A Certain King made a marriage for His Son

Matthew 22:2-6 “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.”

The Lord told this parable about the preparation for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9).

The first servants sent forth were the prophets in the Old Testament….and Israel “would not come”.

God had wanted a Theocracy….where He was their king, but Israel refused to have Him as their king.

The second servants were the disciples which were sent out to preach the kingdom of God is at hand, when Jesus was on earth. (Matthew 10:5-7)

Everything was ready for the kingdom to be set up then….but “they made light of it, and went their ways”….

….”one to his farm”….(farms were quite complete in themselves)….to his own little world, without God.

….”another to his merchandise”….looking for profit from God, not to obey Him.

….”the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them”….John the Baptist was refused, and then beheaded…and he was the forerunner of Christ.

The message having been refused by Israel….God sends Rome against Israel and destroys Jerusalem (70 A.D.) (Matthew 22:7)

God sends other servants to bring in guests to His Son’s marriage supper.

Matthew 22:9-10 “Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

Some believe this to be the church sent out into the world with the gospel….

2 Peter 3:9, 13-14 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for the new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

….others believe it to be the Jewish believers, sealed and sent out in the Tribulation period….preaching Christ as the true Lord and Son of God, to Israel again.

Revelation 7:3, 9, 14 “Saying, Hurt not the earth,….till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes,…

….And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

As the parable says….His servants went out and the “wedding was furnished with guests”.

Now you would think that would be the end of it….but…(and I believe this to be the true message of this parable Jesus is telling, for us today……we are to be ready to meet the King…and there is only one way to be ready.)

There are two calls given by the gospel:

The general call, which is heard by many….who hear it and only respond to the promise of the call….and not to receive Christ.

Then there is the effectual call, which is heard by those who open up their hearts and lives to Christ.

It is termed effectual, because it effects a real change in the Ruler, and direction of our life.

Matthew 22:11-14 “And when the king came into see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot, and take him a way, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Are you wearing the wedding garment which is the righteousness of Christ imputed to all who receive Him by faith?

For when you had an audience with a king….a proper garment was provided to you….you did not go in, with your own garments on.

This man, however, appeared before the king without it….representing all who firmly believe they are ready for His kingdom to come….but are not.

There are many good people….yet their goodness does not lead them to faith.

There are many people who have a knowledge of God,….but knowledge does not give us faith.

All our righteousness is as filthy rags….

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

If we trust in our own goodness, kindness, or right living….we certainly will be “taken away” in our iniquities (iniquities is anything unequal to our high calling in Christ Jesus)…

……we can only be “ready” to come before the King if we come to Christ and receive Him as Lord and Savior…..and put on Christ.

Romans 13:14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

For anyone to be saved, they must turn from their “own ways”, and come to Christ.

Have you heard the call to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, and have you come to Him?

Or are you still making excuses and going your “own way”?

Have you Heard the Lord call you?

Song of Solomon 5:2 ” I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.”

This is a story of a believer, who has gone to sleep. But she hears the voice of her Lord, in her heart, and she awakes.

So far, so good.

Then with her understanding, she hears Him call to her to open to Him.

This opening up of her life, is different than the Salvation she has already experienced. For He calls her, His sister; being joint-heirs with Christ.

Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.”

She has had fellowship with the Lord; and has gone on in that fellowship to be called His dove.

Now a dove can see only one thing at a time, and this has been her experience in Christ; keeping her eyes on Him.

Song of Solomon 1:15 “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves eyes.”

Matthew 6:22 “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

He calls her His undefiled. This shows, that in that love relationship, she has gone on with Him;…..so she is being saved from the defilements of the world, and self.

1 John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

But this calling, here, is a deeper calling, for Jesus calls her, as the One who sweat great drops of blood as in the garden (Luke 22:44).

But there seems to be a hinderance to His call,….

Song of Solomon 5:3 “I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?”

It would seem that having experienced so much of Her Lord, she has become a little proud. (Remember, one of the things the Lord deals with His own about is the “pride of life”)

“I have put off my coat”…….simply means she had begun to put off the old man with it’s deeds.

Colossians 3:9 “Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds;”

Was she now to be defiled by working in the world?

“I have washed my feet”……..All her sins were confessed, up to date. And she had been cleansed from them. If she ventures out into the world to work for Jesus, won’t she again be contaminated by it?

These might have been very good questions,…..if…..Jesus were not the One calling her to go out with Him,…..to the work of bringing souls to Christ.

Song of Solomon 5:4-5 “My beloved put his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.”

The ancient doors used to have holes in them by the handle, so that when someone dear would come, they would put perfume (myrrh) on the inside of the door handle, to show they had been there.

Though she had hesitated to go further with the Lord,…..for what she thought were good reasons;……still she loves Him and is moved to go and open her hearts door again to His Call.

When she does, her hands drip with the perfume of myrrh.

(Myrrh was used to anoint the bodies of the dead, before burial, and was one of the treasures brought to Jesus at His birth by the wise men.)

So Jesus Christ is calling this loved one to go with Him into the experience of intercession, and travail for those He wants saved…..

and to work for those who are babes in Christ,….to help them, grow up in Him.

Often, this is a hard work, for it recognizes our imperfections, as well as those of others.

Also, it is a long work; it is not done in a day, or even a week; but till Christ be formed in them.

Galatians 4:19 “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,”

But she had opened,……..but she found Him gone.

Christ never retracts a calling; but He often withdraws the feeling of His presence, to prove us.

Will we become angry?

Or will be seek Him?

Song of Solomon 5:6 “I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer:”

She seeks Him. She sought Christ Jesus in the usual means….of prayer and church services…..hoping to find Him there.

She calls to Him to speak to her again, but it seemed as if He was refusing to call again.

She had come so far with Him, and now she had failed Him, the dearest Friend she had ever had.

She wanted to go back to the way things were….but the call had come, and she was either going to seek till she did find,……or yield to the pride she had shown earlier.

What follows is a conversation between her, and those who would seek Him also.

“What is thy beloved more that another beloved?” They ask. (Song of Solomon 5:9-16)

Then she describes His Greatness, His strength in times of her weakness,…….and that He is the altogether lovely One to her.

Song of Solomon 5:16 “His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”

When she describes Him, she realizes that He has never left her, but proved her love to Him.

Did she love Him?…….Or His gifts?

She loved Him, and found Him.

They were united in the work as well as in life.

Theirs was a love relationship; And true love follows to the end, for the Loved One.

Have you heard the Lord call you? Perhaps you have hesitated, too. Listen to the love in your heart for Jesus, and answer His call.

Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.”

His, has been and is an everlasting love, for us.

Mightily Grew the Word and Prevailed

Acts 19:20 “So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed.”

And how is it, that the Word grew?

Background:

Paul was in Ephesus. He had been preaching there for about two years….”so that all they that dwell in Asia (Minor) heard the Word of the Lord Jesus…”

He had also, by the Holy Spirit, worked miracles.

Acts 19:10-12 “And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they that dwell in Asia heard the Word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”

When we hear the Word…it makes demands on our life; which we either yield to, or refuse.

All, in this area, had heard….God was making demands on their lives about His Son, Jesus Christ…

And by Paul, the Lord was healing many from spiritual and physical illness.

Paul not only preached the Word of God, concerning Jesus Christ,….but that Word prevailed (had the victory over) in Paul….so it could prevail, through Paul.

But when God does a work, then there are always those that seek to mimic it, especially for money…..some were even using the names of Jesus and Paul…

Acts 19:13, 15-16, 20 “Then certain…took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them and overcame them….so they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

This was known to all….dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

So mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed.”

The Name of the Lord Jesus was magnified….for God showed that He will not honor the use of His Name,…… except by those who believe and receive Him, as Lord and Savior.

His Name is powerful only to those who shelter beneath Him, in believing obedience.

The Word of God is the instrument of salvation.

1 Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”

Now this Word lives and abides.

If it is not a living Word to you, you have not heard it aright.

If the Word does not make demands on your life, you have not heard it aright.

The gospel must wound, before it can heal.

It wounds our pride: we are sinners, like everyone else.

It wounds our reason: we can do nothing to save ourselves.

It wounds our hearts: it points out our secret sins.

“And the Name of the Lord Jesus was magnified”.

Here was the prevailing influence. He showed that He would honor His servants…..but not those who did not know Him, and only wanted to use Him (Matthew 7: )

“And fear fell on them all”….the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom….and it drew many to believe on the Lord Jesus, through HIs Word.

The fear that Jesus Christ knew their heart’s motives as well.

Acts 19:18-19 “And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds.

Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”

And many that believed came and confessed…

God requires honesty….getting right with Him….and your brethren.

And showed their deeds,….to know the healing power of forgiveness from these things.

Acts 19:19 “…and burned them before all men:…”

This was an act most necessary to have done with it all.

And the results?

Acts 19:20 “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”

God’s Word was being shared….and it was having the victory in the lives of these people.

Do we want to know the power of the Word of God?

Then we must give ourselves to God….to be prevailed upon.

If we, in believing obedience act upon what I know He requires of me now….I will know that prevailing power for myself.

There is for each of us, that power that is “exceeding, abundantly, above all that we ask or thing….according to the power that works within us”. (Ephesians 5:20)

Are we born again? Are we sheltered under Him, and obedient to His Word?

Then that Word will prevail in us…..and through us.

It is in knowing His Will, and doing it.

And as His children, we are as responsible to know His Will,….as to do it.

In our progressive walk before the Lord, we must always leave the better…..for the best.

This must always be done if the Word of God is to prevail through me…..it must prevail in me….where I am….with the circumstances I am in now.

Our Calling as Jesus’ Disciples

Matthew 16:24-25 “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.”

What is a disciple? A disciple is one who is a learner and follower of someone, or some doctrine.

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ, we must follow and learn of Him.

Jesus says here, that to be my follower, you must deny yourself (your wants, plans, likes and dislikes) and pick up your cross.

What is my cross? It is anything the Lord wills for me, which cuts across my will. In other words: anything to which we would say, “I won’t”.

The message of the cross is that you were alive when you were put on; and you were dead when they took you off.

Simply, “my cross” is the things that will put to death in me….the rebellion, or resentment, or selfishness which exists in me.

So I can follow after and have His life in me.

As I deny myself, He creates in me that character of Christ, and giving me freedom from sin and self.

And this you must will, for our cross deals with our wills.

“If any man will”.

(When the Lord showed this to me, I was struggling with the way the Lord did things.

I did not realize how much I argued with the Lord, about His will. He showed me how much I asked, “Why?”

Why this? Why that way?….How many “whys” had I asked? How many times had I questioned Him….the Almighty God.

Who did I think I was? Yet I had done it again and again.

When He showed me this, I felt sick,…I could not even think “why?” without it hurting just a little bit.

I stopped asking why, and really started working at denying myself.)

When the cross has done it’s work, you no longer resist His will in anything.

It is not instant obedience, but it is final obedience. You will do His will.

But then Jesus goes on to say, “Whosoever will save his life, shall lose it.”

What does this mean? Jesus is saying: we are going to live our life our way,….or His way.

We may be a person who puts off things as long as they can. Doing only when the time is about up. That is our natural way.

God may let us go on in our way for a while,……but one day will require us to see things done early;…..right away….because He wants to teach us His way. And bless us there.

It may be the opposite: we may be someone who gets up and gets things done, so they can have the rest of the day for themselves.

And God says, “Wait till later”.

It is hard to wait; you are thinking of all the things you could do later. But God is trying to show us how to yield to Him, in all situations to Him.

There are many natural “ways”. Some habits, and some are extensions of our personality, which we need to lose, by denying ourselves.

Then we can “find” our life in Christ Jesus. We find as we deny our way, that the way God works things out, is best.

We find that the words we say become His words.

We find that our reactions…become action, taken by direction of the Holy Spirit.

(It is amazing, when you consider His life flowing through you.)

Of course, we still have to will it, for the action of our lives comes through our will.

If we try and save our self life, we will surely lose it; for it was never intended for you to have a life apart from God.

We were always in His plans and purposes.

When God says If we “save” our life, we will “lose” it….what does He mean?

It is losing time, it is losing opportunity for usefulness, and it is losing our life’s joy and blessing which He has for us.

It may mean for some….the loss of the feeling of His Presence with us….He is not gone….but we do not have His inward guidance, or comfort like we should….in a world where temptations abound, and anger rules.

But if we will, His love draws us forward.

His Holy Spirit empowers us onward.

His Purpose (His will and way) lift us homewards.

Blessing and Cursing

Deuteronomy 11:26-29, 32 “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;

A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day:

And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.”

This was what the Lord had commanded Moses to tell Israel, on the far side of Jordan; right before he died.

Now Israel had come in to Canaan by crossing Jordan…..been circumcised (for during the time in the wilderness, they were not),…

…held the first Passover since Egypt,…

…and taken and destroyed Jericho, and Ai.

Then,…..though there was hardly any land that was theirs….

……they believed God and went to Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim…..all of them….all Israel went up to the place appointed.

Here the blessings and the cursing was to be read before all the people.

Joshua 8:30-34 “Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal,

As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lifted up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.

And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord,….half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.

And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursing, according to all that is written in the book of the law.”

Here on mount Gerizim, they were to read aloud the blessings God would perform if they were obedient….in the land He was giving them.

(Deuteronomy 28:1-14, it is a beautiful record of prosperity, and fruitfulness to themselves, each other, and the nations around them, in their obedience and devotion to the Lord their God.)

Here on mount Ebal, they were to read aloud the cursing God would perform if they were rebellious and disobedient.

(Deuteronomy 28:15-68; it is a terrible record of people gotten “fat” or comfortable in their lives, so that they forget God and His goodness….coming under the hand of idol worship, famine, diseases, and then their enemies…all because they forgot and forsake God:

Deuteronomy 28:47 “Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;”)

It is a beautiful thing to see Joshua so diligent and eager to perform this duty, which Moses commanded them to do.

(Joshua was a diligent servant of the Lord, both in heart and in battle. And here is an example of his love of God’s Word.

At the end of his life, he stated his life’s determination:

“….but as for me, and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15)

And there, on mount Ebal (where the curse was read) they sacrificed burnt offerings,….offerings for sin, and whole burnt offerings, showing they were completely His.

There they sacrificed peace offerings, showing that they celebrated the peace they had with God….even before their enemies.

It was a spiritual seal, on the land God gave them.

It was to show that God’s Law and commandments were now to rule in this land.

All would hear about it, and know these Israelites were different…(in the middle of the conquest of the land, they were claiming it in the name of God, and His Principles)….

….their God was different….He was letting everyone know that He would be honored in this land.

Joshua wrote the words of the law upon the stones he used for the altar, so all could read….and remember them.

(You will notice, when you read Joshua, how many times they wrote on stones, or piled up stones for remembrance of a mighty act of God for them.

These would have been a great comfort, if they had done what was told them: teach your children what God has done for us….talk of the Lord, when you are walking, or in your house. Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

This honoring God’s Word, would have taken a whole day, at least; maybe more, for all of them went.

Their camp was at Gilgal, yet they were at Mt. Ebal and Gerizim.

The enemies could have come up against the women, children, as well as the troops among them….

….but according to God’s Word, they went up and honored the Lord…and His law, here in Canaan….and God honored them.

God has set before each man by His Word the blessings in His Son, Jesus Christ….

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

….and the cursing by refusing Him.

Mark 16:15-16 “And He (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature:

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned.”

They are written plainly for all who will read and see….to come to Him.

And we Christians, as Joshua, are to be diligent in our duty of manifesting the Word….

….even in the midst of our battles….we are to honor the Lord’s Word….that they might be seen and heard of all.

How am I filled with the Spirit?

Years ago, I asked the Lord this very question. Feeling a need in my ministry…I prayed and kept praying till I got this answer:

“To be filled with My Holy Spirit…you need to be emptied from the fullness of yourself.”

I said, “I have consecrated my life to you….I have given my life to be your preacher; I witness and pray for others, I work at being obedient to Your commands…..what more should I do?”

(Did you notice how many “I”s there are? Ouch! Obviously, being emptied of self is a tall order!)

So I asked….”How do I empty myself out?”

The answer was quite simple….I cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and bring everything that says, “This is me…my way of doing a job, my way of preaching on a text, my way of saying things”……to God….until, everything I am (habits and characteristics) and everything I do, says “This is Him.”

He showed me that this is my life’s work….to me conformed to His image, here and in all my days.

He must reign in my life, by a deliberate act of my will….my willing it, for all the things of my life.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Subjection has become a “bad word” today. (Of course to the wrong elements, it is.)

But subjection to Christ is freedom.

“What!, you say, that can’t be.

Subjection is bondage;…..you have to do.”

But the reality of the subjection to Christ, is a love relationship.

(In all the conversation which I shared with you, between the Lord and I….there was the knowledge of His Presence, both in rebuke…”You are a preacher, and you do not know this?”

And in a sense of a love-calling…..”Do this for Me.”)

It is to know that He loves….you

(No, it is not just the knowledge of the head, having heard it so many times).

It is a closeness of His Spirit,…..a sweetness of His Voice (even when He corrects us),….and such a sense of rest of heart, and mind (and my mind usually goes around in circles pretty good).

Hosea 11:4 “I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.”

Jesus Christ came as a man to show us the great love He had for us:

By His life in subjection to His Father. (“…for I do always those things that please Him.” John 8:28-29)…

By His sacrifice to save us from our sins (and they are the real bondage)….

And by His resurrection, to give us all things in Him.

Song of Solomon 8:7 “Many waters can not quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.”

We can not give anything for the Love of God, for He has loved us with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3).

Before we were born, God loved us; by the Love of His Will.

It was not because there was anything in us that drew Him to us (definitely not as far as I am concerned).

Nor was it because He saw what we would do for Him, after conversion. Or because of what we would become.

No, He loved us because of one reason: He willed to do so.

Matthew 6:10 says, His kingdom come, His will done in earth, as it is in heaven.

And Jesus taught that we should pray this.

In heaven it is done willingly, joyfully, completely. But also with fullness of power.

He has this sort of power for us; but to get it down here into us we need to have His kingdom come with in us.

He showed me, that we should not ask……How much do I have of God?

But, how much does He have of me?

For we are filled with the Holy Spirit to the degree or extent, that we are willingly emptied of ourself life.

Imagine jars filled with water. Now, imagine you are going to fill them with another liquid.

They won’t mix, so one of them will “push” the other out.

The one comes in; and the water flows out.

This is the filling of the Holy Spirit. He flows in, at new birth.

But if we just let Him have that much of us, it is like a skim of oil on top of the water.

But when we yield to Him, be obedient to His direction, and give up our way…….then He keeps flowing in,…..and our self life, flows out.

We have more “want to”, more power to do, and more knowledge and joy in the doing.

This is to be being filled with the Holy Spirit;….and it is only as we submit to Christ’s rule in us; as subjects to King Jesus….

Under His command, doing His Will.

Ephesians 5:17-18 “Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

Samson

I want to mention here, that I never thought Samson was a good Bible hero. He was called….even before he was born, and….

He was given superior strength to overcome the enemies of Israel.

But he still did not impress me, for he was not a chaste person….nor one which (to me) really showed much faith….

….after all, what did he do, but embarrass and fight the Philistines?

But I was wrong…..for Samson was in the faith chapter (Hebrews 11:32)….and there are only fifteen named people there.

And here, I want to mention the fact what the Lord showed me about our calling:

What we are called to is important….for God will surely give us the ability to do what He has called us to do.

It does not matter whether it is a great work, for many years…..or a work where no one sees, in prayer….or the calling to witness….

…every work needs God’s enabling….every work fulfilled, brings reward.

(Even the one talent servant would have gotten a reward, had he chosen to use it….Luke 19:12-27)

The Lord showed me that Samson had faith……faith to follow his calling to be a Nazarite.(Numbers 6:2-5)

Here was the warning and prophesy to his mother, before he was born:

Judges 13:4-5 “Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

And that is the fact about Samson…..he did what he was called to….and did it well, saving Israel from the oppression of the Philistines, for twenty years (Judges 16:31).

As a child, the Lord blessed him….for the Spirit of the Lord came upon him for his work…

Judges 13: 24-25 “And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him….”

When he grew up, God caused an “occasion”, where he would fight the Philistines:

Judges 14:2, 4 “And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughter of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.

But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.”

This occasion was over a riddle….which he would have won; but they would not have an Israelite win….so they threatened his fiancé with death…and she betrayed him…..later they killed her.

This became the occasion where he fought the Philistines, every time they came against him.

One time it was thirty Philistines, then more, than a thousand. He mocked them every time they wanted to capture him….once letting his countrymen tie him up and deliver him….only to break free and destroy them.

Once carrying the city gate and it’s posts from the wall up to the top of a hill.

On it went for years….

…Until Delilah….three times he mocked her attempts at taking his strength….but she kept at it….and then…he told her all his heart.

Judges 16:17 “That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

Now I have always thought Samson pretty dumb….after all he had told her three other things….and she did them to him.

But confidence in ourselves….in the ability to keep ourselves from being tricked, is found in all of us…..and it costs us.

And then, I must think….how “dumb” I have been when I have continued to use means that God was not blessing….or continued looking for an answer, when the Lord already told me….

Samson was caught….blinded….and put to work grinding grain in the prison house.

But God still used Samson….when he again fulfilled the Lord’s requirements:

Judges 16:22 “Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.”

And when we sin, and do “dumb” things…..God will restore us when we seek forgiveness, and cleansing….and be obedient to what He said.

Judges 16:23 “The the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.”

They brought him from the prison to make him wander around in the arena….blinded. The great Samson….now a joke.

They laughed and drank….about three thousand…..and Samson was placed between the two pillars that held the house up.

And Samson, in faith, prays to the Lord:

Judges 16:28,30 “And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be a once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.”

Samson prayed…..”remember me”…..did he think God forgot him? No, but remember me….the one you called….I am now restored in my hair….and in my spirit of faith…..

….restore now my strength, which is the gift You have promised me.

He prays to be “avenged” for his two eyes…..they blinded him by their trickery…..so he would destroy them, in their blindness to their god.

Samson fulfilled his work….which was to destroy the hold that the Philistines had on Israel….for twenty years.

I can think what I like about the failures of Samson…..but he was forgiven and restored……and finished his work.

What about us, as Christians? Are we finishing the work God has called us to do?

2 John 8 “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought (gained), but that we receive a full reward.”

Amen, let us be watchful against the wiles of the devil, and the snares and tricks of the world around us…..and finish the work God has called us to do…..whatever it is….for His sake.

Lift up the Hands that Hang Down:

Hebrews 12: 12-13 “Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees;

And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”

This has to do with the race we are called to finish for the Lord.

God never intends that we go through life miserable.

It is true that we are in a battle with sin, self, and the Adversary, but it should always be a path of Light.

In this part of Hebrews, the writer has just told of heroes of faith (Hebrews 11).

Not just how they had faith….but how they used their faith.

And he calls all who have faith now, to:

Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”

In every race, it is those who lay aside every weight, who will win.

You can not be weighed down, and run well.

This race is not a sprint….but a long distance race; it is the race that compasses our lives.

Weights are those things which we carry, which are unnecessary to our walk with the Lord. In fact, they hinder it.

These can be habits we have picked up, which need to be put aside;

or acquaintance which we have let get an advantage over us;

or ideas from the world which sound right, but are not.

These weights interfere with our race; and hinder our faith’s growth.

We can still run; but with difficulty….and perhaps a fall.

So, the writer says, you need to “lay aside” these; and run with patience the race that is set before us, by the Lord.

A good way to start this is:

Hebrews 12: 2-3 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider Him that endured such contradictions of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”

We are to look to Jesus: look at His example, and look at the reason He went to the cross.

Jesus Christ our Lord came from His glory, into humiliation for us; that we might have His life and peace.

We are His joy, and satisfaction.

(Isaiah 53:11 “He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.”)

It was not just His suffering in death, but the “contradiction of sinners”.

That was in the unbelief of the people he came to;

the anger of the chief priests and Pharisees, who refused to acknowledge Jesus’ authority;…..

…..and in the face of so many proofs, rejected Him and sought to make others refuse Him as well.

Yet Christ Jesus went to the cross to die and save all who would come unto Him.

He ran the race His Father placed before Him, that He might have us with Him for all eternity. Again, we are His joy.

The writer also goes on to say that we should be prepared to be corrected, if you wander from the path of life.

Your Heavenly Father loves you, and seeks to keep you safe.

The further you are from Jesus; the further out of His Light and Love you go; the more in the dark we are.

This is not what Jesus has for us.

Hebrews 12:11 “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yeildeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

“Them that are exercised thereby” are the people who really want to learn.

(A group of people are all training for a big game.

The trainer is working hard with all of them, in order for them to win.

But he will take extra time with those who get bruises, or sore feet, or are failures at first; and still get up and want more of the training, so they can get it right. These are those that are “exercised thereby”.)

When we have seen the value of the life the Lord gives us, and we come to the place where we need correcting (and we all do)…..yet if we go on with Jesus, and learn; we will bare the fruit of righteousness within ourselves….because we stayed with Him.

So in Spiritual Life:

Our Trainer is the Holy Spirit He is come to us to guide us in the Lord’s Way, in grace.

But we are often slow learners; or frightened; or we want to do it another way.

But the Holy Spirit does not give up on us; but rather seeks to point us to Christ; and keeps working in us. (Philippians 2:13)

He tells us: don’t give up, do not get discouraged; but go on with Him.

Hebrew 12: 12-13 “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”

Lift up the hands which hang down in fear or tiredness.

Strengthen the knees which want to just sit down, and forget it.

Make your paths straight, by:

Trusting in the Lord.

Listening to Him.

And holding on to His love.

He is always with us, let us stay with Him.

Ask for these to be shown to you; and be prepared to be strengthened by His Holy Spirit, in peace and joy.

Jonah

I love the book of Jonah, because I, too have tried to run away from God’s demands on my life…..and praise God, like Jonah….God did not give up on me.

Notice all the things “God prepares” in this little book.

It begins with:

Jonah 1:1 “Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “

God had a job for Jonah, his prophet, to do. He had spoken to him before, a word that was sent to help Israel, which he gladly did;…..but now God was going to send him to Nineveh.

Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, Israel’s hated enemy. So when Jonah heard:

Jonah 1:2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.”

He did not want to go and ask them to repent, which is what “cry against it” means. Instead he wanted them to be destroyed by God….

….and he thought that if he did not go….they would not repent,…..then they would get destroyed….good and simple.

(The Assyrians were terrible: they were a vicious people. And they were coming into a great power. [Israel was taken into captivity about one hundred years later by them])

And why did he think that they might repent?

Jonah 4:2 “And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish:

for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil.”

Because he knew that God was merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.

So he ran away from God, not wanting to do His will in this.

It is good for us to consider,….if we say we are the Lord’s servants…..can we pick and choose what we will obey?

Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

So into a ship to Tarshish—to the other part of the known world! (It was in Spain)

That would settle that, he thought. No message of repentance, and there would be no repentance. No repentance, and God would destroy Nineveh.

But God was not done with Jonah (all through this book, this back and forth is wonderful to see. God does not give up on His wayward servants!)

Jonah 1:4 “But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was likely to be broken.”

God sends a storm that scares even hearty sailors.

So much so, they seek for the reason of the storm—which is Jonah.

Jonah 1:7 “And they said everyone to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.”

So he tells them he is running away from the Lord, the God of heaven, who made land and sea.

So they ask him, What can be done, to quite the storm?

“Throw me overboard.” Was Jonah’s answer.

But they try and bring the ship to land first, but when that failed, they threw Jonah into the sea.

God’s next move was to awaken His servant to the need of mercy….for himself.

(That very mercy he wanted to deny the people of Nineveh.)

Jonah 1:17 “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

Three days and three nights Jonah was in the great fish. The darkness, and suffering of smell, touch, and decay around him; was as he said, “…the belly of hell…”.

Spiritual mercy is that kindness of God for sinners, which brings comfort of soul, leading to salvation (Titus 3:5-6).

Jonah 2:7-9 “When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto Thee, into thine holy temple.

They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

Jonah had wanted to forsake God, and His call. But now he asks God not to forsake him.

Hear his confession: “they that follow the lies of our imaginations and wishes (lying vanities) forsake their own mercy.”

Jonah had “imagined” and “wished” that he could run away from God, because he did not want to do this particular thing.

But at the same time, he knew the Lord was the God of heaven who made land and sea, which could not be run away from.

(How silly we are to listen to our wishful imaginations, when we are trying to “get around” God.)

God hears Jonah’s prayer, and:

Jonah 2:10 “And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry ground.”

God again sends Jonah to Nineveh:

Jonah 3:2 “Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”

And this time Jonah goes,……and they do repent!

Jonah 3:5 “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”

This is so much a miracle: for the people of Nineveh would not have cared about anything a prophet from Israel said…..

But God used the very means, they would have normally despised, to start an awakening.

The word came down from the king of Nineveh…..

Jonah 3:8, 10 “But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hearts.

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil, that He had said He would do unto them; and He did it not.”

This is a real repentance! “Turn…from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hearts.” And they turned!

Jonah knew God, that He was merciful…..even unto the worst of sinners.

Jonah had gone through several experiences…..but had he learned to give mercy….the mercy he knew God gives….the mercy he, himself had prayed for?

Jonah 4:1 “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.”

Plainly it is hard to give mercy to an old enemy…..even when you know God has forgiven them….

So the Lord showed Jonah another example: God prepared a gourd.

A gourd which miraculously grew up overnight to a large shading place…..large leaves on the vines.

But then God prepared a worm. (God is ever “preparing” things, to teach His children the lessons He has for them.)

And that worm destroyed the gourd. And now Jonah was angry for the loss of the gourd….why would God destroy it, when it gave him shade from the heat?

(As I said, I love the book of Jonah…..he is so inflexible in his attitude….just like me,….just like many of us.

Yet, God is so good, as to take His time and teach…..many times….the same lesson….over and over again!)

When the gourd was gone, God spoke again: “Do you do well to be angry?”

I have found that speaking to people who are angry…..is mostly useless. They do not want to hear, or be reasonable, or to forgive, or to do anything but be angry….

…..but God speaks to Jonah….to bring out from him a response….a petty response…..the same response he gave for a whole city of men, women and children….

….to show Jonah his mind-set. Anger is a terrible emotion.

But it is our mind-set that leads us to be angry.

Jonah 4:9 “….and he (Jonah) said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.”

How ridiculous we sound sometimes!

God is showing Jonah….that he is His servant first…..then an Israelite. As God’s servant, he is to obey, whether he likes the command or not….and he is to accept the decisions of God about his work.

Jonah just lead a great revival, saving thousands of people (and I am thinking of the children first),…..but he was unhappy, because they were Assyrians, Israel’s enemies.

Yet he whines because God destroys his gourd.

How much are we the same way?

Perhaps we do not run away…..but grumble about our calling.

Perhaps we do what the Lord wants….but argue with Him about the outcome.

Perhaps we sit around wondering why God takes from us some little comfort, when we would like to see something taken from others.

I am comforted here, in Jonah, that God has the last word:

It is a exhortation to me,….to all that are His servants….and to all….

….He will have the last Word.

For He will see His Will done…..

….but the question is, for each of us…..what will He have to do to teach us, His Ways?

Jonah 4:11 “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that can not discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”

God does not give up on us. He speaks, and speaks again.

And shows us many mercies and many corrections….so that we may learn to enjoy all He is and does.

“Salvation is of the Lord.”

Praise the Lord for that.

Thy Kingdom Come

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Where is His kingdom to come? Where is His will to be done?

In earth….

….not on earth; but in earth….in us who are made of the earth, and formed by God into a living soul….we are to have His kingdom come “in” us….and have His will done “in” us.

This is the second most important thing we are to pray for…..according to the prayer Jesus Christ taught his disciples. (Matthew 6:9-15)

(The first most important thing is to ask that His Name would be “hallowed” or honored.

We know His Name signifies all that He is….so the first thing we should pray for,…..when we pray, is that God would be honored by us.

That His Name would not be ill-spoken of,…..because of our behavior.)

But the second thing we are to pray for, is that we might have His kingdom come, and His will be done within us….it is that important.

Luke 17:20-21 “And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, Lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

The Pharisees thought of “the kingdom” as a place and a time, which would surely include them….because of their lineage.

They did not understand that the kingdom is only where the King is.

And the King, Jesus Christ was standing before them, right then….

….inviting them to come into His kingdom, by believing and submitting to Him.

He is doing the same thing to each of us, today…

There are two principles at work in the universe:

God’s principle of Obedience, and the devil’s principle of Rebellion.

God’s principle of Obedience…..which is to place ourselves at God’s disposal to do, or be what He wants.

This principle was seen in all the children of God, to a decree, down through the ages….

….but especially in His Son, The Son of God/the Son of Man…..Who did always those things that pleased His Father (John 8:29)

Hebrews 5:8-9 “Though He were a Son, yet He learned He obedience by the things which He suffered;

And being made perfect (complete in His Work), He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him;”

Christ Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself and became man. Many things He did for others, by the power of God….but…

…..He had to be obedient to Mary and Joseph……for eighteen years—from twelve to thirty (Luke 2:49-51)

…..He was tempted for forty days and nights by the devil….yet without yielding (Matthew 4:1-11)

…..He had to wait for others to bring Him food, and ask for water at a well (John 4:6-8)

…..He was silent before His accusers, as a “sheep before His shearers is dumb” (Isaiah 53:7)

Everything He did, here as man,…every act, every word,…..was in obedience to God His Father.

He did everything in obedience, as man….without the indwelling inclination to sin….but as man….

…..an obedient man….worthy in His Person, for Who He was and what He had done….to be the perfect sacrifice for sin.

Taking away the sin of all who would believe in Him.

And the devil’s principle of Rebellion….where we place ourselves against the things of God….against His will and His way.

The devil would persuade us (“wiles”Ephesians 6:11)…..that we can have things our way and God’s….but we can not.

We must choose:

Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

(Hell was made for the devil and his angels….not man.

Until the day of Adam’s sin, then it was opened up for those who refuse to believe God, and obey Him.

Matthew 25:41 “Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”)

I started this with “Thy kingdom come.”

For every Christian, if we do not have Christ’s kingdom come within our hearts, we are leaving things in our lives open to the devil’s wiles to rebellion.

Christ has made a way for us,….to come to God in peace, and have full access to His grace: the unmerited favor of power (Romans 5:1-2)

….to be led by the Spirit of God and be joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14, 17)

….to come boldly to the Throne of grace and obtain mercy (Hebrews 4:16)

….to be saved from the lusts of the world (2 Peter 1:3-4).

He is the Author and Finisher of our faith:

Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God.”

Christ’s Way, is by His kingdom being set up in our lives. He sits on the throne of our lives….and we occupy the footstool, as HIs servant.

It is the second most important thing we are to ask for: Thy kingdom come.

Are we seeking it for ourselves? Are we acknowledging Him as our King?