Loving Impartially

Loving Impartially

James 2:1-13

Last week we learned that we need to be a doer of God's Word and not hearers only.

Today James will give us an example that will hit home in every place.

*****Jas 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

SO, what is showing partiality?

Being partial is favoring one person more than another to a point where it affects our good judgment. This comes from our own will and our own affections and not from a love of the truth and justice.

Even though James was writing more to Jewish Christians, that term brethren includes all Christians as we are all brothers and sisters in the "Faith".

We cannot be united to our Saviour if we do not believe with our whole heart and all our mind on Him. We cannot reap the benefits of redemption without our sincere faith in our Lord Jesus.

Remember, because we have been redeemed, we have a new owner and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are to follow in His ways and not the ways of any other!

What thing do we know for sure?

God does not practice partiality!

Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

On the day of judgment God will not look on the outside of the person.

Eph 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; "neither is there respect of persons with him".

We are to do these same things as Our Lord does.

Col 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: "and there is no respect of persons".

When we become judges ourselves, then we will be judged by our own prejudices.

God does not see a difference between the rich and the poor!
God does not see a difference between the slave and the free man!
God does not see a difference between the servant and the master!
God only sees the human race and never sees the color of any man!
God will only do that which is just and right to all who seek Him!

The sin that is being addressed by James in this passage is, "respect of persons".

Favoritism has no place in the life of anyone to claims to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Ti 5:21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, "doing nothing by partiality".

Then James gives us a hypothetical example that we all can relate to.

*****Jas 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
Jas 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

1) We have our assembly.

The Greek word used here for "assembly" is where we get the word "synagogue" but James is referring more to the Greek word "ecclesia" which means "a called out group".

These are believers whom God has called to be a special group of His own.

The church is a union of Jews and Gentiles on equal footing as fellow heirs in Christ!

Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

James was speaking to all those that assemble in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

2) We have the man with a "gold ring".

For the most part a gold ring would signify a person of great importance but rings were a common part of Jewish dress. In reality only a few Jews could afford gold rings but those that did would certainly wear them. There were always a few prosperous people in the early church but for the most part the early church was made up of the poor.

It is the poor that most often are the objects of God's greatest concern and the reasons are obvious even today!

1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

3) We have the "goodly" apparel, the "gay" clothing.

These clothes would give the appearance of a man of means. These clothes would also be clean, expensive and impressive.

But that term "gay" has a darker meaning, it would mean attention-getting clothing.

This would be a person who was deliberately trying sway the judgment of those that saw him or her!

4) Then we have that poor man.

This gives us a picture of a man who was not only poor but beggarly, unbathed, and in filthy clothes.

5)We have that "vile" raiment the poor man was wearing.

This gives us a picture of absolute filth. Someone who gave the appearance of evil but no one knew him.

Not just wearing rags but foul smelling and dirty rags. This man would have had an odor of filth!

James paints us a picture of stark contrast between these two men.

They are what they are, but it is the "assembly" of God's people who are wrong and the sinners in our picture and not either of these men.

They say to the poor, we may have a place for you but you will have to stand, there is no seat for you.

They say to the poor, just do as you are told and we may allow you to stay in God's House.

But they say to the man in the "gay" clothing, sit in the place reserved for those of honor.

Sit in the place reserved for our pastor as he will be at the pulpit and his seat is not taken.

In a synagogue of the Jews, they would have insisted that he sit Moses' seat!

Mat 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

Then James explains this sin for us all to understand.

*****Jas 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

It is a fact that we are prone to judge by outward appearance!

It is also a fact that Jesus never did this!

The Lord Jesus never looked on the outward appearance of anyone but will always accept "whosoever" into His family!

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that "whosoever" shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Mat 12:50 For "whosoever" shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

"Whosoever" still means anyone, any person, from any walk of life!

Showing partiality is then our greatest sin!

To see this more clearly let's see what happened to Our Lord Jesus.

Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Jesus was a picture of this the poor man and was despised and rejected by His own self-righteous nation.

In this hypothetical story of James, this poor beggar was despised and rejected simply because of the way he looked and smelled, by a self-righteous people.

No one took the time to even get to know him.

If the Lord Jesus would show up in our Church of today, He would go unnoticed or even rejected because their was nothing in His appearance to make us desire Him.

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

In our assemblies today, we reject those that we say are not our kind of people.

But what did Jesus do?

Mar 2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.

Jesus Christ was a friend to sinners though He disapproved of their sins.

Jesus did not compromise with sin, but He had compassion on the sinner!

Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The religious experts in the day of Jesus judged Him by their human standards and He was rejected.

To the religious experts:

Jesus came from the wrong city.
He did not attend the right schools.
He did not have the approval of the people.
He did not meet the requirements of the government.
Jesus had no wealth.
Jesus ran with the wrong crowd.
Jesus lived on the streets because Jesus was homeless. Jesus did not even have a home.

Luk 9:58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

We become "unjust" judges when we judge by appearance and this is a terrible sin in the eyes of God.

To reject a stranger simply for his looks is to reject the Word of God!

Those that cater to those "that appear" to be rich think that there will be some benefit that will come from those people.

It is a fact in America that the richest men support many charities and some of those may do some good but they do not support the spread of the Gospel which brings eternal life.

They do not support the Church!

They do not support missionaries!

So, what would Jesus do?

1) If the visitor is a Christian then we accept him. (The Spirit of God abides in him)
2) If the visitor is not a Christian then we accept him. (Christ Jesus died for all sinners)

Jesus Christ is the link of love for us all!

Why?

*****Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

It is a fact that the Word of God has held true but the Word of God is alive and is even more valuable, especially in our day!

1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

We always seem to forget, that this is God's plan and we need to be involved in His plan, rather than seek ways to change it to suit ourselves.

James cautions the Church to listen to these words.

The poor, as a class of people furnish more believers and more support to the Church than all the rich class. This is a fact!

The rich must first renounce the power of his riches to have any power toward salvation and most of them find this hard to do.

We are all poor in spirit and we must all realize this, to ever become rich in the Spirit of God!

True riches begin with faith!

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

We become rich toward God by serving Him.

1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

It is in these things that if we will learn, we will be more like Jesus Christ our Lord!

2Co 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

We must all become poor before we can become rich in the things of God!

Sometimes those that are already poor in this world understand this in a better way and we can learn from them!

To despise the poor is to reject the ways of the Lord!

For after all, most of our problems in this world come from the rich rather than the poor!

This is also a fact!

*****Jas 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
Jas 2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

When we base our opinions on looks and appearances as seen by our eyes, we seem to always reject those that are lest fortunate than ourselves.

To be honest we see what we do not want to become!

When we see those that are more fortunate than we are, then we see what we want to become.

BUT, we are then judging by the ways of this world!

To "despise", is to have the lowest of opinion for someone.
To "despise" someone is to have a low opinion of one of God's created beings.

Pro 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

These poor that we despise very seldom ever cause us any personal problems.

Pro 18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

In this time of James, Christians were being being persecuted from all sides at this time.

Jews were corrupt in their religion and their government and hated the Christians.

The Romans were corrupt in their government and worshipped false gods and hated Christians.

The Christian could not expect justice from anywhere but from God!

It was the rich of this world who would drag the Christians into court.

It was the rich in society who made laws to single out and afflict the Christians.

It was the rich of the Jews who would take away all the possessions of the Christians.

Act 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

It was these rich in worldly goods who blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ in all these things.

But by despising those that were poor, but called of God, these Christians were committing the greater sin!

*****Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

What is the "royal law"? The laws of King Jesus.

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 these two laws of Christ that link God to man and man to God!

Love is the fulfilling of the law!

Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: "therefore love is the fulfilling of the law".

Those that do not know the "royal law" do no not know God!

It is a serious and a grievous sin to show partiality in the Church!

Why?

*****Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

The wages of sin is death!

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

When sin is our commander, we will have death to eat as pay!

Sin must be treated like a person!

In fact when sin rules our lives, then sin becomes our god!

If we would treat sin like the "living enemy" that it is, then the more we are likely to fight against it!

When we treat sin like a simple mistake, or having a bad day, we will over look the seriousness of sin and that in itself is a greater sin!

We already know that the death of our flesh is a fact of life!

But this "death", the "wages of sin", is total and complete separation from God, Our Creator and is the Second Death.

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

Physical death is the separation of body and soul and the separation from this world in which we now live!

"Eternal death" the wages of sin, is the final, ultimate and total separation of the body and soul and from Heaven and God forever!

If there was anyone who could keep every law of God, (613 laws of Moses), and break only one law, that is enough sin to cause a permanent separation from God.

James gives us this example.

*****Jas 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

From the ten moral laws.

Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Adultery is fornication with another man's wife but like fornication it is also sin against our own bodies as well as before God.

Remember Jesus even said, if we are just think about committing adultery we have committed that sin already.

But fornication is a greater a sin against our own bodies!

1Co 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

This also the same for incest, sodomy, bestiality, and all other immoral sexual contact "because it is an impure action to our own bodies" that was given to us by the Lord God.

And to murder.

Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

To take the life of another human being.

God's plan has always been for all His creation to preserve life.

God is the giver of all life!

It is Satan who had the keys of death!

But it does not matter to God which of the 10 moral laws were broken because God just sees sin!

God sees a people "who have made sin their god" and all these things reflect back to the greatest sin!

Anytime we reject the Word of God, we have rejected our God and made our own selves little "gods".

This takes us back to the very first commandment!

Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

All sin violates this law of God!

So, what is the remedy?

*****Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

What is the law of liberty? God's law of love!

The Bible is still our love letter from our Father in Heaven!

When we need man-made laws to keep us from doing wrong, then we do not know the "perfect law of liberty".

When God's laws are written in our heart, we will not want to violate the things written in God's love letter.

That's what repentance is all about! A change in our direction. A change in our mind. A change in our heart!

It is the "perfect law of liberty" which gives us our freedom from the curse of all man-made laws!

What is the basic law of liberty?

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

If we do not practice this law of liberty, then the law of "Grace" will condemn us more heavily than all those man-made laws.

This is the judgment that we will face and that will take place when we face Jesus at the "Judgement Seat of Christ"!

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.

As Christians we will never be again judged for our sin, they are under 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.

But our works after being saved will be judged and judged without mercy!

Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

1) Our words will be judged:

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.

2) Our deeds will be judged:

Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Col 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Col 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

3) Our attitudes will be judged: Jas 2:13

*****Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

There will be consequences for treating others without mercy and compassion, and we make it much worse when we show mercy to some and no mercy to others!

God has shown us His Mercy and Grace by saving us from the pits of Hell.

God will not show His Mercy at the "Judgment seat of Christ" for He will have judgment without mercy!

When God finds repentance and faith, then He will show mercy.

When God finds rebellion, then God must show justice!

If our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ does not control our behavior in this world, then we have not only failed in the purpose of God but we have failed our own selves!

We must practice the doctrine that we defend and that is the complete Word of God!

To be a Christian is to be like Christ Jesus in all our ways!

God will not allow discrimination in His Church to go unpunished!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Living In Victory

Living Victoriously

James Chapter 1

Today we will begin a 6 week study of the Book of James. We should first consider that the Book of James was the very first of the General Epistles to the early church.

It was James who set the standard for all the epistles that would follow from the other writers, including the Apostle Paul.

So let's begin:

*****Jas 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

Some things we should know about this James.

1) This James was prominent in the early church located in Jerusalem and was called a pillar of the church by the Apostle Paul.

Gal 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

2) This James presided over the the Jerusalem council as referred to by the Apostle Paul.

Act 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:

Act 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

3) This James could not have been James the Apostle of Jesus.

Act 12:1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
Act 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

4) It was this James who the Apostle Paul reported to, when Paul was in Jerusalem.

Act 21:18 And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

5) So who was this James? Again the Apostle Paul.

Gal 1:19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.

Until this time we know that none of the half -brothers of Jesus cared for His ministry and did not believe Jesus was the Messiah.

Mat 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

Joh 7:5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.

So when did this change?

After The Lord Jesus arose from that grave.

Again the Apostle Paul:

1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1Co 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 After that, "he was seen of James"; then of all the apostles.
1Co 15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

So the first person to write a book of the New Testament to the believers who were scattered by persecution, was the one time unbelieving half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ.

James understood that the Church would need some guidelines and the Holy Spirit inspired James to give us these words.

What we should learn is mainly 2 things.

1) Good works are the main sign of saving faith.

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

2) Good works by themselves cannot lead to salvation.

Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

It is this James, the half-brother of Jesus, who calls himself a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. This James knows now that he has shared his entire life with the true Messiah.

James had received the Holy Spirit when he was with the Apostles and his mother Mary in the Upper Room.

Act 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Act 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, "and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren".

It is this James who quickly became the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

But there was also another half-brother of Jesus who also had a ministry in the early Church.

His name was Jude.

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

Both of these became servants of Jesus and the early Church.

James wrote his epistle to his Jewish Christian brethren who had been scattered because of the persecution of the early Church.

It was James who decided that the Gentile believers were not bound to the Laws of Moses but be bound by the laws of Christ.

That word greeting tells us that James did not use a scribe to write this great Book of the Bible but wrote using his own hands.

*****Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

What are temptations? Temptations mean trials or being put to the test.

Temptations are common to all men but only the Christian can understand them.

Dan 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; "but the wise shall understand".

Any new believer that thinks the Christian life is easy is in for a shock!

Jesus warned us all:

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

But as believers, we must live in the victory of Jesus.

James says to count it a joy to be tested because God will test our commitment to Him!

A "faith" that is not tested cannot be trusted!

Our goal should be to turn every defeat into a personal victory.

A wise man once wrote "When life hands you a sack of lemons, then make some lemonade".

We can have joy knowing that we can refuse to yield to all temptation.

Now this is not always going to happen, so we can also have joy knowing we have learned a valuable lesson and come out stronger and better from our failures.

God is not sitting in Heaven with a big stick ready to knock us down when we get back up!

God will always encourage us even in our failures!

God is not going to throw any of His children away!

How does that song go? "He's still working on me".

Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Isa 64:9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.

That word "count" means to evaluate.

We must evaluate our lives after our test and set new goals and priorities.

Remember test are intended to change our direction and to make us better suited for God's purpose!

Another lesson we will learn is that thing called "patience".

This is a terrible word that should have been left out of every book but here it is.

1) God will test us to increase our faith.

2) Testing works for us and not against us when we learn from it.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

3) God wants us all to have the ability to keep going when things get tough.

Rom 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Rom 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

A little patience will make us a better person!

*****Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Patience will take away the complaining every time we are faced with an obstacle.

Patience will allow us to see that all God's children are facing temptations and we are no different and are not just being picked on or set apart from others.

Patience will mold us into something beautiful and joyful in the eyes of God.

And if we lack in anything God will provide that also.

*****Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

When we pray for the "wisdom" of God we should remember one thing in particular.

Pro 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

No man is wise until he has a fear of the Lord.

Without the fear of the Lord, there can be no "Grace" and it is "Grace" that brings repentance, faith, and love.

The fear of the Lord is our awe and reverence for Him, as a Divine Holy Being.

The fear of the Lord will show in our desire to worship the Lord in the right manner and our desire to serve Him in the things He asks us to do.

In the Old Testament it was called "Trust".

Today it is called "Faith"!

James says God will generously give us His wisdom in handling all temptations and all test. God never wants us to fail!

God will never upbraid us, which means God will not ever charge us with doing something wrong.

When we repent of our wrong doing and our failures those things are quickly forgotten by God and He will never bring them back up again.

But the wisdom that God will provide will always be according to His Written Word!

We need the wisdom of God's Word so we do not waste the opportunities that God is giving us to become mature Christians!

But there are some conditions we must meet in obtaining the wisdom of God.

*****Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

What is faith?

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

When we believe the promises of God are true and real, they become present realities. With these things firm in our mind then it can be said that we are seeing through the mind of our soul and not with our physical eyes.

To fully believe that you are a child of God and know your salvation is to be secure is the results of that faith!

When we doubt our salvation, we are doubting in the power of God and we will be like that ocean wave just moving around wherever the wind blows and foam out to nothingness, if we can even make it to the shore line.

A wandering ocean wave is up one minute and down the next minute and you can never turn your back on a wave, because you will certainly get wet!

*****Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Just as it takes faith to be saved, it takes that same faith to open the ears of Our Father in Heaven.

When faith says yes and doubt says no, a response from God will not come.

Remember Peter as he was walking on the Sea of Galilee, he sank when doubt entered his mind.

What were the words of Jesus, "oh thou of little faith".

A double-minded man, or woman, can never honor God!

The entire Laodicean Church Age is about double-minded men.

We must make a clear choice!

We must go the way of God and not choose the ways of this world!

"America stands on this threshold today and sadly is choosing the ways of this world".

What are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

In a double-minded world we must stand on the Rock of Jesus Christ and we will not be moved by the temptations this world lays out before us.

To be unstable is to stagger like a drunk man.

So what is the remedy for double-mindedness?

*****Jas 1:9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
Jas 1:10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
Jas 1:11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

If we are to rejoice in all temptation then there must be a reason.

Even the poorest of believers are the children of God, birthed into a new life, with new principles, new affections, new desires, and a new path to glory.

Changed from the image of Satan to the image of God!

The poor who could never enter the rich man's house, now owns a mansion and is rich in all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

It is that poor man who is called the "brother" of Our Lord!

That one who thinks of himself as rich, and trusts in his own wealth and have forgotten God can also rejoice in that he is made low as the poor man and can then know true riches.

He has been stripped of his goods for Christ sake. He no longer oppresses the poor but becomes like him, who is also on that new path to glory.

What is the story of the grass?

Isa 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Isa 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Without the Lord Jesus Christ we are all like the grass.

All the years we live are but a breath of time when compared to eternity. Sometimes it is not until we get old that we realize that we have not lived very long.

The future to the believer is such a marvelous event that truly the life we have lived in this flesh has been vain in it's meaning.

Our past them becomes humiliating because we have not been the servant of the Lord we know we could have been.

Some people ask what tears will God wipe away in Heaven.

I believe it will be those tears that come when we realize we could have done so much more for the Lord and simply refused to do so!

When we yield to the Word of God and take our stand with the Lord Jesus Christ we can know the true meaning of life.

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

When we yield to the Word of God and apply that wisdom that comes from God we can endure all temptation.

Blessed means, a man who God has chosen. This chosen man of God man can then endure temptation.

God will test us by allowing temptation to come our way!

This why it is so important to know who controls this world we live in.

What did God tell Satan?

Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; "only upon himself put not forth thine hand". So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Satan can only go so far in his temptation!

In other words God knows all things that we can endure and knows how much we can take and allows Satan to take us up this point.

What is the "crown of life"?

Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: "be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life".

The crown of life is the reward of eternal life given to all those that remain faithful until the death of this flesh.

*****Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

It is a foolish man who could believe that a Holy God would tempt His own children to do evil.

From way back in the Book of Genesis we know that temptation came from the "Serpent". All temptation comes through Satan!

Satan was crafty in deceiving Eve and he is even more crafty today.

What will Satan do that we already know?

1) Satan will raise doubt concerning the Word of God.

2) Satan will lie to us, saying there is no Hell and no Second death and therefore no Heaven and eternal life.

3) Satan will convince all who listen to him that we all can be gods which is the same teaching of evolution that we will all evolve to be gods.

If temptation does not come from God, the problem then is our own lust!

That word "finished" implies an ultimate and final consummation.

In other words, if sin is allowed to continue without repentance and redemption, it will result in eternal and irrevocable spiritual death!

Therefore we need to give serious thought to the Word of God!

*****Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, "neither shadow of turning".

The very first recorded words out of the mouth of God are these:

Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Our God is the "Father of lights". God did not have to create light because God is light.

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

God dwells in light.

1Ti 6:16 Who only hath immortality, "dwelling in the light" which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

God had to create darkness, but God only had to form the light!

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

All matter is energy in motion and light is the most basic form of energy in God's physical creation!

God has no variableness!

The most basic and the most universal law of science is "the law of conservation of energy".

In physics, "the law of conservation of energy" states, that the total energy of an isolated system cannot change—it is said to be conserved over time.

God has formed the light into many forms of energy but the quantity of energy remains the same.

The Light of God cannot be added to by creation and it cannot be decreased by time or any other means.

What God does is forever!

Ecc 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

This is why "the law of of conservation of energy" is a scientific fact!

This is why there can be no shadow of turning.

The English word "turning" is translated from the Greek word "trope". We also get the English word "entropy" from this same Greek word.

Entropy means "in-turning".

In science, any system that turns in on itself, without drawing from outside sources, will become disorganized and fail.

In humans this called "confusion".

God allowed this scientific fact to come about when God cursed His creation!

Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

All things are conserved in quantity by the power of God, but all God's creation is deteriorating in quality, running down to eventual death.

This began with the sin of Adam and the lie of Satan.

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

God has imposed these scientific laws, on His creation but God, Himself, is not bound by any of these laws.

There is "not even a shadow of turning" in Our God!

God's Word is true in all ways!

*****Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

God's Word is incorruptible.

1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

We can be saved from the curse, because we can washed by God's Word.

Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

It was God's own will that He has begotten those that believe into His own family.

God loves us and it is a deliberate love!

Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Jewish land was consecrated to the Lord when the firstfruits were brought to the Lord.

The Jewish people were consecrated to the Lord by the first born child.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the first begotten Son of God and the first-fruit of the dead.

1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

It is because Jesus Christ was the first-fruit and that perfect gift and that perfect light, that all those that believe on Him and follow in His ways and God's Word are then also firstfruits.

1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

And because there are firstfruits there will be second fruits but only after the Rapture of the Church.

Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

Wherefore means because all this is true, there are things we should be doing now.

*****Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Because we have been begotten by the Word of God and are already sons and daughters and brethren and heirs.

1) We need to be swift to hear. God gave us two ears.

We must be teachable and ready to learn. We need to listen to what the Word of God says. We must give deep consideration to what is said in the Word of God.

2) We must be slow to speak. God gave us only one mouth.

We must be slow giving our own opinions and expressing our own feelings giving time to consider what the Word of God has taught us.

3) We must be slow to wrath. God says:

Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Wherefore because of all these things.

*****Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

We must lay apart or take off the filthy garments of the world and wear the Robe of Righteousness.

We must put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

We must lay apart or take off the robe of wickedness and receive the Gospel of the sinless, Lord Jesus Christ.

1Pe 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1Pe 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

*****Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Those that say they know God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ but are not obedient in their lifestyle to the Word of God according to this verse are deceiving their own selves.

The goal of the believer is to please God.

We must abandon our old way of thinking and all the thinking of the world!

We must abandon our old desires and the desires of this world.

Engrafted Word is to follow the pattern of the scriptures, the Word of God.

Tit 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
Tit 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

When we look in the mirror and all we can see is that same old face we were born with and not that "Born Again" child of God, then we are looking at a foolish man.

The Word of God is our measuring stick, to gage the life we now have after salvation.

How do you measure up?

The Word of God is that true mirror which enables us to see ourselves as we really are!

2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

But if we can see the Word of God then we can see "the perfect law of liberty".

*****Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Verse 18 said, "the Word of Truth"

Verse 21 said, "the engrafted Word", which is inserting the Heavenly Word into our body of flesh.

Now our verse 25 says, "the perfect law of liberty", the Gospel's rules for true and eternal life.

Jesus Christ said:

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.

1) First comes salvation.
2) Next comes following the Word of God, and becoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus
3) Then the knowing of the Truth of God
4) To be made free.

Notice not set free.

"Set" would be to be put or to be placed place into freedom, this could then change.

"Make" is being molded by God into a new creature never to be in bondage again. "The perfect law of liberty".

5) Then continuing in that freedom, becoming a doer of that Word of God, that brings such freedom and not having become a hearer only!

*****Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

It can be said that everyone on the face of this Earth has religion.

Religion is a system of rules of conduct and laws of action based upon a belief.

Even the Atheist have their own set of rules they live by.

To most all others, to be religious is to worship and reverence a power that is not of this Earth.

A bridle and bit is used on a horse to lead him in a direction of the rider's choice and not allow the animal to go in his own direction.

This verse states that if we see those that seem to follow a set of rules, yet cannot control their own tongues, or their own ways, then they practice a vain religion.

Vane means an empty and a worthless religion.

Religion is a ceremonial worship!

God does not allow for religion in Christianity!

God does not allow for ceremonial worship but a worship that comes from the heart of the believer!

There can be no outward show that can replace the inward man!

The Christian cannot seem to be religious and please God!

Eph 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
Eph 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

To be pure, is to be free from all external things of this world and be a genuine child of God!

"Undefiled', is to be unpolluted from the things of this world.

Those that are fatherless in this world will be all those that know that their True Father is in Heaven!

True widows in the time of Christ had no one to provide their needs. "They had no Savior".

These "widows in their affliction", would be those that have found the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Savior.

Those that are now "unspotted from the world" are now the children of the Living God.

These three groups are the Church, which is based based on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We can only live victoriously by knowing the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

King David's Death

David's Death

Text: 1 Kings 1; 2; 1 Chronicles 23-29


Death!

Death is a reality!

Death is the enemy that cannot be put off!

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

We all have an appointment with death. We do not evolve, we just grow old and die, just as our world is growing older and will also die!

But the Word of God teaches us something different than the world does.

The Word of God teaches us of the physical death of the body but not of the soul.

Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Death then is the end of our physical life through the separation of the soul and the body.

Jas 2:26 "For as the body without the spirit is dead", so faith without works is dead also.

We know that the life of our body is in the blood but life in our soul is in the hands of the God who made us!

Physical death results from sin and "No One" is exempted from it!

Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, "and death by sin"; and "so death passed upon all men", for that all have sinned:

For the unbeliever death means eternal torment.

Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

For the believer death means going home to be with Our Lord.

2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

The believer is looking forward to a far better life than the one here on Earth.

Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

After a long and fruitful life, David was nearing his death and would die, but David already knew even in his day that death was not a defeat but actually a victory for he was truly a man after God's own heart.

1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

The most important thing we can know as Christians is that when we die, we will meet the Lord.

While living, we need to live for the Lord.

We can never be ready to die until we have lived for the Lord!

God has exposed to the world the life of David from a teenager throughout his years as King of Israel.

God has allowed us to see the sin in David's life and some say how could those things happen to some one who said he loved the Lord.

But before we judge David, we need to take a hard look at our own selves.

The Bible still says:

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Before the story of David ends, God will show us how a man of God makes preparation for his own death having no fear of that death.

David teaches us some valuable lessons just before his death.

Because we do not know the time of our death, it is important to make preparations for our death as soon as possible so we can live fully prepared to die.

This begins with salvation.

*****1Ki 1:28 Then king David answered and said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.
1Ki 1:29 And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,
1Ki 1:30 Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.

King David had already informed his sons and the elders of Israel that Solomon would be the next King of Israel but as he lie on his death bed he was informed that Adonijah, another son had decided himself that he should be king.

Not only that but Joab, the General of David's army and Abiathar who shared the duties of High Priest with Zadok had taken the side of Adonijah.

Notice David was not in a panic this time as he had been with Absalom.

David knew he was redeemed.

David knew that the Lord had saved him out of all the distresses in his life and He would again.

David set things in order before he died!

David had already made all the preparations for the Temple.

David had already prepared Solomon.

David had already made obligations to the Lord.

And while he was still alive, David had to make sure these things were set in place.

We will all certainly grow old and feeble in our later years but as long as we have breath, we have an opportunity to serve the Lord in some way.

Even at the very end we can still pray, which is our greatest weapon against the evil of this world.

Besides all these things, David was still King of Israel!

David called Bathsheba and certain men he knew he could trust to him.

*****1Ki 1:31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
1Ki 1:32 And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.

The way to stop Adonijah was to take action now and not allow this rebellion to grow. David had failed in this with Absalom.

By making Solomon king before his death, David knew that Solomon would rule at the bidding of his father.

In this we can see that Solomon would begin as a "type" of Christ Jesus, who will rule on this Earth at the bidding of His Own Father in Heaven.

We must also consider that all these problems would have been avoided had King David been the husband of "one" wife and not had so many sons from his many wives.

But even on his death bed King David knew exactly what to do.

*****1Ki 1:33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
1Ki 1:34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.

Mules were used by all the princes and Solomon would have had his own mule but there was one mule which was the state mule set aside only for the King.

There were three things that brought on the death penalty in Israel besides some of the Laws of Moses.

1) To sit on the Kings throne without permission would bring the penalty of death.
2) To handle the King's scepter without permission would bring the penalty of death.
3) To ride on the King's mule without permission would certainly bring the penalty of death.

All subjects, including the King's own family were forbidden to ride on this state mule.

With Solomon riding the mule of the King for all to see, it was a public declaration that it was Solomon who had been chosen to be the next King of Israel.

This Gihon was a fountain near Jerusalem and also a very public place where many people gathered throughout the day.

From the birth of Solomon up to this time, Solomon had been educated by the prophet Nathan.

Both King Saul and King David had been anointed by the Prophet Samuel and it would be the Prophet Nathan who would anoint Solomon as the new King of Israel.

Since David had not yet died, Solomon would rule as regent to his father David.

This means he would sit on the throne as judge, ride the state mule, use the King's scepter but his father David would still make all the governmental decisions.

When that trumpet was sounded most of Jerusalem would have heard the sound and they understood it's significance.

The trumpet was used to signal many things in these days.

There was the call to religious service, the call to fast, the call to the different feasts, the call to war, and there was the sound of the trumpet that came only every 50 years, when slaves would be set free.

Every slave would know this sound for sure!

The people of Jerusalem knew the different sounds of the trumpet.

We should take note.

When the Trump of God sounds, at the time of the Rapture, all God's saints will recognize that sound!

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

After this it was Solomon who sat on the throne in stead of his father David as regent.

*****1Ki 1:35 Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
1Ki 1:36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.

Benaiah was the son of the chief priest, Jehoiada but he had chosen to serve King David and was the commander of David's personal body guard and one of the "Mighty Men".

Benaiah said. "Amen"---Thus saith the Lord!

And the people agreed and said "God save King Solomon".

King David knew his time was short and it was time to prepare Solomon to be on his own.

*****1Ki 2:1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
1Ki 2:2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;

It seems that the rulers of today only concern themselves with their own time.

We will see that King David thought just as much about the future of Israel as he did in his own time!

From David's teenage days, he had been the anointed son, he had the hero of Israel, and he had made the transition from a shepherd to a King but even with all these things and the riches he had obtained, David still knew he would die the death of man.

David understood "Creation" as it was written in the Word of God.

David was not an "evolutionist'!

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

And we know that Solomon never forgot this time with his father because he also wrote these words for us.

Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Solomon also was a "Creationist."

It is a fact, we will all reach this point in our lives and it is best to remember it is God who created us!

Our bodies of flesh will die but the spirit that God has given us will go back to Him!

It is during this life time given to us by the Lord that we need to make the decisions concerning our spirit.

Those that have not made salvation a priority while they lived, will hear these words from the Lord, when their spirit returns to the God who made them.

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, "I never knew you": depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Unless the "Rapture" comes, we will all go by the way of all the Earth!

The Apostles gave a similar message to the Corinthian church and to all believers:

1Co 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

Men of wisdom, which is given to us of God if we ask, will not be as children who are unstable and weak and not carried and tossed about with every wind of doctrine.

The Jews had a saying that goes like this: "In a place where there are no men, show thyself to be a man"! "when there are no wise men to teach you, then teach your self to be wise"!

They had the true understanding that all wisdom comes from the Lord!

This is the same message David gave to Solomon.

*****1Ki 2:3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

Solomon was God 's choice to succeed his father David but Solomon could never lead this nation without God.

David also gave these words to Solomon.

1Ch 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

For Solomon to succeed as King of Israel, he would have to be strong in the Word of God.

Satan knows our weaknesses and he will exploit them if we do not remain strong in the Lord.

We must know certain things:

1) A knowledge of God will include the fact that God exists. There is no beginning with God until we first believe that He exists.

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.

2) We must then be in constant fellowship with our Lord.

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

3) We must have full confidence in the Lord.

Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

4) We must then be engaged in active service with Him!

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

And David also gave Solomon a warning: "He will cast thee off forever".

There is also a warning to the Church.

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

A consuming fire burns until all fuel has been burnt up.

If Solomon would obey his own father then he would not have a problem with obeying the things of God.

*****1Ki 2:4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

David understood the things of the Messiah because guided by the Holy Spirit, he gave us these words.

Psa 89:3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
Psa 89:4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

Psa 89:27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
Psa 89:28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
Psa 89:29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

Psa 89:33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
Psa 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
Psa 89:35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
Psa 89:36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
Psa 89:37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

It was important for Solomon to understand all these things.

God had revealed to David, His desire to be behind the man that who sat on the throne of Israel.

Solomon could succeed if he allowed God to rule his heart as his father David had!

*****1Ch 29:23 Then Solomon sat on "the throne of the LORD" as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

We should be able to see here that Solomon was sitting on the Lord's Throne!

The office of King of Israel never belonged to any human king but has always belonged to the Lord.

God has placed many men on His throne for many years until the day He returns to sit on His own throne.

But God also makes this promise to every believer.

Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

These things come in two parts.

Solomon had to submit to the Lord and Israel had to submit to Solomon for these things to work.

*****1Ch 29:24 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, "submitted" themselves unto Solomon the king.

What is submission?

Submitting meant that these men would make no decisions in the government of Israel but would only follow the wishes of King Solomon.

They swore allegiance to Solomon!

This is what every believer does when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Our Savior.

We must submit to the King, King Jesus!

*****1Ch 29:25 And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The reign of King Solomon began. King Solomon would set the standard for all kings to come both in Israel and throughout the world.

Until the time of Solomon, Israel had lived the simple life and had little contact with other nations unless threatened or attacked.

Solomon would bring Israel in contact with the world especially through Pharaoh and Hiram.

Israel would become the center of commercialism.

Israel would become rich and take part in the luxuries of this world.

Silver and gold would become as common as the rocky landscape.

Agriculture, commerce, architecture, arts and sciences, would become part of the national life.

And with all these things, worship of the One True God would take a back seat.

Peace would come but by national alliances, and by corruption and by inter-marriages that go against the Word of God.

Solomon did not know the life of the Shepherd nor the life of the Servant, and though wiser than any man that did not know God, Solomon would place himself above God.

Solomon was magnified because the Lord magnified him.

Solomon was regal and had majesty because it came from the Lord.

Solomon was illustrious because the Lord made him that way.

As the reign of Solomon began the life of King David ended.

*****1Ch 29:26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

We do know a whole lot about Jesse the father of David.

In the life of David, his Heavenly Father took priority!

Jesse was the son of Obed, who was the son of Boaz and Ruth of the Book of Ruth.

Jesse's entire wealth seems to have consisted of a flock of sheep and some goats.

What is the greatest thing written of Jesse in the Bible?

Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the "stem of Jesse", and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Isa 11:10 And in that day there shall be "a root of Jesse", which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

This rod was not King David.

This root was not King Solomon.

This was written of Jesus.

Mat 1:5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
Mat 1:6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

This ensign of the people was the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself.

*****1Ch 29:27 And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

If we just use the numbers mentioned in this verse we see the number 7.

7) Seven is the number of completeness and perfection (both physical and spiritual). It derives much of its meaning from being tied directly to God’s creation of all things.

3) The number 3 pictures completeness, though to a lesser degree than 7. The meaning of this number derives from the fact that it is the first of four spiritually perfect numerals (the others being 7, 10 and 12).

30) The number 30 can symbolize dedication to a particular task or calling.

The number thirty can also represent the sacrificial blood of Jesus. He was betrayed by Judas for 30 silver coins.

In 30 A.D. Jesus suffered and shed His precious blood as God's sacrificial Lamb for the world's sins.

40) The number 40 generally symbolizes a period of testing, trial or probation.

The number forty can also represent a generation of man.

Jesus, just days before his crucifixion, prophesied the total destruction of Jerusalem.

Forty years after his crucifixion in 30 A.D., the mighty Roman Empire destroyed the city and burned its beloved Temple to the ground.

The Bible says:

Ecc 5:15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

And the Bible says this:

Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

In Ecclesiastes that One man died and had nothing for his labor.

In Revelation the other man died and was blessed.

The choices we make while we are yet alive determine whether we are blessed or go to death empty.

King David died blessed!

*****1Ch 29:28 And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

David had lived enjoying good health, having lived as long as living was desirable.

David had lived till he saw everything that he lived for accomplished, except maybe the Temple and he knew that the building of the Temple, was in the hands of his son Solomon.

David had lived the life of a shepherd but he had also lived the life of a king with great riches.

David had lived full of honor.

Up till his time ended his warrior skills and his ability to organize was known throughout the world.

David lived knowing he had passed something special on to his son.

David died knowing that the best was yet to come!

This is the death of the believer!

*****1Ch 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,
1Ch 29:30 With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

We may live life one moment and one day at a time but our life is broken down in "times"!

There is the time we were born.

There is the time until we could walk.

There is the time until we can leave home to be one out own.

There is the time when we can support ourselves.

The time we have a family.

The time we enjoy life or not enjoy life.

The time we grow old.

And there will be the time we die.

Our lives are broken down in "times".

These "times" had went over David, more good than bad, and he had reached that time to die and many good men had written down the things that David had accomplished in his "times".

Each of us have our own "times".

If David had only been King Of Israel, he would have still been remembered but David was also a song writer and he also made many musical instruments.

If David had just done one of these things he would have been remembered here on this Earth.

We have spent may days seeing the things David did wrong but praise the Lord, God will never remember us for any of those things and nor was David in the eyes of God.

What will we be remembered for?

I want the world to know I was "forgiven"!

The world may remember us for many things.

But God will only remember the good things!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

King David's Preparation

David's Preparation

1 Chronicles 22

History tells us that much of what we have been learning from the life of King David happened in his first 33 years as king. The majority of what we will learn today took place in the last 7 years of David as King and the last 7 years of his life.

A good thing to notice in the life of David, is that when sin knocked him down David got back up every time and served the Lord.

We can see that the heart of David was truly after God's own heart!

Even with all his mistakes, David is recognized as a man who served his own generation by the will of God.

Act 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
Act 13:37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

The Bible says, King David served his own generation by the will of God.

David had much sin in his life and God has not hidden that sin from us.

But we can also see in this verse that, Jesus, the Messiah, son of David had no sin and the Lord Jesus served our generation, the generation of the Church, by the will of God!

What was the purpose of a Temple?

We know that the Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of the presence of God to the Jewish people.

And just as the Ark, the Temple was constructed to enshrine, the symbol of God's presence.

As the Ark represented the presence of the Lord, the Temple would house the Ark of God!

Every true House of God must represent the presence of the Living God!

Let's begin.

*****1Ch 22:1 Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.

David had the command of God that he should not build the Temple of the Lord, but there was no command that he could not make preparation for it to be built.

Last week we saw that David had purchased the land for the Temple and it appears that God had chosen the location of the Temple that was to be built by Solomon.

What do we know of the reasons David chose this place.

1) 2Sa 24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.

The Angel of the Lord, stood at this place prepared to destroy Jerusalem but God ended His wrath here at this place.

2) 2Sa 24:18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.

God had sent the Prophet Gad who told David where to build this altar at this place.

3) 1Ch 21:26 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.

The Lord answered by fire from Heaven upon this altar at this place.

Now I don't know about any of you, but if I had in my mind to build a temple for the Lord, it would have been really hard not to have chosen this place.

Another thing to keep in mind is that of all the spots in Jerusalem, this spot belonged to a Gentile and it was purchased by the man of God.

We will also see that the majority of the labor force to build this Temple was a Gentile work force.

These are not just mere coincidences!

The Blood had flowed was from 70,000 of God's people.

The Bible teaches us:

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.

Even before the Temple was built this place was already a "Type" of Christ!

And even before this Temple was built God had decided it was to be built by Gentiles.

*****1Ch 22:2 And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.

Strangers are those people who are not Jews.

Every one who is not a Jew is a Gentile.

This also sounds like slavery but we should not ever forget that God has a reason for everything He does and we are still to learn form all His Written Word.

Everything these workers were in need of was provided for them!

We know the Temple was to be "Type" of Christ, just as the Tabernacle had been.

But the Tabernacle was built by the Jews and was a temporary place.

These hewn stones, prepared by Gentile labor must then be a "Type" of God's people.

1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

When we were saved, we were purchased as slaves who were in bondage to Satan and are now bound in Christ by His own blood.

But really no longer slaves but chosen for the work of the Lord!

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Once not even a people, belonging to no nation but now the people of God.

1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

And a people prepared in abundance while there will only be a remnant of the Jews saved.

Throughout the Old Testament this place would be called the House of God, or the House of the Lord and we know this house was built by men and it was destroyed more than once.

In the New Testament we find, God Himself builds a new house and this house can never be destroyed!

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

*****1Ch 22:3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;
1Ch 22:4 Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

It would take a lot of iron and brass and many cedar trees to build the Temple of God.

Iron expresses destructive power, political power and even slavery.

Brass expresses power, strength, hardness, and durability.

Cedar can express pride and loftiness.

We find all these things still in the Temple when the Messiah came.

David spent may years gathering the materials to build the Temple.

Most all of this material came from the spoils of wars but it was never the reason for war.

When the world abuses the people of God, the world will usually pay in carnal things!

The Egyptians had the Jews in bondage many years but when God led them out of Egypt by the hands of Moses, they brought out much spoil of the Egyptians.

*****1Ch 22:5 And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

Solomon would have been at least less than 30 years old at this time but probably over 20 years old.

A son was not considered a man until the age of 30.

David had set an unreachable goal that this Temple should be an outward appearance of God's magnificence and greatness.

There is nothing on this Earth that we can compare to the greatness of Our God and David certainly knew this but David was determined that the Temple must be "beyond being great" to represent the "Glory of God".

This Temple would be a great task and Solomon may have been overwhelmed by it, if David had not made most all the preparations.

It is said that David spent the last 7 years of his life making preparations for the Temple that Solomon would build.

*****1Ch 22:6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel.

Throughout David's lifetime he had been a great organizer but the world had not seen the organization of religious service that David had planned. David passed all this knowledge on to his son Solomon.

Solomon became wise at an early age partly because his earthly father took a lot of time preparing him for the task at hand.

We have read a lot of bad things about King David but David spent some time with his sons giving them direction.

Some learned just the bad things of David!

It was God who had named Solomon and it was God who had chosen Solomon to be the next King of Israel.

*****1Ch 22:7 And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:
1Ch 22:8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

Every House of God must send the message of peace between man and God!

Though David had a great desire to build this house of God it would have been inappropriate for this Temple to be built by a "man-of-war" such as King David.

It was not God's purpose for David to build this Temple.

David's purpose had been to bring the nation of Israel to this point of security and after may mistakes, Israel was reunited and in possession of most all the land that God had given to them.

Solomon did not have that same great desire to build this Temple but he did have a great desire to be obedient to the wishes of his father!

That is what God teaches us in His Word!

Not everyone can be a Church Planter but we can and should honor the wishes of Our Father in Heaven and do everything we can help build the House of God.

In the words of Jesus:

Mat 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Mat 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

*****1Ch 22:9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
1Ch 22:10 He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.

The name Solomon has the meaning of: peaceable, and perfect, and one who will recompense.

Verse 10 says his throne will be establish over Israel forever.

Solomon was a good King but we would be wrong not to believe these things were more about the Messiah, Jesus Christ than they were about Solomon.

These things could only be fulfilled in Jesus:

Heb 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

Psa 89:26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
Psa 89:27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
Psa 89:28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

God told David that his son would be named Solomon and this shows us that God knows every one who will be born into this world, their names and their character before they are even born.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

But this does not mean that God has selected who will and who will not be saved!

God gave us the freedom to choose!

*****1Ch 22:11 Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee.

David reminded Solomon that God is "faithful"!

Our part in God's "faithfulness" is to trust the Lord and be obedient.

In fact, near the end of Solomon's years after all of his own mistakes, Solomon gave us these words:

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: "for this is the whole duty of man".
Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

If we would just have that godly fear of Our Lord and obey His Words and His calling, we would find a whole lot more peace and joy in our lives!

*****1Ch 22:12 Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.
1Ch 22:13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

We should all pray for our children and included in that prayer should be to ask the Lord to give them wisdom and understanding.

David even asked the Lord to help Solomon to rule Israel.

And none of us are above the law of God!

The Bible is specific:

Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

It is the wise thing to do to keep the commandments of the Lord!

This wisdom can be summed up in 2 verses:

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.

We can prosper in this life when we love the Lord!

We can have joy in this life when we love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves!

King David spent the last years of his life preparing the materials for the building of the Temple and preparing his son Solomon to build the Temple.

*****1Ch 22:14 Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.

No matter what David had gone through since the time he had retrieved the Ark, he had kept to his goal to build a Temple for the Lord.

It was David's goal to establish worship in the nation of Israel and that worship to be in the name of Jehovah God.

David had not amassed kingly riches as most kings do but had committed all his riches, and all the spoils of war to the Lord.

One talent of Gold would equal 91.15 troy lbs. or 12 times that for troy ounces. 1094 troy ounces.

One talent of Gold at todays value would be near $ 875,200.00.

King David had accumulated 100,000 talents of Gold near $ 875,200,000,000.00 at todays value.

Nearly 900 billion dollars.

Add to that 1,000,000 talents of silver worth today $ 14,000,000,000.00

14 Billion dollars.

With an untold weight of iron and brass we can see that King David had dedicated more than a Trillion dollars at todays currency rate to the building of the Temple.

King David had cedar cut and stored ready for construction.

King David had greater marble stones cut and stored for construction.

And King David had crews working on these materials long before Solomon became King of Israel.

*****1Ch 22:15 Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.
1Ch 22:16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.

Many of these men working on the materials for the Temple were indeed experts in their field.

It takes all kinds of people to build God's House!

King David made made all the arrangements.

King David had assembled most all the work force.

King David had God's plans for the Temple.

King David had prepared a great wealth to build this Temple.

King David encouraged his son Solomon to get started.

We can see in all these things David was a "type" of the Heavenly Father.

It is Our Father in Heaven, who made all the arrangements, Who assembles the work force, Who made all the plans before He created any of these things.

It is Our Father in Heaven, Who has all the riches, and Who prepared His Son Jesus to build His House!

*****1Ch 22:17 David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,

King David wanted his entire family involved in the building of God's House.

We should have this same goal.

We need to encourage our entire family to get involved in the work of God that goes on at the House of God.

Why?

*****1Ch 22:18 Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words for us:

Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

We must realize that God will not allow us to fail when we are in His will!

David not only ruled Israel but all the surrounding nations were at peace with Israel.

Israel could rest from war.

Israel had been given a good land that always blossoms when they are on it.

It was time for all of David's family to concentrate on the things of the Lord.

It is Our Father who rules all His creation.

It is Our Father who makes His creation to blossom.

It is Our Father who would have all His creation, "whosoever will", become His family.

It is Our Father who will give us rest, not only here on Earth, but true rest in Heaven one sweet day!

*****1Ch 22:19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.

It was time for all of Israel to seek the Lord.

God had taken away all the distractions that hindered the work of the Lord.

Everything about the Temple was to be stately and magnificent, being a "type" of Christ.

The entire Old Testament was written to lead us to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Christ came.

Christ died for our sins.

Christ rose from that death and lives evermore.

We need to set our heart and souls to seek the Lord and get busy about the Master's Work.

God has removed the obstacles and hindrances of our old life and made us new creatures.

It is still time to build God's House!

A new House of God is built "every time a soul is saved" and these are permanent houses, indestructible!

When the Lord Jesus ascended into Heaven, there were 2 angels standing with the Apostles and as messengers they had this message.

Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, "why stand ye gazing up into heaven"? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Why are we still standing around gazing up to Heaven waiting on the Rapture and Christ's return.?

We need to be busy at the work Christ Jesus has given us to do!

King David had prepared the best this world had to offer to build the House of the Lord, and we fail the Lord when we do not give Him our very best!

Questions?

Let's Pray!