Politics and Emotion

Regarding political and/or emotional issues involving ethics or morality:

1.      Did Jesus Address this particular issue?

Matthew 10:24-25 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!”

Matthew 12:18-21 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.”

As an ambassador of Jesus Christ, I represent Him in everything I do, think or speak. He set the example for my attitude and demeanor. He didn’t shout rebellious slogans in the streets against Rome. He did state the truth, with divine authority, to anyone who would listen. His issue was the salvation He came to bring. His text reference was the written Word of God. His controversy was with those who were misrepresenting God’s plan of grace by burdening God’s people with manmade legalisms. His execution was for identifying Himself as God and offering forgiveness, not for any crimes or political insurrection.

2.      Can a doctrinal principle or proclamation be found in the Old Testament which condemns or supports the issue? 

Titus 2:1 “You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.” 

Any teaching or practice which conflicts with the written Word is wrong. We must not assume. If God’s Word doesn’t deal with the issue, it is a non-issue. This is where people let emotionalism take control of their volition. Emotions cannot think. Emotions react. That’s why we have God’s Word for guidance.

3.      Why are not the Ambassadors of Jesus Christ (“moral majority, conservative Christians”) proclaiming the Good News of Salvation in Jesus Christ to those whom they perceive to be lost instead of shouting accusations?

 

I Timothy 1:5-7, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.”

6:3-5 “ If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,  they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions  and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”

6:20-21 “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.”

What has been entrusted to the Christian’s care is God’s perfect Word. If we have diligently, prayerfully studied the Word, we have stability in our own souls about what we believe. Arguing the “ifs, ands and buts” is a pointless waste of energy. Those who don’t believe and want to debate the reality of God or the divine inspiration of scripture just love the debate. Those Christians who get drawn into the debate are not really honoring Christ, they are indulging in “godless chatter,” because those who have made up their minds to disregard God’s Word have no spiritual capacity to comprehend it. The only legitimate challenge to such people is that they should try to read the Word with an open mind and a willingness to believe. Otherwise, it is gobbledygook to them, who consider themselves morally superior to Almighty God! We have our individual right to vote our beliefs. Let us do so with quiet confidence and leave the worldlings to their evil. God knows what’s going on, and who is responsible.

As Christians, we will promote policies and practices that are compatible with our faith in God and His Word. Those who say they keep politics separate from their faith don’t have any faith. They are worldlings who see everything from only the human viewpoint: “what’s in it for me?” The divine viewpoint prioritizes the plan and purpose of God for the human race: individual free will, Biblical marriage, protection for families and national sovereignty, in which each individual human is free to receive the gospel message and believe it for the eternal salvation of his soul.

This is what the divine institutions are all about: freedom under the umbrella of God’s system of authority. Without such a framework, there is no freedom. All would be chaos, rebellion and anarchy. No one’s individual freedom would be respected. Everyone would be doing what he considered good for himself, without thought for the needs and sensibilities of others.

Romans 15:3-6 “For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,  so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You Shall Not

Understanding the Ten Commandments

1.      Exodus 20:2-3 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
               YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.”
Who we worship is the most important matter in life, whether we realize it or not, and it is the basis for all decisions and relationships we make. God did not say there are no other “gods.” He said we are commanded not to worship them. They are demons.
The issue in this commandment number 1 is who we are to worship. We are to worship the ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD; He is unique (the only one like Him). He is both creator and redeemer. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit in ONE ETERNAL BEING. He is the ONLY ONE worthy of our worship.

2.      Exodus 20:4 “YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF AN IMAGE in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them…”
This commandment carries a four generation curse (v. 5b) “for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me…” Children imitate and repeat the sins of their parents, and pass the same sin patterns on to their own children. Idol worship leads to heathenism. The peoples we have known as heathen; tribal peoples (African, American Indians, Eskimos) were all once civilized nations. They degenerated through idolatry.

Our unique God is Spirit. Those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, not through man made images. The most wonderful image man can make belittles he person of God (John 4:24).

Exodus 20:7 “YOU SHALL NOT MISUSE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”

3.   Don’t profane God’s name. “Name” represents character (Who He really is). “Name” represents authority (sovereignty. power). “Name “ represents person. The person of the Father, who planned the creation, salvation, and numbered the hairs on our heads and the days we will live. The person of the Son, who actually created the universe and keeps it running (Colossians 1:16-17); the one who paid the penalty for ALL our sins. The person of the Holy Spirit, who indwells every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who constantly prays to the Father on our behalf, because we’re not always able to pray properly.

The King James Version of this verse warns not to take God’s name “in vain” (Hebrew: shawv) means:  Desolating – making meaningless, common, unimportant. Evil – misrepresenting God in the world. Ruin – rot, decay, shameful, dirty word. Guile- deceitful, for mercenary reasons, to impress. Idolatry – phony front. False. No faith. Religion. Good luck charm. Uslessness – to no purpose. Christian in name only. No faith in God’s Word. Lying- swearing an oath. Trying to authenticate a lie. Emptiness – Idle chatter, coarse jesting, irreverent attitude. Only rebels and fools treat God like a joke of a convenience.

4.      Exodus 20:8 “REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY BY KEEPING IT HOLY.”  Verse 11 “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

“Holy” means set apart unto God, for rest and remembrance of the creation. Cease from your work, concentrate on the One Who Provides. Physical illustration of spiritual truth in Hebrews 4. Faith Rest. “There remains a rest to the people of God.”

This Sabbath was the SEVENTH day. Saturday. It has not changed. Sunday is NOT the Sabbath, it is the Lord’s Day, because He arose the first day of the week.

5.      Exodus 20:12 “HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

This command carries a promise of prolonged life. Home is the training ground, parents are the coaches to teach children about life. Children who dishonor parents are not only a shame to the parents, but they can’t function in the world. The most important characteristic of human behavior is humility. You learn it by obeying your parents. Jesus did.

Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” (!)

6.      Exodus 20:13 “YOU SHALL NOT MURDER.”

There is no further elaboration in the Bible on this commandment, but in this time of confusion and the Devil’s “Do-Good” religion, we must explain that all killing is not murder. Joshua 6:21, 10:28, 10:39-40 “… just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.” I Samuel 15:1-3, God commanded His people to kill the enemy in battle. This was HIS decision, to protect His people and to destroy those who had reached maximum degeneration through unbelief.

Genesis 9:5-6, Numbers 35:30-31, Leviticus 20:2,9-16,27, Matthew 26:52, Romans 13:4. Capital punishment is God’s command, to remove the criminals and perverts from among His ‘holy’ people. It is HIS decision, for protection of the race.

God gave life to the human soul. Only God has authority to remove that life. In matters of warfare and capital punishment, He has delegated authority to governments, but we as individuals are forbidden to make the decision or perform the act that deliberately ends another person’s life. That’s murder.

7.      Exodus 20:14 “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.”

Sex with a person who is not your spouse. Fornication destroys intimacy in marriage. Intimacy in marriage is necessary for strength and unity in the marriage, which is a demonstration of Christ and His Church. A strong, solid marriage fortifies the home against demonic attack and infiltration; protects the children. Adultery is like “cozying up” to Satan. He’ll tell you it’s o.k. He’s a liar.

8.      Exodus 20:15 “YOU SHALL NOT STEAL.”

Individual ownership of property is a divine right. No one has the right to take property that belongs to someone else. Stealing is sin just like adultery is sin. Just because a thing is easy to get doesn’t make it o.k. to take it.

9.      Exodus 20:16 “YOU SHALL NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR.”

No false testimony. This involves destruction of character, like number 3. Slander. It is vicious and evil. It would be better to harm someone physically than to destroy their reputation. Physical wounds heal. Sometimes soiled reputations never recover.

10. Exodus 20:17   “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” 

Coveting is the desire to have the things, even the people, that belong to someone else. It means to envy the person who has what you want. “As a man thinks, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). Coveting corrupts the soul. It is the basis for all overt sins. If you covet excitement and “signs,” you will place other gods before the Lord Jesus Christ. If you covet tangible evidence of God, you will set up idols to serve. If you covet a reputation as a great Christian, you will take God’s name in vain (falsely, for selfish purposes). If you covet your neighbor’s spouse or things, you will steal, cheat or commit adultery to acquire his, or something better for yourself.

How do we know what sin is? We know because God spelled it out for us, to show us our weaknesses and failures. To show us our need for a Savior.

And then He sent the Savior. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

Formula For Freedom

The Ten Commandments

God’s Formula for Human Freedom

After 400 years in Egyptian bondage, God knew Abraham’s descendants were ready by now to become His own people; His witness to the world. They needed to be separated from Egypt (symbolic of the world), set apart unto God (identified as God’s people), and TRAINED to know GOD’S WAY and to obey only Him. They needed a strong leader, which He gave them in Moses. They needed written instructions for living, which He gave them in the law. It is of supreme importance that God’s Word to His people was WRITTEN. That way, it could be preserved throughout the generations exactly He Himself gave it. And it has been. There is a satanic conspiracy to create doubt about this among believers, but God’s own Word defends itself in Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35, Revelation 22:19 and other passages. This is for our personal assurance as believers in Jesus Christ, so that we can always have complete confidence in the unchanging Word to meet our needs. Don’t waste time arguing with unbelievers about this (they’ll bring it up!); simply challenge them to READ it for themselves. When they do read it, they soon get a taste of Its convicting power which brings them face to face with the awesome Gift of Christ!

So God gave His law to His people through His servant, Moses. God Himself wrote the first ten commandments on the tablets of stone that He told Moses to bring. Those got broken when Moses threw them down in anger against the Israelites when he found them partying around a golden calf on his return from the mountain. Then God wrote them again, in another set of tablets. God’s mercy endures forever. We’re going to find that a large part of the law He gave them contained commandments against the very thing Moses found them doing around the golden calf (idol worship, fornication, drunkenness).

1.      We are not to make a religion out of the Mosaic Law, because:

A.     The Law cannot save: Galatians 2:16, 3:10

B.     The Law cannot give life: Galatians 3:21

C.     The Law cannot provide the Holy Spirit: Galatians 3:2

2.      We are to be aware of the Mosaic Law, because:

A.     It sets forth the perfect standard, God’s standard.

B.     It reveals the true character of man: we’re sinners.

The purpose of the Mosaic Law, therefore, is to show us the contrast between God’s perfect righteousness and our total helplessness apart from the perfect work of Christ.

The Ten Commandments are known as the Moral Code of the Mosaic Law. This code deals with our relationships to God (1-5) and our relationships to man (6-9), with one given as a judge of our innermost desires (10)! This one is the real clincher. People can know of our actions in worship, in obedience to parents, truthfulness, etc., because these are overt acts. Only God can know that we COVET! Only God’s Word can reveal to us that to covet is sin!

The Ten Commandments are a code that protects the rights and property and families of the human race. God’s Formula for Human Freedom.

    Commandment-         The Issue                 The emphasis           N. T. Reference

      scripture

1. Ex. 20:3          Whom to worship        the unity of God              Mark 12:29
2. Ex. 20:4-6       How to worship           the spirituality of God      John 4:24
3. Ex. 20:7          Spirit of worship           reverence for God         Matthew 5:34
4. Ex. 20:8-11     Rest & remembrance   thanksgiving to God      Mark 2:27
5. Ex. 20:12         Parental Authority       order and long life         Eph. 6:1
6. Ex. 20:13         Sanctity of human life                                 I Jn. 3:15, Mt. 5:22
7. Ex. 20:14         Sanctity of  marriage                humanity’s        Matthew 5:28
8. Ex. 20:15         Sanctity of property                   bill of                I Cor. 10:24
9. Ex. 20:16         Sacredness of character            rights               Eph. 4:25

1        10.   Ex. 20:17         Evil of illicit desire       corrupts the soul.           Romans 7:7
                                                                     basis for all overt sins.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today;  the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”

Deuteronomy 12:28 "Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well  with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God."

Deuteronomy 12:32 “See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.”

Rules...Reasons...Results

        1.  God, our creator, established RULES for human behavior.

      2. God has specific REASONS for the rules He has made.

      3. There are definite consequences for disregarding and disobeying God’s rules: the RESULTS of practicing sin and evil as a way of life. This applies to believers and unbelievers.

God gave Moses the rules to teach His people, Israel, on Mt. Sinai after they came out of Egypt. The Isrealites wrote the rules down and kept them to teach all generations what God expects of the people who belong to Him. The rules He gave Moses are called the Mosaic Law. It consists of three parts:
 

I.         Moral Code (Ten Commandments) Exodus 20:3-17   Deuteronomy 5:7-21 This section deals with personal attitude toward God and man.  Christ was there at the giving of the Law.

I Corinthians 10:4-14 “…they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.’ We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.”

II.      Spiritual Code (Levitical Feasts and Offerings) Exodus 35-40  Leviticus 

Feasts and offerings were teaching rituals about Christ’s redemption.

Hebrews 10:1 “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”

Matthew 5:17 ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Romans 10:4 “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

I Corinthians 5:7 “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”

III.     Social Code (general conduct and responsibility) Leviticus (diet, sanitation, taxation, military service, marriage, childbirth, divorce)

a.      diet,  Leviticus 11

b.      childbirth, Leviticus 12

c.      leprosy,  Leviticus 13-14

d.      bodily secretions, Leviticus 15

e.      incest and perversion, Leviticus 18

f.       benevolence, Leviticus 19

g.      apostasy/idolatry, Leviticus 20:1-9

h.      perversion, Leviticus 20:10-17

i.       kinsman redemption, Leviticus 25:47-49

j.       disobedience, Leviticus 26 (cycles of discipline)

Humanity was imprisoned under the law until Christ’s redemption was revealed. Galatians 3:24-25-

“So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”

God's Law

Introduction: ORIGINAL PRACTICE

In the beginning, when God made humanity upon the earth, there was no written law. At first, there was no need for law, because no one had sinned. Even then, God established a pattern for human life. We call it the Divine Institutions (God's fixed patterns to protect the human race). There were four:

1. Volition--free will as a part of the individual soul.
2. Marriage-- Genesis 2:21-24  One man, one woman united for life.
3. Family-- Genesis 1:27-28, 2:16 Parents and children in the household.
4. Nations--Genesis 10-11 Groups of people with common language and culture under the protection of common government and boundary. 

Besides the divine institutions, there were other patterns established early which had meaning in the lives of people. Some of these things had to do with relationship to God, some had to do with living; physical survival.

We've already noted the original marriage; one man, one woman in Genesis chapter 2. Even though people later on started to marry many mates and practice other forms of marriage, God never authorized any other than one man, one woman as in the beginning. Eventually, large portions of the law had to be devoted to the regulation of marriage and divorce because of the sinfulness of man.

The first blood sacrifice was made in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:15,21, and Genesis 4:1-5 show that God taught Adam and Eve about the coming Savior and killed an animal (probably a lamb), shedding its blood to give them coverings for their shame. Genesis 3:15:
 "And I will put enmity Between you (Satan) and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed (the Messiah) ; He shall bruise you on the head (neutralizing blow), And you shall bruise him on the heel (temporary injury)."
21: The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Their fig leaves were human good. NO good. They wanted to cover their embarrassing nakedness. Genesis 3:11 "“Who told you that you were naked? (probably Satan.  "Just look at you. Aren't you ashamed? Put on some clothes.") God covered their sin, which was the real cause of their shame.

They apparently taught their sons to worship God through such offerings. Abel understood the significance of the blood sacrifice. Cain disregarded it. Unbelievers never respect the blood of Christ. They find this part of the gospel disgusting. In later times, many chapters of the law gave instructions to God's people about blood sacrifices and other offerings which symbolized the person and work of Jesus Christ. These sacrifices made vivid impressions on the minds of people who had to participate in them. This was an important teaching method for people who didn't have books.

In Genesis 1:29-30 we see that in the beginning animals and humans ate only vegetation. This changed after the flood, when in Genesis 9:3-4 God told Noah that all animals were acceptable as food along with vegetation. He was warned not to eat the blood, for the blood represents the life of the animal. When God gave the law, he narrowed the variety of acceptable foods, placing certain types of animals in a category called unclean. This was for specific reasons that had to do with the purity of the people He called His own. There may have been health reasons, also, but at any rate, the law included these lists of clean versus unclean animals that the Israelites were supposed to observe, as well as ways of preparing some of them. We need to note here that in the New Testament, Acts 10:5-10, God gave specific instruction to Peter that these rules no longer applied. All foods are ok and we should be thankful for them. Acts 10:15 "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Other evidence in Genesis that there were rituals to express man's relationship to God are found in chapter 14:18 (communion) and 15:9-10 (covenant ritual). Also, in the life of Abraham it is notable that he made an alter to the Lord wherever he went.

It is apparent that for many hundreds of years after God created the earth and after the fall of man, the relationship of men with God was on an individual and/or family basis. There were these institutions and rituals we've noted, indicating that God did make Himself known to certain men and was worshipped by them, but until the Jews came out of slavery in Egypt there was no written law from God, no system of rules and ordinances that spelled out exactly what He expected from His people on an individual AND national scale. Indeed, there was no nation of God's people until He brought Abraham's descendants out of Egypt and made of them a "people for His name."

It is the written law that God gave His people that we will be studying for the next few blogs. Fallen man has a self-righteous morality based on emotion and sentiment. Only through God's Word can we know His standard of true righteousness. Many people think that only by keeping the law can we have hope of eternal life. God's Word reveals to us we can receive righteousness ONLY through believing in the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God Who is illustrated in the blood sacrifices of the Old Testament. Not through the law.

If the law of God is beyond our human understanding and beyond our human ability to keep, why are we studying it? Because in God's law we can come to see the answers to a lot of questions that are being asked today. Such as: why does God allow war, famine and disease? Why should I obey rules I consider dumb and unnecessary? What's wrong with horoscopes? drugs? homosexuality? premarital sex? How should I feel about AIDS? What's all this stuff got to do with me?

God knows the human soul very well. He created it. All this stuff has EVERYTHING to do with us.

Personal Ministry

The false doctrines, bad behaviors and wrong expectations of others in no way change our individual responsibility to Jesus Christ and His Church. Some keys to maintaining stability in the face of criticism, rejection or ridicule:

1. I am alive, therefore I have a purpose for being.

Job 14:5 “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You...”
Psalm 39:4 “Lord, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days...”

2. As a believer, my purpose is to glorify Christ. This is done through daily intake and application of Bible Doctrine. Result: blessing from God and production of divine good.     

I     1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

A. By witnessing-- 2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” I Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. 

B. By teaching—Titus 2:4-5 “so that they (older women) may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 29:17 “Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; He will also delight your soul." 

C. By prayer and giving of time and material blessings for the Lord’s work.--Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 

D. By doing my job (home, church, business) as unto the Lord. That means everything I do--Colossians 3:17 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. 23-24 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” 

 3. God has seen fit to give me my own personal set of circumstances as a framework for my priestly function.

I Corinthians 7:17-24 “Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches. Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that.  For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.”

4. Any real  obstacles to my service for Christ will be removed.
I Peter 3:13 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?”

2 Peter 2:9 “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment..”

5. Therefore, anything which is allowed to remain is not really an obstacle, but the grace provision of God.
Ephesians 4:7 “to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
2 Corinthians 12:7-9..there was given me a thorn in the flesh…I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you…”
I Corinthians 15:10 “by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

6. No outside force can destroy the effectiveness of an ambassador for Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

7. Only that within the mind (mental attitude sins) of the believer can destroy his capacity for service and effectiveness as a believer-priest.

I Corinthians 3:3 “for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

8. There is no excuse for self-pity, bitterness, vindictiveness, pouting, etc. in the Christian life because God has provided the means and the opportunities for service that is honoring to Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:7 “..to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

9. My relationship to Christ depends upon no other human being! It is absolutely personal and private.

Romans 14:4 “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

John 21:21-22 “So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him…..what is that to you? You follow Me!”

Paul's Thorn

Some facts pertaining to Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh:

Acts 9:15-16: “..the Lord said to (reluctant) Ananias, “Go! This man (Paul) is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 20:19: “..I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents…”
2 Corinthians 11:22, 24-25 “Are they Hebrews? So am I.  Are they Israelites? So am I.  Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I….Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones….”
Acts 20:23 “….in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.^” Acts 21:11 “….he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.” Acts 22:3-4 “I am a Jew,  born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison…”

No one could be any more Jewish than Saul of Tarsus. He had the credentials and the zeal. However, as Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, he was despised and rejected by HIS OWN PEOPLE. To them he was a traitor.

Acts 21:28 “…Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”

Why did Paul do this? Because his people meant so much to him that he was willing to compromise doctrine by trying to reach them on their own terms. It backfired. It always does.

Romans 9:2-5 “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.  For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race,  the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.”

Paul, like the Lord Jesus Christ, had people problems. So do you, if you serve the Lord.

John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

Reason for the THORN IN THE FLESH: to teach humility! “to keep me from exalting MYSELF!” (stated twice, for emphasis.) TO KEEP ME FROM EXALTING MYSELF!”  2 Corinthians 12:7:

“there was GIVEN me” part of Paul’s grace provision
“a THORN” resulting from the curse on the earth, a constant source of pain
“in the FLESH” genealogical. Pertaining to human relationships. Probably emotional pressure that can’t be ignored. (“my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Romans 9:3)
“a messenger of Satan” who knows our every weakness. Knows just where it hurts.
“to buffet me.” (to hit with a fist) Matthew 26:67, Mark 14:65 believe me, that’s how it feels!

2 Corinthians 12:10

“weaknesses” emotional pull toward kinsmen, toward the Law, toward Gamaliels’s teaching? A desire to ‘show’ them, by boasting about the ‘revelations’? A tendency to compromise in order to reach them through their own system?
“insults” you’re a fool, a fanatic, a traitor to your own people!
“distresses” sorrow and unceasing grief
“persecutions” beatings, stonings
“difficulties” personal inconvenience, physical problems, material needs
“FOR CHRIST’S SAKE”! compare Philippians 1:29 “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake..”

So you’re frustrated, lonely, unable to communicate the doctrine you love to the people you love? You’re begging God to remove the burden? Consider this: 

Luke 13:34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” Matthew 12:49-50 “Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Our Lord didn’t suffer physical illnesses, diseases, pains, etc. in His body; He had no old sin nature, which is the source of those kinds of sufferings. His suffering was the rejection of His people even as He prepared to receive their sins in His own perfect body on the cross.

How do we share the sufferings of Christ? John 15:20 “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.  If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”

John 15:27 “And you also will bear witness…”

The Doctrine of Thorns

Thorn, Thorns
Literal: Any of various sharp, spiny protuberances; a prickle.
Symbolic: A person or thing that causes sharp pain, irritation, or discomfort.
Biblical: Symbolic of the Judgment of God; first on the earth, then on Israel. In the Old Testament, wherever its use is symbolic, it is the direct result of disobedience, neglect of doctrine, and the negative response of a rebellious people.

Genesis 3:17-18 “…Cursed is the ground because of you (Adam)….It will produce thorns and thistles for you…” Numbers 33:55 “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.” Joshua 23:13 “..they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes.” Proverbs 15:19 “The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway." Proverbs 24:30-31 “I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense…thorns had come up everywhere…” Ezekiel 2:3-7 “He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’  And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.”

Thorns and thistles are the NATURAL produce of the uncultivated earth. If not systematically destroyed, they will hinder and destroy the good crops of the husbandman.

Matthew 7:16 “Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”
Matthew 13:7 “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.”
13:22 “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
Hebrews 6:7-8 “Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.  But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.”

Principle: Believers never have to be taught carnality, laziness, rebellion. All these characteristics are natural, instinctive, EARTHLY. We must, however, be taught the Word of God. It must be systematically cultivated in our souls. If we neglect so important a responsibility we will become overgrown with thorns before we notice, and totally incapable of producing good fruit for our Husbandman.

As Jesus was bearing our sins on the cross, He was at the same time bearing the curse of the earth (the crown of thorns) on His head. 

John 19:2,5 “The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe…When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”.

Thorns, then, represent something in our environment; something outside ourselves which causes continuing irritation, pain, discomfort which we see as an obstacle to our spiritual growth. Thorns are not fatal, just troublesome. You can function while enduring the thorn, but you’re never quite relaxed about it. You can never quite forget that it’s there.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “because of these surpassingly great revelations (to Paul in an altered state—near death), therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was GIVEN (grace package) a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.^. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Judges 2:3 “Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’”

Why? 

Judges 2:22-23 “I will use them TO TEST ISRAEL and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.

Judges 3:1-2,4 “These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan  (he did this only TO TEACH WARFARE TO THE DESCENDANTS OF THE ISRAELITES WHO HAD NOT HAD PREVIOUS BATTLE EXPERIENCE)…. They were left to TEST THE ISRAELITES to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Hebrews 4:15-16,18 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need…Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Paul suffered as a minister of the gospel in the same manner as Jesus suffered reaching out to His lost sheep, and from the same source: His people, the Jews. Not physical illness, but painful rejection by the people He loved. Our thorns are also caused by people we love. If we didn’t love them, it wouldn’t hurt that they despise what we represent. We do, though, and it does. Jesus knows.

Exaltation

In another alphabetic acrostic written by David, he sings praises to the eternal King of glory, Who has saved His people and protected them through their long earthly sojourn. Some of that sojourn is yet future. God knows the end from the beginning, and He had gifted certain Old Testament believers to have insight into the prophecies regarding Israel’s rise to nationhood, times of oppression and captivity, and their return to their blessed land in the Lord’s perfect time. King David was gifted in such a way. In the last several Psalms, the prophetic praise is about Israel’s survival and return to the land God gave to their father, Abraham many centuries before. David totally identifies with Israel and with Jesus Christ, Whose afflictions and victories are prominent throughout the Psalms.

Psalm 145:1-2
I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

145:4 One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.

 

God has entrusted His Word to imperfect humans, throughout history. It is through the witness of one human to another human that most people are awakened to the truth of God’s Word, and eventually saved by faith in that Word. In the Old Testament, angels often appeared as special messengers to certain servants of God, appointing them to a particular work. Sometimes the special messenger was Jesus Christ, Himself, appearing as a man or angelic being. This is called a Christophany. Those were special circumstances and special anointings.

For the dissemination of the gospel message to the human race, however, and for the teaching of systematic Bible doctrine to Israel and to the Church, God uses humans. There are humans in each generation who learn and love and share God’s Word with their contemporaries and pass it down to their children. The Word does not change. The basic characteristics of the human race do not change. We are born sinners in need of a savior. When we are born again into Christ, we must learn our Father’s expectations and how to think and behave as Royal Family of God. Our textbook is the written Word. Inspired by God, penned by humans, systematized, categorized, researched and taught by humans whose highest honor in life is to do this very work. One generation to another. A family responsibility. A family treasure. Resulting in great personal reward.

145:6-7 They tell of the power of your awesome works—and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

Our testimony: God is omnipotent. There is nothing too great for Him. What He has promised, He will do. What we need, He will give. His generosity knows no bounds, for He is perfect righteousness.

145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

God is from everlasting to everlasting. Alpha and Omega. Eternal Life. Generations come and go, dispensations come and go, but God’s kingdom is forever.

145:17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.

Man’s righteousness is relative. –R (minus R). Human good is comparison of one person’s morality to another’s, but both are far short of the perfect righteousness of God. He can do no wrong. Ever. All His ways are righteous. +R. Our focus must be on the perfect righteousness of God, without which we cannot receive eternal life. We cannot achieve His righteousness. We can only receive it by faith in Jesus Christ.

145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

There are humans who deny the reality of God and reject the truth of His Word. They only need to call out to Him: “please show me your truth. I want to know you.” He’s right there. They are needlessly lost.

145:20 The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

They cannot deny Him forever. He protects His Own who love Him, but those who reject Him will perish.

145: 21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
 Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

Breathe

When a human is born again by faith in Jesus Christ, he becomes an alien in the devil’s world. He has been baptized into Christ and given Christ’s righteousness. He is a new creation. That all happens instantaneously. Nothing will ever change that fact. The new believer has a great deal to learn, however, about his new identity and culture. Many start out being misled by legalists who want to remind them of their sins and give them a list of behaviors to avoid and good deeds to practice. This is extremely confusing to the newborn Christian, and many try to pattern their lives after someone they admire. When that doesn’t work out to the satisfaction of the new believer or the mentor, discouragement can set in and even bring about despair.

God has a system whereby His believers are oriented and trained to know their position and be productive for His kingdom. It is the daily inhale and exhale of the Word of God.

Psalm 119:11-16 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

It is through learning the Word that we come to know God’s standards; what is and what is not sin, and how to deal with our ongoing personal sins to maintain fellowship with Him. God has decreed the universe and all of creation and has a purpose for everything that exists. He has taught us His standards by giving us written law. When the new believer, or older but spiritually ignorant believer realizes the treasures of wisdom that are available to us in God’s Word, it is an occasion for great rejoicing! There is an emotional response to finding the Truth and knowing it is God’s Own Truth: pure joy! Truth actually “feels good” to the believer who really wants to understand God. Better than riches or any physical pleasure we know. When we discover the only source of knowledge and strength, we don’t want to ever neglect it again.

119:24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. The World’s wisdom cannot compare.

119:80 May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame. We must know God’s Word, because the worldlings will challenge us by their false concepts of Christianity and it is our duty to respond with the Truth of the Word.

119:89-90 Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. God is immutable. As He decreed it, so it stands, forever.

119: 91-92 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. The only reason anything exists is to glorify God. His Word is preserved to assure that He is glorified. The believer who does not know God’s Word is hopelessly confused and unproductive in this life.

119:104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. How do we know it’s wrong? Because the Bible tells us so.

119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Without God’s Word, we have no direction.

119:136 The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. One doesn’t need human genius to learn God’s Word, because the Word interprets itself, and the Holy Spirit helps through God's grace provision.

119:152 Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. God’s Word does not change, and does not die. Isaiah 40:8, Luke 21:33

119:160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. There is no part of God’s Word that is not true, and it will never cease to be true.

So, growing in grace and knowledge means to saturate ourselves in God’s Word. He gives us teachers to help us understand systematics, but the Word itself must be learned, stored  and cherished in our souls to be of value to us. We must learn our way around the Bible, and how to find references that we can only remember a word or two of. There are wonderful helps nowadays that enable us to do these things.

The growing and mature believer inhales histories, doctrines, promises and prophecies from the written Word into his soul. He makes personal application, then he exhales faith toward God and testimony toward people. By so doing, he cultivates, practices and demonstrates the Mind of Christ. 

Promises

David knew the Lord intimately, from his youth. He was also a gifted poet and prophet, as well as a shepherd and king. Over the years he developed a technique for maintaining his stability, even in the face of the greatest adversity. The evil of the world never overwhelmed him, because he knew he could totally trust the LORD of the Armies, Almighty God, Jehovah to protect and provide for him. This is a technique all believers can and should practice. We in the Church call it Faith-Rest. It involves learning the Word of God (Mind of Christ) and committing to memory the great doctrines and promises we find there, as well as the eternal characteristics of God, Himself, Who is our Good Shepherd. We all have our adversities in life. The spiritually mature and secure among us have learned to store these doctrines and promises in their souls for instant application in our times of need, or in moments of worship. Here are just a few of David’s:

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:13-14 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  (Relax! Calm down and wait!) Psalm 34:19 The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all Psalm 34:22 The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned .Psalm 37:1-5 Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this. Psalm 37:9-10 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. Psalm 37:23-24 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

The Psalms are full of these promises that David completely believed, because he knew the One who spoke the universe into being (Psalm 33:9) and led His people through the wilderness in a pillar of cloud (Psalm 99:7).

We have many lists of promises and doctrines that we keep written in a handy place for reference, or filed in our memory banks. Some are from Psalms, some from Proverbs and other Old Testament writings, and now with the completed canon of the New Testament we have promises from the gospels and epistles and Acts and Revelation, too.

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you .Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint .Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. I Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

The Bible contains thousands of these wonderful promises from God to His people. These promises apply to believers who are truly trusting in Him and learning Him as we grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are specific to those in fellowship with God, and there is important context to keep in mind, such as Romans 8:28: All things work for the good of those who love God and whom He has called for His purpose. These promises strengthen and comfort us only if we know them and only if we recall and apply them to our present circumstances. Our negligence doesn’t change the truth, but it does change the effect of the truth in our individual lives.

Christian, you are without excuse. You can learn the Word of God, and how to apply it.

 Proverbs 2:3-6:

indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear (reverence) of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding

David's Faith-Rest

Psalm 25 is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet (footnote in the New International Version and New English Version). This tells me that David and other Old Testament writers used the same kinds of memorization techniques we do today, because they work. If you want to remember something forever, make it rhyme and set it to music.

In you, Lord (Jehovah-self-existing One) my God (Elohim-supreme God), I put my trust. I trust in you;   “trust:” take refuge in.

do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, We believers know the Lord’s ways are far above our ways, and that we must be taught His Word to really know Him. Knowing the mind of Christ is our life support system in the world.  for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. “Savior:” deliverer. “hope:” total confidence.

Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

“mercy:” compassion; undeserved nurturing care, as for a fetus in the womb. “love:” kindness.They are from old, and God is immutable. He never changes.  Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; We’ve all been stupid and arrogant in our youth. Praise God, He does not remember those transgressions against us. Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. 

God loves us not because we are good, but because He is good. Perfectly Righteous. He loves because of Who He is: Righteousness and Love.

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. God doesn’t leave us guessing; feeling our way through life. He has made Himself and His plan known to us, and has given us the means to learn Him.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. God provides for His own. If a believer wants to know the Word and obey it, God gives us help.

For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. It is not for our righteousness that God forgives and blesses us. It is for His Name’s sake. Deuteronomy 9:6 “Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Psalm 23:3 “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” Because of the integrity of God’s Own character, He forgives and provides for us believers. It is an issue in the Angelic Conflict. Satan tries to make us believe we’re abandoned, because we are such filthy sinners. We will always be secure in God’s tender care, because we belong to Him. It is a family thing.

Who, then, are those who fear (reverence) the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land.The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. The Father makes known to His children the family treasures, their responsibilities and expectations. What is His is ours. We are heirs by right of relationship.

 My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. Satan has set the snare. Our Lord’s omnipotence will release us from it. I John 4:4 “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.^”

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 

Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.
Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.
See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me!

The Lord knows all about this: John 16:32-33 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He’s been there before us, and He is here with us. He will see us through.

Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you. We depend on God’s goodness and faithfulness, not our own. He is our creator, savior and sustainer. The more we know about God, the greater will be our comfort and confidence in times of distress. We in the Church have what we call the “Faith-Rest Drill.” It consists of the things we know about God’s character and His promises. When troubled or bereaved or confused, or lying awake at night, we repeat these characteristics and promises to ourselves for strength and assurance. It works.

Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!

Israel=David=all believers in all dispensations, when it comes to the perfect provision of God, Who never changes.

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Faith-Rest

First comes God-consciousness to the soul of every human being. He realizes there must be a designer. As a natural man, he cannot understand God’s plan of grace. The law, history, poetry and prophecy of the Bible confuse him. If, at God-consciousness, he desires to know more, God makes the gospel known to him. Upon receiving and believing the gospel (the good news that Jesus has paid the penalty for his sins and that salvation is free by merely receiving it) he becomes a new creation: child of God. IN CHRIST. He now has the Holy Spirit indwelling and can comprehend the Word of God.

The believer who truly wants to know God will seek to understand God’s Word. That is the only way to grow up in grace, but we need help. The Holy Spirit is here to help us. In the Church age, we have the completed canon of scripture, so the whole realm of Bible Doctrine is accessible to us, but we need guidance in learning and categorizing it, for our advancement to maturity and for our testimony in the world. Starting at Genesis and reading through Revelation will give you a “feel” for God’s authority and God’s plan, but there is a system of law, history, poetry, gospels and prophecy. Some of it has direct application to the whole human race, some to the nation Israel, some to the Church, and some is prophecy yet future for the Church and for Israel, and for the earth. God gave us pastor-teachers who are gifted for this service and are trained in the original languages and categories of doctrine. In God’s system, the pastor-teacher is given authority to do that job in the local church. If you reject his authority, you will not learn. If you are praying but not studying, you will not grow. If you are trying to do good works without knowing God’s expectations, you are spinning your wheels. We are instructed to learn God’s Word and pray for understanding.

“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:31-32

“but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” I Peter 3:18

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5. Wisdom is knowledge properly applied.

David lived in the age of Israel. The Holy Spirit didn’t universally indwell each believer then, but He did temporarily enable certain Godly believers, for the purpose of understanding and teaching His Word. Some were especially gifted for this knowledge. David was one of them. He was a beloved child of God, a spiritually intuitive poet and also a prophet. His lifelong close fellowship with the Father gave him insight into truths that were not commonly known in Israel. David and a few other similarly spiritual and gifted men had the privilege to learn directly from the Father and the opportunity to share with Israel and with all future believers the wonderful truths of our Lord. They wrote of things they had not seen, but believed, because the Holy Spirit imparted those truths to them. In David’s case, he did experience a great deal of pain and tribulation, like Jesus, as well as the deep, loving fellowship with God that is expressed throughout His Psalms. We in the Church age have seen the prophecies of the Messiah’s first advent be fulfilled, though David and the other prophets who wrote of it did not live to see it. They believed it, however, just as firmly as we believe it, after the fact. They knew these things by faith. Just as we do.

Throughout history, God’s people have identified with Him by faith. He has revealed Himself in His Word to all generations. It is faith in His Word that saves us and sustains us in the devil’s world. When His people maintain trust in His perfect Word, and conduct our lives by it, that is a practice we call “Faith-Rest.” It means we are at rest in the absolute truth of God, Who has promised to provide everything we need in this life and eternity. It means we have Sabbath every day, because God has done all the work, and asks us to simply believe and trust Him.

Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses and others practiced Faith-Rest, by trusting in the provision of God for all their needs, even though they didn’t understand their own situations. The Exodus generation spent 40 years in the wilderness because they didn’t trust God to supply all their needs, in spite of all He had miraculously done for them. He continued to provide throughout those 40 years.

Hebrews 4:1-3 Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.  For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

“As I swore in My wrath,
They shall not enter My rest,”

although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.”

They were saved people, but they didn’t fully trust God’s promises. They never entered His rest. We must not make that mistake. We have the Word. We have the promises. We know (or are learning) His essence (Sovereignty, Righteousness, Justice, Love, Eternal Life, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Veracity, Immutability). There is nothing too great for Him, and He loves to bless us.

Memorize His promises. Claim His promises. Rest IN HIM. David did, and he shared that faith with us. We can do it, too.

Psalm 25:4-5

Make me know Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day.

Shepherd Trilogy

Psalms 22, 23 and 24 form a trilogy. In Psalm 22 the good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11); in Psalm 23 the great Shepherd, “brought again from the dead through the blood of the everlasting covenant,” (Hebrews 13:20) tenderly cares for the sheep; in Psalm 24, the chief Shepherd appears as King of glory to own and reward the sheep (I Peter 5:4). –from the Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition).

All scripture quotes are from the New American Standard Bible.

We examined Psalm 22 in the April 7,2012 blogpost titled Doctrine of Expiation. Highlighting here, verses 1-2, 6-8, 14-18, The Good Shepherd. John 10:11 I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep, by His obedient life and His atoning death:

My God (Father), my God (Spirit), why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning….

I am a worm (crushed for its blood) and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people.

All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,

“Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”….

I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint;

My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;

And You lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me;

They pierced my hands and my feet.  I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me;

They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

It is important to note that when David wrote this prophetic cry of despair (1000 years before Christ), crucifixion was not practiced. It was a Roman form of execution, not Jewish, yet these verses graphically describe that terrible torture which was literally fulfilled in Jesus, as reported in Matthew 27.

Psalm 23 The Great Shepherd, risen and making daily provision for His sheep: Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David was a shepherd before he was king. He knew sheep. He knew their total dependence on the shepherd, for provision and protection. Because of his lifelong close fellowship with the Lord, he realized that God is to His people as the shepherd is to the sheep. This was a comforting analogy for David throughout his own life, and he has shared this comfort with us by this beautiful composition.

The shepherd provides everything for the sheep. They don’t have to forage for themselves. He gives them rest in lush vegetation. He finds them still waters to drink, because the rushing water frightens them. The comforts them in their times of distress. He leads them aright because of who he is (for His name’s sake), not because they deserve it. They can navigate the threatening terrain with confidence, knowing the shepherd is with them. His rod disciplines, His staff directs. That is comfort for the sheep. He provides perfect food for them even in the presence of predators. He cares for their physical cleanliness. He overflows the drinking trough for easy access. Goodness and lovingkindness (mercy) follow His sheep. He pursues them with His tenderness and blessings. The sheep of the Great Shepherd are assured of heavenly accommodations for all eternity.

Psalm 24 verses 1, 7-10 The Chief Shepherd returns at the second advent to claim and reward His sheep: I Peter 5:4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory?

The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!

Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.