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Showing posts with label Our Redeemer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Our Redeemer. Show all posts

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Our Redeemer

The Redeemer Who Comes from Zion

Book of Isaiah Chapter 59


Today in this lesson before we get to the importance of our Redeemer, we will see how God describes our world.

The world believes that humanity is basically good and occasionally do bad things but this is far from the truth.

The truth is humanity is basically evil and on occasion some do good things!

If we go back to the Book of Genesis chapter 3 we will see not the origin of sin because the origin of sin was in Heaven. What we will see is a description of the entrance of sin into humanity.

Genesis chapter 3 gives us an historical event that took place!

Most all the world believe in an Adam and Eve, and they should, and the sin of disobedience against a Holy God was passed down through these two historical figures!

If Adam was not a real person who brought sin into humanity then there would be no need for Jesus to redeem humanity.

Therefore, this is the reason such a great attack on the Creation facts of the Book of Genesis!

So how are these things seen in the eyes of God?

First God will make some things very clear. There is no one that He cannot save and there is no prayer that He cannot hear if it comes from the heart of someone seeking Him!

Verse 1:

*****Isa 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

God is also very clear about His salvation. If you are not saved from eternal separation then it is not because He has lost His ability to save. In other words, the fault is your own and not His!

Instead of running to God, the truth is this world flees from Him!

Repeatedly, we have seen where we can only be saved by "faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ to purchase us from the slave market of sin!

The hand of God cannot be shortened because it is connected to the arm of God, which arm is the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is by sin and the rejection of the truth of God that humanity cannot be saved but God will still deal with everyone!

It is very important that we understand what sin is and then understand that we are sinners. We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners, it is in our heritage passed down from generation to generation!

When we understand that we are sinners, it is only then we will realize we need a Redeemer, we need a Savior!

God did not just create us all and then move on somewhere else doing God things, God truly cares for each and every one of us!

Those who believe that God has just gotten too old to care for us or to care about us, do not understand that God cannot age and His Word will never change!

God would not have made Himself known to us if He did not want to share our lives with us but sin places a wall between us and our God!

*****Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

It is sin that stands as a barrier between us and our Creator. The greater the sin the greater the barrier. Where sin sets in, guilt begins!

Sin caused a wall of separation between Him and Adam and sin still does the same today to all humanity!

Mic 3:4 Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

Those who are wicked in this world do not even realize the dilemma they are in!
They have a problem that is disastrous and they believe they are safe in a dying world but that is far from being true!

When God's "Grace" cannot reach us because of that wall between us, then we are faced with eternal separation and an eternal death of misery beyond our imagination!

There are many times when we have a need to reach for the help of Heaven but it will not come if we have sin in our lives that has not been forgiven, simply because we have not asked for forgiveness.

Psa 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

God looks into the heart to see the truth of each of us!

What is sin? Sin is any transgression of the law of God.

There are 613 laws in the Old Testament that the Jews had to follow and it was impossible for them to do this.

Most of this world think only of the Ten Commandments but even these cannot be kept by anyone!

The Lord Jesus simplified these laws so we all could understand what God was saying.

Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

If we truly obeyed these two laws we would have no problem with sin but even these laws become impossible to do in this evil world!

God says there is just no natural affection for one another in our world!

The Jews had been separating themselves from the Lord for many years and we can see that has not changed for the biggest part of our world today.

When we say these things to the world we are accused of so many things, including being evil ourselves but we should remember it is not we that say these things, it is a Holy God and we are just passing along His message!

Then God gives a picture of what He is talking about.

*****Isa 59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

We use our hands in almost everything we do but when God says they are covered with blood, God is talking about the murder of the innocent.

We could say that we are not murderers and all murderers certainly should be punished and they are certainly sinners but then do you support abortion which is the murder of innocent children.

If we stand against the truth of God, we are murderers just as if we committed the crime ourselves!

When we read the Scriptures, we can see that only a very few of God's prophets lived to die of old age, they were murdered for preaching the Word of God which is all true.

Do you support the truth of the Scriptures?

Only the Apostle John died of old age of the 12 Apostles of the Lord, the rest were murdered for preaching the Words of Jesus, which we now call the "Gospel of Jesus Christ".

Do you support the truth of the "Gospels"?

Do you realize that if God has laid it on your heart to witness to a certain person and we refuse and that person ends up in Hell, we have just become a murderer!

There is the sin of commission and there is the sin of omission.

Commission is knowingly committing sin and being disobedient to God.
Omission is failure to do what is required of us being disobedient to God.

It is a terrible thing that our hands are so bloody that even our fingers are defiled!

Defiled means, made dirty, polluted, soiled, corrupted, sinful!

To tell just one lie is impossible because that one lie will have to be defended by another and then many others.

To lie is an intentional violation of the truth and therefore an intentional violation of the Law of God and shows that you do not love the Lord with all your heart. To lie is to deceive and the great deceiver is Satan himself.

Perverseness is acting in opposition to what is proper and the Word of God has given us all the proper ways to act!

And God continues.

*****Isa 59:4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Justice is doing what the Word of God commands and those that reject the Word of God do not want to see true justice for God's people. In fact, they are only interested in fulfilling their own desires for personal justice as they see it themselves!

These are the same people that call all good things bad, and all bad things good!

Justice is an attribute of God:

Psa 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

When we refuse to allow justice to move forward we are violating the intention of the Lord!

Divine justice is that side of Divine righteousness which exhibits fairness!

Job 36:17 But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee.

To serve the Lord, who will never do wrong, is to follow in His example!

Gen 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Those that try to satisfy their own justice are only searching for vain glory of themselves. We can put many politicians in this category today. They forget they were chosen to serve the people and serve their own vain glory!

They speak lies, they conceive mischief, and they bring forth iniquity (sin) and they are proud of themselves for what they have accomplished which is vanity (nothingness)!

We have a government full of freeloaders, who do nothing but hinder the truth and expect to be paid for it and even more expect to live off that nothingness the rest of their lives. Wake up America!

What else does God say?

*****Isa 59:5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
Isa 59:6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

Many believe that the "cockatrice" to be the horned viper which is very poisonous but only about a foot long. To me this is a picture of the devil!

The Word of God says that those who get to see the antichrist will be amazed at his nothingness!

Jesus said all those who twist the Word of God into something that is no longer true are all the true vipers!

Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mat 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Those whose actions are to plot evil and mischief and cause methods to trap the innocent are the most terrible of all. They are poisonous and they spread their poison as far as they can get away with and even when it seems they are crushed that viper is still dangerous!

We all know that you cannot make garments from the spider’s web. The spiders web is intended to be a trap for some innocent passerby!

These false doctrines put forth by these deceivers serve no purpose except deception! Also, their attempt to disguise their sin is easily seen through if we will just look at their actions.

Mat_7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat_7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Their works are all of sin and the power to violence is in their hands unless they are stopped!

*****Isa 59:7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.

It's sad but there some people who dream about being evil and when they wake up they go about performing what they dreamed about, in fact they rush to perform it. They are so full of mischief they cannot help themselves!

Most everything they accomplish causes harm to innocent people some things even causing the death of some totally innocent person. These people even claim to take delight and pleasure in the things that they do.

A good example of these things will happen on the upcoming day of celebrating our National Freedom Day. Many will begin their day with the intent of overdoing alcohol and in the end, many innocents will be injured or die and there are many other examples of these who run to do evil.

Their thoughts are thoughts of sin and it shows in their conduct and their actions with no regard for others! They have made them own selves’ gods!

They show no concern for wasting their own lives and destroying the lives of others and when one day ends another will begin with the same actions and the same results.

Pro 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.

Rom 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

Therefore, they never know peace!

*****Isa 59:8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

They will never know peace because they have no desire for peace and in fact peace can only come to those who do things the right way. The right way is according to the Word of God!

Isa 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

The way to eternal life is straight and all those who choose their own path are traveling a "crooked path"!

Mat_7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

They cannot see the light of Jesus, for the darkness of this world!

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In fact, they really do not know how to escape from this dark world! (Therefore, this is our job to show them, that there is a way)

*****Isa 59:9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.

The truth is, God will never deliver any of these without a complete change of their mind and their actions and they know it.
God has already passed "judgment" on all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If they have a sinless thought God will think nothing of it!
God will not revenge their wrong because they are already sentenced to death an, eternal separation from our Holy God!
God will not even punish their enemies who are just as guilty in sin!

God will never take vengeance for what one sinner does to another sinner! (Wake up sinner)

God will not take vengeance for what one evil nation does to another evil nation but God will provide for those who love Him in any case, understanding that God may just select to take many home to be with Him.

Some would call them martyrs but God just calls it "Come On Home" my child.

Psa_116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Those that reject the Lord may look for a brighter day but they will only remain in darkness!

A sinner can truly come to only one conclusion, "all the world is just as sinful as they are".

Just ask one and you will see!

Either they will recognize that what they do is not really sin at all but simply the freedom to be their own god or they will say that they are no different from the rest of the world. They most all have a desire to take what they wish especially from those who are innocent and those that try to do good!

God says: 2Ti_3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

They grope around as blind people in a blind world.

What does God say for the believer to do?

Mat_15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

*****Isa 59:10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.

Notice these who love sin are aware that they are in darkness and in a pathetic sort of way, they are looking for their own lighted pathway that simply does not exist!

They have some vague sense of what "Brightness" is, comparing it to the noon day Sun but they are just as "dark" as if they were at midnight!

From verse one, we know they know that God has the ability to save them but they are like Judas and they cannot find it in their heart to repent!

These people want to be saved, but they just love their sin too much to give it up! "And So, Goes Our World Of Today"

Pro 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Pro 4:19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

When we seek for the Lord in places that do not know the Lord enough to obey the Word of God, then He will not and cannot be found!

*****Isa 59:11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.

Since only trained bears actually roar, bears do have different modes of making noises and they usually get alone to do these noises.

Likewise, the dove when it has lost its mate, will get alone and mourn by itself.

This is the state of many who would love to be saved when they are alone but as the dove they refuse to give up their mate (sin) and like the bear they do not care for those who would take away their freedom to sin!

They look for salvation to come to them without having to give up their sinful behavior but this will never happen and as time passes eventually they will become very angry at those who claim freedom from the wages of sin!

Many people think to repent is to say, "I'm sorry" and even though this is a small part of it, true repentance is walking away from that old life with no regrets!

Psa 119:155 Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.

We already know that God keeps a written record of our sin and upon repentance that record is blotted out but for those who do not that record just accumulates.

Psa_51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

God is always ready to show His mercy and God has already taken the first step by the substitution of the Lord Jesus Christ in payment for our sins but we must take the next step and that next step is a leap of faith.

*****Isa 59:12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
Isa 59:13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

Before God will hear us, we must confess our sins!
Our sins testify against us!
Our sins rise up against us as our witness to this world!

When we openly confess our sins to the Lord, it makes us aware of just how sinful we are!

When we repeat a sin, and then confess it, we will then feel the shame of repeating any sin.

Our sin will constantly haunt us all our days! It would be a whole lot better if we do not wait to be so old to confess our sin to the Lord.

The Lord will forgive and forget but we on the other hand will still find it hard to forgive ourselves, once we know the Lord!

It takes a close personal relationship with the Lord to clear a guilty conscience!

Sin is a rebellion against the Word of God and His Son!

Israel had professed to be the followers of God but the sin of rebellion was their greatest sin.

Rebellion is denying the Word of God as the truth!

We cannot claim to know the Lord and reject what He says!

Jesus said: Luk_6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

The more we deny the Lord in our hearts but still confess Him with our mouth, the dirtier we become!

Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

God will never deliver such a people!

*****Isa 59:14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
Isa 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

How can there be a better statement of America today than "truth has fallen in the street".

We live in a land of perverted justice, where the guilty have more rights than the innocent and because riches can be made from this, it is allowed!

Shame on us as a nation to allow these things.
Shame on juries that allow this to keep happening in the name of justice!

Justice can only happen when the truth succeeds!

Justice stands so far off today it cannot hear those who make an appeal for justice!

False witnesses prevail over the truth and true witnesses are not allowed to testify or even be called!

Equity, which is true justice, is not even allowed into the court room because it would go against the ideals of an evil society.
Justice must remain outside the courtroom!

What a shame. Oh, did I write these things, no Isaiah was told by the Holy Spirit to tell us all about this world we live in today!

Psa 82:2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
Psa 82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Psa 82:4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
Psa 82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

Truth cannot fail, it can only be ignored!

When we are "Born Again" into the family of God and repent from our evil ways, we then make ourselves the prey of this evil society!

Truth that should be the social fabric of every society and ground work of morality is tossed aside. This is the worst thing that can happen to any people and to any nation!
Here we are today in a society that has become blind, abiding in darkness. The church has been quiet or in more cases have accepted this as our future just to keep the doors open.

The Word of God has become an old relic of little use!

The true church must raise up its voice and at least go down fighting!
God says we are on the winning side, so in a Godly and Holy way, why do we not prove this to be the truth!

Once we allow falsehood to take the place of the truth, then lying cannot be discredited and moral goodness and moral law will become non-existent!

This world we live in has forgotten that we have a God who has His eyes on everything that goes on in this world!

The real truth is, that those that trust the truth of God do not live in a hopeless world, in fact this world is not even our home!

When God saw these things in the past He sent us a Savior and this same Savior will return to gather those He has already Redeemed and take them own Home in just a short time!

*****Isa 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

These Scriptures tell a story of mankind that should cause us great shame but more than that great concern.

Why as a human race do we not defend those who are being mistreated?
Where has the love for one another gone?
Why is it that certain groups with very big mouths think that they have rights that no one else does?
Why do we not defend good and condemn evil as it should be?

I believe our Holy God "was and is" certainly disappointed in His creation!
God gave the human race the knowledge and wisdom to overcome the obstacles of evil in this world and most of this world has just joined in to absorb more evil and less good!

Since there was no one who would stand in behalf of the "truth" and in behalf of "right" over wrong, God took drastic measures to save those who would have "faith"!

Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

Have you been a boss with skilled men under you and requested for something to be done and that thing that was done did not meet your standards of quality and you decide you would have to do this thing yourself to get it right?

Then think about what God is saying here!

That "therefore" means because this thing called "salvation" could not be done right by anyone on this earth, God decided He would have to do this thing Himself!

Why is this thing so hard to understand?

The only skills available to overcome sin are the attributes of the Eternal Living God, Jehovah!

Our God then became our Savior!

Why is this so hard to understand?

Not one human could pay the price for sin, even for their own sin without eternal death, much less for the sin of this entire world so Jehovah God had to be the Intercessor.

For this reason, the "LORD" stepped into this world to save His own creation, the entire human race!

Why is this so hard to understand and accept as the truth?

The arm of the LORD is the Lord Jesus Christ!
Not just some Messenger, not just some Prophet, but our Savior!

Why are these things so hard to understand when God says them over and over again!

Psa 98:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
Psa 98:2 The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

This world we live in is always seeking some champion!
Some find him in sports, some find him in politics, some find in in so-called religion, some find him in philosophy but God looked at the champions of the world and not one stood for those who are oppressed and slaves to sin!

There was no one on this earth that stood for "righteousness" which just means doing all things right and the right way is according to the Word of God!

God came to make things right!

*****Isa 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.

What is the nature of our God? "Righteousness"

If you miss this then you are wrong, we are in a war for our salvation!

We will lose that war without the Lord Jesus Christ!

In church, we sing about our "victory in Jesus" and many have forgotten the truth of that song!

There is no victory without Christ Jesus!

If the Lord Jesus Christ is my "righteousness" then it stands to reason that without Him I have no righteousness at all!

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

We also see that "righteousness" also includes "vengeance".

Much of the religious world have decided what a loving God will do and will not do, while ignoring what Jehovah has said He will do!

If our Loving God found that there could be no human Intercessor and He had decided that He must leave the portals of Heaven and become that Intercessor for the human race then certainly He would be angry at those who rejected His actions to save us all and why would we expect Him not to be?

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

If you had done such a thing for your own family, you would certainly be angry if your actions were rejected!

We call all believers the "church", "Bride of Christ" and these things are certainly true, so then why would we not expect God not to be angry enough to be vengeful to all unbelievers?

In fact, this Scripture says the Lord will wear "zeal" as a cloke.
Our Savior will have a great zeal for salvation!
Our Savior will also have a great zeal of anger for all those who reject Him and His salvation plan!

Zeal is a great eagerness and a great desire to accomplish these things He came to do!

The Lord first came to save!
The Lord will next come for vengeance!

The breast plate of righteousness because He will do "all" things right!
The helmet of salvation because no evil thoughts are His intention!
The garments of vengeance are to are the tools of His arsenal.
The cloke of zeal is His love for the believer combined with His displeasure for who reject Him.

How does God expect each believer to dress?

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.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Most of this world still does not realize that we are in a war and it is much better to be on the side of the Lord because this is the winning side!

God says we will certainly reap what we sow!

*****Isa 59:18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.

It should be obvious that those who reject the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation, will see the "Judgment" of God!

An old saying from my past was "they don't believe cow horns toot"!

When God is ready, He will execute a "just" retribution to all those who reject His message!

God is perfect in "Righteousness" and God is perfect in "Judgment", because "perfection" is also an attribute of Jehovah God!

Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Who are the adversaries of God? These are those who claim to know the Lord as their personal Savior but, serve their own selves and actually hinder the truth of God.

Who are the enemies of God of God? These are those who serve in false religions.

Those "islands" are all those who have made themselves to be God, in many cases we say Atheist but this goes beyond these to all others.

1Pe_4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The truth is we will certainly reap what we have sown, all people will be repaid exactly what is due them and we already know that the wages of sin is "death" eternally separated from the Living God!

There will be great fear in the "Day of the Lord"!

*****Isa 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

Our enemy is called by different names. The serpent, the devil, Satan, the roaring lion, the deceiver and there are other names.
Some say he has great power but his power is limited! He is a crafty deceiver who refuses to make himself known. He has obtained many followers many of those unknowingly. He is the force behind the principalities and powers that rule this sinful world for riches and power that they hold over the head of the poor and they plan to keep it this way in defiance of the Lord.

Think back to the tower of Babel and we can see our world has not changed at all since that time!

Gen 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

These people will be much more than confused when the Lord returns!

When this enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him!

Once we understand the truth of God and submit to the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved by the "Grace" of God, we have a new owner and the Holy Spirit takes up a permanent residence with us.

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

It is only by the power of the Triune God that we can resist the Devil!

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

We not only proudly wear the seal of our Savior upon or soul but that same sealing does not allow Satan to ever possess us again!

The seal of the Holy Spirit says that we belong to Jehovah God! We have a new owner who is much more powerful than Satan and his followers!

It is the Holy Spirit who plants the Standard of God upon our soul and that Standard is the Lord Jesus Christ!

He is much stronger than our enemies!
He is much wiser than our enemies!
He is much closer to us than our enemies can ever get!

The soul cannot live in the devil but the soul has life by the Holy Spirit!
The soul can live without the devil but soul cannot live without the Holy Spirit.

When the heavens depart as a scroll and the Lord appears, all His enemies fill have a true and sincere fear of the Lord that will overwhelm them all!

Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Our Lord has made promises and all of them will be fulfilled!

*****Isa 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
Isa 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

Our Redeemer, the One who purchased us with His own blood out of the slave market of sin and set us free from sin's bondage after He has removed us before His wrath shall come to Zion and bring us with Him.

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Isaiah knew all these things because it was the same Holy Spirit who fills each believer that gave Him these words!

The truth and the promise of God is, once we are filled with the Holy Spirit who will teach us the Word of God, then these things can never depart from us and since the Holy Spirit cannot die, neither can the soul of each believer!

Each and every adopted child of God will enter into the Kingdom of the Messiah and experience the glory of the Lord in the presence of God!

These Scriptures shows us the promises our Father made to our Redeemer.

This promise is for the Redeemed of Jacob!

Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

This promise is for the Church!

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

What did Jesus say to His Father?

Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

When we have received the Word of God and we have recognized the truth of God and have believed, then we can understand the promises that God has made with the knowledge that God has never broken a promise He has ever made!

Amen!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer

Jesus Christ---Our Redeemer

"But By His Own Blood"

Book of Hebrews Chapter 9

The word "Redemption" comes from several Greek terms that mean "to set free by the payment of a price".

One of those Greek words is "agorazo" and it means "to purchase in the market place". It was associated with slaves in the market place in Bible times.

Redemption in the Bible means that through His death, Jesus Christ has set every believer "whosoever they are", free from their enslavement to sin!

Every believer has been purchased out of the slave market of sin and set free from sin's bondage!

1Co 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Every believer should now be a slave to do God's Will!

There is another Greek word that relates to our redemption. It is "exagorazo". This word means that every believer has been redeemed from the curse and bondage of the law that can only condemn and not save!

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

AND,There is another Greek word that explains redemption. That word is "lutroo". This word means "to obtain release by the payment of a price. In other words a "ransom".

Every believer has been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus:

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Every believer is then a special possession for God!

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, [that he might redeem us from all iniquity], and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

That great "Redeemer" is Jesus Christ, The "Only Begotten" Son of God.

*****Our Text

Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

Our lesson begins with verse 11 because the theme of our lesson is the "Redeemer". In the first ten verses of this chapter in Hebrews proves that Our Redeemer ministers in a superior sanctuary.

1.) In contrast the Levite priest ministered in an earthly sanctuary, in other words it was made by man's hands. It was always in need of repair and it could only be in one place at a time.

2.) This earthly tabernacle contained things that were only "patterns of the things in Heaven". It can be said that many spiritual truths were wrapped up in these instruments of the first Tabernacle. They certainly were designed as "types" of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

3.) We know of the Holy of Holies, and this place had no access to people. Only the High Priest could enter and He only once each year.

4.) We know this earthly Tabernacle was only temporary. It was a tent with a veil covering the entrance.

Even when the Temple was built there was this veil that covered the opening into the Holy of Holies but our Redeemer purchased us access to the true Holy of Holies.

Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

5.) We know that in this earthly tabernacle, sacrifices that were made were only ceremonial. They were "carnal" ordinances that were for the outer man but they could never change what was in man's heart. They could not change the inner man. No one was "reborn" or what Jesus said, to be "Born Again" because of what they did in this Tabernacle.

We will now see how much more superior the Heavenly things are!

It is a fact that no one in the Old Testament was saved by keeping those old laws!

It is also a fact that no one in the Old Testament was saved by animal sacrifices!

The Bible is specific:

Gal 3:24 Wherefore [the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ], that we might be justified by faith.

Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, [we are no longer under a schoolmaster].

All things good have come to pass by Our Lord Jesus Christ!

We need to pay special attention to the Heavenly ministry of Jesus in these last days.

There is a real Heaven!

We have a real High Priest in Heaven!

AND, We can have true Spiritual Worship in every house called by His name [but only because] Our Redeemer paid the price for our "redemption"!

The New Covenant sanctuary was not made by the hands of man.

You know, we call our places of worship the House of God but we know He does not live there.

But we sure do hope He comes to visit us as we worship Him and He does!

"Not of this building" means not of this earthly creation!

We can spend God's money to try to make our places of worship beautiful and more pleasant to the eye but this only speaks to our flesh and it only ministers to the physical side of us.

We should maintain the buildings we have and grow as the need requires, and take care of our Pastor and others that are needed, but we need to concentrate God's money on furthering the Gospel to as many as we can!

*****Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but [by his own blood] he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

We are called a bloody religion because we are a bloody religion.

It is by the blood of our "Redeemer" that we are saved!

So, What is at the heart of the Gospel story?

What command does God give every Pastor, Preacher, and Evangelist and every soul that is saved?

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, [to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood].

This the message to every "house of God"!

Without this message there can be no church!

Where does our "redemption" come from?

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption [through his blood], (the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;)

How were we redeemed?

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1Pe 1:19 [But with the precious blood of Christ], as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

How are we cleansed from sin? How has He made us kings and priest?

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, [and washed us from our sins in his own blood,]

Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Who can be saved by the blood of Jesus?

Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, [and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation];

In the Old Testament sin was only atoned! Sin was only appeased!

And that only a year at a time.

In took the red, sinless, pure blood of Jesus to redeem those that are lost!

There is a great big difference between atonement and redemption!

Atonement was yearly in the Old Testament.

Redemption is Eternal, through the "Blood of Jesus"!

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

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

*****Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Not one of these Old Testament rituals could change what is in a person's heart.

They knew they could come back each year to have their sin atoned for.

This does not mean they could not trust God. His Word was just as true then as it is now!

Every one that obeyed the Word of God was truly declared clean!

These rituals offered purification for the flesh but there was no cleaning of the conscience!

To be "Born Again" in Christ Jesus, is to have a conscience that is purged from dead works!

We should serve God knowing that we have full assurance that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

We are saved and justified by the work of Our Savior upon Calvary's Mountain.

Redeemed by His Blood!

We have not arrived to our Christian life until we recognize that Our Redeemer has absolutely and eternally, forgiven and cleansed us of sin!

If your conscience is cleansed of guilt you will realize that you could not have been cleansed by "dead works"

Anything that we could do to try to earn our salvation would be a dead work!

Good works are not as cause of salvation[but a result of salvation]!

*****Heb 9:15 [And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament,] that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Many ask, Why did the Lord Jesus have to die?

We have our answer in this verse!

Jesus Christ had to die in order to begin a New Covenant!

The Old Covenant could not provide "eternal redemption" and God had to make some arrangement for sin!

This arrangement had to include [all sin past and future] to include those under the Old Covenant!

This verse makes it perfectly clear that there was no final or complete redemption in the Old Testament.

It was the sacrifice of Jesus, on that cross that brought spiritual cleansing:

Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Because Christ Jesus has provided such an eternal redemption, we can now share in an eternal inheritance!

*****Verses 16-21 are not part of our lesson today.

BUT, We know we are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ.

This is a Blood Covenant! Since the word inheritance was used in verse 15, the Holy Ghost points out that this New Covenant is also somewhat like the "last will" of a dying man.

An inheritance in most cases cannot be received without a "Will". In the case of a "Will" a death must occur! The death of the one who makes that "Will"!

It "was not" the death of Christ Jesus, that made Him out Mediator!

It "was" the death of Christ Jesus that gives us our inheritance and our "salvation".

Jesus Christ had to die before Our Inheritance could be received!

It is not the "Will" that is ratified by His Blood!

It is the "New Covenant" that was ratified by His Blood!

The death of Jesus made God's New Covenant to be valid!

There could be no atonement without His death!

After His death, then Blood then became the token that made this New Covenant valid!

Had Jesus not died on Mount Calvary there would be no hope of eternal life!

There would have been no hope for forgiveness!

But because He died, {"whosoever" will accept Him} can be saved!

These things take us up to our next verse.

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

It seems the world will never understand that there is no way to go to Heaven except by and because the Lord Jesus faithfully died on Golgotha.

Had He not died there could be "No Hope" of "Redemption"!

Mankind could have never been reconciled to God if Christ Jesus had not died!

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.

Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

To be "Reconciled" means God can provide peace in place of being an enemy.

To be "Reconciled" means we can have fellowship with our "Creator"!

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, [who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ] and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

*****Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

First we must not ever believe that Jesus died and shed His blood to purify anything in God's Heaven!

Heaven can never be defiled!

BUT, Before we can enjoy the beauty of Heaven, there are certain requirements that have to be met.

The Old Covenant was established by blood and so was the New Covenant!

BUT, The New Covenant was established by a better sacrifice, and applied in a better place!

The Blood of Jesus is much more costly than any animal in God's creation!

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

We would be foolish to trust our salvation and our spiritual life to anything on this Earth that is made by the hands of man!

This verse plainly states that it is Heaven itself that is the "True Sanctuary"!

This is where Our Lord Jesus Christ is located as our Mediator.

He is face to face with our Father who is in Heaven!

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.

*****Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

To compare the Old Covenant to the New Covenant:

1.) The Old Covenant had repeated sacrifices.

The New Covenant only had one sacrifice, Our Lord.

2.) The Old Covenant used the blood of others(animals)

The New Covenant, Our Lord used His Own Blood.

3.) The Old Covenant, sin was just covered for one year.

The New Covenant, Sin has been put away forever.

4.) The Old Covenant was for Israel only.

The New Covenant is for "whosoever will believe".

5.) The Old Covenant had the Holy of Holies.

The New Covenant, Christ entered Heaven itself and remains there at this time.

6.) The Old Covenant, the priest had to come out to bless the people.

The New Covenant, Our Great High Priest "will come" to take His people to Heaven.

The work of Jesus Christ for our salvation is completed, it is final and it is eternal!

AND, Jesus Christ now is ministering in Heaven on our behalf!

*****Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

This verse plainly says that every man, woman and child has an appointment with death.

The Greek word "apokeimai" means death is reserved for each of us!

This same Greek word is translated as "laid up" in other places in the New Testament.

But, the meaning is not just to die but to die "once" as Jesus Christ died "once"!

We must not forget this book was written to believers.

It is a fact that every unbeliever will die twice!

After this death comes the judgment.

There is the judgment seat of Christ for the believer:

2Co 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

To the unbeliever the Great White throne judgment:

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

We have to make our choice before we die the first death, to believe or to not believe.

To the believer when we next see Christ we will be like Him"

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

To the unbeliever when they next see Christ they will be cast into the burning lake of fire.

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The believer has:

1.) A sanctuary in Heaven.

2.) Our Father is in Heaven.

3.) Our Savior is in Heaven.

4.) Our citizenship is in Heaven.

5.) Our Treasures are in Heaven.

6.) Our HOPE is in Heaven.

7.) Heaven is our HOME!

The most important book for the unbeliever is the Lamb's Book of Life.

The most important book to the believer is God's Written Word, The Bible!

I built power lines for over 42 years. This is my field of expertise.

Brother Buddy is a builder of many things. This is his field of expertise.

Brother Robert is a mechanic. This is his field of expertise.

Our God is an expert in giving new life to all those who trust Him.

Salvation is His field of expertise!

How could we ever forsake Him?

Questions?

Lets Pray!