Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
12 “Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
The fifth commandment is simultaneously a simple instruction and an indispensable element of the well-being of entire societies.
When the Lord gives the command “Honor your father and mother,” He is laying down the essential blueprint for maintaining the stability of families, communities, the Body of Christ and His churches and hosts of all nations.
What does it mean to honor your parents?
The word for “honor” carries the notion of weight and heaviness; children ought to feel the weight of respect for their parents.
By this fifth commandment, God places the full weight of responsibility for the lifetime of moral and ethical upbringing of the children and their instruction in righteous living, firmly and squarely on the shoulders of the father and mother.
By this “God” weight, this weight of God, Parents are owed such high regard because God has placed upon them in their roles, the stewardship of such a role, accountability to such a role, to raise the next generation of children, is worth many times over, far beyond its utmost maximum possible weight in honor.
While children are in view here, the Bible also has much to say about parenting that honors God (see also Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21). — More on this later.
How does a child display this honor?
In several ways.
For one, a child ought to show practical respect to his or her parents.
This can be as simple as speaking well of our parents, showing them courtesy, looking them in the eye, and addressing them with a due sense of deference.
Second, it involves genuine love; there should be heartfelt expressions of affection between parents and their children.
Third, unless it would involve disobeying God, a child ought to obey what his or her mom and dad say.
This expectation is found all over Proverbs: for example, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8).
Fourth, a child should submit to their parents’ discipline and authority.
All good parents discipline their children (though it must not be done in anger nor vindictively or disproportionately), and children should ought to be taught to implicitly trust such discipline is for their long-term good (Hebrews 12:5-11).
In ancient Israel, respect for ones parents was valued so highly that those who disregarded it flagrantly or persistently faced the death penalty (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).
Why such a significant consequence?
Because the home provides the most essential and vital training ground, the success of which affects how the child will relate to authorities of all kinds.
We never outrun authority in our lives.
There are political authorities we are called to obey (Romans 13:1-7).
Spiritual authorities we are to respect (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12).
And those of advanced years we are commanded to honor (Leviticus 19:32).
Most significantly, when children are taught how, when they learn over time to honor their parents, even despite their parents’ many imperfections, they learn what it too means to learn how to honor our ABBA, our perfect heavenly Father.
Reverence for parents is an integral part of reverence for God.
Because parental authority is God-given, for children to learn to honor their parents is to come to that place of spiritual maturity and honor God Himself.
So if you are a parent [age not specific] with children [age?] at home, it is not loving (though it may be easier) to fail to insist that your children honor you.
If you are an adult with parents still living, it is a matter of obedience to God you still show them the honor they are due, not according to how well (or other- wise) you feel they raised you but according to the position the Lord gave them.
As you honor them, you will be pleasing Him and showing those around you that God-given authority, when exercised in a godly way, is a blessing to all.
Honoring Parents …
It may come as a surprise to many of us this commandment is not age-specific.
It’s a commandment not just for the young but for children of all ages.
God asks parents be worthy of honor in the way they relate to their children.
And God commands that children obey and show respect for their parents in line with doing what is right.
This means both are to act appropriately at each stage of their lives together.
This commandment came to a society without the support systems that many of us are used to.
Adult children were totally responsible to look after aging parents.
God reminds us that as long as we have parents, we are to honor them, seeing that their living is respectable and they are well cared for.
It’s not just a matter of doing what our parents tell us to do when we are young.
It’s a matter of showing our utmost respect, life-long honor to the parents who gave us life, sacrificed incredibly all to raise us, launched us upon life’s journey.
The apostle Paul calls this “the first commandment with a promise.”
God indicates when we honor the parents with whom we are in relationship, he will honor us and He will surely and certainly bless us.
Some parents are easier to honor than others.
But respecting to the utmost those whom the Lord has chosen to place over us opens a door to abundant blessings.
By honoring our parents and others whom God places in authority over us, we honor and glory and our utmost worship and praise unto our Father in heaven.
Which is what each and everyone of us were created, shaped by God, to do …
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, ABBA Father, thank You for my parents and for giving me life. My First ABBA, Thank You for the lessons I have learned and the good times we have shared together. Forgive me for the times when I have not honored my father and mother as I ought – for I am aware that this is dishonoring to You. From this day forward, I pray that I may honour You in all my interactions with my family and my friends, and may my whole life be honoring unto You. This I pray in Jesus’ name.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
62 1-2 God, the one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.
3-4 How long will you gang up on me? How long will you run with the bullies? There’s nothing to you, any of you— rotten floorboards, worm-eaten rafters, Anthills plotting to bring down mountains, far gone in make-believe. You talk a good line, but every “blessing” breathes a curse.
5-6 God, the one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.
7-8 My help and glory are in God —granite-strength and safe-harbor-God— So trust him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him. God is a safe place to be.
9 Man as such is smoke, woman as such, a mirage. Put them together, they’re nothing; two times nothing is nothing.
10 And a windfall, if it comes— don’t make too much of it.
11 God said this once and for all; how many times Have I heard it repeated? “Strength comes Straight from God.”
12 Love to you, Lord God! You pay a fair wage for a good day’s work!
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Psalm 62 … God and God Alone is Our Only Rest and Salvation
When you wait on God, you find He is your salvation and provider of all you need. Only God can fill the need of your soul.
Your Salvation
If you are like me, my first response when faced with a significant problem is to gather up all my resources and do everything I can to fix it.
The bigger the problem, the more frantic and anxious I become.
King David wrote this psalm during a particularly difficult time in his life.
He was facing constant attacks from his son, who was trying to overthrow his rule as king.
Instead of gathering his army and advisors, the first thing he did was go to the Lord.
David understood that trusting in men was foolish.
It was not about his strength or wisdom but God’s deliverance.
David saw God as his only true source of salvation.
He stopped everything to get with the Lord.
David didn’t come to God with loud cries or pleas for help.
He came to God in silence.
He waited before the Lord without speaking.
When I face a problem, I want to tell God all about it.
Too often, I come before Him filled with fear and anxiety.
David came before God in complete rest.
David had a quiet confidence that God would see him through.
So often, we think prayer is about what we say and how we say it.
If we can just use the right words, God will surely see our needs and answer our prayers.
David understood it was not about his words but his faith.
When you set your mind and soul to wait silently before the Lord, it’s not only an expression of your openness to God but a complete dependence on Him.
Salvation and deliverance are always gifts of grace from God and God alone.
David didn’t trust in his strength or the wisdom of others.
He didn’t panic and try to fix everything.
He went to the source of his salvation and waited silently for Him to provide.
One of the great truths of life—if not perhaps the greatest truth—is that when all else fails, when everything else falls apart, there is one and only one person on whom you and I and everyone else can absolutely rely.
And that person is not yourself: it is God. God and God alone.
That is the theme of this psalm. “For God alone my soul waits in silence”(62:1).
“He alone is my rock and salvation” (62:2).
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence” (62:5).
“He alone is my rock and my salvation” (62:6).
“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my H.O.P.E. comes from him.” Psalm 62:5
As Christians, we are called to hope.
Not wishful thinking, imagining things, or pining for better days.
Hope.
Hope is not a pipe dream or a fairy tale.
It is a strong action instead of a reaction.
Hope is always alive in Christ Jesus, Our Lord and Savior.
When we choose to live in Christ Jesus …
When we choose to live and choose live in our Savior’s complete hope we:
H – Heed His Word. Hang onto encouraging verses in Scripture in times of trouble, stress or doubt. Recall His promises, read, mark and memorize helpful verses, and repeat them often.
O – Obey. Sometimes we have to do things simply because someone in authority says so. If we can trust God and obey, then in hindsight we may look back and see more clearly why He told us.
P – Pray. Instead of fretting, if we can drop to our knees and lay it at the cross we will find an inner peace which, as Paul states, surpasses our understanding. Much better than jogging in a hamster wheel of worry and churning it over and over in our minds. Pray, lay it down, walk away.
E – Expect. The more we rely on God’s promises and His timing, then experience will show us things work out for the best when we “let go and let God” handle it.
So pry your fingers off the situation and relax.
A Prayer for the Sabbath – Your Daily Prayer
Exodus 20:8-11 Amplified Bible
8 “Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God). 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes].
Rest is so important to God that he put it in the Ten Commandments.
He wants you to take a day off every week.
That’s called the Sabbath, which literally means a day of rest, and God wants us to do it every seventh day.
The day isn’t important.
It doesn’t have to be a certain day, just every seventh day.
It’s so important that even God rested on the seventh day when he created everything — not because He was tired but to give us the ultimate example of how we should be more like God and take that gift of the seventh day to rest.
What do you do on this Sabbath day to actually have it be a day of rest?
1. Rest your body.
God has made us so that we need rest.
If your car engine heat light were showing red, you would stop because you would know it’s going to damage the engine.
God says if you don’t take one day out of seven to rest, if you keep pumping the adrenaline all day, every day, seven days a week, your engine is going to break.
So for your heart to be at its best, your body, mind and soul all requires rest.
You have to take the time to rest.
2. Recharge your emotions.
Just Be Still and Know only God can be, and is God … Psalm 46:10-11
Just be quiet before the Lord!
David’s Prayer
18 Then King David went in and sat [in prayer] before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord [a]God, and what is my house (family), that You have brought me this far? 19 Yet this was very insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord God, for You have spoken also of Your servant’s house (royal dynasty) in the distant future. And this is the law and custom of man, O Lord God. 20 What more can David say to You? For You know (acknowledge, choose) Your servant, O Lord God. [2 Samuel 7:18-20 AMP]
Like King David, take time for God, just sit still, be quiet before the Lord God.
Maybe you need to reconnect in your relationships.
Maybe there’s some kind of recreation that rejuvenates you.
I’m not talking about competitive recreation.
Some of you are not recharging your emotions out on the golf course.
You are just getting angry at your golf clubs or at the other guys golf clubs!
3. Refocus your spirit.
During your Sabbath, you do not take a day off from God.
You worship!
Worship puts life into perspective.
If you’re too busy for God, you’re just too busy.
To make this happen, you have to schedule it.
Psalm 127:2 “It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?” (MSG)
God enjoys giving rest to those he loves.
Be intentional about taking your Sabbath, and make it count!
62 1-2 God, the one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.
5-6 God, the one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I’m set for life.
11 God said this once and for all; how many times Have I heard it repeated? “Strength comes Straight from God.”
12 Love to you, Lord God! You pay a fair wage for a good day’s work!
be quiet, sit still, Make these confessions.
My salvation comes only from the Lord.
When I face troubles, I look to the Lord.
It’s not about my words but about God’s grace.
I will sit still in the Presence of God my Savior.
I will wait quietly before the God of my salvation.
I will shut my mouth, close both my eyes and open my ears.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm of David.
138 I will give You thanks with all my heart; I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods. 2 I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word together with Your name. 3 On the day I called, You answered me; And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.
4 All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord, When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled]. 5 Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts], For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord. 6 Though the Lord is exalted, He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship]; But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. 8 The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me; Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever— Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.
Have faith God will see you through it, and claim His promise as your own.
In the name of God the Father and God, the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Father God, let us always choose to hope in You instead of fretting, or getting stressed over things we have no control over. Replace our qualms with quiet, our fears with faith, and our worries with wisdom. Dear Lord, help us make every Sabbath about you alone. Quiet my heart, give rest to my soul, refocus my spirit—for true renewal, true revival, comes only from you. Holy Spirit please help me to be intentional with my time and worship, and encourage me to find rest in you alone. In Jesus’ name.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
8 “Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God). 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes].
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Keep the Sabbath [verse 8]
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8
Throughout history there have been well-meaning, earnest Christians who have, perhaps without their ever knowing it, who have come to functionally believe the Ten Commandments are really only the Nine Commandments.
Somewhere along the way, some have decided the fourth commandment is not like the rest of the commandments but rather as a relic that belongs in the past.
In truth, though, the ancient command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy has abiding significance for us all, even today.
Why has this simple command fallen on such hard times?
Some have claimed that its regulations and penalties were tied to the old covenant, so it must no longer be relevant.
Yet we do not treat the other commandments this way.
Others have said that the way Jesus spoke of being “lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8) diminished the commandment’s significance and force.
What about Jesus’ apparent intent here?
What the man Rabbi Jesus sought to overturn was not the Sabbath itself but the host of hypocritical external rules of the Pharisees.
I have long suspected what keeps most Christians from thinking of the fourth commandment as we ought to is simply that we do not like its implications.
We do not like, nor appreciate all of the subtle and not so subtle ways it intrudes into our lives, into our leisure and whatever else takes precedence in our hearts.
So we act as though this command is in a different category from the other nine.
However, If we truly want to grasp the significance of the Sabbath and respond to it in a God-honoring way, we must all embrace, as a conviction, the real truth that God has intentionally set aside the Sabbath day as distinct from the rest.
This was the case in the week of creation, with God resting on the seventh day and declaring it sanctified.
The church, in the age of the new covenant, then changed the day from the seventh day of the week to the first day to mark the resurrection of Christ.
In both cases, we see that the distinction of the day is woven into God’s work of creation and redemption.
With that conviction in place, we can see that the day is not simply a day set apart from other days, but it is, in Gospel Truth, a day set apart unto the Lord.
By not seeing it this way, we’ll be tempted to view our spiritual exercises on the Lord’s Day as something to “get over with” in order to “get on with” our week.
If this is our mentality, we stand condemned by the fourth commandment.
The Sabbath ought to be treasured for what it is: a gift of a day on which we enjoy, uninterrupted by leisure commitments or (if possible) by employment, the privilege of God’s presence, the study of God’s word, and the fellowship of God’s people.
Seen like that, this command becomes an invitation: not only to just something we should do but something we will each come to learn how to love to do.
If this is not how you have been viewing God’s Sabbath, then ask yourself:
What’s preventing you from honoring the Lord’s Day?
Take stock of your habits and receive the gift of the Sabbath.
From that next Sunday, be sure that your priority is not to make the Lord’s Day convenient but to make the Lord’s day exclusively about God, to keep it holy.
Keep the Sabbath [verses 9-10]
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates.[verses 9, 10]
Having established the fourth commandment remains what it has always been—a commandment of the Lord—and as such it is relevant to our lives, we can now turn our hearts, souls, minds, to thinking profitably about how to keep it.
But we must be careful as we get specific about honoring the Sabbath.
The Lord Jesus, after all, had some very harsh, strong words for the Pharisees regarding the way their moral specificity had become a means not of obedience but of self-righteousness (Mark 2:23 – 3:6).
With “quaking and trembling knees” and maturing humility, let’s take some quality time to consider how are we to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Let us try to explore: How do we prevent worldly concerns—those of leisure, recreation, and work—from infringing on our enjoyment and worship of God?
Let’s think first of public worship.
What kinds of conversations do you typically have prior to the worship service?
Are they concerned at any point with exclusively the things of God, or only ever with sports – making it to the home team game, family, and every other thing?
It takes a conscious and a thoroughly intentional act of the will to give eternal matters the very highest measure of maxed priority in our minds and mouths.
If you were to determine that in your preparation for worship you would set aside every priority which looms, loomed so large on other days, I guarantee the focus of your time at church would be changed.
The same goes for after the service.
When the last song has been sung and the service is over, how long does it take for your mind and conversation to return to worldly matters?
If we were instead to:
commit to spending time after the service speaking to one another about the greatness of God, the truth of His word, and the wonder of His dealings with us,
and praying with one another about the week ahead and the trials we face, then we would begin to understand better the “one another” passages in the New Testament about:
encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:25),
speaking the truth to one another (Ephesians 4:25), and
building one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
—for we would then be prioritizing ourselves to actually living them out.
Similarly, in our private affairs on the Lord’s Day, spiritual improvement should still take priority.
That may mean additional family worship, reading edifying books, prayer, discussion of what was preached that morning, and more—but whatever it means, we should make it our aim not to let the cares of the other six days push into our efforts of growing our spiritual enjoyment of the first day of the week.
If we want to profit from keeping the Sabbath, and if we want to take the fourth commandment more seriously, then our convictions must fuel our actions, and our daily aspirations must turn into daily practices.
Avoid making unique rules that only serve to foster self-righteousness, but consider whether anything worldly needs to change, be re-prioritized Godly.
How would, should, could you change to keep the Sabbath holy the next time Sunday comes round, then Monday, then Tuesday then Wednesday and so on?
Our Sabbath Rest as Our Witness
[sermon illustrations]
The college student broke down in tears over his coffee.
Driven by competition for limited space in a pre-law program, he had just poured himself into studying virtually nonstop, eight hours a day seven days a week. After seven months he found he lost the ambition for learning—and nearly for life itself.
Driven by the desire for promotion and the prospect for more money for him an his growing family, [……….] takes extra work home every single night to get the one up on his fellow workers – he stays up till midnight every night for weeks. Taking no time for dinner with his wife or leisure time his young kids, he hears them crying.
Our reading today states that “in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth … but he rested on the seventh day.”
The ambition and creativity we bring to work is a reflection of our mindset on our Creator’s sovereignty over our lives and over the lives we genuinely value.
It’s part of how we reflect his image and a big part of how we serve as witnesses for him.
God also rested on the seventh day, however, and he calls us to do the same.
For us, good work hinges on good rest.
Without good rest our good work suffers.
The discipline of regular rest is a witness in our fast-paced world, especially when that time is focused on enjoying our Creator.
It speaks of God’s love to command what’s good for us.
Our ambitions would otherwise serve only to distract us from him and drive us into the ground if we let them.
How will you take our rest the rest of this week and this next weekend?
For the sake of good work later, let’s rest.
For the sake of sanity, let’s rest.
For the sake of glory to God in regular worship and fellowship, let’s rest.
God blesses those who “work hard” at resting in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s trust him to establish the work and rest of our hands (see Psalm 90:17).
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
God, grant us and all our loved ones true rest on this Sabbath Day. May Your Holy and Sacred Presence drive out from among us anger and fear, worry and regret. Send your blessing upon us, that we may be people of the Word. Lord of work and of rest, thank you for these gifts. Help us to work hard and rest well. Please provide work where we need it. Please also bless whatever years of retirement rest we may have.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
א 2 “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
The Ten Commandments are some of the most recognizable words in the entire Biblical Canon, yet they are often among the most misunderstood.
How has the coming of Jesus transformed these ancient laws?
Do these commandments still matter to Christians today in 2023?
What does it look like to obey them in today’s world?
What do they tell us about God and His Love for His beloved Children?
In this devotional message we see in verses 1-2 three truths about the Law: it’s given by God, it follows the Gospel, and it’s the path of freedom.
Loved By and Belonging to God
Adonai, The Lord who claims our allegiance is God, our Creator and Savior.
God delivered Israel when he brought them out of Egypt.
They had been slaves there for hundreds of years.
Faithful to his covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:13-21; Exodus 3), God called this people his own and continued his work of making them into a nation through which all other nations would be blessed.
Then, many years later, through Jesus, a descendant of Abraham, God brought salvation to the world—and today God includes all who believe in Christ as his people, his worldwide family.
So if we believe in our Savior Christ, we belong to God, and we are His alone.
1 Peter 2:9-10 Complete Jewish Bible
9 But you are a chosen people,[a]the King’s cohanim,[b]a holy nation,[c]a people for God to possess![d] Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[e]
1 Peter 2 puts it, we are a holy nation set apart to be “God’s special possession.”
From the beginning, it was love that created us and has bound us to God.
And since our relationship with God is based on love, God’s law is not a burden but a means of unconventional liberty towards showing love to our neighbors.
God, The Giver of Law and Liberty
Exodus 20:1-2King James Version
20 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
To faithfully read and respond to the Ten Commandments, we must first make a diligent effort to pray and study them, understand what they are and are not.
We find clarity in the truth that lies at their head: “I am the LORD your God.”
This poignant reminder of who God is precedes the instructions that follow.
In other words, the I am of God’s person grounds the you shall of His commands.
He can command us because of who He is.
The psalmist further expresses this:
“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his” (Psalm 100:3).
God created us, and His being our Creator grants Him rights and authority over His creation.
Regardless of the efforts of our world to reject the creational handiwork of God, thus His authority over our lives, His role as our Ruler remains unthreatened.
He has made us; we are His.
When we should remember who spoke the law, we are in a position to grasp the purpose of the Ten Commandments as well as to understand what they are not.
First, the commandments are not a formal list of dos and don’ts given to restrict our personal freedoms.
God is NOT the Ultimate Cosmic Killjoy
God is not the Ultimate cosmic killjoy.
In fact, if you wanted to provide a heading for the Ten Commandments, you could instead call them “The Ultimate Guidelines to Freedom and Joy.”
They do not restrict our freedom but rather give us a blueprint for joy, showing us how life works best.
Second, the commandments are not intended as a ladder up which we climb to attain acceptance with God.
No such ladder has ever existed!
God brought His people out of slavery—from Egypt in the exodus, and from sin and death at the cross—before He called us to obey Him.
So we obey God because we have been “brought out by God,” not in order for us to somehow believe we could ever persuade Him to do so on our own time line.
If that were the case, why then did the bondage last as long as it did despite all the years of crying, pleading by the generations of Israelites held in bondage?
Until Moses had been prepared by 80 years of life at the pinnacle of authority, then at the bottom of authority for His “Burning Bush” encounter with God.
Rather than being rules that save us, the Ten Commandments serve as a mirror in which we should see ourselves, revealing the depths of our sin and our need for a Savior—and they show how we can all live every day to please our Savior.
Third, the Ten Commandments have not been rendered anywhere near obsolete by the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
When Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love God and love our neighbor, He was summarizing the Ten Commandments (Mark 12:28-31 AKJV).
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 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. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
What does it mean to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength?
The first four commandments tell us. [Exodus 20 verses 3-11]
What does it look like to love our neighbor as ourselves?
The final six commandments flesh that out. [Exodus 20 verses 12-17]
Jesus, master teacher that He was, summed up the ten with the two.
When we see all this, we are ready to read the Ten Commandments and let them transform our lives.
We must see the sin that the commandments reveal and respond in repentance and faith in the only One who fulfilled the law and offers Himself as our Savior.
He, the Lord Jesus Christ, will ensure that this law is not merely etched into our conscience but also inscribed upon our hearts and upon our souls.
Give yourselves unto the Lord our God and His way, and His Truth and His Life you and I will find everlasting love, everlasting joy and His everlasting liberty.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit …
Let us Pray,
Psalm 40The Message
40 1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn’t slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.
4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God, turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,” ignore what the world worships; The world’s a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts. Nothing and no one compares to you! I start talking about you, telling what I know, and quickly run out of words. Neither numbers nor words account for you.
6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you— that’s not what you’re after. Being religious, acting pious— that’s not what you’re asking for. You’ve opened my ears so I can listen.
7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me, And I’m coming to the party you’re throwing for me.” That’s when God’s Word entered my life, became part of my very being.
9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation, I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that. I didn’t keep the news of your ways a secret, didn’t keep it to myself. I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough. I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth For myself alone. I told it all, let the congregation know the whole story.
11-12 Now God, don’t hold out on me, don’t hold back your passion. Your love and truth are all that keeps me together. When troubles ganged up on me, a mob of sins past counting, I was so swamped by guilt I couldn’t see my way clear. More guilt in my heart than hair on my head, so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.
13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene; hurry and get me some help, So those who are trying to kidnap my soul will be embarrassed and lose face, So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable will be heckled and disgraced, So those who pray for my ruin will be booed and jeered without mercy.
16-17 But all who are hunting for you— oh, let them sing and be happy. Let those who know what you’re all about tell the world you’re great and not quitting. And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing: make something of me. You can do it; you’ve got what it takes— but God, don’t put it off.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen
5 Then the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he proclaimed the Name of the Lord. 6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (faithfulness); 7 keeping mercy and lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers upon the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].” 8 Moses bowed to the earth immediately and worshiped [the Lord]. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor and lovingkindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, please, go in our midst, though it is a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your possession.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
What is God Like?
A little boy was working hard on drawing a picture from his Sunday School and his daddy came up from behind, asked him what he was working so hard on.
The son replied, “Drawing a picture of God.”
His daddy said, “You can’t do that, son, Nobody knows what God looks like.”
But the little boy remained undeterred, continued to draw for several minutes.
Without stopping his work, he looked at his picture with satisfaction and said very matter-of-factly, held it in his daddy’s face : “They will in a few minutes.”
We may never know what God’s physical features are, but from the beginning, He does reveal His attributes to us so we can each know what He is about, like.
In Exodus 34:6-7, rather than painting a picture a visual description of God, he writes a list about God’s invisible qualities.
From this, we learn God is merciful and gracious.
Keeping mercy and lovingkindness for the thousands.
He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He is abounding in goodness and truth
He is longsuffering and willing to forgive.
Forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.
We also learn that God will not spare the wicked from punishment.
We also learn that God expects us to automatically respond to who He is with an attitude of repentance and with worship that is worthy of being in His Presence.
“Show Me Your Ways Lord, That I May Find Favor”
Exodus 33:12-13Amplified Bible
Moses Intercedes
12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. And consider also, that this nation is Your people.”
In Exodus 33:12-13, Moses asked God to teach him more about God’s ways.
Moses said,
“See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.”
In gracious response to Moses’ request for God to show him more about who He was, God shows Moses favor, God passes by Moses and proclaims the attributes about Himself, revealing to a much humbled Moses more about His character.
God wanted Moses (and us) to know that He is not an angry, impersonal God.
Instead, He is a God that loves us, unconventionally, while also being a just God who will hold His Children to account for their words and deeds and punish sin.
The result of God’s revelation to Moses was that Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped God because Moses knew all he needed to accomplish the task God had called him to do was to be in and remain in, the presence of God.
“Hear My Cry Lord, Show Me More of Your Ways”
When was the last time we cried out to God and said,
“Lord show me more of your ways?”
Just as God answered Moses, God will answer us today.
It might be through the Words of truth and life found through scripture that you read and study or in a sermon from your pastor or a song on the radio.
When our desire to know more about God is a longing that is from the heart, God will most abundantly, decisively, definitely and directly reveal Himself.
Where are the “Crying Christians?”
Isaiah 2:2-3 Amplified Bible
2 Now it will come to pass that In the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be [firmly] established as the [a]highest of the mountains, And will be exalted above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 3 And many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house (temple) of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go out from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
“All nations” is one of my favorite phrases in the Bible.
God is an inclusive God. When he established a beachhead in our fallen world by starting a little nation called Israel, he was already thinking big.
God’s plan was to reach out through Israel to call all nations to himself.
Now, in 2023, Revival has broken out quite literally all over the world.
Thousands upon thousands are responding … they are crying out to God …
Onto the street Corners, into the streets of cities all across the globe …
Into College Campuses …
Into Churches whose pews had more accumulated dust than congregants.
Into malls and supermarkets …
Into the maximum security prisons …
Into the incarcerated for life hearts of violent life long criminals …
Into countries where Jesus Christ is not necessarily the most favored name.
The Word of God for the Children of God goes forth …
Repentance and Baptisms …
“Show us Your Ways, O’ Lord, that we may find Grace and Favor IN THY sight.”
Transformations …
The Message of Salvation through Christ and Christ alone.
God has a Plan …
Jeremiah 29:11-14Amplified Bible
11 For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. 13 Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’
Jeremiah 29:13 says,
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
How bad do you really want to know more about the Exodus 34:6-7 God?
How badly do you want people to know more about the Exodus 34:6-7 God?
How much do you long for the presence of the Exodus 34:6-7 God to lead you to what He’s called you to do?
With what effort do you seek the Goodness and Mercy, the Slow to Anger and abounding in Steadfast Love, the Faithful and Forgiving and Max Truth of God?
What effort do you bring your Worship, cry out to God: “Show Me Your Ways?”
What strength of plea arises from your heart and soul: “If I have found Favor?”
What percentage of your prayer life includes … “That I May Know God’s Grace?”
What percentage of your heart is “firmly prostrated” before the Lord, your God?
What percentage of thy soul is “squarely grounded” in the life of Savior Christ?
Percentage of thy only hope is saturated in nothing less than the blood of Jesus?
God’s promise of a gospel that reaches “to the ends of the earth” is being realized (Acts 1:8).
All nations are streaming toward the mountain of the Lord’s temple—not by pilgrimage to a physical temple in Jerusalem, but by coming to Jesus, the one alone who fulfills the temple’s deepest meaning of God’s presence among us.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now within us.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now among us.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our homes.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our families.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing among our friends.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing among our neighbors.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our schools.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing upon, within our streets.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing upon, within our prisons.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our communities.
Praise God for all the amazing things He alone is doing within our country.
Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now in our world.
And thank Him that in a tragically shrinking world we can yet experience, be a thriving community with fellow believers from across all cultures and nations.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 150 The Message
150 1-6 Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness; Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; Praise him with castanets and dance, praise him with banjo and flute; Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin. Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah!
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
4 After this I looked, and behold, [a]a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a [war] trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” 2 At once I was in [special communication with] the Spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne. 3 And He who sat there appeared like [the crystalline sparkle of] [b]a jasper stone and [the fiery redness of] a sardius stone, and encircling the throne there was a rainbow that looked like [the color of an] emerald.4 Twenty-four [other] thrones surrounded the throne; and seated on these thrones were [c]twenty-four elders dressed in white clothing, with crowns of gold on their heads.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Once John was charged to write the book of Revelation, when he met with the resurrected, glorified Lord Jesus in chapter 1, and having received Christ’s 7 letters to the 7 churches in chapters 2-3, he is given a vision of the throne room of God and commanded to, “Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”
Not only was John given important information for the Churches, but he was also commanded to ‘see’ and to ‘hear’ what was going to happen beyond the current Church age, “after these things.”
After acting as God’s heavenly, High Priest to the Church-age saints and interceding as heaven’s Mediator between God and man, John is shown how Christ will begin to take on His role of Judge, before returning to earth to claim His position as King of kings and Lord of lords.
“I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven,” John writes,“and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me.”
The angel who met John in the prologue was the same angel who accompanied him throughout the entire revelation of Jesus Christ – which the Father gave to His Son… to give to John through His angel.
The apostle John was about to receive a preview of the future, which began with a vision of heaven in chapter 4 and moved to the worship of the Lamb of God in chapter 5.
He saw One seated on the throne which had the appearance of crystal-clear jasper and a blood-red Sardis stone, and John recorded that there was a rainbow surrounding the throne that reminded him of a brilliant green emerald.
Twice he was summoned to, “come up here.”
The same voice which sounded like that of a trumpet in chapter 1, commanded him to join the heavenly host of angelic beings that surrounded the throne of God, by means of a door which was standing open in heaven.
And being, “in the spirit on the Lord’s day,” John was given an amazing insight into the future.. and greater revelation of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God and Lion of the tribe of Judah.
After Christ’s revelation to the Churches ended, John’s vison changed, and he was ushered into heaven – in spirit and in truth.
He discovered that the heavenly scene into which he had been brought, was preparing to unseal a special scroll which had been securely sealed by God Himself with seven seals.
As the heavenly scene unfolded, John discovered that he was witnessing to the precursor of the prophesied judgement on earth – the Day of the Lord which he recorded in chapters 6-19 when the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
The sight that John saw during chapters 4-5, were the heavenly preparation for that future time of Great Tribulation, recorded in chapters 6-19, which is to fall on a Christ-rejecting sinful world and which will bring Israel to national repentance and punishment to the God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world.
While John’s body remained on earth, his spirit was translated into heaven where he witnessed a vision of the angelic host that surround the throne of Almighty God – the Ancient of Days.
As he looked, John was introduced to four living creatures who worship God day and night and 24 elders who were clothed in white raiment with crowns of gold on their heads.
The vison of the throne-room of God, the worship of the Lamb Who was slain, and the presentation of a seven-sealed scroll, which no-one but Lamb could break, are all part-and-parcel of the heavenly vision John saw in chapters 4 and 5.
It was after he had received Christ’s revelation to the Church (chapters 1-3) but before the revelation of Christ to the world in His role as Judge (chapters 6-19) when the wrath of God is poured out upon the children of disobedience, that the aged apostle John looked,
“and behold, a door was standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said to him, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.'”
In chapters 4 and 5 of Revelation, the focus shifts to a new and powerful story of God’s ongoing mission.
This new section begins with John seeing “a door standing open in heaven.”
This picture surprises us because we know that an open door often extends an invitation to come in.
This is an enticing opportunity to believe because heaven is often considered a place of mysteries that we do not have access to.
For the most part, it is God’s secret—at least from our day-to-day living in this life.
But here Jesus opens heaven’s door.
And in a voice like a trumpet, he welcomes us, saying, “Come up here.”
The invitation promises to reveal “what must take place after this.”
But as John tells the story of walking through heaven’s open door, the future is not the first thing that catches his attention.
Instead, he sees “a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.”
Heaven’s open door has us standing before the throne of all thrones, from which everything in heaven and on earth is loved and cared for.
Still today, the Holy Spirit opens heaven’s door wide so that we can visualize, believe, this scene and let its story encourage us to live by faith in Jesus today.
Considering Reasons to Believe in Heaven
Let us strive to remember that the one who reads, hears, and takes to heart this amazing revelation is blessed.
“Blessed is he that reads, and those that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand.”
Believing in Heaven …
“Heaven is a fairy tale for people afraid of the dark.” –Stephen Hawking
I’m afraid of the dark.
If we are talking about the endless kind of darkness which offers us no light anywhere, no hope ever, and nothing but nothingness, who among us would not panic at the thought of that?
I expect people like Mr. Hawking simply find the idea of Heaven too good to be true, and thus conclude that it must be a product of man’s delusional yearning for “pie in the sky by and by.”
And yet, there are solid reasons for reasonable people to believe in the concept of a Heavenly home after this earthly life.
Here are some that mean a lot to me.
By no means is this list exhaustive.
It’s simply my laymen’s thinking on the subject.
The God who made us created us with a longing for Himself and a satisfaction in nothing less. {Ecclesiastes 3:1-22}
When we get to Heaven, we will finally be satisfied, but not until then.
“I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake” (Psalm 17:15).
“I go to prepare a place for you,” said our Lord. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3).
If it were not so, I would have told you.
Jesus said that.
I believe Him.
I choose to believe.
1. Jesus Believed in Heaven
In fact, He claimed to be a native.
The Lord said to Nicodemus, “No one has been to Heaven except the One who came from there, even the Son of Man.” (John 3:13). No one knows a place like a native.
Jesus told the dying thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43).
So, wherever we go when we die, it’s a paradise.
True, He left us a thousand unanswered questions on the subject, but what He told us is pure gold.
For instance, when He returns, the dead in Christ accompany Him (I Thessalonians 4:14).
It appears that our eventual destination is somewhere different from the initial, intermediate place called “Paradise,” but we should have no trouble leaving the details to Him – after all, we can trust the One who died for us.
2. Scripture consistently teaches the existence of Heaven.
We must not let people get by with saying the Old Testament knew nothing of Heaven.
“I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever,”said David in everyone’s favorite psalm.
Or this one:“As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake” (Psalm 17:15).
Job said,“My Redeemer liveth and at last shall stand upon the earth; yet even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes shall see and not another” (Job 19:25-27).
Neither must we cave to those who say the only way to understand such verses is to get inside the mind of the one who said those words originally, as if what they said is determinative and authoritative.
Peter said the prophets said more than they understood and even angels could not fathom some of these things. (I Peter 1:12).
3. I believe in Heaven because I believe in earth.
It’s so wonderful.
There is nothing else like it in the universe.
Suppose we lived in some distant world and all we knew was the planets we have seen–the barren, rocky planets that are molten in the day and frigid at night, those covered with acidic clouds or endless hurricanes–
and if someone told us about earth, with its steadiness, its atmosphere, its lovely scenery and its plant life and the richness of its minerals and a thousand other delights, we would find it hard to believe.
And yet here it is.
We are residents of this amazing planet.
We take the earth in stride because it’s all we know.
4. There has to be a heaven to even up the earthly hell God’s most faithful sometimes endure for Jesus’ sake.
Those of us who are “carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease,” to use Isaac Watts’ unforgettable image, have little idea of the price some have paid for their loyalty to Jesus Christ through the centuries.
Many live under oppressive regimes in our day, punished for doing nothing more than meeting in someone’s living room to worship or giving a friend a Bible.
I’m tempted to say “God owes them, big time,” but I don’t believe I want to be presumptuous or blasphemous.
“God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love that you have shown toward His name in having ministered to the saints, and in still ministering” is how Hebrews 6:10 puts it.
If God were not to reward the faithfulness of the most loyal, it would be sin on His part.
After all, “this momentary light affliction is working for us an exceeding weight of glory far beyond all comparison” says 2 Corinthians 4:17.
5. Every caterpillar/butterfly testifies to our heavenly future.
Suppose we could inform that caterpillar crawling across a leaf of the glorious future just ahead of him (it?).
Would that humble creature believe he (it) would someday have gorgeous wings and flit through the sky?
So, why do we have such difficulty believing in the destiny God has planned for and promised to His own?
6. I believe in Heaven because the alternative belief is in despair.
“I would have despaired had I not believed I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living”(Psalm 27:13).
This world, by the way, is not the land of the living, but is the land of the dying.
The “land of the living” is just over the next ridge, immediately following our final breath here.
Jesus said, “Because I live, you too shall live.”
Who among us has not grieved at the thought of never seeing a precious loved one again, as we have left the cemetery.
The alternative to faith is despair.
7. I believe in Heaven because some of the best people who ever lived believed in Heaven.
Pick up a Bible and read it ….
A whole lot of formerly ordinary people from literally all walks of life had come to faith in God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit long before I was ever even told there was a God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [Hebrews 11, Hebrews 12:1-2.]
8. I believe in Heaven because I believe in hell.
Luke 16:27-28Amplified Bible
27 So the rich man said, ‘Then, father [Abraham], I beg you to send Lazarus to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may solemnly warn them and witness to them, so that they too will not come to this place of torment.’
There has to be a hell.
I don’t like to think much about hell.
But I have to because God’s Word teaches about it.
The plain truth is that hell is real, and real people go there forever.
Several times in the Gospels we read Jesus was grieved when people turned away from him–grieved because he knew they were walking down the road that eventually would lead to hell.
The message Jesus brought is simple: Unless you turn and put your trust in me, you will die in your sins and face an eternity without me.
In Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we see the rich man begging for a little relief from his suffering.
Father Abraham explains that this kind of relief is not possible.
The rich man then turns his attention toward his brothers who are still living.
“Then I beg you … send Lazarus… Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”
Notice a short time in hell turned this unbeliever into a motivated evangelist.
In a sense the rich man is saying,
“Someone has got to warn people that hell is real and that real people go there.”
How tragic that the man in this story found out too late.
What’s it going to take for you to become motivated?
Pray God’s grace, not his wrath, will fill your heart with a passion to save the lost.
9. I believe in Heaven because it’s a great incentive to responsible living and compassionate everything.
Skeptics will point to the shallow sayings of some believers that for the Heaven-bound this world does not matter, and that improving life on Earth is just so much arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Those who say such are wrong, their thinking unbiblical, their teachings are misleading.
We have great responsibilities here in this life, and it’s not just to get people to (ahem) “pray the sinner’s prayer” so they can go to heaven.
We were commissioned to make disciples, a far bigger thing.
“The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,” says Psalm 115:16, “but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”
We are stewards of this planet, and thus answerable to Him.
I’ll go so far as to say those who are working to give the planet clean air and pure water, safe streets, are also doing the work of the Lord in their own way.
10. I believe in Heaven because of reasons I’m yet to discover.
There is so much more.
As some have said, we are “hard-wired” to believe in God and likewise in Heaven.
I willingly accept that and see it as residue of the creation.
The God who made us created us with a longing for Himself and a satisfaction in nothing less.
When we get to Heaven, we will finally be satisfied, but not until then. “I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake”(Psalm 17:15).
“I go to prepare a place for you,” said our Lord. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3).
“If it were not so, I would have told you.”
Jesus said that. I believe Him.
I simply choose to believe.
God, the Father …
God, the Son …
God, the Holy Spirit …
The Revealed Word of God …
The Resurrection ….
In Heaven …
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, thank You for the book of Revelation and for the greater insight and understanding it gives us into the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus, of what is to take place after He comes to take the members of His mystic Body to be with Himself, and how we should live in this present age. I pray that You would bless me as I read and take to heart all that is written in this final book of Scripture. Thank You that You are the eternal and immutable God Whose plans and purposes can never fail. Thank You for the Cross of Christ and His glorious Resurrection, which secured for us an eternal inheritance, by faith. I pray that all I say and do would give glory to You and that one day I may cast my crown before His feet. Thank you for all Your goodness and grace to me and to all men. This I pray in Jesus’ wonderful name.
Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.
Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen
7 Now Jesus began telling a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been selecting the places of honor at the table, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down [to eat] at the place of honor, since a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by the host, 9 and he who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place,’ and then, in disgrace you proceed to take the last place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down [to eat] at the last place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; and then you will be honored in the presence of all who are at the table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled [before others], and he who habitually humbles himself (keeps a realistic self-view) will be exalted.”
12 Jesus also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13 But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind, 14 and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the [a]righteous (the just, the upright).”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Parable of the Honored Ambitious Guests …
The guests and host of a banquet met Jesus.
At the banquet, the guests tried to sit in seats of honor, near the place where the host would sit.
This was common in that society, which cared about honor for people who were respectable and had status in the community.
It was also common to invite people over who would invite you back, because you could then benefit socially from attending another dinner party hosted by someone else.
But Jesus introduced a different kind of world by what he said to the guests and the host.
He told them to sit in the least honorable seats, and to invite guests who were too poor to return the invitation.
In this way Jesus revealed a way of life in which status doesn’t matter, and in which shame and honor are erased.
Jesus revealed this way of life in his teachings, and he made this way of life possible by becoming the most despised outsider of all.
He died on a cross and bore the worst of all rejections in order to make God’s kingdom a reality in our world.
God’s kingdom is the only place where the only status that matters is that we are “loved by God.”
God’s kingdom is a gift that Jesus Christ gives to us.
Jesus Teaches About Ambition, Humility, Service
Ambition can be a powerful ally or a destructive enemy.
If your ambition is misplaced and fueled by shallow wants and superficial desires, you will find yourself perpetually dissatisfied, ultimately discontent.
The Bible talks about that type of ambition in Matthew 6:24, warning against greed and the insatiable desire to earn more money than you could ever spend.
If wealth and riches and status are your ambition, you will never be satisfied.
There is nothing wrong with ambition or about being ambitious ….
There is nothing wrong with Christian or with a Christian being ambitious.
There’s nothing wrong with making money, but you have to own the money; you can’t let it own you – love of money is not supposed to be our ambition.
You and I have to have a more sacred purpose that’s greater than money.
The money will come to you through hard work and God’s blessing.
Your greater purpose should be what your ambitions push you towards.
Matthew 6:33 affirms this by giving us the insight that God knows our desires.
God knows what fuels us, and if we aren’t scheming and plotting to send someone to ruination, He wants to bless us with the things that we seek.
Jesus advises that if you and I seek firstthe Kingdom of God then He will give you and I everything that you and I need, and more.
Humility and service are just two of the other values that Jesus not only taught but exemplified during His earthly ministry.
On so many occasions in the Bible, we read Jesus teaching His disciples to always consider others before themselves. Jesus repeatedly emphasized the importance of self-denial and service to others.
In Luke 14:7-14, Jesus used the occasion of a banquet to give insight into humility and service.
He addressed the guest regarding humility in verses 7 to 10, And in verses 12 to 14, He spoke to the host about serving others.
Luke 14:7-14The Message
Invite the Misfits
7-9 He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, “When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘You’re in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.’ Embarrassed, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.
10-11 “When you’re invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, ‘Friend, come up to the front.’ That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I’m saying is, If you walk around all high and mighty, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
12-14 Then he turned to the host. “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people.”
Be Ambitious and Humble Yourself and Be Exalted …
Jesus’ teaching is clear – do not think so highly of yourself that you always come expect the very best treatment at all times.
No matter who you think or believe or perceive yourself to be when you are in public or in society, remember that there’s always somebody higher than you.
Being ambitious might be good at times but certainly not on many occasions.
Imagine a famous big city mayor who went to a wedding banquet along with his bodyguards and servicemen.
Upon his arrival, the host was too busy attending to other guests so he could not personally welcome him.
Thinking he was the most highly regarded guest, the mayor naturally walked into the dining hall and sat, took the best seat and made himself comfortable.
When the host noticed his presence, he came and whispered to his ear that the seat he occupied is reserved for the governor.
At this very public event, the mayor had no choice but to get up so the governor could take his rightful seat.
With all of the media outlets present, and their cameras following his every move, what a huge embarrassment for the mayor knowing all eyes are on him.
Humility and the “Ambitious Famous” Christian
Humility is a fundamental grace in the Christian life, and yet it is elusive.
There may be times when we think we deserve VIP treatment because of who we are in the church or society.
We are the Pastor – therefore we are entitled to the very best parking space.
Head of Table: We were the chairperson for the building committee and we just carried out the most successful capital campaign in the history of the church.
The Matriarch and the Patriarch of the Church – Head of the Line meal tickets.
Or perhaps there have been times when we ourselves exhibited false humility.
Do you think you have this “I am all this, that and the other, ergo…” virtue?
Please allow me to say, “If you know you have it, you have already flaunted it!”
As someone rightly said, “Humility is not thinking meanly of ourselves; it is simply not thinking of ourselves at all.”
Jesus is the greatest example of humility, and we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to more imitative of Him and significantly less of ourselves.
A True Act of Ambitious Charity …
The Lord Jesus also emphasized the importance of treating people equally regardless of their social and economic status.
Unfortunately, when we are the one’s who are hosting a banquet, we prefer to invite rich and powerful people – trying to increase our status and self esteem.
But Jesus told the host of the banquet that when he holds a feast, he should be extraordinarily radical and also invite the poor, the lame, and the blind.
Why should the host do what Jesus said?
It’s because these people won’t be able to repay him.
They could not invite him back because they couldn’t afford to host a banquet!
However, the host will raise his standard of living in the eyes of the community he is living, showing true compassion, receiving his reward at the resurrection.
The reality is that whenever we host a party, we just prefer to invite our friends, relatives, and the rich and famous.
We want to have people who can bring the very best, most expensive gifts or those who can invite us to their party in the future.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with inviting these people.
When Rabbi Jesus said, “Do not invite your friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors,” He did not mean absolute prohibition.
Such language is common in Semitic discourse and is used for emphasis.
Jesus’ point here is that inviting one’s friends and relatives cannot be classified as a spiritual act of charity.
It may also be a rebuke against those prone to reserve their hospitality for rich neighbors.
They intentionally do this knowing that these guests will automatically feel obligated to return the favor.
And if they fail to automatically invite us back we take an automatically offense and as an excuse to discontinue the relationship – bear an everlasting grudge.
Greatness and Servanthood and Ambition …
Matthew 20:20-28Amplified Bible
Preferred Treatment Asked
20 Then [Salome] the [a]mother of Zebedee’s children [James and John] came up to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down [in respect], asked a favor of Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit [in positions of honor and authority] one on Your right and one on Your left.” 22 But Jesus replied, “You do not realize what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup [of suffering] that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink My cup [of suffering]; but to sit on My right and on My left this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”
24 And when the [other] ten heard this, they were resentful and angry with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles have absolute power and lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them [tyrannizing them]. 26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your [willing and humble] slave;28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [paying the price to set them free from the penalty of sin].”
In Matthew 20:26-27, Jesus taught His disciples that greatness is parallel to servanthood.
Jesus said in response to the request of James and John’s mother for them to be given high places in God’s Kingdom.
In his reply, Jesus poignantly highlighted about being a “servant.”
The word here means a “slave” and our English word “deacon” comes from it.
Not every servant was a slave, but every slave was a servant.
The Lord was teaching His disciples that the style of greatness and leadership for believers is different.
The Gentile leaders dominate in a dictatorial fashion, using carnal power and authority.
Believers are to do the opposite.
They lead must by being servants and giving themselves away for others, as Jesus did.
Sadly, in the church today we have many “celebrities” but so very few servants.
There are many who want to “flaunt” their authority but few who want to take the towel and water filled basin and get on their knees and wash “dirty” feet.
But while there are people who are still willing to serve, it’s interesting to note that they also have their motives.
Some are sincerely serving only to glorify God but others serve for honor and place and recognition of their “ambitious,” “obviously superior spirituality.”
What’s your motive for serving God and others?
Some final reflections and ambitious thoughts …
In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul uses the example of Jesus’ humility and service to encourage believers to do the same.
He uses the word “selfishness” which is sometimes rendered “strife” because it refers to “us versus them versus everybody, anybody else” rivalry.
It speaks of the pride that prompts people to push for their own way.
And then Paul encourages the church to have humility of mind.
It was a term of derision with the idea of being low, shabby, and humble.
The basic definition of true humility is regarding others as more important than yourself.
Our motive for being humble and serving others must be the praise of God and not the applause of men.
We must care significantly more about our eternal reward in heaven and not the temporary “we cannot take it with us to the grave” pseudo recognition on earth.
Remember, “You can’t get your reward twice”(Matthew 6:1-8).
On the day of judgment, many who today are first in the eyes of men will be last in God’s eyes.
And many who are last in the eyes of men will be first in the eyes of God (Luke 13:30).
The story is told about a wise man who shunned publicity.
He would speak every once in a while and when he speaks everyone listens to him.
After speaking he would immediately hide away into his own private place.
There would be rare times that he granted interviews and when he does he would always point to God as the giver of whatever wisdom that he possesses.
Many of us may be tempted to own to ourselves the wisdom or material wealth that we presently have.
But we should not allow ourselves to be possessed by that temptation, for who are we to own to ourselves what we have?
We have to always remember that we are mere vessels of God, whatever we have comes from God.
In our gospel text, Jesus highlights the great virtue of humility.
Jesus tells us to always be humble and not to crave for attention and adulation.
Why?
For the simple reason that the more humbler we are the more that Jesus is seen both with us and within us and emanating outward into the world from us.
The humbler we are the more the we become His effective vessels in this world.
The humbler you are the more that you allow Jesus’ light to shine upon you.
The humbler you are the more that you allow Jesus’ light to shine out from you.
The more light which emanates from us, more the light of Savior Jesus shines.
Maybe in some part of the earth we still walk on, the light of His Salvation;
Overly Ambitious Thoughts and Overly Ambitious Christians
Matthew 5:13-16 Amplified Bible
Disciples and the World
13 “You are the [a]salt of the earth; but if the salt has [b]lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery].
14 “You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Do we walk/talk the kind of “shining” humility, our Savior now requires of us?
We walk/talk the kind of “shining” servanthood our Savior now requires of us?
I am pondering the imponderable possibilities if the answers are actually: YES!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord God, we are shocked and awed by the kind of kingdom Jesus has introduced—it seems upside down and backwards to us. Its simple wisdom is wonderfully radical to us, the possibilities which would come from actual practice are enormous. We thank you for the great love that your kingdom reveals when we allow it to shape our lives.
Hospitable God, you invite us to a banquetwhere the last may be first,wherethe humble and the mighty trade places. Let us share your abundance with no fear of scarcity;let us greet strangers as angels you have sent!Send your Holy Spirit nowso that we may find a place at your table and welcome others with radical hospitality.In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus, Guest at all our tables, we pray. Amen.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child and set him before them, 3 and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever [a]humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives and welcomes one [b] child like this in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Growing Up to Become a Child
What does the man, Rabbi Jesus, mean by saying to his disciples that we each need to “change and become like the little children who are among us”?
One clue we have here is that Jesus is responding to the question “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
And he replies, “Whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
In the Gospel narratives about Jesus and his disciples (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we somehow find that the disciples often argued over which of them was, is and is about to become greatest; they seem to have been a competitive group.
And it seems they were thinking of greatness in terms of authority, leadership, knowledge, power, influence, “one above equals,” thrones and of other things.
So Jesus is seemingly telling all of his disciples that they need to change their attitudes about greatness and to become lowly and humble like little children.
Jesus’ followers, whether ancient or contemporary need to die to their selfish ambitions, realize that, just as little children depend on parents and caregivers, we are all totally dependent on Father God for all our needs and future living.
Here’s another hypothetical thought. A man in his sixties said, “Last week my five-year-old grandson said he wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up. I replied, ‘And when I grow up, I want to be a five-year-old boy.’ My grandson stared at me with wide, wondering eyes.”
Have you looked around at your own children or grandchildren and pictured yourself having such a “wide eyed wondering hypothetical conversation?”
Have you looked around at God’s world with “wide, wondering eyes” lately?
That’s something which I long for when I look at my own almost nine year old grandson when hear the clarion call to change and to become like a little child.
Descriptions of a Childlike Faith
Rabbi Jesus’ statement to His disciples in Matthew 18:3 about them not entering the kingdom of heaven unless they are converted and become as little children speak volumes and volumes of truth of the importance of living a childlike faith.
But what is childlike faith?
What makes one’s faith childlike?
Faith which is Rooted in Security
During the days of childhood, one learns how to survive and prosper, how to live under authority, how to live, love and share, and how to serve and praise.
A well-cared-for child has no worries about house or car or any credit card payments, no anxious moments over getting married to the right one, career or job opportunities, no apprehensions about failure, no thoughts of vengeance.
David exemplified this kind of faith while he was on the run from Saul.
131 Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. 2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child [resting] with his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me [composed and freed from discontent].
In Psalm 131:1-2, David compared the calmness and serenity he had in the Lord to that of a weaned child with his mother.
Composed, content with God and the works He was doing in his life, David did not concern himself with great matters such as any selfish ambition and self-promotion – rather, he found serenity and security in his relationship with God.
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord. (Psalm 23:6)
To have a childlike faith is to find serenity and security in our relationship with God no matter the circumstance.
Faith Which Praises
Jesus loved children. He loved to use children to teach hard-headed and hard-hearted grown-ups about faith and praise.
While preaching in the region of Judea, Christ was encircled by a great crowd.
Matthew 19:13-15Amplified Bible
Jesus Blesses Little Children
13 Then children were brought to Jesus so that He might place His hands on them [for a blessing] and pray; but the disciples reprimanded them. 14 But He said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After placing His hands on them [for a blessing], He went on from there.
He later reminded the priests and scribes that “the mouth of babes and nursing infants” would offer praise fitting for God’s Anointed (Matthew 21:16).
When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt, a very great multitude that included children cried out saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9)!
The sound of the children praising Jesus in the temple courts made the chief priests and scribes indignant.
In response, Jesus quoted from Psalm 8:2.
God does not only want prayer in His house, He also delights in praise.
To have a childlike faith is to have a heart that always longs to praise and glorify God in each and every life’s circumstance.
Faith Which Believes
Jesus used the lad with the five barley loaves and the two small fish to feed five thousand people (John 6:9).
To show His power over death, Jesus used a little girl. Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue, fell at Jesus’ feet begging Him to come to his house and save his dying twelve-year-old daughter.
Jesus agreed and tried to make His way with Jairus, but the surrounding crowd made the trip difficult.
Word came that Jairus’ daughter had died.
But Jesus responded, “Do not be afraid, only believe and she will be made well” (Luke 8:50).
At the house, as the parents wept over their loss, Jesus said, “She is not dead but sleeping” (Luke 8:52).
Through tears, the people laughed at the impossibility of what they heard.
Jesus then asked everyone to leave the room, and then He said, “Little girl, arise” (Luke 8:54), and she did!
Romans 4:17 says that “God gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.”
Jesus spoke to the girl with the power of God, and she was raised from the dead.
Jairus’ faith definitely played a part in the miracle healing of his daughter just like the faith of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years had made her well (Luke 8:43-48).
Nothing is impossible with God if we would just believe.
This is what it means to have childlike faith.
Faith Which is Humble
Another time, Jesus used a child to teach humility.
In Matthew 18:1-5, we read how the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” and how did Jesus respond?
He called a little child to Him, set the little child in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
He then went on to say, “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.”
The fact that Jesus had been sharing with the disciples that truth about His approaching suffering and death did not affect them for they were thinking only of, about themselves and what position they would have in His Kingdom.
So self-absorbed were the disciples in this matter that they actually argued with each other in the presence of Rabbi Jesus himself (Luke 9:46).
Pride – the very sin that caused Satan to be cast down from heaven is what’s causing people to think of themselves more highly than others.
When Christians are living for themselves and not for others, conflict and division are bound to result (James 4:1-2).
True humility means knowing ourselves, accepting ourselves, and being ourselves – our best self – to the glory of God ALONE!.
It means avoiding two extremes:
Thinking less of ourselves than we ought to (as did Moses when God called him, Exodus 3:11), or thinking more of ourselves than we should (Romans 12:3).
The truly humble person does not deny the gifts God has given him or her but uses them to the glory of God.
The truly humble person also helps to build up others, not to tear them down.
Hebrews 12:1-3Amplified Bible
Jesus, the Example
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of [a]witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, 2 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, [b]disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].
3 Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
This person is a stepping-stone, not a stumbling block.
This person is a building block not a stumbling block.
Thus, we must seek to remove from our lives anything that makes us stumble.
If we don’t, we will cause others to stumble as well.
Which Jesus Himself said was not a very good, very healthy, very wise, idea.
Matthew 18:6Amplified Bible
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
An unspoiled child has the characteristics that make for humility: trust, dependence, a desire to make others happy, and an absence of boasting or selfish desires to be greater than others.
By our nature, we are all rebels who want to be celebrities instead of servants.
And so we need a great deal of teaching for us to learn the lesson of humility.
Concluding Thoughts ….
As Christians, we are encouraged to have childlike faith.
To have faith like a child is to completely embrace, trust our heavenly Father’s goodness, care, provision, leadership, His security, vigilance and protection.
Have you experienced the peace of a well-cared-for child in letting Jesus take care of your worries?
Have you found the healing that faith in Jesus brings?
Have you praised His name with the joy of a child?
Have you answered Jesus’ call in childlike faith, asking Him to be your Savior?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 17The Message
17 1-2 Listen while I build my case, God, the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear. Show the world I’m innocent— in your heart you know I am.
3 Go ahead, examine me from inside out, surprise me in the middle of the night— You’ll find I’m just what I say I am. My words don’t run loose.
4-5 I’m not trying to get my way in the world’s way. I’m trying to get your way, your Word’s way. I’m staying on your trail; I’m putting one foot In front of the other. I’m not giving up.
6-7 I call to you, God, because I’m sure of an answer. So—answer! bend your ear! listen sharp! Paint grace-graffiti on the fences; take in your frightened children who Are running from the neighborhood bullies straight to you.
8-9 Keep your eye on me; hide me under your cool wing feathers From the wicked who are out to get me, from mortal enemies closing in.
10-14 Their hearts are hard as nails, their mouths blast hot air. They are after me, nipping my heels, determined to bring me down, Lions ready to rip me apart, young lions poised to pounce. Up, God: beard them! break them! By your sword, free me from their clutches; Barehanded, God, break these mortals, these flat-earth people who can’t think beyond today.
I’d like to see their bellies swollen with famine food, The weeds they’ve sown harvested and baked into famine bread, With second helpings for their children and crusts for their babies to chew on.
15 And me? I plan on looking you full in the face. When I get up, I’ll see your full stature and live heaven on earth.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
4 Now there are [distinctive] varieties of spiritual gifts [special abilities given by the grace and extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit operating in believers], but it is the same Spirit [who grants them and empowers believers]. 5 And there are [distinctive] varieties of ministries and service, but it is the same Lord [who is served]. 6 And there are [distinctive] ways of working [to accomplish things], but it is the same God who produces all things in all believers [inspiring, energizing, and empowering them]. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit [the spiritual illumination and the enabling of the Holy Spirit] for the common good. 8 To one is given through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] the message of wisdom, and to another [the power to express] the word of knowledge and understanding according to the same Spirit; 9 to another [wonder-working] faith [is given] by the same [Holy] Spirit, and to another the [extraordinary] gifts of healings by the one Spirit;10 and to another the working of [a]miracles, and to another prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people], and to another discernment of spirits [the ability to distinguish sound, godly doctrine from the deceptive doctrine of man-made religions and cults], to another various kinds of [unknown] tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. 11 All these things [the gifts, the achievements, the abilities, the empowering] are brought about by one and the same [Holy] Spirit, distributing to each one individually just as He chooses.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Spiritual Gift of Faith
Today, let’s learn something about the spiritual gift of faith.
Your first reaction to this might be, “How can faith be a gift?
Aren’t we all supposed to have faith as believers in Jesus Christ?”
Faith is absolutely a gift!
It is specifically mentioned as a spiritual gift in scripture (1 Corinthians 12:9).
Because it is a spiritual gift, that means not everyone has the gift of faith.
And that’s okay.
We can all strive for faith, but for some people the confidence in the truth of God comes more naturally than to others.
Do you know a person who can continue to trust in God no matter what comes their way?
A person who can see where God is working in your life when you can’t see it?
People with the spiritual gift of faith are unshakeable in their reliance on God’s promises and are a source of encouragement for the rest of us when we feel like embracing the world or giving up on God or think that God has given up on us.
Here is how we can define the gift of faith:
Faith is the exceptional ability to hold fast to the truth of God in Jesus Christ in spite of pressures, problems, and obstacles to faithfulness.
Much more than just belief, faith is a gift which empowers an individual or a group of people to hold fast to its identity in Christ in the face of any challenge.
The gift of faith enables believers to rise above pressures and problems that might otherwise cripple them.
Faith is characterized by an unshakable trust in Jehovah God to deliver on God’s promises, no matter what.
The gift of faith inspires those who might be tempted to give up to hold on.
Those gifted with Faith create a foundation upon which true community can be built and sustained.
It is critical for people possessing the gift of Faith to make, take opportunities to share their beliefs, their learning, most importantly, their life experiences.
Faith stories have powerful and transforming effects.
Faith is a prominent gift in witnessing congregations, where personal stories are shared in group settings, worship, Sunday school classes, or Bible studies.
Faith is the exceptional ability to hold fast to the truth of God in Jesus Christ in spite of pressures, problems, and obstacles to faithfulness.
Our Bible gives us many examples of individuals with the spiritual gift of faith.
Hebrews 11:1-12 The Message
Faith in What We Don’t See
11 1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.
3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.
4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.
5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
7 By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.
8-10 By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.
11-12 By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. That’s how it happened that from one man’s dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions.
Verse 4 – By faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain
Verse 5 – By faith, Enoch skipped death
Verse 7 – By faith, Noah built a ship
Verse 8 – By faith, Abraham said yes to God
Verse 11 – By faith, barren Sarah became pregnant
Faith in Scripture ….
Mark 9:23 (NRSV) Jesus said to him, “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.”
Luke 8:48 (NRSV) He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
Luke 17:19 (NRSV) Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 18:42 (NRSV) Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.”
Romans 4:18-21 (NRSV) Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
God gives us believers gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We do not know why exactly God’s will is for us to have any of these gifts, but we are thankful for any blessings, gifting’s, and corrections that He gives us.
Faith — it is a gift, and all we need is about the size of a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).
To each and every one of us, a measure of faith has been assigned by God (Romans 12:3).
Moses had faith to lead Israel to the Promised Land, Sarah had faith that she would conceive even in her old age, and Noah had faith that God had spoken to him to build the ark even when everyone thought he was crazy (Hebrews 11).
There isn’t any formula that is alongside this gift of faith, and to think that there would be, it would be much more difficult to have faith.
Believing in faith is easy, but in our finite minds, thoughts barricade what is truly simple.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Faith without proof
There are miracles everywhere mentioned in the New Testament.
Many people today have seen what the goodness of God can do through miracles.
In Mark 2, Jesus was in a crowded house in Capernaum.
There were four men carrying a paralytic man, trying to reach Jesus.
They had to make a hole in the roof of the house in order to bring the paralyzed man to be healed by Jesus.
This act was an act of faith by the four men, and Jesus saw their faith in the man being healed of his affliction.
Well, the man not only got healed but his sins were forgiven.
Miracles are a wondrous gift, but having faith without seeing is believing that it is possible even though it seems impossible (2 Corinthians 5:7).
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”(Hebrews 11:1).
Our hope is in Christ alone.
Without faith, there is no hope.
We have faith that when winter begins to thaw, and all the snow begins to fade away, that the seeds that were planted in the previous season shall burst forth.
Springtime is a time of refreshment, a time of anticipated, expectant joy to see what was planted, will be planted and is to soon come up from the cold ground.
We don’t see the seeds with our own eyes, but by faith, we have the hope to see green leaves, diverse colors of flowers coming up to bring out joy and harvest.
Childlike Faith ….
Matthew 18:1-6 Amplified Bible
Rank in the Kingdom
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child and set him before them, 3 and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever [a]humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives and welcomes one [b] child like this in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Children are like sponges.
Children are naturally inquisitive about almost everything in their little world.
They max out their efforts absorbing everything they can see, smell, taste, and touch, and hear.
In a classroom, it is a teacher’s job to assure that the children are learning what is being taught.
Children learn from their families as to what is wrong and what is right.
But what they are the best at is having faith.
Think about the inquisitiveness of your own children right now.
What are they constantly getting themselves into?
What holds their “undivided” attention?
What is their “wish-list?”
What are their dreams?
As it might be applicable, be observant and give an answer to those questions for those of us who have grandchildren or great grandchildren inside our lives.
Think about when you were a child, what did you have hope for?
I hoped that I could see the world that God created.
As I got older, I realized what goes into making those dreams come true.
I then began to see that it may not ever happen, and my faith became less in that area of my life.
I let my fears become more and more of my reality because I didn’t truly believe that I could travel the world.
But, perhaps, one season, by God’s Grace, that dream of travel will come true.
I believe and have faith God will bring me to places that He wills for my life.
In Romans 10:17, the Bible states, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Our thoughts can be louder than the Word of God if we let them.
The Holy Spirit within us shows us what is truth and what is not.
The gift of faith is truth and grace that has been given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The spiritual gift of faith is steadfastly believing the truth, God’s truth alone.
No matter what happens whether you receive what you are believing in or not, your confidence cannot be swayed.
The fear, worry, and circumstances do not determine your level of faith.
If God has given you this spiritual gift of faith, then trust, without doubt, that He will absolutely do as He absolutely wills for your life.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
All-Powerful Father, I bow before You because You are awesome and worthy of all the praise. Your word declares that I can do all things through You who strengthens me! I put all my trust in You. You alone are my God. You alone are my joy. You are my heart and my soul. You are the grass under my feet and the sky above. You are seen and unseen, Father. Keep me at Your right hand forever, fill me with Your grace, and make me Yours all the days of my life. Father, we thank you for everything, and we love you with all that we are. I pray that those that have been given this spiritual gift of faith will never waiver. I pray that we will trust and believe you always God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
21 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah and had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him [away to be home with Him].
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
We are assured that no matter where our Christian walk takes us, God our Father, His Son Jesus and Holy Spirit will be there with us along the way.
Walking with God is sharing our thoughts honestly with the Lord.
That means talking with him on a daily basis.
You may be surprised to discover that of all the people mentioned in the Bible, only three—Enoch, Noah, and Levi— are expressly said to have walked with God. Their stories are found in Genesis chapters 5 and 6 and Malachi 2.
Studying Enoch’s life provides clues to how he lived a lifestyle pleasing to God.
The account of Enoch’s walk with God is told in the book of Genesis.
The writer records that Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah and then that at the age of three hundred and sixty-five years, Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him(Genesis 5:24).
This scripture reveals Enoch began to walk with God after his 65th birthday.
How old are you?
A recent newspaper article stated that today’s average life expectancy of a person living in the United States is about 75 years.
How many years have you left to walk in habitual fellowship with God?
After three hundred years as God’s habitual walking companion on earth, God invited Enoch to continue his walk in heaven.
Enoch, like the later prophet Elijah, went directly to heaven without dying.
Enoch’s goal was to walk in habitual fellowship with God.
Enoch’s goal was to reverently and obediently please God.
Think about this …. how many thousands of years ago was this ….
And how primitive or advanced was their thought process way back when?
To know what [habitual fellowship] was ….
To know what obedience was ….
To know what reverent obedience was ….to ONE God alone and not many gods?
What did it mean in that ancient context to say Enoch walked with the Lord ….
“In Habitual Fellowship” ….
What does that mean?
Above and beyond all others that Enoch and Noah were the ones mentioned?
Can you and I insert that ancient vision into our 2023 contemporary vision?
That is a pretty significant adjustment for us to make – to give Enoch a place in our 2023 pulpits, worship services, prayer meetings and fellowship gatherings.
How would that ancient witness testimony connect with our own witness story?
Would it connect with us at all?
Would it relate to us in anyway?
Would it connect us with God?
Would it strengthen or weaken or do nothing for our personal faith journey?
We know so precious little, if anything, about the actions Enoch demonstrated that God took such an extraordinary notice of – that He took Him Home (verse 24).
It would be so easy to insert our own judgments and interpretations and visions and deeds of all of those remarkable “ancient” “reverent and obedient” actions.
In the New Testament, the Hebrew writer reveals two key actions that enabled Enoch to walk with God.
By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; he was not found because God took him up, for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up, he was pleasing to God. And without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:5,6a).
Enoch was pleasing to God. Enoch did what God wanted him to do. His actions reflected God’s Will for his life.
Enoch was faithful to God. The Bible says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Enoch, through his faith, pleased God. Enoch is an example of the righteous man that Paul wrote about in Romans 1: 17, But the righteous man shall live by faith.
Many people suffer from the misconception that walking with God is about church attendance, Bible study, praying, and contributing to the needy.
It’s true, people who walk with God engage in these activities.
But, Enoch’s life highlights the genuine basis of walking with God.
From the start, it looks as though Enoch fared more regrettable than the other patriarchs.
He lived on earth for only 365 years, far shorter than the other patriarchs.
Enoch was transferred straightforwardly to heaven without dying.
At that point, however, that would imply that Enoch actually lived longer than any patriarch, for he never saw death.
So, if we think about it, Enoch is the longest living human of all, even though Methuselah lived on earth for 969 years.
But we are not specifically looking at the period or lifespan of Enoch or the other patriarchs.
Genesis 5:22 is quick to break with the example seen up to this point.
To no one’s surprise, we are given the number of years that a man lived subsequent to fathering the child who might prompt Noah and his children.
This time, however, we are enlightened with something regarding a man:
“And Enoch walked with God,” a reality that will be rehashed in the verses that follow.
What Does it Mean to Walk with God?
In the Bible, the articulation “walked with God” alludes to somebody who is respectful and dedicated to the Lord, bringing about God’s approval.
For Enoch’s situation, this was so crucial a point that it is referenced two times: both here and in Genesis 5:24.
This entry is expected to clarify the genealogical record from Adam to Noah, so there are not many different subtleties given.
We truly do not know much in regards to Enoch.
In any case, we truly do realize that God decided to eliminate him from the earth before his earthly passing.
Enoch is the first of the men recorded in this section whose story does not end with the expression “and he died.”
This was an occasion like Elijah’s end of service when God took him “up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:9-12).
Up to Genesis 5:23, 895 years old is the youngest listed age at the point of death for the patriarchs.
No details are given except that God was responsible.
Physical death happened to all of the men listed, with the exception of Enoch.
Genesis 5:24 is one of the most puzzling verses in the Bible.
Considering how completely astounding and strange this occasion is, we may have expected more subtleties.
But every expression of the Bible is centered around a specific reason.
For this situation, the genuine object is to clarify the lineage from Adam to Noah, through Seth.
Most definitely, precisely what befell Enoch is unimportant.
What we can be sure of is that Enoch “walked with God.”
Truth be told, this is such a significant piece of who Enoch was that it is rehashed twice in this chapter.
To live by faith in the Almighty means to make a relationship with God part of your ordinary way of life, to respect God with your decisions in each part of life.
Enoch’s case is strange in all of Scripture, in all of mankind’s set of experiences.
What is the significance here?
Enoch “was not, for God took him?”
Obviously, in light of Enoch’s living by faith in the Almighty, God kept Enoch from passing on.
Rather, God just removed him.
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God (Hebrews 11:5).
This existence of confidence (life of faith), Hebrews tells us, satisfied God in such a way God kept Enoch from passing from this life in an ordinary manner.
So, what was it about Enoch’s walk with God?
Walking in God’s Direction
The way for us to walk is marked.
We are to watch for any obstacles that will present themselves before us, and we are to walk as Christ walked.
Walking “as he walked” or living as Christ did does not mean that we are to us pick 12 devotees, perform extraordinary supernatural miracles, or be crucified.
We cannot duplicate the existence of Christ, since quite a bit of that had to do with his way of life as God’s Son, his walk with God, his exceptional job in dying for all sin, and the social setting of the Roman world during the first century.
To live today as Christ did, we should follow his lessons and illustration of complete submission to God and to the loving service to others (1 John 2:6; 1 Peter 2:21).
Walking at God’s Pace
As we walk, we are to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Savior Jesus Christ.
We are not to try and walk ahead of the Lord nor are we to lag behind him.
Walking requires wearing shoes to help protect our feet from the elements and the terrain that we walk on.
Some are for running, walking, orthopedic issues, or just for style.
Roman soldiers regularly wore sandals (shoes), which permitted them to move rapidly during a fight and gave their feet protection.
Here Paul envisions the shoes as the “preparation of the gospel of peace.”
Shoes made a fighter prepared to fight.
The “gospel of peace” in like manner prepares a Christian for spiritual battles.
Any individual who has strolled around outside without any shoes realizes that a few regions are beyond reach when you are shoeless.
Shoes empower you to go anyplace.
The gospel secures our faith in specific essential, widespread certainties.
Without that, we would be slipping.
One of the world’s most normal issues today is that of stress, which comes in several types.
However, the peace offered through the gospel is the response to the greater part of our day-by-day tension.
We can cast our cares upon him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).
Further, interfacing the idea with the “gospel of peace” may likewise recommend the possibility of Christians bringing the gospel into everyday struggles, sharing it anywhere they go (Matthew 28:18-20).
Christians are given the “gospel of peace to be prepared for the fight to come and to help other people confronting spiritual battles (Ephesians 6:15).
Walking in Progress and Intimacy with God
Any parent knows that a child must first learn to crawl, then walk, before they can run.
A child must take simple steps first then successive steps.
Walking in progress with God means to “walk by faith.”
That means Christians are to live, make it a habit, by faith.
Suffering comes and suffering goes.
We are to live with courage and refuse to give up in our walk (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Paul tells us that we that have to accept Christ as Lord and Savior should walk (to live and think by faith) in him (Colossians 2:6).
Works are vital for the Christian life (1 John 3:17-18) but works should be the result of saving faith.
Walking in intimacy is also about honestly sharing our thoughts with the Lord.
That means we are talking with him on a daily basis.
Walking to the Destination Which God Has Prepared
Getting to a specific destination that we want to arrive at means that we must take one step at a time.
We may have to be prepared to get outside of our comfort zone.
We cannot also walk where it is easy to walk.
A smooth flat surface will not always be present for us to take our steps upon.
We are assured that no matter where or when our God starts us on our Christian walk, or why takes us, Christ will be there with us along the way (Hebrews 13:5).
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
15 God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list?
2 “Walk straight, act right, tell the truth.
3-4 “Don’t hurt your friend, don’t blame your neighbor; despise the despicable.
5 “Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe.
“You’ll never get blacklisted if you live like this.”
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 