Comments and Peace Church Events

Comments:

All comments to this blog are welcome. To publish a comment to any article, go to the end of that article and click on the "Comments" link. All articles can be found in the archive section to the right.

If you would like to listen to an article on the internet, go to:

http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/

If you would like to receive an article as an mp3 audio file, just send me an e-mail to that effect.

To send me an e-mail, click on the envelope with an arrow which is to the right of the "Comments" link.

Peace Church Events:

Men's Prayer Breakfast – September 1, 2007

Preparation – James Hickerson and Sons

Devotional – Leon Fischer
Fall Retreat 2007 -- September 28-30, 2007
Summer Camp 2008 -- July 18-21, 2008

The Secret (BST 9-2-07)

The Secret
Bible Study Time 9-2-07

Last week we looked at the fact that Daniel was given special information concerning the time when the kingdom would be restored to Israel. Daniel had been hoping and praying for a return to the glory of David’s kingdom or the glory of Solomon’s kingdom, but God gave Daniel a vision of Israel’s future kingdom which was nothing short of astonishing. Daniel could see that the ultimate restoration of Israel’s kingdom would also mean the restoration of all things.

When the Lord Jesus began His public ministry, He and His disciples went out preaching that the kingdom of heaven was a hand. The kingdom and the restoration of all things did depend upon the coming of the Messiah, and since Jesus was the Messiah, the kingdom was at hand. All Israel had to do was believe that Jesus was the Christ.

However, the Lord Jesus came unto His own, but His own received Him not. He was despised and rejected, and He was crucified upon the cross. After His resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit came upon His disciples who did many miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. God caused these miracles to prove that Jesus had been raised from the dead and to prove that if the Jews would believe in Jesus, He would return to the earth from heaven to establish the kingdom and restore all of the creation. In Acts, Chapter 3, Peter challenged his fellow countrymen, saying:

Acts 3:19-21 NKJV
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,*
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

Peter said, if you guys will just repent and believe what I’m telling you, Jesus will come back to set up the kingdom, and Peter reminded them that this hope of the kingdom was not something new, but it was something that all of God’s holy prophets had talked about since the world began. Indeed, this was nothing new.

When John the Baptist was born, Zechariah’s tongue was loosed and he exclaimed:

Luke 1:68-70 NKJV
68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,

We don’t know exactly how much the earliest of the prophets knew about God’s plan for the future, but it’s clear that they knew more than what is recorded in the Old Testament scriptures. Take Abraham for example. From the book of Hebrews, we know that Abraham was looking for a heavenly city. That means that He knew about the New Jerusalem which will come down out of heaven. Moses said nothing about that in the book of Genesis.

Just how much did the other early prophets know? We know that God told the devil, in the presence of Adam and Eve, that a person would come in the future who would be the Seed of the woman. God said that Satan would do battle with this Seed of the woman and that Satan would bruise His heel. But God also said that the Seed of the woman would bruise the head of Satan.

From this Adam and Eve new about the man who would someday come into the world as the great deliverer, the one who would defeat the devil, redeem mankind and deliver the creation from the curse of sin.

Jude tells us that Enoch was also a great prophet of God. He said:

Jude 14-15 NKJV
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about (certain men), saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

So Enoch was a great prophet, and he knew about the coming of the Lord and the fact that the Lord would judge the ungodly at His coming. But how much more did Enoch know about the future?

Enoch lived on the earth until his son, Methuselah, was 300 years old. Even Adam lived until Methuselah was 243 years old. Therefore, it would appear that many great prophesies were given and past down all through the years between the time of Adam and the great flood of Noah’s day.

When we look at these facts, it becomes clear that the great flood was an act of God’s grace. The other alternative would have been for the Lord to come to the earth before the flood for the final judgment of mankind. Just think of all the men, women and children who have lived since that time who have had a chance to be saved simply because God did not decided to end it all at that time.

Zechariah knew that his son, John, was to be the forerunner of the Messiah, and he rejoiced to see the fulfillment of promises which had been spoken by the prophets since the world began. Peter said that if his fellow countrymen would repent and believe in the Lord Jesus, God would send Jesus back to fulfill all of the promises which God had spoken by the mouth of the holy prophets since the world began.

We don’t know exactly how much the earliest of the prophets knew about the future, but we know that they have been talking about the coming Messiah and the restoration of all things in some form or fashion since the world began.

With the calling out of Abraham, however, the prophesies started to get much more specific, at least as far as the written record is concerned. God told Abraham:

Genesis 22:18 NKJV
18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Abraham knew that the Seed of the woman would be the Messiah who would deliver the earth out of the hands of the devil, and he knew that this Messiah would make it possible for the New Jerusalem to come down out of heaven to the earth. The writer of Hebrews says:

Hebrews 11:9-10 NKJV
9 By faith (Abraham) dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

About a thousand years after Abraham, God gave more information concerning the Messiah to David. God told David that the Messiah would come not only through Abraham, but He would come through David as well. God told David:

2 Samuel 7:12-14 NKJV
12 "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son . . .

After David’s kingdom, the children of Israel started drifting away from the Lord, and prophets such as Isaiah came on the scene. These prophets warned the people of the coming judgment, but they also gave more information about the coming Messiah. Isaiah said:

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV
14 . . . Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.*

From this the faithful Jews knew that the Messiah would not have a human father. They also knew that the Messiah would be God in the flesh because one of His names would be Immanuel, which means: God with us. Isaiah also gave a prophesy about David’s father, Jesse, saying:

Isaiah 11:1-5 NKJV
1There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.

Finally Isaiah said:

Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace, There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

So as we go through time in the Old Testament, we see that the focus of the Messianic prophesies gets narrower. At first the Messiah was simply pictured as someone who would be born of a woman. Then He was to be a descendant of Abraham and also a descendant of David. He was to be born of a virgin, and the Spirit of the Lord was to be upon Him.

Isaiah spoke as a member of the nation of Israel when he said, unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. And certainly, when the Lord Jesus did come to the earth, He came to the Jews. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. At one point, the Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 15:24 NKJV
24 . . . "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

As Jesus sent His disciples out, He said:

Matthew 10:5-7 NKJV
5 . . . "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as you go, preach, saying,'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

The kingdom of God, which had existed in heaven since before the beginning, was ready to come to the earth, bringing all of its glory and splendor to the earth. Indeed, it would have come to the earth if the nation of Israel had been willing to receive it.

The nation of Israel stood on the banks of the Jordan River at Kadesh Barnea and on the word of ten spies, they decided that the giants of the land were too big, too fierce to conquer, so they turned their backs on the kingdom that God was offering them. And as Jesus and the disciples went out preaching the gospel of the kingdom, the Jews were standing at the threshold of the greatest kingdom the world could ever imagine, but once again, they refused to go in. This time it was a simple matter of refusing to believe that Jesus was their promised Messiah.

If only the Jews had believed, the entire earth would have enjoyed the Kingdom of God on earth. They would have enjoyed all of the blessings of heaven while living on the earth, but the Jews refused God’s invitation to believe.

Today, that offer of the kingdom is no longer on the table. Regardless of how many Jews believe and regardless of how many Gentiles believe, that kingdom will not come to the earth. And it doesn’t matter how many people accept Christ today, Jesus will not return to the earth to rule and reign until after all believers have been taken up into heaven to be with the Lord. Even after that event, there will be seven years of tribulation before the Lord Jesus returns to set up the kingdom.

Well, how do we know all these things? We know them because when Israel rejected the message of the kingdom during the Acts period, God gave a special revelation to the Apostle Paul to explain what was going to happen next. None of the prophets had foreseen the rejection of the resurrected Christ. So what was God going to do?

As it turned out, God decided to do what He had always known He would do. He decided to start a new church. He decided to start the Church which is the Body of Christ, and this is the church to which all believers belong today.

In this church, the Jews have no special privilege or position. Now, that doesn’t mean that the Jews have been demoted. It simply means that Jews and Gentiles alike, when they believe in Jesus Christ, are promoted into a church which has a heavenly calling and is blessed with all spiritual blessings.

The message of the Messiah, who would come to deliver the earth and restore all things, was a message which had been given by the mouth of all the prophets since the world began. But this message concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ is a message which God kept secret since before the world began. God chose the Apostle Paul to reveal this great truth to the world.

Paul said that as members of this Church, believers today were actually chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Paul called this truth the truth of the mystery because until it was revealed to him, it had been hidden in God from the beginning of the ages.

Well, I see our time is gone. It’s been a pleasure studying with you, and I’ll look forward to studying with you again next week at this same time.

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Comments and Peace Church Events

Comments:

All comments to this blog are welcome. To publish a comment to any article, go to the end of that article and click on the "Comments" link. All articles can be found in the archive section to the right.

If you would like to listen to an article on the internet, go to:

http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/

If you would like to receive an article as an mp3 audio file, just send me an e-mail to that effect.

To send me an e-mail, click on the envelope with an arrow which is to the right of the "Comments" link.

Peace Church Events:

Men's Prayer Breakfast – September 1, 2007

Preparation – Joe Fischer and Sons

Devotional – Leon Fischer
Fall Retreat 2007 -- September 28-30, 2007
Summer Camp 2008 -- July 18-21, 2008

The Restoration (BST 8-26-07)

The Restoration
Bible Study Time 8-26-07

Last week, we looked at Daniel’s prayer of confession. Daniel had been taken captive and carried away into Babylon. God had allowed this to happen because Israel had refused to live by the laws of God. Daniel was heartbroken when he later heard about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

Ezekiel was there in Babylon with Daniel when God gave Ezekiel a message for the people. He said:

Ezekiel 18:2-4 NKJV
2 "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge'?
3 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.
4 "Behold, . . . The soul who sins shall die.

The children of Israel were consoling themselves that they were not the ones who were responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews. They commonly quoted the proverb that said, “the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” They conveniently excused themselves from any wrongdoing. They simply thought that they were being punished for the sins of their fathers.

They may have thought back on the days of Manasseh who did such evil in the sight of the Lord that the Lord told Manasseh:

2 Kings 21:12-13 NKJV
12 . . . 'Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.
13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

The Jews in Babylon knew that God had promised the captivity of the Jews because of Manasseh’s sin, so it was much easier for them to think of their own misery as being a result of Manasseh’s sins. They never thought about the fact that God had actually postponed that judgment for Josiah because Josiah repented and turned Israel away from her sin.

Ezekiel saw that many of the unbelieving Jews in Babylon were claiming that they had done nothing to deserve the punishment of God, so Ezekiel said, no more. No more will you say, the teeth of the children are set on edge because the father‘s have eaten sour grapes. He said, the soul that sins, it shall die.

Ezekiel 18:30-32 NKJV
30 "Therefore . . . Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"

Daniel took to heart the words of Ezekiel and though he was a very godly man, he got on his knees before the Lord to confess his sins and the sins of his people. He said:

Daniel 9:4-5 NKJV
4 . . . "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,
5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

Daniel didn’t say, my people have sinned. No, He said, we have sinned and committed iniquity.

Daniel knew the Lord, and he knew that no man could stand before a just and a holy God and claim to be without sin. To confess the sins of others without admitting one’s own guilt would be the ultimate proof of the sin of pride and arrogance. Daniel wasn’t just putting on an act for God when he confessed his sins; his confession and his contrition were very real.

So when Daniel first started to pray, God sent the angel Gabriel to tell Daniel some astonishing things. Daniel had been praying about the restoration of the temple and the restoration of the city of Jerusalem. He said:

Daniel 9:16-17 NKJV
16 "O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.
17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.

Daniel longed for the restoration of the temple, the city and the kingdom. As a young man he had experienced the joy of worshiping the Lord in the temple where the very presence of the Lord was. Ezekiel said that he saw in a vision the time when the glory of the Lord left the temple in Jerusalem. What a sad time for all of the true believers. The presence of the Lord had left the temple, but they also knew that someday the presence and the glory of the Lord would return to the temple.

Daniel knew from the writings of Jeremiah that the children of Israel would be allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city after 70 years. When Daniel first heard the words of Jeremiah, he may have thought that after 70 years the temple would be rebuilt and the glory of the Lord would return to the earth. But that was not going to happen, and God wanted Daniel to know that. It was a harsh reality, but God always wants us to know the truth. After all, it’s the truth that sets us free.

Daniel knew that you can’t have the kingdom without the presence of the Lord. Many years after Daniel, the Apostle Paul came to the same conclusion. He said, the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

When the children of Israel did return to Jerusalem after 70 years, and after they did start rebuilding the temple, Ezra said that:

Ezra 3:12 NKJV
12 . . . many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes.

We don’t know if they were weeping for joy or if they were overcome with sadness when they saw what was to be the new temple, but we do know that they had every reason to be sad. Even though it was God’s will for them to return to rebuild the temple, the glorious presence of the Lord was never going to fill that temple.

That temple would serve as the center of Jewish worship for hundreds of years, but it would not be blessed with the presence of the Lord. Without the presence of the Lord, you don’t have the kingdom of God, and that’s exactly what God wanted to talk to Daniel about.

In Daniel, Chapter 9, the angel Gabriel told Daniel in essence that from the time that the Jews went back to rebuild Jerusalem, it would be another 490 years before the true restoration of the kingdom.

Do you think this was a crushing blow to Daniel? I mean, seventy years must have seemed like a long time to Daniel, but now he learns that it will actually be 490 years before the glory of the kingdom is restored to Israel.

One might think that Daniel would be crushed to hear this, but the text gives no indication that he was. Oh, he was no doubt astonished and amazed, but it doesn’t seem that he was disappointed.

Up to this point Daniel had never seen the true magnitude of what God was planning for Israel. He had always thought in terms of God bringing back the glory of the kingdom as it was under David and Solomon. But as wonderful as that kingdom was, its glory would be miniscule compared to what God has planned for Israel in the future.

I think that when Daniel caught a vision of the coming kingdom with immortal beings ruling over the entire earth with the glory of the Son of God actually dwelling in Jerusalem, he never looked back with longing for the Jerusalem of his day. God knew that Daniel’s vision of the future was too small, and it was causing Daniel to suffer spiritually. So God helped Daniel to think a little bigger. Actually, he helped Daniel to think a whole lot bigger. Once Daniel saw the magnificent glory of the future kingdom, how could he set his affections on anything less. He knew that the kingdom of the Messiah was worth waiting for.

Well, the Jews went back to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, but the true believers knew that the restoration of the kingdom was yet to come. They looked forward to the day when the Messiah would come to the earth. They looked forward to the day when the glory of the Lord would fill the temple and all of the earth.

When Peter, James and John were with the Lord on the Mt. of Transfiguration, they saw the glory of the Lord, and on the way down the mountain, they asked the Lord about the coming kingdom. They asked:

Matthew 17:10-11 NKJV
10 . . . "Why . . . do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first* and will restore all things.

Daniel had said that the restoration of the kingdom would be in 490 years, but he had also said that the Messiah would be cut off after 483 years. As Jesus spoke to his disciples, it had been 483 years, and the time for the death of the Messiah had come. Jesus said:

Matthew 17:11-13 NKJV
11 . . . "Indeed, Elijah is coming first* and will restore all things.
12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."
13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus was falsely accused and convicted. He was crucified upon the cross, but after three days He was raised from the dead. Acts, Chapter 1, says that after the Lord’s resurrection, He spent 40 days with the disciples, speaking to them of things concerning the kingdom. He said:

Acts 1:5 NKJV
5 . . . John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

This was proof that the time for the kingdom had truly come. The Lord had spoken through Ezekiel and said:

Ezekiel 36:27-28 NKJV
27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

The disciples had witnessed the Messiah’s resurrection from the dead, and now the Spirit of the Lord was going to come upon them. The kingdom of heaven was at hand, so they asked the Lord, point blank:

Acts 1:6 NKJV
6 . . . "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

Are you really going to establish the kingdom at this time? But Jesus said:

Acts 1:7-8 NKJV
7 . . . "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me* in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

It had been 483 years since the Jews went back to Jerusalem from Babylon. Now, would the kingdom come after 7 more years? According to Daniel, that seven years was going to be a terrible time of tribulation.

Jesus had confirmed this when He said, before the coming of the Son of Man the world will see great tribulation such as has never been seen before. So after the spirit came upon them on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples must have had this in mind as they went out preaching the gospel of the kingdom. They were not surprised at all when they were severely persecuted, and they considered it an honor to suffer for Christ’s sake.

After Peter healed the lame man at the temple gate, Peter seized the opportunity to preach to the people, saying:

Acts 3:19-21 NKJV
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,*
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

The times of refreshing referred to the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit within the heart of every believer. The times of restoration of all things referred to the time when the Lord returns to the earth to fill the temple and the earth with His glory. In the kingdom associated with the Old Covenant Law, the presence of the Lord came down to dwell in the midst of the people. In the kingdom that is associated with the New Covenant, the presence of the Lord will come down to dwell in the people before He dwells among the people.

Peter and the other apostles went out preaching the message of the kingdom. Those who believed were baptized or immersed into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ by the Holy Spirit. The times of refreshing came upon them. But in spite of many miracles, wonders and signs which were given to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit, the nation of Israel as a whole refused to accept that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

As a result, God started calling out the church of today. Someday, we who are members of the church will be caught up to be with the Lord in heaven. At that point, the message of the kingdom will once again go out to the Jews during the great tribulation period. The believing Jews will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and then the Son of Man will come with the clouds of heaven to fill the temple and all of the earth with the glory of the Lord.

Thank you for studying with me this morning. It’s been a pleasure for me, and I’ll look forward to studying with you again next week at this same time.

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Comments and Peace Church Events

Comments:

All comments to this blog are welcome. To publish a comment to any article, go to the end of that article and click on the "Comments" link. All articles can be found in the archive section to the right.

If you would like to listen to an article on the internet, go to:

http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/

If you would like to receive an article as an mp3 audio file, just send me an e-mail to that effect.

To send me an e-mail, click on the envelope with an arrow which is to the right of the "Comments" link.

Peace Church Events:

Men's Prayer Breakfast – September 1, 2007

Preparation – Joe Fischer and Sons

Devotional – Leon Fischer
Fall Retreat 2007 -- September 28-30, 2007
Summer Camp 2008 -- July 18-21, 2008

The Love of God (Part 2)(BST 8-19-07)

The Love of God
Bible Study Time 8-19-07

Last week we looked at the fact that God has given valuable information to us because He loves us. It’s one of the ways that God shows his great love for us. The information that God has given us in the Bible is absolutely critical to our success in this life and in the life to come.

In the Bible we find information that will help us in our relationships with one another. It’s very popular in our day and age to focus on this information. We live in a complicated world, and it seems that it is more and more difficult for people to get along with each other. Whether it’s relationships at home or relationships at work, or relationships between the leaders of the world powers, if we read and study the Bible, we will find great information that will help us to get along better with one another.

However, the truth is that the Bible really focuses more on information that will help a person establish and maintain his relationship with God. After all, if we don’t have a good, healthy relationship with God, we are not likely to have good relationships with the people around us.

The Bible is also very clear about the fact that those who fail to establish a relationship with God will someday face the judgment of God. The Bible never sugarcoats the harsh reality of the judgment of God.

The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and death is God’s penalty for sin. God told Adam and Eve that in the day that they ate the forbidden fruit, they would surely die. When the children of Israel were taken away into Babylon because of their sin, Ezekiel warned them that the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Paul said in Romans 6 that the wages of sin is death, but then he added the good news that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus said:

John 5:26-29 (NKJ)
26 " . . . the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
27 "and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
28 "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29 "and come forth-- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

As it turns out, there is only one good deed that a man can do that will qualify him for the resurrection of life, and that good deed is to believe in the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross.

John 3:36 (NKJ)
36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

God wanted us to have this information because He loves us. He wanted us to be able to enter into a loving relationship with Him so that we could enjoy all of the blessings of God. But those who fail to put their faith in Jesus Christ are destined to face the full wrath of God.

If it were not for the Bible, we would not know that this earth is headed for a time of destruction and tribulation that is almost unimaginable. Jesus said that just before His second coming, “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. He said that there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places,” but then He said that these things will be just the beginning of sorrows.

If it were not for the Bible, we would not know that there is a place of everlasting fire which God has prepared for the devil and his angels. Nor would we know that all those who are raised from the dead to face God’s Great White Throne of judgment will be cast into the lake of fire when it is determined that their names are not written in the Book of Life.

God loves all people, and He wants all people to be saved from the wrath to come. As we saw last week, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and that grace was demonstrated when God told Noah about the coming flood. It was according to God’s grace that God told Noah exactly how to build the ark. When the rains came and reservoirs of water from within the earth erupted, the ark had to withstand what was no doubt a crushing surge of churning water. As we all know, the ark that Noah built provided a place of safety for all who entered it by faith.

For 120 years Noah warned the people of the judgment to come, but only Noah’s closest family members were willing to heed that warning. Even after Noah and his family entered the ark, God left the door open for seven more days, and God’s message to them was clear. The salvation of God is available to all who will heed God’s word.

God takes no pleasure in the suffering of those who experience the judgment of God. When the children of Israel were in Babylonian captivity, God spoke through Ezekiel and asked:

Ezekiel 18:23 (NKJ)
23 "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?

Ezekiel 18:27-28 (NKJ)
27 "Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive.
28 "Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

Ezekiel 18:30-31 (NKJ)
30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.
31 "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel went on to prophesy of the day when God will indeed given Israel a new heart. In Chapter 36, God spoke to Israel and said:

Ezekiel 36:26-28 (NKJ)
26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

This was good news for the people who were living in Babylon with Ezekiel. They must have been encouraged to think that God was planning to take them back to Jerusalem, but Ezekiel had said nothing about how long the people would be there in Babylon. It appears that many thought that God would take them back very soon, and some were postponing the weddings of their children, thinking that they would just wait until they returned to Jerusalem.

However, Jeremiah was still living in Jerusalem, and he had a word from the Lord for all those living in Babylon. He said:

Jeremiah 29:6 (NKJ)
6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters-- that you may be increased there, and not diminished.

There was no reason to postpone their wedding plans because they were going to be there in Babylon for a while. God did not want their numbers to diminish because He was planning to bring the Jews back to Jerusalem, but God said:

Jeremiah 29:7-10 (NKJ)
7 . . . seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.
8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.
9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the LORD.
10 For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.

Can’t you just see the shock in the faces of those who heard this message from Jeremiah? They must have been shocked and extremely disappointed. Many of the older people must have realized that they would die there in Babylon. They would never see Jerusalem again. Could this possibly be true? Yes, it was the word of the Lord.

Daniel was living in Babylon at this time, and in Daniel, Chapter 9, Daniel wrote about his disappointment. He said:

Daniel 9:2-5 (NKJ)
2 in the first year of (the reign of Darius), I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,
5 "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

Daniel was crushed. When he heard that he might never see Jerusalem again, he immediately got on his knees before the Lord to beg for the mercy of the Lord. He was probably one of the most godly men of all the Jews, but he took personal responsibility for the sin of his people.

Then notice how Daniel mourned for Jerusalem. He says:

Daniel 9:16-18 (NKJ)
16 "O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.
17 "Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.
18 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.

At this point, Daniel was really feeling the pain of his captivity. His soul was in agony, but Daniel knew the One that He could call out to for help. He knew the love of God, and he knew the mercy of God, so he called out to the Lord.

Then after a long time of prayer, Daniel was interrupted by the angel Gabriel who said:

Daniel 9:22-23 (NKJ)
22 . . . "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
23 "At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:

Wait a minute. Why was it that God decided to tell Daniel the meaning of the vision? Was it because Daniel had confessed the sin of his people? Was it because Daniel had refused to eat the king’s meat which had been offered to idols? Was it because Daniel had continued to pray even though it meant that he would be thrown into the lion’s den? No, it wasn’t for any of these reasons. It was because Daniel was greatly beloved. Daniel was greatly loved by the Lord.

So what did God do? He sent Gabriel to give Daniel some information which would be very important to Daniel. It’s kind of surprising that Gabriel’s message was a comfort to Daniel because it wasn’t all good news. But God knows exactly what we need, and only He can meet our needs.

In essence, God told Daniel that after the 70 year period when the Jews would return to Jerusalem, it would be another 483 years to the coming of the Messiah. Well, how was that piece of information suppose to help Daniel? We talking about something that’s 500 years away. Well, sometimes what we need more than anything is to get our minds off of ourselves and onto God’s plan and purpose for the ages.

There is definitely something comforting about thinking about and meditating upon God’s plan and purpose for the ages. It gets your mind off of your own personal problems and gets your mind on the fact that God really is in control of all things, and that is more important than anything else that we could possibly face in this life.

God had more important things for Daniel to think about than whether or not he would ever see that old city back in Palestine that had been burned to the ground. God had big plans for Daniel. He had many more visions for Daniel to see and interpret, and then Daniel was going to be one of those saints who will be resurrected from the dead to actually see the New Jerusalem that will come to the earth while the Son of God rules over all the earth. In the last verse of the book of Daniel, God told Daniel:

Daniel 12:13 (NKJ)
13 "But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days."

I’m sure that after Daniel’s many visions of the future, he probably still had a great fondness in his heart for the good old days when he was free to worship the Lord in the very sanctuary of the Lord there in Jerusalem, but Daniel knew that that was not to be his focus in life. Daniel was content to focus his attention upon the information that God was giving him about the future of the nation of Israel, and he was content to rejoice in what he knew would be his place in that glorious future. What a place of honor that will be.

Well, there are times when we feel down and discouraged that the very best medicine for us is to focus our attention on God’s revelation to us. God loves us, and He wants us to know the information that is written in the Bible. He has made us in such a way that we respond to the word of God with joy and a sense of peace.

When we do focus on the word of God, it’s not very long before we start to realize that truth of God’s word, that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

I see our time is gone. Thank you for joining me for Bible Study Time this morning. I’ll look forward to studying with you again next week at this same time.

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Comments and Peace Church Events

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Peace Church Events:

Men's Prayer Breakfast – September 1, 2007

Preparation – Joe Fischer and Sons

Devotional – Leon Fischer
Fall Retreat 2007 -- September 28-30, 2007
Summer Camp 2008 -- July 18-21, 2008

The Love of God (BST 8-12-07)

The Love of God
Bible Study Time 8-12-07

Well, that certainly is a good old song, and what a message! On whom will we call when the storm clouds gather? To whom can we look when we need deliverance? Where can we go but to the Lord?

In Ephesians and Colossians, Paul reveals the highest and most exalted view of the God who, because of His great love, has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. We were dead in trespasses and sins:

Ephesians 2:4-7 NKJV
4 But God, who is rich in mercy . . .
5 . . . made us alive together with Christ . . .
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

With these facts in mind, Paul went on to say:

Ephesians 3:14,18,19 NKJV
14 . . . I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,*
18 (that you) may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height —
19 (of) the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The more we understand the love of Christ, the more we will be filled with the fullness of God. Paul had seen the glory of God, and he said, with the fullness of God, we have to understand and comprehend and rejoice in the love of Christ which ww I just hope and pray that all believers will be able to grow spiritually to the point that they can understand the love that I sensed when I stood there in the presence of the Lord.

We live in a three dimensional world, but Paul described the love of God in terms of four dimensions. He said, I hope that you will be able to comprehend the width and length and depth and height of the love of God.

The human mind cannot comprehend the magnitude or the power of God’s love, but those who open their hearts to God through Jesus Christ can actually experience the love of God. Only then can we be filled with the fullness of God.

This is the love that sent the only begotten Son of God to the cross of Calvary. This is the love that made it possible for us to be baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ so that we receive redemption, justification, sanctification and so forth. This is the love that prompted God to give us His word.

The Bible is the word of God, and in it we learn of the love of God. By studying the Bible we learn of God’s nature, and we learn of His plan and purpose for the ages.

The two most important things that we need to be successful in this life and in the life to come are information and motivation. Whether you talk about this life or the life to come, success depends upon having the right information and having the motivation to act upon the information we’ve got.

Noah was a man who lived in a dangerous world. The Bible says that when the Lord looked at Noah’s world, He:

Genesis 6:5-7 NKJV
5 . . . saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."

But the Bible says that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and as a result, God gave Noah a critical piece of information. He told Noah that a great flood was coming. He said:

Genesis 6:13 NKJV
13 . . . Noah,"The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

So, God gave Noah the information that he needed. Not only did God tell Noah about the flood, but He also told Noah what he needed to do to survive the flood. He said:

Genesis 6:14,17,18 NKJV
14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
18 But I will establish My covenant with you . . .

So Noah at this point knew what he needed to do to survive the flood, but what was he going to do with this information? Did Noah have the motivation to act upon the information that God had given him? As we all know, Noah did build the ark because he truly believed what God had told him. So when the ark was finished, the Lord said to Noah:

Genesis 7:1 NKJV
1 . . . "Come into the ark, you and all your household . . .

Genesis 7:4-5 NKJV
4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made."
5 And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.

Genesis 7:10 NKJV
10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth.

Genesis 7:16 NKJV
16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

Peter said that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and it would appear from Genesis, Chapter 6, that Noah did his preaching for 120 years while he was building the ark. But then, even after Noah and his family and all of the animals and birds went into the ark, the door to the ark remained open for seven more days. God gave the people of the earth seven more days of grace.

God is truly longsuffering, and His love is beyond human comprehension. God obviously postponed His judgment as long as He could. He waited for 120 years while Noah warned the people. Then, God waited another seven days, giving the people every chance to enter into the ark. But after that last seven days, God shut the door to the ark. After that, there was no more preaching. After that, there was no more room for repentance. The time for judgment had come.

Up to that point, however, the door had been open. God was waiting for people to hear the word of the Lord and heed the warning of God. They had the information they needed, but they did not have the motivation to act when they didn’t believe. To be successful in this life and in the life to come, we must have the correct information, and we must believe it. When we really believe it, we will have the motivation to act.

Noah and his family were saved and brought through the flood because God gave Noah the information he needed. Noah believed what God told him and was motivated to act. Noah built the ark, entered into the ark and became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

This, of course, stands as a beautiful illustration for us today. The Bible tells us that the judgment of God is coming. When God looks down upon our world today, He sees violence, corruption and calloused hearts. He has said that tribulation such as the world has never seen before is coming.

Today, the scientific community is very concerned that an asteroid may strike the earth in the not too distant future. They say that if that happens it will cause devastation such as the world has not seen for millions of years. They say that the dinosaurs became extinct millions of years ago because of the impact of a great asteroid. Likewise, they say that the extinction of man may be the consequence of the next asteroid impact.

Well, scientists may be better at predicting the future than they are at conjuring up the events of the past. They would do well to read and believe the Biblical account of Noah’s flood, but their fear of a future asteroid impact is in line with scripture. The Apostle John saw a vision of the coming tribulation period and in the vision:

Revelation 6:12-17 NKJV
12 . . . there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon* became like blood.
13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders,* the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

During that time the people of the earth will worship the devil whom John called the dragon, and they will worship the antichrist whom John called the beast. John said:

Revelation 13:4-10 NKJV
4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying,"Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue* for forty-two months.
6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe,* tongue, and nation.
8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

God has certainly given all of us fair warning. He spelled out for us exactly what lies ahead for this planet, and He spelled out for us exactly what we have to do to escape the coming judgment. Jesus said:

John 3:16-20 NKJV
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

John said that at the end of the tribulation period God will send hailstones upon the earth that weigh 100 pounds each, but will the men of the earth repent? No, John said that they will blaspheme God because of the plague of hail. They will refuse to come to the light because the light would expose their evil deeds.

Today, God is offering an ark of safety for those who are willing to enter. The door to the ark is open wide. Jesus said:

John 10:9 NKJV
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

He said:

John 14:6 NKJV
6 . . . "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Jesus Christ is the ark of safety that God has provided for those who are willing to hear the word of the Lord and act upon what they learn.

The believing remnant of Jews during the tribulation period will be protected by God. The wrath of Satan and the wrath of the antichrist will be poured out on them, and they will suffer greatly, but God will protect them and bring them through the judgment, even as God brought Noah through the flood.

However, those of us who believe today will not even be present on the earth during the tribulation period. Paul said that believers today are already citizens of heaven and one of these days Christ who is our life shall appear, and then we also shall appear with Him in glory. He shall change our lowly bodies, make them like unto His glorious body, and our salvation will at that point be complete. While the events of the great tribulation period play out upon the earth, we will be enjoying our exalted position with Christ in the glory of heaven.

Well, I trust that you this morning have already taken God’s warning to heart and have entered into the ark of safety by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. If not, the door to the ark is open wide, and Jesus Christ is waiting for you to make that decision.

It’s been a pleasure studying with you this morning, and I’ll look forward to studying with you again next week at this same time.

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/