Fulfilling of Prophetic Words

One of the important things that came out of this visit to Kamchatka for me was the realization that many people did not know how God fulfills His prophetic word to them. Many people thought that the prophecy was a snapshot of the future given to them by God that will, indeed must, come to pass. They felt that no matter what they did this word must be fulfilled. Additionally, when in the prophetic message it was stated that they would do something in the future they would begin to prepare to fulfill it in their own strength. Thus they would try to fulfill things that God said He would do for them in a way similar to Abraham and Sarah having Ishmael before Isaac. Then when things didn't work out they way they expected they would lose faith in Jesus.

This was a shock to me. I realized that 

I had not taught enough on this topic. It hurt to see a few people who, through such a misunderstanding of the way God worked, damaged and even sometimes abandoned their faith. The prophetic word can be so uplifting, generating faith and hope, that to see some hurt by this misunderstanding brought grief to my spirit.

I was able to do some teaching on this topic, going from Jonah the "false prophet" - after all, the people repented and so did the Lord - through some of my life experiences to our father Abraham's positive and negative actions in his walk of faith.

In the end, Jesus told us that the reason He tells us something before it happens so that when it does happen we will believe. Believe what? Believe that out God is able, even more than able, to fulfill every word He speaks to us. By the fulfillment we will see God's handiwork in our every day lives. Our responsibility is to believe the word He speaks to us and trust Him no matter what. By the fulfillment of the prophetic word we get to know our God that much better. He tells us in advance so that we will believe.

For This Reason

Recently Malana and I were thinking about that verse in 1 John 3:8 "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." NIV When we thought about what the devil's work was, our conversation went back to the very beginning in the garden where Satan tempted Eve. We noticed that the snake's tactic was to drive a wedge between Eve and God by smearing God saying that God was trying to hold something back from them. His tactic was to get Eve to mistrust God. Then when the mistrust was in place Eve was already in sin. Concerning sin Paul wrote that "everything that does not come from faith is sin". (Rom 14:23 NIV) So the devil's work is primarily get us to mistrust God.

Shortly after this conversation Malana was in the car by herself complaining to the Lord that she was getting very frustrated with the Lord because He didn't seem to be answering some specific prayers she had prayed. She then said, and I quote, "I don't know if I can trust you anymore."

Of course when she said this our previous conversation came back to her mind and she realized that the driving this wedge of mistrust between her and the Lord was the devil's work. Eureka! She discerned what was actually happening: she was being tempted by the devil to mistrust God!

So Malana and I have something to say to you all: Never mistrust the Lord. Don't give in to the devil's work. Jesus is worthy of all our trust. He came and suffered humanity's judgment so we could be freed from our bondage to death. By this He has demonstrated to us the depth of His compassion and love for us all. He took the responsibility of mankind's sin, though He was without sin, and gave to us His very life.

Through faith he now lives in us. We are now eating of the tree of life. Never go back but continually trust our Lord - for He is Worthy!

The Harvest - Bible study notes

3.      The Harvest

a.      The harvest is the end of the age,

Matthew 13:39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

b.      Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Gal 6:7

c.       James 2:12-13 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

d.      A Harvest of wickedness 

Revelation 14:17-19 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.

e.      A Harvest of righteousness  Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

f.        Harvest of souls for God 

Matthew 9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." NIV

Jesus Our Savior

Jesus Our Savior

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:14

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,which you received and on which you have taken your stand.By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2

        When I first became a Christian many people told me that believing in God was a crutch.  Real independent people could look at things and say ‘We can fix it’ or ‘I can deal with it’.  The ‘idea’ of God was a crutch for the weak.  Our response to this was often to say, ”If God is a crutch, give me two!”  The fact that Jesus is my savior is becoming a fact that encourages me nearly every day.

          Jesus our savior. We need saving. Why? Why do we need someone to save us? From what?  From our sins, our human nature.  Have you ever read the book The Lord of the Flies ?  Under this veneer of ‘civilization’ lurks a Hitler, a Pol Pot, all done in the name of order.  Philosophers have told us that to survive as a species we must have a despot in control.  Naturally speaking they are right.  One problem.  Who picks who is in charge?  All systems fail at this point. Everyone who has tried to escape their nature knows what I am talking about.  Ever try to stop sinning?  Hurting someone by your behavior?  If you have, you know you need help.  Ever try to figure out God?  Have you had a broken relationship with God?  Jesus provided for our salvation on every level. Do we need a Savior? Look at the world! Can man solve the problems? One day we will be offered a solution, but without Jesus. It will be a deception. The only way man will bring peace is by killing off the opposition until only one is left. Sin is like that.

          The Father sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world.  Yet it is evident that not all are saved, but only those who believe.  This saving must be received.  Remember all those verses in the Gospels where Jesus said “Your faith has saved you”?  Like the 10 lepers who were all healed.  Only the one who returned to give glory to God was made whole.

          Why do we need a savior? Because we cannot save ourselves.  We are unable to know God unless He reveals himself. He can only be 'seen' by those who humble themselves, admit their sin, are honest about themselves before God and man, admitting that we need saving.  “To the humble who know their littleness, call on God with contrite hearts, and follow his will (Ps. 24:5; 34:6; 119:155), God grants his general help and salvation.”

          OT theme: false gods cannot save – go to your block of wood, see if it will save you.  Is 43:11-12, 44:6-20  “He who carves the Buddha does not worship it.”

Verses:

• Jeremiah 14:8 O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress,
• Isaiah 63:8-9 He said, “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me”; and so he became their Savior. 9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
• 1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
• 2 Samuel 22:3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent men you save me.
• Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
• Psalm 106:10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.
• Psalm 107:13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
• Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
• Psalm 39:8 Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.
• Psalm 72:13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.
• Psalm 89:48 What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?
• Matthew 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
• Mark 8:35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
• Luke 1:77 (John) to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,

So what do we need to be saved from?  Sin, distress, enemies, death, God’s wrath, for starters.  Saved from sin, what does this mean?  We hurt people when we sin.  God can save us from that by first of all teaching us about forgiveness and then by the fruit of the Spirit leading us in a life away from sin.

Distress?  Why not shorten it to a more common word: stress.  Anyone have a problem with stress?  Jesus can save you from stress.  How you might ask?  Through faith in Him and His promises.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Nothing.  Cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you.  I remember the time where I was in great distress because I could not break off a relationship where the young lady had obviously and repeatedly told me that the relationship was over.  I was in deeper than I could handle by counseling or self discipline.  God shouted the words “Give her up” inside me and it was over.  I was delivered.

Enemies?  War?  Many Christians have been martyred through the centuries.  The peace the Lord gives is not the kind of peace that the world tries to pass off as peace. Their peace is purely circumstantial.  Ours can never be shaken.  We know that death and all these bad things that happen to people here on earth is not the end of the story.  Our story will not end with the cessation of our mortal bodies.  Our view is much bigger than one confined to this transitory temporal world. 

The fact that Jesus is our savior needs to impact us more than just when we first were saved.  Jesus wasn’t our savior for only one day.  He is our savior, today and every day!

For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2

If now is the day of salvation, this means that God is our savior today.  What do you need?  Are you in distress?  Have enemies?  Are ill?  Believe on the Lord, He is your savior. 

How To Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens

I have been looking at a book entitled How To Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens – A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture by Michael Williams, professor of Old Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary (PhD University of Pennsylvania). In this book Michael Williams endeavors to take the reader through all the books of the Bible and give us a glimpse, a suggestion, as to how that book reveals Jesus.

In a very short introduction, Williams likens the content of the Bible to a jigsaw puzzle, while Jesus is the picture on the box that shows us what the finished product will look like. As we all know, assembling a jigsaw puzzle without that picture is a daunting task indeed. Consequently when the Bible is understood (assembled) correctly it will present to us a picture of Jesus. The justification for such an approach is based on such New Testament verses as Jn 5:39 NIV – “These are the very Scriptures that testify about me” and Luke 24:27 NIV “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Since we know that it is about Jesus ahead of time it will help us to understand what the Holy Spirit is communicating to us through scripture.

Each chapter follows the same pattern. He begins by giving us the “overarching theme of each book”, followed by how that theme “finds its focus in Jesus”. He then “explores how this focus in Christ is subsequently elaborated upon in the New Testament.” “Finally, [he] consider[s] what that fulfillment in Christ must necessarily entail for believers.” (pg.10). He also throws in a memory passage for good measure, evidently intending for this book to be not only a guide, but to be a study guide.

For my review I have chosen the chapter on the book of Numbers. Michael Williams names the book of Numbers as the Promised Rest. The theme of this book is that “God chastens his disobedient people but  reaffirms his intent to bring them into the Promised Land”. With this in mind he gives us a memory verse of Num 14:18 NIV 'The Lord  is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.

Williams writes that in Numbers we see that God has a problem bringing his people into the Promised Land. There are disobedient and at times quite faithless. They rebel against their invisible God as they see the physical superiority of the opposition who already dwell in that land. “This situation raises a theological problem that will ultimately find its resolution only through the Jesus lens: How can God punish the rebellion and faithlessness of his people and still bless them?” (pg. 26) In other words “ how could God’s holiness and justice allow him to bless his people whose faith always wavers and whose obedience always falters?” (pg. 26)

Now we apply the Jesus Lens. With this lens we see that only Jesus was fully obedient. He was the only one who had the ability to pay the price for our sin. “When we believe in our trusting, obedient Lord and what he has done for us, the way is clear for us to enter God’s promised rest.” (pg. 27) At this juncture Williams quotes Heb 4:3 NIV “We who have believed enter that rest”.  It is only through Jesus that we can claim and experience the promised rest of God.

The next section is the one that considers the contemporary implications of what was seen through the Jesus lens. “We, as God’s people today, also have a Promised Land before us. It is a place of fellowship with God that characterizes our salvation in Jesus Christ. When we, like the Israelites, allow the big challenges of life to cause us to forget the even bigger power of God, he disciplines us so we don’t stray far from the real peace, security, and fulfillment that are found only in our relationship with him.” (pg. 27) Williams’ point is that God’s “discipline leads us to the place of rest” (pg.27)

His final section he calls “Hook Questions”. These are questions that are to be asked of ourselves as we try to incorporate into our lives the implications of the book of the Bible we are studying. One of these is “In what ways have you already begun to know God’s rest?” (pg.28)

This book will be a help to those who are just beginning to think about the meaning of the Scriptures. The attempted scope of the book necessarily limits its impact. This is too bad because I have a passion for this topic and sincerely hope that Christians will read the Bible as God’s Word to us. But the oversimplifications, the truncated manner of dealing with the topics, can at best only touch the surface.

Deception

2.      The Danger is Deception

a.      Deception will be the tool that divides those who believe from those who don’t. Over and over again the Spirit says regarding the last days “Don’t be deceived” Lk 21:8, 1Co 6:9, 2Co 11:3, Gal 6:7 2Tim 3:3, Jas 1:16, 2Thes 2:3

b.      False signs and wonders   Dt 13:2, 2 Thes 2:9, Mk 13:22, Jer 4:10, Lk 21:8, Rev 13:14, Mt 24:4, Mt 7:21-23

c.       False doctrine  1Tim 4:1, 2Tim 3:13, 2 Peter 3:17, Jude 4,18 etc.

d.      False Prophets and false Christs Mt 24:23,24, 2 Thes 2:3,9, 1Jn 2:18, 4:3

e.      Falling asleep Parable of the 10 virgins Mt 25:1-10, 2Peter 3:4 Remember Lot’s wife Lk17:32  Materialism lulls people to sleep. Those choking weeds.  How do we know we are not deceived? By definition no one knows that they are or are not deceived.

f.         Receive a love for the Truth. 2Thes 2:10 The whole epistle of 1 Jn is so that you might know. Believe and do.