rock of offense – Praying Pint

18.s. ““I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

Luke 24:49    And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you

Matthew 13:21    yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

1 Peter 2:8     and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

Jesus said; “When the Helper (Holy Spirit) comes.” He did not say “if”, He said, “when”. The gift of and sending of the Holy Spirit was and is promised. Through this gift, those who believe receive truth and display various gifts of this truth; wisdom, power, courage, strength, love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, grace, mercy, unity, harmony, generosity, humbleness, patience…. These gifts all bear witness to the truth of love, grace, and mercy in and through Jesus Christ. If we were left on our own without the helper, certainly we would be void. All of our wisdom would be worldly foolishness. Our power, courage, and strength would be a worldly weakness. All love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, grace, mercy, unity, harmony, generosity, humbleness, and patience would be self-centered, selfish, and self-reliant. Certainly, we would fail and fall short of bringing any honor and glory to Jesus Christ.

We can surrender and yield and seek and desire to be led by the Holy Spirit of truth or we can deny and reject, and harden our hearts and minds making us deaf and blind to the things of the Holy Spirit. Every moment of every day we will make a choice to surrender and yield and seek and desire to be led by the Holy Spirit or not. In this surrender and yielding and seeking and desiring we will glorify and honor Jesus Christ. Without desire and seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit we are surrendering and yielding to self and things of this world. None of which brings honor and glory to Christ.

Make an intentional choice every morning to be led by and through the Holy Spirit. Spend time in His word seeking that which will bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ. Listen for those quiet whispers of the Holy Spirits leading and be obedient.

4.z. They are ashamed because they were confident

Job 6:20 They are ashamed because they were confident; they come there and are disappointed.

Jeremiah 17:13     O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.

Isaiah 45:16-17   All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.  But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.

Romans 5:5    and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 9:33    as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

There is a hope that drives people into confidence. Depending on what this hope is will lead a person to eternity with God or eternity apart from God. The difference is where their hope is. If their hope is in Jesus Christ and their heart desire is to honor, serve, follow, trust, and obey Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength all the days of their life, Eternity with God is promised. If their hope is in or on anything else they will spend eternity in Hell apart from God and in torment.

The problem with confidence is that it can blind us to things of God. It places other things in front of or in place of God. You can be confident in a lie because you do not seek out the truth. You can be confident in something that is not of God because you have chosen to turn a deaf ear and blind eye to Him. You can be confident in a lukewarm, neglectful, and complacent life of service to God because things of this world have captured your heart. “They are ashamed because they were confident.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ leaves no room for our confidence to be in or on anything else. Yet, we live like this, don’t we? We desire and chase after things of this world that will not last and do not strengthen our walk with Jesus or mature us in knowledge and understanding of Him. In this chasing, we water the flame of hope in Jesus Christ to something less than a spark from an ember. The world has a way to entice and draw our hope away from Jesus Christ. It tries to get us to place our hope in other stuff, activities, and shiny things of this world.

When our hope is in Jesus Christ we will find peace, rest, joy, strength, courage, and love. We will never be ashamed. We will have confidence in Him who has promised great things to those who trust in, rely on, and cling to Him.

Keep you from falling

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true;”

John 16:1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 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.

Matthew 11:6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Matthew 13:21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

Matthew 24:10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

1 Peter 2:8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

Romans 9:32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

“They stumble because they disobey the word” !!! – “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true“. What is it that gives rise to the reason we stumble and disobey? There seems to be a pattern throughout scripture where man sees the work of God’s hand and tastes the blessings of His grace, mercy, and love, but the rooting of this into their life does not hold. Their life is consumed by the cares of this world and they become blind and deaf to God and His purpose and plan. No one is immune to this happening. Yet this is no excuse. We are to be mindful of our sinful nature and it’s desire to reject things of God and place self and self interests first. The path to this state is wide, inviting and enticing. If we do not know of it’s path how are we to keep from going down it? What are the signs of being on it? We can not assume this is recognized on our own. the human lens we look through cannot focus on things of God. It is only through the Holy Spirit, our helper!!!!!!! that we see clearly things of God. His word is critical in being able to be led by the Holy Spirit. With out His word being active in our life and being the light on the path to serving, honoring and glorifying Him we are in the dark on the wide path that leads away from Him. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. Beware of complacency and neglecting God’s word. Spend time in His word and know the way, truth and life.