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Come let us Grow Together: The Heart

Come let us Grow Together is a weekly series that deals with the many topical categories that exist within the Word of God.  The purpose of this series is to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in things pertaining to God.

Here lies a subject of great importance.  The heart.  Many people put their trust into their heart when it comes to making decisions in their life.  But what does the Bible teach us concerning the subject of the heart?

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Pro 4:23) For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (Mt 12:34b-35) For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. (Mk 7:21-23)

So is it safe for someone to trust what their heart is telling them??  The answer is no.  Your trust should be in, what saith the Word of God?

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. (Pro 28:26) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
(Pro 14:12)

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jer 17:7-10)

As you can see, the heart can not be trusted.  We must live our lives according to what the Word of God teaches us.  Serving the Lord is a heart condition.  Do you have an honest heart?  Do you have a good heart?  What do you allow your mind to ponder upon?  Do you gird up the loins of your mind when evil thoughts arise out of your heart?  Or do you allow yourself to think upon these things?

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. (1 Pet 1:13-14) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ!! (2 Cor 10:3-5)

It is crucial that you recognize that the thoughts you have come out of your heart.  You have a choice in you mind whether or not you allow these thoughts to play out or not.  You must bring into captivity every thought you have to the obedience of Christ.  Which means that you must learn to apply the Word of God in your life; which means you must study the Word of God, go to church, and hear the 5-fold ministry that God has given to us; so that you can resist the tricks of the enemy of our souls.

The parable of the sower given to us by Jesus Christ in Luke tells us, But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. (Lk 8:15)

Serving the Lord is a heart condition.  Let us follow after Christ with an honest and good heart; while keeping the Word of God.

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C&C: Serving the Lord is a Heart Condition

Connections and Comparisons is an ongoing weekly series that deals with many scriptures in the Bible, some of which are not commonly addressed.  The purpose of this series is to examine the scriptures at hand comparing what is said and looking at the connections within.

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Psalms 119:1-3
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

Pay special attention to what was just said.  Those that are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord, keeping His testimonies and seeking God with the whole heart do no iniquity: they walk in His ways!

On the other hand those that are defiled in the way, do not walk after the law of the Lord, do not keep His testimonies, and do not seek him with the whole heart.  These do iniquity: they walk not in His ways!

Serving the Lord is a heart condition!

Mark 12:29-30
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Those that keep the law of the Lord and those that keep His testimonies, walking after the statutes of the Lord, are those that love the Lord our God with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind, and with all their strength.  This and knowing that the Lord our God is one Lord is the keeping of the first commandment.

Serving the Lord is a heart condition!

Jeremiah 29:12-13
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

It is when you call upon the Lord, seeking the Lord, praying to the Lord and searching for the Lord with all your heart that you will find the Lord and when He will hearken unto you.

Serving the Lord is a heart condition!

Jeremiah 17:9-10
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

You can not put your trust and your faith in your heart, but your trust and your faith must be according to what saith the Word of God.

Serving the Lord is a heart condition!

Hebrew 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Psalms 44:21
21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Psalms 90:8
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

There is no secret that the Lord does not know, for the Word of the Lord is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Serving the Lord is a heart condition!

Proverbs 4:20-23
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Keep the ways of the law of the Lord!  Keep His testimonies and live!  Keep His righteous judgments and keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life!

Serving the Lord is a heart condition!

Proverbs 4:24-27
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Proverbs 15:3-4
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Matthew 12:33-37
33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  What is within the heart of man will surely come out! But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Serving the Lord is a heart condition!

Mark 7:18-23
18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Proverbs 28:26
26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

Proverbs 14:11-12
11 The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Let us who are of the day be not defiled in the way.  Let us who walk in the law of the Lord continue keeping His testimonies and His righteous judgments, seeking God with the whole heart.  For they that walk in His ways do no iniquity.

Serving the Lord is a heart condition!

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Are you a Berean at Heart

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Acts 17:11
10  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

A.  Understanding How Faith and Grace Operate

James 2:18-26
18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.
19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

The word wrought means to be a fellow-worker, i.e. co-operate.

23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25  Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Galatians 5:4-6
4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5  For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

John 14:15
15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 2:11-12
11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

To be saved by grace you have to apply what grace teaches you.  To be saved through faith you must apply how faith operates.

Grace teaches us:  denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Faith works by love and Faith without works is dead being alone.

Jesus said,

John 14:15
15  If ye love me, keep my commandments..

So to fulfill what the Apostle Paul spoke in:

Ephesians 2:8
8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

You must then apply the process of each into the verse.

Ephesians 2:8 Brackets inserted by me
8  For by grace [which teaches us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world] are ye saved through faith; [which worketh by love.] and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

So if faith works by love, and Jesus said, If ye love me, keep my commandments; then you are saved by grace through obedient faith which works by love, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of grace given by God.

1 John 5:3
3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

With this understanding of how grace works and how faith operates

You then remember that….

2 Timothy 3:16
16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Then we all follow after what Jesus tells us to do, which is….

Jesus told us we must repent.

Luke 13:3,5
3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
5  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Jesus told us we must believe and be baptized.

Mark 16:16
16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Matthew 28:19
19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Jesus told his disciples what to do and revealed the name to them.

Luke 24:47
47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

The disciples were obedient and fulfilled both Matthew 28:19 and Luke 24:47.

Acts 2:38-39
38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Colossians 3:17
17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

This would include the baptism.

The foundation that the Gospel stands on….

Ephesians 2:20
20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Jesus was both an Apostle and Prophet.

Hebrews 3:1
1  Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Deuteronomy 18:15-19
15  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
16  According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17  And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

And the scriptures agree that we must be obedient to the faith.

Romans 1:5
5  By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Romans 16:25-26
25  Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
26  But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4
1  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And how do we partake of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?  By being born again of water and of the Spirit. (John 3:1-7).  This is fulfilled by applying Acts 2:38 which reads, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

B.  Understanding the Difference between the Works of Faith and the Works of the Law

John 5:39
39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Romans 3:19-20
19  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:24-28
24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

But remember faith without works is dead being alone.  The works of faith is not the works of the Mosaic Law.  Faith is an action word that requires an action in accordance to what you believe.

James 2:21-23
21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Romans 3:31
31  Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Matthew 5:17
17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Galatians 3:21-22
21  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

And if you believe, then we must be obedient to the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the keeping of God’s commandments in accordance to our faith that we believe that God raised up Jesus our Lord from the grave.

Remember that under the Old Testament Covenant there was no remission for sins and the penalty of death was not yet taken back by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 10:9
9  Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

Hebrews 2:14-16
14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16  For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

Romans 4:1-3
1  What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2  For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

This is important to understand.  Remember the Apostle James said, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works.”

The Apostle Paul and the Apostle James are talking of different works.  The Apostle Paul asked a question in verse 1 and answered it in verse 3.  The answer was by faith and the Apostle James gives us further explanation of the Apostle Paul’s words.

James 2:20-23
20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

The topic is faith!!

21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

This is exactly what the Apostle Paul said above.  He asked the question in verse 1 and in verse 2 said, “if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God” This is because the topic from verse 1 is found in the prior verses which is speaking of the Mosaic Law versus faith.

Even though the Mosaic Law had not yet come during Abraham’s lifetime, the Apostle Paul is speaking to people who understand the Mosaic Law and is telling them that Abraham was not justified by works of the flesh, but was justified by the works of faith.

Romans 4:4-5
4  Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5  But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

But this does not make void the works that accompany faith.  The works that accompany faith are not the works of the flesh nor of the Mosaic Law.

James 2:20-23
20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Galatians 3:16-18
16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
18  For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Romans 4:13-14
13  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14  For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

Romans 4:4-5
4  Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Galatians 3:12
12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Romans 4:16
16  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Galatians 3:23-24
23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Galatians 3:12
12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

C.  The True Tabernacle in the Heavens

Hebrews 6:13-20
13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Hebrews 8:1-2
1  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2  A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Hebrews 9:8-12
8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
9  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Hebrews 8:3-4
3  For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
4  For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

D.  The Earthly Tabernacle Served as an Example and Shadow of Heavenly Things

Hebrews 8:5-7
5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.
6  But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

Romans 3:19-20
19  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Galatians 3:21-22
21  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Again, this being because remission of sins had not yet come and the penalty of death was still upon mankind.

Hebrews 8:8-13
8  For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13  In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 9:1-9
1  Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
2  For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the sanctuary.
3  And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
4  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
5  And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
6  Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
7  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
9  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

Mark 15:37-38
37  And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38  And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

Upon the death of Jesus Christ, the way into the Holiest of all was now going to be by the blood of the Lamb, which was shed for the remission of sins.

The services as pertaining to the worldly sanctuary….

Hebrews 9:10-11
10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

Hebrews 8:2
2  A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Hebrews 9:12
12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Hebrews 4:14-16
14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 9:24
24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Hebrews 9:13-15
13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Dead works referring to the works of the Mosaic Law.

15  And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Galatians 3:21-22
21  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Hebrews 9:16-22
16  For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17  For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18  Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19  For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20  Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Likewise the New Testament!

Matthew 26:27-28
27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Hebrews 9:23-28
23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Isaiah 50:6-9
6  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
7  For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
8  He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
9  Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

Hebrews 10:1-23
10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Why?  There was not yet remission of sins.

2  For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
3  But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
4  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8  Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9  Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10  By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11  And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12  But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13  From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15  Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18  Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21  And having an high priest over the house of God;
22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

E.  Justification unto Life Eternal

Hebrews 10:38-39
38  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
39  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Romans 4:17-25
17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:
20  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23  Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 8:1-4
1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 3:21-28
21  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Romans 5:1-2
1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

F.  The Righteousness which is of Faith

Romans 9:30-33, 10:1-4
30  What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
31  But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
32  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
33  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
10:1  Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
2  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
3  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Galatians 3:12-14
12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
14  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Romans 8:1-4
1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 10:5
5  For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

Galatians 3:6-14
6  Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
11  But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Galatians 3:16-18
16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
18  For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Romans 4:13-14
13  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14  For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

Galatians 3:25-27
25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

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Come let us Grow Together: Hope in Christ

Come let us Grow Together is a weekly series that deals with the many topical categories that exist within the Word of God.  The purpose of this series is to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in things pertaining to God.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Mt 11:28-30)

The Lord stands with outstretched arms, calling unto man to come unto Him and you will find rest for your souls.  But in order for you to obtain this rest, you must apply what He spoke in the verses.  He said, to Learn of Me.  You must learn of Jesus Christ to find rest for your souls.  The Lord desires each one of you to break forth and come unto Him with a pure heart.  An honest heart ready to apply the words that He has spoken to us throughout the Word of God.

But, with all this Hope in Christ, most of the people refuse to Learn of Him and refuse to follow after the Word of God.  They claim the name of Jesus.  They speak His name freely and give praise with their lips.  But, they refuse to be obedient unto the scriptures of Life.  Claiming that they are following the Lord, they refuse to follow in His footsteps.  They refuse to pick up their crosses and follow the Lord.

For in so doing, they must crucify their flesh.  In order for them to be set free, they must crucify their flesh and refuse to give into the lusts of the flesh.  But the only way for this to take place is to come unto the Lord and find the rest of the Lord.

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief (Heb 4:9-11) as the children of Israel did and so walked around in the wilderness for 40 years; and they walked until their carcases fell in the wilderness!! (Heb 3:17) For they considered themselves not worthy of the glory of the rest that lied ahead of them.  Even as today the people also refuse to enter into the rest of the Lord, for in order to obtain to the rest of the Lord, you must be obedient.

No man shall come into this door but He in whom the Lord has chosen.  For many shall stand knocking, but shall not enter in.  Behold, the Lord stands knocking at the door of your heart.  But where their lies hope, their also lies a choice.  To open the door of your heart and become obedient unto eternal life, or to go on following after your own footsteps unto your own demise.  For no man shall enter into the rest of the Lord but He in whom the Lord has chosen before the foundations of the world.

For the Lord has spoken, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Mt 7:21-23)

Yet you will say, I am following in obedience.  I am following the path of Life.  But yet what saith the scriptures?  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? (Rm 10:16)

There is Hope in Christ, but you must act in obedience to the commandments of the Lord or you deceive your own selves. (1 Jn 2:4) (James 1:22)

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Rev 22:17)

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C&C: Death is Swallowed up in Victory

Connections and Comparisons is an ongoing weekly series that deals with many scriptures in the Bible, some of which are not commonly addressed.  The purpose of this series is to examine the scriptures at hand comparing what is said and looking at the connections within.

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The subject of today’s lesson is about several passages of scriptures pertaining to the subject of death being swallowed up in victory.  A subject that is not regularly addressed.  What we are going to be taking a closer look at today is the possible timing of this futuristic event.

Isaiah 25:6-9
6 And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

This is an important clue for the possible timing of this event.  We are told that the Lord will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.  This means that when this event takes place that the vail and the face of the covering cast over all people will be removed from all nations.

8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

Many clues are given here.  Death will be swallowed up in victory, the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth.  This being done with His victorious salvation!

9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Those of the nation of Israel will say this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.  So we see here that they are acknowledging the one who is coming in the name of the Lord and we know this will be Jesus Christ the Righteous.  They will announce that they will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

So for us to begin to establish a possible time line for death being swallowed up in victory, we need to look at the other clues given during this time period.  That being: 1) The vail and the face of the covering cast over all people will be removed from all nations. 2) The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces. 3) And the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth. 4) And for His victorious salvation when the children of Israel who have waited for him will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

So the questions to fulfill our time line that need to be addressed is when do these four other events take place?

1 Corinthians 15:23-26
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

So we learn here that the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death!

1 Corinthians 15:51-55
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Here the Apostle Paul explicitly tells us that when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  He then follows up by asking death, where is your sting? And grave, where is your victory?

What the Apostle Paul has just revealed to us here is that when the catching away of the Saints takes place, what we term the rapture, that the saying that was written concerning death being swallowed up in victory will have taken place.  As we have already observed, this saying is written in the Prophet book of Isaiah who tells us that four other events will also take place at this time period.  One of which is, The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces.

Revelation 21:1-5
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Another clue is given in this passage of scripture where we learn that a great voice out of heaven says,  Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Here we see another possible clue where we see God wiping away all tears from their eyes.  We also learn that there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.  For the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Ezekiel Prophesying of the nation of Israel says,

Ezekiel 37:22-23, 27
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

This king over them being Jesus Christ.

23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

Here we see another clue, God will save them out of all their dwellingplaces and says, so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.  This fulfilling another one of our four clues above, that His victorious salvation came to the children of Israel who have waited for him and will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Here we see the same wording as we saw above in Revelation where the Lord said,  Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  Where He followed it up with the next verse saying, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

What else do we know about the timing of this victorious salvation of the children of Israel by God?

Zechariah 12:7-10
7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Zechariah 13:6
6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

So we learn from these passages of scripture that when this victorious salvation comes to the children of Israel, that the children of Israel will ask Jesus, What are these wounds in thine hands?  And Jesus will answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.  But this also appears to fulfill two of our four clues above where it was said,  The vail and the face of the covering cast over all people will be removed from all nations.  And the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth.

Zechariah 14:1-5
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Here we get to see a glimpse of what will take place when the Lord defends Jerusalem and brings forth His victorious salvation to them.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

What we learn from all of these passages of scriptures is that it appears that we can establish a time period for when death is swallowed up in victory by following the connections and comparisons within the verses that appear to reveal to us the timing of the other events that will be taking place when death is swallowed up in victory.

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Come let us Grow Together: Sin

Come let us Grow Together is a weekly series that deals with the many topical categories that exist within the Word of God.  The purpose of this series is to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in things pertaining to God.

When we sin, we are breaking God’s commandments.  I would dare say all of us have heard how Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden and this caused all of mankind to be born in sin and shapen in iniquity.

Today however, we are living under a time of Grace given to us by God through Jesus Christ the Righteous.  I would again dare say that all of us have heard and read about what Jesus Christ did for mankind.  How that He was born of a virgin, that He was Emmanuel being interpreted as God with us, and lived a life free of sin so that you and I could find eternal life through Him.

The Lord Jesus came to destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.  To take back this power of death that the devil had over man; the Lord Jesus lived a life free of sin and died on the cross as our substitute.  Though Jesus lived a life free of sin, He was tempted in all points just as we are today.  But Jesus did not give into sin, but rather Jesus Christ was obedient to the will of His Father.

Upon the death of Jesus Christ sin was condemned in the flesh.  But in order for us to become free from our sins, we must partake of the born again process that the Lord has provided for mankind.  A Spiritual Rebirth consisting of being born of water and of the Spirit.  This Spiritual Rebirth allows mankind to once again become the sons of God.

Once we have become born again, we are to live a life that is free from sin.  But God knowing that no man could be justified by works of the Mosaic Law made a way for us through His death, that once we have become born again, if we fall short and sin, we can come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Thus making God the justifier of many.  For it is not our works of righteousness that brings forth our salvation, but the gift of Grace that works through our obedient faith in the keeping of God’s commandments.  For if we love God we will keep His commandments.

The Lord brought to light a way for mankind to escape death by following after Him in obedience, while at the same time making a way for us when we do fall short to find grace and mercy in time of need so that we are no longer living a life under condemnation.  This born again process or Spiritual Rebirth allows us to become free of the Law of Sin and Death.  Which is the soul that sins shall surely die.

After we have partook of this Spiritual Rebirth we are to live a life walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh.  For if you live a life after the flesh you will surely die.  We as the children of God must instead purge ourselves from iniquity and follow after Christ.  For we are the temple of the Living God and if we defile the temple of the Living God, we shall surely be destroyed.

Therefore let us abstain from all appearance of evil and follow after that which is of the Spirit.  We must not give into our flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof, but we must instead pick up our cross and follow after Christ.  For the soul that sins shall surely die.  Therefore let us not live after the flesh but after the Spirit.

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Not All Prophecies Are of God

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Do not believe every prophet or every prophecy.  In the Old Testament when King Solomon died his son Rehoboam became king in his place, but because Solomon sinned against God and worshipped other gods, God punished Solomon at his death by letting his son, Rehoboam only be king over the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which became one tribe.  The other ten tribes of Israel were given to a man named Jeroboam and he became king over Israel.  This division is the reason that there were kings of Judah and kings of Israel.  Jeroboam was to become the first king of Israel.  While Rehoboam became king over Judah.  Yet even after this promise by God to Jeroboam, this same Jeroboam also sinned against God.

1 Kings 11:28-38
28  And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. 

The Promise of God Almighty!

29  And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:
30  And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
31  And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
32  (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)
33  Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
34  Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:
35  But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.
36  And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.
37  And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
38  And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

Yet for all that the Lord had promised Jeroboam and allowed him to become king over Israel (the 10 tribes that were rent out of Solomon’s hand…..)

I Kings 12:26-33
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

Already Jeroboam, even after receiving the promise of becoming king over the 10 tribes of Israel, has now doubted the word of the Lord and fears that if the people return to Jerusalem for to worship the Lord, that the people’s hearts will turn once again unto the king of Judah Rehoboam.  And then believes that if this takes place, they will kill him.  So Jeroboam commits even worse whoredom than that of King Solomon and…..

28  Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

But King Jeroboam does not stop his idolatrous practice here with causing all of Israel to go a whoring after other gods.  He continues…. 

31 And he made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did him in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33  So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

Jeroboam’s sin was, instead of letting Israel go up to Jerusalem to worship and make sacrifices to God in His temple he made two golden calves and told Israel to worship these two golden calves as their gods who have brought them up out of Egypt.  He also appointed his own priests instead of the Leviticus Priesthood appointed by God.

So God sent a prophet to rebuke King Jeroboam and also commanded that prophet to neither eat nor drink or to return back into the same direction that he had came, but to leave in the opposite direction.

I Kings 13:1-24
1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
6  And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

Notice what the man of God says…..

8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he  said, I am.

FOLKS TAKE HEED!!!!!!

15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
18  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

I REPEAT:  BUT HE LIED UNTO HIM!!!!!! 

19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21  And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
22  But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
23  And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

Do not believe every prophet! All prophecies are not of God!!!

The scriptures said that an old prophet that dwelled in Bethel went to the man of God, verse 18  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him!!!!! 

It is a dangerous thing to disobey God’s commands!

Giving heed to a false prophecy can cost you your life, your place of honor with God, even cost you your salvation. This old prophet from Bethel for what ever reason lied to the prophet of God and yet God later used him to pronounce judgement against God’s prophet.

God’s prophecy against King Jeroboam came to pass as the prophet said, but the prophet himself died for his disobedience to the Word of God.

I John 4: 1-6
1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Do not believe every prophecy or prophet! 

Church we are living in the last days, there shall come many false Christs and many false prophets saying thus saith the Lord, but they are wolves in sheep’s clothing, they are ministers of satan.  God commands us to try the prophets to see if God spoke through them or not.  This is a serious responsibility!!  Do not just believe any prophecy because it makes you feel good or feel important, for it can cost you your eternal life.

If God has given you directions on what you are to do, no matter if an Angel from heaven or another prophet of God tells you that God has told them to tell you something else, DO NOT HEARKEN UNTO THEIR WORDS!!!!!

OBEY THE VOICE OF THE LORD THAT HE HAS COMMANDED YOU!!!

Lesson written by Perry Harris.

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