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