Abundance – Praying Pint

52.p. Wilderness – 16.v. “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart”

Deu 28:21  The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed. “The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.  The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.

Deu 28:34  so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see.

Deu 28:37  And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.

Deu 28:45  “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.

Deu 28:47  Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,

Deu 28:58-59  “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God, then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.

Deu 28:61  Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the LORD will bring upon you, until you are destroyed.

Deu 28:63  And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you.

Deu 28:66-67  Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see.

The same variety of expression is used in these terrible curses, as in the preceding blessings, to intimate every kind of prosperity or adversity, personal, relative, and public.

If we do not keep God’s commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which includes all misery, as the blessing all happiness. Observe the justice of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, or for some light cause. The extent and power of this curse. Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows; wherever he is, it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under a curse. All his enjoyments are made bitter; he cannot take any true comfort in them, for the wrath of God mixes itself with them. Many judgments are here stated, which would be the fruits of the curse, and with which God would punish the people of the Jews, for their apostacy and disobedience. We may observe the fulfilling of these threatenings in their present state. To complete their misery, it is threatened that by these troubles they should be bereaved of all comfort and hope, and left to utter despair. Those who walk by sight, and not by faith, are in danger of losing reason itself, when every thing about them looks frightful. (Henry)

Oh that our hearts and minds would grasp the holy blessings of God in light of the wrathful curses. Sin has a way of blinding us to only see blessings from God. Sin blinds us to the holiness of God. Neglect of His Word deafens our ears to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin.

May the Word of God open your hearts and minds to His holiness and give you a deep desire to honor and glorify Him more and more each day. We do not honor and glorify Jesus christ for the blessings we receive, but for who God is.

52.g. Wilderness – 16.m. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Deu 26:11  And you shall rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you. “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.  I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 12:7   And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

Deuteronomy 12:12     And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your town

Deuteronomy 16:11    And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there.

Deuteronomy 28:47     Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,

Psalms 63:3-5    Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.  So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.  My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips

Psalms 100:1-2    Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!  Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Acts 2:46-47   And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Philippians 4:4    Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

1 Timothy 6:17-18     As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

When God has made good his promises to us, he expects we should own it to the honour of his faithfulness. And our creature comforts are doubly sweet, when we see them flowing from the fountain of the promise. The comfort we have in our own enjoyments, should lead us to be thankful for our share in public peace and plenty; and with present mercies we should bless the Lord for the former mercies we remember, and the further mercies we expect and hope for. (Henry)

When we receive from the LORD, and give back to Him, it makes us rejoice. It is the proper response of a creature to his Creator, who has supplied him with all good things. The prayer described here shows that the giving was done with the right kind of heart. God not only wants us to give, but to give with the right heart. Right giving is done according to God’s Word Right giving is done within the context of a whole life of obedience. Right giving genuinely sets aside what is to be given unto the LORD. Right giving is not done superstitiously, Right giving is done with the expectation of blessing. (Guzik)

How can we not rejoice? When saved our sins were washed away, we were forgiven, redeemed, born again, and transformed. We were promised eternal life in heaven with God. We were given the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, teach, encourage, convict us of sin, and yield the fruits of joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, love, grace, mercy, generosity, hospitality, humbleness, and patience. Beyond this God blesses us with great and precious promises, godly wisdom, fruits of our labors, and material, financial, and relational blessings. How can we not rejoice?

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.

43.s. “Wilderness” – 7.z. “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest”

Exodus 22:29  “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

Deuteronomy 26:10    And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God and worship before the LORD your God.

2 Chronicles 31:5  As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.

Proverbs 3:9-10   Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;  then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Matthew 6:33    But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Thou shalt not delay beyond the times appointed, lest this delay grow to a total neglect. (Poole)

Setting our giving ahead of our spending is God-honoring. The problem is that giving is often based on what is left over rather than at the beginning. This is a good indication of where the importance of honoring and glorifying God has been placed in our hearts and minds. God loves a cheerful giver and one that gives out of a heart-filled desire to honor and glorify Him. It is not out of our abundance we are to give. It is the first of whatever we have. There is so much that could be said about our culture that places things of God second, third, or fourth in our daily lives. Giving is a good indication of where God is placed in our hearts. Choosing to honor and glorify God with the first of our fruits or our labor will impact our hearts. It places all things we have in light of the Giver of all things. Setting aside our first fruits with an intentional choice to give them in honor and glory of God is good for our souls. If you want more treasures in your heart for God when you die, give more while you live.

42.n. “Wilderness” – 2. Quail and Manna

Exodus 16:13. In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.

Exodus 16:35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

Psalms 78:27-28    he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;  he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.

Psalms 105:40    They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.

Numbers 11:9   When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3   And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Nehemiah 9:15    You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger

Nehemiah 9:20-21     You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.  Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

Psalms 78:24-25    and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.  Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

At evening the quails came up, and the people caught with ease as many as they needed. The manna came down in dew. They called it Manna, Manhu, which means, What is this? It is a portion; it is that which our God has allotted us, and we will take it, and be thankful. It was pleasant food; it was wholesome food. The manna was rained from heaven; it appeared, when the dew was gone, as a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost, like coriander seed, in colour like pearls. The manna fell only six days in the week, and in double quantity on the sixth day; it bred worms and became offensive if kept more than one day, excepting on the sabbath. The people had never seen it before. It could be ground in a mill, or beaten in a mortar, and was then made into cakes and baked. It continued the forty years the Israelites were in the wilderness, wherever they went, and ceased when they arrived in Canaan. All this shows how different it was from any thing found before, or found now. They were to gather the manna every morning. We are hereby taught,

1. To be prudent and diligent in providing food for ourselves and our households; with quietness working, and eating our own bread, not the bread of idleness or deceit. God’s bounty leaves room for man’s duty; it did so even when manna was rained; they must not eat till they have gathered.

2. To be content with enough. Those that have most, have for themselves but food and raiment; those that have least, generally have these; so that he who gathers much has nothing over, and he who gathers little has no lack. There is not such a disproportion between one and another in the enjoyment of the things of this life, as in the mere possession of them.

3. To depend upon Providence: let them sleep quietly, though they have no bread in their tents, nor in all their camp, trusting that God, with the following day, would bring them in their daily bread. It was surer and safer in God’s storehouse than their own, and would come thence sweeter and fresher. See here the folly of hoarding.

(Henry)

42.j. “Let My People Go” – 10.g. Parting of the Red Sea

Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Joshua 4:23   For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over,

Nehemiah 9:11   And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.

Psalms 66:6   He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,

Psalms 78:13    He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.

Psalms 106:7-10    Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.  Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power  He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert.  So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.

Psalms 114:3-5  The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.  What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?

Deuteronomy 3:22   You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.’

The dividing the Red sea was the terror of the Canaanites, Jos 2:9; the praise and triumph of the Israelites, Ps 114:3; 106:9; 136:13. It was a type of baptism, 1Co 10:1,2. Israel’s passage through it was typical of the conversion of souls, Isa 11:15; and the Egyptians being drowned in it was typical of the final ruin of all unrepenting sinners. God showed his almighty power, by opening a passage through the waters, some miles over. God can bring his people through the greatest difficulties, and force a way where he does not find it. It was an instance of his wonderful favour to his Israel. They went through the sea, they walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea. This was done, in order to encourage God’s people in all ages to trust him in the greatest straits. What cannot he do who did this? What will not he do for those that fear and love him, who did this for these murmuring, unbelieving Israelites? Then followed the just and righteous wrath of God upon his and his people’s enemies. The ruin of sinners is brought on by their own rage and presumption. They might have let Israel alone, and would not; now they would flee from the face of Israel, and cannot. Men will not be convinced, till it is too late, that those who meddle with God’s people, meddle to their own hurt. Moses was ordered to stretch out his hand over the sea; the waters returned, and overwhelmed all the host of the Egyptians. Pharaoh and his servants, who had hardened one another in sin, now fell together, not one escaped. The Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the sands. The sight very much affected them. While men see God’s works, and feel the benefit, they fear him and trust in him. How well were it for us, if we were always in as good a frame as sometimes! Behold the end to which a Christian may look forward. His enemies rage, and are mighty; but while he holds fast by God, he shall pass the waves in safety guarded by that very power of his Saviour, which shall come down on every spiritual foe. The enemies of his soul whom he hath seen to-day, he shall see no more for ever. (Henry)

We understand that those in darkness will not believe in the parting of the Red Sea, or any other miracle, and we don’t really expect them to understand or believe in this. What is more troubling is those who profess to believe and then try to prove there was a natural wind that could have happened and that God used this natural phenomenon to part a place in the Red Sea. They try to find a means to “naturally” explain a miracle of God. Doing so is to deny the awesome power of God over all of His creation. They actually dilute this with man’s ideas of how God could have done this and still obey their understanding of nature and science. God’s miracles do not need any other explanation than they were of God. Why do we have to know the mechanics of God’s all-powerful hand? The most intelligent person in all of mankind does not have the capacity to comprehend or understand the Power of God over His creation.

There is a peace that passes all understanding for those who put their complete trust in the All-Powerful Hands of God!

34.m. “‘Well done, good and faithful servant”

Matthew 25:14 For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Christ keeps no servants to be idle: they have received their all from him, and have nothing they can call their own but sin. Our receiving from Christ is in order to our working for him. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. The day of account comes at last. We must all be reckoned with as to what good we have got to our own souls, and have done to others, by the advantages we have enjoyed. It is not meant that the improving of natural powers can entitle a man to Divine grace. It is the real Christian’s liberty and privilege to be employed as his Redeemer’s servant, in promoting his glory, and the good of his people: the love of Christ constrains him to live no longer to himself, but to Him that died for him, and rose again. Those who think it impossible to please God, and in vain to serve him, will do nothing to purpose in religion. They complain that He requires of them more than they are capable of, and punishes them for what they cannot help. Whatever they may pretend, the fact is, they dislike the character and work of the Lord. The slothful servant is sentenced to be deprived of his talent. This may be applied to the blessings of this life; but rather to the means of grace. Those who know not the day of their visitation, shall have the things that belong to their peace hid from their eyes. His doom is, to be cast into outer darkness. It is a usual way of expressing the miseries of the damned in hell. Here, as in what was said to the faithful servants, our Saviour goes out of the parable into the thing intended by it, and this serves as a key to the whole. Let us not envy sinners, or covet any of their perishing possessions. (Henry)

The manifestation of the grace of God in believers is for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ. Though this manifestation might be in the form of helping others, giving, kindness, generosity, serving, proclaiming the Gospel, works of the hands, or wisdom of the mind they are all singularly for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Any intent we have to keep some of this glory for ourselves robs its intended glory and honor from Jesus Christ. From Him, the talents are given and to Him, they belong with all their accumulated interest.

Pray that God would open your eyes and ears to your heart, mind, and soul to the talents He has given to you, and then be a workman that uses these talents for His honor and glory. Anything kept for our own glory and honor is stealing from the King of Kings.

31.f. “For with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain”

Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Luke 12:15    And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Ezekiel 33:31    And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.

Matthew 16:27  For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Hebrews 2:1  Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Although Christians are to be seen doing good works, they must not do good works simply to be seen. The idea is when we do righteous deeds for the attention and applause of men, their attention and applause is our reward. It is much better to receive a reward from your Father in heaven. Some may say the important thing is to do the good deed regardless of the motive. There is some truth to this in that it is better to do a good thing with the wrong motive than to do wrong. However, Jesus is telling us that motive/reward can be either earthly or Godly. If our motive is to have earthly recognition, that will be our reward. If our motive is for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ, then our reward is His honor and glory for which our soul rejoices and our heart praises. It is out of the heart, soul, and mind of those who intentionally choose to live every moment of their life in such a way that all of their actions, words, and thoughts are built on the foundation of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

29.l. “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things”

Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Psalms 16:11   You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalms 73:25-26     Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Hebrews 11:13-16     These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Psalms 119:36-37   Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!  Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

1 Chronicles 22:19     Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God.

Romans 8:5    For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

1 John 2:15   Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Luke 12:15    And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

“The believer is to ‘seek the things… above.’ The word ‘seek’ marks aspiration, desire, and passion… In order to seek these things the mind must be set on them.” (Morgan) What is it that captures or tries to capture our minds and ultimately our hearts? A seemingly harmless endeavor turns into a heart and mind-consuming desire and soon it replaces or interferes with devotion, submission, worship, obedience, reliance, and glory to Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us to be steadfast, anchored, and heaven-focused all of the time. It does not specify this for specific days or seasons, it is expected that in a man of God it is all the time, and yet, we find ourselves being consumed by things that are not heavenly or Jesus Christ-honoring. How does this happen? The shallowness of personal commitment to spiritual, heavenly, and things of God will always leave a void in a person’s heart, mind, and soul. This void is filled with something, it is not left void. Worldly and fleshly wants, desires, and temptations abound, and in the absence of desire and seeking of spiritual, heavenly, and Godly things in a person’s life will be consumed by the worldly and fleshly. Far too many think believing in Jesus Christ is nothing more than an insurance policy to keep from going to Hell and their lives are neither committed or their hearts desire focused on things above. Examine yourself and see. Is your hearts desire for spiritual, heavenly, and Godly things?

27.y. “On the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak”

Ephesians 5:4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Proverbs 12:23   A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

Proverbs 15:2    The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

Jude 1:10   But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively

Colossians 3:8   But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Matthew 12:34-37   You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,  for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Romans 1:28    And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Paul’s appeal to the Ephesians was to be ever mindful of who they were in Christ and as such there ought to be a difference in how they speak and act even if the rest of the culture approves. They ought to know what is right, pure, and God honoring in their speech and actions. They ought to weigh every word in the light of God-honoring speech. As men, don’t have to spend much time outside our homes before we are bombarded with course language, filthy jokes, or other meaningless talk that adds nothing of value to our soul and certainly not toward God. We need to recognize and be able to discern what is right, honorable, and pleasing to God. The problem is we don’t recognize it as wrong or we shrug it off as fitting in. This problem has many roots that are anchored to our heart, mind, and soul. Neglect, complacency, remaining an infant in things of God, busyness, a lack of desire to honor and glorify God, wanting to fit in, shallow and stagnate knowledge of God’s Word, no hunger or thirst for His leading, and unwilling to fully commit to the will of God.

Psalms says: Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge— the LORD—knows the thoughts of man

22.d. “Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn”

1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Matthew 13:11-17 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Romans 8:5-8 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The natural man – one who lives in a natural state, and under the influences of these natural passions, lives in opposition to things of God and things taught by and through the Holy Spirit. Instead of living with knowledge and understanding, they live void of God. They have blocked their own eyes from seeing and their ears from hearing things of God. Their heart has become like a stone to things of God. They choose to live in this state of blindness and deafness. Everything they do is void of doing it for the honor and glory of God. Even the good that they do is done out of selfish desires. All of us were born in the natural state, with natural desires, and lives that were in opposition to and void of understanding things of God. There is not a single person who can claim a birth other than this. “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God”

The amazing and awesome Good News of Jesus Christ is that, in the grace, mercy, and love of God, He made a way, a mystery, for us to have a “New Birth”, “Born Again”, “A New Creation”. This mystery can not be understood or found by the wisdom and understanding of the natural man. The heart and mind of the natural man are void of this understanding. Somehow, God, is able to soften the heart and mind of the natural man with the “Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have no comprehension of how this works, but I know the most stone-hardened heart can be changed by hearing the Good News. I was lost but now am found, I was blind but now I see, I was deaf but now I hear. Somehow the Gospel penetrates through the hardness and the heart and mind are able to understand the Gospel. At that moment, in that very second, that person makes an intentional choice to believe it or reject it. In that very moment a once hardened heart, that intentionally chooses to believe, trust, and rely on Jesus Christ, is changed and is “Born Again”, becomes a “New Creation”, and is a “New Birth”.

Everyone will make an intentional decision to believe and trust God or to reject deny or reject Him before they die. In this decision, they choose eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. There ought to be a difference in how the lives are lived of those that are “Born Again” compared to those who are spiritually void.