Life

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death;  but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Eternal life is a condition of life now,  and for all eternity.  It is not just heaven,  though that is our home.  

It is freedom from the guilt of sin, and the power of sin.  It is Christ’s life (His will and character) being lived out in our life now, and for eternity.

Moses, in his last message to Israel, stressed to them where their blessings came from:  the Lord thy God.  He is called life, because by loving and obeying Him, they have what true life consists of: love, duty, honor, and blessings.  These are in Him, and no where else.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you,  that I have set before you life and death,  blessing and cursing:  therefore choose life,  that both thou and thy seed may live:

                                           That thou mayest love the Lord thy God,  and that thou mayest obey His voice,  and that thou mayest cleave unto Him:  for He is thy life,  and the length of thy days:…”

Even in Old Testament times, under the law, many found that nearness to the Lord, was where true happiness lies.   

Psalm 36:7, 9 “How excellent is Thy lovingkindness,  O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.

                           For with Thee is the fountain of life:  in Thy light shall we see light.”

Proverbs 8:35 “For whoso findeth Me findeth life,  and shall obtain favor of the Lord.”

Near God, there is life,  light, and favor.

All that makes life worth living, is in God.

Luke 12:15 “And He said unto them,  Take heed,  and beware of covetousness:  for man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”

When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, He warned men that the “abundance of things” which we possess do not make real life.

We can make them the focus of our lives,  and be hindered from entering into real life;  or we can find our lives in Him. 

Mark 10:24 “…But Jesus answereth again,  and saith unto them,   Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!”

When we are born of our parents, we are given time.      Our heart beats and pumps blood to all the parts of our body, and we are set on a path of growth and development.

When we are born again, by the Holy Spirit of God, by grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9);  but by the marvelous working of His power within us (Titus 3:5-7):      The same heart beats within us, and the same blood flows through our veins;  but the motive of our life is changed.  

We are, in fact, given life….Christ’s life within us.

John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent.”

John 1:4 “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

Eternal Life is a condition of life.  For us, it begins the moment we are born again, and never ends.  

It fills the time we have here on earth with joy, and peace in believing.

It fills our days with fellowship with Christ.

It gives us purpose, and a duty to fulfill.

It makes us enjoy the days we have here, and look forward to the everlasting, beyond.

Are there trials, and troubles?  Yes,  for we are still learning and growing in grace;  we are still in the world of woe.

(I am a cancer survivor.  There is pain,  there is worry,  there is the questions which plague us:  Why me?    But up against all of these;  There is Jesus, the King.   He conquerors all.  

I may have my cancer come back.  But I will not die until He says,  “Come up hither.”

With Jesus,  it is not a bandage;  it is life….real life which is in us,  now;  and forever)

And it is overcoming life;  which is what we are to do:   Overcome by faith.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you,  that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation:  but be of good cheer,  I have overcome the world.”

This “good cheer” here,  is boldness.  We are to boldly trust Jesus.  

Boldly live the life He has for us.  

Boldly speak His Word.  

 And (mostly) boldly hang on to Him,  who is our life….though the whole world pulls against us.

The Battle of Ai, and Achan

Joshua 7:1 “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing:  for Achan the son of Carmi,….of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing:  and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

They had just come through the Jordan River at flood time, on dry ground; by a miracle of God.

They had their first convert to the God of Israel, in Rahab.

Then they fought their first battle at Jericho.  By faith the walls came down, and they went in and won.

Now, at little proud, and self-confident, Joshua sends men to Ai, a small city close to Jericho, to spy it out.    But he does not ask God what to do next. (Big mistake!)

They were to possess the land God had given them,  so his thinking was right;  but there was a problem within the ranks of Israel,  which stopped all blessings to them,   till it was dealt with.

Which he would have known,    if he had asked.

When we begin to lean on our own understanding;  then we are lighting our path with our own spark,  expecting God to honor our own plans.

Joshua 7:5-6 “And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men:  for they chased them before the gate…, wherefore the hearts of the people melted,  and became as water.

                         And Joshua rent his clothes,  and fell to the earth upon his face before the Ark of the Lord until the evening,  he and the elders of Israel, put dust upon their heads.”

All of a sudden, coming before the Lord was very important! 

But notice that the Lord makes Joshua wait.  It was not till eventide,  the time of the evening sacrifice, that Joshua’s prayer was answered.

Joshua 7:7-9 “And Joshua said,  Alas,  O Lord God,  wherefore hast Thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites,  to destroy us?  Would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!

                         O Lord, what shall I say,  when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!

                          For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it,  and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth:  and what wilt Thou do unto Thy great name?”

Here is Joshua, before the Lord, complaining.  

Why had He had brought them over Jordan?

Should they have been content to stay out of the Promised Land?  

Did the Lord mean to kill them?   

What would happen when the other cities that they were suppose to conquer hear about this defeat?     Oh no,  Oh no!

Joshua 7:10-12 “And the Lord said unto Joshua,   Get thee up;  wherefore liest thou upon thy face?

                             Israel hath sinned,  and they have also transgressed my covenant which I have commanded them:  for they have even taken of the accursed thing,  and have also stolen,  and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

                             Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies,  but turned their backs before their enemies,  because they were accursed:  neither will I be with you anymore,  except ye destroy the accursed from among you.”

(Joshua could have seen to this before going against Ai,  if he had simply asked the Lord for guidance.  

How often, our own self-confidence gets us into difficulties we never should have been in….but we did not wait for God’s direction.)

But the Lord paid no attention to Joshua’s whining.   No,  He got right to the point:  Get up off your face Joshua, and see to the problem.

I have brought you here,  but I will not be with you in battle,  till you see to the person who stole from the treasury devoted to My Tabernacle.           He stole it, and hid it in his stuff.

His family saw him, hiding it; yet said nothing.       Deal with it.

So he did as the Lord said:

Tribe by tribe came before the Tabernacle and the Lord showed him the tribe of Judah.

Family by family of Judah came before the Lord, till at last Achan was shown to be the thief, his family knowing it.

Joshua 7:19-21 “And Joshua said unto Achan,   My son give, I pray thee,  glory to the Lord God of Israel,  and make confession unto Him;  and tell me now what thou hast done;  hide it not from me.

                              And Achan answered Joshua,  and said,  Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel,  and thus and thus have I done:  

                              When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonian garment,  and two hundred shekels of silver,  and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight,  then I coveted them,  and took them;  and behold they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent,  and the silver under it.”

Confession was made,  but sadly it did no good.  Men had died for his sin.  He had not confessed because of love to God,  but because he was already found out. 

Achan and the gold and the Babylonian garment, and the silver,  and all that he had was to be killed.  Notice,  The Lord did not take back the gold, silver or garment…it was destroyed with the thief.

(I believe, if Achan had just repented sooner,  taking the stolen stuff to Joshua, and the priest;  he could have saved his family.    

Lust of this world is a terrible thing.       Lust is:  I want this, and I want it now.   What ever “it” is.)

The wedge of gold represents opulent wealth.

The Babylonian garment represents vanity: how we look before others.

The silver represents spending money.  Lots of spending money.

Each was a temptation.

And Achan found himself overcome by greed, and pride;  instead of being in his place in the battle, and overcoming in faith.

After Joshua and Israel remove the accursed thing;  They went on to win at Ai.

Joshua did not rely on his own judgement,  but only did what the Lord said, and won.

Joshua 8:1-2 “And the Lord said unto Joshua,  Fear not, neither be thou dismayed:  take all the people of war with thee,  and arise,  go up to Ai: see, I have given unto thy hand the king of Ai,  and his people,  and his city,  and his land:

                         And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto to Jericho and her king:  only the spoil thereof,  and the cattle thereof,  shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves:…”

The spoil from Jericho,  their first battle, was to be given to the Lord completely.      (We should always put the Lord first)

But the spoil from the second battle:  gold, cattle, silver, etc.  was to be divided up between all Israel.  

If Achan had only trusted God and waited;  all that he stole, he could have had with blessing.

When we mistrust God,  and begin to think that He is not giving us what we want;  we need to remember:  He should always be first,  for He loved us first (1 John 4:19)

And that when it is time,  He will see to giving us everything, He has for us.

Use it or Lose it?

1Corinthians 4:2 “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

Opening Prayer:  Lord Jesus,  we ask that You would give us what we should receive from this message.  To Your glory, in Jesus Name Amen.

Matthew 25:14-30 

Here is the parable of the man traveling into a far country.  So he delivers to his servants his goods, to use while he was gone to gain with.

To begin this, it would seem that to stress the most important fact; we should deal with “ability”.   “Each to his several ability”.

Matthew 25:15  “And unto one he gave five talents, to another, two; and to another, one.  To every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey”

“Several ability”, the plain teaching of this Parable is that even the one talent person could have gained something;    in as much as each had a several ability.  Which means there is more than one thing they could have done.

Matthew 25:29 “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath?   In other words, that which he had,  but made no use of.

Luke 19:12-14 “He said therefore,  A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.  And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds,  and said unto them,   Occupy till I come.     But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying,  We will not have this man to reign over us.”

Here in this parable we see two groups:   Servants, and citizens.

Those that say they are His servants,  who are entrusted with the part of the nobleman’s wealth to gain for him while he is gone.

And the citizens of the country are those of the world which hate him, outright.

When the nobleman returns (as Christ will one day, having been given His Kingdom here on earth [Revelation 11:15]). Then he calls for an account of his servants.

The Parable in Matthew 25 uses “talents”.   Each receiving an amount to use.

But here in Luke, they each receive one pound and are told to “Occupy till I come”.  This is a merchandise term , used in the day of Christ.  It means to use it and gain with it. (The “pound”, which is the power of God in our lives by the Holy Spirit.)

Luke 19:16-17 “Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 

And he said unto him,  Well done, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”

Faithfulness to God in what He has given you, much or little,  is what He rewards.

Luke 19:18 “And the second came, saying,  Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.”

And so He did gave the man who had been faithful; authority over five cities.  He had not gained as much as the first servant,  but had been faithful and gained;  and so, was rewarded.

Now to the one who hid his talent, for selfish fear.  He feared what the Master would say if he did not do well.  So he thought he would hide his talent,  to protect himself.  He would give back what he was given, and be done with it.  The Nobleman couldn’t complain, he thought, because He had back, what He had given.

But that is not what the Nobleman wanted.  He wanted His servants to use what He had given them, out of honor for Him.

We have been given the Holy Spirit, to help us.  Are we taking the help?

We have been given gifts and callings (ability).   Are we using them to His glory?

Luke19:23 “Wherefore than gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?” (Interest)

He was responsible for his one talent,  but he did nothing with it.  

That one talent, he was given, was the gift of Eternal Life.  He had been given faith, should he not improve on that, by growing in grace?

What about us?  Are we using what we have been given, as faithful stewards of Christ Jesus?

We can,  and gain by it.  Let us do what we can,  with the help of the Holy Spirit, and be blessed.

The Lord’s Personal Prayer for His Believers

John 17:6 “I have manifested Thy name unto the men Thou gavest Me out of the world:  Thine they were,  and Thou gavest them to Me;  and they have kept Thy word.”

They were still in the upper room where they had the Last Supper.  

Before they left to go to Gethsemane, Jesus “lifted up His eyes” and prayed to the Father for these gathered here.

He prays for them to be “kept” (How much we need this;  we are so weak and helpless against sin, self, the malice and temptations of the world, and the devil.):

First,  they would be kept through the word that He had spoken to them when He was on earth.

John 17:8 “For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me;  and they have received them, and have known surely that I have come out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me.”

Notice that they had “received” it.  This is truly an amazing statement about these unlearned men.   

Thousands had heard Jesus.     But these men had received the words and message that He had given. 

They received that He was the Son of God (Matthew 16:15–17).

They received the call that He gave them: Peter, Andrew, James and John from fishing boats;  Matthew from collecting taxes; others from the lives they were living.

They received His corrections for their unbelief in the storm (Luke 8:23-25), and when they sought prestige (Mark 10:35-37).

They had received His Words and by these Words of knowledge and guidance, they could be kept safe;   when Jesus went back to heaven.

Second, they would be “kept” by God’s Name. 

John 17:11 “And now I am no more in the world,  but these are in the world,  and I come to Thee.   Holy Father,  keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given to Me,  that they may be as one,  as we are.”

When we are said to be under the Name of God,  that means that He has declared that we are His, and by His authority, we are under His protection.

“That they may be one, as we are.”

That we may be one with The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;  in love.

John 17:26 “And I have declared unto them Thy name,  and will declare it;  that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them,  and I in them.”

What stronger band, surrounding us in strength, can we have, then that of love?   

And that is the band that Jesus prayed to the Father that they have.  God’s band of love would keep them.  

Praise God,  Jesus did not leave us out of this prayer:  

John 17:20 “Neither pray I for these alone,  but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word;”

He prayed for all who would believe the word that was preached and written by these disciples.

He prayed for us.  

Next, Jesus would go to Gethsemane, and pray for Himself : “Father, not my will, but Thine be done.”   That He might finish the work.  And He did, “It is finished.”

And it was:  His atonement for all who come to Him.

But, first He prayed for those who believed in Him.  What a Savior we have!

 

Guidance

James 3:3 “Behold, we put bits in the horses mouth, that they may obey us;  and we turn about their whole body.”

There are two ways to break a horse.  Gently, over time, getting the horse to accept you, and your weight on him;  till the horse and you become partners.

He is mastered,  but by love.

Or severely, which makes the horse accept you and your weight—now,   by wearing down it’s resistance.

He is mastered, but by force of circumstances.

How would you like to receive your guidance from the Lord?

We can be brought to the place that we are directed by the force of circumstances;  which is like the bit and bridle.

We must do,  because we have no choice in the matter.  

But this is not what the Lord Jesus Christ would have for us. 

Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shalt go:  I will guide thee with Mine eye.”

This is gentle guidance.  Remember one look from the Lord sent Peter out weeping.

The Lord would have us all look to Him for our guidance,  if we would just see Him as He is.  The Creator, and Sustainer of the Universe is our Lord and Savior.

He loves us, and wants us to enter into—with Him—all the joys of service to Him.  For in Him is glorious liberty of spirit!

True freedom is freedom from the power of our sin, and self.  

The bondage of I have to do this (which can be any addiction),  and the bondage of I want to do this (how many “things” we want:  no contentment,  just want).

We can be free from these, by the liberty of the Holy Spirit’s control.

The closer to God we get,  the more freedom we have.

I will instruct and teach you, in the way that you shall go.

What this means, is that He will go with you in each step, showing you what to do, and helping you do it.

So often, we refuse the gentle way, for one reason or another.  We fight with Him, even though we want what He is leading us into.

What is the problem?  We do not understand that the Lord must lead us(or we will surely go the wrong way).  But how will He lead us?

Psalm 32:9 “Be not as the horse,  or as the mule,  which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee (or trample thee).”

The “something” which hinders, is our unbroken will.   Like the horse, or mule;  we must be broken or mastered, to be usable.

It is the method of the breaking which is spoken of here.  

He wants us to yield to Him,  which is what we do when we “look to Him” 

(Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:  for I am God,  and there is none else.”)

For the look of faith and trust in Christ Jesus our Lord,  is yielding.

If we are looking to Him,  we are looking away from other things.   Choosing Him.

And when we look?

Ephesians 1:18 “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;  that ye may know the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

                            And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe,  according to the working of His mighty power,”

We need this mighty power in our everyday walk;   instructing us and teaching us in the way we must go.

I want that gentle instruction of His eye.    

How do you want to be guided?

The Lost Sheep

Luke 15:4 “What man of you, having an hundred sheep,  if he lose one of them,  doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness,  and go after that which is lost,  until he find it?”

This man has one hundred sheep.  But one has left the flock and gone seeking something apart from the rest.  

(Perhaps a distant patch of grass.  Or following a butterfly.  Or just wanting to be away from everyone else.  

But he left to pursue an illusion.  For there was nothing out there, that would have been good for him;  that the shepherd would not have led him into.)

Still,  ninety-nine sheep is pretty good.  You’re bound to lose one or two;  but the Shepherd does not see it that way.

He sees it,  as the lost one feels:  lost, unable by itself to come home.  Exposed to the weather, and other animals.  Away from the Shepherd’s care.

Perhaps the sheep had taken the care for granted:  it would always be there. 

At first, maybe, it was fine.  The sun was shining, there were new things to explore.  But he turns and does not see the flock anymore.       Oh, well, he thinks.

But then he feels alone: he does not know where water is,  or a safe place.  He is lost.   It wanders around, now, not knowing where he is, or where he should go.  

So the man does for the lost sheep,  what the sheep can not do for himself.

The man goes after that sheep.

And how does he do it?  He leaves the ninety-nine in the wilderness grazing together;  and retraces his steps, till he finds it.

The Shepherd finds it too weary to walk back to the flock, and rest.  So he picks it up, and carries it.

And then leads the flock home.

Luke 15:5-6 “When he hath found it,  he layeth it upon his shoulders, rejoicing.

                        And when he cometh home,  he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them,  Rejoice with me,  for I have found my sheep which was lost.”

Rejoicing is a word which describes a calm, peaceful happiness.  I have found what was lost.  I have not lost any!   (Everything is safe in the fold, as it should be.)

And the Shepherd calls His friends and neighbors to rejoice with Him.

Of course, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd,  for He gave His life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

1 Peter 2:24-25 “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree,  that we,  being dead to sins, should live unto His righteousness:  by whose stripes ye are healed.                                                                                                                                                                       For ye were as sheep going astray;  but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”

John 10:28 “And I give unto them eternal life;  they shall never perish,  neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”

And He is still seeking and shepherding us,  as Christians, today. 

Christians go astray, and we are in need of His seeking us again, and again.

Isaiah 40:11 “He shall feed His flock like a Shepherd:  He shall gather the lambs with His arm,  and carry them in His bosom,  and shall gently lead those that are with young.”

Christ Jesus is now our Great Shepherd.  He is now “making us perfect” or complete in Himself.  (Lambs grow into sheep)

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,  through Jesus Christ;  to Whom be glory forever and ever.  Amen.”

He is leading us into all the places that are good for us (green pastures),  

He is protecting us from all our enemies (wolves in sheeps clothing, things which “devour” 1 Peter 5:7-8)

He is “preparing a table before us, in the presence of our enemies”  by giving Himself as an example,  leading us.  “Follow Me, and I will hedge you about in your everyday trials, meeting your needs by My grace.”

Maybe we are the lost sheep,  or we have been the lost sheep.   

Praise God,  He has sent His Son to seek and save us (Luke 19:10)!

Whether we are Christians or not, if we have gone astray:  Christ is seeking you,  to save you…even now.

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The Temptation of Christ Jesus 

Matthew 4:1 “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”

Jesus was “led up of the Spirit”.   This temptation, then, was God’s Plan and Purpose for His Son.

He was in all points tempted, like as we are, the writer to the Hebrews revealed. (Hebrews 4:15)

So this temptation shows us how to act when we, too, are tempted.

First, notice that our hardest temptations come after we have gotten more Spiritual power and grace.   

Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit had come down upon Him without measure,  as He came up from the water.  A Voice had announced that Jesus was  God’s Beloved Son!  And that He was well pleasing in God’s sight!

But then He was tempted.

Matthew 4:2-4 “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights,  he was afterward an hungered.

And when the tempter came to him,  he said,  If thou  be the Son of God,  command these stones to be made bread.

But he answered and said,    It is written,  Man shall not live be bread alone,  but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Jesus was hungry.  He had been fasting for forty days, and nights;  so when He could, He wanted to break the fast by food.

But when tempted by the devil to change stones into bread, so He could satisfy His hunger,  and prove that He was the Son of God;  Jesus refused.

But He did not just say “No”,  but rebuked the suggestion by quoting “It is written”.

What the Scriptures say,  help us to live right, and know what to do.

The suggestion of the devil, was that because Jesus was the Son of God, He could do what ever He wanted,  have whatever He wanted,  whenever He wanted, by simply  commanding it to be so. 

Of course Jesus could,  but that was not why He became man.  It was ever to do the Father’s Will, that He came, and that was what He lived and died by.

So should we do the Father’s Will for us.  It puts us in the wonderful position of being able to stand back from suggestions and plans, and seeking His Will in everything.

That puts temptations in a new light.  It is not:  “You want this, it is not too awful, why not do it?”

It is:  “Is this what the Lord would have me to do, now?”

Notice this first temptation was for bodily wants.

Matthew 4:5-7 “And the devil taketh him up into the holy city,  and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple.  

And saith unto him,  If thou be the Son of God,  cast thyself down:  for it is written,  He shall give his angels charge concerning thee:  and in their hands they shall bear thee up,  lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus said unto him,  It is written again,  Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Jesus had quoted Scripture, so now the devil quotes it.  Again he says, “If thou be the Son of God”.

Here the temptation is for public announcement.  Cast yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple.  What a better way to prove the fact that You are the Son of God!  

And it is said in the Scriptures,  so God will have to do it.

Sneaky.  

For God would certainly do it, and those that saw it, might have been awed into following Jesus for awhile, because of it.  

But that is not true believing.  It would have been useless, for the heart will only follow what it loves.   

And awe is not love.

But Jesus refused it, for it was not the Father’s Way of announcement.  His Way was for Jesus to go about preaching, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.  He was to do good to all. (Matthew 4:17)

Certainly it was not as exciting as angels catching Him.   But it was what God wanted.

The devil’s suggestion was just tempting God; and Jesus refused it and quoted that Scripture:  “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”  

(To tempt God is to make  God prove Himself or His Word,  by demanding that He do something for us,  now.    Do this,  or we won’t trust You.)

This second temptation had been for Fame, and prestige.   He would be Famous,  everyone would know He was the Son of God!

How often we get trapped into “seeking” these.

Matthew 4:8-10 “Again,  the devil taketh him up unto an exceeding high mountain,  and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world,  and the glory of them:

And saith unto him;  All these things will I give thee,  if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

The saith Jesus unto him,  Get thee hence, Satan:  for it is written,   Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,  and him only shalt thou serve.”

Some say that the devil had no right to offer the kingdoms of the world,  but he is the prince of this world:

Luke 4:5-7 “And the devil,  taking him up into a high mountain,  showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And the devil said unto him,  All this power will I give thee,  and the glory of them:  for it is delivered unto me;  and whomsoever I will give it.

If thou therefore wilt worship me,  all shall be thine.”

The temptation here is:  Forget the path to the cross.   If You will fall down and worship me, You can have all the kingdoms and the power of them…now;  without the suffering and  shameful death of the cross.

This was the devil’s attempt to destroy Who Jesus was:   “I will  give you all I have, to make God finally submit to me, in the person of His Son.”

Of course Jesus refused this:

But after this final suggestion,  Jesus commands the devil to depart; quoting the verse, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Jesus would do all the Father’s Will.   And He was confident that those kingdoms would be His,  God’s Way; and that was through the suffering of the cross, to resurrection and glory.

The third temptation was for personal power, and glory; without suffering.

And does not the devil tempt us in the same ways:

1)See to your needs  first.  Yes, your a Christian, but God has not “forbidden” you to do this,  so He probably doesn’t care.

2)If you are going to have a ministry for God,  make it flashy.   People will remember you.  They will admire you.  They will think you are great!  (There is a whole lot of “you” in that “ministry”)

3)If you  will just go along with the world,  you could skip a whole lot of trouble.   Sure, you can look like a Christian, but you don’t have to walk in that “narrow”way.  

In other words, “Go ahead, lose your Christ’s Life, to have your self life”. (Matthew 16:25)

These, and others like them, are the things the devil tempts us with (For he tempted our Lord the same way.)

Looking to the Father’s Will, Jesus went through these temptations, standing on the Word of God.  Jesus left the place of temptation by placing Himself in the Father’s hands by the Word of God.   

He did all the work the Father had for Him, and finished it.

So we need to look to Jesus, and go through all He has purposed for us,  with Him.  

He will empower us, to the measure of our devotion and obedience, by the Holy Spirit to know and to do His Will.

The Everlasting God

Genesis 21:33 “And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-Sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.”

The name of the Everlasting God was first revealed to Abraham.  He had just planted a grove in a place where he had dug a well.  

I believe he was thinking that in his son’s life time,  or in the times to come,  the trees would bring shelter to those who came to the well.

Trees take a while to grow, and in that moment,  God showed Abraham His name: The Everlasting God.     Everlasting:  Evermore, Forever.   

This describes God’s promise and protection for Abraham; but also his children to come.   He will be there for them,  long after Abraham had gone.

Revelation 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,  saith the Lord,  which is,  and which was,  and which is to come,  the Almighty.”

God is the God of all ages.  And to Him only are all things known.  

He revealed Himself through many names in the Old Testament, to show to those who believe, His character,  usually at a time when they needed to know that He would be this to them.

Psalm 90:1-2 “Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth,  or ever Thou hadst  formed the earth and the world,  even from everlasting to everlasting,  Thou art God.”

He is the Everlasting God,  setting times and seasons according to His Will. 

But in it all, He saw us, now; and gave each of us a purpose:  a path to follow, and an example by Jesus Christ His Son, to be conformed to.

We are not to be frightened by the largeness of the Will of God;  but rather step into our place in it.  

God is the Everlasting God,  He has been,  is,  and will be with us; so He is with us today.  (And that is what we need to concentrate on).

Isaiah 43:21 “This people have I formed for Myself; they shall show forth My praise.”

And how do we show forth His praise, today?

By showing forth the Kingship of the Lord Jesus in my life.  He purposes to reign within my life.  And I must will with Him in this.   

We must show Him as our King,  by how we are in our everyday tasks.  

(Is He in charge within me?  Is He guiding me through my day?  Do I hear Him?)

Isaiah 43:18 “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”

It is time to put the past behind you.  Failures and successes. (Looking back while walking forward is never a good idea.)

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake,  and will not remember thy sins.”

If He does not remember them,  why should you?   

Or why should you let the Adversary, the devil, beat you over the head with them?

Confess them,  forsake them. (As Jesus said to the woman taken in adultery:  “Neither do I condemn thee;  go and sin no more.”    He did not approve of her sin;  but forgave it, and told her not to do it again.)

And when you have done so:  go on with the Everlasting God:  for you were always in His plans and purposes.  

His purpose for each He saves is that they show forth  Christ Jesus, my King.  This is personal Kingship.

That everyone we come into contact with, will be faced with the reality of His Kingdom;  for it has come to us.

Strength? Or Wisdom to do,  you ask?   Afraid to take the first step?

Isaiah 40:28-29 “Hast thou not known?  Hast thou not heard,  that the Everlasting  God,  the Lord,  the creator of the ends of the earth,  fainteth not,  neither is weary?  There is no searching of His understanding.

                               He giveth power to the faint;  and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.”

                              Deuteronomy 33:27 “The Eternal God is thy refuge,  and underneath are the everlasting arms:…”

Remember:  the Holy Spirit is within you,  Christ Jesus has won the victory for you, and the Everlasting God has surrounded you with His Peace, and Purpose.

Abraham was at peace concerning the future of his son, and his son’s sons, and so on;  for the Everlasting God was His God, and He could not fail.

As many as I love…

Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:  be zealous (boiling hot) therefore, and repent.”

Jesus Christ loves us,  therefore He will not let us go on and drown in self-will,  or be deceived by sin, without throwing us the lifeline, administered by His Holy Spirit:  of His Word, messages, and testimonies.    

All given to help us hear Him,  and repent (turn around).

When we get to heaven,  the Lord’s Word will judge us:  He will bless the works we have done out of love to Him.  

John 12:48 “He that rejecteth Me,  and recieveth not My words,  hath one that judgeth him:  the words that I have spoken,  the same shall judge him in the last day.”

(Remember: “..If a man love me, he will keep my words: “John 14:23)

Paul tells us plainly, it is not how much we do for Christ,  but of what sort it is.

1 Corinthians 3:13 “Every man’s work shall be made manifest:  for the day shall declare it,  because it shall be revealed by fire;  and the fire shall try every man’s work  of what sort it is.”

Only those works which were done by the Holy Spirit through you, will count for eternity.

And only those acts done for the love of Jesus, will stand the fire of the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 3:14-15 “If any man’s work abide which he hath built there upon, he shall receive a reward.

                                    If any man’s work shall be burned,  he shall suffer loss:  but he  himself shall be saved;  yet so as by fire.”

Saved.  In Heaven.  Yet so as by fire.  

The works that we do are of two sorts (for they are all imperfect):  

                                   those that are done according to God’s Will by yielding to the Holy Spirit, out of love to the Lord Jesus.

                                   And those that we do because we feel me must, or from our own self motives (appreciation, applause, or status).

1 Corinthians 3:11-12 “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

                                    Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones,  wood, hay, stubble;”

You can see how the fire of God’s Word will devour up the wood (It may take longer than the hay and stubble, but it will burn up to nothing), hay and stubble, of self will.

But the fire will just refine the gold and the silver more.  And will not touch the precious stones.  

These are those acts which we have let the Holy Spirit work through us.

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,  goodness, faith.

                                   Meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law.”

These are the fruits of the Holy Spirit that we allow to come through us into the circumstances of our lives.    

They reveal themselves in kindness, forgiveness, and peace and faithfulness to God in adversity.  

These are the things that the world is searching for.  That can reach a hungry soul for Christ.     And (amazingly) God uses us!

To have my Christ-life,  I must deny my self-life:  both cannot rule my life.  We choose one or the other.

It is through the fires of my everyday trials, I am brought to see the true value of “Christ in me, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

Paul says:

Colossians 1:29 “Whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working,  which worketh in me mightily.”

Does the Holy Spirit work in you mightily?

Well, He is waiting to give you what you need, “above all that ye ask or think”.

But it is according to the power of the Holy Spirit that works within you.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,  according to the power that worketh in us.”

Let this power work in us, that it might work by us and through us, to a hungry world, for Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Widow of Zarephath:

God had caused a famine, in Israel and the surrounding area.  Elijah, God’s Prophet,  had been fed with bread by ravens, next to a stream of water; during part of the famine.  But now the water had dried up, for there had been no rain.  

Yet God would not forsake His Prophet.  And  Elijah was told what to do next.

1 Kings 17:9 “Arise, get to Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there:  behold,  I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”

Let us take a look at this command.  

First, God said it;  and is He not able to deliver?   Of course!  

So Elijah goes to the next country over, Sidon; and to the city of Zarephath.   

At the command of God (What else made this woman gather sticks at just this time) a widow was at the gate,  preparing for her,  and her family’s last meal.

Seeing her, Elijah asks for her to get him a small drink of water.  Even in her extremity, she was courteous, and was going to go to get it.

Then Elijah, understanding that this was the woman to whom he had been sent, asks her another favor.

1 Kings 17:11 “And as she was going to fetch it,  he called to her, and said,  Bring me,  I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.”

This stranger would have seemed very presumptuous,  in my way of thinking.   After all,  wasn’t I being nice enough to get him a drink?

But remember:   “I have commanded”.   This was a test to see if indeed this was the woman.

1 Kings 17:12 “And she said,   As the Lord, thy God liveth,  I have not a cake,  but a handful of meal in a barrel,  and a little oil in a cruse:  and,  behold,  I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

She was not rude.

She just told this man the truth.   But notice;  she recognized  him as an Israelite;  and a Godly one;  since she said,  “As the Lord, thy God liveth”.

Convinced that this was the woman to whom he was sent,  Elijah gave a command, and a promise to her.

1 Kings 17:13-14 “And Elijah said unto her,  Fear not;  go and do as thou hast said:  but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

For thus saith the Lord God of Israel,  the barrel of meal shall not waste,  neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”

She was to feed him first.  This, again, may seem presumptuous,  but how else would he have known if she believed the Lord’s Word?    If she had made three cakes, one for her son,  one for him, and one for her….that would have been generous,  but  unbelieving.    It would have been the wait and see attitude.   Maybe you’re right, maybe not;   here is what we have, we all eat, and see.

But she was to believe God,  and make him a cake, and see him eat it; and return and make cakes for herself and her son.   

Amazing God we have, who can move a heart,  any heart,  to truly believe enough to obey.

1 Kings 17:15-16 “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah:  and she, and he,  and her house, did eat many days.

And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail,  according to the word of the Lord,  which  he  spake by Elijah.”

God’s Word is always true.  Our believing enough to obey,  is often the problem.

It was the same, when the Lord Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth.  They refused to believe His clear message, that He was the Messiah.  In His rebuke of their unbelief….the wait and see attitude;  Jesus then speaks of this widow.

Luke 4:24-26 “And he said,  Verily I say unto you,  No prophet is accepted in his own country.  

But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months,  when great famine was throughout all the land;  

but unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Zarephath a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.”

Our belief is always recognized, and honored by God.

God’s power works within us, as well as through us;  if we trust and obey.