John Saw

Revelation 20:1
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Revelation 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.
Revelation 20:11
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

The emphasis in this chapter is on what John saw.

One of the lessons I see is all we will see when we get to heaven.

Some of those things John saw will still be even future even for us.
• All of the victories of the Tribulation,
• Satan's binding and
• The first resurrection

What thrilling sights will be ours.

What A Name

Revelation 19:11-16
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Verses 11-16 give us Jesus coming from heaven and a subject emphasized is all His names:
• called Faithful and True,
• a name that no man knew but He Himself,
• His name is called the Word of God,
• a name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Philippians 2:10-11
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
nd that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What a name is Jesus!

Put My Name Upon Them

Numbers 6:23-27
Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

These are words that God Himself instructed the priest to pronounce upon the people and so put God's name upon them.

I know I am no priest but this is a practice I want to have, every so often putting God's name on my congregation thus.

These are also the words of prayer I want to place upon my sons and upon their families frequently; seeking that the name of the Lord would be upon the and that God would indeed bless them.

The Lamb Shall Overcome

Revelation 17:14
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
The phrasing of this passage connects it with chapter 19 and tells me that the war of which it speaks is the battle of chapter 19.

One of those things I must always remember is that the Lord is victor. Sometimes things look pretty sorry, but that is only because I am looking through mortal eyes. Eternity has assured me, the Lamb shall overcome them.

It is more than a truth about fleshly battles against Jesus too. Those battles of the soul and spirit are equally put to the silence under Christ.

Get up today and charge into life. The lamb shall overcome.

By Their Names

Numbers 1:17
And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names:

Every one expressed by name.

Out of the multitudes of people in Israel God personally named twelve to assist Moses and Aaron in numbering the people.

God not only sees His people, He sees them by name; well enough that He expresses them by name.
• He not only numbers the hairs on our head, He expresses us by name.
• He not only causes that men would identify and record the names of others, God Himself expresses them by their names.
These were men of renown and leaders in their ranks, or they became men of renown because God expressed them by their names. God is personal. He is working out a plan for the ages. But in the midst of that He is working just for me.

The Temple of The Tabernacle of the Testimony

Revelation 15:5
And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
This is quite a descriptive name and takes in everything of the Old Testament types of the tabernacle and later the temple.

A temple is a permanent structure while a tabernacle is a tent. Israel used a tabernacle for four hundred odd years before their temple was constructed.

A tabernacle is mobile, a temple is not.

In heaven the temple reminds us of the tabernacle. It was after the pattern of heaven that the tabernacle was made.

The Old Testament speaks of the Ten Commandments as God's testimony. In heaven this testimony is still remembered. God, in our text, is about to pour out His vials of wrath upon the Tribulation world. It is appropriate that those vials are poured out before the background of that which represents holy worship and His unalterable Word.

For I Am

Leviticus 26:44
And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.

It is obvious, when reading Leviticus 25 and 26, that God knew what would happen with Israel and Babylon.

This is a thousand years before the fact but God already pronounces what would happen if Israel did not give the land it's Sabbath rests.
• He pronounced they should accept the punishment of their iniquity
• He pronounced they would go in to another land and
• He pronounced that even there He would not utterly forsake them.

Learn the timelessness of God. It is not just that He accurately predicts the future but He is in the future and in the past as they are His present. He may be fully trusted. Nothing is a guess for Him.

Cursing

Leviticus 24:23
And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says,
"This offender was the son of an Egyptian father, and an Israelitish mother. The notice of his parents shows the common ill effect of mixed marriages. A standing law for the stoning of blasphemers was made upon this occasion. Great stress is laid upon this law. It extends to the strangers among them, as well as to those born in the land. Strangers, as well as native Israelites, should be entitled to the benefit of the law, so as not to suffer wrong; and should be liable to the penalty of this law, in case they did wrong. If those who profane the name of God escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgments. What enmity against God must be in the heart of man, when blasphemies against God proceed out of his mouth. If he that despised Moses' law, died without mercy, of what punishment will they be worthy, who despise and abuse the gospel of the Son of God! Let us watch against anger, do no evil, avoid all connexions with wicked people, and reverence that holy name which sinners blaspheme."

There are times when we are called upon to obey difficult things. I am thankful we no longer punish evil doers n this manner but I do wonder when men decided we could be different? When was it ever decided that we could allow profanity and blasphemous language to be so commonplace and to go unchallenged?

I do not believe I have ever heard that these sorts of things were a part of the constitutional discussion for America. I have read that the framers of our constitution considered blasphemy as a disqualifier for public office, but never that the man who cursed would be stoned.

So I am not calling for a revival of this practice, but I do believe we ought to have a revival of the sense of offense at blasphemous language.

Hallowed

Leviticus 22:32
Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,
I am the Lord which hallow you.

• It is God who selects His people.
• It is God which separates His people and
• It is God which sanctifies His people in the earth.

This is the work of the Lord among us. It is also marvelous to behold. It is not all people who respond to the working of God, but among those who do respond there are marvelous doings in their lives.

Israel had notable rebels and renegades among them. But they also saw mighty men of God with them too. It will be a remnant, the smallest number of the people who become sanctified to the Lord, but among them we will see that God has indeed hallowed them.

Is The Lord Our God?

Leviticus 19:37
Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.

Throughout this chapter God repeats the declaration, "I am the Lord" and "I am the Lord your God." and throughout the chapter are commands to God's people such as,
• "be ye holy"
• print no mark on your body,
• use just weights,
• do not avenge
• nor bear a grudge.

Here is where the rubber meets the road; we will obey these commands if we accept that He is "the Lord our God."

The fact that our people, for instance, have almost completely taken on tattooing is evidence that the Lord is not our God. At on time even the unsaved saw the rebellion and wickedness of such an act. Soldiers, almost as an act of defiance against death would get them; but few else. Now it is so common I wonder if there will be any unmarked bodies in the next generation.

No. The Lord is not the God of America. It is time we confess it so that we might see God heal our land.

Not Like the Past Not Like the Future; Like the Lord

Leviticus 18:3
After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

God instructs Israel that they are not to do as the Egyptians did, which they had just left or as the Canaanites do, whom they were about to approach.

The people of God are a unique people on the earth.

We are to forsake those things we have already learned in the world and ignore and avoid those things of the world that we will be exposed to in the future.

We have all been exposed to the worldly things.It is a fact of life on this planet. We must confess it and forsake it. Denying the truth of it serves no good purpose at all

But we must also be aware that new exposures will face us daily.
Being aware of that danger we will be better able to ignore and to avoid that exposure.


So what are we supposed to do if we do not conform to those things we have learned or fit into those things that are around us now?
We submit to and follow after those things God teaches in the Word of God.
We are to be a totally different sort of people, in the world but not of the world.

He Ever Liveth

Leviticus 16:20
And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

An interesting thing on the Day of Atonement; The High Priest actually entered the Holy of Holies two times. First, the blood of the bullock was sprinkled to make an atonement for the High Priest and his household. Secondly the blood of the goat was sprinkled within the vail to make atonement for the holy place and the tabernacle and the altar.

All of these are typical of Christ.
• The High Priest was a type of Jesus Christ, the great High Priest.
• The Holy of Holies contained the mercy seat which is a type of Christ, the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law (contained in the Ark and covered with the mercy seat. The blood sprinkled upon it represents the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
• The tabernacle of the congregation represents man's access to God through Jesus Christ and
• The altar represents the means of that access, through the death of Christ.

Once the offerings were made, the priest received the live goat. He lay his hands upon that animal and confessed the sins of the people and the animal was set free, representing that our sins have been removed.

The live goat that was let free is the one that carries away the sin of the people. That goat was sent away, "by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness." It typified the absolute removal of sin, never to be remembered again.
Hebrews 10:17
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Psalms 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Micah 7:19
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Christ's death was meant to pacify God's holiness. His resurrection is what sets us free. As long as Christ is alive, we have proof our sins are forgiven.

And the Bible affirms He is alive.
Revelation 1:18
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Hebrews 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.

A term similar to intercession and thus relevant here
1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

• He ever liveth, to be my Advocate and to intercede in prayer before the Father for me.
• He ever liveth to hide myself in His righteousness

He ever liveth. And so long as He liveth my sins are carried from the presence of God; never to be an offense to Him again.

Silence!

Revelation 8:1
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Silence half an hour.

An appropriate response to the Lord's presence is silence.
• When the heavens open, silence.
• When God manifested Himself, silence.
So much of what we see in the way of Christianity is loud and gaudy.

There are times when it is right to jump and leap and praise God. But it is also more than right to bow in utter stillness and silence.

Perhaps we have too much of the first and not enough of the second.

Salvation in Tribulation

Revelation 7:10
And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
There is in the great tribulation a major theme of salvation. Perhaps more souls will be saved in the time of the Tribulation than any other. Those who suffer and are saved are marked by the Lord and comforted in eternity. It is of those who are saved in great tribulation that the Bible says, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

We are so given to protect ourselves, to ensure that we never
• Hunger
• Thirst or
• Go exposed to the heatGod blesses and builds and comforts those who experience all of that.

I am so afraid of the religion today that stresses all about success, the
• Biggest
• Best
• Fastest and
• Friendliest

Do we even have a clue who the God of the Bible is?

May the Lord bless us with the strength to go through our own tribulations knowing that God will give us grace.

In This Be Content

Leviticus 10:20
And when Moses heard that, he was content.

Whether Aaron's explanation was of the Lord or not I am not sure.

I can see this as being humanly stressful to everyone. Two of Aaron's sons had died for offering the strange fire and Moses was commanded to have the survivors make an unusual response. They were not to uncover their heads or rend their clothes. They were not to express grief (though the rest of the congregation could.)

Moses here expresses displeasure with Aaron and Aaron returns with the reason for his actions. Moses became calm after that.

Sometimes our place is not to change a person but to express to them a wrong. Aaron may still have been in error. I think he was. But Moses had done what was his to do. From there he could be content.

I may not always get the response I would like from my ministry but being faithful in my ministry I may be content

Vials Full

Revelation 5:8
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Every one of them had vials full of odors which are the prayers of saints.

The timing of this is after the rapture and during the Tribulation.

The 24 are symbolic
I think, of all the believers. And they have the prayers of the saints as they worship God.

Prayer is a sweet savour.

They had everyone vials.
All of us should pray.

They had full vials.
Pray without ceasing.

They worshiped God with this prayer.
Could it be that God saves up our prayers and gives them back to us in eternity to represent our devotion to him in this life?

This Fire Always Burns

Leviticus 6:13
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

There is a positive and negative aspect to the verse.
First the fire shall ever be burning.
This fire was first set from heaven and then the priests were to see that this fire always had fuel, was always in the ready, was ever the heat and the source of the atonement of sin.

Secondly the fire could never go out.
• Regardless of times or seasons
• Regardless of the condition of Israel
• Regardless if they were on the move or had rested for a very long time
This fire was never to be extinguished.

The fire is a symbol and type of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which, for the sake of the believer is always burning. Our sins are completely atoned and when we sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. For the sake of the lost the fire never goes out. Christ never stops seeking sinners. There is always an opportunity for another to be born again.

Laodicea

Revelation 3:19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Jesus loves Laodicea. What grace is there. Almost no good thing is said of this church.
• There is no commendation.
• There is no exception.
• There appears to be no reason for the Lord to address this church and every reason for Him to reject it.

Yet the Word says He counsels her and loves her.

We quickly dismiss persons and entities out of our life as useless to our walk and way. We throw away people who are more trouble than they are worth.

I thank God that is not the case with Jesus Christ and me!

Sweet Savour

Leviticus 4:31
And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
Scofield calls the offerings in this chapter the "non sweet savor" offerings because they deal with sin.
• First the priest
• Then those of the rulers
• Then the common people
A sweet savor offering is one that is given willingly and not as an atonement for sin. The other would be an offering given as atonement for sin and was compulsory.

Christ gave Himself willingly - that is a sweet savor. What He did for the souls of mankind is so kind, gracious and loving that we really can't begin to comprehend it. But when Christ gave Himself for our sins, even the Father turned His back as He bore that sin. It was not a sweet savor.

Now a miracle happens in verse 31; the non sweet savor becomes a sweet savor.
It was necessary that Christ die for our sins or we could never be saved. It was compulsory to Christ's doing the will of His Father. It was gruesome and vicious. Men reviled the Son of God. The mock trials, the scourgings, the hammer and nails, the vinegar and gall, the spear pierced into His side. Non of this is a sweet savor.
But in the midst of this horror the sweetest of all things took place.
• Christ prayed for the forgiveness of those who were slaying Him
• Christ cared for His mother by committing her to John and
• Christ promised the thief "this day thou shalt be with me in paradise."
And when Christ rose from the grave after three days: that was the proof that God saw His sacrifice as an offering of sweet savor.

Nothing is more a manifestation of God than His ability to take what men meant for evil and turn it for good. All of us have things happen that we wonder how this could ever have benefit and value. Our only recourse in those times is to simply trust the Lord. He will turn even that into an odor of sweet savor.

No Honey

Leviticus 2:11
No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.
The sacrificial meat offering was never to have leaven or honey but was always the have salt.

The purpose of sacrifice is to picture Jesus in whom is no sin, and therefore no leaven.

There was no mercy shown to Christ and therefore no honey.

Salt was of great value. It was used
• As a preservative
• As an enhancement of flavor and
• As a cleansing agent.Salt burns in the wounds. Even so Christ suffered without mercy or relief. When he thirsted He was given vinegar and gall, nothing to quench His need. His wounds were the worst kind and His sacrifice was the most valuable ever made.

• Its effect is to cleanse away our sin and preserve us forever and
• Its result is a sacrifice well pleasing unto God the Father.

Preserved

Jude 1:1
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Preserved....another verse on assurance. Perseverance of the saints should be the preservation of the saints. I have come to question whether we should press the subject of assurance. As one told me just this morning, "If God has not given them assurance they are saved, if the Holy Spirit does not witness with their spirit that they are the child of God, why should we presume to do it?" I am in complete agreement with that.

On the other hand, the Word of God is replete with passages teaching the doctrine of eternal security, or the preservation of the saint. The one who is truly born again is secure in that salvation. It can never be removed from him. He is "preserved in Jesus Christ."

Add this verse with others such as
John 10:28-29
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
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.

2 Timothy 1:12
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

And we get the definitive Bible doctrine of eternal security of the saint.

At Least One

3 John 1:3
For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

"I rejoiced greatly."

A tragic thing has happened in the church John writes to. Diotrophes has so usurped authority that he refuses to give even the apostle a place of ministry in the church (not to mention some other brethren as well.)

Still worse is that it appears the church has, for the most part, gone along. They have followed along with Diotrophes. They have lost their respect for those who have laid the foundation for their faith.

Scofield says this marks the end of the primitive church. Declension is now permanent. Never again will the church be seen in such simplicity.

While Scofield's perspective is Protestant and therefore fails to take into account the already existent Ana Baptist churches, I think I sense the pain that John must have endured. John did not ignore the difficulty and said he would confront it. Diotrophes would be rebuked.

But the key to this book is that John did not allow this end of an era to rob his joy. There was Gaius. And John rejoiced greatly in his testimony. There is always at least one for whom we can give thanks that he has stayed true to the truths he was originally taught.

A Personal Walk

2 John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Scofield suggests that 2 John give the essentials of the personal walk with Christ. It appears to me that those essentials as found in the first six verses are:
• Walking in the truth, which is the Word of God.
• Walking in love which is given us of the Holy Spirit and
• Walking in His commandments which would be the two great commandments first of all.All of this would be predicated first of all upon a personal belief and faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

We'll Stay Here

Exodus 33:15-16
And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

Moses asked for God's presence and then asked if they did not have God's presence then to let them stay where they were. They were at Sinai.
• They were at that place they had stayed one year.
• They were at that place where God had given them His Word (God called it His testimony).
The best thing we can do when we do not know God will go with us is to stay put! God does move and God moves us. But if we do not have His presence going with us, it is best not to go at all.

Apologies for the lateness of these blogs. We have been out for a week of camping with several families of our church. While I walked with the Lord each day, I was not able to record them here until tonight.

Patience

Psalms 37:7
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Andrew Murray says that impatience is not really an impatience with ourselves or with others but that all impatience is really an impatience with God. Impatience reveals that we do not truly trust the Lord.

Patient waiting on the Lord is a key to rest and inheritance in the Land God has for us. Patience is resting in God. Patience is trusting that God is all powerful, alive and at work in our world. We fail to see the importance of Philippians for, "be careful for nothing" but it can be true of us if and only if we trust the Lord and wait patiently on Him.

At The Door

Exodus 29:42
This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
Stand at the door where God meets with you to speak to you.

I see first of all that Christ is that door where God meets with us to speak with us. If it were not for the work of Christ we would have no access to the Father. Through Christ we have
• A way,
• A mediator
• Reconciliation and
• A door.
No man cometh unto the Father but by Him.

We Have An Advocate

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

We have an advocate with the Father.

• I am to study the Word of God for he says these are written that I sin not. But if I sin still, I have an advocate.
• I am to walk in the light as He is in the light, but if I fail, I have an advocate.
• I am to confess my sins and when I do He is faithful and just to forgive my sins. But when I do not confess a sin, I have an advocate.
• I am to keep His commandments but whe I don't keep His commandments, I have an advocate.

And not just any advocate but Jesus Christ the righteous..

God Is Light

1 John 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.
There are five "ifs" in this text, one for each verse and all predicated on verse 5. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. Because of that

First, if we say we have fellowship with God but walk in darkness we lie.
It appears that the sin is not the darkness as much as saying we have fellowship with God while we are walking in darkness.

Second, if we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another.
The condition is "as He is in the light" and the reward is fellowship. I take it from the context that is with God.

Third, if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves.
Saying we have no sin is walking in darkness. It is ignoring the truth about ourselves. Walking in light is being honest with ourselves.

Fourth, if we confess our sins He is faithful and just.
Honesty before our own selves AND before the Lord.

Fifth, if we say we have not sinned we make Him a liar.
We have progressed to the point that we are imputing the darkness to God. The word is not in us because the Word plainly tells us we have sinned

The Smallest Sin

Exodus 23:11
But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

Hindsight gives this passage meaning extraordinaire because we know that breaking this simple and seemingly trivial commandment caused Israel to spend 70 years in Babylon.

See God's compassion:
• For the land, to give it rest.
• For the poor to provide their needs and
• For the plant life that it is well nourished.

Failure to take into account the great compassion of God may be one of our most oft committed and most offensive of sins. May God help us to see it so and reach out in compassion for souls and in care for His creation.

He Knows

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

What confidence we may have in these words:
First, the Lord knoweth.Just knowing that He knows is of great assurance in difficult times. To know that God knows comforts and encourages.

Second the Lord knows how to.
You name it, the Lord knows how to perfrom it. There is nothing too hard for God.

Third the Lord knows how to deliver.
Count this as salvation. He knows how to save anybody in any stage of life.

Fourth, the Lord knows how to deliver the saved out of temptations.That besetting sin or that constant oppressor is know match for the Lord.

Finally the Lord knows how to deal with the unjust.
We need not fret over fairness. God will deal.

To Meet With God

Exodus 19:17
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

What an awful picture of the services in the Lord's house.

The meeting was called of God but implemented by Moses.

The people left the camp; their homes and neighborhoods to gather in a place appointed by God

The people assembled in this place with one purpose: to meet with God.

Before the day was through God had given them the Ten Commandments, the most powerful document in the history of mankind.

Heavy Hands

Exodus 17:12
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

There are a few things about this passage that are striking to me this morning.

First, the attack of Amalek takes place very early on the Jewish journey.
Egypt is hardly cold in the sea before Amalek hits. Very often those that attack the faith do it early on.

Second, Israel had just finished chiding Moses and tempting God about the lack of water.
The grace of God that he would fight for them here is wonderful. How often we have tempted God ourselves and He has fought for us despite it.

Third, Moses' hands got heavy.
God so worked that the lives of Israel depended upon the very man Israel had just chided.
But Moses was only a man. As much as he may have longed to save the people, and as simple as his part was - just lifting up his hands, he was weak to do it alone.

An Habitation for Him

Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Here is Moses and six million Jews. They have just escaped Egypt. They have just witnessed God's destruction of the Egyptian army and they are facing a wilderness. It is possible that they spoke of the day they would reach their Promised Land but it is certain that God did not need them nearly as much as they needed God.

So preparing an habitation for God was not for the sake of God - it was for their own sake. They needed that their God would dwell among them.

This is not speaking of the Tabernacle because Moses did not receive the commandment to construct it for some time.

The is not speaking of any sort of structure because Israel was about to wander through the wilderness.

I doubt that it spoke of a Temple in the Promised Land because that wasn't built for four hundred years after this.

I believe it speaks of a habitation of the heart. We need God. And we need Him near by. Even having Him constantly at the church house is not sufficient. We can't be there every moment of every day. And we need God that much. We need God so desperately that we need Him with us at all times. There is only one way to ensure that: we have to prepare Him an habitation within us.

Lord, make it so.

Troubled

Exodus 14:24
And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

The pillar of fire and of cloud troubled the host of the Egyptians.

Here is a plain example of what happens to those whose hearts are hardened to the things of God.

The hand of God had been heavy upon Egypt as long as Moses had been there. Plague after plague had hit the land, leaving Israel unscathed. Still Egypt hardened their hearts. Over and again they were warned. Over and again they were given opportunity to make things right.

Once chasing Israel they were separated by the pillar but did not see in this hindrance their opportunity to repent.

Into the Red Sea they drive, blindly pursuing Israel to their own hurt. There, in the midst of the sea, as God this last time troubles them they come to cry out that God fought for Israel. Would to God they had learned that generations earlier! But now it was too late. Now it cost the live of them all.

But though the text does not declare it the Word as a whole tells us that even this is not the end if the story. This was only the death of the body. And as violent as it was, it does not compare to the fact that there souls are in hell today awaiting the Great White Throne and the Lake of Fire.

God open the eyes of those so many souls who press themselves into hell roughly ignoring every warning and measure of Your grace on their behalf. Cause them to see and grant them true conversion.

Day and Night

Exodus 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.

He took not away the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

The children of Israel were in such a way! They had just been thrust out of Egypt (yet God had given them favor among the Egyptians). They are now vagabonds, wandering through a wilderness carrying with them the 430 year old bones of the one who had opened their way into Egypt. All they have are those things they had borrowed from their oppressors. The Bible says they went "harnessed" from Egypt.

But God was with them. God was with them in a manifest way and God was with them in a continual way. Later Moses would beg God not to sent him any further except that God go with them. And he would know. That Pillar made it clear as to God's presence.

How we need a day and night presence of God in our lives.

In Christ

1 Peter 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.

We come to believe in God through Jesus Christ.

In Christ we see God for He is the express image of God. Any vision of God that is not consistent with Jesus Christ is an image of a false God. Christ is God so that we may know Him. The world's religions, even Judaism cast a god in their minds that is not true. Christ alone gives us a true image of God.

In Christ we have access to God. To attempt to reach God by any other means is to attempt to breach the walls of glory and is an offense to God much more than not reaching Him, that means rejects Him that much further.

It is in the resurrection of and then the glorifying of Christ we receive faith and hope in God. Look well to these events. Study them carefully. They are true faith and hope.

Miseries We May Not See

James 5:1
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Speaks of the miseries of the rich.

We sometimes think some people have it all and we have nothing but heartache.

What we often do not see is those who have the things we wished we had, most often also have miseries we never imagined.

Teach us Lord to be content with such things as you allow us to have in our lives.

Two For One

James 4:7-9
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.

This is a "two for one" truth.
With each step we take toward God He takes a step toward us. As we draw nigh to God through submission to Him and through the cleansing of our hands (changing our activities) and purifying our hearts (renewing our thoughts and affections) we are in turn resisting the devil.

The way therefore to both draw nigh to God and to resist the devil (after we have been born again) is to purposely put our hands to good work and put in our minds on the right things.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Believing Unbelief

Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

The people
• heard Aaron's words
• saw Moses' miracles
• believed and
• worshipped

But I have read a little farther ahead in the story. It is a weak and shallow faith that does not sustain them well. Just one chapter later, when the way gets tougher, not better the officers of the children of Israel say to Moses and Aaron
Exodus 5:21
.... The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

God will put them through a series of tests that harden their faith, revealing that many of them did not believe even when they reached Kadesh Barnea.
Hebrews 3:18-19
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

It becomes us then to examine our own faith.
• Are we merely excited about exciting things or are we believers in fact?
• Is our worship given to the true and the living God, or are we worshipping what we hope to receive from Him and not the very God Himself?
• Are we guilty of preaching a God of "good things" instead of a God who is good despite the things around us?

In the process of time

Exodus 2:23-25
And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
"In the process of time"
Things grew worseJoseph died, the Pharaoh's also died and were replaced Joseph was forgotten. The Pharaoh's became increasingly oppressive to the Jews. Why the Jews did not leave sometime around the death of Joseph, I do not know. Perhaps they had grown comfortable where they were. But comfort, especially when it is outside of the place God has for you, is seldom long lasting.

Israel criedCrying is never our first choice but it is often the only way we will grow in our walk with the Lord. If our cries come up to God then thank God for those tears.

God remembered and had respect.Waiting on the Lord is never a fruitless work. While the whole of waiting implies that God's answers do not come in our time, God does have a perfect will and is at work among us.

"In the process of time"God will hear
God will remember
God will have respect and
God will answer

The Troop Shall Overcome

Genesis 49:1-2
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
Genesis 49:19
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

When Leah gave birth to this baby she exclaimed " A troop cometh" and called his name Gad. The name means "troop" or "crowd" and this prophecy become a play on that name. Mom meant the name as and expression of her praise to God for giving her this boy. Dad now sees the name as a portrait of the history and ultimate outcome of the tribe of peoples who will come from him.

Gad becomes a figure of what was and will be true of all of Israel and is also true of the saints of God today. Truly the people of God, whether Jews or Christians, have found themselves to be strangers and pilgrims in this world: and as such we have also been called to be soldiers for the cause of the Lord. As with any battle hardened people we experience both tides of conquering and being conquered. History has shown that to be the case with true believers. They have experienced success in reaching souls but they have also experienced terrible oppression and persecution. There have been times when those who have followed Christ were driven back so deeply that they are barely visible in the pages of history, but they have risen again to accomplish great things in the name of the Lord.

Jacob's prophecy is that the "troop" will overcome at the last. God's Word gives us the promise of ultimate victory over our enemies; the world, the flesh and the devil.

The Old Man's Still Got It

Genesis 48:14 KJV
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

I came today to call this portion of Jacob's life, "The Old Man's Still Got It."

Though Jacob was an old man and Joseph was the second in command in Egypt, under Pharaoh, when Jacob enters the land the key figure is not Joseph or even Pharaoh. The key figure is Jacob. Consider;

Jacob blesses PharaohGenesis 47:10

Hebrews 7:7 says
And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.

So we can't argue this. It is the Word of God, the less is always blessed of the better. The better between Pharaoh and Jacob is Jacob.

Jacob claims Joseph's two sons as his own
Genesis 48:5

Jacob gave him leave to keep any children that came after the first two, but they were Jacob's. Their heritage would lay with the heritage of Jacob's sons and not of Joseph.

I see in this and the next point the importance of the extended family. We don't develop that enough in our country's culture. We need to get back to families remaining close and to the grandfather having influence not just gift giving privileges.

Jacob guided his own hands "wittingly," giving the greater blessing to the youngerGenesis 48:14

Jacob knew exactly what he was doing. He was old, he was blind and he was displaced from the land God had given him but he was still the patriarch of the family. Joseph was second in command under Pharaoh, but Pharaoh came in somewhere under Jacob.

• Joseph orchestrated things so the older would receive the better blessing
• Joseph was displeased with the placing of Jacob's hands and said so but
• Jacob was still the man of God at that hour and would not be deterred from what he believed to be the will of God.
Sure enough, he was an old man, but he still had it!

This One Cannot Be Moved

Hebrews 12:28 KJV
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

A kingdom which cannot be moved.... One that is not shaken. One that is not corrupted by the sin of men. One that has no violence either because of criminal elements of because of God's discipline.

God has shaken this earth many a times.
• He shook the Mount Sinai
• He shook the Philippian jail
• He shook the place where the saints prayed
• He has shaken some things to let His people go
• He has shaken some things to dispatch the ungodly of their lives
• He has shaken other things to confirm His answer to His children

But there is coming a day when no shaking will be necessary.
• There will be no need to judge the lost for there will be no lost to to judge.
• There will be no need to confirm the presence of God in the saints for they will be in His eternal presence.
• What a kingdom we have received.
• What a hope we have inherited.
• What a God we serve.

Something To Declare

Hebrews 11:14 KJV
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
They that say they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth and by that declare plainly that they seek a country not of this earth.

Matthew Poole says
"The reason of faith’s effect in their dying, is the bringing in view a better life, state, and place than any earthly one. For these believers, by word and life professing themselves to be strangers and pilgrims on this earth, and seeing God’s promises, and embracing them, declare and show plainly to all who see them, or converse with them, that they seek a country, and a place of rest, which they were not possessed of."

I wonder. Sometimes, if we are clear concerning our intentions. It could appear, and I believe it does appear to the lost world, that Christianity is but another world view. I believe they view Christianity as just another political party or ideological position; liberal, conservative or Christian.

And no wonder they see us so. So much of Christianity is but another attempt to influence the masses and build human wealth and power with followers. There isn't a lot of surrender among Christians today. There isn't much other worldliness. The is just another way of life in this world.

It has to become more than our words if we are ever to declare plainly that we seek another country. We are going to have to quit seeking this one if we would declare to those around us in no uncertain terms, that our citizenship is in heaven.

It Is Christ or Judgment

Hebrews 10:26 KJV
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins
Scofield calls this a parenthetical passage warning the Jews that the sacrificial system had lost it's efficacy. "It is Christ or judgment."

• There is no other way.
• There is no other religion
• There is no other salvation

• It is Christ
• It is Christ alone
• It is Christ completely
Or it is judgment
• With the judgment of the world
• Along with the judgment of others and
• For the judgment of our own sins

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God taketh away the sins of the world. But it is effective only in those who come to Him and trust in Him alone.

It is Christ or
It is judgment

For Us

Hebrews 9:24 KJV
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

The first thought that struck me is how much more there is to the Word of God than is found in the four gospels. Those three and one half years are first of all foretold in the pages of the Old Testament and then built upon in the New. What a powerful and wonderful gift is the Word of God.

Now the Bible says Christ appears in the presence of God. His service on earth through, His work being finished, He is now in the presence (the Bible says in other places at the right hand of the Father) and the Word says He appears there for us.

I can't imagine a more gracious message.
He left heaven for us
He died at Calvary for us
He appears in the presence of God for us and
He ever liveth to make intercession to God for us
Rejoice!

Fault Finding

Hebrews 8:7-8 KJV
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

God found fault in the old covenant. It was not able to make man perfect before Him.

Of this fault, Barnes says
"The meaning is not that that first covenant made under Moses had any real faults - or inculcated what was wrong, but that it did not contain the ample provision for the pardon of sin and the salvation of the soul which was desirable. It was merely “preparatory” to the gospel."

And Poole says
"…not because God made it,...... but accidentally, by reason of the priests’ faults, and people’s sinfulness, it became wholly ineffectual to them for saving them; therefore the blame and fault of it is charged on them..."

There is no fault in the truth of that old covenant. The fault is in man's use of the covenant and understanding of it.

I am thankful for a new covenant which is built upon the sure foundation of God's work in us through Jesus Christ.

My Goal

Hebrews 7:19 KJV
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Perfection is my goal.

I look for nothing short of absolute perfection before the Lord. Christ has made that a possibility and, in fact, a reality. Not that I am perfect in the flesh. Even the apostle admitted that. But I am perfect in Christ. He is perfect and before the Lord I am hidden in His perfection.

Followers of Them

Hebrews 6:12 KJV
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

We are to be followers, but we are to be particular followers and choose wisely to only follow those who walk with "faith and patience." plenty walk in the flesh. Some do it obviously making an open show of it. Others walk in the flesh subtly making it appear that their very flesh is the Spirit. They manipulate and push and drive, all in the name of God and all in a false walk in the spirit.

We will know those who walk in the spirit because they will walk in faith and patience. They will be characterized by less of a desire to perform and more of a desire to please and glorify the Lord. Their's will be more of a patient trust in the Lord, allowing Him to do the ministry He chooses rather than a driving personality, attempting to get their will done.

Those are the sorts of believers we need to follow.

Being Made Perfect

Hebrews 5:9 KJV
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Christ was made perfect through those things he suffered and through death. Christ is perfect God and perfect man and always was all of that. But in death Christ became free of the bonds of this world. No longer could the body hold him to the needs of food, drink and shelter. No longer was he restricted from his omnipresence. No longer did the flesh endure pain and physical weakness. Through death Christ was resurrected with a glorified body.

God is today concerned with our perfection. Both in the church and in the individual believer our perfection is His work. That perfection is wrought in our suffering and will ultimately be completed in our death and resurrection.

Oh for that day!

We Have To Do

Hebrews 4:13 KJV
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

...with whom we have to do....

The One with whom we have to do is the Lord. It is not other people, it is not family, friends, political or celebrity figures. It is not even our enemies.

We have to do with the Lord. We are responsible to the Lord. We will give our account to the Lord. We surrender our lives to the Lord.

Other influences come upon us but of no other influence will we ultimately stand.

Not All

Hebrews 3:16 KJV
For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

Some, when they had heard did provoke: howbeit not all....

I want to be among the "not all" crowd. The majority seem to always pick a path of unbelief.

Like Gideon's men, when once a pruning is complete we may want to say among ourselves, "We have arrived. We are not like them. We have made the cut. We are the believers." but among those that made the cut; among the remnant there was still a majority whose services God could not use and again a remnant was cut out.

I want to always be in that remnant who follow Christ and not the majority. I want to always be in that smallest number who are the believers. For that to happen I have to keep my eyes wide open. There will certainly be temptations to be a part of a crowd. It is the way of the flesh, popularity anonymity, ease. These are the tendencies that we are most prone to go after. But the people of God, though a small number, always follow the Lord. It makes them different, unique and it makes them often stand out even among those they would have considered peers. But they are the ones we want to imitate, not those who grieved the Lord through unbelief.

The Self Chosen Way

Genesis 29:1 KJV
Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
Scofield's Notes says,
"Jacob at Haran becomes a sterling illustration, if not type, of the nation descended from him in its present long dispersion. Like Israel, he was:
Out of the place of blessing (Gen_26:3).
without an altar (Hos_3:4); (Hos_3:5).
gained an evil name (Gen_31:1); (Rom_2:17-24).
but was under the covenant care of Jehovah (Gen_28:13); (Gen_28:14); (Rom_11:1); (Rom_11:25-30).
and was ultimately brought back (Gen_31:3); (Gen_35:1-4); (Eze_37:21-23).

The personal lesson is obvious: while Jacob is not forsaken, he is permitted to reap the shame and sorrow of his self-chosen way. "

I can see two applications of this to our day as well:
First there is an application to every Christian.
While we have not chosen to live in the world the way it is, because we to are from the loins of Adam and responsible for the sin of Adam, though now saved and never forsaken of God, we are permitted to reap the troubles of this way. Life on this planet will never be easy for any human being. We have the protrction of God in many respects. But we also have the problems of the sin of the world.

Secondly there is an application for the believer who travels a "self chosen" way.
Some Christians face more difficulties than they might otherwise simply because they choose to go a way other than that way God has for them. Like Jacob, they may seem to be prosperous in this self chosen way. Like Jacob they may (and probably will) experience times of blessing in this self chosen way. But also like Jacob they will find themselves facing snares of the world because they are on this self chosen way and, like Jacob they will find that it is a long and difficult path off of the self chosen way.

God Changes the World But Never Changes Himself

Hebrews 1:10-12 KJV
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

God never changes.
But the Bible says He will fold this world like He would a change of cloths and put on new.

While God never changes He has changed how and with whom He has worked. The Jews were the apple of His eye. He blessed them in unique and marvelous ways. But then, because of sin, He set them aside in favor of a new work among the Gentiles nations of the world. The Bible reveals that one day He will return His focus on the Jews to finalize the promises He made to their Fathers. None of these changes change the character, plan or person of God. He is the same yesterday and today and forever.

And we can trust Him through a world of changes.

Praise God!

Prepare For Answer

Philemon 1:22 KJV
But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.

I ought to prepare to receive the answers to my prayers.
Whether Paul was released to lodge again with Philemon or not is up to speculation. Some have asserted that since Paul expected to have this prayer answered that is grounds for us to preach he was released. They go on from there to preach that after his release he traveled to Spain and even to the regions beyond that in England. If this is the case it is not confirmed in the bible. I am more inclined to agree with Gill,
"....whether this hope and expectation of his were answered, is a matter of doubt and question: some think he was released, and went into several parts, and preached the Gospel, and then was taken up again, and committed to prison, and suffered under Nero, some years after; and others think not."

Be that as it may, there is a lesson I can learn about prayer:
• I ought to pray believing.
• I ought to pray believing enough to make provision for the answer.
So what do I do if the answer does not come? Simply thank the Lord for having some better thing. It does not diminish the power if God but only reveals the infirmity of my flesh.

A Guy Just Has To Pay

Genesis 23:10-16 KJV
And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,
Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
Sometimes a guy just has to pay. Abraham's beloved was gone. The years of their lives had been many and the experiences extraordinary. It was a gracious and generous thing that Ephron offered, but Abraham had to take this on.

• It had to do with the promise of God. This land was his.
• It also had to do with caring for his wife. He had to make that provision.

I am impressed with Ephron. He did not get offended but let Abraham express his grief in the way that was necessary for him.

All Authority

Titus 2:15 KJV
These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
The office of the pastor is one that requires he speak both to exhort (comfort and lift up) and rebuke (tell a fault). The work is a difficult one but it is one that must be done with confidence and passion as well as humility and meekness. We will be despised if either of two things happens:

We fail to fulfill our work in speaking the exhortation and rebuke.
No one respects a man who will not speak when He needs to speak. If it is a rebuke, let it be so. If a man needs a friend, let us be there. But to fail to be that friend when it is called for or to fail to give that word of rebuke when it is necessary; that is a grievous error.

We do our work with either a lack of humility before the Lord or else a lack of confidence that the Lord is with us.Those who follow the preacher want to know he is following the Lord. They want to know that his walk with Christ is solid and real and life giving. They can bear up to his rebuke if they know him to be a man of God. But to be rebuked by a mealy mouthed man who does not walk with Christ or by an arrogant man who acts as if he is Christ; that they will not forgive.

When Morning Arose

Genesis 19:15-16 KJV
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
There are two statements in these verses that speak to me;
• When the morning arose
• the LORD being merciful unto him
God struck the men that were at the door with blindness to protect Lot and those in his home, but not every man in the city was blinded. After the incident the Lord gave Lot leave to go speak with his kids and their husbands. The Bible does not say what the daughters' reactions to Lot's warnings were, but we know the sons in law thought Lot was mocking. They did not take his message seriously and, at the very least, their lack of regard for his message also cost Lot's daughters their lives.

• The Lord was merciful in not blinding the whole city
• The Lord was merciful in allowing Lot time to speak with his sons in law
• The Lord was merciful in waiting until the morning arose to judge and
• The Lord was merciful in removing Lot, his wife and his daughters from the city before the judgment
May we never come to mock the judgment of God and may we always prize the mercy of God!

Full Proof

2 Timothy 4:5 KJV
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

The center reference notes in my Scofield Bible bring our attention to the following verses.

1 Timothy 4:12 KJV
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

1 Timothy 4:15 KJV
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

Making full proof of our ministry, if we are going to keep our context in our verse is to
• Watch in all things and
• Do the work of an evangelist
Knowing that the days of preaching sound doctrine will become increasingly difficult the preacher is charged to watch and be aware:
• Be aware of those who turn unto fables
• Be aware of those who offer the fable they turn to and
• Be aware of his own tendency to tickle the ears of his hearers

The work of the evangelist has been conceived to be any number of things that may or may not be Biblical. One thing is for sure, Timothy was told to stay in Ephesus while he did it so it is not likely the work of a traveling preacher.

The point is to do the work of the ministry with honest and holy zeal. This is not the sort of thing you do as a sideline. My son used the term "hobby preacher." While a pastor may need to do other things to support his family, yet his first and highest obligation is to pour himself into his ministry.

May God grant us that type of preacher in these days when so many have turned away from sound doctrine.

He Believed In The LORD

Genesis 15:6 KJV
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
This passage, quoted twice in the New Testament (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6), is foundational to the definition of saving faith.

Several things may be noted:

In whom Abraham believed
It was in the Lord. This passage does not say that Abraham merely believed God but that He believed in the Lord. I do not mean to disregard the New Testament quotations (but of which say he "believed God") but point out that we should interpret both of those texts by this one. Abraham believed in the LORD, that is Jehovah, and Old Testament reference to the Saviour. He was not counted righteous because He believed he would have a child. He was counted righteous because he believed that one day the Saviour would come from His seed.

He believedAbraham's righteousness was not built upon any sort of work or religious deed. Abraham simply believed, relied upon, and trusted God's promise.
May we learn to do the same.

Righteousness
I view this almost as a synonym for Christ. When we believe in and place our faith in Christ God imputes to us not only that we are not sinners, but the very righteousness of Christ. We are hidden in Christ in such a way that God views us in Christ and having His very righteousness.

If We

2 Timothy 2:11-13 KJV
It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
I take the "we" this passage to not so much be a reflection of Paul and Timothy but of mankind in general.

• Those who have trusted Christ as Saviour and are therefore dead with Him are those who shall also live with Him.
• Those believers who particularly suffer in their walk with Christ are those Christians who will reign the most gloriously with Christ in eternity (so that to be fair well here as a Christian is not so much a sign of God's favor, but perhaps a sign of just the opposite.)
• Those who deny the Lord are those who have not been born again.

But the thrust of the lesson is not about mankind at all but about the Lord. The lesson is; whether we die with Him, suffer with Him or deny Him, regardless of how men respond to the Lord, He is still faithful and He is still Christ.

• We take too much upon ourselves.
• We think too highly of ourselves.

He is the unchangeable, immutable One. We do not in any way make the character of God. He makes us!

Tears

2 Timothy 1:4 KJV
Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

We must never forget that the Bible, though a book of great victory, is also filled with tears. This world has rebelled against its Creator and that rebellion has led to much over which to cry. And so this verse, as is true of the Word of God as a whole, contains boths tears and joy.

The sources of Timothy's tears are varied:
• He may have shed a tear when he and Paul parted that last time, prior to Paul's capture.
• He may have shed a tear at the news of the afflictions Paul suffered as a prisoner and awaiting his execution.
• He certainly had shed tears over the souls for which he assumed care as the pastor of the church in Ephesus

Like the four seasons, the Christian who is fully involved in the things of Christ will have times to weep when others weep and times to rejoice when others rejoice. We will experience the fullest range of the emotions as we follow the path Christ has laid out for us. Ours is not to flee those circumstances that bring about the tears but to enter into them, fully expecting that our Lord will use them to conform us into the image of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

And God Blessed

Genesis 9:1 KJV
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Noah and his sons were unmistakably blessed of the Lord, though John Gill points out that the blessing is a temporal one and not a spiritual one, as can be seen from the incident with Ham.

There are some blessings that belong to mankind in general. But I have to see this text as having more specific application than that. God did, in faxt bless both Noah and his sons. Yet, despite this blessing:
• Noah becomes drunk
• Ham mocks his father's nakedness and
• The races of people they fathered would once again be chastened of the Lord

I see two things in all of this
First, there is the grace of God that He blesses those He knows will not live up to holy expectations. Neither Noah nor his sons performed righteously even after seeing the power of God in the Flood. Still God blessed them. What grace God bestows upon us that He blesses us knowing that we are so given to sin and dishonoring to His name!

Secondly, blessing does not mean that men will not sin. This is not to excuse sin nor give men an occasion to sin. It is merely to point out that God's work in a man is not finished even when God Himself has pronounced a blessing upon him. We will not attain unto perfect righteousness until we are in glory.

And it is that day for which I long.

The Object of God's Love

Genesis 7:11 KJV
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

Genesis 8:13 KJV
And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
We know of course that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. So much so that when the Lord had determined to destroy all flesh which He had created, still Noah, wife and children and even their wives were saved through the Ark.

It is another mark of the grace of God, however, that God counts time, not by the historic event of the Flood but counts the time of the historic event by the life of Noah.

The highest of all God's creation is man, and the focus of that creation is man. It is not that man should think of himself as a god, but that he should see himself for what he is in the mind of God; the object of His love.

The Mystery

1 Timothy 3:9 KJV
Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
There are two mysteries spoken of in this chapter
• The mystery of the faith and
• The mystery of godliness

A Biblical mystery is something that was hidden in the Old Testament but has been revealed in the New Testament through the Gospel.

Briefly summed all of those mysteries are:
• That God became man in Jesus Christ and being man, he became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
• That all those who receive Christ receive this righteousness, regardless of race or nationality
• That those who have received this righteousness are then bound together through the relationship we receive with each other in the local church.
A deacon is to hold this faith in a pure conscience. He is to not merely believe it, but to practice it both in mind, word and in heart.

And if a deacon is to hold this mystery in a pure conscience it is to be an example that the rest of the body of the church do the same.

God's Garden

Genesis 2:9 KJV
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Four trees the Bible says could be found in the Garden God planted. In each and every one I find evidences of God's care for us. It is caring that God would planted the garden. He took personal care to make the place He would place man. Within that garden there was

Every tree that is pleasant to the sightGod gave us things that were pleasing to us. Christians have the most incentive of all men to seek the discover the wonders our God has created. Creatures that are beyond our ability to imagine, yet God has made them and they are in our world for us to discover.

Trees that are good for foodGod provided what is necessary to sustain physical life. He has provided it with variety and He has provided it in plenty.

The tree of lifeI see in this tree not merely that which sustains physical life, but that which gives abundant life. This tree is said to exist in the future new Jerusalem. Heaven will be graced with the fruit of the tree of life. It symbolizes to me not just physical life, but spiritual life in the presence of and in fellowship with God.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil
I see this tree as a test or as existing to prove mankind. GK Chesterton said "the weakest camp is the strongest school." We don't grow through ease and comfort, we grow through testing and difficulty. God expressed care even in the earliest days of the creation to provide for us a proving place.

Our God is eternally and infinitely gracious.

Our Saiour, Our Hope

1 Timothy 1:1 KJV
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
The Bible says here that
God is our Saviour
The term belongs to Him as well as Jesus Christ because He is the author of our salvation. It was God the Father that sent His Son into the world and it was God the Father that so loved the world as to give His only begotten son.

Jesus Christ is our hope
Barnes says of this hope,
"....that Christ is revealed among you as the source of the hope of glory in a better world. This was the great truth which so animated the heart and fired the zeal of the apostle Paul...."

Without Christ there would be no hope of eternal life with God. Christ is the mediator between God and man. He is the One Who has gone before the Father to plead our case. It is through Him we have access to the holiest, and in Him we rest our expectation of eternity.

Peace Himself

2 Thessalonians 3:16 KJV
Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

What a prayer for these afflicted saints of God. Paul prays not nly that they have peace, but that they receive that peace from the God of peace.

He wants them to have peace always• In whatever the circumstance
• In whatever the timing
• In whatever the surroundings
Peace always means peace whenever the rest of the world has no peace and whenever peace is not possible by human means

He wants them to have peace by all means
• God may give that peace through fellowship with others
• God may give that peace through a time of rest among peoples
• God may grant that peace through physical rest
• God may grant that peace through the Word of God
• God may grant that peace by some supernatural means
• God may grant that peace through prayer
Whatever the means God chooses to use and whatever the situation the believer finds himself in God, through the Apostle, expresses His desire that His people have peace.

May the Lord make it so even in our day.

Our Gospel

2 Thessalonians 2:14 KJV
Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There were two things in this passage that stuck out to me;

First the Apostle calls it "our Gospel."
That does not mean that he created it. Nor does it mean that it was not the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that he took ownership of it. He claimed it, possessed it. Cared for it as his own and preached it with the conviction of knowing it was the truth. It was his gospel in the first place because he had embraced that gospel and had been born again. It was his gospel again in that he had been charged with it, to give it to the world.

Secondly I was blessed with the results of the gospel;The Bible says that through the gospel we obtain "the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Salvation is so much more than being free from the guilt of sin. Some people claim salvation as if it just means they can go about sinning without havng to worry about the consequences. Not so! The Gospel brings us into a saving relationship with Christ and that relationship leads us into glory.

A Proof of HIS Righteousness

2 Thessalonians 1:5 KJV
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

Gill
the meaning of the words is this, that whereas good men are afflicted and persecuted in this life, they have now their evil things, and bad men prosper and flourish, and have their good things, so that justice does not seem to take place; which seeming inequality in Providence has been sometimes the hardening of wicked men, and the staggering of the righteous, which should not be; this is now a manifest token, and a clear case, that there will be a righteous judgment, in which things will be set aright, and justice will take place

Barnes
The general sense seems to be, that the fact that they were thus persecuted was an evidence that there would be a future judgment, when the righteous who were persecuted would be rewarded, and the wicked who persecuted them would be punished. The manner in which they bore their trials was an indication also of what the result would be in regard to them. Their patience and faith under persecutions were constantly showing that they would “be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which they were called to suffer.”.... the sense is, that the endurance of affliction in a proper manner by the righteous is a proof that there will be a righteous judgment of God in the last day"

The Word of God here says that one of those manifestations that God's judgment (on this world) is righteous is that Christians are persecuted and they have demonstrated faith and patience while they have been persecuted.

Our reaction to persecution, oppression and trials on this planet are more important than what we might believe. They go to the glory of God and serve as an enduring testimony to the unbeliever that indeed our faith is genuine.

Faithful

1 Thessalonians 5:24 KJV
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
I see three things to address in this short text today;

Who is He that is faithful?
That answer to the question must be our God. This context gives us no other choice.

There are two things then concerning our God
He calleth you
God is in the business of calling men and women. He calls us to salvation. He calls us to greater sanctification and He calls us into areas of service.

He is faithful
This is the reassurance for the one who answers his call. We who are Christians are called. When we answer that call we realize quickly that our call cannot be performed in our own power. We learn that there are challenges to serving the Lord in this world that are overwhelming and supernatural. Tjo the one who senses the challenge and steps forward regardless, there is this promise. God is faithful. He will do what we cannot do.

More and More

1 Thessalonians 4:1 KJV
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 KJV
But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;
I am focusing this morning on those words, "more and more." They are found twice in the passage and therefore ought to be taken note of. God's Word does not afford the Christian a place to plateau in spiritual growth.

Have we gained a degree of spiritual maturity in the local church? Praise God for that. But we cannot be satisfied. We cannot sit down now and say, "I have come this far! It is much farther than I would have imagined I would go. It is much farther than many others have gone. It is as far as I need then to go."

He we learned to love one another in the church? That is wonderful news! But this in no place to rest either. We are not allowed to say, "I love those I love more deeply than I did before. I love those I would never have loved before. I have learned to even love those who have not loved me. I have now arrived. I need not grow any further." God's Word says we must still increase more and more.

There is no such thing as perfect mastery, no such thing as having attained in this life. In heaven we will rest from our labors. Here we are called upon to abound more and more.