created as a Garden where mankind needed only to dress the Garden.

Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

It was sin that drove man out of the Garden!
It was sin that cause man to have to work to provide for his family.

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

It was sin that destroyed the Garden.

It was sin that would have destroyed man then if not for “Grace”.

It is sin that would have destroyed each of us without God’s “Grace” that comes by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

It was because of sin that God sent His Son, again to show His “Grace”.

Rom_3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
1Jn_2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1Jn_4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Even this was not enough because much of mankind will always rebel against our Holy God no matter what He has done, because they have another father!

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Joh 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Joh 8:47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

This time, at the announcement of this Mighty Angel an age-old question will be answered!

2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 And saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?” for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

This time, there will be an answer from Heaven that is so terrible that our Holy Father decided His Church did not need to know about it.

The Seven Thunders exists, but we do not need to know about those judgments!

*Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

There will be no more delay in the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth!

There will be no more delay in removing Satan, who has convinced these who are left that it is he who owns the earth.

There has never been a war between God and the Devil!

There has never been a war between good and evil!

There has just been a time that God has allowed His created beings an opportunity to spend eternity with Him and even though God knew what we all would choose, He has given us this time to choose for ourselves as we watch all others choose for themselves.

This is time, that is the time, that is over, as this Mighty Angel proclaims to those upon the earth.

God has given us all these revelations throughout the Prophet Scriptures, and they have been ignored by so many.

Some say there is no God, but most have chosen in their own minds a god that they would serve.

When you choose to ignore the Living God, you have said that you are better than God!

There has never been but one acceptable choice in Heaven!

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.

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”.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

These that are left have been told the way and they chose to reject this truth and have chosen their own way.

*Rev 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

John was given his instructions.

Don’t get too caught up in where these voices are coming from and forget the Triune God, the Holy Trinity.

We must never forget we have always had just one duty given to us by the Lord!

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

God’s Plan has been flawless right up to the time that John receives this little book, and His plan will remain flawless right up till the time the Lord says that it is “done”, near the end of this Book of Revelation.

All the Word of God is sweet, but when we read these judgments, we all wish it did not come to this.

When we are filled with the love of God the wonderful things we read about the Church, missing out on the wrath of God just make us aware of the benefits of giving our heart to the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are too many rewards for being Christian to ever complain that the Word of God is not sweet, because it is!

Col_3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

We must cling to the Lord Jesus all our days to be sure we do not lose rewards that we could have gotten.

2Jn_1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

We also know that the Jews, the Hebrew people, will one day give all their heart to the Lord and all those will join us in Heaven to complete the gathering of the Church.

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:

We should be saddened that they go through the Tribulation years, but they will repent, and they have caused their own problems.

Jehovah has always been the solution to those problems, but the solution came in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ!

If there is any bitterness to the taste of the Word of God, it is for those who refuse to repent!

Many of those will be some of our family members and even some friends.

We should never feel good about anyone going to Hell!
We should never feel good about anyone standing before God at the White Throne of Judgment!

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 should never feel good about these people, because in many cases they may be emblems of our own failure to tell them about Jesus!

We cannot force feed anyone the Word of God, but we should at the least do everything we can to spread the “lifesaving” Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We cannot even be good Christians, unless we take the Word of God and ingest it and digest it, until it becomes a part of our everyday lives!

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If we ever feel good about the death of any living soul, then we need to get on our knees and beg forgiveness!

It is a most terrible sin!

Our Heavenly Father hates the fact that there will be some who will always reject Him!

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The most bitter words in the entire Word of God are these:

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity”.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

We should remember John had been sent to the Isle of Patmos to live out the remainder of his days.
John had already outlived all of the other Apostles.

In fact John had already lived longer than most all others in his day.

What did John learn from this encounter with this Mighty Angel, who I believe to be the Lord Jesus Christ, who is certainly no Angel but our Creator.

He learned his preaching days were not yet over!

*Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

There are many thoughts about this little book.

Some believe that it could be the book Daniel was told to seal up:

Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Dan 12:5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
Dan 12:6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
Dan 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Dan 12:8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

John would go on to write all these words of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

John would go on to preach the Word of God with even more emphasis upon the end times.

We must understand that we have this same responsibility!

We may think things are terrible right now, but it is not the end times and it is not the Tribulation years.

We may be in that time of sorrows, but it is not time to quit on the Lord no matter our situation!

The Word of God is a “two-edged” sword and both sides of the Word of God must be understood and then taught!

Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

This “rest” for the Church, is the next thing on God’s time clock.

Then this same “rest” for the Children of Israel.

Then the “unrest” for all those who have rejected the Lord, and this is part of the message we are to share.

The main message still being that Jesus Saves!

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 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Let us all get busy about the work the Lord gave John to do and the work the Lord has given us to do.

That work has not changed!

Amen

The Destruction of Judah

/ Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

The Destruction of Judah

Book of Jeremiah Chapter 7

There is a phrase in our lesson manual that I really liked. One sign of “spiritual sickness” is that we keep committing the same sins over and over at the same time expecting a different outcome. What is the logic in doing such things!

God has made sure we have the Books of the Old Testament, so we can see the examples of what sins were done in the past with Israel and the reactions God had to those things, so we can know what God will do today because Jehovah God never changes.

If we cannot learn from all these examples, then what does that say about our “faith”?

God begins in a gentle fashion trying to remind us of our disobedience, but God will use harsher methods until we learn from our mistakes.

If we say we have “faith” in the Lord, then how can we believe the lies of this world?

We should clearly understand a Spiritual change will always have a physical result!

What we have seen with our own eyes is that when this world makes idols as God then we will see what we see today, immoral societies and this cannot be denied.

We must be clear as we witness to those who are lost. Real change can only happen from the inside out and not from outside in!

As we witness we offer, by the Word of God, an opportunity to make a choice. God will always accept the decisions we make. God offers eternal life! False gods offer eternal death and we must choose between these two. Does not seem to be a hard choice, does it?

People perish simply because they make the wrong choices!

We should also understand the true meaning of a hypocrite. Hypocrites are people who pretend to be something they are not. Something like actors.

We absolutely cannot be pretenders and say we love the Lord!

*****Jer 7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 7:2 Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

Jeremiah was a gentle man and we know that he cried a lot for his nation, but we see that Jeremiah was to be bold when he preached the Word of God! We are to do the same when we witness for the Lord, but the Pastor is to “preach” the Word of God!

Jeremiah was preaching to hypocrites and hypocrites already know what they are, and they need to understand who God is!

It was very important that these Jews understood what was going on in their lives but just as important, what was going on in the world.

As mighty as the Assyrians were who destroyed the Northern Tribes, they had just fell to the Babylonians who were an evil and wicked people.

It was a time when good King Josiah would find his death, getting involved in a war that he did not have to.

Josiah was replaced as Jehoahaz took his throne but even he was replaced 90 days later by Jehoiakim who was another of the evil rulers and he would only rule eleven years.

The threat of Babylon was always present, and Judah would never be able to defend themselves without the Lord God Jehovah, who had already delivered them so many times when they would repent of their evilness.

More important than all these things, attending a worship service in the House of God is useless without repentance and then obedience!

The truth of salvation is that those who can please God will be like God (Christlike)!

When we are not Christlike (Christian) we can never receive the blessings of God.

This is the message the Jeremiah was to preach as he stood in the gates at the entrance of the Temple in Jerusalem.

These people had no problem in attending the worship service at the Temple. Remember they were required by Moses’s Law to attend at least 3 times each year in the time of the festivals.

Their problem was that their hearts were not settled on the Lord and as soon as they left for home they would go back to their evil ways and their false gods. (Sounds a whole lot like happens today by many who attend church but are not sincere)

Eventually some false gods were moved into the Temple, which defiled the House of God!

It is an abomination to defile the House of the Lord!

These people are like those today. They are trusting that God will accept, bless, and protect them because they are faithful in their worship, but their worship extended to false gods and false doctrine.

The Lord will have no part of such a thing. There are those today that say there is more than one way to get to Heaven, but the Lord says they are all liars.

What 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.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Those that believe differently are calling God a liar!

This is the same theme that Jeremiah preached in his day. There is only one who deserves our worship and it is Jehovah.

God will never accept our worship until there has been a repentance!!!!!!

In fact, for the Jews they had to repent their sin before Jehovah would allow them to continue living in the Promised Land!!!!!

They would soon realize just how important that this truth really was.

We may have the greatest church in the world and I believe we do, but this church cannot save us.

We may have the greatest preacher in the world and I believe we do, but Preacher Sam cannot save us.

He can only lead us to the one who can, Jesus Christ!

God the Holy Spirit may visit our Church, but He will never stay, because no building can house God!

Also, the Lord Jesus Christ may knock on the doors of every Church but until He is allowed to come in, that Church is not a house of God!

What was Jeremiah’s message?

*****Jer 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

To amend our ways is another word for “repent” because we do not have to power to do anything ourselves!

Joh_15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: “for without me ye can do nothing”.

Every house of God in our entire nation can be full on Sunday and our nation would not be blessed unless we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior!

We should understand that Jeremiah was not preaching that these people could dwell in the Temple, he was preaching that God was not going to allow them to dwell on the land that He had given them unless they repented of their evil and allowed God to dwell in their heart.

This does not ever mean that God would give this land to others. God will never give this land to others because of the promise He made to Abraham!

Gen 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Gen 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
Gen 17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

God will keep every covenant He has ever made, and He will also never break a promise that He has ever made!

What went wrong in the Temple of God? The priests were not preaching the truth of God!

*****Jer 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.

Those priests were preaching that security is in the Temple, we would say the Church.

We simply cannot trust in religious principles, we must trust in the One who gave us “His” principles, Jehovah!

We must also understand it is each Saint of God who is a Temple of God who gather together to worship that form the Church.

Our job in the church is to be discipled and/or to disciple all others, and to worship the God of truth, whose name is Jehovah!

In fact, we are to worship our Savior “in Spirit and in Truth” because He does not like it in any other fashion!

Everyone is welcome to gather but “in Spirit and in Truth” means though the lost are welcomed, they should not take part in certain parts of the worship, such as Communion until they to have a personal relationship with the Lord.

1Co 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1Co 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
1Co 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
1Co 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

Baptism is only for those who have invited the Lord into their heart and be “Born Again”, then comes Baptism!

Do we come without any preparation of heart? Are we soon weary of the service?

Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

We must know that everyone is welcomed into the church building who are seeking God and in the true Church you can find Him, not because He is present in the building, but He is present in the hearts of so many of those who are also there and there is a “preacher”.

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Rom 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

A heart that is prepared is a heart open to accepting the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Jer 7:5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
Jer 7:6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Jer 7:7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Christianity has to do with being like Christ in His character and in His conduct!
Christianity is that which binds us to our Savior.
Christianity is holding onto to the robe of Christ and refusing to let go.
Christianity is not in emotion but is in knowledge, the knowledge of our Creator.

Jesus says it plainly:

Joh_14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh_15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

The first step in becoming a Christian is having the right view of sin!

Sin is like a cancer that you will want to get rid of but only the Lord can wash you clean.

Psa_51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Joh_13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

We must come out from the world and live a separated life from those still in the world.

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.

When we are like Jesus Christ we will then hate sin without hating the sinner!
We will realize our battle is not with other humans, lost or saved, our battle is with principalities and powers and the rulers of darkness in this world we live in now!

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The nation of Judah had left their first love and now, they oppressed the weak, they shed the blood of the innocent, and they were worshipping idols.

We simply cannot allow anything to come between us and our Lord Jesus Christ no matter what it is!

Had these Jews listened to the words of Jeremiah and applied them to their lives they would never have been removed from their land no matter how powerful Babylon was at this time.

What did they do? They ignored the Word of God given to Jeremiah and they continued to follow in the ways of sin by listening to false words.

We must understand that our salvation, our peace, and our security, come from a personal relationship with the Lord and not in some building or the land that we dwell in.

Neither was this true for these Jews and the Temple of God and the land promised to Abraham!

It is so easy to fall into this trap because lies can sometimes make you think you are about to win the lottery.

*****Jer 7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

What is the truth of the Scriptures?

Psa 2:10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

We live in a world that has forgotten how to be wise.

We live in a world where almost every nation is in competition with every other nation, when they should be helping one another!

Then the Lord just ask them point blank.

*****Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
Jer 7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
Jer 7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.

We are fools to think that God operates by some universal law made up of how we feel about Him!

God does as He pleases with everything that He says or that He does. God does not make up new laws as time goes by.

God does just as He has written it down for us. Every Word is a Word of Truth!

1) We cannot trust anyone who goes against the Word of God!
2) We certainly cannot trust anyone who rejects the Word of God!
3) We must be aware that anything we place between ourselves and the One True God, has become an idol!

When a so-called Christian allows himself or herself to do any of these things listed in this passage, they have rebelled against God’s Commandments the most critical one being “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”.

When we do these things, we have rejected our God who is also our Creator!

If you really want to get on the wrong side of God, then do all these things and then gather in the house of God saying you are what you “aint”!

We are not delivered from sin, to just sin at our will!

It is when we have left the building we call Church, or Temple, or by any other name, that we enter into our mission field to serve the Lord and not to serve sin!

If you are a Christian, then you need to look into your personal mirror every day to see for yourself if you are what you say you are.

When we make the house of God into a den of robbers we have defiled our place of worship!

God always has His eyes on His children not to see if we are doing wrong but to see if we deserve His blessings.

God’s House is not a sanctuary for robbers and murderers!

To be saved by the “Grace” of God is not so we can have a license to sin!

The house of God is not the place to seek impunity for our abominations, it is the House where we are to seek to gather so we can worship God in Spirit and Truth because this is the way we can please Him in our worship!

If we have served our abominations, then we need to get on our knees and beg forgiveness from the Lord and then do our best to not sin again.

God knows we are not perfect, but He also knows what we are capable of and He intends for us all to be fishers of men!

Isa 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

Going to Church to worship does us no good at all if we are not living for God the rest of the time.

God will not accept our worship if we are living in sin and you cannot get into Heaven without a good relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

We can never say that God has not warned us of those who would teach lies for the truth!

Then the Lord says, if you think the Temple, the House of God is more important to you than truth of God then just go down to Shiloh.

*****Jer 7:12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

When Joshua brought the children of Israel into the promised land, the Tabernacle was set up in Shiloh.

Jos 18:1 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.

In the time of Eli, the High Priest, God gave the Ark that was kept at Shiloh to the Philistines and it was not recovered until David brought it to Jerusalem.

We should remember the Ark contained the broken tablets of Moses to remind them it was best to honor the 10 Commandments.

1Sa 4:10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
1Sa 4:11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

Psa 78:58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
Psa 78:59 When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
Psa 78:60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;
Psa 78:61 And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand.
Psa 78:62 He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.
Psa 78:63 The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
Psa 78:64 Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

We should be able to see that God’s favor is not in some building or any place of worship.

In fact, God’s favor is not tied down to any location at this time.

We should understand that God will not spare His wrath to those that rebel against His Words!

What are we to do in the House of the Lord?

Deu 12:11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
Deu 12:12 And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.

Shiloh became a mass of shapeless ruins!

And what did the Lord say?

*****Jer 7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
Jer 7:14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

God said He would do the same thing to the Temple that King Solomon built by the plans of King David which the Lord said Himself was worldly, which means there is no need for the beauty and worldly objects in any place of worship.

We know that King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple in the days of Jeremiah.

Again, we see that we are undeserving of the “Grace of God” and God’s has limits to His mercy.

We know that the Lord Jesus said where two or three gathered in His name He would also be there, and this is the beginnings of the Church.

The place of this gathering is not important but the fact that we are to gather together is important.

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We are to gather more often and not less often as we can see the day of the Lord approaching!

Worship without true repentance and then obedience will be empty, useless, and worthless in the eyes of the Lord.

God would also remove Judah from of the Promised Land.

*****Jer 7:15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
Jer 7:16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.

Once God has decided what He is going to do with a certain group of people, it is useless to pray for them.

These Jews were unwilling to repent and to obey the Lord, so it would do no good for Jeremiah to pray for their forgiveness.

There are times when it becomes useless to pray for certain people but now is not the time for the church to stop praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ and also for the lost.

God has told us to continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, so it is not time to stop preaching for the Children of the Nation of Israel.

There will come the time when those who are evil are beyond repentance, but God has not told us to do so yet!

These are the type of things that would make Jeremiah cry and maybe we should do the same for those who refuse to repent, especially those on our own family!

When God says to quit praying for certain people, He will also pull back the Holy Spirit from the convicting work that He does.

Gen_6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,

Today all those who have itchy ears and control the preaching of the Pastor should take note, because their prayers will become useless. There will be no benefit come from their prayers.

When you refuse to hear the truth of God then God will refuse to hear from you, it just that simple!

Jeremiah knew God always has remnant who remain solid in the Word of God, and he could pray for those!

The real truth is when the Lord commands His servant not to pray for sinners and He ceases to correct them, then we can be sure the wrath of God is very close!

Eze 16:42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

Remember the wages of sin is death and these who refuse to repent are already sentenced to death and they will get nothing else from the Lord but will join the false trio in the burning lake of fire!

The Lord will simply say ” I never knew you”.

God is not angry with those who are lost He has already passed His judgment.

God will always be angry with those who sin and claim to know the Lord in a personal way.

The Lord will save all those who call upon His name, but the Lord will reject all those who refuse to call upon His name again it is just that simple!

Amen

Let’s Pray!