Tag: forever and ever

40.y. “I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction”

 

Exodus 3:15  God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

 Psalms 72:17     May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!

 Psalms 72:19    Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!

 Psalms 135:13    Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.

 Psalms 102:12     But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.

 Micah 4:5    For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

“I AM WHO I AM.” “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” “This is my name forever”

 After four hundred years in Egypt, Moses had the job of announcing that now was the time for the children of Israel to go back to Canaan, and to take the land God promised to their fathers. This was probably totally contrary to what the elders and people of Israel desired. In four hundred years, you set down roots. They probably had no desire to return to the Promised Land; all they wanted was to be made more comfortable in Egypt.

We don’t come close to understanding the purposes and plans of God. We like to think that we will be provided a land flowing with milk and honey, peace, trial, and trouble-free. Faith in God would be much easier and certainly more shallow if this were the case. Think about when your faith grew.  Wasn’t it after you had walked in the valley of trials and troubles? Wasn’t it during a time when your situation was without answers? Wasn’t it during a time when you realized that self-reliance was not even close to being adequate? Wasn’t it a time when you realized your only hope of refuge, strength, and courage to face another day was in God – I Am?

Some of our paths in life will be less burdensome than others who will live in almost constant trials and troubles. It is the same God over all of us. We do not know God’s plans and purposes other than the promises given to us in His Word. I will never leave you or forsake you. I will give you peace and rest. I will be your refuge and strength. I will guide and lead you.  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

We may think we have been forgotten or our trials and troubles are unseen by God. Cast these thoughts from your heart and mind. Lay these in the hands of Him who is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. By faith, we can trust and rejoice in our Heavenly Father no matter what situation we find ourselves in. It is hard to release our burdens and trust God. It is not natural for us to rely on God when we desperately want to rely on ourselves. 

Our purpose in life is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do. By faith, we think, say, and do that which honors and glorifies Him. When we intentionally choose and commit to this every moment of every day, we will find reasons for hope and rejoice in Him alone.

34.x. “The work of My hands, that I might be glorified.”

 

Genesis 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

 Matthew 19:4   He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

 Mark 10:6    But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’

 Ephesians 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 Deuteronomy 32:6   Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?

 Psalms 100:3   Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 Isaiah 43:21   the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

 Isaiah 60:21   Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

 Jeremiah 31:33   For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 Jeremiah 32:39-40   I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

 Philippians 2:13     for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

 Hebrews 13:21    equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

 Ephesians 4:1    I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

 Deuteronomy 5:33   You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you,

 Psalms 81:13    Oh, that my people would listen to me

In our day, many say there is no real difference between men and women. This makes sense if we are the result of mindless evolution, but not if it is true that male and female He created them. To God, the differences between men and women are not accidents. Since He created them, the differences are good and meaningful. Men are not women, and women are not men. One of the saddest signs of our culture’s depravity is the amount and the degree of gender confusion today.  It is vain to wonder if men or women are superior to the other. A man is absolutely superior at being a man. A woman is absolutely superior at being a woman. But when a man tries to be a woman or a woman tries to be a man, you have something inferior. (Guzik)

This was a peculiar distinction, the value attached to which appears in the words being twice mentioned. And in what did this image of God consist? Not in the erect form or features of man, not in his intellect, for the devil and his angels are, in this respect, far superior; not in his immortality, for he has not, like God, a past as well as a future eternity of being; but in the moral dispositions of his soul. (Jamison-Fausset-Brown)

There is more difficulty in deciding in what the likeness to God consisted. Certainly not in the bodily form, the upright position, or commanding aspect of the man, since God has no bodily form, and the man’s body was formed from the dust of the ground; nor in the dominion of man over nature, for this is unquestionably ascribed to man simply as the consequence or effluence of his likeness to God. Man is the image of God by virtue of his spiritual nature and by the breath of God by which the being became a living soul. (Keil and Delitzsh)

We are not to look to Genesis for a scientific cosmogony, and are not to be disturbed by physicists’ criticisms on it as such. Its purpose is quite another, and far more important; namely, to imprint deep and ineffaceable the conviction that the one God created all things. Nor must it be forgotten that this vision of creation was given to people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry. We are not to look to Genesis for a scientific cosmogony, and are not to be disturbed by physicists’ criticisms on it as such. Its purpose is quite another, and far more important; namely, to imprint deep and ineffaceable the conviction that the one God created all things. Nor must it be forgotten that this vision of creation was given to people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry.  No theory has been able to bridge the chasm without admitting a divine act introducing the new element of life, and none has been able to bridge the gulf between the animal and human consciousness without admitting a divine act introducing ‘the image of God’ into man.  (MacLaren)

It is, however, in the soul of man, that we must look for the divine image. And here we easily discern it. Like God, man’s soul is a spirit, immaterial, invisible, active, intelligent, free, immortal, and, when first created, endowed with a high degree of divine knowledge, and with holiness and righteousness. (Benson)

We gather from the present chapter that God is a spirit Genesis 1:2, that he thinks, speaks, wills, and acts (Genesis 1:3-4, etc.). Here, then, are the great points of conformity to God in man, namely, reason, speech, will, and power. By reason we apprehend concrete things in perception and consciousness, and cognize abstract truth, both metaphysical and moral. By speech we make certain easy and sensible acts of our own the signs of the various objects of our contemplative faculties to ourselves and others. By will we choose, determine, and resolve upon what is to be done. By power we act, either in giving expression to our concepts in words, or effect to our determinations in deeds. In the reason is evolved the distinction of good and evil Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:31, which is in itself the approval of the former and the disapproval of the latter. In the will is unfolded that freedom of action which chooses the good and refuses the evil. (Barnes)

We were created by God with faculties of reason, understanding, and freedom in choices and actions. It is within our soul that we freely choose to want to honor and glorify our creator, savior, and redeemer. We were created for the ultimate single purpose of this. It is also within our soul to freely choose to deny, reject, and only live to please ourselves and thereby giving no honor, glory, or want to know the Creator. There is no satisfaction or meaning in a person’s life that has denied or rejected their creator. Satan, the water of all lies, will cast both bold and subtle lies hoping they will persuade a soul to deviate from God’s purpose and blessings. Man lives and man dies, nations rise and nations fall, and throughout it, all the eternal destiny, (Heaven or Hell), of each man is determined based on the freedom of choices they make regarding their Creator.

33.a. “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”

 

Matthew 13:47  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 Matthew 13:30   Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

 Matthew 13:40     Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

 Matthew 3:12     His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

  Revelation 14:10-11     he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

 Luke 13:27-28    But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

Scripture is full of truth concerning heaven and hell. In heaven, there is everlasting holiness, peace, joy, worship, and praise, in the presence of the Creator of all things, our Heavenly Father, God, forever and ever – (Eternity).  In Hell, there is everlasting torment, darkness, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. They are not fictional places. Heaven and Hell are as certain and real as the air you breathe, just as the coming day of judgment is surely coming. To deny that Heaven and hell exist is denying and rejecting God and the Word of God. “For God so loved the world that He sent his only Son, so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”  Rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ is rejecting God and denying His redemption, salvation, and forgiveness. 

Apart from Adam and Eve, all of mankind was born into sin and have a sinful nature that opposes God. It is this sinful nature that promotes self over things of God. It can be intentionally selfish, self-centered, self-reliant, self-worthy, greedy, unkind, unholy, angry, hateful, jealous, prideful, boastful, arrogant, lustful, cruel, and ever choosing to reject and deny God, the Word of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All of mankind is lost and apart from God and on a path that leads straight to Hell. Satan is always tempting the minds and souls of people to yield to these sinful nature’s attributes and a person willingly chooses to grab hold of these temptations and do what should not be done. God knows the thoughts and intents of every person. There is nothing hidden from His sight in all of creation.  There are no excuses. Every single person is given a foundational knowledge of God. He has placed it in the hearts of all people. Rejecting this foundational knowledge denies God, the Creator of all there is and will yield a wasted, unfruitful, unsatisfied, and non-purposed life, ending in judgment and eternity in Hell. 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”   

Heaven is reserved for those who acknowledge their sin (and sinful nature) and believe, repent, humbly surrender, follow, obey, trust, and rely on Jesus Christ for forgiveness, redemption, and salvation. This is an intentional choice to believe and rely on Jesus Christ. Their lives are no longer under the influence of Satan for they have been given and filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Daily they intentionally choose to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all they think, say, and do. Eternal Heaven is promised and assured to these, just as eternal Hell is promised and assured to those who reject Him.

27.l. “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”

 

Ephesians 3:20  Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

 Jeremiah 32:17   ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

 Daniel 3:17   If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

 Jeremiah 32:27   “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

 Isaiah 55:7   let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

 John 10:29-30   My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

 John 10:10   The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

“Exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” “Great power”, “Nothing is too hard for You”, “Greater than all”, “Is anything too hard for Me” – Our God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.  He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and always present everywhere. He created all there is. He is steadfast in His love for us.  He has given us great and precious promises.  He gave His Son as a ransom for our sins. He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within each and everyone who believes in, trusts in, relies upon, and clings to Jesus Christ. He has reached out to His creation through what can be seen in creation, His written Word, Jesus Christ, and has written it on our heart.  He is all truth and in Him is no falseness. Heaven awaits those who answer His voice and are saved.  Hell awaits those who reject His calling.  

Have you ever just thought about what is stated in “He can do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think.”  The toughest problem with the most confusing issues, the worst situation without any hope, the worst hateful person, the unfathomable, the spiritual dimension in human life, the depths of the whole universe, and His grace, mercy, and love, are hard to understand yet alone influence, and God knows more than we can think and more than we can ask.  He is limitless. This is our Heavenly Father, redeemer, refuge, fortress, and our place of rest.  Why is there worry or fear in our hearts and minds about certain things?  What is impossible for man is not with God. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think!  Don’t let your hearts be troubled – trust God!  Don’t worry – trust God! Don’t fear – trust God! He is more than able to handle whatever relationship, job, health, or other pressing issue or problem we have and see no way out of.

26.b. “I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.”

Galatians 1:1  Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

  John 4:34    Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

 John 5:30     “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

 Romans 8:27   And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

 Ephesians 1:11    In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

 John 6:38    For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

 Psalms 40:8     I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

 Psalms 119:92   If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

 Job 23:12   I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever.” –“because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” – “according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” – “I delight to do your will”

What is the will of God?  Do we search scripture to understand, in part, the will of God? Do we blindly live our lives without giving thought to what God’s will is for our lives? Many books have been written to help us understand the will of God for our lives. Here are a few “The will of God”, What the will of God really means”, “Experiencing God, knowing and doing the will of God”, “Decision making and the will of God”, “What the bible says about how to know God’s will”, “How you can know the will of God”, “Discovering His will for your life”, “Understanding and pursuing the will of God,” “How to know the will of God”, “Walking in the will of God”, “The will of God”, “You can know the will of God”, “Finding God’s will for you”, “How do I know God’s will”, “Discovering God’s will”, “The secret to knowing God’s will for your life”, “Can I know God’s will”, “The will of God”, “Finding God’s will”, etc…………… These books have been mostly written in an attempt to explain and point to understanding the Will of God.  I am sure there are many good points and thoughts in these books.  Some of them will be similar and some will be one-offs.  

At the end of the day, what is important: having a desire for God’s will, seeking God’s will, and believing, trusting, following, and obeying His will.  Know this – we can not expect to begin to understand God’s will if we are neglectful and complacent or if our eyes are on the worldly rather than the heavenly, and if our fleshly heart is not surrendered. Seeking, desiring, and wanting to do the will of God should not be seen as a one and done event, but rather, an intentional daily continual choice – a way of life – wanting to be and willing to be lead by the Holy Spirit of God for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ.

22.k. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, or self.”

 

 

1 Corinthians 10:31   So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

 Colossians 3:17    And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 1 Peter 4:11   whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 Colossians 3:23   Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

 Philippians 1:10    so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

Do you give thought to “all that you do”, you are doing for the glory of God?  How much of each of our days are spent without the thought?  If God and His Word are not consistently within our thoughts we can be certain then honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ is not being honored.  We may do good things that honor Him but if the intent is not to honor Him by what we are doing then we miss honoring and glorifying Him.  A good place to start is by practicing the presence of Jesus Christ.  For sure He is always present but are our actions, thoughts, and tendencies reflecting we are aware.

17.c. “Even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

John 11:17  Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

 Romans 8:11    If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

 2 Corinthians 4:14    knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

 Philippians 3:20-21     But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,  who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

 1 Thessalonians 4:14     For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

 Revelation 20:10-15    and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

“Those that believe in Jesus Christ appear to die, but yet they live. They are not in the grave, they are forever with the Lord. They are not unconscious they are with their Lord in Paradise. Death cannot kill a believer, it can only usher him into a freer form of life.” “Death comes to the ungodly man as a penal infliction, but to the righteous as a summons to his Father’s palace: to the sinner it is an execution, to the saint an undressing. Death to the wicked is the King of terrors: death to the saint is the end of terrors, the commencement of glory.” (Spurgeon)

At death, there is rejoicing for those who believe and regret for those who reject and deny Jesus Christ.  Scripture is clear and yet so many reject the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ. Denying Jesus Christ has earthly effects, but the most important is it has eternal consequences.  We never truly know when death will knock on our door.  We can be ready for that knock and rejoice to know our home is in heaven and we will be with Jesus forever more.

15.b. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John 3:22  After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison). Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Jeremiah 1:5    “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

1 Corinthians 4:7    For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

Matthew 25:15     To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

1 Corinthians 12:11    All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Romans 12:6   Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us

1 Corinthians 15:10    But by the grace of God I am what I am,

James 1:17    Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

1 Peter 4:10-11  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:  whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 John’s disciples seemed alarmed, but it didn’t bother John one bit. John would not allow envy or the fickle crowds make him forget his mission: to announce that the Messiah had come, and then to step back and let the attention be focused upon the Messiah. John first answered his worried disciples that everything he had – including those who responded to his ministry – were a gift from God. If they are God’s gift, then they should be received gratefully. John then reminded his disciples that he knew who he was, and he also knew who Jesus was. Understanding that, he could keep his proper place; not too high (thinking he was the Christ) and not too low (thinking he had no call or place in God’s plan). John explained to his followers that he was like the best man at a wedding; he isn’t the bridegroom. He isn’t to be the focus of attention, but to supervise the bringing of two people together.  “John had no sense of envy or rivalry. It is not easy to see another’s influence growing at the expense of one’s own; it is even less easy to rejoice at the sight. But John found his joy completed by the news which his disciples brought.”  John the Baptist understood it was good for him to become less visible and known, for Jesus to become more visible and known. In even larger aspects, this should be the motto of every Christian, especially leaders among God’s people. Jesus should become greater and more visible, and the servant should become less and less visible. John that Baptist also did not quit his work just because Jesus was doing a similar work and doing it for more people. He labored on, content to do what God called him to do even though Jesus gained more and more attention and John less and less.

13.v. “Worship the King, the Lord of hosts”

Zechariah 14:16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

Revelation 11:15-17    Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”  And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,  saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

Romans 11:26    And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

The millennium time is a bit of a mystery.  A thousand-year reign with Christ as King.  A time of peace and no wars.  A time of being in the physical presence of Jesus Christ.  Do you ever wonder why there would be people who do not want to or see the need to worship Jesus during this time?  Is it possible that we are no different?  Do we come to Jesus when convenient and other times we just can’t find the time or make the time?  What drives us to come to Him and worship Him?  Is it forgiveness of sin? Is it His sacrifice for us?  Is it His promise of eternity? Is it His blessings on the work of our hands?  Is it the blessings of our family?  Is it the blessings of the indwelling Holy Spirit? Is it a peace that passes all understanding?  Is it comfort in the storm? Is it courage in the face of whatever we are battling?  Is it the understanding of grace, mercy, and love He showered on us?  Is it the promise that He will never leave or forsake us?  Is it …..?  The point is that when we seek and desire Him with all of our heart, mind, and soul, and strength, worship will flow from our heart and mind and soul for Him.  When we give the world any place in our heart, mind, and soul it seems to take the worship of Jesus Christ captive and releases our self-centered, self-reliant, self-serving desires.  Take a look at your worship of Jesus Christ and place it first above all else.

12.a. “They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment,”

Habakkuk 1:12  Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

Psalms 90  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Revelation 1:8   “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Lamentations 5:19   But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.

Isaiah 40:28     Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

1 Timothy 1:17    To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 1:10-12     And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;  they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment,

Isaiah 57:15    For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Almighty, Everlasting, Holy One, Rock, Righteous, Alpha and Omega, Creator, Unsearchable, Immortal, Invisible, and Unchangeable, is our God!!!!!!!!!  It is hard to touch the edge of understanding of how great God is.  The Mighty One who reigns in eternity is the same one who dwells with those who are repentant. “The One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” Our God reached out to His creation in love through Jesus Christ, to redeem those who come to Him in a contrite spirit.  It was not as though He needed to do this.  He is God and could have destroyed His creation and started over but He chose to send a redeemer into this world to rescue those who would respond to His offer of redemption through Jesus Christ.  Adam and Eve chose to defy God’s warning.  They chose to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I do not know how this all worked but at this point sin and our sinful nature took birth.  Every birth from this moment forward has a sinful nature.  This same sinful nature that drove Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden is the same sinful nature that drives us to willingly continue to separate ourselves from God.  This sinful nature wants us and entices us to look at what this world has to offer more than the Word of God and His promises.  This sinful nature wants us to water down the Good News of Jesus Christ to the point where it has no effect on the way we live.  It wants us to water down the Good News of Jesus Christ so that the need for forgiveness, repentance, reliance, obedience, and humbly serving the King of Kings is not required. This should not be.  Things of this world will never fully satisfy, but will surely disappoint.  Things of this world will never give us lasting peace, but will surely rob us of rest for our souls.  Things of this world will never give us lasting hope but will fill us with confusion and fear.  Things of this world will not save our souls from eternal punishment and torment in hell but will fill us with a worldly wisdom that there is no punishment, torment, or hell.  The grace, mercy, and love of God reached out to save us from our sinful nature.  The Creator demonstrated this grace, mercy, and love by sending His only Son and placed our sins on Him as the only perfect, once and for all sacrifice.  This perfect redemption came at a very high cost and yet, Jesus Christ paid the price willing for our redemption and forgiveness of sin.  Our daily lives ought to be lived out in humble thankfulness and gratitude, full of worship, obedience, and reliance.  Be mindful of your sinful nature and what this world is offering, they both lie.  Turn your hearts, minds, and souls to the Almighty, Everlasting, Holy One, Rock, Righteous, Alpha and Omega, Creator, Unsearchable, Immortal, Invisible, and Unchangeable, God!!  In this turning to God and away from self you will find purpose, meaning, peace, and rest.  Eternity awaits us all.  To some it will be eternity Heaven and others it will be an eternity in Hell.  The choice is all yours and be assured that this choice has eternal consequences.