The Means of Victory: Pray, Believe and Praise

2 Chronicles 20:1 “It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.”

Now Jehoshaphat was a godly king of Judah.

And so when he heard of their coming to war with them, he feared; but sought the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:3 “ And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.”

He knew that his small country could not stand against the superior numbers and warriors of these three nations.

But He knew God could save them.

2 Chronicles 20:6, 12 “And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art thou not God in heaven? And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”

As they were praying and seeking God’s help; the Holy Spirit gave them direction through one of the appointed singers, that stood seeking God.

(2Chronicles 20:15-17) “….Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.”

They knew they would have to go out and face the enemy; but the Lord said He would be with them, and fight for them.

They all started worshipping, and thanking God for it!

2 Chronicles 20:20-21 “And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness…: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah,…; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth forever.”

Notice Jehoshaphat did not stay in Jerusalem, but led his people.

Also notice, when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers. They all wanted to praise God, even before the actual victory.

And what was the battle?

It was the Lord’s. For He caused two of the armies to unite against the third army; destroying it.

Then God caused those enemies that were left, to turn on each other!

2 Chronicles 20:22-23 “And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord sent ambushments against…which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of mount Seir, everyone helped to destroy another.”

Judah did not have to fight at all!

2 Chronicles 20:24 “And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, Behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.”

Four days later, after taking the spoil of the armies that came to destroy them, they gathered in the same Valley.

They renamed it “Berachah”,….or Blessing.

2 Chronicles 20:26-28 “And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord:…

Then they returned,…to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.”

Jehoshaphat was a godly king, but even godly people have enemies.

So God was sought after for His help,…..and He was found of them.

We, too, can seek the Lord and His help when we are in fear of being overcome.

Whether by enemies, troubles, or fear itself.

We are to pray, looking to Him for the help.

We are to believe Him.

And we are to praise Him for the help He sends. Whatever way He sends it.

He is the means of Victory in our lives; and He has appointed prayer and belief and praise to go before us into the battles we fight.

God is Light

From the first few verses of the Bible to the last chapter, the Bible shows that God is Light. (Genesis 1:3, Revelation 22:5)

Spiritual Light is the manifestation of God. Whether it comes to a person, a people, or a church; when Light comes, God is shown in His grace and power. And when light comes, darkness flees.

Genesis l:2-3 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

When all was darkness and chaos; the Spirit of God moved, or brooded on the waters which covered the earth.

Then God said, Let there be light. That was all that was needed. He spoke, and it was done.

Light came, darkness departed.

Later He made a great light, the sun to rule over the day; and He made a lesser light, the moon, to rule over the night. (Genesis 1:16).

He wanted us to show His Way, by the lights….they would “rule”.

When God gives us guidance or a revelation of Himself….He calls it light.

When man was created, God breathed into him the breath of life, which is the Holy Spirit, and man became a living soul, with the Light of the Holy Spirit within. Man was spirit, soul, and body.

At the fall, the Holy Spirit left them because of sin; but the consciousness of God, or the “light that lighteth every man”, remained. (John 1:9).

Man was still spirit, soul, and body; only without the Holy Spirit within him, giving him Spiritual Life. He was spiritually dead. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

Whenever He dealt with anyone, He would offer them light…..light to bring them closer to Him.

He gave the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of light by night, to lead the children of Israel all the way to the Land of Promise.

Exodus 13:21 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.”

That light separated them from the forces of Pharaoh’s armies at the Red Sea Exodus 14:19-20 “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went before their face, and stood behind them:

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all night.”

The call to Israel was to obey, and “walk in the light”.

Isaiah 2:5 “O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

David’s psalms are full of the love of God’s light to him.

Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 37:5-6 “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement as the noonday.”

God gives light to anyone, the moment they hear and turn to Him.

Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

God shows it to be as the dawning light, which keeps rising as we follow Him, till it is at high noon.

Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

There are often shadows, and things that we let get in the way of the light, but as we follow and obey the Lord, we will come to high noon….where there is nothing between us and the Lord.

Jesus Christ was the Light

John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

And calls us to be lights, by His life in us, in this world.

Matthew 5:16 “Let your lights so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Spiritual Light is the manifestation of God. And think of it, He gives it to us!

When Light is shown, we are given knowledge of God, and what He would have us to do, or how to do.

And with the light, power to do, is given.

We are called to come to the light; and as Christians we are able to walk in the light.

Ephesians 5:8 “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light;”

1 John 1:7 “For if we walk in the light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

What a great privilege it is to have God’s Light shining in us and for us. To know His will, and do it.

For with the Light, comes grace (ability) to do.

Terrible will be the day when those who have rejected the Light, will be judged.

Jude 13 “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”

There will be no light in the lake of fire; only darkness, and torment.

But that is not what God’s wants……..He would have all come to the Light of Himself, and live in the sunlight of His love.

Enjoying His fellowship and growing in the knowledge of Him, day by day, till we reach heaven.

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:”

Behold I stand at the door, and Knock.

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

This is Jesus, standing outside the door of the Laodicean Church, knocking.

He is Standing, so our Faithful Lord is showing that He is ready to do, for the church. But He is outside, not inside, where He should be.

So, He speaks. He lets His Voice be heard.

But it is to the individuals inside the church that He speaks.

“If any man (that is woman, boy and girl, as well) will hear My voice and open the door”.

It is never to a particular building, that Jesus speaks; but to particular people.

Those that will “hear Him”.

There are many noises, and “voices” in this world.

They are all making demands on us: our emotions, our thoughts, and our time.

His Voice is the still, small voice in our hearts, calling us to “open to Him”. (1 Kings 19:11-12)

And what “door” are we to open to Him?

The door to our lives……our everyday lives.

This is to Christians, so the Lord Jesus is in our hearts; but He is calling us to let Him in every part of our lives.

When we get up,….He is there.

As we go out to jobs, school, doctor’s visits, wherever;…..He is there.

If we have sleepless nights,…..He is there.

Open to Me.

Open to fellowship. “Let us sup together”.

In Bible times, you never ate with an enemy, but only with friends, family, or to honor a guest.

This call to “sup”, means to let Him in your life as family. Let Him sit at your table and talk with you.

Let Him lead you into all His Will for you……at work, or relaxation, with friends, or wherever you go….open to Him there.

It is a life open to and receptive to Him.

Do you want Him more than you have Him now?

Then open to Jesus. He waits at the door of your life, for you to answer His call to you. To open every part of your life to Him.

Come in , come in, dear Lord Jesus; and let us have fellowship. You lead, and I will follow. I open my life to You. A life open to and receptive to You. Thank You, Thank you, dear Jesus, for standing and waiting for me.

Are we hiding behind our Wall, because we are afraid of the next step?

Song of Solomon 2:8-9 “The voice of my beloved! Behold, He cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, He standeth behind our wall, He looketh forth at the windows, showing Himself through the lattice.”

As we go on with God, we come to many places where we are given difficult problems to overcome….some harder than others.

Some are mountains of difficulty….impossible things for us, in our own strength, to overcome….

And some hills….not impossible, but hard going.

But, these are the experiences, the Lord often calls us to. Not alone, but with Him. That is what is set forth in these verses.

The Lord is seen as a Roe or a Young Hart….ever vigorous, and ever victorious leaping toward us, calling us…on with Him.

Seen through a window, with lattice over it. We know it is the Lord, for we heard His voice…went to the window, to see Him….but He is outside, ready to go on….but we are still behind our wall.

Song of Solomon 2:10 “My Beloved spake and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

This is personal…”said unto me”. He is not calling His church, but “His love, His fair one”; His personal call to you…..to come away.

But from what are we to come away?

We are to “come away” from “our wall”; for He has come and found that we are behind a wall.

I believe that this “wall” is our spiritual experience up-to-date. It separates us from the world….but, when we continue to stay behind it, it can also separate us from going on with Him.

(It is wonderful to know how far we have come with Jesus; we can rejoice in what we have! But He is calling us on,…..to keep going with Him)

It is safe, here. I know I am saved….I go to church…I love the Lord.

I see those mountains up ahead…and they are too much for me.

I see those hills,…and when I think I could, maybe, go out and walk them….I worry about….what if I fall?

But Jesus, calls again.

He has already shown me that He is able to surmount any of the obstacles that stand in our way…..He leaps mountains, and skips hills…..and He is asking me to do the same….in His strength, with Him.

Song of Solomon 2:11-14 “For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle(dove) is heard in our land;

The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away.

O My dove, that art in the clefts of the Rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.”

The Lord shows that the winter conditions of the soul are past (I have heard His voice)…..new life is springing up (my heart is moved to answer His call)……now is the time to arise, and leave the good that I have, for the better He calls me to…..with Him.

What is this next step He is calling us to?

I know He is calling me to come out completely…to be seen as His, even in the difficult and impossible times of my life….to trust His might.

I know He is calling me to speak to Him more,…..and of Him.

Jesus calls us:

“Arise, My love, My fair one, My dove, and come away. Don’t be afraid, but come out from behind our wall,….trust Me, and come with Me.”

The Centurion’s Faith.

Matthew 8:5-7 “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him.

And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.”

(In Luke, it says that he sent the elders of the city, and then friends, which represented him to Jesus. Luke 7:1-10. He thought himself unworthy of the Lord coming to his house, for he was a gentile.

This representation was, as if he came himself)

Jesus has said he would come and heal the centurion’s servant.

And this draws a statement of faith from the centurion, which “marveled”, or pleased the Lord a lot. So much so; that He speaks of it to the crowd.

Matthew 8:8-10 “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith took hold in this centurion’s heart, when he heard of all that Jesus was doing, both in Capernaum, and other places.

(Capernaum was the place Jesus lived, after leaving Nazareth. It was the place he did many miracles.

Luke 4:31-32 “And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.

And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.”

Luke 4:36-37 “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! For with authority and power he commanded the unclean spirits, and they come out.

And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.”)

When this centurion heard of these things, he must have thought they were wonderful, for he loved Israel.

But, until he needed Jesus’ power for himself (for his sick servant, who was dear to him), it was just information.

Good news, but it had not touched him.

Then, his servant got sick, grievously tormented, and ready to die.

Suddenly, those things he had heard about Jesus, were for him.

(How many times we are the same: we have heard Bible lessons for years, and they are good news, but then something happens that affects us, and “Wham”, that good news hits us where we live.

We can have this! This is real! This is for me.)

Faith has made the information real from the first. We believe it.

Then faith evidences that information within us, because we have a need that is only met by Christ Jesus.

The centurion also knew, by faith, that if Jesus heard of the need, He could meet it.

Faith reached out, through the elders, and friends, to Jesus; and stated the need.

When Jesus said He would come, the centurion’s faith reached out further by the evidence of Jesus’ coming; and said:

“Speak the word, only”

Why? Was he testing Jesus?

No. But he felt unworthy that Jesus should come into his house.

And why did he feel Jesus could do this? Was it just because of what he had heard?

No.

It was from his own experience. He was a voice of Rome, as a centurion (he had one hundred men under him).

Under the authority of Rome, he spoke and told men what to do. And they did it.

So he knew that Jesus, who was the voice of God, had the authority to speak, and make things happen, because He spoke for God.

He could heal, because He was the Son of God.

This was the centurion’s faith. Wow!

Matthew 8:13 “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

Believe is the action of faith. And as he believed Jesus could heal by his word, only; so it was.

What of us? We say we have faith in God. We say we believe what Jesus has said, and done for us.

Are we using this faith with God, and having the evidence of His authority and power in our lives?

And for the lives of the people we pray for?

The Lord honors true faith in Himself. (Not presumption, or to ask of Him, what we know is not His will). But real faith, reaches out to Him: that He will do what He wills.

Do we have a need Jesus needs to meet?

Then ask Him, believing.

Jesus’ will was to heal the sick; both sin-sick and many illnesses, while He was here on earth; as He preached that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.

He did this to meet the need of the people……that the chief priests and scribes had discounted….and for the most part, had abandoned.

But God never abandon’s His people. Those that come unto Him, He will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)

But it takes humbling of our hearts, to come. (As this centurion did)

John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day.”

The centurion’s faith was real. He had heard. And he came, humbly to Jesus to ask that He speak a word of healing.

The centurion honored Him, and believed.

And Jesus answered him “according as his faith was”.

What is our faith doing?

The Brazen Laver

Fellowship is a word of intimacy. It means: partnership, participation, or social sharing between close companions.

What does this have to do with the brazen laver?

Because it was at the Laver, that the priests washed their hands and their feet before going into the Holy Place….the place which spoke of fellowship with God.

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him Who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:”

In the Holy Place the priests ministered at the altar of incense (picturing our prayers ascending to God) or the table of shewbread (picturing our feeding on the Bread of Life—Christ Jesus).

All those things, were things of partnership, participation or sharing with God….in other words they pictured the fellowship we should have with God in prayer and communion.

Fellowship, which could only be entered into by washing outside the Holy Place…..at the Laver.

(It is interesting to note, that at the beginning of their ministry as priests, they were to be given a complete bath, and given the garments for their work. This was not to be repeated! It was a picture of our regeneration….being born again. Exodus 29:4-5)

In our daily walk, as Christians, in this world, we come into contact with trespasses and sins…..in our lives and in the lives of others….and we are in need of cleansing.

Exodus 30:18-19 “Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and it’s foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the Tabernacle of the congregation and the Altar, and thou shalt put water therein.

For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:”

So the Laver was put between the Altar, dealing with sin; and the Holy Place, speaking of fellowship.

The blood and sacrifice of the Altar deals with sin, and the water of the Laver cleanses from defilements which working and walking in this world, brings us into contact with.

Their hands—their service; and their feet—their walk; was to be cleansed before fellowship with God could happen.

1 John 1:7, 9 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Ephesians 5:25-26 “….Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it;

That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.”

The Brazen Laver represents Christ’s ability to meet every need we have…..for our continual cleansing.

The Laver was not silver or gold….but brass, which represents judgement.

(The Lord judges His people according to the Word He has given them, and what they did with it. Jesus is seen in Revelation 1:13-16 as having brass feet….judging the walk of His church.)

The Lord tells us, now, to judge ourselves in the water of the Word, that we might have fellowship with Him….in all our days through this world.

1 Corinthians 11:31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”

The priests were to wash their own hands and feet in the provision of the Laver and the water….that they might enter into the Holy Place and have the fellowship provided by the bread and in prayer.

Remember, fellowship is intimate partnership, participation, and social sharing between close companions.

Are we having this for ourselves?

Do we see ourselves as “with Christ” in all His works?

Peter learned a great lesson about this when Jesus was washing the disciples feet at the Last Supper:

“Lord, doest Thou wash my feet?” Peter asked.

Jesus explained that this was one of those things that Peter might not understand now, but would afterward…”

But Peter often jumped in, where he did not need to….

John 13:8 “Peter saith unto Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”

Jesus did not say, “in Me”, but “with Me”. “In Christ” has to do with Salvation…..”with Christ” has to do with fellowship and communion with Him.

Peter was saved….all he needed was his feet washed by Jesus….to have the fellowship and instruction which they had as they went to the garden of Gethsemane. (John 14-17 amazing chapters for Christians)

But again Peter jumped in….

John 13:9-11 “Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

Jesus saith unto him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

For He knew who should betray Him; therefore said He, Ye are not all clean.”

Christ Jesus washed the disciples feet to show that fellowship with Him requires His cleansing….the cleansing of our walk before Him.

Again, I ask, are we having this fellowship—this partnership, participation, and social sharing between Jesus and us?

Ask, and You Will Receive.

Luke 11:9 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

The disciples have just asked. “Teach us to pray” after seeing Jesus pray.

Then Jesus tells a story:

The story of a friend who comes to his neighbor at an inconvenient time. “At Midnight.” (Luke 11:5-8)

He has company. Someone who has come from a long journey and is in need of bread. But the man has none to give.

So he goes to his neighbor and knocks.

“Forget it…it’s midnight, I am in bed, and I’m not getting up!” Is basically the word given the knocker.

But he keeps knocking.

So…..not because he is his friend (he might not be, after this);……but because he kept knocking; the neighbor opens and gives the man what he has asked for.

Then Jesus says, the way to get from God is the same:

Ask, like you really need it.

Seek, like you really want the reply.

And knock, till the answer comes.

When we pray to God, Jesus is saying that we should come believing God will hear,……and expect that He will make known His will.

Ask, and you will receive. Ask till you receive an answer as to what and how you should ask. (How many times we think we know what we need, but as we are praying we receive what we really need to know)

Seek, till you get the means of getting your petition answered. (Sometimes there is a verse to claim, or a prayer promise to use: Hebrews 4:16, 1 John 5:14-15)

Then knock, using those means, till you get the answer that you were seeking.

Just to be clear, “means” are those parts of the promise that we must use:

Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy ladened, and I will give you rest.”

“Come unto me”, is the means; His rest is the promise.

When Jesus healed the ten lepers: (Luke 17:14) “When he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”

Jesus healed them by His word, but they were only healed, as they went to do what He said. That is the means.

Luke 11:10 “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

As Christians, our lifeline is prayer.

Paul said:

Philippians 4:6-7 ” Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

The promise is: you will receive, find, and have an open door set before you.

The means is: ask, seek, and knock.

The Power of God and the Power of the Word of God

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”

“Created”: God made something out of nothing. He spoke and it was so.

Christ is the Word. And He spoke all things into being; and they were as He spoke.

Psalm 33:6-9 “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth.

He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: and layeth up the depth in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of world stand in awe of him.

For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”

The power of God is often displayed through His Word. What He says will be, will be.

Isaiah 14:24 “The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so it shall it come to pass; and as I have spoken, so it shall stand:”

When God created the heaven and the earth, He was well aware by His Omniscience (all seeing ability), that the earth that He spoke into being, would be ruined by the fall the devil and then the fall of Adam.

Yet God’s purpose would not be altered:

Isaiah 45:18 “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.”

So God’s Voice rang out in re-creation. Re-making what had been.

Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

God began to re-create with light; for darkness was upon the earth by Lucifer’s (the devil’s) fall. (Isaiah 14:

God is Light, and in His light we see light.

After re-creating the earth, forming man after His image:

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

No other of His creatures are living souls. They have instincts, but no souls.

Man’s soul was the faculty God gave him alone, so that man could have fellowship with His Creator.

He has a mind to think after God, to understand His Words.

He has a heart to love God, and want to please Him.

And he has a will, to will after God’s will.

But Adam sinned, disobeying God’s Word, making all people, sinners…..separated from God.

God was not surprised.

He saw this, and made provision for it, before times eternal.

For in His determination and purpose, Christ would come and save out a people for His Name’s sake.

God made the first promise of Christ right after the fall:

Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between thee (the devil) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed (Christ); it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heal.”

Christ Jesus came and fulfilled the Father’s Will in everything. Jesus said:

John 12:45-46 “And he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me

I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness”

As God spoke light to the re-creation; He sent His Son as the Light to the world, to all who would believe in Him.

John 12:49-50 “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”

Christ came to reveal the purpose, and determination of God: And to present the light of Salvation by receiving Him by faith.

Hebrews 1:1-3, 2:1,3. “God , who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the father’s by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;

Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;”

God’s purpose and determination is that all that believe and receive Him should be saved.

Do you believe in Christ Jesus the Lord?

Do you have the salvation He purchased, at such a great price, for you?

Are you walking in the Light He has made available?

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

This is God’s power, for “cleanseth” in this verse is in the past, present and future tense.

Cleanseth means forgives, and then gives power to get that sin out of our lives.

For yesterday, today, and tomorrow; for every sin that comes up. Power for it!

This is the power of God and the power of His Word.

God’s Rest for your Soul

I want to start this by saying….our only true rest of soul is…..Christ Jesus.

Otherwise, we are often restless, or doubtful, or angry, or frustrated, or envious,….discontented in so many ways….and unable to solve these.

Isaiah 55:1-2 “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto Me and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”

This is a merchant, as in the old days, going up and down in the world….crying out what He has to sell…..”Come, buy the best; wine and milk.”

Only this merchant is selling His wares, “without money and without price”.

This “merchant” is Jesus Christ; calling for all who will, to come and get rest of soul and true satisfaction from Him.

(The “without price” is in a double sense: It means those that come, do not pay, for He has paid the full price for us [1 Peter 1:18-19].

Also….that which the Lord offers, is priceless.)

You may say….we do not “buy” our salvation; and this is true.

I believe it is not talking of Salvation here, but the “wine and milk” of spiritual life, after we are born again.

I believe the Lord is talking to those who belong to Him:

Israelites in the Old Testament, and Christians, now….He uses the same term in Revelation 3:18 “I counsel thee to buy of Me…”.

And we “buy” from Christ, as Christians, by coming to Him,

acknowledging our need in our life,

and taking off our old man to put on Christ…..

….which is what the Merchant is offering here…the very best of things….His life lived through us, everyday. (Wine and milk)

Ephesians 4:22-24 “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,….

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Are you hungering to have the Holy Spirit guiding and helping you more?

Are you thirsting after more peace and strength in life?

He calls to everyone that thirsts (Matthew 5:6), And to everyone that “hath no money”……

First, to want what He is offering.

[Some want Heaven, but not Christ.

And Christ in our life, He is the “wine and milk”. The wine of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), and the milk of His Word (1 Peter 2:2)]

He is asking….do we know how desperately we need Him?…..for to “hunger and thirst” are the terms of need.

(I have come to experiences in my life where I thought, “it could not get better than this…”. I have had things taken care of in my life, where I thought….Wow, look how far I have come with You, Lord.

I was so close to Jesus (so I thought) that it seemed like a small part of heaven.

But I found out, as wonderful as it was, it was just a stepping stone to the next trial..and help….the next lesson from my Teacher, Jesus)

If we don’t know our need; we may come, we may hear…we may even look at His “wares”……but we will not “buy” from this Merchant.

Many think Jesus Christ was a great man….or a good man, falsely accused and killed.

But those who come to Him for satisfaction…..find that He is a Savior, King, Lord, Almighty, and full of joy….and wanting to share all of it with us!

Proverbs 23:23 “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.”

Again, how do we buy? And why is He calling us to buy?

We “buy” from Jesus, again, by wanting His satisfaction in all that He has for us.

(Isn’t that the real problem of Laodicea?

They are “poor”, and they think they have, everything they need….

so they will not “buy” the “eye salve” of the Spirit’s enlightening by honesty that Jesus offers…..

for they do not need it….or so they think.

But Jesus is standing outside the door of their church. Revelation 3:16-21)

Why we have to “buy” is because; though we are born again, there is much we do not understand, or many things of the Spirit we do not have……we are in need everyday, for what that day, holds.

Therefore He calls to all who will, to come….”Come to Me”.

Again we “buy” when we come with the desire to lose our self-life, to gain our Christ-life.

(In effect, we exchange one for the other.

Christ gives us peace, as we let go of our worry, and cares

Christ gives us victory, as we yield to His Spirit’s power in us….not to do this, or to do that.

Christ changes our attitude about things, as we let go and confess our resentments and bitterness….our desire to “get even”….even if it is just a thought.

Christ gives assurance of His Word, as we refuse the nagging doubt.

Christ life flows into us, as we deny our selves.

What a life we can have, if we keep turning our lives over to Him…He is King, here, in my heart; and I am buying everything I can get from Him! Hallelujah!)

But it starts with wanting the change, and coming to Christ for it.

Isaiah 55:2d “…..let your soul delight itself in fatness.”

God’s rest for our souls is a complete rest.

It is of heart….contentment.

It is of mind…instruction and understanding.

It is of will…giving us the solid foundation of His Will.

He offers us this to us, if we know our need and want to have the Lord’s satisfaction.

Take Heed

Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”

If you have the desire to hear what the Lord is saying to you….you will. If you do not really want to hear…you won’t.

Take heed, or pay attention to those things that will hinder our profiting from the Word that we hear.

Jesus just gave the parable of the Sower sowing the Word. There were four kinds of soil which it landed on:

1)The wayside….really the hard ground around the prepared field where the workers walked.

The seed was so little considered, that when it landed there, it was walked on; “trodden under foot”.

This is the way some people treat God’s Word…they might listen to it, but they do not regard it, so they eventually trample all over what it says…and Jesus, Who said it.

2)The rocky ground…the part of the field where they had taken out the large rocks, but there were still smaller ones there.

The seed there was starved for moisture…or the healthful influences of the Holy Spirit.

It “sprung up”….started to hear and to see what was being said, but the hard places in the heart (resentments, hurts, anger) quenched the Holy Spirit….and because they refused to remove these “rocks”, the Word withered within them.

3)The thorny ground…the part of the field where the seed grows up with the weeds.

At first, it looks like you can get some harvest, though it maybe small.

But the “thorns” or the things of the world (worries, riches or wanting them, and pleasures of this life) are too strong….they pull all the life from the plants, and do not produce anything.

(How many times have we felt our desires taking over our thoughts, and actions?

And these desires can be for a better home, job, car, or anything else. It is not the desire, itself….but how much it influences our affections.

Are we becoming depressed because we do not have them?

Are we thinking about them all the time?

These are thorns, which if we continue to let them grow; and do not pull them out, will choke the Word of God from our hearts.

We pull them out by coming to the Lord and turning them over to Him; confess any sin about them, and ask Him to remove the affections for them.)

4)The good ground…the part of the field where the most preparation has taken place (Jeremiah 4:3).

The ground has been turned over, and smoothed, so when the Seed was placed there, there was nothing to hinder it’s growth.

Luke 8:15 “And that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

There is nothing that God loves so much than a person that get’s honest with Him…..it is an acknowledgement that our hearts are open to Him in everything.

Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

If a person’s ways are honest with the Lord, He will reward his honesty with spiritual fruit.

This heart produces fruit….for the Word we hear, we keep, and we use to help us.

Any honest man who comes to God as he is, comes to the ground where God can meet with him.

Isaiah 57:15, 18 “For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, Whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

I have seen his ways, and I will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners (those that sympathized with him).”

On that same ground of honesty, God grants grace….the unmerited favor of power to do something about ourselves, and the situation we are in.

John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

When we face the truth about ourselves, in any given situation….His grace is applied, right then….and we can produce the fruit of the Spirit within us.

Grace changes us….enabling the weakest Christian to remain strong, patient, to forgive, or any ability we need…..when we get honest with the Lord.

(To be frank, this is the hardest part….for when we pray, we often just ask for grace, without telling the Lord all our deepest feelings. Tell Him all, and let Him heal all…that is the truth and grace of Christ Jesus being applied to us…to make us whole.)

If you read this parable, it was only His disciples who asked, “What might this parable be?”

They wanted to understand the Word that they heard.

To “understand” means “to come together”……..to comprehend so that the actions follow the mind.

The crowd seemed happy just to listen and be around Jesus. Like a vacation from their life….but with no change in their life.

Matthew 13:13, 15 “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”

They did not understand…because they let their hearts become heavy with cares. (Their life was hard….This might be natural)

They let their ears stop hearing Him, because He required more than they wanted to give.

[He asked them to trust and believe in Him….they wanted Him to keep feeding them, and healing all their illnesses John 6:26-27].

(This is a turning away with their hearts)

Their eyes they closed, because they did not want to “see”, that the Lord was calling them to be His, completely. (This was a choice of the will…they closed them)

Luke 8:15 “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

A good and honest heart: Good because it is honest with God.

(In the Greek, the word for “honest” (“kalos”) here, means “beautiful, valuable, or virtuous”. I believe the Lord shows that to be honest with Him, is beautiful.)

Again, any honest man who comes to God….as he is….comes to the ground where God can meet with him….and He will.

“…I have seen his ways, and I will heal him…”. The Lord says “I will” and where He wills, there is power.