Proclaim – Praying Pint

49.p. Wilderness – 13.v. “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully”

Deu 4:15  “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly.

Deu 4:19-20  And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.

Exodus 19:5-6     Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;  and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

Psalms 28:9     Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalms 33:12     Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Ephesians 1:18     having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Titus 2:14     who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

As the people had seen no form or figure when God spake to them, so they were to beware for their very lives (cf. ver. 9) of acting corruptly by making any kind of image, whether of man or of beast, for the purpose of worshipping God as represented by it; they were also to beware of being so attracted by the splendor of the heavenly bodies as to be forcibly seduced to worship them and offer them religious service. They were not in this respect to imitate the heathen; for God, who had delivered them out of the furnace of Egyptian bondage, had taken them for himself to be his special possession; and therefore they were to take heed not to forget the covenant of Jehovah their God, nor to offend him by making any image or representation of him as the object of worship. Among the heathen, and especially in Egypt, images were the very pillar and support of religion; but in Israel, as God had revealed himself to them without form, it was as a spirit he was to be worshipped, and not under any outward representation. (Unknnow)

God did not deliver us from the bondage of sin so that we could do our own “Thing”, but so we would do that which honors and glorifies Him. There is so much more to learn of the Holiness of God and the sinfulness of sin. Every single day our sinful nature must be recognized in the light of His Word. When recognized, it must be turned away from. Every day we have the opportunity to grow in our understanding of God’s Holiness and the sinfulness of sin. This knowledge and understanding do not come to us naturally but by and through His Word and with a heart, mind, and soul desiring to know and understand so that we might not sin against Him but rather honor and glorify Him.

Every day we have the opportunity to grow in our understanding and knowledge of God and things of God if our heart’s desire for it does not become dimmed by worldly distractions.

46.c. “Wilderness” – 10.i. “The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you”

Num 6:25  the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

Psalms 21:6   For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

Psalms 31:16    Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!

Psalms 67:1    May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us

Psalms 80:3   Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalms 119:135    Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.

Daniel 9:17    Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.

Malachi 1:9    And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us.

Exodus 33:19    And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

John 1:17    For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Happy the people whose king makes God’s strength his confidence, and God’s salvation his joy; who is pleased with all the advancements of God kingdom, and trusts God to support him in all he does for the service of it. All our blessings are blessings of goodness, and are owing, not to any merit of ours, but only to God’s goodness. But when God’s blessings come sooner, and prove richer than we imagine; when they are given before we prayed for them, before we were ready for them, nay, when we feared the contrary; then it may be truly said that he prevented, or went before us. (Henry)

the blessings which are laid up in Christ for his people, and which he imparts unto, them, and they are blessed with in him; so that he is made a blessing, or rather blessings to them; such as redemption to free them from, bondage, righteousness to justify them, sanctification to make them holy, wisdom to direct and guide them, and strength to assist and support them; through whom they have the forgiveness of sins, by whom they have peace with God, and from whom they receive all their joy and comfort, and at last eternal life and happiness; and all these are for ever, they are irreversible blessings, are never repented of, nor taken away. (Gill)

The “face” of God is his personality as turned towards man, or else turned away from him. His face hidden or turned away is despair and death (Deuteronomy 31:17, 18; Job 13:24); his face turned against man is destruction and death (Leviticus 17:10; Psalm 34:16); his face turned upon man in love and mercy is life and salvation. (Unknown)

There are uncomfortable situations and heart-hurting things that we experience. Some are of our own accord and others are at the hands of others. We don’t know why sometimes we are protected from them and other times we must walk through them. God knows. He will lead us and guide us and give us strength to rest in Him for resolution.

45.a. “Wilderness” – 9.g. “Please show me your glory.”

Exodus 33:18  Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

Job 11:7   “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

Job 26:14     Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

John 1:18     No one has ever seen God; the only God

1 Corinthians 13:12    For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1 Timothy 6:16    who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

All that he had yet seen of God was insufficient—only raised his desire, only sharpened his appetite to see more. (Ellicott)

Moses speaks as one who dreaded the thought of going forward without the Lord’s presence. God’s gracious promises, and mercy towards us, should not only encourage our faith, but also excite our fervency in prayer. (Henry)

So long as we are clothed with this body, which was destined, indeed, from the very first to be transformed into the glorified state of the immortality of the spirit, but has become through the fall a prey to the corruption of death, we can only walk in faith, and only see God with the eye of faith, so far as He has revealed His glory to us in His works and His word. (Keil)

Moses asks for something very personable – “Show me Your glory”. Moses was closer to God than any man since Adam, and he asked for more intimate closeness. He wanted to be closer still. He was in the presence of God. He was near God. He spoke with God and God with him. He saw the hand of God do miracles and wonders. He pleaded with god for the restoration of Israel. And Moses still wanted to be more intimate with his understanding and knowledge of God by actually seeing His glory.

Do we seek to be more intimate with God? Do we want to be in His presence and experience His glory? Do we want to be known by God in a personal way so that we are not only fully devoted servants but a friend of God too? I wonder if we want to be blessed by God and given the comforts of His blessings without wanting to be close to Him. When we see His creation and have been given glimpses of His awesome power, protection, peace, presence, joy, grace, mercy, and love, do we want to be closer still, or just be a benefactor? That is the question, isn’t it?

Just wanting to be close enough to receive goodness is not worthy of His holiness, grace, and mercy. That is like wanting to be friends with a very generous person for what they give to you, but never ever wanted to truly be their friend in an indebted way. How shallow is a friendship that only desires to be given something by that friend? Isn’t it shameful?

Every single person has been given the beginning knowledge of God and who He is. God wrote it on their heart and minds. He stands at the door to our souls and seeks to come into our lives, invited in. He had His Word written down so that we might know Him and of His grace, mercy, power, wisdom, holiness, goodness, and one million more adjectives that only begin to explain how awesome All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Ever-Present He is. He sent His one and only Son to die and redeem us from eternal torment, Hell. He promised eternal life. He sent His Holy Spirit to fill us with His continual presence. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. He promised to be our rock and refuge.

What has He asked of us, His creation? – To believe, rely upon, and trust in His Son and to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.

Examine your life, your wants, where you spend time, what you think about, who you listen to, what you say, what you do, and where you place importance. Can you say that you truly are seeking and desiring to know and understand more and more of God and be closer to Him?

36.f. ” But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.””

Genesis 13:13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD

Isaiah 1:9  If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

Isaiah 3:9    For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.

Ezekiel 16:46-50   And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.  Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.  As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.  Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.  They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.

Matthew 11:23-24    And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Romans 1:27    and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

2 Peter 2:6-8    if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;  and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked  (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

2 Peter 2:10   and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,

Jude 1:7    just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Lot’s history teaches what comes of setting the world first, and God’s kingdom second. For one thing, the association with it is sure to get closer. Lot began with choosing the plain; then he crept a little nearer, and pitched his tent ‘towards’ Sodom; next time we hear of him, he is living in the city, and mixed up inextricably with its people. The first false step leads on to connections unforeseen, from which the man would have shrunk in horror, if he had been told that he would make them. Once on the incline, time and gravity will settle how far down we go. We shall see, in subsequent sections, how far Lot’s own moral character suffered from his choice. But we may so far anticipate the future narrative as to point out that it affords a plain instance of the great truth that the sure way to lose the world as well as our own souls, is to make it our first object. He would have been safe if he had stopped up among the hills. The shadowy Eastern kings who swooped down on the plain would never have ventured up there. But when we choose the world for our portion, we lay ourselves open to the full weight of all the blows which change and fortune can inflict, and come voluntarily down from an impregnable fastness to the undefended open. Nor is this all; but at the last, when the fiery rain bursts on the doomed city, Lot has to leave all the wealth for which he has sacrificed conscience and peace, and escapes with bare life; he suffers loss even if he himself is ‘saved as dragged through the fire.’ The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. The riches which wax not old, and need not to be left when we leave all things besides, are surely the treasures which the calmest reason dictates should be our chief aim. God is the true portion of the soul; if we have Him, we have all. So, let us seek Him first, and, with Him, all else is ours. (MacLaren)

Lot looked to the goodness of the land; therefore he doubted not that in such a fruitful soil he should certainly thrive. But what came of it? Those who, in choosing relations, callings, dwellings, or settlements, are guided and governed by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life, cannot expect God’s presence or blessing. They are commonly disappointed even in that which they principally aim at. In all our choices this principle should rule, That is best for us, which is best for our souls. Lot little considered the badness of the inhabitants. The men of Sodom were impudent, daring sinners. This was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness, Eze 16:49. God often gives great plenty to great sinners. It has often been the vexatious lot of good men to live among wicked neighbours; and it must be the more grievous, if, as Lot here, they have brought it upon themselves by a wrong choice. (Henry)

Lot, who was either careless in his inquiry into the dispositions and manners of those among whom he intended to fix his abode, which for many reasons he should have searched out; or he was willing to expose himself to all the hazards which he might incur by their neighbourhood and familiarity, for the sweetness and fertility of the soil; an error which is frequently committed by men in the choice of their habitations, and which oft costs them dear, as it did Lot in the following story. (Poole)

Given “free will” to choose, let us be mindful of what is guiding our choice(s). Let our “free will” choose to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do. Things of this world will grow strangely dim when our purpose is for only Him.

32.q. “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench”

Matthew 12:15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

When Jesus departed the public places people followed Him. Though the ones who should have recognized and known Jesus as the Messiah did not these humble men and women did. They followed Him to be near to Him and perhaps be healed of whatever was ailing them. He healed them all. If you want to be near Jesus, you must follow Him.

Jesus the Servant is an example to us as servants, but He is so much more than that. He is our Servant. He serves us; not only in what He did in the past, but also in He serves us every day through His constant love, care, guidance, and intercession. Jesus did not stop serving when He went to heaven; He serves all His people more effectively than ever from heaven. (Guzik)

Life often will bruise us and bring the flame of our hope and faith to nothing more than a smoldering ember. It is in our weakness where Jesus deals with us gently and tenderly. Our bruise heals and our smoldering ember becomes a flame. This does not mean our neglect and complacency to His Word will be rewarded, but rather that Jesus continues to give gentle reminders and opportunities to see ourselves in light of holiness, godliness, and if we are in line with what it means to be a child of God through faith, trust, reliance, hope, and obedience. These gentle reminders can still be rejected and our lives can still remain to be endless days of worry, busyness, fear, and anxiousness. It is only in humble surrender and repentance that the bruises of life that snuffed out our flame are healed.

The problem is that way too many are content being bruised and flameless, limping along in life like those with no hope. As a child of the King of Kings should not our lives be a reverent reflection of our Father. If you are limping along in your faith and commitment to Jesus Christ, if you are bruised, and if your flame has smoldered seek and desire to be made whole again and that your life will bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ in all you say, think, and do.

32.g. “it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.”

Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Because so many were so spiritually neglected, Jesus sent these apostles out. “The beginnings of the mission to the neglected ‘lost’ sheep of Israel. Who were the lost sheep of Israel? In a sense, all of them were. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6). Yet in another sense, there were also lost sheep that were abused and neglected by their spiritual shepherds, the scribes, priests, and Pharisees. This is the sense of Jeremiah 50:6: My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray.

The disciples both had a message to preach and a power to display. In this, they were truly followers of their Master. They were not to seek or desire payment – “You received without paying, give without pay”. They should expect God to meet their needs, without taking undue concern for their own needs. Furthermore, they should expect that God would normally meet their needs through the inspired hospitality of others. Even though the twelve could expect their needs to be met through the people they served, they should never require their needs to be met as payment. The foundational principle was freely you have received, freely give.

All we have we have been given by the author and creator. We are stewards of what He has given us. We do well to keep this in mind and live humbly before God.

21.f. “Cast off and cast away your cloak of filthy rags”

Romans 13:12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Ezekiel 18:31-32   Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

John 3:19-21   And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

1 John 1:5-7   This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Galatians 5:16   But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

1 Thessalonians 2:12   we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

We must cast off before we can put on. “The rags of sin must come off if we put on the robe of Christ. There must be a taking away of the love of sin, there must be a renouncing of the practices and habits of sin, or else a man cannot be a Christian. It will be an idle attempt to try and wear religion as a sort of celestial overall over the top of old sins.” (Spurgeon)

The flesh will be as active as we allow it to be. We have a work to do in walking properly, as in the day – it isn’t as if Jesus does it for us as we sit back; instead, He does it through us as we willingly and actively partner with Him. (Guzik)

Spurgeon makes the point of the idle attempt to think it is possible to wear the cloak of religion over the top of unrepentant, unchanged, self-reliant, self-worthy, and self-serving heart, and expect it to, by some means, make you right before God’s eyes. There are those who spit on the garment of salvation. They want no part of it. They see this garment as a filthy rag. They deny it has any beauty or purpose.

There are people that may recognize the need for Christ but they continue to wear the cloak of self-reliance to cover their sin rather than an intentional choice to cast off the cloak of all hope in anything they can do and put on the garment of salvation. They are quick-change artists. They are able to slap an off-market garment that gives the appearance of being a Christian but under that garment still remains the filthy rags of un-repented sin and self-reliance. They never want to take off their filthy rags only cover them up.

The Word of God exposes the stench and ugliness of these filthy rags we cling to so tightly. In His Word, we are able to see them for what they are. We smell the stench and see the ugliness. We become aware and are able to cast them off. It is in this “casting off” that we are able to put on the pure clean garment of salvation. Casting off requires us to recognize the stench and ugliness of what cloaks our hearts, minds, and souls. Without this recognition, the need for the garment of salvation will never be put on. Jesus Christ paid the price (bought our new garment) and when we recognize the filthy rags clothing us and humbly take them off and lay them at His feet, He places this new garment of salvation on us. The stench and ugliness garments are removed forever.

The stench and ugliness of our filthy rags is sin. The garment of salvation is believing in, clinging to, trusting in, and relying on and in Jesus Christ. Recognition, confession, repentance, turning away, from the cloak of sin to the garment of salvation is an intentional choice. We can never buy the garment of salvation, it can only be given to us by Jesus Christ as we cast off our cloak of filthy rags.

20.k. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:8 “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Mark 16:15-16    And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 10:43   To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Galatians 3:5    Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith

Acts 13:38-39    Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,  and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

I must admit I am intrigued by the difference between believing and believing in and on Jesus Christ. I imagine there are those who believe Jesus Christ. They believe He is the Son of God. They believe He was sent by God. They believe He died and rose again. They believe He is coming again. The believe there is a heaven and a hell. They believe the bible is God’s Word. They believe doing good is right. They believe in some form of justice for the guilty and innocent. And yet, for all of this belief, they fall short of what it means to believe on/in Jesus Christ. The difference is they believe about Him but not in/on Him. One is an intellectual understanding, belief, and knowledge of the subject – Jesus Christ. To believe in/on Jesus Christ is completely different. It is life -changing, life-altering, life-leading, and true peace and joy giving faith. The bible says this is being born again, made new, and being a new creation. This newness of life comes from believing in, trusting in, clinging to, relying on, surrendering and yielding to, and obeying Jesus Christ. A persons life is changed.

I fear many believe that the work of Jesus Christ was a blanket forgiveness over all of mankind’s sins and that all who do good things in this life will go to heaven. They live good lives and can be kind and loving but they never really see a personal need for personal forgiveness of their personal sin. Their belief in the blanket covering has blinded their personal need for forgiveness.

Ask God to reveal to your heart if you are believing in/on Jesus Christ or believing about Him. Only a heart seeking for God to open their hearts, minds, and souls to the wisdom and understanding for the need for forgiveness will see Jesus Christ as redeemer and savior. It is in this understanding that belief about changes to believing in/on Jesus Christ through faith and trust. The difference is that this God-given wisdom and understanding will lead to a person calling out to Jesus Christ to save them. There should be no doubt in your heart, soul, and mind about this.

19.g. “O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;”

John 21:25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John 20:30-31    Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Psalms 71:15   My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.

Job 26:14   Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

Psalms 40:5    You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

If it were possible to write volumes of books that contained the works of Jesus, the world could not contain them. The righteous acts of God and His deeds of salvation exceed our knowledge. Though we have been given God’s Word, it appears to be a vast writing with unlimited knowledge of God. We could spend a lifetime reading it and our understanding of God would still be but a whisper of who and what God is, let alone His power, might, strength, grace, mercy, wisdom, knowledge, ……….. Understanding of God can not be something that is read and understood, it must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. “To whom will he teach knowledge,

and to whom will he explain the message? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”

God has given deep in our hearts a beginning knowledge of Himself. He has revealed Himself to us through creation. He has revealed Himself through His Word. He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. He has revealed Himself through mighty and wondrous works of His power. He has revealed His grace, mercy, and love through Jesus. When we think of the limitlessness of God, then His Word and what we can see of His Creation speak but a whisper to our minds. What He has revealed should not be considered a whisper though. It should be considered a SHOUT, a thunderous SHOUT to each and every soul. It is a SHOUT of love and of warning. It is a SHOUT of eternal life and eternal torment and hell. It is a Shout of the Heavenly and worldly. It is a SHOUT of righteousness and wickedness, good and bad, faithful and unfaithful, truth and lies. It is a SHOUT of hope, refuge, power, strength, and courage, and of fear, anger, hate, and confusion. It is a SHOUT of redemption, salvation, and forgiveness, and of judgment, condemnation, and rejection.

It is a loud thunderous SHOUT to every soul. On judgment day no one will be able to say I didn’t know or I never heard for it will be clear to them than just how many times in their lives they rejected and denied the thunderous SHOUTS of God’s warnings and love.

18.t. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel”

John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

Matthew 10:28     And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Romans 10:2-3    For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

2 Corinthians 4:3-6   And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12     and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Wicked deception, established their own, did not submit, blinded, refused truth, perishing, and strong delusion are all Words used to speak of those who have the desire and find purpose fulfilling their worldly and selfish desires. All of us displayed some of these characteristics to some extent in our lives. We were selfish, blind, deaf, and perishing in our sin, and yet, in God’s grace, mercy, and love He pulled us out of this pit of destruction. I have no earthly idea of how this is accomplished. In my own life, I was very selfish and worldly. I gave very little or absolutely no thought about God. I can’t even say for sure if I gave any thought about heaven or hell. I am pretty sure I was void, blind, and deaf to anything of God. Through an accident though God broke through. I was not seeking Him. I was not wanting to know Him. I was not wanting to honor Him. I was not wanting to obey Him. And yet, He broke through, showed, and allowed me to understand sin, my sin. He allowed me to understand the need for Jesus Christ as redeemer and savior for the forgiveness of my sin. He gave me an understanding of heaven and hell. He gave me an understanding of truly being forgiven.

While I was yet a sinner, blind, and deaf to things of God, Christ died for my sin. He rescued me from the depths of hell while I was not even looking to be rescued. I can’t imagine how anyone could have been given this understanding of Christ and the need for redemption and salvation, and reject it or turn their back to it. While I was yet a sinner, God opened my heart and mind to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He opened my understanding of the need for repentance, forgiveness, belief, faith, and trust. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.”

I do not understand how a person’s heart and mind can be opened by God to the need of Jesus Christ and reject it. Yet, it happens millions of times each day. Hebrews 3:15 “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. I don’t see how it is possible, but people continue to harden their hearts and minds to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Eternity awaits us all. The path to eternal life is through Jesus Christ alone. The path to eternal torment is to reject and deny the need for Jesus Christ.