#Psalms Chapter 56 verse 3

[scribeforchrist-blog]

On The Neck Of The Enemy

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ Psalms 56:3- Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+ Joshua 10:24 When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM NEEDING JESUS

I AM VICTORIOUS

I AM OBEDIENT

I AM FILLED WITH JOY

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THOUGHTS:

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When we are in trouble or in need we must give God everything that is bothering us, he will take the enemy and place his foot on his neck. When a person places their feet on the neck of anyone, that person is subdued and under control and submission to that person, and that's what God will do with our enemies with our haters; he will do this. Still, he will do this in his time. Many don't want to wait for him to do what they want now.

Still, what we must understand is that everything is done at his timing; we must go and pray and rely on and trust in him; we will not know how to trust in him if he immediately takes every problem from us, but when we learn to go to him and trust the process we will see that its something for us to learn in every problem, but we have to ask him, God, what are you trying to teach me in this season, at this moment.

In this chapter, you will see how Joshua helped and obeyed God, and that's something we must do is ask God to help us to be helpful lot of us dont like to help; we dont like to do anything but let people be there for us, but the word tells us this "Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ." it says carry each other burdens that mean be there for others no matter the circumstance.

You will see a lot that unfolds in this story , If you have time and are led to read this chapter, please; in verse 6 says this: "The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us."

These people ask Joshua, please dont abandon us, please dont leave us, please help us because we have Amorite king against us; a lot of times, when someone needs help, they might be entirely out of our way, it might be something we dont care to do, but we must be willing to help anyone that requires our help ( BUT we must also be led by the Holy Spirit too ). Joshua could've left them right there because the Gibeonites were the same people who deceived Joshua in chapter 9. Joshua could've seen this as a moment to get even, to level the playing field, but he didn't; he decided to take his men and go to help them.

Verse 7 : Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."

Because of Joshua's helplessness, faithfulness, and obedience, God told him, dont worry; I am giving you these people. None of these people will be able to stand up against you. See, when we are obedient, God will always protect us and give our enemies into us; we have to do what he says: to be faithful. Many dont want to be faithful for a long road that takes dedication. Many of us want what we want, and that's it; we don't want the hard work and dedication part, but God wants us where we are faithful through it all.

Verse 10: The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.”

God will throw things and people into confusion; he will even cause you to get promotions, hours, and things you shouldn't even have, but when we are faithful and commit to God, we have favor beyond comprehension because we believe in Him. In this chapter, God even did something so unique for Joshua; look at this.

Verse 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as written in the Book of Jashar.The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”

When we believe in God, all we have to do is stand, and he will do everything else because of how Joshua led these people and how Joshua took his time and went and saved his fellow man. God allowed Joshua to make a request to stop the moon and sun from standing still. God will give us the desires of our heart when we are walking on faith, walking in the light; we have to remain obedience, children of God, and friends; we have to remain in him even if it looks like we are losing; we aren't when we are walking with God and not ignoring him God will give us exactly what we need and lord.

***Today, God wants us to remember that he will subdue the enemy for us. All we have to do is remain faithful, do what we should be doing, be obedient, love our fellow man, and remain faithful. Sometimes, it's hard to remain faithful when everything seems to be working against us, but don't allow what people do to stop you from being the person God is working on you to be. Joshua didn't let what they did stop him from doing the right thing; this shows growth and that he is about his father's business. Depend on God today for everything. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, we thank you for everything we ask you to be with us. We ask you to help us stay steadfast and unmovable during a trial. Lord, help us have a desire to help our fellow man and not always ourselves. Father, remove selfishness from us and show us how to love. Show us how to be more like you. Lord, every day, show us what we need to work on so our hearts can be like yours and our ways can be like yours. Lord, whatever situation we are going through, what enemies we have, we ask you to subdue them, step on their necks, and stop them from coming against us right now. Father, save us from the unseen things, too. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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REFERENCES

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+ Deuteronomy 28:7 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

+ Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them

+ Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

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FURTHER READINGS

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PROVERBS 4

2 PETER 2

ROMANS 4

EXODUS 14

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#bible #bible quotes #christian quote #daily devotion #daily devotional #inspiration #scripture #bible verse #christian life #christan life

[humbleservantprayerwall]

Daily Devotionals 08-21-2023

Verses of the Day: Psalms 23:1/John 3:7/Ephesians 2:8/1 Peter 2:5/Psalms 25:1/John 8:12/Psalm 42:8/Isaiah 45:19/Proverbs 11:25/Revelation 22:3/1 Corinthians 15:56/2 Corinthians 5:17-21/Philippians 4:10-23/Matthew 6:25-34/Psalm 95:6-7/ Chapters of the Day: 1599 Geneva Bible Exodus 37-40/Joshua 18-20/ Bible Study –  1 Chronicles 22 – David Prepares for Temple Building –  Solomon Charged with the…

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[lady-starbind]

Psalms Ch56 v3 (KJV)

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

#KJV #KJV Bible #KJV Bible Verse #Happy Late Sunday #God's Word #truth #Soulfood #fear #worry #Soul food #Psalm #Psalms #Psalm 56:3 #Psalms Chapter 56 verse 3 #Hope this blesses your soul #i hope this blesses your soul

[religioused]

Where Did My Plowshares Go?

Holy Saturday

by Gary Simpson

Scriptures:

Psalm 31:1-4 The Message

I run to you, GOD; I run for dear life. Don’t let me down! Take me seriously this time! Get down on my level and listen, and please—no procrastination! Your granite cave a hiding place, your high cliff nest a place of safety.

3-5 You’re my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb. Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide. Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you. I’ve put my life in your hands. You won’t drop me, you’ll never let me down.

John 19:38-42 The Message

After all this, Joseph of Arimathea (he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, because he was intimidated by the Jews) petitioned Pilate to take the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission. So Joseph came and took the body.

39-42 Nicodemus, who had first come to Jesus at night, came now in broad daylight carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. They took Jesus’ body and, following the Jewish burial custom, wrapped it in linen with the spices. There was a garden near the place he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. So, because it was Sabbath preparation for the Jews and the tomb was convenient, they placed Jesus in it.

1 Peter 4:1 and 6 (ESV)

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

Reflection:

Holy Saturday is the link between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Today is a vigil pause between the cross and the resurrection.(1) Holy Saturday is that "in between time." (2) As much as we may wish that we could ignore the fact that we are caught in-between, we cannot ignore the in-between periods of our lives. We are not given the privilege of skipping Holy Saturday in our lives.(3) Our province and our country are stuck in Holy Saturday. The Coronavirus pandemic struck. Many businesses closed temporarily, some to never open again. At times early in the pandemic, things felt unnatural – just way too quiet. And the price of oil plummeted. We are still waiting for the normal to return. Spiritually, we caught in a holding zone. The crucifixion is passed, but the full glory of the resurrection is not here yet.(4) Holy Saturday 2021, for some of us, feels like over a year of Holy Saturdays. The Coronavirus lockdown is a brutally long, anxious, and vulnerable time.

Even children have Holy Saturday moments. When I was a kid, there were times when my punishment was to sit quietly on a kitchen chair. No talking was allowed. I could sit in the chair, okay, but no talking was rough. The three to five minutes timeouts felt like an eternity. I think my silent timeouts might have been more challenging for my mother than they were for me because I just could not keep quiet.

Canada is still sitting on the kitchen chair - over a year later. McDougall United Church is sitting on the chair for a second Easter. The Holy Saturday moments in life feel like they are an eternity long. During the pandemic, the Holy Saturday moments for children are especially challenging. Many children had to take courses online and were cut off from their friends and classmates for weeks, even months. Children learning at home have to try to navigate a dual relationship with their parents, where their parents might be functioning both in both a teacher's role and in a parent's role. And a special place dedicated to learning, school, no longer exists. Learning takes place in the home, the same place where children live and play. As with my time-out moments, the shift to learning at home can be difficult for parents too. Being plunged into a quasi-teaching role with almost no time to shift gears is difficult.

Jesus is gone – dead and buried. The disciples lost their teacher and friend, Jesus' family lost a son and a brother. The region of Palestine lost a dynamic itinerant rabbi. Jesus was executed for being a potential source of discontent against the government and the religious leadership, which were closely related. Jesus' disciples and family were deep in shock, possibly dealing with anger and fear. They may feel very vulnerable. What if someone falsely accuses them, just like they falsely accused Jesus? When you are hiding, hoping nobody is thinking of you or coming for you, time is painfully slow. Some people are experiencing are feeling afraid and vulnerable with our COVID Holy Saturday.

Hans Steiner, of Stanford University indicates that the social isolation caused by the pandemic Conflicts with our need to "social interventions" that help us "resolve anger" when we believe that we are "at the mercy of injustice and uncertainty." (5) Tensions seem to be high during the pandemic. There are many possible reasons – uncertainty, danger, children's education bouncing between school and home, work bouncing back and forth between office and home, job uncertainty, business closures, and extreme incidents of injustice. We are experiencing loss of loved ones, loss of lifestyle, loss of routines, loss of dreams, and financial loss. David Rosemarie, assistant professor in the Harvard Medical School's Department of Psychiatry, says he is seeing an increase in levels of anger in his practice.(6) There are times when anxiety and depression can look like anger.(7) David Rosemarie believes the anger over masks is related to fear over civil rights being taken away. He believes that fear is due to fear of the virus. Rosemarie observes, "When we're aggressive, we don't have to show our vulnerability to other people." (8)

You might be thinking, "Are there any scientific studies about COVID restrictions contributing to anger. In the United Kingdom, a study was conducted of over 2,200 participants aged 16–75 years. The study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, found that 56% of the participants reported "having had arguments, feeling angry or fallen out with others because of COVID- 19." The researchers concluded that COVID-19 restrictions cause "considerable strain." (9) If you are feeling anxious and angry, and you think COVID restrictions might be impacting your behavior, you are not alone.

There are many explanations as to what 1 Peter Chapter 4 means. I am not going to discuss the complex range of opinions. There might not be a highly definitive meaning for 1 Peter Chapter 4.(10) A few commentators consider the passage to be a mysterious encounter Jesus had with the dead, after Jesus' death.(11) 1 Peter Chapter 4 can be seen as a symbolic representation of the depth of God's love and grace. Holy Saturday could be the time when Jesus brought the Gospel of saving grace to all of the dead from the preceding ages. Verses 5-6 could refer to the Gospel going to "all the dead." The epistle of 1 Peter seems to be about Christ descending to the "place of the dead" to preach to the dead.(12) I tend to believe that descending into the depth of hell symbolizes the fact that there is no mistake, no sin that God cannot forgive, that nobody is left out of the realm of God's grace. The key takeaway is that God is just. Judgment is fair, because even those who died before Jesus' ministry on the cross hear the good news.(13)

Jonathan Turtle, an Anglican priest, describes Jesus as descending into the grave and "taking Adam and Eve by the hand," and leading them out of the grave, "pulling them up out of the grave." Rowan Williams, when he was the Archbishop of Canterbury, observes that this was not the youthful Adam and Eve.(14) Like Rowan Williams, I invite you to picture the old Adam and Eve. I am going to give you a moment to picture Adam and Eve. I see them as frail, with thin gray hair, arthritic hands, stooped shoulders, and eyes grown dim with age. I can almost picture them weighed down with a lifetime of guilt and shame. Then, I can visualize a change, as the fear of meeting God, and as a lifetime of guilt and shame, melts away in the presence of the Christ.

Middle Church tweeted, "Too many Christians act as if the Bible asks us to beat plowshares into swords." (15) Sadly, it is not just Christians who act like the Bible says we should beat our plowshares into swords. At a time fear is causing some tense, anxious, and fearful people to beat their emotional plowshares into swords, and they are living out an angry, grace challenged form of religion.

Prayer:

Companion God, in our Holy Saturday season, we give you our offering – the broken dreams, uncertainty, sense of oppression, anger, anxiety, fear, and depression. These things are too much for us. Beat the swords of those emotions into plowshares and use the plowshares to help plant a garden of healing. Amen.

Notes

(1)Jonathan Turtle. “A Sermon for Holy Saturday.” 26 March 2016, 18 March 2021. The Church of St, Mary and St. Martha. <https://stmaryandstmartha.org/a-sermon-for-holy-saturday/>.

(2)Michael K. Marsh. “A Sermon for Holy Saturday, Matthew 27:57-66.” Interrupting the Silence. <interruptingthesilence.com/2011/04/23/a-reflection-on-holy-saturday-matthew-2757-66/amp/>.

(3)Marsh <interruptingthesilence.com/2011/04/23/a-reflection-on-holy-saturday-matthew-2757-66/amp/>.

(4)Marsh <interruptingthesilence.com/2011/04/23/a-reflection-on-holy-saturday-matthew-2757-66/amp/>.

(5)Hans Steiner. “COVID-19 Q&A: Dr. Hans Steiner on Anger and Aggression.” Sanford University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. n.d., 23 March 2021. <https:med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/about/covid19/anger.html>.

(6)Alvin Powell. “Soothing Advice for a Mad America.” The Harvard Gazette. 14 August 2020, 23 March 2021. <https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/a-closer-look-at-americas-pandemic-fueled-anger/>.

(7)Powell (2020) <https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/a-closer-look-at-americas-pandemic-fueled-anger/>.

(8)Powell (2020) <https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/a-closer-look-at-americas-pandemic-fueled-anger/>.

(9)Louise E Smith, et. al. “Anger and Confrontation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a National Cross-Sectional Survey in the UK.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine; 2021, Vol. 114(2) 77. <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0141076820962068>.

(10)William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible: The Letters of James and Peter. Revised Ed. (Burlington, Ontario: G.R. Welch, 1976), 248.

(11)Christian Community Bible. (Madrid: San Pablo International, 1988), N.T., 463.

(12)Barclay (1976), 248.

(13)Bruce B. Barton, et. al., eds. Life Application Study Bible. Second Ed. (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Pub., 2004), 2134.

(14)Turtle (2016) <https://stmaryandstmartha.org/a-sermon-for-holy-saturday/>.

(15)“Middle Church.” Twitter @middlechurch. 23 March 2021, 23 March 2021.

<https://twitter.com/middlechurch/status/1374343151805169667?s=21>.

#Easter #Holy Saturday #Sermon #Reflection #Christian #Progressive Christian #Progressive Christianity #Good Friday

[dailyaudiobible]

03/13/2021 DAB Transcript

Numbers 19:1-20:29, Luke 1:1-25, Psalms 56:1-13, Proverbs 11:8

Today is the 13th day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I'm Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we…yeah…as we sort of put a bow on the end of another week, which puts us at the end of the ninth full week of this year, ninth week and some change, a couple days. And there is only one way to go and that way is forward. So, that's what we'll do. It's a…it's a day of transition here. When we get to the New Testament, we will be entering the third of the four Gospels. This is known as the book of Luke. We concluded the book of Mark yesterday. So, we'll talk about Luke when we get there. But first, Numbers chapters 19 and 20.

Introduction to the gospel of Luke:

Okay. As we said at the beginning, that now that we’re in entering the New Testament portion of our day together we’re moving into some new territory, the third gospel known as the gospel of Luke. And the gospel of Luke is probably the most well put together, the best written of the Gospels, the most concise of the Gospels. And the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts are more of a two-volume set. Like Luke/Acts written by the same person to the same recipient with the gospel of Luke chronicling…chronicling the life of Jesus and His ministry and then the book of acts, essentially chronicling the early church formation, and specifically the lives of the apostle Peter, and then the apostle Paul, who we have yet to get to know. So, Matthew, Mark, and now Luke ,these three Gospels are known as the synoptic Gospels, largely because they share a lot of the same material and cover a lot of the same ground with just about all scholars believing that Mark is the first gospel that was ever written about Jesus that has been preserved and that Matthew and Luke used Mark in their construction because they cover the same territory but in many cases they are Word for Word. But then there's many deviations as well. A lot more detail is inserted into the gospel of Luke, for example, then the book of Mark, filling out those stories. It's because these Gospels, they were written to different audiences to fulfill different purposes. So, for example, in the case of Matthew, we've already read this, so we can think back and we can remember that Matthew is a very Hebrew centric gospel of Jesus where Jesus is shown to fulfill many Hebrew prophecies all along the way. In fact, like I said, you can’t hardly read a page in the book of Matthew without Jesus fulfilling a prophecy. It's very front and center. The gospel that we’re about to read, the gospel of Luke, is likely more written primarily to a Gentile audience or a seeking audience, the story of Jesus revealing that the gospel of Christ includes the whole world and…and not just those of the…of the Jewish faith. So, let's settle into the gospel of Luke here. Like I said, it's in narrative form probably the best constructed of the Gospels to read. And we’ll be covering some familiar territory as we do that. So, today Luke chapter 1 verses 1 to 25.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for the passing of time that has brought us to this day. We thank You for Your faithfulness during all of that time. We thank You for what You are speaking in the time that we know as this year and we are grateful that You have brought us to the threshold and now we have entered the gospel of Luke. Come Holy Spirit we pray. Continue to lead us deeper into Jesus. Continue to lead us on the narrow path that leads to life. Continue we pray to lead us into all truth. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is always home base, it's always been home base and that's where the Global Campfire is, that's where we come together around that apparatus that's on the Internet. And, so, be aware of that.

Be aware of, as I mention often, of the Community section because that is where to begin to get connected. That's where different links are on the social media channels that we’re…that we’re…that we use. It's also the home of the Prayer Wall which is a constant. We can always go there to pray. We can always go there to ask for prayer. So, stay connected. It's important to stay connected in the journey that we’re on as we continue through the year because it's just nice to know we’re not alone as we take the journey. It's nice to know that when those things come up that are too heavy for us to carry, we don't have to carry them alone. And, so, be aware of the Community section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage and my heart is full of gratitude and in awe out a daily basis that…well that we’re even here. And the truth is we’re here because we’re in this together. And, so, if…if what we are as a community matters and brings life to you than thank you for being life-giving. So, there’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if that’s your preference, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Show Me God's Love Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 and 21 and Matthew chapter 18 verses 19 and 20. I just wanted to give a shout out to Peter and God’s Smile for the song that they played on her tummy. We need more tummy drums. I haven't laughed and smiled so much, and I was having a really bad day until I heard that so I want you guys to know you are responsible for giving me my first laughs and smiles of the day and perhaps that week. So, thank you for that. Slave of Jesus it's good to hear your voice. Mark Street good to hear your voice. And there's so many others that I can't even get into it now, I guess but Candace from Oregon it's good to hear your voice and hope that you're doing well. Well, that's it for now. Show me God's love.

Hello this is Steve from Pennsylvania my moniker is Face Like Flint from Isaiah 50 verse 7. And I'm calling to ask for partnership with the world-wide body of believers that is listening to this podcast. I'd like you to pray for my sister Catalina who is entered in a hospital behavioral health ward for the ninth time in the last 30 years. She's been struggling with schizoaffective bipolar. It’s a very difficult diagnosis and it's cyclical. And I want you to ask that the Lord would give her some supernatural revelation into her own condition and that the Lord would deliver her from any spiritual aspect of this illness, this brain disorder, and that she would be able to read a letter I'm about ready to deliver to the hospital from my sisters and I as we're trying to get her to cooperate with the professionals and to help us in rescuing her stuff from her apartment, her cats, and be ready to move into my mother's, the homestead where we grew up. My mother passed in November and the children have inherited the household. So, I'd like you to join me in that. We really need Jesus to break through here. There's just a lot of anger and darkness inside that comes out during these periods. Otherwise, she's perfectly normal and just a wonderful sister and very intelligent. But she needs Jesus and I pray that you would join me and pray for Catalina. Thank you.

Hey DAB family this is beautifully broken. I just was thinking today as I was listening to people call in and as I've listened to people call in and I hear people say I've been listening for 10 years, I've been listening for five years, I've been listening for the whole time all 15 years. Personally, I myself this is my 4th year going through, but it really struck me today how amazing it is that there is a troop, an army of people reading the Bible from start to finish year after year after year. And what is God raising us up for? I just think that is amazing. There is no other format that I know of that allows this and that lets people interact in the way that we interact in going through the Bible together. It is such a unique community. And we are a Facebook post away, a telephone call away, a prayer away from each other the majority of the time. I think God has something really wonderful planned for this community. It’s just amazing to be a part of it.

Hey guys this is Mary calling in. I'm 19 years old. I just wanted to comment and…and just give a praise report about this community. Over these past few months, I've been learning about community and how important it is especially during times like these and I just…I thank God every day for the community I'm surrounded by, my church community and, you know, the things I like community and just, yeah, I just want to say I'm so grateful and you all inspire me so much every day to just be a servant, to be more humble and be aware and just give my all. So, I thank you. I really hope you guys all have a blessed week and weekend. God is so good. Yeah. Thank you. Bye.

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

The Fourfold Witness

by J.C. Ryle

"There is another who bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth . . . But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given me to finish--the very works that I do--bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. And the Father himself, who sent me, has testified of me . . . You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me." - John 5:32-39

In these verses from the fifth chapter of John's gospel, we see the proof of our Lord Jesus Christ being the promised Messiah, set forth before the Jews in one view. Four different witnesses are brought forward, four kinds of evidence are offered: His Father in heaven, John the Baptist, the miraculous works He had done, and the Scriptures which the Jews professed to honor. Each and all are named by our Lord as testifying that He was the Christ, the Son of God. Hard must those hearts have been which could hear such testimony and yet remain unmoved! But it only proves the truth of the old saying that unbelief does not arise so much from lack of evidence, as from lack of will to believe.

Let us observe for one thing in this passage, the honor Christ puts on His faithful SERVANTS. See how He speaks of John the Baptist. "He bore witness of the truth"--"He was a burning and a shining light." John had probably passed away from his earthly labors when these words were spoken. He had been persecuted, imprisoned, and put to death by Herod with none interfering, none trying to prevent his murder. But this murdered disciple was not forgotten by his Divine Master. If no one else remembered him, Jesus did. He had honored Christ, and Christ honored him.

These things ought not to be overlooked. They are written to teach us that Christ cares for all His believing people and never forgets them. Forgotten and despised by the world, perhaps, they are never forgotten by their Savior. He knows where they dwell, and what their trials are. A book of remembrance is written for them. "Their tears are all in His bottle." (Psalm 56:8.) Their names are engraved on the palms of His hands. He notices all they do for Him in this evil world, though they think it not worth notice, and He will confess it one day publicly, before His Father and the holy angels. He that bore witness to John the Baptist never changes. Let believers remember this. In their worst estate they may boldly say with David, "I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me."

Let us observe, for another thing, the honor Christ puts upon MIRACLES, as an evidence of His being the Messiah. He says, "The works which the Father has given me...bear witness of me that the Father has sent me." The miracles of the Lord receive far less attention, in the present day, as proofs of His Divine mission than they ought to do. Too many regard them with a silent incredulity, as things which, not having seen, they cannot be expected to care for. Not a few openly avow that they do not believe in the possibility of such things as miracles, and would like to strike them out of the Bible as weak stories, which, like burdensome lumber, should be cast overboard in order to lighten the ship. But, after all, there is no getting over the fact that in the days when our Lord was upon earth, his miracles produced an immense effect on the minds of men. They aroused attention to him who worked them. They excited inquiry, if they did not convert. They were so many, so public, and so incapable of being explained away, that our Lord's enemies could only say that they were done by satanic agency. That they were done, they could not deny. "This man," they said, "does many miracles." (John 11:47.) The facts which wise men pretend to deny now, no one pretended to deny eighteen hundred years ago.

Five things should always be noted about our Lord's miracles. (1) Their number: they were not a few only, but very many indeed. (2) Their greatness: they were not little, but mighty interferences with the ordinary course of nature. (3) Their publicity: they were generally not done in a corner, but in open day and before many witnesses, and often before enemies. (4) Their character: they were almost always works of love, mercy, and compassion; helpful and beneficial to man and not mere barren exhibitions of power. (5) Their direct appeal to men's senses: they were visible and would bear any examination. The difference between them and the boasted miracles of the Church of Rome, on all these points, is striking and instructive.

Let the enemies of the Bible take our Lord's last and greatest miracle--his own resurrection from the dead--and disprove it if they can. When they have done that, it will be time to consider what they say about miracles in general. They have never answered the evidence of it yet, and they never will. Let the friends of the Bible not be moved by objections against miracles until that one miracle has been fairly disposed of. If that is proved unassailable, they need not care much for quibbling arguments against other miracles. If Christ did really rise from the dead by His own power, there is none of His mighty works which man need hesitate to believe.

Let us observe, lastly, in these verses, the honor that Christ puts upon the SCRIPTURES. He refers to them, in concluding his list of evidences, as the great witnesses to him. "Search the Scriptures," he says. "These are they which testify of me." The Scriptures of which our Lord speaks are, of course, the Old Testament. And his words show the important truth which too many are apt to overlook, that every part of our Bible is meant to teach us about Christ. Christ is not merely in the Gospels and Epistles. Christ is to be found directly and indirectly in the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. In the promises to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David--in the types and emblems of the ceremonial law--in the predictions of Isaiah and the other prophets--Jesus, the Messiah, is everywhere to be found in the Old Testament.

How is it that men see these things so little? The answer is plain. They do not "search the Scriptures." They do not dig into that wondrous mine of wisdom and knowledge, and seek to become acquainted with its contents. Simple, regular reading of the Bible is the grand secret of establishment in the faith. Ignorance of the Scriptures is the root of all error.

And now what will men believe, if they do not believe the Divine mission of Christ? Great indeed is the obstinacy of infidelity. A cloud of witnesses testify that Jesus was the Son of God. To talk of lacking evidence is childish folly. The plain truth is, that the chief seat of unbelief is the heart. Many do not wish to believe, and therefore remain unbelievers.

#Bishop J.C. Ryle #John 5:32-39 #The Fourfold Witness

[questionsonislam]

Why were holy books sent down?

Testing is done based on the criterion of justice. A teacher wants to apply the criterion of justice in tests through practice. Similarly, Allah needs to practice His students for the tests. The practice is a teacher and books / notes for the subject.The teachers of the humanity in the school of life are prophets and the notes for the subjects are heavenly books.

The following verse attracts attention to this fact:

“…Nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent an messenger (to give warning).” (al-Isra, 17/15 )

Besides, there are a lot of purposes why this huge universe was created. It is necessary to be insane to think that the universe equipped with wisdom all over is purposeless, absurd and unnecessary. The primary purpose of the creation of the universe is the fact that Allah wants to be known and wants His slaves to learn this.

“I have only created jinn and men, that they may serve Me.” (adh-Dhariyat, 51/56)

The verse above indicates this fact. Slaves of Allah cannot know Him and cannot learn how to worship without a teacher and a book...

What reflects Allah’s names and attributes, teaches them, reflects His endless knowledge and power is the book of the universe, which is an embodied Quran. In order to learn the deep meanings, fine embroidery and the instructive messages of the book of the universe, a teacher that teaches them is necessary. Otherwise, no matter how wonderful a book is, it is no different than a roll of paper if its meaning is not known and if there is no teacher to teach it.

Similarly, would it be possible to understand the fine mysteries of the book of the universe if there had not been a book like the Quran, a teacher like Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) teaching the book of the universe with its finest beauties, narrating its bonds with the Creator and explaining its purpose of creation? As a matter of fact, those who do not heed the Quran and Muhammad (pbuh) think that this universe is a meaningless, aimless and purposeless puppet with their materialistic ideas; they see man as a poor person that is impossible to know where he comes from, where he will go, why he has come to this world and that is known to disappear after a certain time. A book and its teacher are necessary to correct the misunderstandings above.

According to the Quran, the reason why the heavenly books were sent is to judge between people in matters in which they differed (al-Baqara, 2/213), to fulfill justice among men (al-Hadid, 57/25), to make clear to people those things in which they differ, to be a guide and a mercy to those who believe (an-Nahl, 16/64), to lead mankind out of the depths of darkness into light (Ibrahim, (14/1), and to admonish the unjust, and to give glad tidings to those who do right. (al-Ahqaf, 46/12).

The heavenly books that Allah sent through His prophets to guide humans and to convey Allah’s message to them are also called "divine books" or "books that were sent down". These books are the words of Allah in terms of form and meaning. The books that were sent down to prophets by Allah to be conveyed to people and to be explained were sent in the written form as pages or tablets, or in the form of all kinds of revelation with words and meanings as compiled or non-compiled books. The non-compiled books are collected together as the prophets dictate them.

The heavenly books, whether they are big or small in terms of size, whether they are sent in the compiled or non-compiled form, are sent in the language of the people that the prophet belongs to. For, Allah sent prophets to every nation in various centuries:

"Verily We have sent thee in truth, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner: and there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them (in the past).” (Fatir, 35/24)

"To every people (was sent) an Messenger: when their Messenger comes (before them), the matter will be judged between them with justice and they will not be wronged." (Yunus, 10/47)

"We sent not a messenger except (to teach) in the language of his (own) people, in order to make (things) clear to them...." (Ibrahim, 14/4)

Some divine books have miraculous properties. The Quran has a lot of miraculous properties.

The heavenly book was sent in the written form to Hz. Ibrahim (pbuh) as pages and to Hz. Musa (pbuh) as tablets. The Quran was sent to Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) gradually in various forms of revelation orally. Hz. Prophet (pbuh) dictated them to revelation scribes in their proper order.

All of the heavenly books unanimously mention the following points:

1.They agree on declaring the principles of belief and oneness.

2.Allah is unique in his personality and attributes. He is the only Creator and Maker. Nobody but Allah is worshipped.

3.The essence of the types of worship like prayer, zakah (alms) and fasting. Their forms may be different in different religions. (al-Anbiya, 21/73; al-Baqara, 2/183)

4.Fornication, murder, theft and similar sins that violate people’s rights of honor, chastity, life and property are major sins.

5.They order all kinds of good deeds and the principles of high ethics.

6.They state that Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) will come as the Messenger of Allah and they mention his attributes.

7.They encourage people to work in the way of Allah with their lives and property.

Allah includes in the Quran most of the principles and information that He sent with the previous heavenly books. Verse 48 of the chapter of al-Maida indicates this issue:

"To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety; so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed…"

In that case, the Quran is a witness, controller and touchstone related to the unchanged parts of the previous heavenly books and the distorted and mixed parts of the parts and verses.

The Quran states that the facts declared by it were also sent down through the previous divine books:

"Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds: With it came down the Spirit of Faith and Truth― To thy heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish, In the perspicuous Arabic tongue. Without doubt it is (announced) in the revealed Books of former peoples."(ash-Shuara, 26/192-196)

The phrase "the revealed Books of former peoples (zubur al-awwalin)"includes the pages of Ibrahim, the Torah the Psalms and the Gospel.

People are in need of prophets that convey them Allah's decrees; similarly, they are also in need of the heavenly books sent down to them due to the following reasons:

1.The heavenly books sent down to prophets are the books that ummahs refer to in order to know and describe the creed, principles, purposes and decrees of their religion no matter how much time passed. Ummahs refer to Allah's book in order to know the decrees of Allah's shari'ah, to explain the fards that Allah orders and the harams that He prohibits, to learn the virtues and high ethics, rules of good manners and etiquette, Allah's warnings, to declare Allah's promises and threats, to call people to the right path and to get and give advice. After the death of the prophet, the scholars of the ummah will refer to Allah's book in order to find the legal decrees regarding the problems of human life.

2.The divine book sent down to a prophet is a fair referee that people refer to after the death of the prophet regarding the issues that they disagree about. For, it is the word of Allah, who is the fairest judge. Allah states the issue as follows in the Quran:

"Mankind was one single nation, and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed..." (al-Baqara, 2/213).

A book that is sent down to an ummah and that is written protects the principles of oneness, the creed, rules and decrees of the religion. If a heavenly book remains without undergoing any change in an ummah, it means the prophet lives among them. Prophets die like other human beings. If the heavenly book did not remain after the death of the prophet, the disagreements of the ummah would increase so much as to make them deviate from the origin of the religion. The existence of a written divine book is necessary in order to decrease the dragging of man by their souls and desires, which is due to their nature, and to stop the disagreements in religious understanding and ijtihads.

The divine book bears the influence and ability of the call of the prophet in spreading the religion and guiding the people no matter how much away it is from the place and time it was sent down. The influence and service of the Quran has been great in spreading and settling the universal religion of Islam conveyed by Hz. Muhammad (pbuh), the last Prophet.

Allah sent down books to His prophets due to the reasons mentioned above and some other reasons. The prophets conveyed those books and explained them. Hz. Prophet (pbuh) left the Quran, which is a light and guide for humanity, after him.

Prophets, who honored humanity with their existence, need to be instructed by Allah in order to fulfill their duties of messengership. This instruction is given to prophets through heavenly books. The heavenly books are the holy laws of Allah to be applied for humans. Allah informs humans about their rights and duties through these laws. The lives of the prophets in this world are ephemeral. The continuation of the divine decrees conveyed by the prophets to their ummahs could be possible only through these books. If it were not for these books, people would be unaware of the purpose of their creation, the duties burdened with them, and the bounties and disasters they would encounter in the hereafter. They would be deprived of the divine principles that would arrange their lives. They would be also be deprived of the honor and happiness of reading the holy verses, worshipping through them, getting advice from them and getting rid of dangerous opinions by understanding the truth thanks to them.

The orders and prohibitions that the Quran informs humans and the wisdom and truths that it explains are plentiful. They are basically about beliefs, worshipping, laws related to human relations, ethics, works of arts and masterpieces showing the power of Allah, exemplary events and other things. We can summarize them as follows:

1) The Quran informs humans about the existence, oneness, majesty, wisdom and holiness of Allah. The words of those who have philosophical opinions are dim compared to its illuminated words.

2) The Quran calls humans to obtain knowledge and to meditate on things by looking at them carefully. It advises humans to look at Allah's great works that show His wisdom and power.

3) The Quran gives information about some of the prophets sent to humans in the previous eras. It tells man how they managed their lofty duties and what difficulties they faced while fulfilling their duties. It orders all people to obey the last Prophet.

4) The Quran tells people about the most exemplary scenes and historical events related to the previous ummahs so that people will learn lessons from them. It also tells people about the terrible ends of the sinning nations that rebelled against their prophets.

5) The Quran orders humans to have an alert spirit all the time and not to forget God. It advises them not to be deprived of religion and virtues by obeying the desires of their souls. It tells them that to be deprived from spiritual pleasures and the bounties of the hereafter by plunging into the material benefits and pleasures of the world is a big disaster.

6) The Quran advises Muslims to adhere to their religion and to defend the truth all the time. It reminds them that they should always be strong and work hard in order to prepare the equipment to protect themselves. It orders them to fight when it is necessary, to protect their religion, honor, country and their material and spiritual belongings by their lives and property.

7) The Quran informs them about the principles and rules that are necessary for the civil and social life to go on in order and peace. It asks people to protect and maintain certain rights and duties.

8) The Quran advises both individuals and communities to adhere to justice, honesty, modesty, love, to have mercy, to do favors, to forgive, to have good manners, to support equality and to have similar lofty characteristics. It prohibits people from oppression, treason, conceitedness, stinginess, revenge, hard-heartedness, ugly deeds and words, harmful drinks and food. It tells people about the food and drinks that are halal (legitimate) and haram (forbidden).

9) The Quran tells people that nobody can change the natural laws that Allah imposed for this realm. It states that everybody has to act in accordance with those laws. It reminds people that they cannot obtain anything but the fruits (benefits) of their work. It encourages people to work.

10) The Quran gives the believers who accept and adopt Allah's orders and prohibitions and act accordingly the glad tidings of the bounties of the world and the hereafter and the achievements they will obtain. It warns unbelievers against the bad end prepared for them, and the forms of hellfire. Through these explanations, the Quran wants to inform people about the lofty purpose of their creation.

In conclusion, the message of the Quran is a miracle. It containsmany more wisdoms and facts. The humanity can never be excluded from the instructions of the Quran no matter how high it rises. The acts that are contrary to the instructions (principles) of the Quran are actually a fall rather than a rise.

#Allah #god #islam #quran #muslim #revert #convert #revert islam #convert islam #reverthelp #revert help #revert help team #help #islam help #converthelp #prayer #salah #muslimah #reminder #pray #dua #hijab #religion #mohammad #new muslim #new convert #new revert #how to convert to islam #convert to islam #welcome to islam

[johnchiarello]

Sunday sermon

2nd Kings 1-3 [Sunday sermon]

Psalm 50:23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

2nd Kings 1-3 video’s

https://youtu.be/gsNk5YO93fg

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiw6l4eqdds95bcAC

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205565806902731/

Note- Later today- 4-28-19- I might speak on 1st John 2-3, being I already talked about chapter 1 the other day. If so- I will try and post the video today to Youtube- facebook and my Blog. I started a few new sites recently [ https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111

https://vk.com/id533663718 ] and want to say hi to any new friends I made on the sites. I realize when people see a new site- often times if it’s ‘Christian’ they expect to be asked for money. I take no money for anything and do not send ‘special appeals’ thru messages or any other way. So greetings to my new Friends and hopefully over time you will benefit in some way from the teachings- God bless you all- John

Update- I made the video yesterday- here are the links-

1st John 2- Friends and teaching

https://youtu.be/SvGsGwXD8oM

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMixDNu8W-_LWBLywi

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205590194232399/

  ON VIDEO

.The Day before Easter

.Motorcycles and scars

.Then came the Psalm

.Elijah and Elisha

.The fire comes down

.How are Enoch and Elijah alike?

.And how is this connected to the oldest man recorded in the bible?

.The anointing makes you efficient- not just ‘talented’ [gifted]

.The 3 kings- the ditches and the blood- a type of Redemption

.Obey the Word of God- even if it seems insignificant at the time

.The Divine act of God

[The verses scattered thru out the post- as well as those at the bottom of each post are the scriptures I either quoted or talked about on the video]

2 Peter 1:15

Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

 Blog- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Site- https://ccoutreach87.com/

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber

Other sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/  

Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/

Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/

[Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post]

NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam- Thank you- John.

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

Matt.11

 OTHER VIDEOS [These are the videos I upload nightly to my various sites- PAST POSTS below]

Does God exist [1] https://youtu.be/qHUf9YCSy58

Kings 18  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRSBmzdqmqC_eM0J

Jonah 2-3  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QRBVRv7LsXyJ_Q9cRuOSs4IkNpgXvLaw/view?usp=sharing

Samuel 22 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QRBVRv7LsXyJ_Q9cRuOSs4IkNpgXvLaw/view?usp=sharing

Acts 19  https://mega.nz/#!2Cx2UCLK!HxAMy7G4YRsmMYNy-lLf63dXOk85oyoIbX-CLGhE35E

Ephesians 5  https://icedrive.net/0/2064PiZGTc

2-4-18 Sunday sermon  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRDXJSgwCV4uxqDs

12-10-17  Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/tf1saous3236lox/12-10-17%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0

Friends- teaching  https://youtu.be/htO6KyOb954

2nd Samuel 16  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRKFgV_NRuuIJTQz

Boys of Sudan  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vbt45MTfMdSck_eh662-Oi9Ywt9dAkd7/view?usp=sharing

Acts 4  https://www.dropbox.com/s/mbpzi567ay7iebq/2-2-17%20Acts%204.mp4?dl=0

I thought you were 1 of us  https://dai.ly/x74ycp3

Samuel 17  https://flic.kr/p/2fyQ1dc

The real Moses  https://www.instagram.com/tv/BvtoVxunpSj/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

12-17-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/r7rubte771w2eq7/12-17-17%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0

Ephesians 4  https://youtu.be/uxqSLovL8xk

2-4-18  Sunday sermon  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRDXJSgwCV4uxqDs

Samuel- john- Hebrews  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LCoDFJ4bq8sAqhkRWtCpvkjqDpyb-xH_/view?usp=sharing

Gate shut  https://www.dropbox.com/s/anmthwuyqmk2n9o/2-21-16%20Gate%20shut.mp4?dl=0

Acts 21  https://flic.kr/p/2fr7J1B

12-24-17  Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/gj102x58aquol5q/12-24-17%20Sunday%20Sermon.mp4?dl=0

Christianity- Philosophy  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRGF7dZ2KS_846aE

David- Jude- Pops  https://dai.ly/x74v8bj

Teaching with friends https://youtu.be/e_ZBxB3V3-Y

Revolution  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhRdk8dNfsdLaaKu2

Samuel 15  https://drive.google.com/file/d/161v3Fyvr0YsUVBbxEWVS7J5c4R8El9FP/view?usp=sharing

12-3-17  Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/penks9kq7i7oqd4/12-3-17%20Sunday%20Sermon.mp4?dl=0

8-26-18  Sunday sermon  https://flic.kr/p/2fA1HuK

Acts 9  https://dai.ly/x74v8bk

Real time teaching-  Furman  https://d.tube/v/ccoutreach/xy1b0096

Houston take off  https://www.instagram.com/tv/BvopXfZFrzV/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

   The Cross- 2-   https://youtu.be/u3Sne2TFlmw https://youtu.be/uWcGl9nPYsE

Galatians 5 https://youtu.be/u3Sne2TFlmw

Mercy seat  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhRMMrXS_38blTcN7

12-31-17  Sunday sermon  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fjLN7yeCTXMfc3aTF2GOzNMZFOVwJYVG/view?usp=sharing

Kings 12  https://mega.nz/#!jPhW1QzB!GY05QdaW0KaG19lrXdsIDW_4A6jNnd-WgmEqUQhN5tg

Ephesians 4  https://icedrive.net/0/b46XJFObzB

Video-  Romans 1-3  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhRWSt6Bar8L1ZhQn

2nd Samuel 21- New York City  https://www.dropbox.com/s/jt2dvbku9roav3e/2-20-17%202nd%20Sam.%2021%20%5BNYC%20view%5D.mp4?dl=0

4-22-19 Friends- Cops- Teaching [Timons] https://youtu.be/qZ-3CuEF9xI

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205573371691846/

To God be the glory  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhQ2LmE36snAtrbc_

John 12  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JUArFeVhUFggwIWcz9W-Pex5nf0vhdnn/view?usp=sharing

2-18-18  Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdsy8ekouky1wxa/2-18-18%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0

Acts 18  https://mega.nz/#!fDQlQQ7a!YmJ2-d2TAHwPXEibVTk4CA4Vxs5KV2REvexlHp9ClHc

Samuel 12-13  https://icedrive.net/0/0eiPCBXomF

Pop’s candle  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhRDTeN_m5z06s3Nr

12-31-17  Sunday sermon  https://www.dropbox.com/s/ku0cfw0jdr1xc35/12-31-17%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0

Revolution  https://youtu.be/p1RAPGm1TFE

Romans 8-10  https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhQ7PRpqfnBJYBCRc

2-25-18  Sunday sermon  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NKM1v9knKYSYr85xqZEYSX3ehs3c8O2n/view?usp=sharing

QM  https://www.dropbox.com/s/839jeakmwkbm24a/2-18-16%20Quantum%20Mechanics.mp4?dl=0

The door of heaven  https://dai.ly/x74tn5w

Friends  https://flic.kr/p/2ekMZ7C

Furman- Teaching https://d.tube/v/ccoutreach/xy1b0096

2-18-18  Sunday sermon   https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdsy8ekouky1wxa/2-18-18%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0

  54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?

55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Luke 9

  PAST POSTS [These are links and parts of my past teachings that relate in some way to today’s post- Verses below]

https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-kings/

https://ccoutreach87.com/kings-links/

https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-links-updated-10-2018/

https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/

2nd KINGS 1- The king of Israel is on his roof in Samaria and falls thru. He sends his men to inquire from a pagan god whether or not he will get healed. On the way Elijah meets them and tells them because he sought information from a forbidden source, he will die. They go back and the king realizes it was Elijah. So he sends 50 men to tell Elijah to come and see the king; Elijah calls down fire from heaven and they get ‘sacrificed’. This happens with the second group of 50 as well. The third group comes and says ‘please, we don’t want to die like the rest, just come and see the king for heavens sake’. Elijah goes. He tells the king that he will die because he sought foreign gods and rejected the true God. In Luke 9 the disciples ask Jesus ‘do you want us to call down fire from heaven and burn them up, like Elijah did’? They treated the story as literal. Why did the disciples ask this? Jesus was going to Jerusalem and he sent two men to Samaria, the same city where the king of Israel was associating himself with. The people did not welcome him because he had his mind already set on Jerusalem. The whole history of Israel and Judah [northern and southern tribes] involved a debate over where true worship occurred. Samaria was considered a low class place; the people had little respect in the eyes of the pure Jew. Jesus disciples saw nothing wrong with the death of these Samaritans. Jesus told them that his kingdom was not about getting rid of the ‘heretics’ but redeeming them. It seems strange that the disciples would even contemplate the death of these ‘illegals’, after all Jesus is going around healing and helping people who are considered low class. He is trying to instill this mindset into his men, but yet somehow on the road to the Kingdom they see no contradiction in thinking that part of the process would include the destruction of a whole society of people. Many sincere Christians/preachers seem to make this same mistake in their treatment of Muslims/Arabs. No matter how theologically wrong a certain class of people are, yet their destruction is not part of the plan. Let me also mention the error that many well meaning Catholics have fallen into in my part of the world. Over the years I have had the privilege of working with lots of brothers who have come from strong Mexican/Catholic backgrounds. Often times they would see nothing wrong with going to a ‘Catholic fortune teller’ or hiring someone to place a curse on an enemy. The Catholic Church expressly teaches against this. There are many differences between Catholics and Protestants; one of them is the teaching of asking the saints who have died to intercede for us. The Catholic Church does not teach ‘praying to the saints’ in the sense of praying to God for prayer to be answered. Many Catholics and Protestants are confused about this, many do think that praying to the saints is like asking God to answer a prayer. The official Catholic doctrine is you can ‘pray’ in the sense that you are asking a believer who has died to ‘pray for you’. In essence the doctrine teaches you can ask a believer who has died to pray for you, because in reality they are still alive. Okay, I personally don’t go for this, but I get the difference. Here close to Mexico there is a superstitious mixing of saints with actual occult practices [Santeria]. Many Catholics have a misguided understanding of seeking these practices and thinking they are Catholic in nature. They are not. So in this chapter we see that seeking wisdom from a pagan/occult source brought death upon the king. I want to warn all of our readers [both Catholic and Protestant] that the official teaching of both churches condemns doing this, don’t do it!

 (1241) 2nd KINGS 2- Elijah is going to be taken up into heaven and Elisha follows him, Elijah tells him to leave but Elisha requests a double portion of the Spirit that anointed Elijah. He tells Elisha that if he witnesses his translation into heaven he will get it. As Elisha follows Elijah to the various towns [Bethel, Jericho, etc.] he runs into the ‘sons of the prophets’ who independently tell Elisha that Elijah will be taken this day. These sons of the prophets are the same group from the ‘school of the prophets’ under Samuel. They lived a communal lifestyle, were provided for by offerings from the community and were recognized as a legitimate group sent from God. Over the years I have had both ‘prophetic’ type experiences as well as learning and growing in Christian truth. Often time’s believers will live their whole lives only experiencing and learning Christianity from their particular group. While many of these various denominations are fine groups, they are only a limited picture of the church. The problem comes in when one group sees itself as ‘the group’ to the exclusion of the other groups. There are ‘prophetic groups’ who operate in these gifts, these gifts do exist and function in the church today. Many of these groups have cut themselves off from the ‘intellectual’ branch of the church. Some seem to regulate their entire Christian experience around the gift. Often times it is next to impossible to correct them doctrinally, because they believe that the fact that they do experience real prophetic gifts justifies all their beliefs. Often times they are wrong. Many times the young believers who follow these gifted men/movements become infatuated with the gift and never truly grow in the things of God. Having said all this, we also need to be open to the miraculous gifts of the Spirit that the bible speaks about. The majority view of Christianity [Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestants] do believe in the charismatic gifts of the Spirit. There are those who try and make a case for their cessation [cessationists!] but for the most part these gifts do and have functioned since the early days of Christianity. I can personally give you many examples from my own story; let me share a recent one. A few weeks ago I had some of my homeless friends over for a fellowship time. We had communion and shared the word in my yard. This spot is the same spot where I pray over the communities of people that we relate to. I have a habit of ‘anointing’ myself with oil while praying for the brothers. I will actually put anointing oil on my head and pray ‘just like this oil is on me, Lord anoint all those we are reaching out to’. One of the homeless guys is very gifted and he does function in the gift of Prophecy, he will often make off the cuff comments and he does not realize that he is actually prophesying. So any way as we were all sitting in my yard he keeps telling me ‘you know brother, I keep thinking of the verse in the bible where the oil was on Aarons head and it ran down to the rest of his body’. This is a verse in Psalms that coincides with the exact type of prayer thing that I regularly do over the guys in this exact spot. So it’s stuff like this that shows me that prophetic people and gifts are not all fakes. Now Elijah does a few prophetic things before the chariots from heaven come and take him; he strikes the Jordan with his mantle [coat] and it dries up for him to cross. After Elisha witnesses Elijah’s ascension he does receive the ‘double portion’ and on his way back into town he does the same thing. The sons of the prophets recognize that the mantle [gift] passed from Elijah to Elisha. A few things; in this chapter we see that those who witness the ascension of ‘the prophet’ receive a greater anointing. Of course this reminds us of the early church, they were the group that saw Jesus ascend and did receive the Spirit. Some say that Elisha does twice the miracles as Elijah [the double portion]. I underlined all the miracles once and think they might be off one or two miracles, but they do come close [Elijah 7, Elisha 13 or 14]. Jesus said we would do greater miracles than he did [in number we would do greater works as the family of God]. And of course the miracles surrounding the Jordan and Elisha pouring salt in the fountain of water to ‘heal the waters’, all these images speak of the ministry of Jesus and John and the significance of baptism and how Jesus would ‘heal the waters’ i.e.; he would unite with us in the waters of the Jordan and we would meet with him thru the ordinance of baptism, in essence Jesus ‘healed the waters’ by his pure life, his ‘saltiness’ [preservation power]. Jesus said we were the salt of the earth. So there are some good prophetic pictures from a prophetic chapter. All in all we as believers are to be grounded in the word, have a grasp on all the various groups/movements that constitute Christianity, and be open to the miraculous. God has given us his Spirit and we do have the ability as Gods people to function in these gifts. But at the end of the day our assurance is in the Lord, not in our gifts.

 (1243) 2ND KINGS 3- Jehoram, king of Israel, goes after the king of Moab because he stopped paying him the taxes/extortion fees after his father died. Ahab, Jehoram’s father was feared [because of his wife Jezebel] and the king of Moab figured ‘heck, we were scared of the other president, but this new young buck doesn’t instill the same fear’ [sound familiar?]. Never the less the ‘young buck’ forms an alliance with two other kings [France, Germany? Or Britain, you pick] and he goes after Moab. They go on this 7 day journey to attack Moab, and lo and behold they realize that they don’t have the resources to finish the job [Afghanistan?]. They never took into account the actual problems they would run into with the terrain; they found no water sources for their troops or the animals. Now, Moab probably knew about the land situation, he knew it would turn to their benefit [Taliban]. So the 3 kings- Jehoram king of Israel, Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and the king of Edom are facing a dilemma. They have all their troops already in the field [their committed] and yet they don’t have the proper resources to finish [oh let’s say they need 40 thousand more]. So the King of Judah asks Jehoram if there is a prophet in the land who can help. Enter Elisha. They go to the prophet and he rebukes them, but for the sake of the king of Judah he seeks God and gives them a word from the Lord. He tells them to dig holes thru out the area and God will supernaturally fill them. I don’t know how God did it, but the chapter says he brought the water over the land, possibly some regional flood? The point is that what they saw as a major obstacle, lack of resources, turned out to be a key element of their victory. The fact that the king of Moab knew there was no water in the land, this led him to believe that what he saw in the morning was blood from the slain army. He looked out over the land and the reflection of the water looked like blood to him. So he mounts an attack and gets defeated. God often times allows our perceived weaknesses to become the key to our victory. Paul said he gloried in his faults and weaknesses, because it was thru these things that God’s power rested upon him. At the end of the battle the king of Moab realizes that he is in over his head and makes one valiant attempt to at least take the king of Edom down with him. He must be thinking ‘geez, I’m fixin to get wiped out, might as well make one last ditch effort to take out this punk’ he takes 700 men and makes a charge, he can’t break thru. So he offers his son on the wall as a sacrifice to his god. Moab would have been better off if they simply kept paying the taxes. Okay, I really don’t want to draw too much of a comparison with president Obama and the present situation, but there are some common themes. He does seem to have less ‘fear/respect’ in the area of military might than his predecessor. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it could turn out to be bad. Our situation in Afghanistan is not good; we do not presently have the troops in there to do whatever the heck we are trying to do. It looks like we are going to change strategy and downsize. And last but not least, we need to be more careful when making decisions that adversely affect our allies. The decision to drop plans to place a ground based missile defense system on the border of Poland and Russia was probably a good strategic move. But politically it did hurt some allies. The day Obama made the decision not to go ahead with the Bush agenda was the anniversary of a previous invasion of Poland by Russia, not a smart decision to say the least. All in all the king of Israel made some decisions, he got in over his head but thanks to some allies and a word from the Lord, things turned out for the better. I think we can all learn some lessons from this chapter.

Hebrews 11

CHAPTER 11: [see commentary on Acts 21] END NOTES- JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. TORTURED- BY FAITH? REJECTED MONEY- BY FAITH? THEY ALL WAITED FOR THE CITY- THE CHURCH.     ‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, FOR BY IT THE ELDERS OBTAINED A GOOD REPORT [JUSTIFIED]’ This is the key verse to the chapter. Paul will go on to prove that all the Old Testament figures that ‘pleased God’ did it by faith, and not by works! ‘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’ Faith is not ‘blind’. It informs and gives understanding. This understanding is real! Let me show you what I mean. All of the universe and creation had a beginning point. Science did not always know or believe this. Today science teaches this. It is called ‘the point of singularity/density’. Science has traced back the origins of all things and has found scientific evidence to prove that all things had a ‘beginning point’. Now if you were to ask science ‘what did you have right before the beginning point’? They are stumped. Some of course believe in God and will boldly proclaim him at this point. To the others they can not answer this question. Why? Because they realize, thru science, that matter is not infinite.   Some have theorized that either all things always existed [which science has now disproved] or that at one point nothing existed [which science also teaches that if this were true then you would have nothing today. You can not get something from nothing!] So all true science has gone back to this ‘point of singularity’ and can not see what is right before ‘the point’. The Christian ‘sees’ God at this point! He ‘understands’ that by necessity there has to have been something that existed before creation, science teaches this. This something can not have been created also, because then where did the ‘being’ who created ‘it’ come from? So science teaches us that whoever got the ball rolling [Saint Thomas Aquinas calls this the ‘prime mover’] had to have been preexistent/ self existent in order to have done it. And we know that creation couldn’t have done it by itself, so therefore all reasoning and understanding leave us at the philosophical point of ‘there had to have been something/someone who existed forever  in order for anything to be today’. So now you see how ‘by faith we understand that all things that now exist were brought into existence by someone who we can not see’. FAITH UNDERSTANDS!   As we go thru the rest of this chapter I want you to focus in on all the references of justification by faith. You will be surprised [I think?] on how many examples Paul gives to Israel from their own history [his too!] on God justifying people by faith. I will also try and show you [if I remember] how this chapter links the division between Paul’s epistles to the gentiles [Romans, Galatians] with James letter to the Jews. James was one of the lead Apostles at Jerusalem [Acts 15] and the Judaizers who were always accusing Paul of preaching grace in a way that justified sin, they came out of Jerusalem. James and Paul were rivals in a sense. James had the difficult job of overseeing the Church at Jerusalem, who had all the Pharisees who believed, while Paul was preaching this radical message of grace. This is why James’s letter [book of James] focused so much on faith and works. James was seeing the Genesis 22 account of Abraham’s justification when he offered Isaac on the altar. James will say ‘see how Abraham was justified by his works’. While in Paul’s letters he focuses on the Genesis 15 account of Abraham believing God and being made righteous. James was not contradicting Paul; he was showing the actual outcome of the life of a person who was previously justified by faith. James was saying ‘When God made Abraham righteous [Gen 15] he later actually became what God made him!’ [Gen. 22].   Now when Abraham would later do righteous things, he only did them because he previously had faith in Gods promise. But the fact still remains that when Abraham did a righteous act, God still justified him [in a sense, God has the prerogative to say ‘good job son, I am pleased with you’ so this can be described as an act/function of justification]. Well, now that I already showed you all this, I guess I wont have to remember telling it to you later. The point is in this chapter Paul will go down and show all these examples of Jewish leaders acting by faith and doing righteous deeds. This sort of bridges the gap between the strong emphasis on faith in Paul’s letters, with the strong emphasis on works in James letter. Paul is telling Israel ‘yes, all the old saints did do good works that pleased God, but they did them by faith!’ ‘Faith without works is dead’ [James]. So in a sense this single chapter bridges one of the key divisions in the early church between Jerusalem and Antioch [Acts 13 and 15]. Note; I believe all the chapter references above are correct, I write all this from memory so you might want to go back and double check the references. I know all the stories are right.   ‘By FAITH Able offered …by which he obtained witness that he was RIGHTEOUS…by FAITH Enoch was translated…he had this testimony that he PLEASED GOD…without FAITH it is impossible to PLEASE HIM [all these ‘please him’ references are like saying ‘being justified’ when a person is justified by God, God sees him as acceptable, pleasing. ‘Thou art my beloved son in whom I am well PLEASED’ God to Jesus!] By faith Noah… prepared an ark to the SAVING of his house…and became heir to the RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS BY FAITH [wow, he makes this one real plain] By faith Abraham…went out into a strange land…and sojourned’ interesting, both the aspect of ‘going out to a new land’ and ‘staying in it when you get there’ are both functions of faith. Let me throw in some practical stuff here. Over the years of ‘doing ministry’ I have seen and been a partaker of both of these experiences. Sometimes it takes an act of faith to uproot us from familiar territory and move on to the next level. And do you know what can happen next? The enemy will try to intimidate you once you get in the land of promise, and tell you ‘you cant stay here, look at all the people who hate you. Look at all the mistakes you made’ and it often takes an act of faith to STAY IN THE LAND. Don’t leave the land of your destiny; all true leaders will go thru both of these dealings.   ‘For he looked for a city which hath foundations [Jesus is the foundation of this city!] whose builder and maker is God’ All of these great heroes of the faith were looking forward towards a future promise of being in Gods true church, the ‘City of God’ the Bride, the Lambs wife. Paul shows Israel that this 1st century appearing of Messiah was for the purpose of Israel coming into the ‘new land’ the Body of Christ. It is important to see this. There are many preachers today who are treating natural Israel as in if everything is just fine. It isn’t! They need Christ as much as the Muslim does. God was telling Israel ‘come into this new city’ [New Jerusalem versus Old Jerusalem] he wasn’t appealing for them to stay in ‘old Jerusalem’ and be a ‘completed Jew’. [I know this sounds harsh, but I want to emphasize to all my evangelical friends that Jews need Jesus, they play a special role in Gods plan, but ultimately they need Christ!]   ‘Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed’ it takes faith to produce spiritual offspring! It might look impossible, but with God all things are possible. ‘Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky and the sand by the shore’ sometimes God will allow you to bring forth one ‘seed’ [person or act of ministry] and you will be surprised how much fruit can come forth from this singular effort. This is why it’s so important to simply hear and obey God. Often times in ministry we do tons of ‘leg work’ which is OK. But when God gives you an idea or mode of function that you weren’t even thinking of, go with it. These are usually the ‘little seeds’ that produce the great harvest! ‘THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES’ I want to emphasize here that it is possible to live your whole life in faith without actually seeing the fulfillment of all that God has told you.   Now faith does obtain promises [verse 33] but sometimes we also see things many years down the road and we must realize that the measurement of faith is not whether or not you are currently getting the actual promise. In the above [and below] verse’s we see Abraham and Sara being told that their offspring would number in the millions. They believed these promises, but it is obvious that they didn’t live to see it fulfilled, but they sure knew that after they were gone it would come to pass. So I want to exhort you to believe to see certain things fulfilled in your life time, but have some greater goals that you initiate while here on earth, knowing that after you depart they will be fulfilled. ‘And truly if they had been MINDFUL of the country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned’ what is Paul saying here? The greatest threat to the gospel taking root in the Hebrew community was the desire to go back to old law and culture. How many believers ‘revert’ back to an older form of church simply because they missed the old culture and ‘feelings’ that they had when they were younger? Many of the Jews would not go all the way with the gospel because they were ‘mindful’ of the good old days of law and sacrifice.   I just watched a show the other day that told how even some gentile believers began celebrating certain feasts of Israel with their Jewish neighbors. While it is good to understand and see the significance of the feasts, yet we know Paul wrote the early believers and said ‘you observe days and times and feasts, and I am concerned about it’. So when we [or 1st century Israel] are ‘mindful’ of the ‘good old days’ then there is always a danger of going back! ‘By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac…of whom it was said in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure’ Abraham exhibited characteristics of the Father [God] as well as Isaac being a type of the Son [Jesus]. It’s interesting that these verses show that Abraham knew for a fact that God was going to give Isaac millions of children, Abraham also knew the voice of God so well that when he ‘thought’ he heard God say ‘offer up this boy’ that in the mind of Abraham, the only way these 2 things could be reconciled, is he came to the conclusion ‘I guess God will have to raise him up, being he has told me this boy will have millions of children, plus he is telling me to kill him’. Most of us would not have come to this conclusion! We would have doubted either the original promise, or said ‘surely this can’t be God telling me to offer Isaac’ [most likely we would have doubted the latter!].   There is a real important reason for Abraham to have been a real man of faith. God wanted this ‘picture’ of the offering up of Isaac for a type of the Cross and Resurrection. The only way he could have shown this example was to have had someone so radically filled with faith, that he would have come to this conclusion of ‘well, I guess God will just raise him’. It was necessary for the figure to have been truly fulfilled. It took Abraham many years of hearing and believing God before he would get to this stage. The part of Abraham’s mind that said ‘God will just have to raise him up’ was important for the figure to truly work. God knew he could only bring someone to this conclusion by arranging the whole scenario around a person of faith. It truly took a real person of faith to have come to the conclusion of resurrection as being inevitable! [For Abraham to fulfill the type of God, he had to have been convinced beyond all doubt that after he offered up his son, that he would be raised again. This is exactly what the Father [God] believed and knew about his own Sons death. So not only did Isaac fulfill the type of Jesus in this story, but Abraham also fulfilled a type of God!] [NOTE; Today is September 22, 2007. Israel’s Day of Atonement. I just heard a brother preach on the feasts of the Lord [I have done this also] but he preached it in a way that said ‘because God said you were to observe these feasts perpetually, therefore all gentile believers need to start observing these days’ he added ‘I know Paul taught the law passed and all, but these feasts are supposed to be forever because God said so’.   How are the feasts ‘perpetual’? Thru the fulfilling of them in Christ! Paul makes this plain all thru the New Testament [as well as this letter!] I was surprised to hear the brother preach that the first 2 feasts [out of the 3 main ones] were fulfilled and memorialized, but the 3rd one [Atonement/tabernacles] has yet to be fulfilled! What? Jesus fulfilled Passover and Pentecost for sure, and they are still being ‘fulfilled’ God is still bringing people in thru the blood of Christ and the Spirit is continually being poured out on people, and of course the ultimate reality of our atonement thru our high priest is a daily reality [he ever lives to make intercession] that is ‘fulfilled’ all the time[ I understand what the brother meant, that both Passover and Pentecost were fulfilled at the Cross and the day of Pentecost, and Tabernacles still has a future fulfillment. That Jesus will ‘ingather’ all peoples to himself at the end. The way he said it was in a way that he said Atonement, the beginning of Tabernacles/booths, still has to be fulfilled. It really came out badly!] I just thought it worth noting that today is natural Israel’s feast day, and we hold this feast in reality 24/7!]   ‘By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of pharaohs daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward…by faith the harlot Rahab perished not…’ I want you to see that faith in Moses situation caused him to forsake great riches and leave a successful future. This is in keeping with all the times Jesus called people in the Gospels ‘forsake all and follow me’ mentality. We too often equate the ‘treasures of Egypt’ with following Jesus; the scripture puts a different spin on it! Also Rahab ‘perished not’ because she ‘believed’. Paul teaches in Corinthians that those who believe are ‘being saved’ and those who don’t believe are ‘perishing’. I want you to see that Paul is really making a theological argument for ‘being saved by faith’ in this chapter. Even a harlot can be saved! Wow. The law seemed to have no mercy on someone like that!   ‘Who thru faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions…women received their dead raised to life…others were TORTURED not accepting deliverance…others had mocking and scourging and bonds and imprisonment, they were stoned, cut in half, were slain with the sword… being destitute, afflicted, tormented…they wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth, ALL THESE [both the ones who shut the mouths of lions as well as the one’s who were tortured without deliverance] OBTAINED A GOOD REPORT THRU FAITH, AND RECEIVED NOT THE PROMISE’ Faith does not always cause you to be better off in this life. I am very familiar with all the verses of God blessing us and providing for us ‘the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow to it’. I believe and claim these verses just like the next guy. I also don’t want to tell people ‘give your life to Christ and all will go well’ did it go well for the ones who were tortured not getting delivered? Sure did. It went well the moment they saw the face of God. The same for those who were cut in half. It also went well for the women who received their dead raised to life. The point is ‘going well’ is not always defined by your outward circumstance.   We must see the overall biblical worldview of all things here being temporary, while all true spiritual riches are eternal. Moses actually was ‘less rich’ by the choice to follow Christ. But he was ‘more rich’ in that he fulfilled Gods purpose. It is important to see that many of these great heroes of the faith died without fully seeing the promise in this life. Now the last verse does say ‘that they without us should not be made perfect’ and this does show that the promise is now fulfilled thru Christ. We have all become recipients of eternal salvation thru Christ. The Old Testament patriarchs have ‘found that city’ in that we are all now members of the great ‘City that comes down from God out of heaven’ we are all in Christ today, even our Old Testament brothers who had faith. The point is don’t always measure a persons faith by their outward wealth and condition. James rebuked this idea in his epistle, he taught us not to show partiality to people who were rich while despising the poor.   When believers see faith only from the standpoint of outward things, they are missing the true riches. Jesus taught that all these outward things were not the true riches; I am surprised how many believers spend so much time hoarding and storing things that will all pass away some day. Let’s close this chapter on a good note. Paul has offered Israel all of their Old Testament heroes as an example of being justified by faith. He is saying ‘look, all the great fathers of the faith pleased God, just like you have said and taught for ages. I am declaring unto you they were all ‘justified/pleasing to God’ by faith, not law’. Therefore if you want to follow the example of Abraham and Moses and all the other wonderful fathers, then you too MUST BELIEVE! END NOTES- JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. TORTURED- BY FAITH? REJECTED MONEY- BY FAITH? THEY ALL WAITED FOR THE CITY- THE CHURCH. This chapter is loaded with the history of the Jewish people- I could teach on each story- but that would be a bit much- So I pasted the verses below to show that the writer is saying ‘see- all of our forefathers were justified- received a GOOD REPORT- by faith’. Wait a minute- they DID THINGS- in these stories- Isn’t that WORKS? If you read the letter of James- and the letters of Paul- some scholars says there is a disagreement- Paul says a man is justified by faith- and not by works. James says ‘see how a man is justified by works- and not faith only’. If this letter [Hebrews] was written by Paul- then it’s a true masterpiece- because he is combining the examples that James uses [Rahab- and Abrahams Genesis 22 experience- which James uses to say ‘see how works justifies’]. So- to me- Paul would be saying ‘no- I’m not contradicting James- we both believe/teach the same thing’. If the letter was written by Barnabus- then it also is a masterpiece- because Barnabus might be trying to bridge the gap between Paul and James. We read about this tension in Acts chapters 13 and 15. This chapter is certainly not showing us how to obtain stuff [money- etc.] thru faith- because look at the examples- ‘Moses chose to suffer- and reject the wealth of Egypt- BY FAITH’- ‘SOME WERE TORTURED- SUFFERED- CUT IN HALF- by faith’- ‘CHOOSING TO not be delivered- because they had faith’. We also see the heavenly city- as the goal of the patriarchs- they were all waiting for THE CHURCH- the city that the apostle John spoke about in the book of revelation. The writer says ‘if they were mindful of the city they came out of [a reference to the law covenant- meaning if the Jews kept clinging to the law- the ‘city they came out from’- they will have a hard time moving on- into the New Covenant revelation of Messiah]. I didn’t quote verse 2- but we could teach modern physics from that one [the bible says all things were made from something invisible- modern physics has come to that reality in the 20th century- yet this verse was penned 2 millennia ago]! By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. So yeah- lots of good stuff in this chapter- but the main point is these ancients were justified by faith- the example of Noah and Abraham actually use that very language- salvation/righteousness [it’s a bit clearer in the King James Version- the above verses are from the NIV]. Yes- the writer is saying ‘everything is based on faith- and even our ancestors were justified by faith- they did all these things because they believed God- and God saw their faith- in action- and they too were made righteous- by faith’. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

 2ND KINGS 5- A Syrian army commander has leprosy, he hears about Elisha the prophet and goes to get healed. He is carrying a letter from the king of Syria that requests that the king of Israel heal him. The king of Israel is distraught ‘who does he think I am? Am I God?’ Elisha hears about the matter and says ‘send him to me, after I get thru with him he will know that there is a prophet in the land’. As Naaman arrives at the door of Elisha, Elisha sends out a servant to give him a message ‘go, dip yourself 7 times in the Jordan and you will get healed’. Naaman is upset, he says ‘I thought he would at least come out and make a big show and do some great healing! Are not the waters of Syria better than this stinking Jordan!’ He storms off. His men tell him ‘look, if he told you to do some great act, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not give it a shot and go get wet’. He dips in the Jordan and gets healed. He is elated! He goes back to the prophet and wants to give him an offering, Elisha refuses to take it. On his way back home Elisha’s servant stops him and says ‘my master changed his mind, 2 prophets just stopped by and he now will accept the money/gift’. He lied. As the servant arrives back at Elisha’s house, Elisha confronts him ‘hey Gehazi, where did you go’ he tells him nowhere. Elisha tells him ‘did not my heart go with you when the chariot turned’ he knew he was caught. Elisha rebukes him strongly over wanting to make material gain at this time ‘is this a time to build wealth! To gain land and servants and stuff’ he curses him and puts the leprosy of Naaman on him. Okay, let’s do a little stuff; first, the king of Israel felt like the expectations of the other ‘middle eastern’ Arab countries were too high. The king of Syria flat out treated him like he was God! Oh I don’t know, have there been any leaders recently that have been given the title ‘messiah’ [they gave it mockingly, but the expectations were very high]. And we must not overlook the strong rebuke of Gehazi, and Elisha’s unwillingness to take an offering. We often read all of these stories and only see the parts where God provided for someone, or reduced their debt [the woman with the oil]. We read and preach on the ‘wealth verses’ to the degree where we don’t even see the ‘rebuking of wealth’ verses. Then after many years we develop a wealth mentality in the people of God to the point where they never see the warnings. Without going too far down this road, remember Jesus told his men ‘freely you have received, freely give’. In context he was speaking of the divine gifts of the Spirit that they were given. He was sending them out to heal and cast out demons, he was telling them don’t turn this thing into a money making enterprise! And let’s end with some practical stuff- as I continue to read thru Brian McLaren’s ‘everything must change’ I appreciate his emphasis on helping the poor and reaching out to the outcasts of the world. I also understand his view of changing the way we see things, the language used is ‘framing story- narrative’. But I see a problem with overdoing the concept of ‘framing stories’. For instance some Emergent’s believe that the classic expressions of the gospel are no longer valid. That Jesus really didn’t come to call people to repent and believe in the way we think [Brian quotes N.T. Wright and supposes that the term ‘repent and believe’ was more of a popular saying that military commanders used to simply tell people to surrender over to the new empire. He uses an example from Josephus. I get the point, but believe that this association is rather week. Jesus very much did call people to repent and believe in the classic way we understand it]. Anyway to ‘re-frame’ the gospel in a way that says the real message/purpose of Jesus was to simply change the pictures we use in ‘our story’ is too simple. The best example I can think of would be Jesus conversation with Nicodemus in John’s gospel. Jesus is speaking from the ‘narrative’ of Gods kingdom, Nicodemus is hearing from his own religious frame work. No matter how hard Jesus uses the new framework, or how hard Nicodemus tries to see this new story, he can’t. Jesus tells him it’s impossible to change his ‘framing story’ without changing him! ‘Unless a man is born again, HE CAN NOT SEE THIS KINGDOM’ so I think we can go too far in restating the classic gospel. Yes, believers should be challenged to see things from new/fresh perspectives. But these new perspectives can only be truly seen when we experience personal conversion. Jesus very much wants us to see the story from his perspective, but realistically he knows unless we are born again, we will never truly see it.

 CORINTHIANS 15:1-19 Paul will deal with the greatest threat yet to the Corinthian church, their doubt over the physical resurrection of the body. Various ‘Christian’ groups over the years have doubted the physical resurrection. Now, some have done this out of a sincere attempt at trying to defend the faith! [their view of it] In the 1900’s you had one of the most popular theologians by the name of Rudolf Bultman [most of his career was spent at the University of Marburg, Germany. Much of the higher criticism of the day originated from Germany] He wrote a book called ‘Kerygma and Myth’. What he tried to say was that any modern man living in the 20th century, with all the breakthroughs in science and knowledge, could not ‘literally’ believe the miraculous stories in scripture. Or even the way scripture spoke of heaven and hell and used limited terms to describe spiritual truths. He used the bibles terminology on Cosmology as an example. How could man believe in a Cosmos where ‘heaven is up there, with the stars and all’ and he felt that enlightened man needed to ‘re-tool’ the bible and cleanse it from all these mythical images, but yet keep the spiritual aspects of it. The moral teachings of Christ and stuff like that. So you have had sincere men doubt the truth claims of scripture. The problem with this attempt [higher criticism] is it throws out the baby with the bathwater. The resurrection of Jesus is presented by the apostles as a real event. The fact of this resurrection can also be attested to by examining the historical events of the day. Simply put, there is a ton of proof for the real resurrection of Christ. Bultman and others meant well, but some of the ‘facts’ that they were using were later  proven to be false. Bultman used a model of cosmology that would later be rejected by science. Yet the testimony from scripture would remain sure. Paul told the Corinthian’s that they needed to reject any attempts at spiritualizing the resurrection of Christ. Sometimes believers grasp hold of limited proof’s for certain doctrines. For instance, the New Testament does speak of a spiritual resurrection. In Ephesians Paul says we are presently raised with Christ. In Romans chapter 6 we have all ready been raised with Jesus. This reality does not mean there will be no future resurrection of the saints. In Johns gospel Jesus speaks of the resurrection as being a future real event, as well as a present reality. Those in the graves will hear his voice and be raised from the dead. And those who were presently ‘dead in sins’ would ‘come alive’ [spiritually] when they heard and believed the testimony of Jesus. It is important for the believer to be familiar with the various theories and ideas that theologians and believers have grasped over the years. It is a mistake to simply see all higher learning as ‘liberalism’. There are some very important things that we have learned thru the great intellectuals of the church. But we also need to stick with the ancient traditions as seen in the creeds, as well as the plain testimony of scripture. If Christ ‘be not raised from the dead, then we are of all men most miserable’.

 (1011)CORINTHIANS 15:20-28 here we see the guarantee of mans resurrection based on Christ’s resurrection. ‘As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall ALL be made alive’. Is Paul teaching a form of universalism [all being saved]? He is showing us that all men will someday be raised from the dead. Now, does Paul leave room here for a type of Pre-millennial resurrection? A ‘raising’ of the dead prior to a thousand year literal reign of Jesus. Then another resurrection at the end? Yes he does. If you read Revelation you will see this type of scenario play out. Also Jesus speaks of the resurrection of the just and the unjust. Historically the church has held 3 basic views on this. Pre-millennialism says Jesus returns first [pre] before the literal thousand year rule occurs. ‘Post’ says the thousand year rule is literal, and after that Jesus comes back. Those who held to this view were excited at the turn of the first millennium [1000 ad] they thought it possible for Jesus to have returned after the first thousand years since his death and resurrection. And then you have A-millennial, they spiritualize the thousand year reign spoken of in the book of Revelation as being a symbol of Christ’s present rule and kingdom. Now, today’s most popular form of Pre-millennialism is not historic, it dates back to the 19th century. Today’s form is called ‘Pre-tribulational, Pre-millennial’ this teaching [dispensationalism] says Jesus comes back 2 more times. One is called ‘the rapture’ the other is the second coming [revealing]. The proponents of this form find little [or no] early Christians who believed this. There is one early writing by a Syrian brother who speaks very clearly about a rapture type event. Some think he speaks a little too clearly! The writing is believed to have been a fake. Either way we do have Paul teaching stages involved with the coming of the Lord and the kingdom. It is possible to have 2 future resurrections, this would not mean you need two future ‘second comings’. The first resurrection takes place at Christ’s return. He rules a literal thousand years and ‘the dead are raised again’ at the end of the literal rule on earth [ a literal reading of Revelation]. Also Paul does use the language of Jesus submitting to the Father at the end so ‘God will be all in all’. I feel believers have been confused and at times contradictory while trying to explain the nature of God and the Trinity. I recently read a teaching on the Trinity that tried to compare the Trinity to the nature of the organic church. It seemed confusing to me, they tried to say that just like in the Trinity you have no one ‘being’ having authority over the other, but instead you see all three persons equally submitting to one another [Father, Son and Spirit] so in the church you have equality. Now, I do believe that there is equality in the church, but I felt the example was way off. The New Testament clearly teaches the willful ‘submission’ of the Son to the Father. God [the father] is clearly the one ‘in charge’. Now, I admit it’s difficult and brothers have spent years trying to explain all the ins and outs of this. Here Paul shows us that the Son has willingly submitted to the Father so the father can put all things under him. Then once again at the culmination of the kingdom the Son submits to the father and God receives the glory. We will praise and worship Jesus thru out all eternity, it is his willful submission to the father’s plan that makes this happen. NOTE- Some believers spiritualize the first resurrection spoken of in Revelation, they relate it to those who have been ‘born again’ spiritually. Modern ‘Preterism’ holds to this view.

 (1013)CORINTHIANS 15:29-49 the resurrection body is a real ‘spiritual’ body. Paul describes the natural body [us now] as fleshly and like Adams body. He then describes the promised resurrection body as being like Jesus in his raised state. These verses can be a little confusing. When Paul says the resurrection body is ‘spiritual’ as compared to earthy, is he saying it is not real? No. But you can see how some early sects could use these verses and teach a ‘phantom’ type resurrection [Gnostic, Docetist type groups]. I was once asked by a Catholic believer if the church taught the physical resurrection. I assured the person that both Catholic and Protestant [and Orthodox] expressions of Christianity embrace the real future resurrection of the body. Now, is it the same body? Well, the way Paul describes it is by comparing the planting of seeds. When you plant a seed you don’t simply get a bigger seed! But you get various types of growth, whether it’s a tree or plant or whatever. So Paul says our future bodies will be new and glorious in this way, but if it weren’t really you, then it wouldn’t be a resurrection! So you will come back, but it will be a ‘new you’. Over the years I have studied various theologians [Christian ones] and I have seen the penchant for various groups to focus in on a certain doctrine and to stray somewhat from the faith. Now, they aren’t always cults, some of them are highly knowledgeable Christians who seem to be testing the boundaries of orthodoxy. I like N.T. Wright, the famous Bishop of Durham [Church of England] but you need to be grounded in what you believe before you can really read him. I feel at times he is helpful in bringing new perspectives to things, I have seen some of the things he teaches myself. But there is also a danger of ‘re-thinking’ stuff a little too much. By the way Wright has written on the resurrection and has done a great job at defending the historic churches position. He’s in somewhat of a theological controversy at the moment, some of the strong reformed brothers have come out and challenged his view on Justification. Wright teaches that the historic reformers kind of missed what Paul was saying. Wright ‘extends’ the doctrine to mean ‘a sign/badge of those who are already in Gods covenant community’. The historic reformers taught a more forensic meaning of the doctrine. That justification is primarily saying that God imputes the righteousness of Jesus to the believer. That Jesus took our sins, and we get his righteousness. Now, I feel there is some truth to Wrights view. But I would be careful to throw out the reformed view all together. There certainly is much truth to the reformed view. John Piper [a reformed Baptist] just released a book on the reformed view, Wright has one coming out pretty soon [Wrights is already published overseas, but the states wont get it for a few months]. So, the point is I believe the historic church and the ancient creeds ‘got it right’ on the resurrection. It is real, it will happen to all people some day. Those who have ‘done good’ [wow- these are Jesus actual words when describing the final judgment!] will be ‘raised to life’. Those who have done evil will be raised to face judgment. We can all escape the coming judgment, Jesus died for us. If we believe and accept his death, burial and resurrection, then we will be raised to a new life some day. 378- (I stuck this entry in here because it deals with the ‘baptism for the dead’, I didn’t want you to think that I just skipped over the verse) Let me give a little example of the ‘overriding act of redemption’ trumping any little verse or experience. Paul actually tells the Corinthians ‘if the dead are not raised, then why are you baptizing people in ‘proxy’ for the dead?’ This is tough stuff. Let me give you one way to see this. The ‘baptism for the dead’ seems to have been a real cultural thing that took place in a specific time and setting [like the slavery verses I mentioned earlier]. There seems to have been a concern specifically to the 1st century church that said ‘this new doctrine of Jesus is great, but being its only been around a few years, and you are telling us [Paul] that you must embrace it to be saved. Then we have a problem. A lot of our loved ones never got a chance to hear. How do you expect us to quell these concerns?’ And it’s possible that the ‘baptism’ by proxy [like a father or son getting baptized in the place of the loved one who died] was a 1stcentury cultural thing that grew out of this. The fact that they were doing this does not mean that Paul the Apostle was condoning it. Paul was simply saying ‘if you guys really don’t believe in life after death, then why are you bothering with this rite?’ Its like Paul was using their own cultural thing to show them the inconsistency of their thinking. He wasn’t really teaching the baptism for the dead. [This is my view, Mormons believe different. They do practice this today and they use this verse as justification].

 (1014)CORINTHIANS 15:50-58 Okay, let’s wrap up this chapter. ‘Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom’ Paul speaks a little on the nature of the resurrected body. It is real, but not mortal [flesh and blood] without getting lost in the technical aspects of the actual body, Paul does make a distinction between the natural life of man [blood gives life to the mortal man] and the supernatural life of the resurrected body [spiritual life]. Then Paul shows us a mystery [something that was hidden up until the time God reveals it- here thru Paul!] that ‘we shall not all experience death, but we shall all get new bodies’. Paul teaches that some believers will not face natural death, they will be the generation that is alive at Christ’s coming. Paul says this happens at the ‘last trumpet’. For those of you not familiar with some of the silly stuff that passes under the heading of ‘theology’, let me explain some stuff. In the world of ‘dispensationalism’ there is an entire body of teaching that deals with the trumpets in scripture. Basically if Paul is teaching that this event, getting raised from the dead and being transformed, if this takes place at ‘the last trump’ then it is pretty clear that this event is not some type of rapture that takes place 7 years prior to Gods ‘last trump’ [last day, when God wraps things up]. But if you read the portions of scripture that speak about Christ’s return and the resurrection [Thessalonians 4, John 14, Matthew 25] you will see that all these scriptures teach that the resurrection takes place at the end, when Christ returns. So anyway a whole lotta time is spent by the rapture guys to explain that when you are in school, you might say ‘hey, that’s the last bell [trump] before class starts’ and that ‘last bell’ doesn’t mean ‘last bell’, but it means the ‘last bell for now’. It’s kind of silly stuff that preachers do in order to back up their theories. If scriptures ‘last trump’ isn’t really the ‘last trump’ then you can fit the rapture in as a separate event from the second coming. I think doing doctrine like this is silly and hairsplitting. The first century believers who were reading these letters [not all at once, but as they were slowly being penned and sent] simply saw all of the references on the second coming as one event. It’s silly to try and make two separate lists of the New testament verses on Christ’s coming and then place some verses under a rapture heading, and others under a ‘second coming’ heading, especially when the rapture brothers themselves cant agree on which ones belong to which list! Well any way we have a glorious promise of a future resurrection body, the last enemy that Jesus destroys is death. Revelation says ‘death and hell are cast into the lake of fire’ Jesus has power over death, hell and the grave. He will totally eradicate all death some day, Jesus tasted death for every man [Hebrews] so that man does not have to be in bondage under its fear any more.

    VERSES [These are the verses I either quoted or taught from on today’s post]

2Kings 1:1 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

2Kings 1:2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.

2Kings 1:3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?

2Kings 1:4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.

2Kings 1:5 And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?

2Kings 1:6 And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

2Kings 1:7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?

2Kings 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

2Kings 1:9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.

2Kings 1:10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

2Kings 1:11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.

2Kings 1:12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

2Kings 1:13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.

2Kings 1:14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.

2Kings 1:15 And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

2Kings 1:16 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

2Kings 1:17 So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.

2Kings 1:18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

 2Kings 2:1 And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

2Kings 2:2 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

2Kings 2:3 And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

2Kings 2:4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

2Kings 2:5 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

2Kings 2:6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

2Kings 2:7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.

2Kings 2:8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

2Kings 2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

2Kings 2:10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

2Kings 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

2Kings 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

2Kings 2:13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

2Kings 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

2Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

2Kings 2:16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

2Kings 2:17 And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.

2Kings 2:18 And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

2Kings 2:19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.

2Kings 2:20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.

2Kings 2:21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.

2Kings 2:22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

2Kings 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

2Kings 2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

2Kings 2:25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

 2Kings 3:1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

2Kings 3:2 And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.

2Kings 3:3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

2Kings 3:4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.

2Kings 3:5 But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

2Kings 3:6 And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.

2Kings 3:7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.

2Kings 3:8 And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.

2Kings 3:9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.

2Kings 3:10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!

2Kings 3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

2Kings 3:12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

2Kings 3:13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

2Kings 3:14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

2Kings 3:15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

2Kings 3:16 And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.

2Kings 3:17 For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.

2Kings 3:18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.

2Kings 3:19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

2Kings 3:20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

2Kings 3:21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.

2Kings 3:22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood:

2Kings 3:23 And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

2Kings 3:24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

2Kings 3:25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.

2Kings 3:26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.

2Kings 3:27 Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

Psalm 50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?

Psalm 50:17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.

Psalm 50:18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.

Psalm 50:19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

Psalm 50:20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.

Psalm 50:21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

Psalm 50:22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

Psalm 50:23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

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

10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

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

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matt. 11

[Here are more verses on John/Elijah from the gospels- I mentioned this on the video for this post]

Matthew 11:14

And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Matthew 16:14

And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Matthew 17:3

And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Matthew 17:4

Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Matthew 17:10

And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Matthew 17:11

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Matthew 17:12

But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,

52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.

53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.

54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?

55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Lk. 9

Genesis 5:24 [Full Chapter]

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Genesis 5:21

And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Genesis 5:22

And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Lk. 14

2 Kings 5

 King James Version (KJV)

5 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

16 But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.

18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.

21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?

22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.

23 And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.

24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.

25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.

26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?

27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

2nd Kings 5

1 John 5:6

This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

1 John 5:8

And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Isaiah 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.

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

Isaiah 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.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Isaiah 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

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[pamphletstoinspire]

What Biblical Reference Is There That Shows That Mary Assumed Into Heaven - Part 4

Chapter 4. The Assumption of Jesus’ Ark

This is the final part of this series about the assumptions of the Bible, and how they all, ultimately, point to Christ and the Blessed Mother. We've covered the assumptions of Enoch and Elijah, of Moses and the Ark of the Covenant, and now of the New Moses and the Ark of the New Covenant.

Here's a summary of the previous three chapters:

(1) Elijah was assumed into Heaven on a "fiery chariot", as described in 2 Kings 2:11-12. Elijah's presence in Heaven is confirmed in the New Testament when Elijah stands next to Jesus at the Transfiguration, cf. Luke 9:28-36.

(2) Enoch was assumed into Heaven, as described in Genesis 5: 21-24. Enoch's assumption into Heaven is then confirmed in the New Testament in Hebrews 11:5.

Moses' death and burial are described at Deuteronomy 34:5-6. Yet, Moses' presence in Heaven is described in the New Testament when he and Elijah stand next to Jesus at the Transfiguration, cf. Luke 9:28-36. Moreover, Moses' assumption is later referred to at Jude 1:9, which itself cites the ancient apocryphal text, The Assumption of Moses, whose title speaks for itself.

(4) The hiding of the Ark of the Covenant by the Prophet Jeremiah and its later disappearance is described at (2 Maccabees 2:4-8). Jeremiah also prophesies its return, which occurs at Revelation 11:15-19 ... But it's the next verse where things get really interesting, Revelation 12:1.

REVELATION: THE ARK IS A WOMAN

It's the triumphant moment of Revelation: the seventh trumpet blast. The long-awaited Ark is about to appear, and this is how it plays out, Revelation 11:19 and 12:1,

Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, loud noises, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.

Who is this woman, who is also the Ark? What can we deduce about her just from these passages?

(A) She wears a crown of twelve stars, one each for each of the Twelve Tribes. She represents then the fulfillment of the ingathering of the twelve scattered tribes of Israel prophesied at Jeremiah 29:14 and also stated just a couple verses earlier at Revelation 11:15: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

(B) She wears this crown in heaven, so she must be the Queen of Heaven. Since the twelve stars represent the tribes of Israel, she must be the Queen of the unified Kingdom of Israel, which was ruled by the Davidic King and a Queen-Mother.

(C) Her child is the Messiah, because we are told a few verses later at Revelation 12:5 that "she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne." The "rod of iron" is a reference to the Messiah from Psalm 2:9.

(D) Lastly and most importantly, if the woman is the mother of Jesus, the Messiah and the New David, she must be the Virgin Mary, the Blessed Mother. Therefore, Mary is depicted in Heaven. Just like Elijah and Moses and Moses' Ark, Mary is described as being in Heaven in the New Testament.

The Virgin Mary was assumed like the others. Just as Moses and Moses' Ark were both assumed into Heaven, so, too, Jesus and Jesus' Ark were both taken into Heaven.

Jesus, of course, stands alone as the only one in the group who ascends, i.e. rises by his own power into Heaven, rather than being assumed there. Ultimately, it is by the grace mediated through Christ that all of these assumptees reach Heaven.

THE COVENANTS OF THE OLD COVENANT: PAIRINGS

Now, take a look at the covenants of the Old Testament, each of which ultimately points towards Christ:

(1) The Covenant with Creation;

(2) Adam;

(3) Noah;

(4) Abraham;

(5) Moses;

(6) David;

(7) The New Covenant with Christ

Something might look strange to you. All these covenants are listed according to their patriarchs, but each one of these should seem incomplete without their covenantal pairing:

(1) Man & Creation;

(2) Adam & Eve;

(3) Noah & the Ark;

(4) Abraham & Sarah;

(5) Moses & the Ark of the Covenant;

(6) King David & the Queen;

(7) Christ & Mary

Is it any wonder then that Mary is called the New Eve, the mother of all Creation, the Queen of Heaven, and the Ark of the New Covenant?(1)

Mary carries in her womb, Christ, through whom all things were created. Because of this, it can be said that Mary carries within her the New Creation. Just as Eve was, physically, the mother of all the living, Mary is the New Eve, the new spiritual mother of all those who live in Christ. She is also, in a very real way, the New Ark of Noah, which bears all life within it. There is so much more that could be said here. All of these covenants point ultimately to Christ, but to Christ through Mary.

OTHER PROOFS THAT MARY IS THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT

The following is not meant to be an exhaustive description of all the the Scriptural proofs for Mary being the New Ark. There is simply too much, even beyond what I've already written, to go over. I'll just hit the high notes:

(1) Compare the contents of the Ark of the Old Covenant to the contents of Mary's womb. The Ark of Moses contained three things: the tablets of the Ten Commandments, an ephor of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, the symbol of the high priesthood. Likewise, Mary's womb contains Christ, who is the New Law, the Bread from Heaven, and the New High Priest.

Luke draws several parallels between Mary visiting Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56) and the Ark coming to David (2 Samuel 6). For example, Mary and the Ark both come to the "hill country of Judah", the two locations are extremely close, and both stay for "three months." David says "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" and Elizabeth says "And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Also, David dances naked before the Ark and the baby leaps in Elizabeth's womb before Mary. [Dr. Edward Sri in Dawn of the Messiah does a thorough job of describing these parallels.]

(3) The term "overshadow" is used by the Angel Gabriel at Luke 1:35 to describe how the Holy Spirit will come to Mary and conceive in her womb. This same term is used to describe the shekinah, the glory-cloud, that rests upon the Ark of the Covenant, cf. Exodus 40:34-35.

4) The construction of the Ark of the Covenant is described at Exodus 37. The second verse states that Bez'alel overlaid the Ark with "pure gold within and without." This points towards Mary's virginity as well as her Immaculate Conception.

And this is just the beginning! We're really only just scratching the surface. These are very rich areas of Scripture to study.

I hope you've enjoyed this series on Mary’s Assumption!

Virgin Mary, Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven, and Ark of God, please pray for us! __________ 1. Check out the St. Paul Center or Dr. Brant Pitre for more on this.

#assumption of mary

[gracedgirlstudies-blog]

Does the scripture actually say that Jesus is God? OT and NT references.

The validity of the Bible is unprecedented and unmatched by any other document in history. In fact, an additional article will be upcoming to support this information.

For now, let’s look for clues in the Bible about who Jesus really is. I’ll primarily be using versions such as the NASB, KJV, and NKJV, as they are among the closest to word-for-word translations.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

According     to John chapter 1, Jesus is the Word of God which IS God and WITH God. (By     the way, this speaks to the trinity). The Word became flesh. Therefore,     logic tells us that God became flesh in the form of Jesus Christ.

These next verses made them want to stone Him!

John 8:49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ 53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”

54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. 55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going[b] through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Jesus said     that it was HIS word which, if kept, keeps one from death; this made the     Pharisees angry. They responded with, “Who do you think are??” Jesus tells     them that they lie about who He is because they don’t truly know who God     is.

When Jesus     mentions having close, personal experiences with Abraham, the men were     all, “You’re not even fifty years old! How could you have possibly seen     Abraham??”

Since they     still weren’t getting the point, Jesus spells it out for them. He makes it     clear that He existed before Abraham. However, He also drops an even     bigger bomb… He uses the secret name of God, “I am.” THAT is why the Jews wanted to stone Him. He was clearly claiming to be God.

Remember the use of “I am” from the Old Testament: Exodus 3:14, "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’"

WHO IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD?

Psalm 80:1  Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

Psalm 79:13  So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture Will give thanks to You forever; To all generations we will tell of Your praise.

Psalm 95:7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand Today, if you would hear His voice,

Psalm 100:3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Ezekiel 34:31 "As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God," declares the Lord GOD.

Genesis 48:15  He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

Genesis 49:24  But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

Hosea 4:16  Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?

Isaiah 40:11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.

Jeremiah 31:10  Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare in the coastlands afar off, And say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock."

Ezekiel 34:17=22 "As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 'Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet? 'As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you foul with your feet!'"

....and there are so many more. The above verses show one clear notion: GOD is the SHEPHERD. Who else is referred to as the Shepherd? 

Matthew 25:31-33  31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. (REFERENCE that Son of Man is God and the Shepherd)

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. (JESUS IS TALKING HERE.) 

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. (JESUS IS TALKING HERE.) 

Matthew 19:17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (BRIEF REMINDER THAT JESUS SAID ONLY GOD IS GOOD. SO, WHY did Jesus call Himself “good” here?)

JESUS SPELLS IT OUT FOR THE PHARISEES: 

John 10:25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30 I and My Father are one."31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" 33 The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." 34Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods" '? 35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? 37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." 39 Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. 

This next verse makes it clear that God doesn’t share His glory with anyone:

Isaiah 42:8 "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.

However, look at these verses from John…

John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

So, we     know that the Bible teaches that there is one God, and only He shall be     glorified. We also see from these verses that both the Father AND Son are     glorified. This not only speaks to the deity of Jesus Christ, but to the     trinity.

“Before     the world was” tells us that Jesus existed long before His earthly birth.

John 20:25-28 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

This is referring to Jesus Christ in this verse: Col. 2:9, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."

The Father is calling the Son “God” in this verse: Hebrews 1:8, "But of the Son He says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom."

And the ABOVE verse was reflected back in this verse: Psalm 45:6, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom."

In this verse, Jesus establishes that worship is for God alone: Matt. 4:10, "Then Jesus said to him, 'Begone, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only."’"

However, numerous verses show where people worshiped Jesus:

Matt. 2:2, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him."

Matt. 2:11, "And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh."

Matt. 14:33, "And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God’s Son!"

Matt. 28:9, "And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them.  And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him."

John 9:35-38, "Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  36 He answered and said, "And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  37 Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you."  38 And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him."

Heb. 1:6, "And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says, 'And let all the angels of God worship Him.'"

1 Cor. 1:1-2, "Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours."  (The phrase, "to call upon the name of the Lord" is a phrase used to designate prayer).

1 Kings 18:24, "Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God."  And all the people answered and said, "That is a good idea."

Zech. 13:9, "And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested.They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’"

Acts 10:25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.” (If Jesus was NOT God, this is what He would’ve said.)

Rev. 5:12-14 “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped 

The following verses from Isaiah and Revelation show, again, the divinity of Jesus Christ:

Isaiah 44:6, "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me."

(Jesus is speaking here.) Rev. 1:17-18, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades."

From the following verses, we see that Moses and his people are being led by the Lord:

Exodus 13:20 Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might [a]travel by day and by night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

Aside from all of these verses, there are hundreds more that point to Him being the Messiah from OT prophecies. Jesus fulfilled with 100% accuracy all of the Messianic prophecies. The odds of that happening randomly are virtually impossible. This is, of course, another topic to be discussed another day.

So, what do you think? Do the scriptures say that Jesus is God?

[keeganbooks]

KNOWING YOUR BIBLE

In the past two visits, the discussion has been on the timeline of the Old Testament of the Bible and the authors who were thought to have written the books. In this visit the timeline anad the authors of the New Testament of the Bible will be focused on. 

The reason why various aspects of Bible study, such as learning the organization of the books of the Bible and how to look up Bible verses have been discussed, is to help the reader learn how to use and study the Bible. Other specifics that have been or will be taught, include the timeline of when the books of the Bible were written and the authors listed who were thought to have written the books; as well as specific geographical sites that transverse through the books of the Bible that help show a connection between the books of the Bible. These aspects of Bible Study will help the reader of the Bible better understand and grow in the knowledge of the Bible.  Examples of how these study topics will be helpful and related will be discussed in later blogs. 

Go to the website above left to review recent blogs on the organization of the  Bible books, the time line of when the book was written, and the author of the books of the Old Testament. 

All dates listed in the timeline of the Bible are approximate dates. Because verification of the author of each  of the Bible books is not possible, the author listed as the writer of the book, may not be the actual writer of the book.

TIMELINE OF THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT:

The GOSPEL BOOKS: MATTHEW, written approx 60 AD by Matthew, one of Jesus’ disciples. Mark, written before 60 AD, by John Mark, a follower of Paul and later, a follower of Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples. The book of Mark is the oldest gospel book. Luke, written around 60 AD by Luke, a physician, who accompanied Paul in some of Paul’s later missionary journeys. The book of John, written in the mid 80′s AD, was written by John, the disciple of Jesus.

The HISTORY BOOK: The ACTS OF THE APOSTLES is the history book of the New Testament. Acts was written in 63 AD by Luke, the physician who wrote the book of Luke.

PAUL’S LETTERS: All of Paul’s letters were written by Paul. The earliest of Paul’s letters were 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, written in 51 AD; 1st and 2nd Corinthians were written in 55 AD; Romans and 1st Timothy were written in 56 AD, Galatians was written in 58 AD. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon, each was written in 61 AD. TITUS was written in 65 AD. 2nd Timothy was written in 66 AD. 

OTHER LETTERS: JAMES, written by James, Jesus’ half-brother in 60 AD. 1st PETER, written in 64 AD, by Peter, Jesus’ disciple. JUDE, written in 65 AD by Jude, Jesus’ half-brother. HEBREWS, written in 66 AD, author not known but many think Apollos, a follower of Paul, wrote Hebrews. 1st, 2nd and 3rd JOHN, written in the 120′s AD, written by John, the disciple of Jesus, or other people who wrote in John’s name.

REVELATION: Written by John, Jesus’ disciple in the 95 AD time period.

This concludes the information given on the timeline and the authors of the books of the Bible. Our next discussion will be various geographic sites that transverse through the books of the Bible.

This week is Thanksgiving, a special time set aside to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed on us. Take time out to be with God and to thank Him for all He has done for you. Remember to take time for God and God will take time for You (James, chapter 4, verse 8). Bible verses listed will be verses of Thanksgiving to our Lord God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

                 MAY GOD BLESS YOUR BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK!

BIBLE VERSES: Psalm, chapter 95, verses 1-6; Psalm, chapter 96, verses 7-9; Psalm, chapter 98, verses 4-6; Psalm, chapter 100, verse 1-5; Psalm, chapter 103, verses 1-14; Psalm, chapter 105, verses 1-5; Psalm, chapter 106, verse 1; Psalm, chapter 107, verses 1-3 and verses 13-15; Psalm, chapter 145, verses 1-3 and verses 8-9; Psalm, chapter 146, verse 1-2; Psalm, chapter 147, verses 12-20; Psalm, chapter 148, verses 1-6 and verse 13; Psalm, chapter 149, verses 1-9; Psalm, chapter 150, verse 1-6.

[humbleservantprayerwall]

Daily Devotionals 07-20-2023    

Verses of the Day: Proverbs 10:9/Proverbs 2:9-11/Psalm 97:9-12//Psalms 103:8/1 John 1:7/Philippians 4:6-7/Psalms 73:22-24/2 Corinthians 9:15/Ephesians 1:14/Jeremiah 2:18/James 1:5-8/Proverbs 18:21/Matthew 12:34-35/1 Peter 3:10/Matthew 5:6/Deuteronomy 18:10–12/Isaiah 56:3–8/Acts 8:26-40/Revelation 6:3-4/John 1:3/Proverbs 3:5–6/ Chapters of the Day: Psalms 107/Acts 6,8/Isaiah 53/ Bible Study –  1…

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[lady-starbind]

Psalm Ch56 v3

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

#Psalm Chapter 56 verse 3 #Psalm 56:3 #KJV Bible #God's word #Hope this blesses your soul #Soul food #Truth

[s3smofficial]

📖 Besorah Mattithyahu (Gospel of Matthew) Chapter 11 Verse 28 states, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 📖 Cepher Philippiym (Philippians) Chapter 4 Verses 11-13 states, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through HAMASHIACH which strengthens me." 📖 Tehilliym (Psalms) Chapter 9 Verse 9 states, "YAHUAH also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble." 📖 Tehilliym (Psalms) Chapter 27 Verse 5 states, "For in the day of evil he shall hide me in his cukkah: in the secret of his Tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock." 📖 Tehilliym (Psalms) Chapter 34 Verse 4 states, "I sought YAHUAH, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." 📖 Tehilliym (Psalms) Chapter 37 Verses 7-8 states, "Rest in YAHUAH, and wait patiently for him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not yourself in any wise to do evil." 📖 Tehilliym (Psalms) Chapter 56 Verse 3 states, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in you." https://www.instagram.com/p/CS2KfUbLgPD/?utm_medium=tumblr

[dailyaudiobible]

03/14/2020 DAB Transcript

Numbers 21:1-22:20, Luke 1:26-56, Psalms 57:1-11, Proverbs 11:9-11

Today is the 14th day of March, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s wonderful to be here with you as we close down another of the weeks that we have to share together. This will end our 11th week of the year, So, we are 11 weeks in of 52 and we are well on our way. So, let's dive in and take that next step forward. We’re continuing our journey through the book of Numbers and we kind of contextualized where we are. The Edomites will not let the children of Israel go through their land. They won’t their own family go through their land. Aaron has passed away on Mont Hor and Moses won’t be the one to lead the children of Israel into the land of promise. And that was just yesterday. So, we’re reading from the contemporary English version this week. Numbers chapter 21 verse 1 through 22 verse 20 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for the 11 weeks that we have journeyed into this year and we can look back and we’re well beyond the shore now. We’re sailing out into the deep, and we can feel it because You are calling to the deep things in our hearts and so much is shifting inside. And what's happening is that we are becoming good soil for Your word, that it might yield fruit in our lives, and through our lives may minister to the world, that we might be light in the darkness, that we might have eyes to see. And, so, we’re seeing now our place in this story and we’re beginning to see that the stories in the Bible are not dissimilar to our own story. They're just wearing different clothes. They’re just at a different time. They have different customs, but the motivations of the heart are identical. It's our story. It's the story of God with us. And even as we are revisiting this story in depth in the gospel of Luke, we invite You to awaken it in us. Come Holy Spirit. As we release this week the only way is forward. And, so, we release this week as it becomes a part of our history and we look forward to all that You will do in the coming week. Come Jesus we pray. In Your mighty name, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base if you hadn't figured that out. I remind us every day. It’s home base for the Global Campfire for a virtual community like ours. This is the place, this is the jumping off place, this is the landing place, this is where you find out what’s going on around here. It’s where you connect with community, it's where you reach the Prayer Wall, it’s where you find resources for the journey. It’s home base, so be sure to check it out.

And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at the website as well. There’s a link on the homepage and I humbly and deeply thank you for your partnership. We wouldn't be here if we weren't in this together. That is a fact. That has always been the reality and I’m grateful that we keep taken steps forward together. So, thank you for your partnership. So, there's a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if you prefer, is PO Box 1996. Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can press the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button at the top and just start sharing no matter where you are in the world. That’s why we built it. No matter where you are there's a hotline. We’re never in this alone. We’re in this together. So, you can hit that Hotline button or there are a number of phone numbers that you can use depending on where you are in the world. In the Americas 877- 942-4253. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078. And if you are in the lands down under in Australia or that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to call.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

The Fourfold Witness

by J.C. Ryle

"There is another who bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth . . . But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given me to finish--the very works that I do--bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. And the Father himself, who sent me, has testified of me . . . You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me." - John 5:32-39

In these verses from the fifth chapter of John's gospel, we see the proof of our Lord Jesus Christ being the promised Messiah, set forth before the Jews in one view. Four different witnesses are brought forward, four kinds of evidence are offered: His Father in heaven, John the Baptist, the miraculous works He had done, and the Scriptures which the Jews professed to honor. Each and all are named by our Lord as testifying that He was the Christ, the Son of God. Hard must those hearts have been which could hear such testimony and yet remain unmoved! But it only proves the truth of the old saying that unbelief does not arise so much from lack of evidence, as from lack of will to believe.

Let us observe for one thing in this passage, the honor Christ puts on His faithful SERVANTS. See how He speaks of John the Baptist. "He bore witness of the truth"--"He was a burning and a shining light." John had probably passed away from his earthly labors when these words were spoken. He had been persecuted, imprisoned, and put to death by Herod with none interfering, none trying to prevent his murder. But this murdered disciple was not forgotten by his Divine Master. If no one else remembered him, Jesus did. He had honored Christ, and Christ honored him.

These things ought not to be overlooked. They are written to teach us that Christ cares for all His believing people and never forgets them. Forgotten and despised by the world, perhaps, they are never forgotten by their Savior. He knows where they dwell, and what their trials are. A book of remembrance is written for them. "Their tears are all in His bottle." (Psalm 56:8.) Their names are engraved on the palms of His hands. He notices all they do for Him in this evil world, though they think it not worth notice, and He will confess it one day publicly, before His Father and the holy angels. He that bore witness to John the Baptist never changes. Let believers remember this. In their worst estate they may boldly say with David, "I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me."

Let us observe, for another thing, the honor Christ puts upon MIRACLES, as an evidence of His being the Messiah. He says, "The works which the Father has given me...bear witness of me that the Father has sent me." The miracles of the Lord receive far less attention, in the present day, as proofs of His Divine mission than they ought to do. Too many regard them with a silent incredulity, as things which, not having seen, they cannot be expected to care for. Not a few openly avow that they do not believe in the possibility of such things as miracles, and would like to strike them out of the Bible as weak stories, which, like burdensome lumber, should be cast overboard in order to lighten the ship. But, after all, there is no getting over the fact that in the days when our Lord was upon earth, his miracles produced an immense effect on the minds of men. They aroused attention to him who worked them. They excited inquiry, if they did not convert. They were so many, so public, and so incapable of being explained away, that our Lord's enemies could only say that they were done by satanic agency. That they were done, they could not deny. "This man," they said, "does many miracles." (John 11:47.) The facts which wise men pretend to deny now, no one pretended to deny eighteen hundred years ago.

Five things should always be noted about our Lord's miracles. (1) Their number: they were not a few only, but very many indeed. (2) Their greatness: they were not little, but mighty interferences with the ordinary course of nature. (3) Their publicity: they were generally not done in a corner, but in open day and before many witnesses, and often before enemies. (4) Their character: they were almost always works of love, mercy, and compassion; helpful and beneficial to man and not mere barren exhibitions of power. (5) Their direct appeal to men's senses: they were visible and would bear any examination. The difference between them and the boasted miracles of the Church of Rome, on all these points, is striking and instructive.

Let the enemies of the Bible take our Lord's last and greatest miracle--his own resurrection from the dead--and disprove it if they can. When they have done that, it will be time to consider what they say about miracles in general. They have never answered the evidence of it yet, and they never will. Let the friends of the Bible not be moved by objections against miracles until that one miracle has been fairly disposed of. If that is proved unassailable, they need not care much for quibbling arguments against other miracles. If Christ did really rise from the dead by His own power, there is none of His mighty works which man need hesitate to believe.

Let us observe, lastly, in these verses, the honor that Christ puts upon the SCRIPTURES. He refers to them, in concluding his list of evidences, as the great witnesses to him. "Search the Scriptures," he says. "These are they which testify of me." The Scriptures of which our Lord speaks are, of course, the Old Testament. And his words show the important truth which too many are apt to overlook, that every part of our Bible is meant to teach us about Christ. Christ is not merely in the Gospels and Epistles. Christ is to be found directly and indirectly in the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. In the promises to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David--in the types and emblems of the ceremonial law--in the predictions of Isaiah and the other prophets--Jesus, the Messiah, is everywhere to be found in the Old Testament.

How is it that men see these things so little? The answer is plain. They do not "search the Scriptures." They do not dig into that wondrous mine of wisdom and knowledge, and seek to become acquainted with its contents. Simple, regular reading of the Bible is the grand secret of establishment in the faith. Ignorance of the Scriptures is the root of all error.

And now what will men believe, if they do not believe the Divine mission of Christ? Great indeed is the obstinacy of infidelity. A cloud of witnesses testify that Jesus was the Son of God. To talk of lacking evidence is childish folly. The plain truth is, that the chief seat of unbelief is the heart. Many do not wish to believe, and therefore remain unbelievers.

#J.C. Ryle #The Fourfold Witness #Gospel of John #Lord #Jesus Christ #Messiah #John 5:32-39 #witnesses #evidence #Father #heaven #John the Baptist #miracles #Divine mission #faith #Savior