Sunday, April 23, 2023

Lessons from Abraham (Genesis 11-13)

 

Lessons from Abraham

Chapter 11

28 Began in a prosperous Mesopotamia (Modern day Iraq)

30 Abraham’s wife Sarai is barren

31 Abram followed his Father Terah

32 They traveled north west towards Canaan and stopped in Haran. Terah died and Abram would have inherited his wealth.


Chapter 12 God made Abram a promise: show you a land, make you a great nation, great name, and make you a blessing. (Hebrews 11:8)

4 Abram obeys by leaving and takes Lot with Him. (Hebrews 13:10)

5 Abram takes his possessions. He is rich. He stops in Shechem, where Canaanites live.

7 God tells Abram his descendants will own the land of Canaan. Abram builds an alter to the Lord where the Lord appeared to him. (praise)

Moves further south between Bethel and Ai. He is a pilgrim living in tents. He builds another alter and calls on the name of the Lord.

10 Famine causes Abram to go into Egypt.

11-20 Abram lies about his wife being his Sister to Pharaoh and brings shame and disgrace upon himself and has to leave Egypt.


Chapter 13 Abram continues south with Lot

2 Abram is rich in livestock, gold, silver

3-4 Abram returns to the place where he had departed to Egypt and calls on the Lord (prayer)

5 Lot is rich as well

6-7 Conflict arises as the land is not able to support both Abram and Lot’s herdsman

8-9 Abram demonstrates humility and wisdom on how to resolve conflict

10-13 Lot chooses without God’s leading

14-18 Abram chooses as God leads him. Abram builds an alter and worships. (peace)


Note: Abraham built 4 alters in his recorded account. Alters included animal sacrifices which were offered as an act of worship.


4th alter Genesis 22:9-14 (provision)



Notes:

Children of God (1 John 3:1-3)

 

Children of God (1 John 3:1-3)


See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

Let us consider the three verses individually.

(Verse 1) See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

God’s love is agape love. This is the highest form of love because it is not based on self interest but strictly on the well being of another. In The Father’s case, He demonstrated his love for us by sending His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners and unworthy of love. (Romans 5:6-11) This agape love demonstrated by the Father will be celebrated for eternity future by God’s children. (Ephesians 2:7)

Only those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour are God’s true children. (Romans 10:10) This may seem exclusive to people of other religions or agnostics who have not yet made a decision for Christ one way or another. God is Father in the universal sense in that He created the human race (Genesis 1:27) but only those who have personally received the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are truly children of God. (John 1:12)

God calls us into intimacy with Him through the reconciliation made possible through the Son. (2 Corinthians 5:19) The greatest love God could offer us is to call us His children. One could aspire to be a mere servant in heaven in order to get in (psalm 84:10) but God lavishes us with the title of Child of God! This means we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 2:11-12)

The great mystery to the unsaved world is that Christians appear no more special that anyone else in the world. To the unconverted, Christians do not have halos (figuratively speaking) above their heads and are not viewed with any more importance or significance as other people in the world. 1 Peter 2:9 calls us a chosen people or a “peculiar people”. This means we are God’s special people, distinguished from the world by the light of Christ which dwells in our hearts. The problem is that those who dwell in the world have a darkened understanding of spiritual life and cannot therefore properly appraise who the true children of God are. (Ephesians 4:18, 1 Corinthians 2:15) non-Christians see followers of Christ as deluded individuals who follow foolish ideas. (1 Corinthians 2:14)



(Verse 2) Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 

God desires for his children to know that they are eternally safe and secure. (1 John 5:13) The fear that Christian salvation is a kind of Russian Roulette where you may or may not see eternal life is an obscuring of the plain text of scripture. (1 John 5:12) As the hymn writer wrote:

Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” (1 John 1:7)

The blood of Jesus Christ was shed for us brothers and sisters so that we would know with certainty that God the Father has forgiven our sins and adopted us as his children, never to be rejected. (Hebrews 9:15) Fear of losing our salvation is doubting God’s lavish provision for sinners who call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13) for pardon of sin, based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ that purified us and made us whole. (Isaiah 53:5) We are already Gods children… but there’s more!

Our future glory is still a mystery! We only have a foretaste of our glorious inheritance. (1 Corinthians 13:12) Our future glory hasn’t happened yet nor has God revealed it to us so our limited understanding clouds our future anticipation as genuine children of God! Many in recent years have reported unfathomable dreams and visons of having traveled to heaven and given detailed accounts of what they have experienced there. As a minister of God’s word, I would warn such individuals not to go beyond the revealed word of God. (1 Corinthians 4:6) Instead of rushing into speculation, we should instead refocus our attention to the promises of God which are always yes and amen! (2 Corinthians 1:20) God has given us all things pertaining to godliness through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:3) and the word of God which is able to transform our minds by patterning it after God’s own righteousness. (Romans 12:2)

Jesus Christ is the prototype for our future glorification and much teaching has been made of his resurrection body which I will not endeavour to go into great detail here. (John 21:25) Suffice it to say, the Bible tells us that we will be made like him when he appears. (1 Corinthians 15:52) The promise of God is that when he returns, we will be made like him, that is, we will have a body that is perfectly suited for heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:45-50) Then, in a kind of revelatory experience, we will be able to know the God Man even more intimately.



Verse 3

And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

Longing is in the heart of mankind. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) One of the traits of being created in the image of God is the ability to plan for the future. A redeemed, lovely, human creature thinks about their future glory and how wonderful it will be to not be ensnared by sin and its ill effects. How wonderful it will be for children of God to perfectly commune with the Father, even being made to share in the very glory of God! (Romans 8:17-19)

Such a thought is praiseworthy and excellent if there ever was such a thing as praiseworthy and excellent. (Philippians 4:8) The children’s bread is therefore to make faith manifest by trying to live a holy life, on this side of heaven.

The church (the bride of Christ) aught to purify herself in anticipation to being presented to Jesus Christ (the bridegroom) upon his return. Spiritual purity is often portrayed in the Bible as chastity and we are to keep ourselves chaste until we are united with the lover of our soul. (Song of Solomon 8:4) Jesus loves us with perfect love. (1 John 4:8) A wedding day is meant to culminate mutual love, desire, and affection for one another. Let us purify ourselves for our bridegroom is coming. (Song of Solomon 2:10-13)










Romans 5:6-11

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Ephesians 2:7

7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:10

10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Genesis 1:27

27 So God created human beings[a] in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

John 1:12

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

2 Corinthians 5:19

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.


Psalm 84:10

10 A single day in your courts
    is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
    than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

Hebrews 2:11-12

11 So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.[a] 12 For he said to God,

I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
    I will praise you among your assembled people.”
[b]

Ephesians 4:18

18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

1 Corinthians 2:15

15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.

1 Corinthians 2:14

14 But people who aren’t spiritual[a] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

1 John 5:13

13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.

1 John 5:12

12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

1 John 1:7

But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Hebrews 9:15

15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

Romans 10:13

13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[a]

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.

1 Corinthians 13:12

12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[a] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.


1 Corinthians 4:6

Dear brothers and sisters,[a] I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures,[b] you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.

2 Corinthians 1:20

20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

Ephesians 1:3

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

Romans 12:2

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

John 21:25

25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

1 Corinthians 15:52

52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

1 Corinthians 15:45-50

45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”[a] But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like[b] the heavenly man.

50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.



Romans 8:17-19

17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

Philippians 4:8

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Song of Solomon 8:4

Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
    not to awaken love until the time is right.
[a]

1 John 4:8

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

10 My lover said to me,
    “Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!
11 Look, the winter is past,
    and the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers are springing up,
    the season of singing birds
[a] has come,
    and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
13 The fig trees are forming young fruit,
    and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!”



The proclamation of the faithful witness (Revelation 22:20)

 

Revelation 22:20

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!



From whom does this message originate?


Firstly, We must recognize the speaker who is addressing us in the first place. “He” is the person or proper noun who is making this statement. The “He” here represents the person of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1: 18) He carries a lot of weight because of the immutable nature of the person which “He” represents. Jesus Christ, the Ancient of Days is about to make a declaration! (Revelation 1:8)


I suppose if someone made a declaration about what they intended to do in the future as fact a rational person would have to think about the probability of success based on the character and nature of the person making the claim. For example, meteorologists make weather pattern projections using computers and are fairly accurate. Politicians have incumbents according to their political agendas and may or may not fully accomplish all that they set out to accomplish in a given term. Parents train their children according to biblical principles and experience varying degrees of success.


In the above examples, (meteorologists, politician, or parents) declarations made by such individuals by thought, word, or deed and their fulfillment will vary based on factors such as the reliability, skill, and power of the individual making the declaration. Success in these cases is limited because of shortcomings people typically experience throughout life. In brief, we do not know perfect meteorologists, politicians, or parents… or do we?... and are they even possible?


Definite adjectives describe a subject by commonly known facts. Definite adjectives carry the weight of reliability because of their accepted meaning. Imagine in our previous examples if somehow the meteorologist, politician, or parent was described in that by a definite adjective and let that sink in. What if all three... the meteorologist, politician, and the parent were commonly known by all to be absolutely reliable in their respective fields? Their declarations would therefore be trustworthy.


The “He” in verse 20 that we have already identified as the Lord Jesus Christ is about to make a declaration! Before the declaration is made by Jesus Christ however, He introduces himself by the title: “faithful witness”.



How is Jesus Christ a faithful Witness?


As previously discussed in our meteorologist, politician, and parent cases; each person has a specific field of interest in which they work to carry out a desired, absolute purpose which is commonly desirable by all men. I will therefore try to explain the faithfulness of Jesus Christ as a witness as it pertains to his current field of interest as the redeemer of all mankind. To assert that Jesus Christ’s current field of interest is as redeemer of all mankind, I must make a case that mankind is in need of a redeemer that would validate Christ as a faithful witness. Death (physical and spiritual) is the greatest evidence pointing to the need of a faithful witness of God’s redemptive plan. In order for mankind to have any kind of tangible future to even peer into through a telescope, death needs to somehow be overcome. Jesus Christ is our faithful witness in this regard because He has triumphed over the grave by his bodily resurrection. (Revelation 1:18) The Bible explains that it was necessary for Christ to suffer to accomplish our redemption. It is this great feat that will ultimately lead to our own bodily resurrection and grants Jesus Christ the current credibility as one who has overcome the grave personally and has made a proclamation from beyond the grave! .(1 Corinthians 15:20) His witness is therefore faithful because He has, by his suffering on the cross and subsequent death and resurrection, overcome the grave for those who trust in Him. (1 Corinthians 15:55, Revelation 20:6)


My second evidence explaining the faithfulness of Jesus Christ’s witness as redeemer of all mankind is His power to overcome sin among God’s people. The Hymn writer wrote:


Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found was blind but now I see.”


The author of Ecclesiastes writes that God placed eternity within our hearts. While it is true that Christians do sin on occasion, the pattern of unbroken sin that was present prior to conversion has been exponentially broken in the lives of those who possess saving faith in the risen savior. The present reality of being free from sin is only compounded by the reality that we will one day be completely free from every sort of residual sin and its ill effects. (Revelation 21:4) This liberty from the enslaving power of sin is available in our lives because Jesus Christ lived a completely sinless human life and overcame sin on our behalf by dying for our sins and thus satisfying God’s righteous requirement of the law on our behalf. (Galatians 3:13) The Bible speaks of our evidenced, internal assurance whereby the Holy Spirit of God affirms with our spirit that we are children of God. Sin’s power was defeated at Calvariess cross by our triumphant, faithful witness and we eagerly anticipate the perfection of that freedom from sin. This evidenced freedom from sin is the second proof to the faithfulness of Jesus Christ’s witness.


My third evidence proving that Jesus Christ is indeed a faithful witness in the office of redeemer of all mankind is in his triumph over humanities arch enemy, Satan. Satan predates humanity as do all angelic beings. (Job 38:7) Satan is God’s adversary in relation to the redemption of mankind and has sought to overthrow God’s purposes for humanity since our earliest ancestors. (Genesis 3:1-7) The adversary has been sowing distrust in the human heart ever since. To identify the origin of evil, we must recognize it’s father. (Ezekiel 28:15) In order to properly vanquish evil, A being would need to prevail in a confrontation with Satan on our behalf. Jesus Christ accomplished this victory by keeping covenant with the Father and not allowing the temptation of Satan to cause him to sin. (Mathew 4:10) By doing this, Jesus regained the mantle of sovereign leadership on earth that was forfeited by our previous representative, Adam. Satan had already been judged and pronounced doomed already for his rebellion in heaven (John 16:11, Isaiah 14: 12-16) but his defeat was made public when Jesus triumphed over Satan by rising from the dead, simultaneously redeeming all the souls that had been kept in paradise, waiting for the purchase price of their release so that they could enter heaven’s gates along with Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 4 :8) The price of redemption was paid on the cross of Calvary and Satan’s accusations became null and void. Jesus Christ the faithful witness defeated our arch enemy Satan!



To what is Jesus Christ witnessing too…


The answer to this important question can be discovered by reading the opening verse in the book of the revelation. (Revelation 1:1) Jesus Christ desires for His church to know and understand the future. Revelation means to reveal. Thus, Jesus Christ is witnessing to His church about his imminent return and future events that must take place.


To whom is Jesus Christ witnessing too?


Jesus Christ is addressing his church on earth throughout church history (Revelation 1:11)



Why was the prophecy given?


To understand the prophecies in the book of Revelation, It is important to note that the book of Revelation was written for the church to live in anticipation of Jesus Christ’s imminent return. (1 Corinthians 15: 51-52) Every activity and purpose of the church that is done under the sun is leading to the climactic return of the Faithful Witness. The events recorded in the book of the Revelation prompt Christians to trust and obey in this current age as we witness the words of the prophecy being fulfilled in our day and look forward to His immanent return. (Revelation 1:3)

When did the words of this prophecy take effect?


Jesus Christ is the faithful witness of all the things contained in the prophecy of the revelation from the moment He rose from the grave, having redeemed humanity by his shed blood to the last predicted events of human history yet future. (Revelation 1: 5) The future is certain because the one who witnesses to these things, all these things; is faithful and true. Many people (even Christians) are unsure about the future and may even have a fearful disposition towards end times. The Lord of the church, Jesus Christ does not want us to me ignorant as to what must take place on the earth. (John 15: 15) The knowledge that Jesus Christ is coming back for his church should fill our hearts with gratitude and anticipation that He who is a faithful witness is coming back to receive us unto himself. (John 14:3) Jesus Christ declares He is coming back soon! This means that his return is immanent and the urgency of mankind’s preparedness is imperative. Jesus Christ is going to take his bride (the church) to heaven to escape the tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth to test those who are on earth. There are no signs that must precede his coming back for his church. The future events in the book of revelation from chapter 4-22 do not give instruction to the church but rather give insight on what must soon take place. The church will simply not be upon the earth during this period of time. (revelation 3:10-11)


How should we anticipate the return of the Faithful Witness?


And so the Apostle John resounds the rallying cry of the church since it’s birth...Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! This is the heart cry of everyone who longs for righteousness. Jesus Christ is a great King and to him belong a righteous kingdom. We long for a kingdom which is characterized by idealistic, perfected righteous rule where evil is vanquished and good abounds. This current world cannot fix itself through human ingenuity or philosophy. We need the Faithful Witness to return and set things right. And so I urge you Brothers and Sisters to join your hearts with the Apostle John and respond to the Faithful Witness’s declaration with these words:


Amen!, Come, Lord Jesus!



The purpose of ministry (1 Peter 1-11)

 

The Purpose of Ministry

1 Peter 1-11

1-2 Who we are?

We are God’s chosen people (1 Peter 1:15)

Sealed by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:23)

Cleansed by Jesus’s blood, (1 Peter 1:2)

Living as foreigners / pilgrims (Hebrews 11:9)

We have obeyed the gospel. (Romans 1:16)


3-5 Why are we here?

We praise God because of his great mercy

Having been born again because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead.

We rest entirely by faith in Jesus Christ as we await the fullness of our redemption. (Colossians 3:3)


6-9 Where are we?

We endure testing and trials in a hostile world with great joy, proving our faith is genuine while we await the return of our Lord Jesus Christ when we will experience the fullness of our salvation as well as rewards for having overcome various trials. (James 1:12)




Character, calling, and conduct of the Apostle Peter


  • Peter was married (Mark 1:29-31)

  • Peter was called to follow Christ (Mark 1:16-17)

  • Peter was set apart as an apostle (Mathew 10:2)

  • Peter was given a new name (John 1:42)

  • Peter was unlearned (Acts 4:13)

  • Peter calls disciples pilgrims (1 Peter 1:1)

  • Peter referred to Rome as Babylon (1 Peter 5:13)

  • Peter taught seperation (2 Peter 3:11)

  • Peter glorified his Lord (John 21:18)





Plan and Purpose


  • Exalting the Lord

  • Equipping the Saints

  • Evangelizing the Lost


In the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle (2 Samuel 11:1-2)

 

In the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle

2 Samuel 11:1-2


Now it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. 2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.


David’s rise before the fall...(proverbs 16:18)

King Saul is dead (2 Samuel 1:4)

David is made king of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4)

David grew stronger (2 Samuel 3:1)

David is made king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:3)

David strikes down the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:26)

David brings the Arc of the Covenant to Israel (2 Samuel 6:15)

Yahweh promised to make David great (2 Samuel 7:8-9)

David magnifies Yahweh (2 Samuel 7:24-25)

David strikes down the nations (2 Samuel 8)

David strikes down rebels (2 Samuel 10:6, 17-18)

David secures peace (2 Samuel 10:19)

This is perhaps the most famous biblical account of falling into sin after original sin. (Genesis 3:6) Remember that God superintended First Testament scripture for our learning (Romans 15:4) and to outline biblical principles. King David seemed to have been on top of the world with everything going for Him. So why did things suddenly turn bad for the Sweet Psalmist?




1. At the times when kings go out to battle… David was essentially unemployed at the time of his failure. He had taken his ease much like the city of Sodom before it’s fall. (Ezekiel 16:49-50) Comfortable inside his royal palace, He was not tending to official business as king over Israel. (Proverbs 24:30-34) Perhaps the battle hardened king was entering a transition period and lacked wisdom on how to proceed. (2 Samuel 21:17) It was not wrong in itself for David to stay in the palace and delegate the fighting to competent Joab. The trouble with David is He did not properly occupy his time. (Psalm 90:12)


2. David arose from his bed in the evening… David seems to have been in a period of spiritual lethargy. With no battles to fight we catch of glimpse of an undisciplined, overly casual soul getting out of bed in the evening time. David is unaware of the danger ahead because his is in a stupor of unguarded rest. (Mathew 26:41) David did not humble himself as was his routine habit (Psalm 5:3)


3. David walked around on the king’s house… Instead of starting the day on his knees in prayer, David instead goes up on his palace roof. This is perhaps where David’s flesh warred most against his devotion to Yahweh. (1 Samuel 13:14) High places are often a cause for falling. (Daniel 4:29-33, Mathew 4:8)


Application: Stay humble, (James 4:8-10) stay prayerful, (Mathew 26:41) Fill your heart with God’s word, (Psalm 119:11) seek God’s wisdom during transition periods. (James 1:5-6)

Free from sin... slaves of righteousness

 Free from sin... slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:1-23)

Dear Friends:

My name is Patrick Garcia and I’ve been asked by my long time friend and mentor, Thomas Yoo, to share with you a gospel message. It is my understanding that you have served time in prison and in your tenure in the correctional institution, you have come to faith in our risen Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Praise be to God, for salvation belongs to our God!


The first thing that comes to my mind is that God is not a respecter of persons and if the truth about every person alive was fully known, there would not be enough correctional institutions in all the world to house the human race. Jeremiah told us that the heart of man is deceitfully wicked above all things! The reason I bring up this point is that partiality is a very easy way for carnal man to make a distinction between “us” and “them” and to somehow conclude that a person behind bars is an evil person and a person in free society is a good person. Such external judgments are convenient to pacify man’s fallen sense of justice.


What am I getting at Friends? Do you believe in freedom? I do. Freedom, like all other great and lofty concepts, must be properly defined. The Bible defines freedom as being free from sin and being a slave of righteousness.



Read Romans 6: 1 – 23



Is freedom the right to do anything we want to do or must freedom be restrained somehow to protect us from our own sinful desires? Can we restrain sin with iron bars, medication, programs, rules, or some form of organized religion?


You’ll be glad to know that true freedom is not an external working but rather an internal working by the Holy Spirit.


Ephesians 1: 13-14

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.




New believers and even mature believer's wrestle with an important biblical concept called sanctification. (positional, progressive, perfected) Sanctification or “being set apart for God” is taught in Romans: chapter 6-8. Being a Christian or possessing eternal life begins at conversion (positional) and is lived out in every day life (progressive) and will one day be completed at our glorification. (perfected) If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed! Friends, I want you to understand, above all, that you no longer need to sin! You have a new resident person inside of you called the Holy Spirit who already made you into a new creation with righteous desires. You who are in Christ are no longer prisoners, you are already free! You are free to live for God and enjoy your reconciled relationship with Him forever.


Romans 6 teaches us that we who have died with Christ were also raised with Christ. Before faith in Christ, we were dead in our sins and could do nothing but sin! We were enemies of God who needed to be reconciled. Father God initiated reconciliation for us through Jesus Christ by sending Him to die for us so that we could be baptized (immersed) in His death so that the power of sin would be broken in our lives. Then, at the resurrection of Christ, Father God prepared the way for us to receive a new nature because the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead now lives in us who believe in Jesus Christ. (New life through the indwelling Holy Spirit)


Positionally, now that we have repented and placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we belong to God and have become the reconciled friends of God. Spiritually speaking, we are no longer behind bars but are free! The price for freedom has been paid by Christ’s precious, matchless, sinless blood. But suppose we were to choose to sin some more since God’s grace covers all our sin… may it never be! God’s grace is greater than all our sin but to abuse grace with a type of “free for all” Christianity is no Christianity at all. Christianity is about Jesus Christ ruling in our hearts and His life being outwardly expressed through ours. We are to represent Jesus Christ in a sinful world and strive for holiness and righteous living, by faith, not by strict, man made observance to an impossible code of conduct.


Now that I’ve explained your new relationship to sin and righteousness, I would like for you to think on how you would like to glorify God with the rest of your earthy lives. I want to reassure you that God will be with you to cheer, guide, and protect you on your journey towards glorification. I would now like to field any questions or comments anyone would like to make on the topic discussed or something else that is important to you.


Thank you for your participation :)

God so loved us that He sent us his son

 

1 John 4 : 9 -10

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

God's intimate love for his children is demonstrated through the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7) God's salvation is available to whosoever (John 3:16) strictly through believing the gospel message. (Romans 1:16) God's salvation and believing the gospel message is mutually exclusive. (1 John 5:12)

Real love is from God because God is able to do for us what we are incapable of doing for ourselves. We are unable to save ourselves. We are unable to justify ourselves. (make ourselves righteous) God's love meets our ultimate need. Our ultimate need is eternal life. (1 John : 4 : 9) Eternal life is an eternal, divine quality of life which is produced, sustained, and perfected through the work of God the Father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit.(Romans 8:30)

We are incapable of loving God apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. (1 John 3:24) The Bible says God reconciled us through His son Jesus Christ while we were still enemies of God. (Romans 5:8) Jesus is our Passover lamb. Because He died for us, our sins have been wiped away BY HIS SHED BLOOD. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

God's demonstrated love is perfect because:

1) God loves perfectly (1 John 4:8, Romans 2: 4

2) God's love is complete (John 19:30, John 17:4, 2 Corinthians 5: 18-19)

3) God's love is eternal (Ephesians 2:7)

4) God gave us his perfect son the Lord Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 12:2)