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Chapter 4 |
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Jesus keeps us. We do not keep ourselves. He has promised not to leave us until all He has promised is done.
We, the tabernacle of God, can only be sanctified by God, by His glory, by His character in us. Nothing in our hands can we bring. Simply to the cross we must cling. Amen?
Jesus our High Priest has made atonement for us and all our sins right now forgiven if we simply believe. God promises it four times in the above verses. But some people say, "But, but, but...I am too sinful. God could never save me like I am." True, however, God has no intention on leaving you the way you are. He will give you a new heart, as you will find out later, and the things you once loved that were evil will turn your stomach, but even better all those things that you used to hate you will naturally love to do with no hard work and willpower on your part. The willpower is simply in the choosing to will to receive God's power. That is all. God is so wonderful and makes everything so easy. Those who are not saved have been deceived because they do not know the Gospel or the Power of God. Matthew 22:29.
Praise God for our High Priest, Jesus Christ, who makes atonement for you and I, and we shall be forgiven. Notice it does not say you might be forgiven, but you shall be forgiven. Hard to believe, but it is true, whether we understand it or not.
We no longer need to sacrifice lambs on an altar. Jesus is our Lamb. We bring Him to the altar with sinful hands. We cut Him with a spear. His blood is shed to make an atonement for our sins, and we are forgiven, and in the eyes of God, free from sin. Notice what makes the atonement. The blood. What we do can never save us. It is the blood of Jesus that cleanses our hearts from all desire for sin, when we see what He has done for us, really see, we will fall into His arms of love.
In scripture the land of Egypt is symbolic of atheism (see The Great Controversy, page 269). Jesus has brought us out of the land of unbelief, where we were slaves to our carnal nature, and has given us the victory. He did this for us and it is wonderful in our sight. Praise be to the Lord.
Will Jesus, who loves you more than His own life, promise you so much and lie? He loves you more than you love yourself. Just believe Him and, like Abraham, it shall be accounted unto you for righteousness. Genesis 5:6. Do not walk by sight. You see yourself now. Jesus sees you a thousand years from now. What will you be like then? Do you know? Of course not. But Jesus knows how to get your heart just where it needs to be. Trust Him.
What a day that will be, when we can say this and know it is true. Someday, I do not know when, we can say, all the righteousness I did was but the carrying out of God's thoughts in my mind, but it is true.
In this statement, God promises that His words will be in our hearts. Have you ever had to fight to do what was in your heart? Of course not. Our hearts are who we are. When we follow the words in our heart, and those words are God's words, shall we not do it with joy? We will simply be carrying out our own desires.
Does God here say, I will fight for you, but you have to help me save you? No. He says He will go with us and He is the one who does the fighting. What is He fighting for? To save you! Who is He fighting? Who does it say is with Him? It is you. He is fighting to free you from your unbelief, your doubts, and your hard heart. Trust Him for He is faithful who promised.
The promised land here mentioned is not Canaan but the firm world which will never pass away, according to the Hebrew, in the Earth made new. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never possessed the land of Canaan. They are our spiritual Fathers. The land they possessed was the unmovable spiritual world, not the earthly. The circumcision of Abraham was the circumcision of the heart and so it is with us. God will circumcise our hearts? According to this verse, why will He circumcise our heart? That we may love Him. Even our love for God is a gift from God. What wonderful grace! Will you let Him work on your heart so you can love the Lord?
What enemy is it that God will thrust out? It is the enemies in your own heart that God has promised to thrust out.
The word sanctify means purify. This is not talking about purifying your actions for this is impossible with man. God is asking us to purify our hearts from doubt. In doing so, the Lord will do wonders inside you. He is pleading with you to believe His promises to you.
Love is the foundation of God's kingdom. Love, peace, salvation, and eternal life; all are yours. We know they are ours because God has promised. All the good things which the Lord your God has spoken has already come to pass. Not one thing has failed. Therefore, why do you doubt?
Who started you on the path of life? Was it not God? Will He not finish what He has started? Is God so weak that He needs your help? No, no. All He needs is for you to give Him a chance and to endure unto the end, never giving up on Him, no matter what your eyes may see, or your ears may hear. We should trust God regardless of circumstances.
I know that you think your future looks dim, that God will never give you another heart, one that has been touched by God, but please just endure until the end. Say to yourself, "God does not lie. He is the Master of the Universe. Nothing is too hard for him. Save me in spite of myself."
What is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? Dead, in sins, yes. But God is a life-giving Spirit. 1 Cor. 15:45. Will you not trust Him to resurrect your dead life to one of eternal joy in heaven?
Jesus is our Saviour. He saves us. He is the foundation rock of our faith. In Him we will trust and He will deliver us. Are you in spiritual darkness? God will lighten your darkness. Through Him we can do the impossible. We can leap over a wall of circumstances where there seems to be no way out. He is our strength and power. He makes our way perfect. He makes us perfect. Endure till the end. He has promised to save you.
The rest the Lord offers to give us is not outward circumstances of rest but inner peace through it all. Our outward rest from circumstances will come in heaven. Therefore, build a house unto the Lord. You are the temple of God. Open your heart to Him and build a house unto the Lord.
Who inclines our hearts unto God? God does!
All God asks of you is to stand still. "Stand still and see." See what? The salvation of the Lord. You do not need to fight in this battle. You cannot win it, but He can.
Are we all not as an unclean thing? Can we bring a clean thing out of an unclean? According to God the answer is, "No." Only He can make you clean. Jeremiah 13:23.
God knows the path I am on and how to try me to bring me forth as gold. When bad things happen, remember, you cannot see the outcome by looking at your present situation, or its eternal effects on your heart, but God promises, through those very things that He will bring you forth as gold. What good news! If only we could remember during the trial God's promise to bring us forth as gold. Satan hammers us with bad things to keep our minds off God, but God uses them for good. If we will only remember the reason for the trial...to bring us forth as gold Satan will lose that battle for your mind and God will bring you off more than a conqueror. God knows how to use the trials to make your heart soft. Look up. God has your greatest good in mind -- always.
God already knows your every thought. Why not talk to Him about them and ask for Him to cleanse you?
God has a hedge of angels around us to protect us daily from Satan's attacks. Satan, every minute of every day, is trying to kill us or to get us to kill ourselves. If only we understood what the Lord is doing for us this very minute.
Shout for joy. God does defend you. His eye is on you every minute of every day to keep Satan from harming you. Any harm that may come to you God permits to teach you of your need of a Saviour and your dependence on Him. How little do we know of dependence on God! We think we can do things without His help. We only cry to the Lord, when we want something. God knows we need stuff that we do not even know about, like clean hearts, peace and joy, and soft hearts of full love. To these He draws us, by allowing Satan to touch our lives. If you think things are bad now, imagine how bad they would be if God did not say, "This far but no further." Read Job Chapters 1 and 2 when you think it is God who is harming you. There you will see the truth.
There are times we feel forsaken. "Why God," we cry. The answer from the Lord is, "The Lord has not forsaken you. This attack is from Satan and it has been allowed for your greatest good. I am here with you. Endure till the end and you shall be saved." Jesus could have cried, "Why God," but the answer would have been the same, "For your highest good." Jesus through all those terrible trials proved that He had given up all for God. This proved to all of heaven He was worthy to come home to the Father. He is "proving you" to all of heaven, that you are worthy to come home to the Father. Praise God, He will get us in the kingdom. No matter what it takes Lord will bring us home.
The shield of salvation is God's gift to us. It is not our works that brings salvation. God gives us salvation.
Why were they delivered? Simply because they trusted in the God of love.
When the Lord is our shepherd, He will lead us unto salvation. He will make us what He wants us to be. He will lead us in the paths of righteousness. He will restore my soul to be like Christ's.
Did not this say, "He shall strengthen thine heart?" Notice, the word is "shall," not "might." It also does not say, "I will if you are good enough?" God says, "He will strengthen your heart." Period. No works are needed from you to earn this. God does not lie, and He does not start something He will not finish.
What is the condition required for God to strengthen our hearts? It says, "All ye that hope in the Lord." That is the condition. "Hope in the Lord."
God is begging you to try Him. Oh, won't you just taste. Taste the Bread of Life, and see that the Lord is good. Never let confusion or doubt steal your blessing. God will reveal truth, as we are able to bare it. In the meantime, wait, hope, trust, and endure.
Notice in this verse how many times God says to "rest," and "wait," and uses the word "shall" with strong emphasis repeatedly.
If we wait patiently for the Lord notice what happens. God, Himself, will bring us out of the pit of sin, and plant us on the Rock of Salvation. He will open our ears to hear. Oh, if only we would wait patiently for the Lord, and trust in Him, like Elijah, and Abraham did.
Who is God pushing down? Who hates us? Is it not Satan? Can your weapons defeat him? No, but God has, in this verse, promised to saved us from our enemies and put them to shame.
Note that the only sacrifice God requires of us is a broken heart. Why do we make something so easy so hard? It is not God's way but man's way to work to earn heaven.
The phrase "thou hast given commandment" in the original Hebrew should read "send a messenger." Therefore, the verse should read "Be thou my strong habitation...thou hast sent a messenger to save me." God is the one that causes us to escape. He is the one who saves. He has given a commandment (sent a messenger) to save us.
Who walks uprightly? According to the Hebrew definition of uprightly it is those that trust in the truth. To those the promise is, "I will withhold no good thing from you."
Recently, I have come to learn, by the grace of God, that there is a hedge of angels about me and about you right this minute. It is true. Satan is every minute trying to kill us. If it were not for God, our lives would be like the movie "Final Destination," always running for our lives trying to defeat, in our own strength, the destroying angel who seeks to kill us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Sure, trials come. Only by the mercy of God are they not death to us. But, the trying of our faith is for the perfection of our character. We may not look at it as a precious gift, but let me ask you a question? If you could have a life of ease and security till the day you die and then die in your sins, or you can have a life of insecurity that calls your attention to your need for a God of love to help you and live a life of eternal happiness, which would you choose? Life must be this way because we live in a sinful world. We can live our lives fighting trials every step of the way, which will not change a thing, but harden our hearts, and keep our minds off God, or we can be willing doormats for the world, trusting God in every situation, and keeping as close to him as we can, allowing Him to create in us clean hearts of flesh that can feel which prepares us for translation to heaven. Oh, to endure like Jesus. To obey and be a doormat like Him. But look at the results in the above verses. Both our salvation and God's glorification are the results.
I will triumph in the work of whose hands? Mine? No, never. "Thine," God's hands!
We may at times slip and fall, but God will lift us up and not hide His face from us. He is trying to get us in, not keep us out. He will help us, always. That is His good pleasure ...to see us in heaven. He does not want to leave any outside of His kingdom. Not one!
God knows what we are made of, and how to recreate us in His image. He is not against us. He is for us. We are our own worst enemy. We find it so hard to believe and trust in Him. That kind of fear is based on the lies of Satan, and confusion about truth. God's word is truth. Let us trust it and put all our preconceived ideas in the trash can where they belong and start over with the Word of God as our foundation. What we need is to see and understand God's Word as it was meant to be read, and not as we have been taught to see it. We need to understand the heart of God, in order to understand what He means by what He writes.
How many times must He say it before we believe it? The Lord is mindful of us, every minute of every day, protecting us, loving us, and calling us to just trust Him. He will bless us if we will just stop doubting His goodness and mercy towards us.
Many people in the world today use this text and others like it to preach the "prosperity gospel," saying once you are a Christian you will prosper and nothing bad will ever happen to you. Look around the religious world and you will see this is not true, and it will never be true while on this sin-filled earth. The text is trying to help you understand that God is your helper and to give you a glimpse of the glories of a perfect world. God wants to work on your heart, not on how much money you have in your wallets. God wants to give us something that will last forever, not the fleeting things of this world that man can break in and steal and that rust and moths destroys, that distracts the mind from God. That is Satan's work, not God's. Satan does not care if you go to church and claim to be a Christian. But, when you start praying and studying your Bible you will see just how much Satan will be on your heels doing everything possible to keep you busy or distracted. He will do whatever it takes to keep you off your knees and out of God's word. Which is more important to God, the things that last forever or the things that men can break in and steal? Which is more important to you?
God asks us to hope in Him, and in His mercy. God has abundantly redeemed us from all our sins. Shall we trust Him to finish what He has begun?
Trust, and acknowledge God, and He promises to direct your life in the path of righteousness.
If you cannot remember any verses in the Bible, remember just this one and it will be enough. We must learn to wait on the Lord for he has promised to save us. Is God lying to you? That is what Satan told Eve in the Garden of Eden. The question is who are you going to believe? Believe the God who loves you and gives you breath moment by moment to keep you alive. He is still calling, waiting patiently for a response.
The Bible is so rich with promises to save us. Those who will not be saved will be lost because of their refusal to trust God to save them. They go about trying to fix themselves, and then they glory in all they have done instead of waiting patiently on the Lord to do it right. If it is not done right it will not last. If God does the fixing, it is fixed forever.
Are we co-saviours with the Lord in our salvation? The text says the Lord Jehovah is my salvation and the salvation of all that are being saved without our help.
When Jesus comes will we be able to say, We have waited on His salvation?
Who can be lost when all their sins are cast behind the back of God? With you in front of God, looking into His beautiful face, and your sins behind Him, God stands as the separation between you and your sins.
Are you too weak to obey God's law? You know you should obey it, but how is the question. The answer is right here is this verse. Wait upon the Lord. He will give power to the faint. But we must wait. Waiting is not a blood, sweat, and tears thing we have to do. It is as easy as not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Simply wait. God will do the rest.
Why do we fear if we will make it into heaven or not? Here God says three times to fear not. You are in the hands of a God that loves you. You have nothing to fear as long and you wait. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
Even if we could obey all the commandments perfectly, it is God who blots out all the sins that are past. It is a gift. There is nothing we can do but accept His wonderful gift. You do not need to earn it for this is impossible. How could you possibly make up to the Father, the Son's need to leave heaven, be tortured and die to save you? Can you make up for that and earn the right to have your sins blotted out? Can anyone, even Daniel or Peter or Job look God in the face and say my might has gotten me this salvation and you must let me in? Can they look God in the face and claim, "I have made up for Christ's death on the cross for me so you have to let me in heaven?" Could anyone make up for killing someone you love? Can they undue it or make up for it by being good the rest of their lives? Would that bring back your loved one?
God is calling us to return to him. He has already redeemed us. That truly is a reason not to sin. To return unto God is not to do some grievously, hard thing. It is simply to start believing what He says and stand on His promises regardless of your present state, what your eyes may see or your ears may hear. What is true today may not be true 1, 5, 10, 25, or 50 years from now. You do not know the future of your character but God knew before He made you.
By beholding we do become changed. But it takes endurance to wait on the Lord. Look and live! Keep saying to yourself from this day forward, "He that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matthew 10:22. God promises this to you. God does not lie.
We shall walk by faith and not by sight, and we will see as never before. We shall not hear from the lips of man the truth in its purity, but the Lord shall teach us by His Holy Spirit, and those things we shall consider.
Healed from what? While on earth we will be healed from sin. It will no longer reign in our hearts. And if not on earth, in heaven we will be healed from all physical conditions and given immortality to fly through the heavens and with excitement tell how the Lord got us there with no help from us.
Our righteousness is from whom? Us? No way can we do that. We are dust with no power nor self-control that is not given to us by God. Our righteousness is from God. He says so himself in this verse.
Are you spiritually bankrupt? God says come, buy of me freely. He promises, "Hear and you shall live." Just hear, not fix yourself. Just hear, behold, wait on the Lord and you shall live. After the excitement of becoming a Christian wore off I was spiritually bankrupt. I had been floating on a spiritual high but when the high stopped I fell like a rock, hard and fast. But I thank God for it because if I had continued to ride that high with no biblical knowledge I would have never grown to the place I am now. I never would have searched the scriptures for myself and learned from the Holy Spirit that all that I lack God will supply. To be honest I was freaking out worrying about hell and myself and what I can do. Do, do, do! Satan had me just where he wanted me and I gave up. When I found one promise listed in this book I clung to it with all the faith I had. Day by day, year by year, I looked for more promises to cling to and the results is the book which I never thought I would be writing. I was looking for answers for myself. I so much wanted to share the joy that I have found in the promises of God that this book appeared like magic from my fingertips. I am not a writer. I am just excited and I wanted to share what the Lord has taught me from His Holy Word.
God, the Holy Spirit promised in this verse that He will come to those who look into the face of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, which God gives, will transform us into his own image, and people shall see His glory reflected in us. Moses, by faith, received the Spirit and his face shone with a light so glorious that the people could not bear to look at it. Moses did not know that his face shone with the glory of the Spirit within him. Stephen's face also, when he was being stoned. Those who were killing him saw it, but Stephen also was not aware that his face shone. In both instances, they had been looking at Jesus. That is what made their faces shine. Is your face shining and you do not know it? You may not know it, but the wicked will see Jesus in you. We must have the kind of faith that lifts up our faces to see the face of Jesus. It is not because of our goodness that we receive the Holy Spirit. It is because of our great need. Romans 3:22 speaks of the righteousness of Jesus being "Unto all and upon all them that believe," whether they are a repentant sinner or not, because we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Look up. Look up to Jesus and receive ye His Spirit, and the robe of His righteousness that was made in the loom of heaven, given as a free gift, just for you. Look up and let God take your hand. He will hold you securely. Isaiah 41:13 says, "For the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, 'Fear not; I will help thee.'" Is God a liar? No way. He promises you that He will take your hand and help you, and that when your hand is in His you have nothing to fear. Praise God.
Where does our righteousness come from? It is the garment of Christ's righteousness put on us by God. It is also a gift. All good and perfect things come from the Lord of Life. James 1:17.
What is our righteousness like? Filthy rags. Only God's righteousness can cover our sins. God's robe of righteousness is perfect without spot or blemish. Revelation 3:5 (1912 Weymouth New Testament Translation).
Before you were born you were sanctified. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world to take away our sins. Was it all for nothing? Will you not trust in Him who has already sanctified you before you were born?
O backsliding children, (that is you and me); God says I am married to you. Yes, you. I will take you to my house and I will heal your backslidings so you will be fit to live among holy angels.
How silly of us to think we can change ourselves!
If the Lord is our righteousness, then how can we have righteousness without Christ? You cannot make yourself "get Christ." Christ gets you. You do not have to beg Him to do what He already is more than willing to do when you are prepared as a new vessel to receive Him. See Matt. 9: 16-17.
With their whole heart? That is what it says. You shall return unto God with your whole heart. Is that a promise you have made to God or is it a promise God has made to you? It is a promise God has made to you. If your whole heart wants to return to God and do what is right will it be hard or easy? Breathing, is it hard or easy? Not to bow down to wooden idols is it hard or easy? If you trust God's word that He will cause us to return to Him with our whole heart, is it hard or easy? It will be as natural as breathing.
Do you have wounds from heartbreak or from sin as gaping wounds oozing out of your heart? God promises to heal those wounds so that you will be able to love Him again.
When God writes His laws on our hearts, we will keep His law without effort. We will be but carrying out our own desire. Our desire and His will be the same.
Some people think, including myself, that God cannot save me, because I am too rebellious or evil. That thought does not make it true. God says nothing is too hard for Him. Your hard heart is not too hard for Him to conquer. Praise God! God knows just what circumstances to bring into your life, and the right time to bring them. He knows the end from the beginning. Do not walk by sight. Walk by faith in God's promises to you. He has you in the palm of His hand, and He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is your God. No matter what you do He will always be your God. Will you not let Him be your Saviour also? To do this, simply stand on His promises to you! In this verse, who makes the covenant, us, or God? Read the passage again. God will make an everlasting covenant with you and promises not to turn away from you but to do you good. The fear He puts in our hearts is fear of losing Him, not fear of Him. He plants that fear in your heart to keep you from leaving Him. He never leaves us. We leave Him. Read this verse again. This is actually what it says. Claim it as yours. God's promise to you, precious child.
Take a deep breath. You are not consumed, and it is because of the Lord's mercy towards you. His compassion fails not. The wages of sin is death. Are you dead? Then God is not condemning you for you should be dead. Sure, He allows trials in your life. They are not to punish, but to save, to show you the condition of your heart, and to show you how badly you need a Saviour. When you are out of control in any area of your life, God is saying to you, "Dear one, try me. Do not try to beat this. You will always lose. See John 6:39. I never lose. No matter how long it takes, I never lose. Let me work on your heart, so you can victoriously say, 'I am the workmanship of the Lord.'"
We cannot turn ourselves around, which the Bible calls repentance. When you see commands like turn unto the Lord, the Lord knows you cannot do it. You will find in other scriptures, whatever the Lord commands, He promises to do for you. He promises to turn us unto Him. And He promises we will be turned. No question about it. Do not doubt. Believe.
God seeks us. He does not scatter. He allows us to go our own way, and takes the blame for it because He permitted it. He is right here by your side right this very minute, saying to you and me, "Pick me, choose me, trust me. I love you more than my own throne, more than my own life and to prove to you this is true, I left heaven, came to earth and let all the wicked of the earth do whatever they wanted to me just to prove by my life that I love you no matter what you do."
God knows you cannot clean yourself. Do you have idols in your life, i.e. cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, people, or money? God promises He will cleanse you from all your idols. He knows you cannot change your stony heart to one that can feel, obey, and love Him. When God said, in the first commandment, Love the Lord God, He promised to put that love in our heart. Please endure. God has not lied to you. He keeps His promises. He keeps His promises to you. Yes, you.
God says you and I are the house of Israel. Our bones are dried up. We are living and breathing, but we are not alive. Here He promises to put His Spirit is us so that we can truly come back to life, then He says we will know that it is the Lord that has done this. He promises to save us from all our idols and from everything wherein we have sinned. We will be His people. He will make a covenant within us. We do not have a part to play in making the covenant of peace. The heathen will wonder at us, because the Lord has sanctified us. We will be a parable, a testimony to the world that God can save anyone.
Let's face it. If God were to judge us because of our own self-righteousness, who could stand? Psalms 130:3. Only by God's great mercy can anyone get into heaven. Every person on this Earth is a sinner. We have all sinned. Who can get into heaven with their own righteousness as a plea? Matthew 7:21-23 says, "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." Only by God giving us His righteousness can any person on the planet make it to heaven.
Though Jesus tarries, wait for Him. He is coming to your heart to give you a new one and prepare you so He can take you home.
When God moves into your heart, will you sin? Can you sin? Can God sin? God cannot sin, and if He is in you, all you do will be righteousness. Wait for it. It will surely come.
We, like Joshua, are clothed with filthy garments. But what does the Lord command? Take away the filthy garments. I, the Lord, have caused all thine iniquity to pass from thee; I will clothe thee with a change of raiment, the robe of Christ's righteousness. God has promised.
Not by your might, by your power, or anyone else's might or power will you be cleansed and saved but by the Spirit of God, says the Lord.
Who says the Old Testament is the law and the New Testament is grace? All that we have just studied came from the Old Testament. God does not change. Mal. 3:6. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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