The Gospel and National Israel

January 22, 2022 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace and National Israel

Book of Romans Chapter 10 verse 1 through 13

Who are the Israelites?

Rom 9:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Israel was the nation chosen and adopted as God’s people and those to whom Jehovah God first revealed Himself.

Their job was to tell the world about Jehovah God, but they chose to try to keep Him to themselves.

Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

Exo 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Exo 4:23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

They were privileged with the great patriarchal covenants and were given laws that were to teach them the truth and this truth was that no one could keep all those laws. (613 laws not just 10)

We know those Laws were given to teach them about the Messiah.

Gal_3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal_3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The Israelites never came to know true “faith” and so never attained to God’s “Grace”.

When we mention the Jewish Law, most people think of the Ten Commandments but in reality, there were 613 commandments given to the Jewish people and God knew that no one could keep all those commandments all their lives and it only took one failure to be condemned.

They rejoiced in their Levitical Service and had great expectation of the Messiah which they are still looking for now because they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ.

The worship services in the Tabernacle and the Temple were to remind them what was due unto God on one hand and how much was graciously provided by Him on the other hand.

All the Old Testament promises will be filled with promises of the Messiah and the Millennial Kingdom (the one-thousand-year rule of Christ).

The Atonement, the kingdom of Heaven, the reign of Israel upon this earth, but they thought all these things were just for Israel and did not include the Gentiles and they rejected “faith” and decided that righteousness could only come by the keeping of the Law.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
Rom 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Their entire system of worship was calculated to reveal the Divine greatness and holiness of Jehovah God and human insignificance and sinfulness.

Instead of becoming a humble nation of servants, they became a nation full of pride and self-righteousness!

When God wanted holiness Israel showed rebellion!

They were looking forward to the important things that are still in their future, because when the time came to move forward, they became legalist and rejected God’s Messiah.

All the promises God has made to Israel are to be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ who was rejected!

The Lord Jesus Christ who is God in the flesh!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Israel made some tragic mistakes!

The Apostle Paul understanding all the Old Testament scriptures having been trained under Gamaliel the great Jewish teacher of that day and now a “Born Again” child of God, full of the Holy Spirit clearly saw the failures of Israel and the truth of Jesus Christ.

What was the main problem for the Israelites? They had a zeal for God, but not according to the Scriptures given to them by those Prophets they murdered because they rejected their message.

*Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

Paul had a burning desire for the salvation of the Israelites. Paul absolutely loved this people!

We have no reason to hate the Jews, the Israelites!

We read earlier of those that God had turned over to reprobate minds, who God knew would never accept the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul knew that the Israelites would never be placed in this group of reprobates.

In fact, we know that God has blinded the eyes of this people and will one day remove those blinders and they will clearly see their mistakes they made concerning the Word of God.

Rom_11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

This blindness in fact will be removed when the fulness of the heathen (Gentiles) come in.

This will happen at the “Rapture” of the Church. God does not consider those who have this zeal to be reprobates.

We know that the first Christians were in fact Jews and many Jews are still saved today.

Keep in mind that not all Israel are Israelites. Many are called Israelis today.

God is speaking to those actual descendants of Abraham through his wife Sarah!

What is the truth of these Israelites? They have a zeal but not according to the knowledge of Jesus Christ!

What is the truth of the Gentile (Heathen) the Church of the last days? We have the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we do not have the zeal to serve Him as we should!

Over and over we see the evidence of the Laodicean Church Age, yet the Church denies it.

What did the Lord Jesus say?

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

We see the modern Church has pushed God away with the modern pastor believing that He knows better than the Word of God that we have been given.

There is no such thing as a new understanding of the Scriptures! God does not change His Word nor His ways!

Mal_3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not;

The modern Church is now trying to establish its own righteousness which has been the same problem for the Israelites all along!

*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.

These Jews knew many things about the Messiah, but it was not based on a complete knowledge!

The Church has the complete knowledge, but many today think they know better than God who gave us His complete Word.

There will never be some new “Gospel”!

Israel was ignorant of God’s righteousness!

Israel was ignorant of God’s method of “Justification”!

Israel was ignorant as to how to be acceptable to God!

This acceptance can only come by the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for our salvation!

Everyone is born with a sin nature and this sin nature can only be done away with by the Work of Christ that allows us to be “Born Again” a Spiritual Rebirth!

You cannot reject Jesus Christ and then receive this new life!

Jesus Christ is the source of all “Spiritual” gifts, the Holy Spirit is the Administrator of those gifts!

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and “gave gifts unto men”.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, “that he might fill all things”.)
Eph 4:11 And “he gave” some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

You see the true Church is made up of those who have come in the unity of the “Faith”!

Not the many denominations, and certainly not of those who take the authority of Jesus Christ out of the Church!

If you believe, then you had better believe that when God removes the blindness and restores sight to these Jews, they will all be in unity of “faith”.

For Jesus Christ is the end of those old Laws and the key to “Righteousness” to everyone who believes in Him and the work He has done for our salvation!

*Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law of righteousness to every one that believeth.

We had better understand that once false teaching has taken place it is hard to get people straightened back out!

The Church has been struggling with this for years and the Jews have never overcome this at this time.

Without the Lord Jesus Christ you cannot receive the Holy Spirit!
Without the Holy Spirit you can never have the mind of Christ!
Without the mind of Christ you will still depend on your own self-righteousness which is worth exactly nothing in the eyes of God the Father!

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

What does the Holy Spirit teach us?

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, “whatsoever I have said unto you”.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the end of the Law.

Mat_5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

These are most important things, yet these things are left out of the teaching of many denominations causing disharmony in the Church.

We had better cling to the basic truths of the Lord Jesus Christ and remember the Holy Trinity of God!

Not three Gods but One God in three persons, all bound up in the truth of Jehovah God, our Maker!

Moses tried to explain these things to the Jews, but they rejected them.

As much as they claimed Moses, they still rejected the things He taught them of the Messiah!

*Rom 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

Most everyone who claim the Lord Jesus Christ think that the “Gospel” is some cafeteria plan given to us from God, where we can pick and choose the things to place our faith.

God has no cafeteria plan!

God has one plan, and it is all bound up in the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Law is simply our teacher to get us “justified” by “faith”!

Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

As humans, we have no righteousness of our selves. You can like this or dislike this, but it is still the truth because God said it!

Just as you cannot pick and choose the parts of the Bible you accept and the parts you reject, those Jews could not pick and choose which of those old Laws they would keep, or they would reject.

The difference being there is no “Grace” built into those old Laws.

When we try to reach God by law and works, simply by doing the absolute best we can, we should be able to see there is a terrible flaw in this way of thinking.

No one, but Jesus Christ has ever been able to keep those laws perfectly!

Lev 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

It is a losing effort every time!

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Gal 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

There are only two ways to become righteous before God:

1) Keeping the Law and being perfect in the keeping of the Law, which no one but Christ was able to do.
2) Trusting in the righteousness in that person, Jesus Christ, who was able to keep all those 613 laws!

We can see that there is only one choice!

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

When this makes sense to you, you will begin to understand the truth of Jesus Christ!

You see everyone is seeking the forgiveness of sin, but this forgiveness comes only by the “Grace” of God, because there is no law that can bring “Grace” except for the law of Christ Jesus the true and only Messiah!

Php_3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Though Paul has been criticized, we must understand that “ALL” Scripture comes to us by the Holy Spirit if that Scripture comes to us from the “Received Text”!

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 name of the writer is unimportant for all those writers were guided by the Holy Spirit of God!

When we doubt the Word of God, we are not doubting the writers, we are doubting a Holy and Righteous God who cannot deceive and who cannot lie!

We must know that there is nothing unholy in the glory of Heaven!

That being true and it is, then it must take a perfect righteousness to be accepted into God’s home in Heaven!

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.

This righteousness can come only by faith in the work the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us to receive this acceptable righteousness!

*Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

“Saving faith” is that “faith” that concerns itself only about the Lord Jesus Christ!

Unbelief says, “Who shall ascend into Heaven”? Unbelief says, “Who shall descend into the deep”?

Unbelief always has questions!

Faith takes her stand wherever Jesus Christ is located!

Salvation can come only by the Lord Jesus Christ!

It takes a real imagination to believe the lies of this world!

It takes a truly lively imagination to believe in evolution!

Faith is done with imaginations and faith is done with dreamers!

Faith deals in reality!

The Lord Jesus came to this world to pay the sin debt of all peoples and He died to do so!

Faith is the truth!

The Lord Jesus Christ arose from that death proving He is God!

1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

The Gospel is the truth, so for these reasons, all questions are answered about salvation!

If we look within ourselves, we can know these things are the real truth.

If we look at the world all we see is lies, deception, and wickedness!

The truth of God will satisfy the soul and the Word was indeed made flesh and dwelt among us!

Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

In our search for a place called Heaven, we soon realize that we do not have it in our own power to get there, so we need a Deliverer, in fact a Messiah!

Psa_102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;

In order for this to be true, then this Deliverer must be able to conquer sin, death, and Hell to remove these things from us.

Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

It is only our Heavenly Father who has this knowledge so only He could be this Deliverer, this Messiah!

As long as we depend on our own righteousness we will be lost forever!

Joh 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Jesus Christ is that Deliverer who brought the wonderful things of Heaven within reach of those who trust Him!

God has made these promises available to us if we just believe Him!

*Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
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.

What is true faith?

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

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

Heb 11:6 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.

God has placed His Word within our reach!

It is easy to understand.
It is to be remembered.
It is to be practiced.
It is the Word of Faith!

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

We are not required to find some way to Heaven!
We do not have to find a way to avoid Hell!

The Lord Jesus Christ has solved this problem that we have all had since our birth!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ only requires “faith” in this reality!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is applied to us, when we confess with our mouths that we believe this truth!

Why? Because of the great love that God loves us!

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

We may never understand this, but it does not make it any less true!

The means to get to God’s New Heaven is located on the tip of our tongue if in our heart we will believe Him!

We must confess the truth of the Gospel with our mouth, believing He is that Great Deliverer sent down from Heaven to make a way for us to join Him in His home!

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.

Jesus says, do not worry about this I got it all under control. (My words)

God’s “justice” was perfectly satisfied with death of His Son!

God was perfectly satisfied with His Son dying for us!

So God raise His Son up from the dead to live forever and those who confess this to live with Him!

Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

How could such a plan be conceived and then followed exactly as it was written not be true?

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.

God has done these things so we will repent and return to Him, our Creator!

This cannot be done on a whim; it must come from the heart!

*Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Salvation is available and that shame comes when we do not give consideration of what a loving God has done for us.

God did not give these precious gifts to just one nation. God’s offer is to all the world!

God’s message is to all peoples!

There is only one Gospel and there can be only one Gospel!

Whoever believes in the truth of Jesus Christ will be saved!

God has made it just that simple!

The Gospel has made its way around this world, and this could only have happened by the power of God!

There may still be a very few places where Jehovah God is not known, but it can only be a very few and even those places will soon hear the “Gospel” of our Savior and our Deliverer.

The “Gospel of Jesus Christ” is universal!

Isa 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

We do not have to be ashamed of our Savior!

When we are covered in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we should have no fear of this world!

We must never be ashamed to confess the Lord Jesus Christ before any man, any woman, or any child!

God’s love is never limited to any people!

*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.

The Lord our God treats all humanity the same!

There is no distinction between humans in the eyes of God!

There is only one race, and it is the human race!

Every human being is related to God in the same way because He is our Creator!

God does not show partiality!

We are all His creations.
We all have the sin nature of Adam.
We are all loved by Him.
None of us can be saved, but through the Lord Jesus Christ by the righteousness that is in Him.

God does not save one person one way and another person a separate way.

We must all come to Christ!

No person is favored over another person in being saved or being condemned!

Act 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

God will respond to all that call upon His name!

Every good thing that comes to this world comes by the hands of our Loving God!

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

This means that terrible things do not come by the hands of God!

The truth being that we must call upon God to receive the riches of His “mercy” and His “grace”!

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

This statement is not in the Bible to be a deception, it is in the Bible because it is the truth!

This same promise goes out to every man, woman, and child upon this earth!

This is a prophecy that is fulfilled from the Old Testament!

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.

It means when we call upon the name of the Lord, then we believe in the righteousness of His Son Jesus!

It means every person with such a belief.

Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

You cannot get around Jesus Christ to make your own way to Heaven!

Jesus Christ is the answer to spending eternity with God our Father!

We must follow in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Amen

The Master Teacher

March 28, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Jesus Taught Like a King

Book of Matthew Chapter 5 verses 1 through 16

What happened immediately after Jesus was baptized? Jesus tempted of the Devil.

What happened immediately after Jesus was tempted of the Devil? Jesus began His ministry.

Jesus began His ministry with what is now called the Sermon on the Mount also called the “Beatitudes”.

We can understand the “beatitudes” as the blessedness of the saved soul.

We are nothing unless we have accepted the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Psa 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

You are not forgiven by our Holy God until you have accepted the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is just that simple!

We can also understand this sermon of the Lord Jesus Christ as the “qualities” of all those who will be found in the Kingdom of God.

We must begin these qualities once we have accepted the salvation of the Lord, “we must be Born Again”!

Remember John the Baptist preached “repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand”.

Jesus begins by preaching the qualities of those who will be found in the Kingdom of God.

If we consider that blessedness is happiness, then we can understand the preaching of the Apostle Peter:

1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: “on their part he is evil spoken of”, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, “let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf”.

Or James the half-brother of our Lord and Savior:

Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: “for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him”.

We can consider blessedness and happiness to be almost equal in this first sermon of our Lord Jesus.

*Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

We first see the compassion Jesus had for the people.

His disciples came to Him. As disciples we should always be seeking Jesus!

These Jews were seeking King Jesus!

The Lord Jesus chose this place on a mount because it was big enough to accommodate those multitudes who were following Him.

It was also a place His voice would carry. We can just imagine these people being quiet because they wanted to hear what Jesus had to say.

If you are a human being then it behooves you to hear what the Lord Jesus Christ has to say!

The Lord Jesus Christ was a great preacher who was always full of the Holy Spirit:

Joh 3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
Joh 3:34 “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him”.
Joh 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

We can understand these words of Christ Jesus as a proclamation of the Kingdom of God “by the King of His coming Kingdom”.

Jesus is teaching His disciples.
Jesus is showing His authority over the Scriptures. His authority was within Himself.
Jesus taught as the Jewish Messiah. The Messiah who would be King of His Kingdom.

Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (A scribe could only read the Word of God)

We will see that the way to be saved is not given in this Sermon!

But we should not forget all Scripture is written for us to learn!

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

This includes all the Old Testament and all the New Testament. (This does not include the acrophobia books not inspired by the Holy Spirit)

So let us begin:

*Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

What will we be like as “Subjects” in God’s Kingdom?

Notice Jesus did not start by passing out copies of the Old Testament. Jesus sat down and taught with the Words of His mouth.

Jesus teaches us as the fulfillment of all the Scriptures. Jesus taught with authority!

To be blessed is to be “happy”.

To be blessed is a spiritual joy and satisfaction regardless of the conditions we face.

The Apostle Paul understood this to mean:

Php_4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

This is the thing carries us through times of pain, and sorrow, and loss and grief.

Everyone wants to be blessed, but most of the world seeks that blessedness in the things of this world and it cannot be found in the things of this world!

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.

Those who are blessed are those who choose the Lord because He first chose them!

Psa 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

We cannot associate these poor in Spirit with those who are poor in worldly things.
We cannot associate those who are mean spirited with those who are poor in Spirit.
We should not understand that the poor in Spirit are poor in spirituality.

Poorness of spirit, in a godly sense, is true humility or true contrition of heart, because we acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a Savior.

We are poor in spirit when we acknowledge we are nothing without the Lord Jesus Christ and then Jesus Christ will take us into His Kingdom!

*Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

To mourn is the condition of all those who are brokenhearted because of their own sin or of the sin of others or the sin of this world.

It can be somewhat compared to mourning over the death of a loved one.

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.

It can be that brokenness when we read the things Christ Jesus went through on the cross, while realizing it was our sin that put Him there!

2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who can only provide that comfort!

Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

You know, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who will wipe away all those tears of mourning!

*Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

It is all those who have humbled themselves before Christ who can enjoy the remainder of their days upon this earth!

They are teachable in the ways of the Lord.
They have nothing to prove to this world.
They have a renewed purpose and meaning and a significance in this life knowing it will end in the glory world, in the Father’s House!

As Christians we learn to control our circumstances by not allowing our circumstances to control us!

We know we are on the winning side and we act like it!

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

When we hunger for righteousness it means we have put to death the sin in our lives!

Rom_8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Jesus Christ died to remove sin and the control that sin had over our lives.

It is righteousness that will fill that gap where the sin is gone forever!

Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Being filled with our Righteous Savior!

*Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

To be merciful is to be compassionate!

Fourteen times in the Gospels, the word compassion is used where 10 of those times Jesus used the word compassion Himself.

The other 4 times it said Jesus had compassion or that Jesus was moved with compassion.

This verse states emphatically, that if we are merciful to all others showing compassion, then God will show mercy to us and He proved this on the cross!

The modern Church have removed the importance of the cross because they would rather cling to their sin calling it the modernization of the Word of God. God is not old fashioned!

The Lord gives us an example.

Mat 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Mat 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Mat 18:28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
Mat 18:29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
Mat 18:31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Every believer can be merciful and therefore “must be merciful”!

When we understand the blessings of God, then we should understand that it is certainly more important to give than to receive!

The Lord will deal with us just as we deal with other people. We had better keep this in mind!

So, whatever mercy we desire from God, then we had better show that mercy to our brothers and sisters in Christ!

A merciful heart is a pure heart!

*Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

A pure heart is “clean”, it is unsoiled from the things of this world. It is unpolluted, “a pure heart is Holy”!

Remember no one can see God and live, yet here we read that those with a Holy heart shall see God, in fact they are the only ones who will ever see God face to face!

Of all the other traits of the Christian, none of those traits can be true if our heart is not pure and like the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ!

How do we see God now?

1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Perfect charity comes from a pure heart! Charity is a “giving love”!

Our pure heart will become a reality when we meet the Lord in the air!

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is”.
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him “purifieth himself”, even as he is pure.

All the qualities of the true Christian come together with a pure heart which leads us to righteousness!

Psa 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Only then can we become a true peacemaker, a true child of God.

*Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

The Lord has left us upon this earth after our salvation “to become peacemakers”.

It is our job to prepare the highway to the Lord for individuals who are lost, just as did John the Baptist begin preparations for Jesus to build the “Highway to Heaven”!

It is our job to make peace between the lost and the Lord!

We are to solve disputes and never be the cause of them!

We must find ways to explain the truth of God to those who do not understand it, without compromising the Word of God.

We must take our faith, with a pure heart, full of mercy and love, and show these things to the unbeliever.

We must remember we can only get close to Christ Jesus because of the blood He shed for us.

Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

We are reconciled to God by His “grace” and we must show “that same grace” to all we meet, even to our enemies.

When we do these things, we will be persecuted by those who are sold out to Satan.

*Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

There are many people in this world who are persecuted for one evil reason or another, only the Church is persecuted for doing good.

The Church is persecuted simply because most of the leadership of the world hates the Lord Jesus Christ and the principles that He teaches through His disciples!

The teachings of Jesus Christ reveal the wickedness and immorality that is approved by the world, even though the queer movement represents only a small fraction of the world’s people, less than ten percent.

The teachings of Christ Jesus go against abortion, when it is those two people who decide to commit a sinful act, neglecting the responsibility of their actions!

Why is the everyday taxpayer held responsible for the acts of two people who should be held accountable?

It is not the child who is at fault, so why is the child punished with death?

Abortion is now used, not just to murder an innocent living child, but also to choose the sex of the baby, to check for traits that are unwanted, and many other reasons and then aborted child is not treated with any respect but is sold for its body parts. “True wickedness”.

When we are persecuted for doing what is right, it shows how low our world has become!

2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

I accept the fact that I may be persecuted just because I love the Lord Jesus Christ, but it does not make it easier, it is just like all the other Word of God, I just accept it as the truth and move on.

It just shows that I serve an all-knowing God!

Whoever thought people would be treated so bad just because they were trying to do good for all people.

Our government has already decided that we are too ignorant to know right from wrong!

Today you can do all manner of evil and much of the world will stand up in your defense, even come to your rescue, but if you try to do the things the Lord Jesus Christ did or try to live your life according to the Word of God, you are treated as less than a human being.

In fact the world will say you are mentally unfit.

But it does not matter because we have a Savior and if you reject that Savior you are only causing harm to yourself and to those you love.

Just because you persecute God’s people, you cannot rob them of God’s blessings!

Jesus speaking here just says, I can be happy that I am seen to be like Him.

In fact Jesus says to rejoice! Be exceeding glad! For our rewards are just piling up in Heaven!

Persecution is just a test of true discipleship!

1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

The world may try to protect the murderer, and the thief, and the evildoer, and all those who are busybodies in other people’s matters, but “Heaven is not open to the world”.

Jesus is not preparing a home for the world He is preparing a home only for those who love Him!

I will not worry about what this world can do to me, because I have a Living Savior who cannot be touched by the ways of the world and I want to be like Him!

The Church exists for the sake of the world to try to change the evil ways of the world, but most of the world have sold their souls to the Devil and they are not looking to change!

*Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

At one time salt was so valuable in this world that Roman soldiers were paid with salt because it could be used to meet their needs in any nation they traveled and was more valuable than gold.

Salt makes many foods acceptable because it changes the flavor of the food.

Job 6:6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

Salt was a preservative especially for edible meats and fishes and is still used today for this reason.

Salt can also be used for destruction of the land not allowing it ever again to produce life, such as the land that was once Sodom and Gomorrah.

Zep 2:9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

Psa 107:34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

Salt is also used in blessings.

Lev 2:13 And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.

It is the Christian life that can change the evil ways of Sodom and Gomorrah in our world today.
It is the Christian life that can show the world the beauty of living for Christ Jesus before it is too late.

It is the quality of Christian salt and not the quantity of Christian salt, that can make a difference in this world!

The flavor of evil can be changed by salt of God’s people!

Remember God’s people are salted and preserved forever more!

But much of the Church has lost its saltiness and it has no more value than the soil we walk upon.

In fact, as the false church gains in popularity, the world becomes a barren wilderness of sin!

The true Church is also the Light of this world.

*Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The Christian who stays true to the Word of God cannot be hidden any more than the Sun can be blocked from its light.

God is Light, darkness is sin:

1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Every Christian being filled with the Holy Spirit has the Light of God living within them, glowing with the Light of Life.

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Now that our Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven, then the Church is the Light of the World.

Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Light is clear and pure.
Light penetrates darkness.
Light enlightens, it enlarges our vision.
Light reveals, it opens up the truth of darkness.
Light guides us down the right path.
Light strips away darkness.
Light protects us from the ways of darkness.

Our own Christian Light will grow dim if it is not used!

The more we confess the Lord Jesus Christ, the brighter we will shine, and no amount of persecution can change that.

There is no other light in this world that can benefit this world, we cannot allow our Christian Light to become dim and go out!

Light only has one purpose and that purpose is “to shine”!

After God created Heaven and the void of Earth, He next made “Light”!

Amen

Can I Say No To Jesus and Still Get Into Heaven

May 17, 2020 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Saved in the Great Tribulation

Book of Revelation Chapter 7

As we move on into Chapter 7 we find answers to a lot of questions for those who have been taught some things that are not true. The one most important thing is that there will be many saved during the Tribulation period and most of those during the time called the “Great Tribulation” as this chapter makes us aware of.

In fact, I do not believe God will reject anyone at any time if they call upon the Lord with a pure and honest heart!

I personally believe that not any who have rejected the Lord during the Church Age will be saved during any part of the Tribulations years.

2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Today in many areas of America there are many who have not ever heard of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, and America has become a great mission field and it is the same in many other nations and it is a sad thing.

This shows just how weak the Church has become in doing the one thing the Lord ask us to do.

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

Though these future saints will suffer through much of the Seven Years of the Tribulation they will also be saved because no one at the White Throne Judgment will be able to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and say, “I never got the opportunity”.

Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

There is not one prophesy in the true Scriptures that will go unfulfilled by the end of Armageddon!

Many today just do not have all the truth!

In reality, Chapter 7 of the Book of Revelation is a break between the things of the sixth seal and the things of the seventh seal, and John gets a full view of this picture so we will all be able to understand.

One of the greatest problems in the modern Church is that those who are saved or think they are saved, do not have that same desire for all others to be saved.

Remember the Laodicean Church Age ended with the Church never returning to be on fire for Christ and the ministries of the Church just about stopped.

The Lord will remind us of these things at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

We had forgotten why the Lord left us here upon this earth and even today before these things come to past, we are living in the “Days of Sorrows”.

Joh 16:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
Joh 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Joh 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

Isa 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Isa 25:9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Let us just see what John saw.

*Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Rev 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

If we know one thing about our Savior, it is that He is never caught off guard. He never sits and thinks about what He is going to do next.

No matter what the world thinks and no matter what the Church thinks, the Lord God Jehovah always has His true believers.

By this time we already know the Church is in Heaven and the Judgment Seat of Christ has already taken place. The Lord has presented His Church to His Father, but someone is missing.

There are promises that have not been yet fulfilled.

We have an example in the Scriptures.

God is speaking to Elijah:

1Ki 19:1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
1Ki 19:2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
1Ki 19:3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which be-longeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
1Ki 19:4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
1Ki 19:5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat
1Ki 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Remember the Prophesy of Elijah?

Rom 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Rom 11:2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Rom 11:3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
Rom 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

And Malachi:

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

John saw four Angels standing on the four corners of the earth, which would be North, South, East, and West and no, this does not mean the earth is square.

These Angels would bring about the most devastating “Climate Change” this world will have ever seen. These things will be added to all the other things that are already going on in those seven years of Tribulation, and will be in fact the last years of those seven years called the “The Great Tribulation”.

By the way it is only the Lord who can cause “climate change” and not people!

Before these Angels unleash this devastation those servants of God must be sealed. Not by the Holy Spirit but by this Angel which means they cannot be harmed by the Antichrist and his followers during this time of their great work.

The Lord says the servants of God must be sealed. These servants of God are His secret weapon that no one upon the earth knew about, not even Satan!

The Lord Jesus explained this to the Apostles.

Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

The fig tree is about to bloom in Israel. It will not bloom during the Church Age!

We should understand that until the Angels seal these 144,000 no one knew who they were and at the same time once they are sealed, everyone will know who they are. Jehovah will not hide this fact for the Hebrew Children. They will be sealed in their forehead only, not upon their hands.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.

We should also understand in the same manner the disciples of the Antichrist will be sealed either in the forehead or their right hand.

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

*Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Rev 7:5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
Rev 7:6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
Rev 7:7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Rev 7:8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

These 12,000 of each tribe will be the literal seed of Abraham through Isaac, through Jacob.

Again there are no lost tribes of Israel and though they remain are scattered, Jehovah knows the whereabouts of each and every one of them!

Notice the Angel in charge of this whole thing does ascend from the east. The “Day Star”.

2Pe_1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

The Sun of Righteousness:

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

They will realize the Coming of the Messiah, they had been looking for all these years!

Of all the lists of the tribes in the Scriptures since the time of the Exodus from Egypt, this one is different as are many others, but here the Tribe of Dan is omitted and also the tribe of Ephraim.

The names of Joseph and the name of Levi are substituted. We can understand this by understanding the truth of God.

Deu 29:18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;
Deu 29:19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
Deu 29:20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.
Deu 29:21 And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

These are things that Dan and Ephraim are guilty of, and when the Holy Spirit gave these words to Moses, He meant what He said.

God will never repent from the things He has written down in the Scriptures which means all translations must be very careful not to change what the Holy Spirit has said, or they are no more than perversions much like the Codex Sinaiticus that was altered by the Jesuits while it was not even an old Scripture but the writings of some Greek, who was hired to make a personal copy of the Scriptures for some Russian. This is the truth!

These tribes allowed Jeroboam to set up those golden calves to be worshipped.

1Ki 12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
1Ki 12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
1Ki 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1Ki 12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
1Ki 12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

Note, these tribes are also in the list that will be in the Holy Land in the Millennial Kingdom.

The sealing of these 12,000 from each tribe has its own purpose in the plan of God during the Great Tribulation years.

So after this sealing, we see the purpose of this sealing.

*Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Rev 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 7:12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Will they be those that are saved during the Great Tribulation when the Antichrist is so brutal along with those that follow him. You bet there will be!

Notice that are not just Jews or Hebrews. They are from all nations, all kindreds, all peoples, all tongues and they are standing before the throne of the Lamb of God.

They had palms in their hands as in the as in the “Feast of the Trumpets”.

In a sense, the purpose of the “Feast of the Trumpets” was to awaken these people from their “spiritual slumber” and prepare them for the solemn humiliation of the “Day of Atonement”!

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

This day had finally come.

Salvation to “Our God” and unto “The Lamb”. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know!

What do the Angels do? They do what they always do.

Luk 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Of course the Church did join in, and the Beasts, as we all fell on our faces to worship our God Jehovah, and the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ.

All the Church had made it to Heaven.

There is no God except Jehovah God and there is no salvation but by the Lamb of God!

John was watching all these things so he could write it all down that we might have this wonderful Book of the Reveling of the Lamb!

John asked and one of the Elders answered.

Where did all those Saints of God come from? Here is our answer.

*Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

To understand the Great Tribulation we have to go back to the missing week from the Prophet Daniel.

Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

When we total the weeks from the Prophet Daniel, we can account for the time till the first coming of the Messiah. From the time of Christ’s First Coming and until Chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation we have the Church Age which ends at the “Rapture of the Church”.

It is then we begin the missing week of the Prophet Daniel which are the years called Tribulation or the time of Jacob’s Trouble.

Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Jer 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
Jer 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

When the Church has been called out (Revelation Chapter 4) then the Antichrist will begin his rule upon this earth. The first three and a half years will be terrible to many, but the Jews will live in relative peace and actually be able to use the rebuilt Temple for the old practices that ended with the destruction of Herod’s Temple.

But then comes the remaining three and a half years which will be called the “Great Tribulation”.

The Antichrist will become a terror to the Jews and most all of the world at that time. Destruction and murder will be the daily theme of his government.

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

This Great Tribulation would have brought the end of life upon this world if the Lord Jesus does not step in to put a stop to it.

Finally after spending all these years people will begin to realize that maybe there is a God who cares.

Those 144,000 Jewish preachers will be spreading the “Gospel of Jesus Christ” all over the world and remember they are sealed and under the protection of the Angels.

Dan_12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

They will begin to believe.

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.

And they will be saved.

Those that are saved will also die and this is that group of Saints that John is now seeing in Heaven’s Throne Room where they will be comforted.

Their robes made white by the Blood of the Lamb!

Most of these are Jews and they will now do what Jehovah ask of them since the time of Abraham.

*Rev 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

We know that the Holy Spirit took the Church home to Heaven at the sound of the Trumpet, because He lives within each of us.

This does not mean the Holy Spirit did not go back to do the work as He did in the Old Testament.

These that were saved were still under Holy Ghost conviction when they accepted that Jesus is the true Messiah.

These were all saved because they believed the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We can see that most of these are Jews and the Lord will fulfill His promise to them.

Exo 29:45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
Exo 29:46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.

Are they any more special than the other Saints of God? No they are blood bought children of God just as the rest of the Saints in Heaven.

Some believe that this is the Millennial Kingdom, but this is just Heaven and what are some of the great things about Heaven?

*Rev 7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The fulfillment of another promise.

2Co 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

It is not always easy to be a Christian and it is also true it is not easy to be a Jew in many places and it been that way for them for thousands of years.

We all know that sin has interfered with our relationship with our Heavenly Father, but the benefits of Heaven make it all worth the choice of choosing Jesus before it was too late.

Psa 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psa 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

The “benefits” of choosing Jesus Christ are just too wonderful to describe after a life upon this small planet, the only place life thrives but even this life on this planet will not always continue.

Choose Jesus before it is too late to choose!

Hell is a real place!

Heaven is a real place!

Choose Heaven!

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.

Amen

Spiritual Stability

December 31, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

The Blessing of Spiritual Stability

Book of Ephesians 3:14-21

Stability can be defined as: Steadiness; stableness; firmness of character; strength to stand without being moved or overthrown.

We live in a world of hopelessness. This is another great reason why we cannot allow the world to get into our places of worship.

Hopelessness is a state of being desperate, being without hope of any kind.

As the Apostle Paul continued to write such graceful words, guided by the Holy Spirit, some people could look at his situation, in prison and awaiting execution, and decide that there was not a great future in this thing called being a Christian.

The Apostle Paul understood the thoughts of such a people, but we must realize that the benefits of having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ far outweighs the hopelessness of not knowing our Savior!

Another great thing we will learn in this passage is that the church that prays together, stays together!

The greatest prayer in the Bible is the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ in Chapter 17 of the Book of John.

The model prayer, the Lord teaches us in the Book of Matthew 6:9-13 may be the most quoted prayer in the Scriptures but this prayer of Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit may be the greatest prayer of the Church.

We should also remember how the Lord Jesus Christ prayed for Peter.

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Jesus also prayed for this lost world as we should. This world is ignorant of the truth of God!

Luk_23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; “for they know not what they do”.

When Satan has lost any power, he held over us when we gave our heart to Jesus Christ, then Satan still has a great desire to ruin the testimony of each Christian.

The Lord Jesus Christ prayed for the Church.

Here we will see where the Apostle Paul prays for the Church.

It is in our best interest for us all to pray not only for the Church but for each other!

So, let’s hear Paul’s prayer for the Church.

*****Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

If we bow in prayer to anyone or anything other than our Father in Heaven we are committing blasphemy.

Even the Lord Jesus Christ bowed to His Father in Heaven!

We should also realize that this phrase by Paul means we need to have the right attitude of prayer.

There is no specific bodily posture that is necessary for Spiritual worship! For some kneeling may be impossible.

Kneeling denotes humbleness and we must always be humble before our loving but very powerful God!

Kneeling also denotes a desperate need. There is a desperate need for the church to be strong today and we also need to pray as Paul prayed for the church.

We must also have an attitude of submissiveness!

We must submit to the Lord! If we cannot submit to the Lord, then we are not saved!

We can talk to God anytime we so choose, when we have a prayerful attitude.

Even more times than that, we will have a “cause” to go before the Lord.

When we have a specific cause, then we must be willing to explain things very well before the Lord. We can have unspoken request within a body of believers but not when we have a specific request while in our closet!

We cannot say to the Lord, I have an unspoken prayer request even though He already knows!

We have a great need for many things in our war with evil and the things of this world, so one of our greatest needs is the “strength” to deal with them.

We should notice that this prayer of Paul was in the will of God. God wants His Church to be strong against the evils of this world to do this we must be in the will of God.

The safest place for any of us is being in the will of God!

It is God who gave birth to the Church and it is God who will see the Church succeed until the time of the fulness of the Gentiles!

Notice Paul does not just pray to a father but to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who came into this world to reveal the One true God to us!

Having “faith” in anyone but the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ will yield no results and no salvation!

We must be utterly dependent on this God. Jehovah God of the Bible, the God that saves, there is no other God!

The world may know a god who is distant and unconcerned with humanity but because of the Lord Jesus Christ we can know the true God who likes it up close and personal and in fact will abide within each of us.

When Paul prayed to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, he prayed to the God who could hear his prayer and then also able to answer his prayer.

Our God is alive!

*****Eph 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

The truth of our God is that He is the Father of every believer from the time of Adam, all those who have trusted in the fulfillment of His promises!

There is the family of angels who have trusted and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ rather than go after Lucifer and there are the “children of God” who have placed their faith in the things of God.

Just think when we get to Heaven, we will not only see the Lord Jesus but, we will see Adam, and Abraham, and David and every Saint that is mentioned in the Scriptures who have gone on Home, before us.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

They may have carried the name Christian on Earth, but they carry the name “child of God” in every location!

Paul knew that to survive the evil in this world would require strength but not just any strength but the strength of God, the Holy Spirit.

*****Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

The Lord Jesus Christ indicated that after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit(Holy Ghost) would begin a new ministry to believers in the Church Age, that was unlike the Old Testament Ages.

Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

In the Old Testament, except for a few instances, (Joshua, David and a few others) the Holy Spirit was with the Old Testament Saints, but He was not “within” the Old Testament Saints.

In the New Testament Saint, the Holy Spirit will live within each believer, as a gift from God and He will never leave that believer!

2Co 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
2Co 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

1Th 4:8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit

1Jn 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

This event takes place at salvation!

Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

When we have strength that we do not understand. it is because we are endowed with God the Holy Spirit!

1Co_6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Being endowed with the “gift” of the Holy Spirit at “salvation” shows the ownership of God!

This strength is needed not for some miracle like as the time of the Apostles, but this strength is needed by our inner man to take control of our flesh in the name of the Lord!

The glory of God is in Himself and no one can match the resources of God! The strength mentioned here is would be spiritual firmness against the evils of this world.

As Christians we must be “tough” in a Spiritual sense. We must have the energy to come face to face with this world and win!

We win because we are on the “Winning Side”!

Without this strength we could not overcome this body of flesh and we would be wide open to being made useless to God.

Without this strength we would never be able to lay claim to the blessings of God.

Without this strength we would fear everything that the natural man fears!

How do we know God will answer our prayer, He lives within us and the riches of God’s glory are in His Son Jesus Christ?

It says, who do you love? If you truly love the Lord, you will able to receive the riches of God’s glory!

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

God’s “Grace” is sufficient because within us, lies the greatest power in all the universe!

*****Eph 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

The key to be a Christian is for Jesus Christ to dwell in our heart, “by faith”.

We receive the absolute fulness of God into our own spirit with that thing called “faith”!

When we go forth filled with God there is no obstacle we cannot overcome. There is no battle with evil that we cannot win and there is no evil that can break us down!

A.W. Tozer said, “A man who is intimate with God is not intimidated by man”

When Jesus Christ dwells in our heart then He will rule, and that word dwell means to set up a permanent residence and not a temporary dwelling.

Jesus Christ not only lives within our heart, but He makes us aware of it!

When the entire body of believers of any congregation have such an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, that church will be a force in the community where it resides.

Just as the mighty oak tree is rooted to withstand the nature of this world, each Christian must be deeply rooted in Jesus Christ and each member of each congregation must be deeply rooted in that Church to grow as a weapon in the army of God.

In electrical work, a system of electricity must be bonded, grounded, to make a sure connection, to provide the system to work properly and for the safety of those things that are handled by those who use them.

As Christians we must be bonded to Jesus Christ with a sure connection that will endure forever.

The Love of Christ is that sure connection and it works both ways.

Joh 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Joh 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

When we look real hard at this prayer of Paul for the Church it was much like the Prayer the Lord Jesus prayed for the church!

When we understand that we have the entire Holy Trinity living within us and through “faith” that power is available to us, we should be able to notice the difference in our actions because it will be God working within us!

We do all these things so as Christians we have the same understanding of the Word of God, God’s love letter to everyone who will believe in “faith”!

*****Eph 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

That word “able” means having sufficient knowledge of God to make the right decisions for the good of the Church.

Having a full understanding of the Spiritual things of God!

God explains His plan repeatedly in most any part of the Scriptures and it this plan that must be down in the inner part of each believer, so each believer can act on this knowledge in this physical world.

These things can only begin once we have the Lord Jesus Christ living in our heart.

We should understand, just because God wanted to, He has done so much for us while we were His enemies, that we just cannot comprehend it all!

God’s love for is such a quantity that it cannot be measured!

Job 11:7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
Job 11:8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
Job 11:9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

One of our greatest prayers should be for God to increase our understanding of Him!

The more we understand, the simpler it will be for us to be an outreach to teach God’s plan to others and as a body of believers we should all be on the same page.

When we add all these things up, being rooted and grounded, deeply fixed, firmly established in His love, and with one another as He commands, we will also have an amount of “love” that we cannot even fathom!

In fact, this applies to all the things of God!

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
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.

It is obvious, that to understand these things, we must have a close and prosperous and very personal relationship with the Holy Spirit that lives within each of us!

We should also understand that only a very small but a very important part of the words of Christ have been preserved, the rest we will learn when we get to Heaven.

Joh_21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

The vastness of the love and knowledge of the Lord just simply cannot be measured!

The ultimate goal for each believer is to reach the fulness of God, which is perfection!

Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

It is only those who are perfect that will dwell with God throughout eternity!

There is nothing that anyone can add to these words! For anyone to detract from this truth, would be an attempt change the truth of God!

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

It is extremely important that we take on the image of Jesus Christ!

Mat 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

To be the image of Christ is so important that it could be said to be the theme of the New Testament and it is!

Rom 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Rom 15:14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Col 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Col 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

We should surely understand that it is not only the Holy Ghost that lives within us, but the entire Holy Trinity abides within each believer.

The fulness of God is the Triune God!

Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

First the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Then the Lord Jesus, the Son and His Father, who is also our Father!

To be saved we must pray to the Lord Jesus Christ that He would move into our Heart.
We must pray to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit.
Now we see we must pray for the fulness of God to move into our soul!

We are to constantly pray for all these things and the Lord Jesus has already said the Comforter will never leave us, nor would He ever forsake us.

This means the Holy Spirit will never leave us for any reason and this means we cannot lose the gift of salvation that God has freely given to us!

We can miss so many things when we do not study the Scriptures!

So, who can truthfully do all these things?

*****Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

It is our “faith” that limits the blessings of God and not that He is able to go far beyond our request!

God simply says, we limit our own blessings for a lack of “faith”!

Jas_4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

We limit our own blessings, but God has no limit to His power!

God is able to go far beyond what we ask of Him!

Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

God said if we had enough “faith” we could move a tree:

Luk_17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

In fact, God said if we had enough faith we could move a mountain:

Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

As much as we talk about our faith, the only faith we have is the faith that God gave us to be saved and we must increase our “faith” as we know more about our Savior!

Rom_12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

We ought to be begging God to increase our “faith”!

Jesus said we lacked much fasting in our prayer life.

We must give up something for God to give up something to us!

Food and water sustain our life so, to fast shows God, we are willing to trust Him for our life.

So as Paul closes out this passage, he makes us aware that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask.

The most important thing we can do for ourselves is to live our lives so that we know our prayer will reach into the throne room of God.

God can go far beyond what we ask and believe it or not, God can go far beyond even what we think, but God will only give us what we need to remain in His will even if we ask in the greatest “faith”. Sometimes God’s best answer to our request is “No”!

We know that God first created each us from the elements of the soil, but God could just as well have used stones!

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

God can even fulfill promises that are humanly impossible!

Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

God can subdue all things to Himself!

Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

God can save us to the uttermost!

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

That power that works within us is the Holy Spirit and it is from Him where this power comes from according to this Scripture and God will never lie to us!

Above all we must remember that God will only do these things if they bring Him the Glory, as it should be!

How long is God to be glorified? Throughout all Ages, world without end!

God lives in infinity and we will soon join Him there!

As these days pass by, let’s do our best not to limit the power of God in our lives.

We need to pray that God will increase our faith and realize that if it is important enough to us then we also need to fast!

Amen.

Let’s Pray!

The God of Comfort

June 4, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Comforting Presence of God

Isaiah 41

We should ask ourselves what does “Freedom” mean to us?

According to the dictionary “freedom” is being exempt from the power and the control of another.

So, in this case, are any of us truly free?

We have freedom of will and choice but each of these things have consequences, we must answer to.

We have a book of freedoms here in America but it seems that most Americans desire to give those freedoms up and allow the government to decide their freedoms, what fools are we raising in our homes!

God says, none of us are free because we are all slaves to sin!

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

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

So, in the process of having a personal relationship with God we must become free from sin!

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.

This can only be done through Jesus Christ!

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Isa 49:25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

The Lord Jesus Christ is all about salvation!

Let’s begin with verse 10:

*****Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Understanding the salvation of the Lord should also cause us to understand the chastisement of the Lord and “this must always be remembered” because it is also the reason for the “Judgment of God”!

Our sinful behavior is what causes so much of the destruction of life and property and the pollution of the environment in our world.

God judges us from a heart of love and compassion. God seeks to save us from harming ourselves and others.

Exposing these things to us should cause us to repent. Some will and some will remain foolish!

Life is not easy for anyone if we regard the external conditions of this world. Even the rich have their problems including the problems of sickness and death that we all have!

But, we should all clearly understand there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God!

Rom_8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If we can understand the love of God, then we can also begin to understand why we need to believe Him! It’s called “Faith”.

Faith is the conscious that God is there and that His presence is the complement of every need!

Faith recognizes the reality of true choice, that God will enter into a covenant that cannot be dissolved by any outside source and God cannot be overcome even by any heavenly source.

Faith knows, that this Loving God has a purpose in everything that comes upon us!

Faith is the reality that chastisement can teach us things that nothing else can!

Therefore, we have no reason to fear because the Lord is always as close as the next breath.

We truly have a God that will stand in a tender relationship with each of us, as He so well puts in this Scripture.

Notice also in this Scripture that God is not speaking to the world, God is speaking to His chosen people, but He is spiritualty speaking to all people!

God does not live in the same time scale that we do, so He can protect us in the here and now, just as He was saying to these Jews!

All believers need the assurance that God is with them every moment of their life just as God states here!

God says to never fear the things we face day by day. In fact, God has not given us the spirit of fear at all.

2Ti_1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

With God’s power at our request, God’s love always, and the sound mind of “Faith”, why would we ever be afraid of what this world can do to us?

All these things should teach us to cling to Christ Jesus and never releasing our grip for He will never release His grip!

Once we have been accepted by the Lord and our sins forgiven we can never be bound by sin again!

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Our enemies and those who become our enemies, because we love Jesus Christ are nothing in the eyes of God.

*****Isa 41:11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

Now, these Jews had given up their idols, and their worship of those idols and returned to the Lord.

Those that cling to their idols then became their enemies, they were “incensed” against them.

As Christians, we face this same thing. Many of our friends in a sense have become our enemies just because we have become a child of God.

God says they will be ashamed and confounded.

Their idols will not be able to help them!
They will not be able to defend their worship of those idols!

Today, the world’s idols become riches, political power and military strength and these also will be ashamed and confounded.

These modern-day idols are nothing compared to the power of Jehovah God!

Dan 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Many historians have written of the fall of Rome but the truth of the fall of Rome is because of the persecution of God’s people.

If you look at our world today, you will see nation after nation fall, because of the persecution of God’s people!

The Bible speaks of a revived Rome, not Rome itself but a league of nations like the Roman empire and it will also fall for the same thing, the persecution of God’s people!

*****Isa 41:12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

Even today, Israel has cause for fear because they are surrounded by their enemies but God says that they that war with the Jews, shall be as nothing. “because they will be destroyed”

But this includes more than just those foreign military:

1) It would include all those who are angry with the Jews.

Those who are angry are all those who resent God’s people and are inflamed by their actions.

2) Including those who have strife with the Jews.

Strife would include all those who envy God’s people in everything they accomplish.

3) Including those that conflict with the Jews.

Conflict includes all those who are in direct opposition to the Jews and are on a violent collision course with them. “Certainly, all the Arab nations” but also others.

4) And those who are at war with the Jews.

War is then an actual contest between God’s children and the evil of this world we live in.

God says the punishment for these things is:

1) Some would be covered with shame.
2) Some would perish.
3) Some would not be found.
4) Some would be as if they never existed. (Nothingness)

Psa 37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Psa 37:36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

Job 8:13 So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:

And why are these things so true?

*****Isa 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

We see that God offers His personal help.

God loves to get personal with those who want it that way!

Only Christianity can say this about Jehovah, the Living God!

The truth must come from God who is a Living God!

The truth is, that God will only help in the right way!

The way of righteousness is not always the most pleasant way but it is always the safest way to live.

The children of Israel had departed from the right way and if they sought to satisfy their flesh they could not expect help from God.

We know that God does not ever change so why would we think He would do different today?

The way of holiness, is also the way to Heaven but this is so strange to someone deep in sin but no progress can be made without a guide.

The Lord Jesus is that guide sent from Heaven to hold our hand until we get home!

This is a covenant, a guarantee, a promise, that only the Lord can make AND KEEP!

Notice the closeness, God will hold our hand! This is way of parents to a small child who would get lost if not for holding to that hand but it is the parent’s responsibility and not that of the child, once that child is “Born” into the family!

Then God conveys this same thought to the children of Israel.

*****Isa 41:14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

To be a redeemed child of God, we must first realize our own weakness to save ourselves, because it is impossible!

To fear not, shows that we are afraid in this world we live in.

We must understand, God will not hold the hand of those who travel in their own strength!

What are worms in this passage?

If we go back to the days of the Jews escaping from Egypt we know that God fed them with the Manna and some would try to gather enough in one day that would last for several days. God would not allow this and that manna would become worms or today we would say maggots and it would stink horribly.

God is not so much saying these Jews were maggots or that they had a terrible odor but simply that the children of Jacob were in terrible, stinking, disobedience, that could only lead them to eternal death, just as all those who reject the Word of God today!

The children of Jacob were supposed to be the blessed of God!

Jacob was a worm in the eyes of all people but Jacob then became Israel but are now still worms in the eyes of the world.

Today there are many Christian worms in the eyes of true believers and we as Christians, we are no more than worms in the eyes of this world of unbelievers.

But God loves His worms because He is our Lord but more important He is our “Redeemer”!

We may not like being a worm in the eyes of mankind but we know we are no more than worms when we refuse to give up those pet sins.

Psa_22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

To be real honest it may be an insult to the true worm, for a dirty, worthless, corrupted, sinner to use its name!

Job said:

Job_17:14 I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.

When we understand what we are, (no more than a worm) it makes us desire better things and nothing is better that a personal hand holding relationship with the Lord!

Those who reject being worms but still speak in the worms’ language and remain unclean, can never be redeemed by the Holy One of Israel!

The truth is, a worm is always exposed to danger, the next footstep could end its life or it could become the bait to attract another evil, again causing its death.

What does God say to His disobedient children?

Deu 28:39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.

But God has plans for those who repent even for the children of Israel!

*****Isa 41:15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
Isa 41:16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Here evil is considered to be a mountain, something large and occupying a large area.

God said He would take His “redeemed” Jewish worms and make them a “new” sharp threshing instrument that “shall” thresh those evil mountains.

We know this has not taken place yet but remained in their future, maybe in this age we are in now.

When the “good” of God threshes the “evil” mountains of this world, then the Lord will join His people on this earth for 1000 years and after this eternity.

By the way, those mountains are all those who have set themselves against Israel and against the Church.

We can see that this is the mystery of “Grace”. (God’s Riches At Christ Expense).

Psa 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Psa 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Psa 22:8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

We must remember, it was the job of the Lord to buy back the property that belonged to God.

The Lord is that “Kinsman Redeemer” following the law of God!

Lev 25:48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
Lev 25:49 Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.

This was not to be an earthly redeemer.

Rth 3:12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

The Lord is the nearest of all our kinsmen because He is our Creator!

It is only our “Redeemer” who is the greatest of all mountains.

Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

And the wind will carry all the chaff away and the whirlwind shall scatter the remains of the threshing floor no longer to be found on this earth.

And God will care for all those, His children that remain!

*****Isa 41:17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
Isa 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Isa 41:19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
Isa 41:20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

We know that the Lord provided for His people while they were in captivity in Babylon but this Scripture reaches far beyond this image into the Millennial Kingdom.

As Christians, until the Lord returns we are as a barren wilderness, seeking a greater measure of “Grace” and “Knowledge” and increasing our spirituality and becoming more complete.

We also see a world that is growing more and more in its lust of the flesh and rejection of the Word of God.

The Lord assures us that we will not be disappointed in the objects of our desires. The Lord will hear all our cries!

Everyone is poor when compared to the riches of Heaven and even that is not in riches as seen in this world but much greater things than these.

Water here means the influences of the Holy Spirit which cannot come while we live in our own sin.

Sinners all over the world seek a physical high that cannot be obtained except by the Holy Spirit so they are never satisfied!

The truth can only be found in the Word of God.

Isa_34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

When the Lord returns those, who have felt the barrenness of this life will be watered by the unlimited blessings of God.

God will provide refreshment for the souls of His people!

Psa 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psa 92:13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Psa 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isa 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

God will also supply the material things as this world after the devastation of war will be restored as it was in the first days of Adam!

Isa 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Isa 43:20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

We know of all the deserts in Israel and all the lands adjacent to Israel and around this world but each one of them will be transformed into an oasis with a grove of beautiful trees.

The “Grace” of God will be seen throughout this world during the Millennial reign of Christ and no one will be able to doubt the truth of God!

The object of these miracles of God, is a demonstration of the “creative power” of the true God!

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Isa 45:8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

All the things the Jews went through in all the years up to the time of Nebuchadnezzar happened because they had turned away from God and worshipped idols.

After their 70 years of captivity in Babylon they were still not a perfect people, none of us are, but they put down the idols and have not been a nation of idol worshippers again!

Then God says to “state your reasons” why you remain in sin.
God says, “present your case” for still worshipping false gods.

*****Isa 41:21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
Isa 41:22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.
Isa 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

We should understand that God has the power to prove He is God at any time.

But we should also understand that God is not in competition with any other god because no other god exist.

God says, present your case for worshipping man-made gods!

God means if your false god can prove itself then He will allow you to worship it.

These are people that hate the Living God but love this world just as it is, what a shame!

They are influenced by things that are only temporary and seldom have any desire for things that are unseen and eternal.

They live in the, “here and now”!

They have an unwillingness to even consider such things and hate those that do believe.

God says bring forth your strong reasons which means, show your proof.

The world is forever saying that Christians are insane to believe in Jehovah God and they say where is the proof.

The proof is readily available but it is denied and rejected.

God says where is your proof, because He knows they cannot prove the existence of man-made gods!

The only thing that non-believers and the worldly minded can do is, to sit and take pleasure in trying to destroy Christianity! So, they stay with their false gods of pleasure.

There are also those who say they believe but the only thing they do is blame a Holy God when they have not obeyed even the simplest of God’s commands. So, they stay with their false gods who gives them no commands to follow.

They will say, “my life is not right”, “my position is not safe”, “I do not get what I want” and God will never bless those that blame Him for their problems and life’s obstacles that happen to everyone else. So, they stay with their false gods, never believing God will provide our needs and go with us through all life’s obstacles and problems.

And then there are these of the last days, days which we are in now:

2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God says how many of you have a God, besides Jehovah, that can show the world what will happen in the future as Jehovah does, but is denied.
God says how many of you have a God, besides Jehovah, that can show the world what He has done in the past, as Jehovah does, but is denied.
God says how many of you have a God, besides Jehovah, that has explained the only logical way our created world came to existence, but is denied.
God says how many of you have a God, besides Jehovah, that can explain life after death, and the truth of the human body, mind, and especially the soul, which is denied.
God says, who else besides Jehovah, has written all these things down for the world to see, and so the world can be warned, besides Jehovah and even this is denied!
God says show Me the things that have been written or predicted, or said by any false god and let’s see if they are true or if they come true.

And God responds:

Isa 43:9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isa 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Isa 43:12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
Isa 43:13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

God also says those who are blind and those who cannot hear, no more about the truth than those who worship idols they have made themselves.

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

So, God says:

*****Isa 41:24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.

God says the silence of all idols prove they are nothing!
God says there is no proof of any work that has ever been done by any false god.
God says it is only Satan, the abomination of this world who has chosen these people who deny the one true God!

An idol is anything that comes between us and God and they are all abominable, detestable, and filthy in the sight of Jehovah God!

God alone has the power to control history.
God alone has the power to predict history and God is always 100% correct.
God alone has said to these of that day that He would send a messenger to proclaim the “Good News” of salvation before the end times come.

And God finishes with these words:

*****Isa 41:29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

Both idols and those who worship idols are nothing in the sight of God.

God ask many times why would someone worship something that provided no benefit at all?

Only emptiness and confusion can come to those who deny the Living God!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Coming Face to Face with False Doctrine

February 5, 2017 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Facing False Doctrine

Understanding the Truth

Book of 2 Corinthians Chapter 11

What is the greatest truth that is rejected by this world?

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

When Jesus said these words, His intent was then and still is today to say that “He (Jesus) is the only way to Heaven and there is no other way” to come face to face with our Father in Heaven!

Those that dispute the Lord Jesus Christ are all foolish!

Let’s begin:

*****2Co 11:1 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

As we already know there had been false teachers and critics in this church at Corinth who had severely attacked the Apostle Paul and his ministry for Christ. It would have been wrong for Paul not to address this issue and even boast of the truth of God.

Satan was using everything in his power to destroy Paul’s influence in the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

We can be sure, even more today that Satan is using many of these same methods to gain control of the Church!

What is the truth about Satan, Satan is a liar!

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.

The modern-day church of today is filled with false teaching!
The modern-day church of today is rejecting the Doctrine of Jesus Christ on whom the Church is founded!

The goal is obvious, to break the foundation and the church will fall!

Paul is simply saying you heard their side now hear my side (bear with me, “allow me to defend myself”).

The Lord teaches us to take a stand.

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”.

We are not to cower down every time someone voices their attitude of hate toward the ministers of the Gospel!

These false men had boasted of their gifts, and their abilities, and their usefulness to God, which were all lies and Paul saw the need to come to his own defense, not for himself but “for the honor of God”.

Psa 106:8 Nevertheless “he saved them for his name’s sake”, that he might make his mighty power to be known.

Paul said he needed to respond to those false accusations, not for his own account, but it was a “godly jealousy”. We could say the Holy Spirit decided these things for Paul!

We should understand that Christ Jesus stands in the relation of a husband to the Church He has founded in His name!

Paul presents himself as the marriage-friend, in a sense the “best man” and therefore shares the bridegroom’s jealousy!

Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isa 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

Much like John the Baptist did:

Joh 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
Joh 3:28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
Joh 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Once a virgin was betrothed, then by agreement they must remain that way until the marriage is consummated!

The Apostle Paul had led these Corinthians to the Lord but at this time they were being deceived by false (strange) doctrine.

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Heb 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Deception is what brought sin to Adam.

*****2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

We can use Eve as an example or a “type” of the Church but not “Mary” because Christ is the “new Adam”.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

The Church must beware lest, like Eve, the church takes heed to the Tempter(Satan).

2Co 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Satan is subtle! Satan is artful, Satan is cunning, Satan is insinuating, Satan is sly, and there are other words to describe him but most of all Satan is evil and Satan has an evil agenda for the destruction of God’s people or at least their usefulness in the work of the Lord.

Satan begins his work on the mind!

If Satan can corrupt the mind, he will begin to influence our decisions!

We must always be aware of Satan’s agenda!

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, “which deceiveth the whole world”: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Simplicity means “our single-minded devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ”.

There will never be a time that the Lord will allow us to have 2 masters!

In a sense, Paul is saying that if “anyone” comes into your church and preaches another Jesus, another Gospel, we need to boot them out the door as quickly as possible. There may be other spirits but there is only One Holy Spirit!

Paul is telling these Corinthians that their mind may not yet be corrupted but they were leaning in that direction and a corrupted mind is hard to overcome!

A corrupted mind will turn away from Christ and we have seen the evidence of this today on a grand scale in many places that used to be devoted to the “Gospel of Jesus Christ”.

As Eve gave into the seduction of Satan, so is the Church capable of such a seduction and much of the Church is falling into this trap of Satan!

There is always the danger of false teachers and we need to show them the exit doors of the church building quickly!

What is the truth of our day?

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

We are wrong if we think we are not in that time of these “latter days” now!

All prophesy will one day become history as much of it already has!

*****2Co 11:5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
2Co 11:6 But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.

If these false teachers had truly had another Gospel then it may have been worth listening to, but the only message they had was a distortion of the “Gospel Truth”.

We should realize the truth of this statement!

There are more religions than I can count but each one is only a distortion of the Word of God. If we have the Word of God, then we need to accept it just as God has written it and not in bits and pieces!

We cannot pick and choose what we will believe and what we will reject!

When God calls those who minister the “Gospel”, He does not always give them great eloquence of speech. The gift that God gives to each one is the “knowledge” of the truth.

Not only had Paul spent 3 years with the Lord Jesus, Paul had sit at the feet of Gamaliel the greatest of the teachers of the Old Testament in all of Israel.

Col 1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Col 1:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Paul, having insight from the Holy Spirit, had not been a burden to these Corinthians in finances and now even this was used against him.

*****2Co 11:7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
2Co 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.

Paul had already taught this church that they should provide support for the true Pastor who preaches the “Gospel of Jesus Christ” so Paul now asked, “was it a sin that he did not ask for such support for himself”.

If we remember Paul had used his skills as a “tentmaker” to support himself during this time and he preached the “Gospel” freely to these Corinthians.

It was said by the false preachers that a true Apostle would have certainly demanded such support, as they had!

It was a fact that these Corinthians had no understanding of “free”.

Like the world of today, their understanding was that nothing of any value could ever be free and so we see the reasoning of the Apostle Paul.

Much of the world is of this thought today and many fall into the trap of thinking they must pay for salvation or do some work to purchase salvation, neither one understanding the “Grace of God”.

The Lord Jesus Christ made the only payment that God would accept and Jesus Christ did all the work that was required!

Our only work is to believe!
Our only payment is to give ourselves to the truth God!

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Paul had received some support but it had come from other churches, mainly the church at Philippi, other than the church at Corinth.

The churches of Macedonia were truly poor so in a sense it was robbing from the poor to help the rich who were the Corinthians in comparison to those Macedonians.

Why had Paul done all these things?

*****2Co 11:9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.
2Co 11:10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
2Co 11:11 Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.

When Paul was in Corinth he had to work with his own hands and then witness and preach to get this church started and it started as a house church like many do today but even this work was not enough to provide Paul’s daily necessities and he lacked and some brothers from Macedonia had come to his rescue.

Paul had refused to ask these from Corinth for any help at all!

“Achaia” is accepted as meaning all of Greece. Paul was saying that no man and no reason could stop him from preaching the “gospel of Jesus Christ in all of Greece. Paul made an oath that day and Paul spent all his days as an Apostle boasting of the “Grace of God” and God’s plan of salvation and boasting how he had preached the “Gospel” freely to these of Corinth.

Paul was saying that these Corinthians had no one to blame but themselves if they rejected the “Gospel” and this is the same for this world today!

This is the truth of all who will come face to face with God at the “White Throne” of judgment, they will have gotten there by their own means with no one else to blame.

Paul’s critics had said that Paul had no love for this church, yet Paul had done all these things to show his love for this church and these people of Corinth.

The word “wherefore” means it was for these reasons.

Was it because Paul did not love these people, No, but there was also another reason?

Every Pastor must always guard against giving people a chance to criticize his financial policies and he is never to compromise the “Gospel” to pacify some church members into giving!

This also is a great problem in today’s places of worship!

*****2Co 11:12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

The one thing for sure is, that false teachers in the church will always seek their own glory and not the glory of God!

They were false and deceitful in all their doings, so their boastings were never to be believed. This should be the same for us today!

The cure for knowing the words of a false teacher is to know the Word of God yourself!

Paul used the word false apostles because:

1) They had not been sent by the Lord.
2) They had no apostolic powers, which the Lord had given to His chosen 12.
3) They were only “actors” trying to play the part of an Apostle.

Tit 1:10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
Tit 1:11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.

In the day of Paul, it had been mostly Jews but today they are in all denominations of the so-called Christian movement.

False teachers may be religionist “but they are never Christian”. They are the deceitful workers of Satan who disguise themselves as men of God!

We should not marvel at these things but we should know these things are true! Why?

*****2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

All those who are looking for a Devil in a red suit with horns and a tail are foolish!

Satan will appear to be the greatest of all Christians, the greatest of all preachers, the greatest of all teachers, and the answer to all religions!

Satan can still appear in his heavenly glory as he is an angel created of God.

Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Eze 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Satan is our enemy!

Satan is under God’s curse!

Satan only has a little time left!

Satan is a deceiver!

Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

So, it should be no great thing that some servants of Satan have infiltrated the church and they will bring the evil world into the church!

Satan will always present himself as the messenger of the truth!
Satan will always present himself as the pathway to intelligent obedience to God’s Word.
Satan will always present himself as the one who is to “enlighten” God’s people to reality.
Satan will never present himself as Satan!!!!!!!!!!!

Satan false ministers will do the same thing!

How can we know the difference then?

False ministers will always deny the life of Christ, His righteousness as the perfect and ideal sinless man!
False ministers will always deny the death of Christ, that He had to die in payment for all our sin!
False ministers will always deny the resurrection of Christ, that He had victory over death to show the new life for the believer.
False ministers will always deny the blood of Christ!

The truth is God will accept no person apart from Jesus Christ!

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.

The truth is God will only accept each person who honors His Son!

God will only accept those who love His Son!

1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

In the end, all false teachers, all false preachers, and Satan Himself will suffer eternity for what they have done!

Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Paul said you may think of me as a fool but I am only a fool for Christ sake!

*****2Co 11:16 I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.
2Co 11:17 That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.
2Co 11:18 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
2Co 11:19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
2Co 11:20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.

We may not completely understand this passage but we should consider that this is the way Paul chose to address his critics and a guideline for every Pastor.

Paul was preaching the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ and these false teachers and preachers were saying that Paul’s message should not be allowed in the Church. So how is that different from what is being said today?

The modern-day church is doing it’s very best to rid the church of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

First it is evident that Paul does not believe that Christians should boast before other people but this church at Corinth had placed him in a position to defend the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Gospel.

Paul had already been described as a weak man, so to not defend his message would have been a sure sign of weakness.

Paul is saying “if you think of me as a fool, then receive me as a fool”.

These things were necessary if the church at Corinth was to be saved from collapse!

Those false teachers had boasted greatly of their message and had been accepted so it was only being fair to Paul to allow the same.

What is the truth of false teaching and the liberal church of today?

False teaching makes people “spiritual slaves” where as, the Gospel is a message of “freedom”.

Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

False teachers will use “greed” as their inspiration. The “Gospel” is about the “free gift” of God.

False teachers will use “craftiness” to entrap you, the “Gospel” uses the “truth”.

False teachers are arrogant assuming, great superiority, trying to become lords over God’s people and not being examples of the Gospel!

1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
1Pe 5:3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

False teachers are always proud and haughty and will show contempt of all others, showing no respect for our rights or our dignity.

BUT, The “Gospel” is all about brotherly love!

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The true man of God must defend his ministry and he must always be bold in his defence of the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ!

*****2Co 11:21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.
2Co 11:22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

We can take this to mean that those false teachers were all Hebrews and Israelites. Not only that but they were also of the seed of Abraham.

These were some of the same evil men who had confronted John the Baptist, always trying to stop the spread of the true “Gospel”. Their end is in the “Lake of Fire”!

Mat 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Mat 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Paul is saying if these were all the qualifications that were needed then his pedigree was even greater than theirs.

Then Paul says if they are ministers of Christ, if they are ministers of the Messiah? Then where is their proof?

It is true that every man of God must have a godly heritage but he then must also walk the walk of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The false teacher will never bear his own cross for Jesus Christ!

John the Baptist had asked this same question of some imposters?

Mat 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Mat 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

John said they were nothing but “vipers”. A viper is a snake whose bite will bring death.

A human viper is malignant and extremely dangerous to true life!

What was Paul’s proof? His suffering in defense of the “Gospel”!

Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Joh 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

*****2Co 11:23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
2Co 11:24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
2Co 11:25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
2Co 11:26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
2Co 11:27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
2Co 11:28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

We can see that the Holy Spirit had moved Paul to say “show me your proof and I will show you mine”.

Paul then said surely I must be the biggest fool of all!

Until we come face to face with Jesus Christ, we will never understand the mysteries of God’s procedures with His servants.

Some would think that if the “Gospel message” is that important than why would God not have made the way of his ministers clear, safe and even pleasant. It would seem the more trials these men suffer is a distraction and an embarrassment.

The truth is this world will never be reached with the “Gospel” unless God’s people are willing to be diligent in labor and willing to sacrifice themselves!

We should remember Adam. Adam had a really cushy job!

Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Adam allowed his love for Eve to supercede his love for God and this brought on sin!

So we see, it is the love of God that must sustain us in every situation!

In most every case, the true ministers of God will suffer and labor more than most men do for Christ Jesus!

We can see that Paul had become a vile man to most Jews just by their actions toward him.

Deu 25:3 Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.

They treated Paul more like an animal than a human, if they had the opportunity.

Paul was also a Roman citizen but the Romans had beaten Paul with rods which would be like cane or similar to a fiberglass fishing rod. These were illegal to use on a Roman citizen because some men had died because of their use.

To be stoned would certainly be an attempt to murder the Apostle Paul!

On 3 separate occasions, Paul had been in ship wrecks and at least one time he had survived on a plank for at least 24 hours.

Paul had crossed many rivers that had no bridge.
Robbers were a danger to everyone who traveled on the roads of that day.
We already know that the Jews hated the Apostle Paul and many Romans also, any many were just jealous.

But there were also false Christians just as there are today!

History tells us that Paul was imprisoned at least 7 times.

Paul had hungered.
Paul had thirsted.
Paul had spent many sleepless nights.
Paul had spent many nights without enough clothes to keep him warm.
Paul had also suffered a daily pressure, a daily burden for the care of the churches he had planted and all the “body of Christ” as the church also suffered through the persecution of this world.

Though a lesser man would have just given up or quit, Paul kept going for the cause of Christ!

What is the truth?
Weariness comes with disappointment and defeat. (Victory comes in Christ Jesus)
Weariness comes with our personal conflict with sin but there is a Deliverer. (Jesus Christ)
Weariness comes with unbelief, it is “faith” that gives life and a zest to live. (Life comes by Jesus Christ)
Weariness comes from a state of being alone. (Jesus said I will never leave you nor forsake you)

Paul loved all the “Body of Christ” and it shows, but Paul was not obligated to the Church, Paul was obligated to Jesus Christ.
Paul was fighting for Jesus Christ!
Paul’s authority came from Jesus Christ, Paul would surrender to no other authority no matter what the cost to him personally!

But still what was Paul’s greatest obstacle? His own flesh!

*****2Co 11:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
2Co 11:30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.

Remember Paul had at one time been a persecutor of the “body of Christ” even causing the death of many saints of God but as soon as the ‘Love of Jesus” had touched his heart, Paul’s zeal became his strength and God had added to Paul much tenderness.

Paul knew how much he had been forgiven and he now knew how to forgive all others!

This is a lesson that we all need to learn!

We all need to understand our weaknesses as we live powerless in this sinful world. Our strength comes from the Lord!
We may be weak in the flesh but we do not have to be weak in the presence of Satan we have already won that battle, it is over, it is finished!

In our world of today we must be honest to see that sin has grown so much that we are just not offended by sin any more. In fact, we have reached a point where we actually sympathize with sin, but God says we are to always hate sin but never to hate the sinner.

The truth is, it is never good to boast of what we have done for Christ Jesus but when we have suffered for the cause of serving Christ we may have a reason to boast!

None of those false teachers who had come to Corinth to lead them astray had suffered for Christ nor had they suffered of the people.

There is a song that says “I cannot walk without you holding my hand”.

Paul says “I will glory in my weak flesh that survives by the hand of God”!

*****2Co 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
2Co 11:32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
2Co 11:33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.

It could be said that the Bible is a book of principles that we as Christians are to apply to our lives after salvation!

The bottom line is that, it is God who must be King in our lives and in our conscience.
It is God’s rules that must rule those who would be righteous.
It is “truth” that rules in God’s Kingdom.

There are no loopholes in the Word of God!

It is obvious no one man such as Paul could have survived all these things without the hand of God in his life!

In truth, the “Gospel” cannot be stopped!

What Paul had realized in all his tribulation, was that God could take a man who had tried to destroy the Church and turn him into someone who could be used to build the Church.

The Apostle Paul realized that he was just a servant of Christ who counted all things loss for the cause of Christ.

Paul was always ready to be put to shame for Christ.
Paul was always ready to suffer for Christ.
Paul was always ready to endure, in order to make known the name of Christ.

The Apostle Paul’s greatest lesson for us is, that surely Our Savior deserves our best, no matter what we are going through!

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.

If we are to boast as Christians, let’s boast of all the things that Christ has brought us through in our days with Him!

Those that do not know the Lord boast only of themselves!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

The Memorial To Christ

July 24, 2016 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Certainty Of Christ’s Memorial

Book of Luke 22

A “Memorial” is something that preserves the memory of something of great importance.

Today we will see that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the death and the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ as the sacrificial Lamb of God.

We are expected to take part in this memorial service until the Lord returns.

1Co 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
1Co 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

But we are also to be worthy to take part in this remembrance of the work of 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.

If we look back to the first Jewish Passover we can get the true meaning of all these things.

Everything about the Passover Feast was designed to teach the people of Israel and of course all those that study the Scriptures, that we all owe our lives to the protecting and guiding hand of God.

If we look back at the first Passover we should see some important things.

Exo 12:22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
Exo 12:23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
Exo 12:24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

If you took that blood and put in the places mentioned in this Scripture you have made the shape of a cross.

The significance is obvious. Israel was saved from the bondage of Egypt by the blood of a perfect lamb.

The world is saved from the bondage of sin by the blood that was shed on Mount Calvary by the blood of the perfect Lamb of God.

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our redemption!

As Jesus peered out through blood soaked eyes, He said Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

He was looking at us through His own blood.

The Bible says:

Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

At this Passover Feast with His disciples, the Passover had now reached it’s end, and had found it’s full meaning!

The Passover, which sprinkled the blood of the covenant on those door posts in the land of Egypt, descends until it’s last victim dies beneath the shadow of the cross of Jesus Christ.

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Let’s Begin:

*****Luk 22:14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
Luk 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
Luk 22:16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

Without a doubt we can see that there is a connection between the Passover and the suffering of Jesus Christ.

In “typology”, the Passover pictured the coming of Christ (a perfect lamb, the perfect Lamb of God)

The blood that was placed on the side posts and the lintel pictured the blood of Jesus (shed on the cross)

It was a sign that the life and the blood of an innocent lamb had been substituted for the sin of the first born (sin of Adam)

The eating of the lamb represents the spiritual nourishment gained by the feeding of Christ (The Bread of Life, The Lord’s Supper)

The unleavened bread is a picture of putting evil out of your life and out of your household.

The Jews used 4 foods and drink items at the Passover Meal.

1) They used a bowl of salt water to remind them of the tears shed by their forefathers, while they were in 430 years of bondage in Egypt.

2) They used a bitter salad like plate, to remind them of the bitterness of bondage and slavery.

3) They used a paste mixture of of fruit and cinnamon sticks, to remind them of the labor in making those bricks from clay and straw.

4) They used 4 cups of wine to remind them of God’s 4 promises to deliver their forefathers from bondage.

God promised Israel these 4 things.

Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
Exo 6:7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Exo 6:8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.

The Passover Feast was based upon historical facts.

The Lord’s Supper is a memorial to the work of the Lord much much more than just history.

The Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of the Living Christ until He returns to take us home!

The Passover Feast reached it’s end and found it’s full meaning with the Lord’s Supper!

The Passover then represents the change of slaves to servants!

The Lord’s Supper represents the change of servants into the children of God and joint heirs with Christ!

We are close to the end of the Church Age, when that last when victim will die in the shadow of the cross and is “Born Again” and then the return of Jesus Christ.

1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Jesus said “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”.

Don’t you just love the Word of God!

We should also remember our Messiah had a human side and that side needed some support for what He was about to do.

Remember Christ “gave” His life, because no man could take it from Him if He so wished not to die!

Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

But above all these things God’s created human beings also needed comfort. These chosen men needed reassurance for the things they were about to face!

We can be sure, that God is well aware of the painful steps that each one of us have in our daily walk with Him and all the steps we will take in our own journey in this life!

Maybe the greatest reason for the Lord’s Supper of all is, that it looked forward to the glorious future of the Church and all the people of God!

The Lord took His place in that first Communion and the end of these things is when He once again joins with us all at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

You know we do not have to look for great things in order to discover the great truths of God.

God will use the routines of common life to show us His deepest secrets.

The Lord Jesus Christ took a simple meal of bread and juice to show us the truth of the “Gospel”.

*****Luk 22:17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
Luk 22:18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

We can just imagine the intense love of Christ for us as He took the time to explain to explain the truth, a communion meal of memorial for all believers, yet it was His last meal on this earth.

The Lord Jesus “desired” to spend His last free time with a simple meal and then singing and rejoicing and then prayer before His death and He even took the time to wash their feet as a slave would his master.

The Lord’s Supper is all about the death of Christ.

The Lord’s Supper is also a picture or a “type” of that Heavenly Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

This will not take place until all things are fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

The Lord’s Supper is also God’s promise of that future Marriage Feast.

Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Jesus then took the bread.

*****Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

**There is a great meaning to the bread.

Jesus took the bread and broke it:

This symbolized His broken body.

Jesus Christ sacrificed His body for our deliverance because He needed no deliverance.

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.

AND, this act of the Lord was truly significant to the early church and it should be today:

Act 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Under the Old Testament the broken bread signified the sufferings of the Jews.

Jesus said this was a New Testament and the bread signified the broken body of Christ.

Jesus said His body would be broken and given for us!

He suffered and died for us!

Jesus took our place on the cross of death. (The wages of sin are death)

Jesus Christ bore the “Judgment of God” for us!

**There is also great meaning in the cup.

Jesus said the cup held the blood of the New Testament.

It is the blood of Jesus Christ that established a New Covenant with God!

It is the blood of Jesus Christ that has allowed us to have a personal relationship with God as He had in the time of Adam before Adam had sinned.

It takes “faith” in these very things to have assurance of eternal life.

Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

The Jews had rejected this truth but the Church lives by this truth!

We can only be saved and our sins forgiven by believing that Christ’s blood was shed for our forgiveness.

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.

And Jesus said “do this in remembrance of me”.

We are to remember how God liberated Israel from the slavery of Egypt, that’s what the Passover was all about.

We are to remember how, by the blood of Christ, we are liberated for the bondage of the sin of this world.

We are to remember that this same blood will make it possible for Jesus to return and take us all into the eternal presence of God.

We should also realize that Jesus Christ used this Lord’s Supper to reach out one more time to sinners!

*****Luk 22:21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.
Luk 22:22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!
Luk 22:23 And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

Jesus knew exactly what Judas would do but He also knew that we would be studying these Scriptures and Jesus wants us all to know that He will give every sinner as many opportunities as He can to repent.

Judas knew exactly what Jesus was saying even though the rest of these disciples did not.

Jesus knew what Judas had already done and He wanted Judas to know that He knew.

Jesus knows the same about all sinners.

Jesus also took the time to warn Judas.

This warning extends to all who reject Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Jesus says “woe to those who betray Him”

Judas clearly understood he would face the “judgment” of God, even though he may not have realized the severity of His actions.

The world today knows that God is all about love and through liberal theology they have forgotten about God’s “judgment”.

In fact there cannot be one without the other!

Terrible judgment is a sure thing for sinners and Judas was made well aware of that this night of the Lord’s Supper.

The wages of sin are death and redemption is only by the blood of the Lamb as proven by the Lord’s Supper.

God knows the destiny of every sinner and it is not something that makes Him happy!

Each sinner has until the day they die to repent even though just like the Lord knew Judas would not, He knows all sinners who will not ever change their mind.

We should never forget it is also God’s “Grace” that warns us of the consequences of sin!

Judas was not forced to turn away from his sin, it was his freedom of choice to decide.

It is by God’s “Grace” that He even warns us of the coming “Judgment”.

We have a God that respects our will and our desires!

God loves us enough to tell us the truth but He will never force our obedience!

We must understand that there are consequences for going against the Word of God!

So we see that it is the purpose of Lord’s Supper to cause a searching of our own hearts.

*****Luk 22:23 And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.
Luk 22:24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.

We need to understand that we, especially the men have a natural desire for superiority.

We all desire recognition, prestige, position and honor.

Many even desire power and authority.

We have seen where many people in such positions try to become absolute rulers, or monarchy, as our President.

So when we hear that these disciples of Christ had such desires then we should better understand these passages.

When a group of men are together many times there are those who want the others to acknowledge them as the greatest.

That desire becomes sinful when it is of the things of this world!

If that desire is aimed at the work of the Lord it then becomes useful as long as we realize that in our person we are no better than anyone else!

What we see is that these disciples argued about these things just like most other men do!

When we try to rise, at the expense of others or the ruin of others or by trampling on others we are going against everything the Word of God stands for.

True greatness consist of a reverent fear of the Lord and our usefulness to Him and His work, that He has given us to do.

The Holy Spirit is not given to us for enjoyment, He is given to us for our “employment”!

The main ability we need in the work of the Lord is “availability”!

That word “strife” means these men were always eager to argue about who was the greatest disciple of the Lord.

Even these disciples were still thinking about an earthly kingdom where the Lord would appoint them into positions of authority, which will one day take place but that is still in ours and in their future.

Self-seeking will always blind our eyes to the true glory that is in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Even at this last meal, the Lord’s Supper, these men were trying to seat themselves in seats of honor.

On the eve of the cross, these men could still only think of worldly things!

And how did Jesus respond to these things, this is our lesson to.

*****Luk 22:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.

A benefactor is one who is granted favors for charitable things they have done in serving others.

A worldly benefactor wants to be known recognized and honored, for what they have done but that word “called” is a great man who is “known to be” a generous man and who gives of himself simply to help others.

Those around him “know him” for what is is!

Psa 10:3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.

And Jesus begins to explain the difference between these two lines of thought.

*****Luk 22:26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
Luk 22:27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

We already know that there will be rewards and great benefits for serving the Lord which far out weigh and persecution in this life!

So it would pay us to listen to what Jesus says here to His disciples.

It is obvious that Jesus rejects the world’s attitude about greatness!

The world says that “he that is being served is the greatest”.

Jesus says “it is the one who serves that is greatest”.

These are on opposite ends of thought from each other!

True greatness is never a position of power over someone else!

A wise man once said “we are but waiters in the Lord’s hotel”.

When we acknowledge that we are sinners saved only by the “Grace” of God, it is easy to assume the lowest position in any room because in the end we know that is the highest position after all!

It is true that in most places, age is looked up to and honored, but Jesus says we need to honor those who are His servants no matter their age.

A truly great person will look for people to help and places to help them!

A truly great person will seek for the sake of being a minister to them.

Do we call ourselves Christian or are we known to be Christian?

Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

If we are to follow in the example of the Lord, then we must realize the Lord Jesus gave up the glories of Heaven to humble Himself and make a way for our salvation.

Jesus did not ever say we are not to hold a place of authority or a place of honor!

Jesus said “we are to use any place we hold to be servants to the needs of the Church and to Him”.

In John’s Gospel we are told that it was at this time that Jesus washed the feet of each disciple to prove His point.

Joh 13:5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

In those days of the Jews, there was no less menial task than washing the feet of some one else and that was the duty of the lowest slave.

One of the happiest days of Jesus was when He took our sins to the cross.

The same one who would die for our sins would also wash our feet to clean us from the filth of this world.

Then Jesus said if we are His disciples we would continue in all these things with Him.

*****Luk 22:28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
Luk 22:30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

What is the most important quality of a servant? “That they are faithful”!

It is in our best interest to prove to be faithful servants.

We must continue with Jesus all our days.

We must stand by Him.

We must stick to Him.

We must be like Him.

What are some of the rewards that are set and promised to these disciples?

There would be 12 thrones and each disciple would sit on a throne and be judge to the 12 tribes of Israel.

This promise probably relates to the Millennial Kingdom because it is at that time that Israel will be fully restored to the Promised Land with all the tribes and all the “Resurrected Saints” of the “Church Age” which will include the 12 Apostles and will judge the world.

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

This is what John saw in the Book of Revelation.

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

This is also the reason that Jesus said it was not up to Him who was to sit on what throne because this is His Father’s plan and God just wants us all to be part of His plan.

Mat 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Mat 20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

This is also the promise that was made to Israel:

Isa 1:24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
Isa 1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
Isa 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

There may be no distinction between the Jew and the Gentile in Heaven but during the Millennial Kingdom, The Lord Jesus has made this promise the Apostles.

It was these 12 men who turned the world upside down in the name of Jesus Christ and we have survived by the Doctrine of the Apostles that they gained from the Lord Jesus, why would He not honor them?

These 12 men endured things that most all others will never see in their entire lifetime and all in the name of Jesus Christ.

1Co 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
1Co 4:10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
1Co 4:11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
1Co 4:12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
1Co 4:13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
1Co 4:14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.

But every true believer will also be rewarded!

Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

But none of us should never forget that once we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we live in the sight of Satan who hates all things of Christ but thank goodness for the Lord.

*****Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Peter was to carry the load as the leader of these 12 men and we know Peter tripped many times but it should be obvious that Satan paid a lot of attention to Peter and hindered him in every way possible.

When Satan “sifts” any believer he is trying to separate that believer from God!

We need to know and understand these facts!

That word “desired” means that Satan is actually begging God for permission to trip up the disciples of Christ.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

When God allows these things to happen we must realize it is only a test of our faith!

Satan does not care at all for the believer but he will do anything he can to disgrace and cut the heart of God!

We need to make a firm stand no matter what we are going through, because it is God who is in control and not Satan.

We must be aware of the workings of Satan!

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Jesus wanted Peter to know he had an intercessor!

We all have an intercessor between us and God and it is the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ that steps in, in our defense when Satan wants to attack!

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

We will definitely suffer as Christians but don’t let anyone tell you that Satan can pluck you out of God’s hand because that is impossible!

Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

No doubt we will fail and we will fall, but in every case when we return to the Lord, we will be restored!

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

When we have been through these things ourselves we are then to be that added strength for those that are going through these things later in their own lives.

Gal 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Gal 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

The worst thing we can do is to become over confident in our own strength!

*****Luk 22:33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luk 22:34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Peter was committed to Jesus but he was not considering “spiritual things” at this time.

These men could only think of the material things of this world!

When Peter saw the Lord Jesus captured and beaten his material strength faded away!

Peter’s over confidence had made him blind to the cross!

Jesus had explained all these things but these 12 men at this time had failed to believe the Word of God.

There is a great difference in knowing and no knowing the truth!

There are many problems we cause ourselves when we over estimate our own strength!

The strength of the flesh causes weakness in our faith!

It is our faith that makes us strong!

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

That’s why it is called “Grace”!

The Lord’s Supper should remind us of all these things when we partake of it as a memorial to the One who died for our sins and saved us from the bondage of sin and gave us eternal life in the glories of Heaven.

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Christ’s Divine Nature

March 13, 2016March 14, 2016 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Certainty Of Christ Divine Nature

Luke 2:1-38

The word divine when it pertains to Christ means the attributes of the true God.

As we study the Lord Jesus Christ we will see many prophesies that will be fulfilled.

As foretold by Jacob many years earlier:

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Shiloh is generally understood as being the Messiah.

The truth of this prophesy is that the sceptre had departed from Judah because Israel was under the rule of Rome with Caesar Augustus ruler as emperor.

Cyrenius was governor of Syria and Judea was included as a province of Syria.

Herod was now King of Judah.

Judea was no longer ruled by one of it’s own princes. Herod was an Idumean prince a descendant of Esau.

The promised land was no longer in the hands of Israel, but in the hands of Rome.

Even the Temple was controlled by Herod.

The priests of God were no longer the ministers of God but servants of the secular world.

The scepter had most definitely departed from Judah and it was time for Shiloh to come.

The Apostle Paul said it was the fullness of times!

Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

We see that God says what He means and God means what He says!

Many more prophecies will be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ because He is the fulfillment of God’s will!

*****Luk 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
Luk 2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
Luk 2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

We will see that taxation was used by God to fulfill His plan for the birth of the Messiah. God did not cause this taxing but God certainly made a use of it!

This emperor of Rome was arrogant enough to consider the lands and the properties seized by his military as the only part of the world worth having.

To him the world was only those lands under his control. We know that Rome never ruled the entire world at any one time!

Augustus considered himself to be a god and this was his world.

The name Augustus means “majesty”.

Augustus began to rule a third of Rome in 44 BC when Julius Caesar was assassinated but had consolidated power under himself and had terminated the days of the Roman Republic around 27 BC.

Augustus Caesar ruled a mostly peaceful kingdom from 27 BC until he died in 14 AD.

He was a great builder of roads and commerce which brought on taxation and he sent out a decree throughout all the lands of Rome.

This decree caused every man to register in the place of their birth.

What had God prophesied:

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

The scribes that reported to King Herod clearly understood this to be the truth of God:

Mat 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
Mat 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

The common people of Judea clearly understood this to be true:

Joh 7:42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

There can be no doubt that the hand of God was involved in this decree!

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

Despite the plans of man this taxation led to the fulfillment of the Scriptures!

The city of Nazareth was located in the area of Galilee and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to a city of the area of Judaea.

The Scriptures make it very clear Joseph was of the lineage of David.

The Scriptures make it very clear that Mary was great with child.

The Scriptures make it very clear that Mary was still espoused to Joseph and the marriage had not taken place. Joseph and Mary had not yet consummated their marriage.

Mat 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

The Scriptures make it very clear that the birth of Christ would take place in Bethlehem as the days of Mary would be fulfilled during this time.

It should also be obvious that Joseph and Mary would have been in Bethlehem if not for this decree.

We can see that it is God who will overrule when it comes to His plans.

We should never forget that the salvation plan of God is His plan and He wants us to be a part of His plan and not any plan of our own or some salvation plan concocted by some other human!

King David had been born in Bethlehem and therefore it was necessary that the Son of David be born in Bethlehem.

And Jesus was so born.

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

Prophesy was fulfilled:

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

Immanuel still means “God With Us”!

God had left the riches and the glories of Heaven to be born in a smelly stable.

God was laid in in a feeding trough, a manger.

Even in His humble beginning the Messiah was rejected by mankind. There was no room for Him then and there is no room for Jesus in our world today as He is still rejected as the Messiah by most of this world.

Even if someone had cared for a young mother, room should have been made for her but even that was not the case.

Kind of reminds us of our world today that ignore the needs of young mothers and entice them into abortion!

The Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ was born in poverty.

If Joseph had any money he could have gotten a room.

God intended that this His birth take place away from people, all alone. It was this young mother who had just given birth to this child that wrapped baby Jesus up in those swaddling clothes.

It was Mary who laid baby Jesus in that feed trough and not on the ground.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was born into a corrupt world full of sin, full of selfishness, full of greed, and full of unkindness.

We see an innkeeper was so caught up in worldly things that he would not even help a young mother about to bare a child!

On a sad note, we can see that all the world missed the first coming of Christ when it was totally unnecessary.

And many will miss the second coming of Christ to get His church when it is also completely unnecessary!

Luk 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

It was the angels that told the world that a Savior had been born.

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

It was an angel that informed the world that a Savior had been born but he did not go to the King or to any ruler but to these lowly shepherds.

Bethlehem-Ephratah was a place that provided many of the sheep for the sacrifices of the Temple.

Bethlehem-Ephratah would also be the place to provide the sacrifice of Jehovah, the perfect Lamb of God!

Many people reject the idea that angels would even appear to shepherds because shepherds could seldom be found worshiping God.

The job of the shepherd was 7 days a week.

The reputation of a shepherd was lowly and the religious people of that day snubbed them and mostly ignored them.

This Scripture also leads us to believe that the birth of Christ was not in December as is celebrated in our day but the fact remains that our Savior was born just as the Bible says.

Shepherds were despised because they were unable to attend services at the Temple and they could not keep the oral laws of the Pharisees and the ceremonial laws of washing and cleansing.

The truth of the Scriptures is that God first gave the “good news” to those that most all the world considered to be sinners.

In fact the “Shekinah Glory” of God had at last returned to this earth!

Isa 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
Isa 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

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

The angel proclaimed the birth of the Messiah.

The angel encouraged the shepherds to to visit the baby Jesus.

The angle gave these shepherds a sign they would find our Savior wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

God’s message has always been that He came to save sinners:

Luk 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
Luk 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

So the first announcement of His coming was given to sinners!

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

Jesus was born at the exact right time and the exact right place to fulfill all the Word of God!

Jesus was not born to become our Savior, Jesus was born our Savior!

Jesus is Christ the Lord!

Jesus is the Anointed of Jehovah!

The title “Christ” means the union of the two natures of Jesus, His Divine nature and His human nature!

The God-Man!

Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

And suddenly there was an angelic host.

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

Suddenly there was a multitude of angels that joined with the angel that gave the message to these shepherds.

The Bible says that there are more angels than we have the ability to count.

Daniel said these words:

Dan 7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

That word “host” means an army of angels.

God gave these lowly shepherds a peek into the spiritual world.

These angels did two things.

1) They cried out giving glory to the God that made them.

2) They cried out in peace and goodwill for all mankind.

Peace can only come to those who are reconciled to God.

God knew that the problem of sin needed to be solved not temporarily but permanently!

The only way to solve this human problem was the birth of our Savior, according to the Scriptures.

Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

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.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

The Lord Jesus Christ would be born exactly as the Scripture had said!

It was choice time for these lowly shepherds. Would they believe what this angel had said or not?

*****Luk 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

We see that these shepherds did believe.

We see that they immediately decided to go into Bethlehem. They even felt an urgency to go!

We see they did believe these angels were the messengers of God because the Lord had made this thing known to them and they went with haste.

*****Luk 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Luk 2:17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Luk 2:18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

They went with haste and they found that things were just as the angel had told them.

They found Mary and Joseph.

They found the Lord, the Messiah, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

When they had seen the truth they began to tell others what the angel and said and the signs they had seen.

They had been spoken to by God’s messenger.

They had witnessed the heavenly host.

They had seen the Shekinah Glory of God and Heavens bright glory.

They had found the babe just as the angel had said, lying in a manger.

They certainly had much to tell others!

A simple carpenter and a carpenter’s wife had brought forth the Savior.

They certainly had some “good news”!

But Mary weighed all the things in her mind of all she had seen and all she had been told by the angel Gabriel.

*****Luk 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

This young mother had witnessed the awesome power of her God.

Mary realized that this babe she had so carefully laid in a manger was not only a child that would depend on her for his nourishment but this babe was also the awesome God who had performed all the things she had witnessed.

Mary had given birth to the Messiah!

Mary, not much more than a child herself, still had never known a man, was still unmarried by the laws of the Jews, had suffered through the rumors that had been told of her.

She had suffered the doubt of Joseph and her parents, the tiring trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the smelly stable, a visit from some shepherds who told her an amazing story of angels proclaiming the glory of God, and she could only sit down and absorb all that had happened to her.

All Mary could do was to remain her humble self, and trust God, for God was in control of these things and she was only a vessel to be used by Him!

The Bible says:

1Pe 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

But those shepherds could not remain quiet.

*****Luk 2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

These shepherds who had not taken the time to get close to the Lord all their days, now left to go back to their flocks praising God.

The truth is if you ever meet the Savior, you will leave a change person!

These shepherds also found that what God said He would do, would then come to pass!

These shepherds realized that they had seen the Savior!

God had spoken.

They had received His message.

They obeyed and they met the Messiah.

The promised Savior had now been born!

They certainly had reason to praise God!

The day that Jesus Christ was born into this earth was the beginning of a new day in the history of this world!

Christianity is positive truth because it is based on historical facts from Moses to Jesus Christ, from Christ to the last Church Age and then on to eternity.

All those that become born to Jesus Christ will all become new creatures in a new world!

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.
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

The days of Jesus on this earth then proceeded to pass by.

*****Luk 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Circumcision was a sign of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Circumcision was the seal of the “gospel covenant” made by God with Abraham and was a covenant of faith!

We know that to Moses, God had made a covenant of works which was not a legal covenant.

Jesus taught the Jews with these words:

Joh 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

As science has now proven, it is on the eighth day that the coagulant in the blood of an infant normally reach their optimum effectiveness, but God knew this all along.

Jesus Christ was circumcised to fulfill the law.

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

The Messiah was then named Jesus, which means “Savior”.

It had been the angel Gabriel who had the instruction to name the babe Jesus.

Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Mat 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

This thing was done in Bethlehem because Mary could not go to the Temple until she went through her time of purification.

*****Luk 2:22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
Luk 2:23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

First Mary had to observe the 7 days of uncleanness:

Lev 12:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.

Then before Mary could offer Jesus to the Lord, she had to observe 33 days of purification.

Lev 12:4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.

Only after these 40 days were properly observed could Mary present her son Jesus to the Lord and bring a sacrifice for a burnt offering.

Lev 12:6 And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:

It is the burnt offering that signified God’s acceptance of the offerer, Mary, in anticipation of the shed blood of Jesus.

Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

This was the ceremony of dedication of the child to the Lord.

A male child was presented in the Temple when the family was close to Jerusalem.

The Lord Jesus was subject to all the legal requirements of the law because, He was made of woman under the law! (Gal 4:4)

The Lord Jesus was subject to all the legal requirements of the law because, he was made like unto His brethren.

Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

The Lord Jesus said He had not come to destroy the law but only to fulfill the law.

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Then Jesus said the law was fulfilled with love:

Just how poor were Joseph and Mary?

Joseph despite being of royal lineage was a very poor man!

*****Luk 2:24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

What we see is that it was a deliberate choice of God to have a poor family bear His Son!

2Co 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

The proper offering was a lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.

The poor were allowed to bring a second pigeon or dove!

We see that no matter our circumstances in this life, Christ Jesus has already gone through that thing, even poverty!

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The Lord Jesus Christ can relate to any problem that comes upon us.

Even while the dedication of the Lord was taking place we see that God was still working in other lives.

*****Luk 2:25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
Luk 2:26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Luk 2:27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

We meet Simeon who was a just and devout man.

Just means he was righteous, Simeon did things the right way!

Devout means that Simeon and a reverent fear of the Lord.

Simeon had developed a personal relationship with the Lord!

Simeon knew it was possible for the Messiah to come in his own lifetime, in fact according to the prophet Daniel the Messiah was due at any moment.

This is also true for the Second Coming of Christ!

Simeon found consolation in the baby Jesus!

The truth is there is no other place and no other being where consolation can be found but Christ Jesus!

Simeon was a man led by the Holy Spirit!

Because Simeon walked so close to the Lord, Simeon was given a special promise.

At some point the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah.

Great things happen to those who trust in the Lord!

The Holy Spirit led Simeon to the Temple so that promise could be fulfilled.

If we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, He will always lead us to Jesus, who is the answer to every prayer!

Simeon became one of the few humans that were given the privilege of holding God in his own arms!

If your name is written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life, then you to will one day come face to face with the Lord God Almighty!

*****Luk 2:28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Luk 2:29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
Luk 2:30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Luk 2:31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
Luk 2:32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Abraham told Isaac that “God would provide Himself a Lamb” and that fulfillment was in Jesus Christ!

All the prophets looked forward to this day!

Simeon did not hesitate, he knew for certain his Savior and once he had embraced his Savior who would be the source of true peace to the entire world.

Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

This child of God was especially prepared to be God’s Savior!

Act 2:23 Him, “being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God”, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Act 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

Simeon confessed that the child Jesus is God’s salvation.

In order to know the salvation of God we must all confess, “before men”, that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s salvation plan through whom God will save the world.

1Jn 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is not only the Savior of Israel but also to the Gentiles.

Gentiles are all those who are not Jews!

Jesus Christ came to be the Light of the entire world!

Jesus Christ is God’s method to reveal the Revelation of God, to reveal the truth, the way, and the life to all men!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus Christ is the glory of Israel!

In fact Jesus Christ is the glory of all people no matter their nationality!

Isa 45:25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

Rom 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

And Joseph and Mary marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him!

Joseph and Mary both had been told many things about Jesus and all things would prove to be true but they marvelled that a total stranger whom they had never met could say all these things.

Many of these things were to give this young family strength for those days ahead.

*****Luk 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

There are 4 signs associated with the birth of Christ Jesus.

1) The sign of the virgin birth. (Isa 7:14)

2) The sign of the guiding star. (Matt 2:2)

3) The sign of the swaddling clothes. (Luk 2:12)

4) The sign of the stumbling stone.

The Lord Jesus in Scripture was to be the “stone of stumbling” but also the “chief cornerstone”!

We know that many of those in our world choose a path other than God and they will stumble and fall over Jesus Christ because He is the only pathway to God!

We also know that many have risen to the truth and have realized the it is Jesus Christ who is the only cornerstone of salvation!

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

Jesus Christ causes each and everyone of us to make a choice!

The truth is that Jesus Christ has always been opposed and we know He was eventually murdered.

Jesus Christ was first a sign of God’s love!

Jesus Christ will soon return to bring God’s judgment!

Most of mankind do not want that kind of God, they simply want a God they can put on a shelf and take Him down as they please in times of trouble.

Mankind wants only a God whose love will endure all our sins with no repercussions.

They do not want a God who requires sacrificial love!

Mankind simply wants a license to sin and not a God who makes demands of righteousness!

The truth is, a sword pierced the soul of Mary the day the Lord Jesus sacrificed Himself in order that we can live.

The cross brought pain to the loving mother of Christ Jesus, while the death of Christ was to reveal all the thoughts in each man’s heart!

Mankind either sees the love of God and surrenders to the “Grace” of God or he will look upon the cross as something repulsive.

All mankind’s greatest struggle is to admit that we are all a sinful people!

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

And then came Anna.

*****Luk 2:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
Luk 2:37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Luk 2:38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Nothing is known of Anna except what we read in these Scripture.

It seems that Anna became a prophetess this very day she met the Lord Jesus Christ.

She also had been a virgin before her marriage which lasted only 7 years.

From that time forward Anna had remained a servant of God.

Anna had never lost hope all her 84 years of age.

She still believed and she never remarried but she still waited on the Messiah.

Anna never ceased to worship, night or day!

Anna was a woman to whom her God meant everything!

Anna also knew the child Jesus instantly and gave thanks that she had seen Him and she began to witness to all those that sought redemption and came to the Temple.

Salvation was not in the Temple, salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Temple.

God says:

Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

We will never get to hold the baby Jesus in our arms as did Simeon but we all once we have a personal relationship with the Lord are to proclaim His name!

The truth is God uses ordinary people in His plan of salvation.

God does not want us to make our own plans of salvation, God just wants us to be a part of His plan!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD

Taking time to read the Bible

The Truth

The Gospel and National Israel

The Master Teacher

Can I Say No To Jesus and Still Get Into Heaven

Spiritual Stability

The God of Comfort

Coming Face to Face with False Doctrine

The Memorial To Christ

Christ’s Divine Nature

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