We Will Reap What We Sow

                    Trouble in David's Family

Book of 2 Samuel Chapters 13 and 14

Trouble, what does it mean? The Webster dictionary says: To afflict; to grieve; to distress. Disturbance of mind; agitation; commotion of spirits; perplexity; That which gives disturbance, annoyance, or vexation; that which afflicts.

What we will see is that King David had his share of trouble all his remaining days.

David suffered at the hand of God but this did not cause him to be a bad parent. He did that by himself!

In fact, God will never cause us to do terrible things, it is the yielding to our sin nature that is the cause these things.

Did this trouble affect the promise God had made to David? What was that promise?

2Sa 7:16  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 

What was David to learn and the reason God included all these things in the Bible? We will reap what we sow!

Job_4:8  Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 

Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

In these two Chapters we will see the beginning of David's troubles and we will also see him fail as a parent.

*****2Sa 13:1  And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. 

2Sa 13:2  And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. 

We can believe that only the Bible would insert such a record of the life of King David and still have believers who have confidence in the truth of the Scriptures.

I believe it is because the Lord does not hide the sin of these historical characters in the Scriptures, that we can have confidence in the truth of the Scriptures.

God does not condone sin, but the Lord Jesus died for all the sin of this world and the fact that we can believe these things happened, proves to us the actions of our own sin nature.

We must be on the alert for the actions of the Devil all the days of our lives!

When the world allows sin to go unpunished, we will see that God will not allow this to happen.

God chastises us because of sin and God's chastisement can be very harsh.

In our world today, King David would only be guilty of attempted murder if it could be proven and it could not be proven in the days of King David because only Joab and the king knew the truth, which is except for God Himself.

It is because of David's sin that sin entered his family.

Remember King David also had many wives and this sin will also show up as his children grew into young adults.

What had the Lord said of David's chastisement?

2Sa 12:10  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 

2Sa 12:11  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 

2Sa 12:12  For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 

Some of the things we will see from King David's own family were rape, incest, revenge, deceit and murder, and there are always innocent victims.

Another thing we will see as the life of King David is opened before us is the fact that many things happen in the homes of the rich when the children are not properly taught the truth of the Scriptures and the sins of this world.

A good steward can come from rich families as well as from a poor family.

Wickedness is a terrible thing and we must defend against it in this world that is so full of it.

The recent slaughter of babies by the Palestinians called Hamas just show us how wickedness has no moral ground and nor does rape and the other atrocities that were committed upon the Jews, just because they were Jews.

This type of terrorism must be abolished along with all other forms of terrorism!

Amnon did not represent human nature that we do not see today. In fact there is so much rape done today that many do not consider it to be such an atrocity to society, but it still is.

Just like the things done by Judas Iscariot, Amnon, and later Absalom, are things we see almost daily throughout this world.

The difference between a sweet child and such corrupt men as Amnon, depends upon the views of society and our society is failing today and leaning toward the dark side of the devil.

We need a society who will express anger and indignation that cannot be mitigated or turned aside and it appears that only true Christians express these things and society does not see much danger from these things.

Certainly, the family of that person such as Amnon have the riches to try to make him completely innocent and lay the blame upon the young lady.

Why is our world so dark today? The innocent are seen as the guilty and the guilty are seen as not at fault.

It was the burning lust of Amnon for Tamar, who was also a child of his father David, which set Amnon on the path to his destruction and his death.

Amnon was at least twenty to have his own house but Tamar was probably still a teenager.

Amnon was a despicable person in his heart!

He craved and lusted so much for Tamar he became ill.

Tamar lived a pure, righteous life and Amnon could not figure out a way to get her into his possession so, a devilish schemer enters into this picture.

Tamar was the full sister of Absalom.

Sometimes our best friends are our own worst enemies!

2Sa 13:3  But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.

Subtle in this case means; sly, cunning, crafty, deceitful, treacherous.

Jonadab was such a man.

Jonadab creates a scheme so that King David would allow his daughter Tamar to come into the possession of Tamar and he would cause her much harm all her days.

In fact we could say that Tamar never recovered from this terrible thing that happened to her!

The Bible says: Mal_1:14  But cursed be the deceiver,

Sadly, our own Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ was called a deceiver then and now, because He spoke the truth in a world that has gotten even further from the truth.

Mat_27:63  Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

Again this is the greatest problem in our societies today!

2Jn_1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Jonadab was a child of the Devil!

*****2Sa 13:6  So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. 

Amnon pretended to be sick enough that his father King David came to check on him and the evil, wicked, scheme of Jonadab was put in place.

Now you tell me, is this not a strange request to make?

King David should have known something was happening that was just not right, but he trusted all his children to do what was right.

We cannot trust our children to always do right when they are spending time together with the wrong crowd!

No doubt David's children, at least the boys, were hanging out with the well to do crowd of that day.

Jonadab was a cousin to Amnon.

In other words, they were a bunch of spoiled rich brats.

We must also recognize the peer pressure our children are facing today.

We must also recognize that school higher ups intentionally do things that we would object to if we knew about those things.

Sometimes I believe we have forgotten how to be parents just as King David did.

Some were taught the Word of God and some were taught that there were other gods or many gods.

This was a failure of King David as a parent.

Even this would be looked upon in reverse today, as we live in a world that rejects the truth of the Messiah and the truth of the Cross.

When we teach these things, the world will say that we are wronging our children because we live in a sinful and dark world.

Tamar would never have been alone with Amnon had it not been that she was ordered to do so by her father, King David.

In that day girls of her age were not allowed to be alone with boys of her age and older.

No doubt that all the Jewish girls were taught home economics as we would say.

I can remember when these things were taught in High School.

Cooking, sewing and many other things.

Tamar obeyed because Amnon was her brother, not her blood brother, but they both had the same father.

No doubt they had played together as small children.

She had a brother and he was Absalom.

Later when Absalom had a wife, he named his daughter Tamar after his sister who moved into his home it seems after this incident and remained there all her days in shame.

Amnon requested that everyone leave but Tamar, and he did the unthinkable to his own sister.

*****2Sa 13:11  And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. 

2Sa 13:12  And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. 

Keep in mind that Amnon was heir to the throne of David at this time and it may be this one thing the reason King David did not punish Amnon.

Amnon was the prince of Israel.

The only thing we really know about Amnon is this thing he did to his sister.

Tamar begged Amnon not to do what he did.

Let us look back to the time of Jacob:

Gen 34:7  And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done. 

Even today many consider Israel to be a holy nation for their relationship with Jehovah.

All acts of rape, lewdness, and indulgence in the sexual appetite, are things that just were not supposed to happen in a holy nation or in any nation.

The truth is, America is not a holy nation anymore because of these same type things and even more such things are happening in our nation because the laws concerning these things are so weak.

We should understand most of those in America do not want a holy nation or they would get off their cans and vote for changes in our government.

The Church is also far too silent because they are afraid, they will be called bigots and many other names but the truth is the truth!

We had better forget what the world calls us and remember that the Lord Jesus died for us!

If Israel and America fall, then the world will be in total chaos!

If Amnon is a type of the world and Tamar part of the holy nation of Israel of which David is king, we will see the beginning of the fall of Israel.

King David did not have it within his power to stop these things because he had been the cause of them, though this was no excuse.

Even when we are chastised of God we are still to act according to the Word of God!

It is the same for America.

We may never heal from the acts that began with Obama and continue with Biden, and America cannot survive four more years of Biden.

In fact we could say the deadly spiral America is in right now began in earnest with the Clintons.

After David came Solomon, who was wise and rich, but he held Israel together with force and taxes and at his death Israel became a divided nation.

Tamar would have nowhere to hide her shame and neither does America today!

*****2Sa 13:13  And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. 

2Sa 13:14  Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.

The crown prince of Israel refused to listen to his sister, he allowed his lust for her beauty to overcome his ties to his family.

We could say like father like son!

Amnon raped his half-sister as if she meant nothing to him because she did not!

Tamar told Amnon the truth.

Amnon was just as one of the fools of Israel.

This does not mean he was stupid or ignorant, but he was someone who had abandoned the fear of God!

At the death of Abner, David said these words:

2Sa 3:33  And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth?

How did the Lord Jesus see these things?

Luk 12:19  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 

Luk 12:20  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 

Luk 12:21  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. 

We know that Amnon by the world's view, would have been the next king of Israel by birth rite and he gave that opportunity away for a few moments of self-satisfaction and also destroyed the life of his half-sister and it cost him his own life.

After this thing took place, Amnon now hated his sister because it had never been about love, it was only about lust.

This is the same story behind many short marriages.

This is the same story behind most the abortions.

This is the story behind the queer movement.

This is the story behind the LBGT movement in America and in the world today.

Lust is a mode of destruction just as is all sin!

True love has been forgotten!

Amnon would fall victim to his half-brother who was a true brother to Tamar, Absalom, who was taking his time and made a certain plan to take vengeance upon his half-brother Amnon.

*****2Sa 13:23  And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons. 

King David had become enraged over what Amnon had done, but King David knew he was at fault for all the things he had done with Bathsheba and Uriah and he did nothing when it was still his place to discipline his children.

David piled sin upon sin rather that accepting the consequences of his sin and growing through them.

Had he done so David may have saved his son's life!

There is never an excuse for not disciplining our children!

Pro_22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

David should have at least tried to keep his children straight!

The time of sheepshearing was a festive time of parties and the inviting of friends.

Absalom's plan to murder his brother was coming together and he knew his father King David would not come to such an event but he asked just to make everything seem innocent.

We see that Absalom knew about deception and in fact had King David have gone Absalom would have tried to kill him.

Absalom hated his father for not punishing Amnon and this one thing was his guide his remaining days.

All the brothers or half-brothers of Absalom also hated Amnon for what he had done but they did not hater their father as did Absalom.

The things Jehovah had told the prophet Nathan to tell David were all coming true.

*****2Sa 13:28  Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. 

Absalom felt himself bound in honor to avenge his sisters wrong and welcomed this opportunity to get rid of this blemish on the family of King David.

Keep in mind that with Amnon gone, Absalom was next in line for the throne of King David.

Absalom would become the new crown prince of Israel and Absalom would take advantage of this a little later.

The servants of Absalom would be used to kill Amnon just as the children of Ammon were used to kill Uriah.

God says what He means and God means what He says!

The other brothers of Absalom fled the scene and escaped to tell their father what had happened.

That old troublemaker Jonadab told the king that only Amnon had been killed and Absalom had made this plan from the time of the rape of Tamar.

Jonadab was David's nephew and any good nephew would have informed the king of the plan of Absalom before it had taken place.

Absalom also fled but he fled to his grandfather, the King of Gesher.

This king's daughter was the mother of Absalom and Tamar.

Gesher was located between the Sea of Galilee and Mount Hermon on the Syria side of Jordan.

David had made a covenant with this King and he had given his daughter to David to be his wife to seal that covenant of peace.

*****2Sa 13:37  But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 

2Sa 13:38  So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years. 

2Sa 13:39  And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead. 

After three years King David longed to see his son and the pain of the death of Amnon had now passed.

Absalom, during this time was making an even greater plan to cause harm to his father.

If we look, we can see all sorts of typology in these passages.

Next, we will see the time that Joab send a woman with an attempt to tell a parable, but all she does make a fool of herself.

Remember a parable was an earthly picture of a Heavenly truth.

King David sends Joab to bring Absalom home and as we would say, the plot thickens.

Chapter 14 verse twenty-one.

*****2Sa 14:21  And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.

2Sa 14:24  And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face. 

King David had not banished Absalom, he had stayed away himself.

But for King David not to pardon Absalom for killing Amnon was a dangerous policy.

In fact, it may be that Absalom had been confined to his house on the order of King David.

During this time, to Absalom were born three sons and one daughter and he named this daughter Tamar after his sister who would live the life of a widow for what Amnon had done to her.

Absalom was showing her that he still had respect for her.

It is these types of things that caused many in Israel to take their affection from King David and show it to Absalom.

David was looked upon as a harsh father and a bad parent but praise was shown to Absalom.

*****2Sa 14:25  But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 

2Sa 14:26  And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. 

2Sa 14:27  And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance. 

Absalom began a plan to be reconciled to his father David.

In doing so, Absalom sought the praise of all of Israel.

In reality, Absalom was conceited, arrogant, and full of himself, self-exaltation.

Absalom had more pride in his hair than he did of his nation.

We see many such things as these in our young people today!

Absalom did his best to appear as royalty.

These things were working for Absalom.

Absalom did not cut his hair until it got too heavy for him to deal with day by day.

When he did cut it and weighed it, it weighed about five or six pounds.

The daughter of Absalom was named Tamar after her aunt of the same name and it is her daughter Maachah named after her grandmother who later became a future Queen of Judah, wife to Abijah the grandson of Solomon.

As we go on through our lessons, we will see Absalom go against his father David because he never forgave his father for what happened to his sister Tamar.

Amen

Traveling to the Promised Land

 Freedom To Follow

Book of Exodus Chapters 13 through 14

What do we know for sure? Before any humans appeared on this planet called earth, the Almighty God was preparing it as a place of life. 

God has created a temporary dwelling place for all those who would call Him their Heavenly Father. 

Jehovah did not just cause this Pharaoh of Egypt to release His people to the world, but He would travel with them to the Promised Land.

Today when we accept the lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, He will be with us forever!

We should be incredibly careful where we take the Holy Spirit who lives within us!

Just as sheep in this created pasture, we need our God Jehovah, every moment of our life!

Because of sin we were wandering this world in disbelief, but once the "Gospel" became a reality to us, we returned to our true Shepherd.

1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

We always give far too much importance to our flesh, when it is nothing more than a place our soul

resides.

It is the soul that is the jewel in the eyes of God!

From the day we are born, this flesh we live in begins to die when our soul will never die in the manner of our flesh!

When we were lost, we traveled in the unknown, but once we give our heart to Jesus we repent of our wickedness, we know where we are headed and we know we will never be alone again!

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

As we witness the travels of the children of Israel, we should keep in mind that we travel with our Heavenly Father who always has His eyes upon us!

Psa 139:1  O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 

Psa 139:2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 

Psa 139:3  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 

Psa 139:4  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 

Psa 139:5  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 

Psa 139:6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 

We must understand that our freedom comes through following the Lord Jesus Christ!

How does that song go? "Where He leads me, I will follow".

Joh 12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Much of our future is unknown to us though our ending is known, but nothing about our lives is unknown to our Savior!

We live in a world that is so full of design that many say we live in an accident, but we also should know that there is no such thing as an accident. 

All things come about according to the plan of our Heavenly Father!

From that first scratch, bruise, or broken bone, we begin to see that life is precious!

It is life that is God given!

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 

For the children of Israel their journey to the land promised to Abraham has begun.

*****Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 

Exo 13:22  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. 

Israel began their journey in peril.

They were pursued by the Egyptian Army.

They had the Red Sea before them.

They were moving toward an unknown and dangerous wilderness.

We must always realize that God has a plan for us, and God had a plan for these people who had been freed from bondage.

How did God lead these people?

By a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

The wilderness was hot and dry, but the shade of that cloud provided some comfort if they would just follow it. 

This cloud never went too fast nor too slow but at just the right pace.

We never have to live in a panic when Jesus the Messiah is our Savior!

We can understand this cloud to represent a type of the Bible we have today.

The Bible that is written according to those ancient Hebrew and Greek Scriptures will make our way clear into the Kingdom of God.

It is the same for that pillar of fire.

Psa_119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

It is the Word of God that will guide us through the wilderness of this world.

It is the Word of God that will show us the path of life.

It is the Word of God that is the armor for our soul to keep us safe from the likes of Satan.

It is also the Word of God that gives us the conditions for a personal relationship with our own Redeemer and Maker!

The Lord Jesus is our "faithful" Guide to the true Promised Land!

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

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

Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 

We must understand that God will always lead us in the path of righteousness. He will never lead us astray of the Word of God.

Human rights never come before the truth of the Word of God!

We must be willing to die while taking our stand on the Word of God!

That witch Pelosi has this thing backwards, and so do all demoncrats who stand on abortion and the so-called homosexual movement.

She and her cohorts need to actually read about the God they say they believe!

God will never condone disobedience by any human! Just ask Adam.

God will lead those who love Him to their promised destiny, the New Heaven.

We must understand without the Divine guidance of the Word of God, we would remain lost in this dying world that unbelievers now call "climate change".

We do not have to fear anyone or anything if we are truly following the Lord!

Pharaoh had decided he still needed these who were slaves to rebuild Egypt, as if God would allow it.

Government leaders forget the past too quickly, but nothing takes God by surprise as this man was leading his army to its death, just as his arrogance had destroyed his nation.

*****Exo 14:10  And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

The children of Israel knew this was the mightiest army on the face of the earth at that time.

The children of Israel knew they did not have it in their own power to stop this enemy.

The children of Israel felt that there was no direction safe for them, but all they needed to do was to follow that pillar of cloud by day and that pillar of fire by night.

It is the same for us today!

When it seems as if every direction is a bad direction, we must simply just follow the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

They had no weapons of the world, but they had the Living God.

They had no military training, but they had the Almighty God.

They knew nothing about war, but they were on the winning side!

They cried out in a lack of faith.

We should understand there are no words that speak as loud in Heaven as those words "Lord Save Me"!

Satan may be powerful, surely more powerful than we are.

Satan has great resources from the world.

Satan has many followers.

Satan will strive off of corruption.

But Satan is a loser!

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 

We must understand we will not make it to the Promise Land without having much resistance from that same Devil!

When we think we must flee, God simply says to stand still:

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

When we are facing a sure death, we must remember through death comes eternal life in the Glory World, if you have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Fear is something we do not need in our lives!

Fear is useless and it is destructive to our character!

*****Exo 14:11  And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 

Exo 14:12  Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. 

The biggest reason the strength of the Church is fading today is that same lack of "faith".

We believe that so-called scientist and so-called professionals have gotten so smart that they can prove God to be wrong. 

What fools we are to trust in this world!

We may have more comforts than these children of Israel had, but the world has not changed or improved at all!

We know more how to destroy each other!

We allow hatred and foolishness to rule our ways when we need to lean on our Redeemer!

Once we know the Lord Jesus Christ, we must have no fear of death!

If these children of Israel had the faith of Abraham their father, they would have believed the promises that Jehovah made to Abraham.

Those four hundred years were over, it was time to go to the Promised Land.

Gen_15:13  And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years

Exo_12:41  And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

This being true, just where was their faith? Most of them had none and they could only think about one day at a time.

Believe me when I say it, it does not really matter where a Christian is located when we die!

2Co_5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

We must not fear death!

We just need to stand still and watch the Lord fulfill His promises.

*****Exo 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

We must understand that no matter what problem we face, God has the same response. Fear not!

Sixty-two times God uses this exact phrase.

Luke 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

We should also understand that God does not do things He does not want to do.

Sure He may give us some things we do not need to teach us a lesson just as he gave all those riches to Solomon.

We are to learn from our mistakes! We are not to repeat the same mistake over and over again!

"Stand still" is another challenge from the Lord.

We are going to face problems that there will not be a solution for, but we must not just run away from such things. 

To know the Lord Jesus Christ is to know the Problem Solver!

This army was no obstacle for Jehovah God. 

In fact Jehovah knew what this Pharaoh would do, and Jehovah would just rid the world of this evil and wicked man.

What were those words of Moses? "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today".

These same words will work even today!

We do not have to worry at what this world can do to us!

We must just stand still in the salvation of the Lord.

What is wrong with our nation today? Christians cower down in fear of the things of this world.

Many are convinced that they should not go to Church because of Covid, where is their faith.

Many are convinced that God is not in control.

The Word of God has told us these things would happen in the latter days so look around and you will see these things are happening according to the Word of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is never caught off guard! Just read Matthew 24.

If there was ever a time, we need to take our stand on the Word of God (that pillar of cloud by day) then today is that day.

If we do not stand and stand firm, we will see our freedom to worship erode away.

We are the enemies of the world because the Word of God is against what is happening in our world.

Abortion is pushed down our throats all the way to the day of birth.

We are to cower down to the homosexual movement which to God is an abomination. Sodom and Gomorrah have taken over our societies.

Socialism is becoming a reality. Communism will follow if we do not stop it now.

People once came to America for freedom now they are enticed to come for their vote towards an evil agenda.

If the Church remains on the outside and allows these things to continue without taking a stand and let God do what God does.

If Israel had not stood still, they would have never seen the Red Sea part to allow their escape to freedom and the destruction of this Pharaoh who was in fact a type of the Antichrist.

These lessons in the Old Testament were put there by the Holy Spirit for us to learn from and we had better do just that because God does not ever change.

We preach it, we teach it, we had better believe it!

All that Egyptian army including that Pharaoh died that day and Egypt has never been a great power in this world again.

The Egyptian people suffered because of an arrogant Pharoah and because they put their faith in false gods.

It is the same for China today.

It is the same for North Korea.

It is the same for most all oppressed people.

Another thing we must quit doing is crying out and complaining to God when we are not willing to show the "faith" that is so dear to our relationship with Him.

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is never pleased with our lack of "Faith" and He is God!

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one.

*****Exo 14:21  And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 

Exo 14:22  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

We must forever understand that God is not bound by the laws of nature which He put in place Himself.

God can push aside the laws of nature as He pleases for His own purposes!

The Red Sea became "the gateway" to the Promised Land.

The Red Sea became "an instrument of judgment" upon Pharaoh and his army. 

We may understand what is called "climate change" as the beginning of the "judgement" of God on this sinful world!

We understand as Christians that we may see the beginning of these things before the "Rapture" of the Church.

Those waters that were like jello as the Children of Israel passed over the dry sea bed.

Exo 15:8  And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 

CONGEALED means Converted into ice, or a solid mass, by the loss of heat or other process; concreted.

This was not just a happening but a miracle and could not have happened any other way!

Only God could have done this thing!

Isa 63:11  Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? 

Isa 63:12  That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? 

Isa 63:13  That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? 

It was Jehovah God who delivered the Children of Israel!

It was Jehovah who brought "Judgment" on Pharaoh and his army.

*****Exo 14:23  And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 

No doubt the Pharaoh witnessed something he did not understand but he still commanded his army to follow.

It was blind rage that cause Pharaoh to act. Remember what Jehovah had told Moses.

Exo 6:1  Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. 

Exo_14:8  And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

Psa 77:14  Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. 

Psa 77:15  Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 

Psa 77:16  The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. 

Psa 77:17  The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. 

Psa 77:18  The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. 

Psa 77:19  Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 

Psa 77:20  Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. 

Once this mighty army was within those walls of water the Lord was not about to allow them to escape.

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

Exo 14:25  And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 

While trying to stop these children of Israel from escaping him, he found that he could not escape the hand of God himself.

God looks down from Heaven for two reasons. Either for "mercy" or for "judgment".

This mighty army became confused.

This mighty army became afraid and wanted to retreat.

This is a similar scene from all those armies of the antichrist that will attack Israel during Armageddon.

God offers "mercy" but when "mercy" is refused then comes the "Judgment" of God!

The Lord never breaks a promise!

The Lord always delivers His people, no matter the problem, no matter how difficult it may seem!

What is God's promise to me and to each Christian?

2Ti 4:18  And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

This army felt so useless they quit on their commander in chief!

This is also a scene that will be seen in the wars of Armageddon!

For these Egyptians they believed that the thunder and lightning and the fire and the hailstones to be Heaven's artillery turned against them and this was true.

God had this army where He wanted them with no means to escape and God then spoke to Moses.

*****Exo 14:26  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 

Exo 14:27  And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

Jehovah wanted these children of Israel to understand that it was He behind the arm of Moses and the gods of Egypt were nothing but idols of falseness.

God also wanted these people to follow Moses.

At a signal from Moses those waters that were congealed immediately returned to their place and overwhelmed Pharaohs mighty army and even Pharaoh was a victim of his own anger.

Not one escaped!

It is even said that Pharaoh’s magicians Jannes and Jambres perished with the rest.

2Ti_3:8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

We see a description of all those that oppose the truth of God. They are reprobate concerning the faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no better description of most of those in Washington D C today who are trying to destroy our nation.

Tit_1:16  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

God will not claim them unless they repent.

Rom_1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

The Children of Israel could now begin their journey to the Promised Land without the fear of this Pharaoh and his mighty army.

But they were still a rebellious bunch.

Amen

Growing As A Christian

Spiritual Growth and Assurance

Book of 1 John Chapter 2:1-14

Have you noticed how many lessons we see about spiritual growth? If we are not growing spiritually every day, we are not just at a standstill, we are actually going backwards.

Last week our lesson was about being cleansed from sin and once we are cleansed from sin, then we need to grow spiritually in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Remember because of Adam and Eve we had lost fellowship with God! That fellowship can be restored because of the work of Christ Jesus!

As long as we are in these bodies of flesh made from the dust of this sinful world, we will remain sinners. God knows this and through the Cross, when Jesus died the veil of the Temple was rent in to and Jesus made a way for us to enter into the throne room of God, where we can humbly go before the Lord and ask Him to forgive us of our daily sins.

We are to do our best to refrain from sin, but this is impossible while we are in this sinful flesh!

What else has the Lord done for us? He went back to Heaven to be our advocate!

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

We know that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter while we live on this earth, but in Heaven while we are still alive, we have an Advocate and this Advocate is the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Holy Spirit is here pleading our case to God while we are still in these bodies of flesh and in Heaven's courtroom the Lord Jesus Christ is doing the exact same thing!

As an Advocate, the Lord Jesus pleads our cause to God the Father, defending us when we do things out of ignorance to God's Laws.

Sometimes we may intentionally do foolish things and we can be forgiven of those also, but we will still suffer for those sins!

Jesus is our Owner and He stands in our place before God the Father when we fail Him!

Remember God is not a mean and hateful God, His name is Love.

Jesus is not guilty of anything, yet He stands in our place because when we are washed in His blood then we are also innocent of sin and pardoned of our past life and Born Again into new Life!

Jesus is the only person who can represent us before God the Father, there is no other in Heaven and certainly no one upon this earth!

For whom does Jesus plead? He pleads for His children. All those who have accepted Him as their personal Savior.

We are the little children because compared to all the people in the world, the true Christian is among the smaller group!

Jesus does not plead our innocence.

Jesus does not plead our good works.

Jesus does not plead our goodness.

Jesus does not plead our righteousness.

Jesus pleads His own righteousness as our Owner!

Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

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

Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How is this possible?

*****1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

It is because of the shed blood of Jesus that we are at peace with God, and that peace can never be changed to wrath because of the sacrifice of God's Dear Son!

Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Propitiation means the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was the payment that satisfied God the Father and made appeasement for all our sins. Not just those who accept this truth but the sin of this entire world past, present, and future!

It is the "Blood of Jesus that has reconciled us to our Holy God!

The Lord Jesus Christ has removed every barrier that was once between us and God the Father!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning of every promise of God!

God the Father required blood to be sacrificed for all our sin!

Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Not just any blood would do! It took the pure, undefiled, sinless, blood of the Lamb of God to wash away our sins!

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb" for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

God provided Himself to be the Lamb that was to wash us from all our sin!

By the sin of Adam, we were cut off from God!

God sacrificed Himself so that we could be saved!

This is the meaning of propitiation. A debt that none of us had the ability to pay, had to be paid by God Himself!

It was God the Father who had to be appeased.

It was God the Son who provided that appeasement.

Jesus Christ covered our sins with His own blood so our sin would be forever out of sight of God the Father.

The only "type" of propitiation in the Bible is the "Mercy Seat of God.

Heb 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

Heb 9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

Because of the work of Jesus Christ, we can now go before the Lord and claim that "Mercy"!

Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

If we know all these things, we should be keeping the commandments of God!

*****1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

How do we know we love God? We keep His commandments without questioning them!

How do we show God that we love Him, by being obedient to the things He has said!

We must walk in this world as true believers, being obedient to the Word of God.

We must go before the Lord everyday as sinners, to be washed from the sin and filth of this world that we are in contact with every day.

We are justified when we truthfully ask Jesus to come into our heart, but we are still sinners saved only by His "Grace" until He comes to take us home!

Our lives must be centered around the fact that we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

God lives in the Spiritual world that surrounds us.

We live in the physical world separated from our Holy God.

God the Father sent God the Son into this physical world, so that we to can one day be a part of that Spiritual world with Him!

There is no one upon this earth that has ever crossed over into the world of God except the Lord Jesus Christ!

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

To know the Lord in truth is to have fellowship with Him and His Father!

To not keep His commandments is to still walk in the darkness of this world!

Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

In order to know God we must accept His Son and keep His commandments!

We must believe what Jesus says!

As far as God the Father is concerned, if we reject His Son then we have rejected Him and continue to hold onto the lies of the Devil who has lied from the beginning of his existence!

So how do we know if we love the Lord? We keep His commandments. It's just that simple!

The more we walk with the Lord the more we show God that we love Him!

It is impossible to say we love God and then reject His commandments.

America is full of those people today reject the truth of God, but say they are one of His children.

The Holy Spirit says they are all liars!

Mar 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Mar 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

We must be obedient to "all" the Word of God if we say we love Him!

*****1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Some would say from the last passage that all we need do is just keep the 10 commandments and that would be a great start, but the Holy Ghost says, do not be mistaken we must keep all the Word of God!

Without this obedience then the act of love is not in us.

Most people always get the word love wrong. Love is an action word!

The only way to love God is to get nearer to Him!

We must study Him.

We must learn all about Him.

We must know His will for us.

We must know His nature.

We must know His desires.

We must know His wants.

We must know His thoughts.

We must know how He behaves.

These things should be the same for anyone who says they love someone!

God shows us all these things about Him, just so we can get up close and personal with Him!

In the end this is the most important decision we will ever make!

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

When we declare that we are a child of God, then we need to be measured by God's standards! That standard is Jesus Christ!

That word "ought" says, every child of God is obligated to live according to the written Word of God!

That word "ought" says, we will willingly live as God says to live.

Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

These are things that we know and accept because we love the Lord!

God has had this same message since the time of Adam and Eve!

*****1Jn 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

As the church, our salvation is not bound up in the laws of Moses or we would say the 613 commandments given to the Jews.

The Word of God does teach us that all the Word of God is to be used for our instructions on living, rightly divided!

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

2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

What we should know is that all the Word of God is our love letter, and this is where the Apostle John is leading us.

There are some Old Testament laws that that never change even in the New Testament and this what John is talking about.

Lev 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

The Lord Jesus Christ simplified all those old laws and any new law!

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

It is this love that will allow us to grow in "Grace" and "Knowledge" of our God!

*****1Jn 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

What we need to understand is that, Jesus gave that word "love" a new meaning:

Jesus said not only love your brothers and sisters in Christ and in family, but also love your enemies!

Jesus said to not only love good people, but also bad people!

Jesus said not just love the righteous, but also to love the sinner!

Jesus said not only love those you accept, but also those you reject!

Jesus said if we are striving for perfection then this is the meaning of love we should understand!

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

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

It is hatred that will lead us back into darkness!

*****1Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

How do we grow in Christ?

It takes faith, so we must believe in His works for our salvation!

We follow Christ in believer's baptism.

We join a Bible believing Church.

We join Christ in the Lord's Supper.

We study the Words of Christ.

We pray with Christ.

We live for Christ.

We tell others about Christ.

But then, if for some reason we allow hate to reenter into our heart for someone then once again we are walking in darkness!

We must not allow this to happen!

We must walk in the love of God every day!

God is love, the more we interact with God, the more our love will grow.

The more our love grows, the more we will object to hatred.

1Th 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:

1Th 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

So if we want to be unblameable when the Lord returns, then we need to be walking in the love of Jesus Christ!

When we walk in hatred we are walking in blindness, and in reality, we do not know where we are going.

Whenever we walk into a group of people, that hatred will walk in front of us and immediately cause division. This walk is not of God!

Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

We must never walk like the world walks, in blind hatred!

*****1Jn 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

The Holy Ghost begins His caution by writing to everyone in the Church.

These little children are all the Saints of God, but here John means the Babes in Christ.

The first thing we realize upon our salvation our sins have been forgiven!

Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

In the Church there should also be Spiritual Fathers not just the old saints of God, who are mature in the things of God. These are those who have known God and have been faithful to the Word of God since their salvation day.

In the Church we always have a need for the young men who will be the Church, when the old Saints have passed on to glory and they need to grow in the "Meat of the Word" because they have overcome that wicked Satan!

In the Church there are the little children and even they must be taught the truth of the Scriptures.

Do not ever be fooled, a small child can understand the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of Creation!

Spiritual growth is required for all age groups and though these things mention males they are also writing for Spiritual mothers and the young ladies in the Church.

Not many Churches would survive without Christian ladies!

The intent is that we must all become rich in the knowledge of God!

2Pe_3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

*****1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God is a Spirit and if we are created in God's image, then we must be a spirit also!

If this were not so, we could have no communication with Him!

It is in our spiritual strength that we must grow!

Our flesh is only a tabernacle we will discard one day!

This is the difference between mankind and the animal world!

We must grow spiritually to get closer to God!

John is now reaching out to those who have grown in the Lord.

These fathers are those who have deep and rich knowledge of and have grown daily from the day of their salvation.

It is these who know that the best they can do to avoid sin and they will sometimes fail, but the Lord Jesus will still defend us before God, but they cannot use this as an excuse to sin more!

There is at no point in our lives that we can let our guard down!

We must know for sure where our strength comes from!

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Our young men must become strong in the Lord and they must hold God's Word above the things in the world!

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

We must not only overcome the wicked one (the Devil), we must live as overcomers!

We must listen to the Holy Spirit who is the power behind the Church!

Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

If we are to grow in the "Grace" and "Knowledge" of the Lord, we must listen to what the Holy Spirit is teaching us, and use His information to grow in Christ!

We must love the Lord far above any love we have for this world!

Amen

Let's Pray!

Remembering God's Mercy

Polluted Privileges

Book of Malachi Chapters 1-3

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament

We have seen in our study of the Old Testament, where Israel would sin, and the Lord would chastise them over and over again.

Jehovah would scatter them across foreign soil, and He would allow them to return back to the Promised Land. These things happened over and over again, until God will chastise them one more time and then go away for 400 or more years and let the world see what happens.

All these things are still the plan of God from the beginning, but these things are beginning to sink in.

What was happening?

They doubted God's love.

They doubted God's Word.

They doubted God's great promises.

They doubted God's justice.

They doubted God's willingness to do anything for them.

They doubted God's willingness to do anything against them.

All these things happened because they had lost their faith.

They had forgotten the "mercy" of God, written in all the Old Testament!

All these things then led to rebellion against the Lord and they were blaspheming His Holy Name.

Whenever sin and doubt become our religion, corruption becomes evident in our lives!

Before we start there is a passage we need to look at:

There is a verse in the Book of Malachi that is not in our lesson today.

Mal 1:5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

We can look at this Scripture both ways.

It could mean that the Lord's name will be magnified from all the border of Israel inward, and this will take place in our future.

It could also mean that the Lord's name will be magnified from the borders of Israel outward to all other nations, and we know that this will also take place.

Add this next Scripture:

Psa 83:17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:

Psa 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

It is the Lord God Jehovah who is the Most-High over all this Earth who is getting no respect!

We can see this in America, and we see this in the modern day church.

The Book of Malachi was written by the Prophet Malachi and "Malachi" means "the messenger of the Lord".

The Book of Malachi was probably written around 433 BC just over 400 years before the time of Jesus Christ.

During these 400 years, Persia would fall to Greece and then Greece would fall to Rome, who ruled the known world when the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

I guess you have all heard the latest news from the Muslim, "that Palestine ruled Bethlehem at the time of Christ, so Jesus is a Palestinian Muslim".

It was Rome who first called the area around and near Israel, Palestinia, and the Jews were on the land at that time even though they again were a conquered nation.

Malachi was alive during the time Persia ruled the majority of the known world.

Malachi remained true to the Word of God, as did Ezra and Nehemiah.

The Book of Malachi remains as a Book of the Bible that calls God's people back to faithfulness.

We know that many in Israel were returning again to their old sinful ways by the words given to Malachi by the Holy Spirit.

Malachi also described the coming of God's Judgment.

Again as most of the other Prophets, the Book of Malachi gives us a glimpse into the Character of God!

It truly breaks God's heart for His children to return to sin!!!!!!!!

We see that we are deeply loved by God!

If we want to know what God is doing right at this very moment? God has His eyes on us!!!!!!!

So let's begin

*****Mal 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

Mal 1:7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.

I believe God is asking this same question of us here today!!

What is the most common sin of God's people?

It is written right here in this passage. "We do not always show reverence to our Father in Heaven".

We do not always give God our very best, and the Lord will not accept our second best!

Remember, the Lord is sanctified, it is we who need to be sanctified.

We owe our allegiance to our Savior, we owe our life to our Savior.

In fact, we owe everything we have, physically and Spiritually, to our Savior.

Yes this includes our tithes, the very first part of any income.

Even in the Christian world, we have lost our fear of our Awesome God!

Yes, He is the God of love.

Yes, He is the God of creation.

He is also the God of all Power!

I believe when we first see Him, we may be hunting some place to hide from our terrible God, until He says, "peace be with you".

Deu_7:21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

If we fear anything in this world, then we do not know how powerful is our God!

Anytime we go against God the Father, or His dear Son or go against the Holy Spirit, we have dishonored our Savior, who gave it all just so we would have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him!

If we make up our own laws to live by, we have said the table of the Lord is contemptible!

Where have we despised the name of God?

Here is what God said to these Jews.

*****Mal 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

If we have not given our very best, we have offered the blind to God for a sacrifice!

If the things we offer God are tarnished in any way, we have offered the lame and the sick!

If we try in any way to hold onto our hidden sin, God will not be pleased with us!

These are facts!

If we do not worship God in Spirit and Truth, we have not reverenced God.

If we do not adhere to all the Word of God, we have not reverenced God.

If we give in to our temptations, we have not reverenced God.

If we do not pick up our cross and follow the Lord daily, we have not reverenced God!

If we have not sacrificed our heart to the will of God, we have not reverenced our God!

If we have taken the name of the Lord in vain, we have shown the Lord we do not love Him as we say we do!

If the Lord does not live in our heart, we are not even God's child!

We should ask ourselves this same question! Will He be pleased with us?

What is God's answer?

*****Mal 1:14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

What is the actual truth? To worship the Lord in a way that goes against what He teaches us, is worse than not worshiping the Lord at all!

We need to take a moment and let that sink in!

What did God say to the Jews?

Isa 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

When we just worship to be worshiping, we are deceiving ourselves!

If we forget God's "mercy", we have forgotten why we worship!

If we forget we are saved by "faith" we have forgotten why we worship!

If we have forgotten God's "judgment", we have forgotten it is the Lord that washed us in His blood!

What is going on in the modern-day church? We see the offerings to God without repentance!

It will just not work that way! We should think on "Faith" and "Repentence" as the first steps in the right direction!

We cannot just offer things to the Lord, thinking we can appease Him!

We must understand that we are full of sin as long as we are in these bodies of flesh, but we still cannot abuse God's "Grace"!

Repent, is a word we do not hear much of other than here at Gethsemane!

We need Pastors and Preachers to teach the truth!

*****Mal 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

What is a true man of God?

1) He is divinely called: There is no such thing as choosing to be a preacher, it is a special calling of God!

2) He must be a man of profound reverence: This is a respectful, submissive, attitude toward the Lord God, built upon affection and esteem for the truth.

3) He must be a man of truthfulness: Because the Word of God is true and it must be taught as the truth, with no higher authority.

4) He must be a man devoted to his calling, unwavering.

5) He must be devoted to the Lord and this devotion passed down to his flock.

6) He must be a man of intelligence, not worldly book learning, but the wisdom of God through knowledge of the Word of God.

God only has "one standard" for those He has called to preach the "Gospel"!

That one standard is "for" every Preacher, to guard the truth of the Scriptures!

What happens if they fail? They will face the "judgment" of God.

This also holds true for every teacher!

We have the law that came from God's mouth, it is the Bible, the preserved Word of God, from the original Greek and Hebrew text.

If not, we will fall into the curse of God!

God's blessing will turn into the curse of God!

That good Pastor will turn away from all iniquity.

A good Pastor will never depart from the truth of God!

*****Mal 2:8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 2:9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.

What had these priests done? They had perverted the Word of God to please great men!

They had twisted the Word of God to serve what God had forbidden!

They had only given the Law of God, that suited their own benefit!

Sounds just like the many who pervert the Word of God today and people say the Old Testament is not good enough for the modern-day Church.

Shame on all those who call themselves "called of God" yet they serve their own calling.

Jer 28:15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.

Jer 28:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.

Jer 28:17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

How can a man preach about sin, when they are deliberately withholding their own sin to suit themselves?

The job of the Christian Minister, must bring all the Word of God, fearlessly, faithfully, firmly, and impartially!!!!!!!

They are never sent of God to tickle ears.

They are never to modify the Word of God to hinder its application to anyone just because of their social status.

They must present the Word of God as the perfect Word of God that it is!

They must never confirm men in their sins!

Even today we have gay pastors in certain denominations. This goes against the Scriptures!

We have multitudes claiming that God created them "to sinful lives" and therefore they need not repent to Biblical truth.

Each one of these who pervert the Word of God, will be destroyed and they will be accountable for their destruction of others, who believed them!

They will be rejected of God and condemned by the people they had misled!

Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Gal_2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

What is the truth of these men?

*****Mal 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

When fake ministers and fake Christians call evil good and good evil.

When we ask where is the God of Judgment?

We must understand that these people will be held accountable for their foolish life!!!!!

Every minister is called of God to instruct us in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ who adhered to every law in the Word of God and did everything He set out to do for the glory of God!!!!!!!

That word "wearied" means these men are trying God's patience!!

Those who think along these lines today, really think that God does not care about His creation!

What is the truth of our God?

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

We have to believe God knows what He is doing, and His patience will run out one day!

What did God say?

God said He would send John the Baptist to prepare for the Messiah.

*****Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

God said He would send a real messenger because they were not His messengers!

These men knew about the Messiah, because they knew of the true prophets that they had rejected.

We should understand these people had seen the work of God take place in their own life time.

Malachi was a prophet sent of God in the days of Nehemiah.

They had seen the words of Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel come true in their lifetime.

Who can really say, what were they thinking, but it should be obvious, they were only thinking of themselves and they were not worried about the coming of the Messiah?

Malachi was the last prophet they would see for more than 400 years but they did not care at this time.

What do we know? The Temple had been rebuilt, the city of Jerusalem had been restored and maybe some places still showed signs of the destruction of Nebuchadnezzar.

The walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, which gave them that sense of security and all these things had been dedicated to the Lord.

A Jew, Queen Esther of Persia was in a place to help the Jews for her life time and again thru her son who would also be the next king.

Some would think the Jews had everything going for them so why would the Levites act in such a way?

There are corrupt priest in every age and every life time just as there are, today! Even today no one is really concerned with the coming of the Messiah for the second and final time.

The prophet Malachi offered up the truth of God and the truth of the Scriptures!

*****Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

All our hope rest in the Word of God which we have seen over and over again, God has proven to these people that He loves them, but he will not tolerate those who abuse the truth of God, nor those that teach them it is OK to do so!

In actuality Malachi 3:2 tells us of the First and the Second Coming of the Lord.

What was the world like when the Lord first came?

The world was under world-wide domination. First the Babylonians, then the Persians, then the Greeks and at the time of Christ, the Romans. (The Heathen)

For the most part the Jewish leadership had strayed away from the Word of God even though God will always have a certain group of people, a remnant, who will stay faithful.

What will the world be like when the Lord returns? Guess what, it will not be much different. All the Superpowers are flexing their muscles to see who will come out on top, and many Christians have left their 1st love and most of the rest can only be said to be "lukewarm" Christians.

What did Jesus say?

Luk_18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Add to this:

Luk_17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

Add to this:

Luk_17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

Anyone in their right mind can see that we are in those last days of the Church Age, and then these other things will take affect and the Lord Jesus will return just as He says!

No one will be able to abide at His coming accept a few Jewish people, a remnant of what it could have been!

"And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness."

John the Baptist did pave the way for the coming of the Lord, but the coming of the Lord will be in two stages. At His first coming the Lord established the Church which was certainly pleasant unto the Lord, but it is at the Second Coming of the Lord when Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord!

****Mal 3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

Every age has its peculiar features. It is our duty to study the past. A knowledge of the past is often the basis of safety in the present, and stability in the future.

We should not be fooled, it is the days of old that created these present days and one reason is, we seem to never remember the mistakes of our past. No Age can begin for itself, since the time of Adam and yes Adam looked just like humans do today!

We cannot understand the present without acknowledgment of the past!

Today in America, there is a goal to erase the past, and this one thing will be the most foolish thing that could ever happen.

I should repeat myself there is a goal to erase only the portions of the past that does not fit in with the direction a certain group of people would have us to go!

It is History that teaches us, so we do not make the same mistakes!

Jewish history should have been the answer to the mistakes the Jews made at the time of Jesus Christ!

The days of old were full of Divine revelations.

What we should ask ourselves, just how many times should God ask us to "repent" until He moves on, and He will move on!

Eph_4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

What do we see in the past of the Jews?

The Bible is God’s record of the “days of old.” We may learn what He will be to us in our days, by what He was to men then. His faithfulness, mercy, and truth are written unmistakably on those wondrous days.

*****Mal 3:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

God still says "REPENT"!

We must understand that as soon as a nation is prosperous in worldly things, it is at this point when they will begin to slip.

We have seen this over and over again in the Old Testament!

What is melancholy?

Full of misery; distressful; wretched; afflictive; that may or does produce great evil and grief; as a melancholy event.

Today we see a great falling away from the ordinances of God and the results is the nation we see today only a glimmer of what it could still be!

Malachi describes what happened to Israel when they continually had a similar falling away, even over and over again.

To repent is to return to the path of the Lord and never stray again!

It is not here a few days and then there a few days and then start all over again.

In the end we all have robbed God!

*****Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Mal 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

We should understand that all we have actually belongs to God because He gave it to us!

By the Laws of Moses given to these of Israel, a tenth of all produce, a tenth of all the flocks and of cattle, belonged to God and "MUST" be offered to Him.

It is this tenth that was assigned to the Levites for their services at the Temple, and to the people for teaching them the Scriptures and their meaning.

In order for them to do this thing, they had to constantly learn the Scripture themselves.

Num 18:20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

Num 18:21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Num 18:24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

You see, it was not about giving to the Church as it was sustaining those who God had appointed the care of the Church on a fulltime basis.

Nehemiah dealt with this when he was Governor of Israel, and none of this tenth was for Persia because the king had stated that Israel would not be taxed.

Nehemiah had to return to Persia for a time that, some say was 3 years, but when he returned to Israel, he had to deal with this same things again.

You see we do not understand this process!

If we give God a tenth of what he has given to us, He will bless us by giving us more.

This is not a prosperity thing, like the more we give the more God gives, this is a blessing for being obedient!

Now this law was for the Jews, but it is also a guideline for giving to the Church for the same reasons!

In reality this is the first step in departing from God!

You see this in an outward sign of our inward heart for God!

When we do not support the work of God, how can we say we love the Lord with all our heart.

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

This seems like such a little thing our tithes, but in reality, it reflects our love for our Savior.

This was the same meaning given in the Laws of Moses!

God is serious about this thing!

That curse meant they would have even less to give which meant they would have even less for themselves and their families.

Is this cruel? No it is just fact!

Rev_2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Our first love is the Lord Jesus Christ, if we cannot show an outward love for Him, how can we say we love Him with all our heart?

*****Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

What was happening at this time in Israel?

The people were robbing God of tithes and offerings. (see how these are two separate things)

The priests were polluting God's altar.

They gave things to God that they would not give to their neighbor.

Yet they could not realize the evil they were doing!

You see sin brings its own punishment!

This tenth came about before the laws of Moses, all the way back to Abraham before Israel was even a nation, so how can we say that it does not apply to the Church.

Besides the tithe (a tenth) there is the freewill offering for specific needs of others.

We must understand that God as our Creator owns all His creation, and should not our owner reap part of the rewards that He gives us!

Here is another place in the Scriptures where God promises a blessing.

How can we turn down the blessings of God?

Amen

Let's Pray!