Philemon

Philemon is a private letter sent by Paul to a householder and friend….a brother in Christ…one, it is suggested, that was won to Christ by Paul.

Philemon 19 “….albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.”

The subject is one of Philemon’s servants….who had run away from his work, and run far away, to Rome.

His name was Onesimus.

(It does not say, exactly, what Onesimus did or took when he left….but the letter suggests that he wronged Philemon in some way.

Philemon 18-19 “If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account. I Paul have written it with my own hand, I will repay it:…”)

There in Rome, Onesimus had heard Paul preach and had been converted. (Philemon 15-16)

After his conversion, he has become a faithful friend and servant to Paul….running errands, and giving his testimony and witness to others.

(1 Thessalonians 4:7, 9 “All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you….with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you….”)

Onesimus was changed by the new life of Christ within….becoming a “beloved brother”.

But the letter is not called Onesimus…..but Philemon; for the real meat of the letter is with this man,…..and what Paul was showing him….

Philemon is a Christian….he has a church in his house….most likely of friends and servants; meeting together to worship.

He is also one which has been a good witness of Christ Jesus…..and sent goods to the saints abroad….(Philemon 5)

But, let’s face it, it is not easy to receive one who has treated you badly…..or forgive them…which would put this “run-away” on a totally different status.

Also, now, Onesimus is beloved of Paul….and one who had done works for God.

He was being sent back to ask forgiveness of him (Philemon)….and to speak to the church in his house of Paul….that, too, puts him on a totally different status.

Paul, considering this good man, sends Onesimus back, with this letter….so that Philemon might forgive him…..in person….and grow in grace, and character.

The grace of equality.

Before God, Philemon and Onesimus were brothers in Christ. One was not more loved than the other. This is a hard lesson to learn…..for we are usually quite competitive when it comes to God’s blessing and the respect of others.

And Paul wanted Philemon to have the the character of God….rejoicing over a rebel, returned to God…

….(think the Father with the prodigal running to kiss and restore him….Luke 15:20-22…

….and not the elder brother’s attitude, which was full of anger that the Prodigal got forgiven….so much so, that he would not enter into the rejoicing….even complained of his “service”……which was ridiculous, because he was the owner of all…Luke 15:28-31)

You see, Onesimus still belonged to Philemon…..it was his right to do what he wanted…

….Paul wanted Philemon to know that Onesimus was his, legally…..but was also his brother in Christ. (Philemon 15-16)

Philemon 6 “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

By forgiving Onesimus, Philemon might grow in faith and love, in himself….and his witness to his church will become more effectual.

(It is one thing to show mercy, or send goods or money to someone who is far away…..but have them stand in your face,….and forgive someone who wronged you….and let them take a prominent role in the church;…..is sometimes quite different.)

Philemon 8-9 “Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,

(Paul would rather have kept Onesimus with him, for he was a help….but…he would not use his authority and seek to keep him, without Philemon’s blessing)

Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now as also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.”

Paul was writing as a friend, a fellow believer…..not in his authority to do this….but beseeching, as a fellow Christian…..for Philemon’s sake.

You see this is the meat…..Paul was not just an advocate for Onesimus…..but for Philemon, as well.

Wanting,…for love’s sake,….to do the best thing for him….and that was to guide him into true forgiveness…..and joy of any circumstances which honor and glorify God….even with a former rebellious servant.

Philemon 14 “But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.”

Here is the crux of our forgiveness…..is it willingly…..for Christ’s sake?

Philemon 17, 20 “If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.

Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.”

This is what Paul wanted:

Joy, in knowing that these two Christian brothers had been reconciled in the Lord….this was more important to Paul….even in prison, needing the help….than anything else.

The Lord Jesus said:

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

This kind of love, is always in the Lord….it goes beyond hurt, loss, boundaries of place or title….It is as Jesus loved us.

Philemon 21 “Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt do more than I say.”

Let us have this testimony, as well….that we will be obedient….and more so….we will rejoice in it.

This is the Way….so walk into it.

Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ear shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the Way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, or when ye turn to the left.”

I quote this verse often, for the Lord gave it to me years ago when I was asking concerning His Will for my life.

He was telling me, that He would not let me get “bewildered”, or “lost” along His Way….but would guide me….by His Holy Spirit and His Word….to the right direction.

“Walk ye in it”. To walk sets for the fact of….one step at a time. Our everyday living.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thy heart; and lean not to thy own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

There is in our everyday paths the means of fulfilling of His Purpose for us.

We need seek no special arrangement,…..but just to be found faithful in what we have at hand.

1 Peter 3:15 (Williams Version)

“But in your hearts be consecrated to Christ as Lord, and always be ready to make your defense to anyone who asks a reason for the hope you have. But you must do it in gentleness and reverence.”

This is the Way….and Peter walked right out of prison….

Acts 12:7, 9-10 “And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

And he went out, and followed him: and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

When they were past the first and second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.”

Peter had been arrested, and put in prison after Herod had killed James….for standing with Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

He was asleep when God sent His angel to lead him out…..thinking that soon he would see the Lord Jesus face to face again.

(Peter, by this time had preached at Pentecost…and saw three thousand saved. Acts 2:41

He had healed the lame man, and preached before the counsel, when they commanded them to stop preaching in Jesus’s name….”We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29

And he had been sent to Cornelius house….a Roman centurion…to preach the gospel to them….and the Holy Ghost had been given to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews…….through his preaching. Acts 10:44-45

He had been busy for the Lord….and, laying in the prison cell….he was ready to go to see Him again.)

But God’s Way for James was to be martyred,…..to show the devotion to Christ, in front of the people…

…while God’s Way for Peter was something more,….here on earth….for some time to come…

….so He brought Peter out of prison….for His Way.

This is the Way…

…..and Paul and Silas walked right into a prison.

Paul had wanted to go into Asia to preach the gospel….but was “forbidden of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 16:6).

Then they thought to go into Bithynia (the upper part of Turkey)….but “the Spirit suffered them not.”

Then Paul had a vision in the night of a Macedonian saying, “Come over and help us”

So they immediately went to Phillippi, one of the chief cities of Macedonia….and a Roman colony.

At first, in the city, they were encouraged by Lydia being converted with some of her friends.

She invited them to come into her home and have that for a base while they were in the city.

But….as they continued in the city….a girl possessed with a spirit of divination kept following them, day after day….when they went anywhere…..saying, “These are the men of the Most High God….which show unto us the way of salvation.”

Paul being grieved…..knowing this was not the Way the gospel was to be given out….turned and said, “I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.” She was free of this terrible spirit!

But her master’s were furious.

So now,….they were brought before the magistrates, and accused of “troubling our city”…..commanded to be beaten (“they laid many stripes upon them”)……and…they were thrown into the inner prison, in stocks (which meant they would have been bent, with their feet and hands in the wooden stocks).

Acts 16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”

Paul and Silas prayed,….and I think some of their first prayers were to see if they had done the Lord’s Will….or had over-stepped themselves. (Remember Paul had been grieved by it….was it right to deal with this situation, as he had?)

And when they heard that it was His Will….it was for the greater glory of God……then praise came from their hearts,….and into song.

It was from the Holy Spirit….for after the beating they had….and in the position they were sitting….it was not of their own strength…….He would have had to empower them.

That is victory….in the Way….but there is more…..for God’s Way often leads us to the people that need us to tell them of Christ Jesus….and often it is not as we think.

(Are we ready for it, when the opportunity comes?)

Acts 16:26 “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that that the foundation of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every man’s bands were loosed.”

Hallelujah! This must mean we are to go!

But Paul and Silas were checked in the spirit….they stayed….and God put a check on all the prisoners.

The guard waking up, was going to take his own life….thinking he was to blame for the prisoners escaping….he should not have been asleep…

….but Paul was listening hard to God…and cried out…

Acts 16:28 “And Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.”

Paul saves the guard’s life……and the guard comes in to see if this is true…..and then….is amazed at these men…..they must know some God, to leave themselves in His hands still.

And Paul leads him and his family, to the Lord.

Acts 16:29-33 “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas.

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

And they spake unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.”

Paul and Silas were released the next day….

Acts 16:40 “And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.”

God has a Way for each of us…..it is not the same….except in the fact that He will guide and be with us……every step of it.

Will we hear Him….and so walk right into it?

Are we growing in grace?

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”

Peter knew a lot about this; having denied the Lord three times, once even before a maid.

Yet he was restored, and became the first preacher of the gospel after Pentecost. Three thousand were saved that first day.(Acts 2:41)

He had grown some since he had bragged about his loyalty; and then failed Jesus so terribly.

He had learned his own weakness….when his courage and devotion failed…..even when he loved the Lord….

After he was filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he learned how to preach……he learned about persecution,…and determined they must obey God rather than man…

…..about the Lord including the Gentiles into the church….

….about the importance of the Word of God….

….and he learned that we are never “too sanctified” to get tripped up.

Galatians 2:11-13 “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried with their dissimulation.”

When this happened, Paul corrected him in front of everyone there…..”when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel…”

Was this Peter,….the one who had opened the door to Gentiles….yet, tripped up? How could this be?

Because we are never out of danger, this side of heaven.

And Peter was weak before the influence of men,……for he was not yielding to the Holy Spirit….he let his emotions lead him, instead.

It says, “….fearing them which were of the circumcision.”

Fear is a terrible enemy….how many have stumbled under the “roar” of the devil, causing fear

(1 Peter 5:8-9 here Peter warns of this very thing).

Peter, corrected, though….went on to preach many places….taking with him Mark…discipling him…till he was a old man…

But he knew he was not done growing….he would continue to grow as long as he would be “in this tabernacle”…..for he (and we) should never stop learning by the Holy Spirit, in our experiences of life about Jesus, and what He will do for us.

And so when he was old, he warned others about this very thing…”that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.”(verse 1:16)

2 Peter 1:2-4, 12-13 “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle (body), to stir you up by putting you in remembrance:”

Every true Christian stands in need of growing in grace.

To do so, we must “eat” the Bread of Life which is Christ.

That involves fellowship with Him….in our everyday tasks.

(Are we spending time with our lovely Lord?)

We must “drink” the water of Life freely which is His Holy Spirit.

That involves yielding ourselves to His guidance and convictions.

If we are to become strong Christians, and not babes, we need to grow.

We need to use what He gives us and gain experience with Him.

(If Jesus were here on earth, and came and invited you to follow Him, would you?

But, though He is not here on earth,…..He is still inviting us to:

Come and Follow Me into the everyday experiences of today, tomorrow, and onward.)

Hebrews 5:14 “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

We have spiritual senses, as well as natural ones.

We are to have “hearing ears” to hear what the Lord says to us. There is no audible voice; but the internal Voice which guides us.

We are to have “seeing eyes”……eyes of faith…..enlightened by the Holy Spirit and His Word.

We are to have the sense of “smell”.

This Spiritual sense tells us if a thing is good or rotten, just like our nose does. It is discernment.

And we have “taste”. We are called to taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalms 34:8)

That means, we are to experience His sweetness in the comfort, help, and word He gives.

It is of the Holy Spirit, as all of these are:

but we are to use His enabling, and learn by the experience. This is how we grow in grace.

Peter did…..and when he was old, said….

….remember my example, both failures, and successes……and learn of Christ, by the Holy Spirit.

If we sit on the sidelines….we certainly may be Christians,…

….but we will not grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and become strong,….having those “all things that pertain to life….and godliness…” (think of it!)

Again, Peter did…..perfectly? No, but he learned.

Are we willing to learn of the Holy Spirit?

A more excellent Way.

1 Corinthians 12:31 “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.”

Love to God is that more excellent way. We should love Him, for He first loved us.

1 John 4:19 “We love Him, because He first loved us.”

Where serving the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned,….He looks to our hearts….do we love Him?

1 Corinthians 13:1 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal”

Though I could speak in every language of this earth; proclaiming the gospel far and wide.

And if I could testify of the gospel story in angels language:

If love for Jesus is not the motivation for all that talk…

It would be just so much noise.

Loud noise; “sounding brass” like trumpets. “How great!” man will say; but to God it would be just noise.

Soft noise; “tinkling cymbal” like the end of a orchestra piece. Empty and just noise….without love to Jesus.

1 Corinthians 13:2 “And though I have the gift of prophesy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

This is the one that used to shake me up. I am a preacher; and I study a lot. I would say I know a lot…but all of that would be useless if I don’t use this knowledge,….even in preaching His Word, out of love for Him.

And faith to remove mountains; that’s something that everyone wants….but without love to Jesus as our motive; we will be nothing. (Remember Paul was writing this; and he had great knowledge, and understood many mysteries.)

But Paul also understood, that to do for God, without love to God;……is to really doing for a reward from God.

Which is another way of saying, you are doing it for you.

1 Corinthians 13:3 “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

If I give all my possessions to God’s work of feeding the poor; and if I die a martyr’s death.

Though it cost me everything, as well as my life; if love for Jesus is not the reason I do it; then it profits me nothing.

I am none the better, for eternity, for it.

1 Corinthians 12:31 “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.”

The “more excellent way” is to love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. The first and greatest commandment.

1 Corinthians 13:13 ” And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

To truly love God is the greatest work, greatest gift, greatest sound we can do.

This is what He looks for in all our obediences…..our love to Him.

He did His work of Salvation for us, out of love for us…..and He wants us to do our work for Him….out of love to Him.

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.

Thou art Worthy

Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Here the creature comes into his highest place:

The most he can achieve personally….to live for the pleasure, or the determination of his Creator…..to attain to that which he was created for.

In this, we are complete….”perfect”.

Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

Colossians 1:28 “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:”

God created us….set us in the circumstances of our lives….and drew us to Himself, by His Spirit….leading us to be born again,….drawing us out of our old life of habits and attitudes….into the glorious kingdom of Christ Jesus….within us.

Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”

We can not go beyond what we are….but we can be…….what He has made us…

….and what He has worked within us….

….using all He gives….

….and it is to that degree, we are to be complete,……and do.

It is our will, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that is the determining factor….for as we will with God….His Will is being worked….in us, by us, and through us.

Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things: and for Thy pleasure (determination) they are and were created.”

We bow to that Will, when we obey Him….

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

Simply said,….the one you obey, is your master (Matthew 6:24)

If you obey sin, then sin is your master…

….but if we obey God, it leads to righteousness.

(Righteousness is a matter of faith.

It is faith acting on the Word of the Almighty, and doing to please Him.

It is “right living”……for all true living ends in the soul’s clinging to Christ, and in every act of obedience,….placing ourselves at His disposal.)

Real worship is “worthyship”…..counting Him worthy of my all.

Knowing I exist and am able to live because of HIs mercy.

Honoring Him in prayer, praise, and obedience.

Knowing that all that comes to me,….He has seen, thought over, and allowed….

….and will give me grace for.

He is worthy…..

It was His determination for me,….for you….to be His….amazing grace!

It was His determination for me….for you….to honor Him by our lives….to be His servants, and show His righteousness through us.

This is the song that all the saints in heaven will sing:

Thou art worthy….

Are we tuning up our voices….and our lives to sing it?

The Way of Peace

Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Make you perfect in every good work to do His Will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight,”

God is the God of Peace….of all peace. And we should be fully at peace with Him…..instead of at cross purposes.

Luke shows this in the announcement of Christ’s work:

Luke 1:79 “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The Way of Peace….

That Way begins, of course, when we are born again…..there is the peace of reconciliation by salvation.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

Which leads to the ministry of reconciliation…telling others of our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not inputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

Sometimes our ministry of reconciliation is simply a word of testimony about our Lord Jesus,….or a prayer for another,….or a conversation.

Then there is the Way of peace by sanctification…..

…..by denying ourselves, picking up our cross and becoming His followers in deed as well as word…..in obedience to His commands and calls.

(Sanctification is the setting of ourselves aside to sacred use….to be used by God in our spirit, soul, and body.

We are in fact, sanctified by all three Persons of the Trinity:

“Sanctified by God the Father”…..Jude 1 [He willed it]

“Sanctified in Christ Jesus”….1 Corinthians 1:2 [He paid the price so that we could have it]

“Through sanctification of the Spirit”…..1 Peter 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 [He works it within us on a day by day basis]

The Peace of Sanctification is a great peace….leaving the wishy-washy, fence-setting, double-minded life…..to gain the pure outlook….”I belong to Christ…everything I am and do, I want to do to the glory of God.”)

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it.”

Then there is the Way of peace of repentance from backsliding….like the Prodigal.

Luke 15:17 “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, while I perish with hunger!”

“When he came to himself” means when he realized, that the pigpen of the world was not where he belonged…..

….he belonged in his Father’s house.

But how to return? He could not return and ask for a son’s place at the table which he had refused…and left….

…what could he do?

Luke 15:18-19 “I will arise and go unto my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”

He could return, and confess his folly and sin,…..and ask for a servant’s place….placing himself at the Father’s disposal.

Well, we all know what the Father did for the Prodigal….

….but do we know He will do the same for us?…..if we “return, O backsliding children!”

Jeremiah 3:22 “Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto Thee; for Thou art the Lord our God.”

Then there is the Way of peace in the midst of the storms of life….a peace which anchors us to Him….calming, holding us, moving us forward against the onslaught of trial and fear…

Philippians 4:7-9 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.”

God is the God of all peace…..praise Him in all three Persons, that He is a God of peace……which covers all our separations from Him….

It is because of His Will, His precious blood, His blessed inworking….

…that we have Peace….reconciliation…..a place at His table….strength…and all these through Him.

Romans 8:31-32 “What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Are we ready to get honest with the Lord?

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Sins as scarlet? They shall be white as snow.

Are they red as crimson? They shall be as wool.

How? Where? When?

When? “Come now”…..today is always the day to seek the Lord….about anything.

Where? Before the Lord…..not running away from His presence….but come before Him.

How? Let us……reason together….this is not one-sided, but the Lord and us……

….we give Him our reasons for thinking this way….and He will speak, and give us the reason for His Will.

The Example:

A godly man,….Asaph was a appointed a singer in the Temple….he loved the Lord, and his job of teaching others the songs of praise….

…yet he told of a temptation….which nearly wreaked his spiritual life….

Psalm 73:2-3 “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well-nigh slipped.

For I was envious of the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

Here he testifies of his spiritual battle over God allowing wicked men to not only be prosperous…..but to seemingly go on, without restraint.

Asaph had looked out on the world, and judged according to it’s judgement…for to be wealthy in the world, gives you standing, gives you success, gives you influence….which they often abused…(although they are often, not happy within, yet they appear to be so)….

….and Asaph? What do the poor, or afflicted righteous have?

When we start doubting God’s righteousness, then our steps begin to waver.

When our eyes gaze too long at the world’s view of things….our understanding becomes confused…..our affections become disoriented…..

…..we do not want to be wicked…..but….

(You will notice….my steps were “almost gone”….how gracious God is….to hold us….He will allow trials, for they strengthen our faith….

……but temptations are another matter….they come from our lusts, or desires within (James 1:12-14)…

…and we must cooperate with the Lord to defeat them…to put them to death….

….it is how quickly we do that….that tells of the victory….and Asaph came close to a terrible fall.)

Here is what Asaph sees when he looks upon the prosperous wicked…

…and he is, becoming weak in faith, because of this…

Psalm 73:4-5, 11-12 “For there are no bands in their death. But their strength is firm.

They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men.

And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?

Behold, these are the ungodly, which prosper in the world, they increase in riches.”

They sin, yet their conscience does not bother them….perhaps covering them with small acts of religion….they act like, if there is a God….He does not see or care….

They become hardened….untouched by the spiritual truths they often hear.

(But God does see…..and He often lets them alone…for they are to have horrors hereafter…so he lets them have the trinkets here.)

But Asaph is troubled….here is a stumbling block for his faith….he sees these men….and their sin….yet nothing seems to happen to them.

He saw their present, and forgot their eternity…..saw their outward show, and not their foolishness….yet.

He cries within himself:

Psalm 73:13-14 “Verily (Truly) I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.

For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.”

Asaph is a godly man….for he sees he is a sinner….and it troubles him.

In reverence,…he seeks forgiveness and cleansing from them….daily.

Why does this not happen to the wicked?

It seems as if things are turned upside down.

He wants to speak of his thoughts to someone….but is afraid of giving someone else his doubts…

…..so he bridles his tongue (he is a wise man James 3:2)…

….and he goes in to speak to God…finally.

Psalm 73:17-18 “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction.”

As men refuse the gospel message, their hearts and minds become more and more blind….their conscience seared.

God may indeed let them rise high….so their fall is more evident.

God may let them have all they can here….because eternity awaits….and the “blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 12-13) will be their end.

When God holds judgement….He gives time….time to repent….

But when God comes forth in justice and judgement….the pride and wealth of this earth will vanish…and then the soul….and what it did about God’s claims will only remain.

As soon as he sees this….Asaph is restored in faith….God judges righteously…in HIs time.

Psalm 73:21-23 “Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.

So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before Thee.

Nevertheless I am continually with Thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand.”

Asaph realizes his folly….he had acted foolishly….

(a fool is one who does not consider that God sees, rules, and overrules in the everyday affairs of men.

As a poet once said, “A fool is he who through this life, pursues a cloud he can not own….and leaves a wealth of things undone, his tomb a finally stepping stone.)

….Asaph had acted like he did not know God at all…..his mind had started to be embittered….

But….once he sees….he repents….and praises.

He realizes that God has kept him from falling completely……

“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” (Verse 26)

….”my portion for ever.”

We need not envy the prosperous wicked….or the worldling.

For God is my portion for ever.

How much are we seeking our True Portion?….which abides from now and forever.

Are we ready to get honest with God?

It is as we come before Him, and “reason with Him”….that we are truly cleansed from the envy of the wicked….and value our portion in God, as we should.

Christ’s last command to us: love one another.

John 15:17 “These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

On the way to Gethsemane, Jesus held His last conversation with His disciples before His crucifixion.

He had more to say after this command….about the Holy Spirit….

…about the persecution which would come…..and the peace they should have in Him (John 14:27)…..and about asking in His Name…..and about joy (John 16:24)…

…but this was the last command Jesus gave His disciples…..and us.

That we should love one another.

Love in scripture means the heart’s determination to do for the one who is loved….all the good we can….no matter the cost….

….that is true love….and spiritually, it is a willed determination.

Some people say that love is just an emotion…..that it is the heart’s response to someone or something.

And I say,….yes, naturally, that is true.

But when it comes to us, spiritually, God deals with us through the will….

“If any man will come after Me, let him…” Matthew 16:24

“If any man will do His will, he shall know…” John 7:17

“And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17

Therefore when He says that we should:

Love the Lord with all thy heart….Mark 12:30

He means we should will to do so…

….and when He commands us to love one another….He intends that we should will to love each other.

And why was this the last command?

I believe, that the Lord was stressing His absence….He would soon be crucified, then raised, and ascended….gone from being in bodily presence.

But the other believers….brothers and sisters in Christ….would be here. And He was showing that if we love them….we are loving Him.

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

John recorded more instances of Jesus speaking about love than the other three gospels (Matthew—ten times; Mark—six times; Luke—ten times; John—nineteen times)….to love God, to love your neighbor, to love each other.

It is interesting that John is the gospel where Jesus asks Peter;….after His resurrection….”lovest thou Me more than these?”

Almost the whole last chapter is taken up with the story of Peter leaving Jerusalem…to “go a fishing”…..leading the other disciples to go, too.

And Jesus, manifesting Himself to them, on the shore….

….and restoring Peter….who had denied the Lord three times,…..

……with three affirmations of faith, and love….”yea, Lord (there is the faith), Thou knowest that I love Thee (there is the love).”

This chapter is almost a “P.S. I Love You”……to the whole book…..for John ends the chapter before this, with:

John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”

Yet it could not be left hanging…..what would become of the one who denied the Lord Jesus, the night He was betrayed….

…..so the record of Peter….telling the Lord that he loved Him….(not that he believed in Him; for Peter was a believer, though he had sinned greatly)….but he told the Lord that he loved Him.

Even Peter could be forgiven….what tender mercies the Lord always shows.

John continues to stress that last command of the Lord’s…..

1 John 3:23 “And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”

(1 John is the fellowship book….it stresses the light and love of God….in us and through us.

It is also called the “know so” book….at least twenty-three times it says we “know”.

1 John 2:5 “But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.”)

John was mending nets when Jesus called him to follow Him (Matthew 5:21)…….and throughout his ministry, John sought “to mend” the doctrine of faith…..because of those who would add to, or subtract from the simple gospel of Christ.

He preached, and reminded the Church of the Words of Christ, the ministry of Christ…the death and resurrection of Christ…..and the commandments of Christ….always pointing to Him, who is Eternal Life…..

….for this is the ministry of everyone of us….to point others to Christ,….and remind them of Christ

1 John 4:7-11, 16 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

Christ’s last command was to “love one another”….

We should seek the welfare of all men….

…..but for the household of faith; we should love them….to do for them all the good we can….

….for Christ’s sake.

There are two definitions in the Bible for sin:

Romans 14:23 “….for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

But there are many examples of sin:

Of course the first one is Adam and Eve.

I have talked of this before, but I want to describe the way we got here.

God created Adam in His image: God is Father, Son and Holy Ghost….we are spirit, soul and body.

He is a Trinity….we are a tri-unity. He made us that we could have fellowship with Him…the greatest joy. (Genesis 1:26, 2:7)

God also gave Adam a help-meet: Eve. Eve was taken out of Adam, from his rib, and formed….she was not formed separately from the dust of the ground as Adam was….she was from Adam.

They were placed in a garden and told to keep it. The animals were brought to Adam to name them….he was given dominion over all the creatures, as God’s vice-governor;…..with one law…..

Adam was not to eat of one…..yes, that is right, just one of the trees of the garden.

All the other trees, he could eat of, but that one.

Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Why was there any law?

Because God is a God of holiness and beauty….therefore a government of order, even among those He fellowships with, is necessary.

When God breathed into Adam the breath of life (the Holy Spirit), Adam became a living soul….conscious of his feelings, of his thoughts, and of his will….conscious of God and His love and care.

That gift of life, by the Holy Spirit within, brought faith with it….a knowledge of God, Who He was, and His character and government over him and Eve.

Adam was fully grown, intelligent, and had experienced God’s love, care and power. In him all the generations of mankind lay ready to experience supreme happiness…if he would continue in it.

Would Adam continue to believe and trust God?

Though Adam was innocent, without sin at this point,…..still he was changeable.

Would he stay true to God, on the one point of law that God required?

As a tree, would be established…root, trunk, and branches; so Adam, and His dependents, would be established in righteousness forever had he been obedient to this one thing.

And as a tree, Adam and His descendants, would be cut down….if he disobeyed.

We know what happened: Eve was tempted by the devil….he was under a guise of a serpent; and started talking to Eve.

This must have startled her, for no other creature could talk.

(I might add here, she should have immediately turned from him and ran to get Adam, and told him and God what was going on….but she listened. A wile of the devil, we still fall into)

Genesis 3:4-6a “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Silly, they already knew good, why know evil?)

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,…”

As she listened….he started to make “sense”. She started to imagine what he was offering….

They would not die, as God had said….but instead (yes, her imagination is getting into full swing)

They would be able to “see”….(the only thing she was seeing was illusion)….

beauty and food (she already had that in every other tree);

We will be as gods……(the idea of bondage in obedience to God came in here…they had absolute freedom, joy and peace with themselves and the creation around them, including animals….but the idea of “something more” dazzled her.)

Now again, I must say….we did not die in Eve. She came from Adam, so it was all up to Adam to say for the human race.

Would he believe God and stay true to Him…..and save himself, and his generations?

Or would he “see” with Eve, and kill himself, Eve, and millions of his children?

Genesis 3:6b-7 “…she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave (offered) also to her husband with her, and he did eat.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

Naked…their souls, which had been clothed with the goodness and peace of God; became bare before a Holy God.

God, their God,….became God, the Judge. A horrible place to be…so they tried to hide.

Of course they could not hide…..but God, even then, gave them the chance to confess their sin, when He called to them in the evening(Genesis 3:8-9)……but instead they continued to try and hide….their own choice:

Adam blamed God for giving him Eve….(Genesis 3:12).

Eve blamed the devil for tempting her….(Genesis 3:13)

(Notice here, there is not just a lot of blaming each other and the devil…..but the separation from God by sin…..also set up the separation from each other. They may be sinners together…..but they are separated by finger-pointing.)

And the sin just kept getting worse: the second son of Adam and Eve was murdered by the first…and so it continues…

But God did not give up on the human race: He had a plan, which is called the Everlasting Covenant.

Hebrews 13:20-21 “And the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant,

Make you perfect in every good work to do His Will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

In eternity past God made a way for all mankind to be saved from the sin of Adam……and their personal sin.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead,

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Christ Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life….only by Him shall any be saved from their sin. (Matthew 1:21)

He was the Son of God come to earth as the Son of man. He was both man and God in one, and as such was the only man of worth, who could pay the penalty for the sins of the world.

Christ Jesus came, and lived a perfect life…fulfilling all the law, doing all God’s Will, speaking all that the Father wanted Him to.

He gave Himself a perfect sacrifice

(none could have held Him, if He had chosen….but He chose the Father’s Will of sacrifice; unlike Adam who chose his own way. John 18:37, 19:11)

He commended His own Spirit into the Father’s hands….

Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit: and having said thus He gave up the ghost.”

None took His life from Him…..even with all the pain and agony……He gave His Father all the payment that God required to free us from condemnation.

Christ’s sacrifice was accepted, for God raised Christ from the dead, and set Him at His right hand….the place of power and authority. (Matthew 28:18,

1 Corinthians 15:27)

Christ was risen again by the Father’s power, to give us Eternal Life (Romans 6:23)….which is His life in us, now, and forever…..making us righteous before a Holy God….in Him.

That same power which raised Christ, He works in us, who believe:

Ephesians 1:19-20 “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,

Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.”

When we receive Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior (John 1:12), then…..

God is no longer our Judge…..He becomes to us the Living God,

the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10),

the God of peace (Phil. 4:9),

our Father in heaven,

the God of patience (Romans15:5),

the God of hope (Romans 15:13),

the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3),…..all this and more…. for His presence by the Holy Spirit teaches us that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39).

Now all this is the grand and glorious life we have in Christ Jesus…..our standing in Christ.

But are we obtaining all that His life offers us?

Romans 6:6 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

Here is the Way we should go, as servants of our great Lord and Savior,…..we should not serve sin……for now, through His life in us, we can be free from the power of it.

Christ has placed within us, by His Holy Spirit, the light, the means, and the power to be free from all our personal sin….we can be obedient….and follow Him into real liberty.

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 (for Christians it is death to our joy, peace and closeness to Christ), or of obedience unto righteousness.”

We are born again to glorify God….to be His lights.

Hopefully, harbor lights to show others the Way,……and not warning lights which say,….serving God is bondage.

(I truly believe any who thinks that serving the Lord is bondage, needs to set things right with God….something is wrong. They are listening to the devil’s wiles, like Eve did)

But the horribleness of our world surrounds us….what are we to do?

I have heard people ask, If God is so good, why do terrible things happen?

God is good,……and in this world, covered in the horribleness of sin, He offers Himself….to save us from it.

He also heals (Spiritually and often physically), comforts, strengthens, and leads us in the right way.

But often there is fear and distress….very real trouble.

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.”

Once we look up, we can breathe again…..God is in charge….

Then…….we are to get up……and get about the work He has called each of us to do…. to do the next step, and the next…

I have been given the illustration of a pebble—not a boulder—but a small pebble thrown into water.

The ripples outward are from the force of the small pebble influencing the water around it.

So are we…..obedience is to be first in me. Christ’s kingdom must reign within me….He must rule…in me.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy Will be done, in earth (me) as it is in heaven.”

Then, the influence of my obedience is in ever widening circles….those of my influence….my church, my home, my job….they should know the power of God,……because they see it in me.

Then it just keeps going….God’s Word spoken, God’s peace noticed, God’s mercy given.

Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;

Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

For though we are not here to serve men,……….the Lord, Himself, serves, encourages, helps, strengthens, and ministers to men….through us.

James 1:27 “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless, and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Sin is truly the evil God said it is….it brings death: both physical and spiritual—which is separation from God.

It is bondage of a terrible sort….no joy, no peace, no true satisfaction.

“More, more” is the language of sin….there is never enough, for it swallows whole parts of our lives.

Come to Jesus….

Psalms 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the Lord;..”

Those who come to know the Lord, learn that He is a delight, following is a delight, and learn that the way of faith is delightful.

May we all be more saved from our sin….leading us into more joy, and usefulness to God’s great work of love…to Him and others.