Back To Normal

Posted on August 19, 2014 by ez3728

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown were three dedicated and knowledgeable gents who wrote an exhaustive commentary on the entire bible, back in the days when writing actually meant WRITING with a pen, going through stacks and stack of your own notes, thumbing through printed bibles to locate obscure verses, and researching prior commentaries and writings – all often in dim lighting.

Their efforts required more than some taps on a keyboard. My hat is off to them.
I read them frequently. I learn a lot from them.

I definitely do not agree with some of their leanings as they apply to predestination and free will choice, election etc. At the same time, for the most part I believe these guys are right on. I have been mightily blessed by their diligence and academic drive, and godliness. I thought I’d share one glorious thought with you – but first, Wikipedia tells us this about them:

David Brown (Aberdeen August 17, 1803- Aberdeen, July 3, 1897) was a Free Church of Scotland minister at St. James, Glasgow, and professor of theology at Free Church College of the University of Aberdeen.[1] He was co-author of the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary (1871) with Robert Jamieson, St. Paul’s, Glasgow and the Rev. A. R. Fausset, St. Cuthbert’s, York, England. He was a director of the National Bible Society of Scotland, and the Evangelical Alliance, and the Alliance of the Reformed Churches.

More can be read here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamieson-Fausset-Brown_Commentary

Recently I came upon this edifying insight that one of them (they apparently divvied up the bible for commentary workload) wrote re Gen 1:24 – “Let Us make God in Our Image”. I was scouring around to the original text re the pluralization of US and OUR. Instead, they wrote this:

Gen 1:24
And in what did this image of God consist? Not in the erect form or features of man, not in his intellect, for the devil and his angels are, in this respect, far superior; not in his immortality, for he has not, like God, a past as well as a future eternity of being; but in the moral dispositions of his soul, commonly called original righteousness (Ec 7:29). As the new creation is only a restoration of this image, the history of the one throws light on the other; and we are informed that it is renewed after the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness (Col 3:10; Eph 4:24).

For your convenience, the cited reference verses are:

29 Truly, this only I have found:
That God made man upright,
But they have sought out many schemes.
(Ecclesiastes 7:29 NKJVS)

10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him
(Colossians 3:9-10 NKJVS)

24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
(Ephesians 4:24 NKJVS)

Isn’t that great stuff?

The new creation is a restoration of the image of righteousness in man.
Through Christ we are brought back to God’s definition of the original normal.

It’s sin that makes people weird.

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in Creation, Everything, Movement of God, Personal Relationship, Understanding & Knowing God | 1 Comment

People Get Ready….

Posted on August 14, 2014 by ez3728

Somehow a good portion of the western church appears to have bought into a gospel that positions our Lord in a lovely glass enclosure that displays a neatly printed label: “In Case Of Fire, Break Glass”.

The assumption is that we can call upon Him at absolutely any time, and there He is, ready to help. Paramedic Jesus.

This is half-accurate. Our Lord is totally, 100% for those who would call upon Him, at any time, BUT it is on His terms, not on our terms. Some proof text (less I be deemed a spiritual sourpuss):

Wisdom is presented to us as a trait, a companion and a representative of our great God, and testifies of itself in Proverbs 1, saying the following:

(Proverbs 1:22-33 NKJVS)
22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.
23 Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.

(So far, so good. We see wisdom is pro-active in getting our attention. But that pro-activity demands our response, as we find in v24 that our non-response is not good).

24 Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
25 Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,
27 When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

(Golly, that sounds sort of cruel, but we must be reminded that God is not mocked – Gal 6:7).

29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

(The good news is the promise of God’s amazing mercy and protection to those who would make the choice to respond to the revelations, and corrections, of wisdom – which will always work in perfect harmony with the plans and personality of God)

33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.

It’s therefore evident that we’re to purposely position ourselves in the place of preparedness (aPologies for all those P’s) and vulnerability towards God.

Our active faith that God will do what He says He is going to do, is a good thing. It will inspire us to be prepared.

In the midst of some very tough verses in Hosea, the Lord planted an eternal promise that is offered to us, if/when we understand that the breaking up of the fallow ground (by US, not by Him) is to be done PRIOR TO the outpouring, so that WHEN the outpouring pours out, we will be able to soak up and absorb all that the Lord has intended for us:

(Hosea 10:12 NKJVS)
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you

See what’s being told us, by Hosea?

He’s telling us to personally take a pick-axe to the hard-pack of our hearts and lives, so that the broken-up ground is already overturned, and therefore receptive to the flood waters of God’s outpouring. It is a work of faith, in us, that would have us prepare – PRIOR TO the outpouring. The alternative is the promised outpouring overflowing us, and the unprepared (those with fallow ground) either missing most of what was intended to be absorbed, or worse yet, getting get swept away in the resultant flood.

Repentant David, in Psalm 32, tells us likewise – prepare. Get into, and stay in, the place of deep Spirit-led relationship with God. Now. We’re not to wait for more trouble to come upon us personally, or upon the earth, prior to coming into the deep places with our Lord. That would be foolhardy.

(Psalms 32:5-6 NKJVS)
6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him

David just told us that trying to get to God, during the flood waters, may not happen. We’re to call upon Him while He may be found. David lived that way himself (most of the time – we all know of his shortfalls):

(Psalms 27:8 NKJVS)
8 When You said, “ Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.

How does this theology travel into the New Testament? Like all true doctrine, it travels quite seamlessly. First of all, the abundance of scriptures regarding the second return of Jesus – those scriptures purposely positioned by God in the OLD Testament – simply all must (and do) function within the context of the New Testament, because it is at the end of the New Testament age that our Lord will return.

Second, is our observance that our Lord Himself called religious leadership of His own day to task for their personal failure to discern His FIRST COMING – about which LESS is mentioned in the Old Testament than what is mentioned regarding His SECOND COMING. That should speak volumes to us.

The Pharisees and Sadducees apparently got much of the religious activity correct, but sadly missed the whole point of the plan of God (our Lord’s first appearance – as our sacrifice), and the timing of God, because they were fixated on their religious protocol. Church-as-usual was being interrupted by the plans of God. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

(Matthew 16:1-3 NKJVS)
1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said to them, “ When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red ’;
3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. ’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.

So is it time to call upon the Lord? I would put forth that even a cursory awareness of issues in our country (economy, government, general moral decay), the world in general, and the Middle-East in particular, would incline most bible-centric folks to nod affirmatively.

It is time.

It is time to seek the Lord. It is time for us to personally break up our fallow ground. My bible speaks to me of trying times towards the end of this age. It also speaks to me of great opportunity and favor towards a victorious church, opportunity and favor and authority and eventual reward to all who would be prepared and in position to partner with God in His victorious return. The ready people.

Twice in Joel 2 the prophet tells those who would have ears to hear:
“Blow the trumpet in Zion”. You may want to read and pray into that entire chapter, or entire book, even. That short book is end-of-age-centric.

If the Second Coming of our Lord is the God-ordained capstone event of the Age, wouldn’t one be inclined to think that Joel’s alarming expression-of-ultimate-priority over all other important events (eating, weddings, gatherings of all sorts by all age people) would be MOST pertinent to the actual times prior to The Event Of All Events?

(Joel 2:14-17 NKJVS)
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
16 Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “ Spare Your people, O Lord,

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in Apocalypse, End Times Related, Everything, Movement of God, Prophecy, Revelation(s), Tribulation | Leave a comment

Boasting In Knowing

Posted on August 1, 2014 by ez3728

Boasting sort of seems like it has no good purpose.
But somehow God wired us with the ability, as well as the inclination, to boast. It therefore must have a viable and godly application.

Jeremiah 9 (in the New International Version) reads this way:
23 This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord
(Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV)

I personally prefer the New King James, It poetically morphs “boasting” to “glorying”, and reads this way:

23 Thus says the Lord:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
(Jeremiah 9:23-24 NKJVS)

Whichever you might choose, these verses in any translation say the same thing:
The issues and accomplishments of life are not what boasting/glorying is for.

After all, “what do we have that we did not receive?” asks Paul (1 Cor 4:7).
Both KNOWING and also UNDERSTANDING our great God – who He is and how He operates, is what we ought to be doing cartwheels over, and in which we ought to be finding our security and safety.

Jeremiah 9 is rather a tough prophetic chapter – with the prophet starting off (verse 1) saying “I don’t have sufficient tears to weep for the upcoming troubles of my people”. He then goes into detail regarding the upcoming tough season. Israel, in their stubborn religiosity, in their continuous refusal to hear God and to respond to how He was dealing with them, had provoked God to escalation of His corrective ways and means.

They were plenty religious. But that has never been what God has been looking for.
They had plenty of popular doctrines. Synagogues were likely filled with happy people hearing happy messages.

Jeremiah, in fact, was regarded as a party-pooper because he failed to go along with the church/synagogue philosophy. It was not “all good”. Their refusal to repent was soon going to come to a head. Sound familiar? Paul spoke of upcoming times when people would not endure SOUND doctrine, but still wanting SOME doctrine, they’d put before themselves teachers, having itching ears, and would be turned aside to fables.

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
(2 Timothy 4:3-4 NKJVS)

As long as the people of God dig their intellectual, philosophical and spiritual heels in, and determine to do things their own way, embracing “relevant” world-ways instead of God’s ways, they are in for His correction and judgment. He is jealous. He tells us so.

I cannot find a scripture or historical reference pointing to our great God competing in some popularity contest or striving for our approval. He is God. His Word endures forever.

To the point – Jeremiah 9 again, verse 24:
24 But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

“understands (Me)” – Hebrew is “sakal” – circumspect, wisely skilled and taught, prudent in understanding, thus having good success….

“knows (Me)” – Hebrew is “yada” – implying an intimacy of acquaintance and knowledge and understanding, even to the point of describing Abraham “knowing” Sarah, at which time she bore a child. It runs deep.

So BOTH of the those elements have to work together for successful living particularly in trying times (although, in all times).
The “knowing and understanding” of Jeremiah 9 also reveals the daily not-pending-the-end-of-time (1) lovingkindness, (2) judgment and (3) righteousness, by God, in the earth. All three. Always. Ongoing. In those He delights. “Exercising” those things means happening always. Always righteous. Amen. Always lovingly kind. Amen. Always judging. Well, gee. Yes. Always judging – people, societies, His people in particular:

1 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
(Amos 3:1-3 NKJVS)

God’s desire for oneness with us, agreement, precipitates His correction of His people, so that might choose to come into that alignment.

That may war against superficial grace doctrines that sound so good and mean so little, but the reality is God is who He is, and we are invited into that knowing, because He loves us, and because His ways are better than ours. In fact, His ways are life. Ours are death.

Pretending God is a softy has never worked. Nor will it.
God is God, and that is a good. His love for us runs deeper than we can imagine. In that love is His mercy, and His righteousness, and His judgment. History has proven these truths.

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Happily and soberly, we also can boast/glory/rejoice in His willingness to be discovered by those who would diligently, biblically, and prayerfully seek Him.

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in Everything, Movement of God, Personal Relationship, Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | Leave a comment

It All Comes Down To Worship

Posted on July 23, 2014 by ez3728

Because our God is great, He has no problem writing out His own priorities and His end-times plan, not only for us to see, but also for our adversary/His adversary to see. The real marvel is the sheer blindness and stupidity of wickedness – that our adversary would even think there was some ray of hope of success in defying God. But then again, that same logic ought to be applied to our own susceptibility to the deceit of sin. Meanwhile, for our purposes, let’s look at what the eternal and immovable Word of God tells us about worship and the end times plan. I believe it will assist us not only in prioritizing worship, but also in understanding the insidious plans that will be waged against worship, from all directions.

BOTTOM LINE: In many ways, it is all about worship. Needless to say, worship is not simply guitars and songs. It is a lifestyle and a heart-attitude. THAT SAID, music has proven itself to be a doorway into the soul of man, so we definitely ought to understand and embrace the element of music-based song-generated prophetic worship as being key to this conversation.

WHAT DOES THE GOOD BOOK SAY ABOUT WORSHIP?

Jesus tells us this – God is looking for those who will worship in spirit and in truth – two critical elements necessary for the only worship that satisfies God:
John 4:23-24
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jesus Himself came from the tribe of Judah. The worship tribe:
Psalms 78:67-69
67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.
69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.

Satan not only understands the priority of worship, but is so incensed by the possibility of people worshipping God, that he lies even to Jesus and offers Him all, if our Lord were to worship him:

Matthew 4:8-10
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
(To which our Lord reiterates a worship-command from the OT)
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Paul understood that Anti-Christ would eventually sit in the temple, demanding worship, since world-power will not be sufficient to satisfy his demonized tapeworm for godly position. Remember, from the last post (Prov 28:16 –  “a ruler without understanding is a great oppressor”). That applies, in spades, here. Satan fancies himself a ruler, as will the one called the son of perdition:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Meanwhile, Isaiah tells us that huge end-times victory will be achieved specifically via prophetic worship.
Tophet, by the way, is another name for the Valley of Hinnom outside the walls of Jerusalem. It was a former place for the sacrifice of innocent children. It will eventually be redeemed by the blood of guilty kings who come to war against Jerusalem, and against God.

Isaiah 30:27-33
27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire.
28 His breath is like an overflowing stream, Which reaches up to the neck, To sift the nations with the sieve of futility; And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, Causing them to err.
29 You shall have a song As in the night when a holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To come into the mountain of the Lord, To the Mighty One of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones.
31 For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod.
32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the Lord lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.
33 For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it.

That (verse 33) “Tophet prophecy” corresponds to some final verses of Psalm 110:

Psalms 110:5-6
5 The Lord is at Your right hand;
He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.
6 He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
He shall execute the heads of many countries.

Isn’t it wonderfully ironic that the wholeness of the scriptures actually begin making sense if/when one begins accepting them for what they say? The plan of God is intended to be revealed to us, as long as we wisely and soberly turn from doctrines that satisfy a portion of text, but not all of the text of God.

The prophet Daniel (affirmed by Jesus, who tells us to actually go read Daniel when the Abomination is spotted in the temple) tells us much about Anti-Christ.

First, the affirmation of Daniel by Jesus:

Matthew 24:15
15 “ Therefore when you see the ‘ abomination of desolation, ’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand)

There was a PARTIAL FULFILLMENT of some of Matthew 24 during the destruction of the temple in 70AD, but by no means a complete fulfillment. Time does not allow me to go into that fullness of explanation right here, but let’s simply look at one word: “Immediately” (in Greek: “eutheos” – it means Forthwith. Straightway. Just following). It does not mean 2,000 + years later.

Contrary to widespread popular doctrine, the most troubling times of demonic activity have yet to occur. We therefore have the Lord speaking of His prompt and highly visible return (which inarguably did not happen in 70AD):

Matthew 24:29-30
29 “ Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

So now that we know Daniel has been affirmed by Jesus, what does Daniel tell us about the times ahead? Will there be trouble? Will some saints lose their lives? Will these be times of glory for those of understanding? Will there be intrigue, deception and deceit even within the body of believers?

Daniel 11:29-36
31 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.
32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.
33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.
34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue.
35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.

Verse 36 sounds much like 2 Thessalonians, which we read before:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

What is this leading us to conclude?
1. The Word of God will come to pass. All will be fulfilled.
2. Righteousness, humility and the fear of the Lord will be our only safe place.
3. Troubling times lie ahead.
4. Times of great exploits in the Lord lie ahead.
5. Prophetic worship, in spirit and in truth, is key. In fact, Isa 30 tells us that through such prophetic worship, demonic strongholds will fall (one huge reason why the Lord said He’d rebuild the tabernacle of David in the last days).
6. We therefore must conscientiously enter into that place of prophetic worship, and at the same time anticipate resistance to us entering that place.
7. We win.

 

All scripture NKJV

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in Everything, Personal Relationship, Psalms, Understanding & Knowing God, Worship | Leave a comment

Understanding UNDERSTANDING

Posted on July 22, 2014 by ez3728

“Understanding” means you get it – you are able to receive, process, and then reach a proper conclusion to a matter. It works that way in the world, and it particularly works that way in the Kingdom of God.

The scriptures put such a high value on “getting it”, and yet one might inclined to think that if you simply “know your bible”, if you’ve been around the spiritual block a few times, then you’d be able to claim spiritual understanding. But it doesn’t quite work that way. In fact, the scriptures not only point to the value and merit of knowledge and understanding the ways of God, it actually gives us warnings and cites examples of failed understanding. It can in fact be tragic.

Understanding is not an “automatic anything”. We are told to purposely go after understanding. To in fact cry out for it.

This is why our God, in His great mercy, has provided for, and assigned, the Holy Spirit to be our active teacher, so that we might grow in our daily revelationary understanding of God. That comes only from time spent with God, with the Holy Spirit. Strategically, this is also why our adversary has invested so much effort in undermining and maligning the work of the Holy Spirit, and in warring against the saints, and their prayer time. Satan has some understanding as well – he understands that a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led saint is a dangerous adversary for him.

Here’s some scriptural thoughts re the topic (since my opinion might be nice, but biblical accuracy is a must):

THE VALUE OF UNDERSTANDING:
Proverbs 16:22
22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it.

WHERE TO OBTAIN SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING – IN THE WORD OF GOD:
Psalms 119:104
104 Through Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.

THE ADMONISHMENT TO GO AFTER UNDERSTANDING – AN INVITATION BY THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM. (and we all know that the beginning of wisdom is – HINT: Psalm 111:10):

Proverbs 4:5-7
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.

THE REJOICING, IN HUMILITY, OF THE PROGRESS OF UNDERSTANDING IN OUR LIVES:

Jeremiah 9:23-24
23 Thus says the Lord:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

The above verses are critical in that they are positioned, by the Lord, in the midst of some seemingly harsh prophecies towards Israel. We can write these off as Old Testament writings if we like. But they are for us. In the midst of those strong words is the revelation that we absolutely must search out and even embrace HOW our God operates throughout the age, how He responds to sinfulness, rebellion, wickedness, how He moves upon His people, in love, in correction, in consistency. Without that understanding, we are assured we will either fail to understand God, and then become offended when He does work in our lives and the lives of the people around us.

In fact, I am confident that, sadly, the “many shall be offended” verse in Matthew pertains primarily to Christians who have been so fed on a diet of less-than-biblical fullness, that when God moves as He has promised to move in the last days, saints will be offended by their God. I believe these verses speak to us of the falling away spoken about IN THE CHURCH, in the last days:

Matthew 24:10-13
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

THE POTENTIAL FOR THE FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP:
Solomon understood (see Daniel 2:20-21, below) that even a man placed in a position of authority by God, without understanding the ways and rules and requirements of God, actually has no other course than to become a great oppressor, because in failing to understand his own accountability to God, and in failing to believe the work and intent of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the ones under his authority, that leader’s only other conclusion will be the necessity to control and manipulate. That is always a disaster:

Proverbs 28:16
16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor,

THE GOOD NEWS – MODELED BY A PROFESSIONAL KILLER – HERE WE SEE A ROMAN CENTURION, A LEADER OVER 100 TRAINED VIOLENT WARRIORS, BLOWING THE MIND OF OUR LORD, BECAUSE THAT CENTURION “GOT IT”:

Matthew 8:9-10
9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘ Go, ’ and he goes; and to another, ‘ Come, ’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘ Do this, ’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “ Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

Jesus perceived the centurion got it. In being IN authority, he understood He was UNDER authority, accountable to the great God who puts men in place, and takes men out of office. Jesus saw the pompous control of the Pharisees. And here was a Centurion who had understanding.

ETERNAL TRUTH THAT SOLOMON ALREADY UNDERSTOOD, WRITTEN LATER BY DANIEL:
Daniel 2:20-21
20 Daniel answered and said:
“ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.

FINISHING UP WHERE WE BEGAN:
Proverbs 4:5-7
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.

All scripture NKJV.

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in Everything, Movement of God, Personal Relationship, Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Legalism vs. Legal vs. Illegal

Posted on July 14, 2014 by ez3728

Matthew 7:21-29
21 “ Not everyone who says to Me, ‘ Lord, Lord, ’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘ Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? ’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! ’

Jesus was clearly speaking to ones who knew Him. He was addressing the unpopular but necessary and critical issue of disqualification, a topic no one runs to embrace. Nonetheless, our Lord spoke of it (as did others, including Paul – who wrote a major portion of the New Testament) so we would do well to consider these words. It is this same Paul that brought forth the doctrines of grace. He got it.

Declaring: “Lord, Lord”, notably with signs and prophetic words following, would seem marked evidence of relationship with the One to whom they were speaking. They knew Him, but the deeper issue was about Him knowing them, in the biblical sense of knowing. The disqualifying condition was their lawlessness, their refusal to live and walk within biblical guideline, after knowing Him. Sad.

ILLEGAL
Those poor folks may well have referred to their lifestyles as being gloriously free in Christ. Simply enjoying Him. No worries. Safe and secure in His love. God is in a good mood, so all is cool. And hey, I prophesy accurately and cast out demons (and hey, blog-readers: we all agree those are very good things). Their conclusion, however: I have the goods. I therefore must be good to go. This group is often inclined to denounce a more stringent interpretation of scripture as legalism – a popular criticism often pointed towards people perhaps more convicted about the eternal Word, and its reasonable requirements, a group that at the same time hopefully embraces its glorious promises.  Intimate relationship with God, and accountability, are not contradictions (Ps 99:6-9).

LEGALISM
True, there are folks way too legalistic, way too restrictive, formulating religious lifestyle, even adding new pious rules beyond biblical principle or biblical revelation, not Spirit-led. Welcome, Pharisees.

LEGAL – The Safe Place
But there is also a gloriously safe place, a place I choose to call Legal. It is sitting upright on the mount of truth, neither falling off one side into legalism, nor the other side, into illegal behavior- both of which are disastrous.
There is a place to be found in Christ, the living Word, that is legal, and free, and full of glory. Jesus told the Jewish believers (believing so therefore already forgiven, and saved) that in their continuing in the Word they would then know truth, and at that time the truth would set them free. James referred to scripture as the law of liberty.

Lest we overlook Paul, he took this matter of discipline and correct biblical living so far as to reveal his attitude towards his own salvation in this manner:

1 Corinthians 9:27
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

He then went on to charge us with the same sober alert, in 2 Cor. 13:5. Of note is not whether Christ was “in us”. But whether we were in Him. He optimistically ends on the high note of believing better things for us. Yea Paul.

2 Corinthians 13:5-6
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified.
6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.

Those scriptures are crystal clear. They are only a mystery (actually, a confusion) if one has been presented with a false grace.

BACK TO MATTHEW 7
Jesus, in His mercy and lovingkindness, will send storms of testing. Biblically, it appears that God, the Creator of heaven and earth, controls the weather (Amos 4:7, 1 Kings 18:44, Psalm 107:25, 33-35, 2 Chron 7:13). I do not personally perceive that the storm Jesus commanded to subside had been constructed by Satan. I personally believe our God created Goliath for David. I believe in God’s sovereignty. Isa 45:7 can shed some light on this.

In Matthew 7:24 and 25, Jesus does not say “if” storms might come. There is more of a silent “when” implied. Times of testing. That too is biblical, folks.  It also is wise to note that the folks in verses 24 and 25 all heard the sayings of Jesus. This is not a story about the unsaved, about ones outside of relationship with Him. This is written for us.

Matt 7:24-25
24 “ Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock
25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “ But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,
29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

TAKEAWAY:
A. Legalism is dry and dead and religious.
B. “Illegalism” is a destructive and false doctrine put forth as freedom in Christ, without the holy restraint or limitations of the whole Word of God. We’re warned about this coming into the church, as times progress (2 Peter 2, Jude, 2 Tim 4:3)
C. Legal is good. The Word will set you free, and keep you free.

John 8:31-32
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “ If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

All scripture NKJV

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in Everything, False Teachers, Legalism, Understanding & Knowing God | Leave a comment

Avner Boskey’s 7/13 post

Posted on July 14, 2014 by ez3728

This is a post of an email newsletter by a dear friend living in Israel. It is truth. It should be broadcasted to the computer of every individual. It should be on the radar and in the understanding of every praying saint.

I believe God is at these times utilizing Israel as a stone for the church – a potential stepping stone for those who will recognize God’s purposes (with the blessing attached to that position), and also as a stone of stumbling for those who, even with Scripture at their side, would treat the cause of Israel lightly.

Gen 12:3A – He will bless (baruch) those who baruch Israel, but more (accurately, hebraically worded 12:3B): “…I will (arar) curse those who (halal) “burnish” (or simply lightly touch over) you.

In other words, God’s priority and promise to the land and the people must be treated with the same level of priority as the Lord places upon it. The saints in particular and the church in general is at a crossroads. It is not business as usual.

You can sign up to receive your own updates from Avner, via his site:

http://davidstent.com/words/

What will the Jewish people’s acceptance of Yeshua result in but life from the dead? (Romans 11:15)
Make war, not love

The Woodstock Generation had many buzzwords and pet phrases such as “Turn on, tune in, drop out,” “Go with the flow,” and “Make love not war.” At the same time, a simmering spirit of rebellion and violent revolution played at the edges of hippiedom. Jefferson Airplane’s “Volunteers of America”, Neil Young’s “Ohio,” and MC5’s “Kick out the jams” painted a vision of America burning, beset by internal revolution. The Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” and the Beatles’ “Revolution” took a step back from the brink, lowering the rhetoric and letting off steam in more quixotic ways.

Right now the Middle East is going through epileptic convulsions. Sunni jihadi armies are sweeping like a black cloud across Syria, Iraq and Africa, while Shi’ite terror armies are stretching their bony green fingers across Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. Over 200,000 people have died in these recent outbreaks of hostility. Both Saudi Arabia and Jordan have moved their armies to their borders with Iraq and are on hair-trigger alert.

At the same time Hamas (in Arabic, Harakat al-Muqawima al-Islamiyya, or ‘The Islamic Resistance Movement’; http://davidstent.com/hurtling-through-the-fog-of-war-a-messianic-perspective-on-the-new-hamastan/) has kicked off a third military campaign, (2006 – http://davidstent.com/the-coming-war-with-hamas/; 2012 – http://davidstent.com/category/hamas/page/2/), targeting over half of Israel’s residents with short and long-range rockets.
As world media zooms in on the developing war, we need accurate facts, clear context and biblical perspective. And how can we pray for the situation with biblical compassion and wisdom?

The bombs bursting in air

On Saturday Hamas upped the military ante, firing barrages totaling over 100 rockets at major Israeli cities. They threatened to unleash a new type of rocket called the J80, notifying Israeli TV to make sure that cameras were focused on Tel Aviv at 21:00 hours. Six rockets were fired and all were shot down by the Iron Dome system with no injuries. Saturday night three Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon into Western Galilee by Palestinian Lebanese fighters also with no injuries.

The amazing lack of injuries is a sign of God’s protection and the ongoing prayers of the saints, because Hamas is trying its hardest to wound and kill Israeli civilians. Keep praying for continued protection!

Military intelligence estimates that Hamas still has over 7,000 short-range rockets and over 200 long-range rockets stored in residential homes, hospitals, mosques and schools throughout Gaza – as was the case in 2006 and 2012. It is impossible to destroy these inventories without causing extensive collateral damage. As a result, last night the IDF began to communicate with residents of northern Gaza by leaflet, phone calls and text messages, warning them to vacate specific areas by noon Sunday or face potential damage or death. Sunday afternoon will see intensive pinpoint bombing of Hamas’ northern Gaza rocket bunkers.

Escalation mostly from the air

As of 23:30 Saturday night The Israel Air Force (IAF) intensified its bombing of terror command-and-control centers, rocket launchers and rocket bunkers – by jet, helicopter and by IDF artillery from outside the Gaza Strip. A Shayetet 13 (Israeli Navy Seals) team was inserted into the northern Gaza Strip before dawn to take out rocket launchers near Sudaniye.

As well, Hamas public and political leaders’ homes are being targeted, though these leaders have long since gone to ground, hiding in a rat’s warren of underground tunnels that would have made the Viet Cong proud. World media have reported that some of Hamas former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s nephews were killed in a bombing attack, though without giving vital context – that the main target was jihadi Nidal al-Malash (https://mobile.twitter.com/KhaledAbuToameh/status/487949076697083905/photo/1) – leader of a Hamas rocket squad division.

World media is casting an anti-Israel spin on such casualties. They are actually following Hamas’s posted guidelines on how best to inflict maximum propaganda damage on Israel by selective media spin (www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-warns-residents-against-revealing-downtown-gaza-launches/; www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-11/is-hamas-trying-to-get-gazans-killed).
But former Hamas PM Haniyeh blows away the fog of war with unapologetic and fighting words. Describing Hamas’ jihadi warriors (which include his own nephews) he said on January 13, 2014, “Beware of this generation. This is a generation which knows no fear. It is the generation of the missile, the tunnel and suicide attacks.” Hamas is not a peace-seeking group.

“Masters of the bluff and masters of the proposition” (Bob Dylan)

To get the UN Security Council to agree on censures is like pulling teeth. Whether it be Ukraine, Georgia, Sudan, North Korea, Syria, al-Nusra, ISIL/ISIS – the “world’s moral conscience” slowly lowers its head and slowly mosies on in all the above cases. When Christians are tortured, raped and murdered in Syria, Iraq or Iran, or when similar massacres happen to Shi’ites or Sunnis in Iraq, the U.N. is silent. However, when Israel defends itself from Hamas’ jihadi madness as, world censure and Security Council and General Assembly resolutions are passed in a jiffy. Hypocrisy combined with anti-Semitism is the order of the day in international relations – as prophesied in Psalm 2:1-3).

Pray for wisdom for the leaders of your own country (Psalm 2:10-12) that they will make righteous and true choices regarding the enemy’s attacks on the Jewish people and their state

For an in-your-face challenge regarding world hypocrisy and anti-Semitism, watch the biting British commentary by Pat Condell entitled “Why I support Israel” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHC8KC5cLs8&feature=youtube_gdata_player.

Why is Hamas doing this?

Western minds find it difficult to understand why Hamas would provoke a fight with Israel when they are bound to take a whipping militarily. The answers have to do both with political strategy (http://m.nationalreview.com/article/382477/why-does-hamas-want-war-daniel-pipes) and with spiritual dynamics.

From a spiritual point of view, Hamas is committed to endless jihad against Israel. Its Islamist charter (www.acpr.org.il/resources/hamascharter.html) states bluntly that it will never cease from violent jihad against Israel until the Jewish state is destroyed. As a result, there is no peace treaty that can be established with Hamas. It is a fight to the death:

“The Platform of The Islamic Resistance Movement (ed., Hamas): Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement…join(s) its hands with those of all Jihad fighters for the purpose of liberating Palestine … Our struggle against the Jews is extremely wide-ranging and grave…until the enemies are defeated and Allah’s victory prevails” (Introduction).

“The Islamic Resistance Movement (ed., Hamas) draws its guidelines from Islam” (Article #1).

“The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin)…the largest Islamic Movement in the modern era” (Article #2).

“The Islamic Resistance Movement…has raised the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors in order to extricate the country and the people from the (oppressors’) desecration, filth and evil” (Article #3).

“The Islamic Resistance Movement…strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine” (Article #6).

“Hamas has been looking forward to implement Allah’s promise whatever time it might take. The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: ‘The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him! This will not apply to the Gharqad, which is a Jewish tree’ (cited by Bukhari and Muslim)” (Article #7).

“Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Qur’an its Constitution, Jihad its path and death for the case of Allah its most sublime belief (ed. this is also the slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood)” (Article #8 – The Slogan of the Hamas).

“The land of Palestine has been an Islamic Waqf (ed. irrevocably Islamic land, never to be owned again by non-Muslims) throughout the generations and until the Day of Resurrection. No one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon it or part of it. No Arab country nor the aggregate of all Arab countries, and no Arab King or President…has that right … This is the status (of the land) in Islamic Shari’a, and it is similar to all lands conquered by Islam by force … Any demarche in violation of this law of Islam, with regard to Palestine, is baseless” (Article #11).

“Nothing is loftier or deeper in nationalism than waging Jihad against the enemy and confronting him when he sets foot on the land of the Muslims. And this becomes an individual duty binding on every Muslim man and woman” (Article #12).

“(Peace) initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement … From time to time a clamoring is voiced to hold an International Conference in search for a solution to the problem … The Islamic Resistance Movement…does not believe that those conferences are capable of responding to demands, or of restoring rights or doing justice to the oppressed . . . Those conferences are no more than a means to appoint the nonbelievers as arbitrators in the lands of Islam … There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. The initiatives, proposals and International Conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility” (Article #13).

“In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad … We must imprint on the minds of generations of Muslims that the Palestinian problem is a religious one, to be dealt with on this premise. ‘I swear by that who holds in His Hands the Soul of Muhammad! I indeed wish to go to war for the sake of Allah! I will assault and kill, assault and kill, assault and kill’ (told by Bukhari and Muslim)” (Article #15).

“Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims” (Article #28).

For more insight into the geo-political ramifications of these teachings, see former CIA DCI James Woolsey’s address at the Restoration Weekend conference in 2002 (http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=21031 ).

A cup of cold water

While Hamas rockets are landing over major sections of Israel, their operators have also accidentally targeted Arab areas – including an Arab village in the Gush Etzion area, the Arab city of Hebron, and Ramallah.

Simultaneously, as rocket fire continues, Israel is supplying its enemies in Gaza with over 200 trucks containing 1,998 tons of food, 9 trucks of medicine, 759,000 liters of fuel, and an uninterrupted supply of electricity. This same electricity also runs Hamas’ weapons factories. This is indeed a Twilight Zone scenario.

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. For you will heap burning coals on his head, and YHVH will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22). It is challenging to consider that the Jewish state is acting in a more “turn the other cheek” with Gaza, than many so-called Christian countries do in their international dealings.

Gandhi, Britain, Hitler and Hamas

In 1940 the Indian advocate of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi wrote an open letter “To Every Briton” offering his sage advice to Winston Churchill, the Queen and everyone in between on how to deal with the Nazi menace:

“I hope you do not wish to enter into such an undignified competition with the Nazis. I venture to present you with a nobler and a braver way, worthy of the bravest soldier. I want you to fight Nazism without arms, or, if I am to retain the military terminology, with non-violent arms. I would like you to lay down the arms you have as being useless for saving you or humanity. You will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions. Let them take possession of your beautiful island, with your many beautiful buildings. You will give all these, but neither your souls, nor your minds. If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourself, man, woman and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them. This process or method, which I have called non-violent non-co-operation, is not without considerable success in its use in India. Your representatives in India may deny my claim. If they do, I shall feel sorry for them” (Open letter, “To Every Briton”, New Delhi [2 July 1940]; published in Harijan [6 July 1940]; www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945851/posts).

In many senses, this is the position held by the U.N., the E.U., the Quartet and its smiling envoy Tony Blair, and even some in the State Department. Thankfully, Mahatma Gandhi’s free advice was not followed by the Allies in WWII. Otherwise no Jewish people would have ever survived the Holocaust. Israel is in no mood to repeat colossal foolishness and follow such frivolous and disastrous counsel in our day.

Pray for Israel’s leaders to receive revelation and resolve from YHVH Lord of the battle to do all that is needed to protect and defend the Jewish state and all of its citizens.

Wisdom from Germany

Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz is the recognized master of military strategists. In his magnum opus Vom Kriege (On War; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_War, Clausewitz sated some salient points worth remembering here:

“Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed. War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst” (Book I, Chapter 1, Section 3, Paragraph 1).

“We see, therefore, that war is not merely an act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse carried on with other means. What remains peculiar to war is simply the peculiar nature of its means (In laymen’s terms, he is saying that war is merely the continuation of politics by other means. War is an act of violence to compel our enemy to fulfil our will). (Book I, Chapter I, Paragraph 2).

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!
In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in End Times Related, Everything, Israel, Movement of God, Prayer, Prophecy, Revelation(s), Understanding & Knowing God | Leave a comment

Daniel 02 audio teaching – ABC’s of biblical prophecy

Posted on June 28, 2014 by ez3728

I am experimenting posting audio podcasts on this blog site.
If this DOES work, yea God.
If this DOES NOT work, please bear with me.

Daniel chapter 2

 

 

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in End Times Related, Everything, Movement of God, Prophecy, Understanding & Knowing God | Leave a comment

Boasting in Knowing and Understanding

Posted on June 6, 2014 by ez3728

Boasting sort of seems like it has no good purpose. But somehow God wired us with the ability and the propensity to boast. Jeremiah 9 (in the New International Version) reads this way:

23 This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches,

24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV)

I personally prefer the New King James, It poetically morphs “boasting” to “glorying”, and reads this way:

23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NKJVS)

Whichever you might choose, these verses in any translation say the same thing: The issues and accomplishments of life are not what boasting/glorying is for. After all, “what do we have that we did not receive?” asks Paul (1 Cor 4:7).

Both KNOWING and also UNDERSTANDING our great God – who He is and how He operates, is what we ought to be doing cartwheels over, and in which we ought to be finding our security and safety.

Jeremiah 9 is rather a brutal prophetic chapter – with the prophet starting off (verse 1) saying “I don’t have sufficient tears to weep for the upcoming troubles of my people”. He then goes into detail regarding the upcoming tough season. Israel, in their stubborn religiosity, in their continuous refusal to hear God and to respond to how He was dealing with them, had provoked God to escalation of His ways and means.

They were plenty religious. But that has never been what God has been looking for. They had plenty of popular doctrines. Jeremiah, in fact, was regarded as a party-pooper because he failed to go along with the church/synagogue philosophy. It was not “all good”. Their refusal to repent was soon going to come to a head. Sound familiar?

As long as the people of God dig their intellectual, philosophical and spiritual heels in, and determine to do things their own way, embracing “relevant” world-ways instead of God’s ways, they are in for His correction and judgment. He is jealous. He tells us so.

I cannot find a scripture or historical reference pointing to our great God competing in some popularity contest. He is God. His word endures forever.

To the point – verse 24:

24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

“understands (Me)” – Hebrew is “sakal” – circumspect, wisely skilled and taught, prudent in understanding, thus having good success….

“knows (Me)” – Hebrew is “yada” – implying an intimacy of acquaintance and knowledge and understanding, even to the point of describing Abraham “knowing” Sarah, at which time she bore a child. It runs deep.

So BOTH of the those elements have to be act work, together, for successful living, particularly in trying times (although, in all times).

The “knowing and understanding” of Jeremiah 9 also reveals the never-ending and not-waiting-until-the-end-of-time (1) lovingkindness, (2) judgment and (3) righteousness, by God, in the earth. All three. Ongoing.

In those He delights. “Exercising” those things means happening always. That may war against superficial grace doctrines that sound so good and mean so little, but the reality is God is who He is, and we are invited into that knowing, because He loves us, and because His ways are better than ours.

Pretending God is a softy has never worked. Nor will it. God is God, and that is a good. His love for us runs deeper than we can imagine. In that love is His mercy, and His righteousness, and His judgment. History has proven these truths.

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Happily and soberly, we also can boast/glory/rejoice in His willingness to be discovered by those who would diligently, biblically, and prayerfully seek Him.

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in Everything, Movement of God, Personal Relationship, Understanding & Knowing God, Wisdom | 1 Comment

Jesus addresses Sabbath, and Rest

Posted on May 5, 2014 by ez3728

I’ve been pondering the Sabbath a lot lately, as God Himself unquestionably places so high a priority on the concept and essence of that event.

Sabbath was created, and modeled by God Himself, on Day 7 OF CREATION – quite a long time prior to the law of Moses, the Mosaic being a shadow of things to come.

Hebrews 8:4-6
4 For if He (we’re talking about Jesus here) were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “ See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

EARLY BUNNY TRAIL: I (along with others) have some strong opinions regarding the millenniums and the general season for the Lord’s return, particularly in light of the facts that:

A. The concept of Sabbath figures so prominently into all of Scripture (including the Isaiah 58 blessing – which we will get to); AND
B. Peter, writing about the return of Jesus, warns us that in the latter times folks would be offsetting the timing of the Lord’s imminent return, as if it might happen so far down a long road of time as to be unimportant and off our radar. Peter warns us of this potential, and then reveals what might be an interesting timing key:

2 Peter 3:8 (I recommend you read the entire chapter)
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

THAT said, one might be inclined to wonder whether a 1,000 year period, subsequent to the Lord’s return, might prove itself as being an exemplary Sabbath for our Age (a seventh day, if you will), during which time the majority of people will be ceasing from their own works (ceasing from doing it “their way”) and instead coming to grips with the fact that the reigning, now-visible, in-Jerusalem Lord has a better way, a way that works. This leads us into this writing.

The writer of Hebrews, addressing Jewish believers in Y’Shua, clearly goes after the concept of what a real Sabbath might be – the writer knowing that the as-observed Jewish adherence of the day, including all of their traditional legalistic restrictions, was NOT the perfect solution envisioned by God, who had made the Sabbath for man, as opposed to vice versa:

Heb 4:9-10
9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

This takes us to Matthew 11 and 12. Please remember that Jesus did not speak in chapters and verses, nor did the writers of the original text organize their thoughts in chapters and verses, with sub-headings and paragraphical breaks. Those text tools work fine for organization and biblical referral, but often we would be more enlightened were we to read through those literary stops.

OK – HERE WE GO: Matthew 11 – Jesus tells His disciples about the indisputable and eventual accountability of the earth’s inhabitants for their wickedness (Matt 11:20-24). Then He prays for His disciples (that would include us) to the Father, and then proceeds to tell His listeners (that would be us, again) they are blessed.

 Matt 11:25
25 At that time Jesus answered and said, “ I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

And now Jesus determines it’s time to address and confront the Sabbath matter, head on – and I believe He was/is determined to NOT simply make a three-verse statement and then go on with a new chapter of events for Matthew to memorialize:

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus is revealing to His followers that in their voluntarily taking upon themselves the yoke of Spirit-led service to God, they would be discovering and coming into true rest. True Sabbath.

I’d bet no ox ever looked at a yoke and declared: “Cool! I’ll put that on, and I will find rest”. But we are not oxen. We are sons of God, invited into His service – the only place of true rest.

The revelation here is that the yoke of our Lord is our Sabbath. In fact, anything else (even including religious good-intention of us not having to do anything) is a waste of precious time and thought, and in fact contradictory to biblical text.

Once again – Matthew didn’t write in chapters. To that point, chapter 12 begins with the words: “AT THAT TIME” (which also is stated prior to Matt 11:28, above. It is all one event – our Lord is going after the Sabbath by means of consecutive events).

The Greek word translated to “AT THAT TIME” is Kairos – a set appointment. An occasion. Matthew was relating to us that at that same time as our Lord was concluding what we accept as chapter 11, Jesus (knowing all things), was addressing in what we accept as chapter 12 (once again, the entire chapter makes for a most logical read):
1. end times judgment,
2. what Sabbath was and was not, AND He
3. physically models (Holy Spirit street theater, if you will) an intentional provocation and confrontation with the religious order by leading His disciples through a cornfield, on Saturday (Sabbath).

Matt 12:1-8
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “ Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
3 But He said to them, “ Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice, ’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

From Matt 11:28 and on we have an invitation to cease from doing things our way and placing the yoke of rest upon our shoulders to discover what the Sabbath truly is – being in the perfect will of God. Immediately (at that same occasion) we see the disciples being condemned by the religious order for plucking grain and eating, something specifically NOT PROHIBITED in Torah, but PROHIBITED in Talmud (which the Jews exalted to an equal position with God’s laws).

And now we see Jesus going further still – healing on the Sabbath. The Lord of the Sabbath was taking the Sabbath back into ownership by God (I believe we’re invited into that same campaign).

CONTINUING IN Matthew 12:9-14
9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.
10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”— that they might accuse Him.
11 Then He said to them, “ What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then He said to the man, “ Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.
14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

There’s so much more for us all to dig into, to understand and embrace, regarding Sabbath. I believe it is an invitation from the Holy Spirit – for us to prayerfully weigh how this might look in our individual lives.

I believe the more we truly understand, the happier we will be. I believe we will get to the place of Isa 58:13, where the enormous blessing is offered by a gracious and loving God, who in this portion of promise, functionally makes a vow to us – “The mouth of the Lord has spoken”:

Isaiah 58:13-14
13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Yea God.

All Scripture NKJV

Email, RSS Follow
Email
Print
Posted in Communion, Everything, Jesus, Peace, Prayer, Sabbath, Understanding & Knowing God | Leave a comment