THE MIGHTY GOD - Isaiah 40:12-23
The Christian serves a mighty God. Most believers have no idea just how great and glorious, how amazing and astonishing our God really is.
We recognize that God is one, revealed in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As we look at Isaiah 40, keep in mind that the outline for this chapter comes from Isaiah 9:6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
We have already examined our Wonderful Counsellor. As we continue to read and study Isaiah 40, we discover that this wonderful counselor is also, the Mighty God of the universe. He who walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden and He who wept in the garden of Gethsemane was and is Creator of the universe, the Mighty God.
This section of Scripture that Isaiah gives, is an exaltation and glorification of the majestic, marvelous and mighty God that sits upon the throne of the universe.
It is He, who commanded each star in its special orbit, and it is He who gave each of them names. It is this same God that loved you and I enough to leave heaven and die on Calvary for our sins.
THE PREDETERMINED SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
Our God prepared this world we enjoy. Through His predetermined sovereignty, He planned our eternal salvation through His Son. Let me explain that statement. The holy trinity (God, the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit) counseled together in eternity pass before the first star was ever created, before the first cherub ever flutter its wings.
There, it was determined that God would create the universe. Within that universe God knew He would create the angelic host, a place called earth and mankind. God knew Lucifer would sin and cause one/third of the angelic host to be cast out of heaven. God knew He would create man and in creating man, God knew man would sin.
But all of this was the predetermined sovereignty of God. God knew that He, the second person of the trinity, would come to earth, wrap Himself in human flesh and live inside the womb of a virgin. He knew that He would live and perform miracles and offer His kingdom to the Jewish people and the world, and He knew that they would turn Him down, reject Him and ultimately have Him nailed to a cross.
Satan rejoiced at Calvary, when Jesus died, thinking he had conquered God, only to discover three days and three nights later that God’s predetermined sovereign will, had been accomplished.
Calvary, proved to be Satan’s Waterloo, and Calvary was where the sins of mankind were paid for, and all who would come to Jesus Christ and receive Him as Lord and Savior, mighty be saved.
THE BRIDE
All of this was necessary for God to complete His ultimate project. He began to put together His bride that would have the privilege of ruling and reigning with Him for 1,000 years.
That marvelous bride would be made from all the cultures and people, of all the nations of the world. When all those cultures and nations and people come to Christ, they do not come to diversify God’s Holy Word. They come to accept Christ, and to conform their lives to one culture, one creed, and one constitution, the Christian creed according to God’s Holy Word. I give you this information for many of God’s people do not understand God’s predetermined sovereignty.
Those of the bride of Jesus Christ were chosen before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and called to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29).
If the unsaved world is to see our mighty God, they will see Him in true believers that make up His Church. They will see our mighty God in our lives, as we stand righteous in an unrighteous world, as we stand holy in an unholy world, as we stand true in a hypocritical world.
You and I can enjoy the fullness of life here and now as we focus on our mighty God, and understand His power, provisions and protection. God does not just offer us life but abundant life through Jesus Christ.
Let us examine three marvelous attributes of our God that should amaze, astound and astonish us.
1 – His Omnipotence: (12)
Isaiah 40:12, Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
The word omnipotent means all powerful, invincible and supreme. What man can lift a Mount Everest? Who can understand the size of this universe? Let’s take a moment and look at the things God has done that all the men in the world, collectively, can not do.
He gathered the oceans of the earth in the palm of His hand. He measured the heavens between his pinky and thumb. He has counted all the dust particles of the earth, and He weighted the mountains in his personal scales.
I cannot count the dust particles on my night stand, much less all the grains of dust in the world, yet, He knows exactly how many there are. He is able to weight the mountains of this world in His heavenly scales, or I might say, God knows to the very ounce, the weight of the earth and as well as the universe.
Let’s calculate for a few moments to see how absolutely awesome our God is.
He gathers the ocean in the hollow of his hand. Who has the biggest hands in the building? How much water do you think you can hold in the palm of your hand? A gallon, a quart, a pint, a half of pint…how about a cup, a half a cup, maybe a quarter of a cup. Well, God gathered 170 million cubic miles of ocean in the palm of his hand. That equals to 187 quintillion gallons, or 187,189,915,062 billion gallons of water that my God gathered in the palm of His hand. (187 with 18 zeros) My God is omnipotent, all powerful.
He measured the heavens between his pinky and thumb. I measured the span of my hand the other day and found it to be a little over nine inches. Just for your information one astronomer informs us that our universe is 93 billion light years across. Light travels at 186,200 miles per second. A light minute is how many miles a ray of light will travel in sixty seconds. A light day is how many miles a ray of light will travel at 186,200 miles per second, in 84,600 seconds. If we calculate the distance light travels in one 24 hour day, we will discover that one ray of light travels 15,735,600,000 miles. Now multiply that by 365, then, multiply that answer by 93 billion and you might have the length of our Universe stretched east to west. Then remember that God measures it between his thumb and pinky. Maybe this might make it a little more understandable: one ray of light will circle the earth over 100 billion times each 24 hour period.
But wait! Another astronomer states that our universe is not 93 billion light years across, but 156 billion light years across. The truth of the matter is this: our universe is not static. It is constantly expanding by 15,735,600,000 miles a day.
Scientist can no more discover the size of the universe than they can figure out God. If you want to stand amazed and in awe of the God of the universe, know that He only reveals Himself to man, in His precious Word. Learn His word and you will know His worth and wonder.
This is our God. He is in charge of all things. He is the one every one of us should submit our lives to.
How dare we moral, finite beings, defy Him or deny Him. How dare we ignore His word, or live a life of ignorance, when He has preserved His precious book that informs us, of who He is and what He has done and what He desires to do in our lives.
Picture a friend of yours who tells you of her love for her man, who is at war, but will come home one day. You visit with her and she tells you she just can’t wait till he comes home. She shows you many letters she as received from him, but you notice that only one or two of them are opened. “Why haven’t you read his love letters?” You ask. Oh, I’m going to, but I have been so busy with my life, I haven’t had time yet. You would surely question this girl’s sincerity and love.
God has graciously given man a life, so man might show honor and respect, and pay tribute and admiration to Him.
It is clear man has failed. That is why my omnipotent God gave the world, His precious Son. Jesus, in return, gave His precious blood for the sins of mankind. To those who ignore God’s precious plan of salvation, they will one day stand before this omnipotent God at the Great White Throne Judgment, where they will lose their souls.
My omnipotent God will judge Satan and his demons and they shall forever suffer in the lake of fire.
He shall judge the wicked infidels and agnostics of the world and they shall also suffer in the lake of fire, forever.
But, sadly, there shall be many religious folks who confess with their mouth but denied God with their hearts (their lives), that will be also cast into the lake of fire forever.
How dare man doubt or question God, now or forever? “God is omnipotent.” My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God can not do. The mountains are His. The valleys are His. The stars are His handiwork too. He is omnipotent.
2 – His Omniscience: (13-18)
A – God knows all:
There is only one, who is omniscience or knows everything. There is only one, who knows everything about everything. That is Jehovah God. Isaiah 40:13 reads, “Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?”
You would think Isaiah is being a little cynical here. He says, “Who taught God? Who was God’s teacher?” The answer is simple: Nobody!
Has it ever dawned on you, that nothing has ever dawned on God? He has never had a new thought. He has never discovered a new truth. He never had a beginning.
He has always been and He has always known everything.
Nothing ever takes God by surprise. He has ultimate knowledge and wisdom. He had always known the end from the beginning.
The amazing complex idea and fact that God had no beginning and He will have no ending, should not trouble you. He is God! Man will never completely understand God. There will always be a high and mighty supremacy about our God, that will make man marvel at His might.
We cannot comprehend God’s eternal state, because we are not omniscience. We are not infinite beings like God. We do not know it all.
We know very, very little. The most intelligent journalist, educator, historian or archeologist in the world could not pass God’s K-4 kindergarten class. Yet, many stand behind podiums and write books sowing doubt and denial of our mighty God’s words and works.
To compare man to God, would be like comparing the mind of an ant to man. An ant has never invented ant cars, ant tractors, ant airplanes, and ant underwear or ant shoes. All the ant world can do is live like ants. Man’s inventions compared to God’s creations are no different.
Think for just a few moments about some very simple truths about God’s works.
Did you know that the highest point on the earth is Mount Everest at 29,028 feet? The lowest point is the Dead Sea at 1,302 feet below sea level.
If you were making this earth would you have known to make it of 46.6% oxygen, 8.1% aluminum, 5% iron, 2.8% magnesium, 3.6% calcium, 2.6% potassium and 27.7% silicone with 1.5% of all the other chemicals, for it to exist? God did!
Did you know the weight of the earth is 6,585,600,000,000,000, 000,000 tons? (6,585 quintillion) God does!
Did you know the reason we have seasons is because the earth is tipped on its axis at 23.5 degrees in orbit? God did that, during the flood on Genesis 6. However, in the millennium when God corrects the earth’s axis the whole world will be one perfect climate and temperature again.
Did you know that 100 million tons of dust particles are carried around the world every year and God has numbered every one? Our omniscience God knows all of that and so much more.
He knows you. He knows your love for Him. He knows your burdens. He knows your compassion and needs. He knows your hurts and pains. He also knows your hypocrisies, phoniness, excuses and laziness. Friend, Be honest with God.
B – God changes not:
Isaiah 40:14, With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
God needs not to sit down with any scientist or archeologist, president or governor for direction or instruction. Rather, everyone needs to sit down with God!
His word is more up to date than any ideas or philosophies that will ever come out of man’s mind.
Archeologist and scientist in their proud intellectual state have denied Bible history and facts, until they unearth certain artifacts to prove them wrong and God right. That is because they walk by sight.
I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that God’s word is true and science that contradicts God’s word is wrong.
Many have denied the Bible again and again, until they unearth ruins to prove them wrong and God right. Yet, still today, they question God’s existence and creation and judgment. They do so, because they do not know the God of the universe. They do not know the Savior of the world. They do not have His Spirit living inside of them.
I know Him and I shall believe God’s holy Bible over the darken mind of the intellectual fools of our day, any day of the week.
God doesn’t need to change. His methods do not need to change. The weapons of the spiritual warrior, that wins victories today, were the weapons of David and Elijah and Daniel of old. They were the weapons of Paul and James and John. Those weapons were prayer and the word of God. If you want to see your nations, your home, your church, your life change and those who live around you, learn how to use the arsenal of God. Learn to use prayer and the Word.
When religions cry, “We need to change to reach the world,” they have taken the counsel of men and not of God.” If we are to reach the lost world, we must not become like the world but like God.
We must pray with pure hearts, and walk before God according to the holy precepts in God’s Holy Word. We are not to compromise and become like the world. The Bible declares, “God changeth not!”
The world does need change, but it is not the change, whereby we accept the ideas and philosophies of man. It is the change whereby we need to go back and apply the principles and doctrines of God’s word to our lives.
That is the change the world needs! One change will take the world a step closer to God. The other change will take the world a step closer to judgment and to hell.
C – God controls the nations:
Isaiah 40:15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
Isaiah, draws an analogy in verse 15. He is saying the military strength and intellectual ability of the nations of the world, is equivalent to one drop of sea water in a bucket, compared to the omniscience God of the universe, who holds the 170 million cubic miles of oceans in the hollow of His hand.
It is like unto a five-year-old child charging a mile high tidal wave, triggered by a Tsunamis, with a squirt-gun, thinking in his foolish mind, that he could actually turn that monstrous wave back with the water in that plastic gun.
If the United Nations and all the nations of the world, agreed together to go against God’s word, they would be, but fools. They may vote 100% to go against God and God laughs. Man’s word and decisions will never take precedent over “Thus saith the Lord.”
Sadly, the Bible informs us that one day, the whole military strength of the world one day will turn against our God, our Lord Jesus Christ. It will take place at the battle of Armageddon, a valley in the Middle East, in Israel. The nations of the world will gather in this valley and they will unleash their entire arsenal against Jesus Christ and His saints, as Christ comes down from heaven to set up the Millennial Kingdom. This mighty army will be like a man charging hell with a water pistol as foolish man comes against the mighty God of the universe.
When governments and nations and organizations vote down God’s word and kick God out, I stand amazed at their foolishness.
For man to go against God’s Word is like the United Nations taking a vote to stop all the hurricanes and earthquakes in the world.
It is a silly thought, as well as a ridiculous jester. It is silly to the point of stupidity, to think that nations and governments and mortal man will make decisions against God, and His Holy Word. It is silly, idiotic, stupid and asinine.
If I were to take my grandson, Chase, to the zoo and put him in the cage with a huge polar bear or in the cage with a mighty lion, you would think that I had lost my mind or was crazy. You would scream at me and say, “What are you doing, are you a fool; are you an idiot? That animal will kill your child in a moment of time.”
What if I said, “Nonsense, I have educated Chase in the best schools in our country? He has taken karate and judo. He is going to destroy that polar bear? My grandson is powerful and strong.” You know what would happen. One swipe of the bears paw would take my grandson’s life. This is the picture Isaiah is painting. When the nations of the world foolishly think they can put together an army to stop God, it is simply asinine.
Every knee shall bow one day and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is King of kings and He is Lord of lords.
Today, God allows men to choose to submit to Him or refuse Him. He pleads with them to surrender to Him and to do His will, but He does not force them to do so.
However, one day, Christ will rule and His rule will be law. In that day, man will not have a choice.
Today, we live in the age of grace. God lovingly gave us truth to live by. We can cling to God’s truth with all our hearts, or we can choose to loosely live a life contrary to it, but there is a day coming when my Lord shall rule with a rod of iron. He is God!
Read Isaiah 40:18, To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
One of the great dilemma’s of man is man has tried to bring God down to his level. Man has tried to make God human. That is why Hollywood has made movies that picture Jesus as fleshly and sinful. Back in the 1960’s man made a movie called, “Jesus Christ, Superstar.” It was a vial and wicked move. All Bible believing, God fearing churches shunned it.
Wicked man wants to make Jesus a mere man. The Bible declares that He was not a mere man; He was the God-man. He was 100% God and 100% man.
He came to save man from his sins, but all who refuse to bow their knee before him in this life-time will bow one day, but that day will be too late. They will bow, only to hear the God of Heaven say, “depart from me, ye that work iniquity, I never knew you.”
Man has changed the God of heaven and tried to make him a fleshly God, like Baal. That is why Solomon records in Proverbs one, that one day God will laugh at man’s calamity, because man has rejected God’s counsel.
Proverbs 1:24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded, 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
Many people ask the question, “How has man rejected God’s council, and his word and his reproof?” When God calls a prophet or preacher to proclaim the truth of this word and man in his pride rejects it, his pride builds and his heart hardens.
Man then proudly, yet ignorantly walks his way and generation after generation walks farther and farther from God. The preachers preach and the prophets shout repent, but man ignores God’s precious Spirit. Then calamity hits. The banks collapse. The economy hits rock bottom. Disaster, fear, terror, sickness, knocks at man’s door. Man, who had so much, now, suddenly, has nothing. Now, he cries out to God for help and God says, I will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.
What our nation has seen the pass few weeks with the hurricanes, gas prices, bankruptcies and political unrest is but a drop of water in a bucket compared to the torrential downpour of disasters on there way, one day.
Why won’t man turn back to God? Read Isaiah 40:19. The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
The reason lost religious people will not come to God is they have a graven image of God in their hearts.
Many folks think that they can worship God or serve God with unconfessed sins. They cannot.
Many have formed an image of God in their minds and they do not know the God of the Bible. They do not understand He is holy and righteous and pure.
Some folks think, if I wear a cross with a dead savior on it, or if I wear a special chain with a saint on it, or if I have some beads to pray with, or if I have an angel on my lapel, then I will be closer to God. No friend, the Christian’s God lives in the hearts of His children, not in man-made images. And He fellowships in that heart that is clean and pure.
Many Baptist think, if I go to church on Sunday, I have satisfied my God. Then on Monday through Saturday, their speech and their walk and their lives betray them. Why? They have an image and they know not the God who saves, sanctifies and satisfies. They know not this Mighty God, who will cause all who know Him to stand in awe of His majesty, His might and His magnificence.
3 – He is Omnipresent: (21-23)
My God is everywhere, all the time. He is omnipresent. He hears the words of those in the underground churches of China praying and at the same moment, He receives praise from the cherubs around His throne. He weeps over the fallen on the battlefields of war, and He enjoys our heartfelt worship each time we meet together. He is omnipresent.
He sees us when we are at church and He sees us when we are at home. He hears our every word and, hears our every thought. He sees our secret prayers, our hidden tears and our heavy heart. When we think we are all alone, God is there.
Verse 21 and 22 tells us that God created the universe. He hung the stars. He sits upon the circle of the earth. He is in charge. He lives in your house and if you are saved, He lives in your very life and at the same time, he sits on the circle of the earth.
Isaiah 40: 21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
In this day, when some think the world will be destroyed by man, let it be known, that God knows all about global warming and terrorism. He knows about every hurricane, thunderstorm, earthquake and problem in the world. God has not forgotten man, and man will not destroy the earth with emissions from cars and airplanes and plastics and industries. No God hating terrorist will destroy this world.
But, sadly, man has forgotten God and therefore, God will bring His judgments on earth one day with his many plagues. Why? Man, in his foolishness has fashioned a world void of God. God has been removed completely from nearly every government in the world.
In America we still acknowledge Him a little. Thank God! But, all in all, His principles and teachings have been removed from government, society, education and sadly, from most homes and many churches.
God was once the center of all these institutions but most have put the methods of the world before the mighty God of the universe. That void, will bring a storm like this world has never seen.
The true preachers of the world cry today for the Christians to first stop and understand how mighty God is. This world is like a baby in an incubator. God gives us the oxygen we have to breathe. God provides the perfect climate so we can live and exist. If God pulls the plug, we no longer exist. And yet, so many ignore the God who sits on the circle of the earth and stretches out his hand with provisions and protection of our lives and family, every second of every day.
God has proven His power found in verse 23 again and again. Isaiah 40:23 reads, “That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.”
God defeated the Pharaohs and the Caesars. He defeated Nebuchadnezzar, Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and now, Kim Jung-il. Our God is in control over the leaders of the earth. He can remove leaders from office and He can put them in office.
God knew where Saddam Hussein was before we found him hiding in a hole like a field rat. And He knows where Bin Laden is, and one day Mr. Bin Laden will meet his maker. God has both Bin Laden and Ahmadinejad in the cross-hairs of His sight.
And though man has made laws that go against God’s Word, the laws of man will be destroyed as well, one day. That is what Isaiah reveals in verse 24.
24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
The ultimate goal of the unsaved government of the human race has been to rule without God and they have. Sadly, this very idea has filter down into the many politicians in the America government. Many political leaders want in America a government void of the true God of heaven. The idea has been for many years, kick God out. We can run the government better without God or religion.
After the rapture of the Church, the Antichrist will force mankind to take the mark of the beast or lose their heads. Millions will be slain during that seven year period. Why will so many be killed?
There will be a world church, a world religion at that time. But, that world religion does not worship the Holy God of the Bible. That religion does not preach there is “one way to heaven and that one way is through Jesus Christ and His shed blood.” So, the government and the religion of the world will be attempting to wipe all signs of the true God of heaven off the face of the earth.
But, God says, “It won’t happen.” Ultimately, man will be destroyed and man’s laws will be trashed. As Hurricane Ike trash Galveston, Texas in 2008, and left the streets full of stubble, God will destroy every man-made law.
In that day the whole world will live by the code of one Book: God’s Holy word. God commands us to live that way today, but we have rebelled against God.
So, Jesus will come and set up His kingdom. He will make the law and Jesus will be the law, for He is the omniscience, omnipotent, omnipresent and immutable God. He is the majestic and mighty one.
He is righteous and true. He is just and merciful. He has always done right and He will always do right. Man changes with time, but my Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever. He changeth not!
Monday, September 22, 2008
WONDERFUL COUNSELOR
“WAIT, YOU ARE MOVING TO FAST”
Isaiah 40: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
As we come to Isaiah forty, we come to the last section in Isaiah. The first thirty-nine chapters represent the Old Testament economy. The next twenty-seven chapters represent the New Testament economy.
In the first thirty-nine chapters, we saw the government of God. In the next twenty-seven chapters, we see the grace of God.
In the first thirty-nine chapters, we saw the Sovereign God, sitting on His throne (Isaiah 6), ruling by His law. In the next twenty-seven, we see the Savior of man, sacrificing his life on the cross (Isaiah 53), ruling by His love.
We have lived in the days of grace, but those days are quickly coming to an end, and a new age will soon begin. The last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah deals with the age of grace, which we live in today, as well, as the new day when our Lord will rule forever.
Think back over the first thirty-nine chapters and there were a lot of woes and burdens that the nation of Israel and Judah had to face. We come to a section now, that reveals again and again, God’s marvelous grace.
There are four main thoughts in Chapter forty. The best outline for this chapter is given in Isaiah 9:6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
I – THE WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR - 1-5
A – Voice of Comfort:
1 - He is my comfort in any situation.
Isaiah 40:1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Do you have a burden today? Do you have a problem that seems impossible to overcome, or do you feel like you are under a load to big to bear? I want you to know, Jesus will help you, if you will take your burden to Him.
Matthew 11:28-29, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Years ago, Dr. Donald Barnhouse (1895 -1960) was a great teacher and preacher of God’s Word. He was holding a meeting for a young preacher, back in the 9140’s, whose wife was expecting their first child. All week, Dr. Barnhouse poked a little fun at the preacher. On the last night of the meeting, the preacher did show up. Dr. Barnhouse got up and introduced himself and preached. At the end of the service the preacher came into the church and sat on the back pew. Afterwards, he told Dr. Barnhouse, he needed to talk to him in his office. The preacher told Dr. Barnhouse that they had a down-syndrome baby, but folks back then we didn’t have that politically correct term. Back then the term was mongoloid. “How do I tell my wife?” the pastor cried. Dr. Barnhouse said, “Pastor, have you read what God says in Exodus 4:11.”
11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Then he said, “Pastor, in Romans 8:28, God said, “All things work together for good to them that love the Lord.” You may not understand what God is doing, but He is God. He maketh no mistake.”
Dr. Barnhouse went to the phone and called the hospital and asked to speak to the pastor’s wife. He gave her the same Scriptures and she cried long and hard. Then she said, tell me the passages again.
The operator at the hospital was listening in as Dr. Barnhouse comforter her and her burden was lifted. Now folks, Dr. Barnhouse was a great preacher so what I am about to tell you may sound unreal today, but it happened. The operator at the hospital told this story to nearly all the nurses. The next Sunday the pastor was in his pulpit and seventy nurses showed up for the church service. When the invitation was given thirty of them came forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. One burden, one mongoloid child was the means of thirty nurses coming to Christ. How many people have you led to Christ in your life time?
God offers comfort and rest and relaxation and peace and prosperity to the world. Today, you can have that rest in your soul, and one day that rest and peace will be extended world wide, for one thousand years.
How can you have that rest and comfort today? When you accept Christ as your personal Savior, He gives His very Spirit to comfort you. John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
2. He is my comfort in Salvation
V 2 -- Isaiah 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned:
This is a prophetic picture of the Millennial Kingdom. There will come a day when there will be no warfare, sickness or pain. There will be no sins to pay for, for all sins will be pardoned.
Isaiah 40:2b …for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
There is a two-fold application in this verse. 1) Israel has truly suffered twice as much as every other nation for their sins. Why? They were given the truth first hand, by God, by the prophets, and by the pastors, and they shunned it. Learn a truth: To receive truth and to reject truth will bring double trouble, yea a greater judgment. For Christians to play with sin, thinking, I’m OK, like Israel, the judgment will be more severe that the judgment that would fall on a lost man who knows not God’s Word.
2) A second application is an old one. When a family owed an unpaid debt, a legal document was put on their doorpost so all their neighbors could see their failure to make payment. When the debt was paid, another copy was nailed over the previous debt papers saying, “Paid in full”. That is what is meant, “The Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” The Lord paid for the sins of mankind, when He suffered outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem, on Calvary.”
This idea separates Christianity from all other religions in the world, every pagan religion and even the Mosaic Law. The difference in wrapped up a word found in the New Testament called “propitiation.”
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
The heathen religions made the people bring an offering to their gods to appease them. In Christianity, my God brought an offering for me. He gave His own Son, to satisfy the great debt that had been nailed to my heart. When I accepted Christ as my Savior, a blood soaked payment was placed over my great debt of sin that said, “Paid in Full.”
3. He is my comfort as I walk the road called strait.
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Here is a sign that this Scripture is dealing with the age of grace. John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Christ. The phrase, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,” refers to John in all four gospels. When John came, he cried to Israel to repent and believe in Christ. Israel did not. They rejected Christ and nailed Him to the tree of Calvary. They could have had the comfort, the peace, the security of God but they said, “no.”
When we come to verse four, two-thousand years have elapsed, since Christ came. When Christ comes the next time, He will straighten out this world. Those mountains, which speak of men’s great burdens, will be made low. The valley’s which speak of men’s great sorrow will be made level. The crooked or wicked ways of man, with his silly philosophies and ideas, will be destroyed and we will walk in the straight and narrow way of the Lord.
Walk in God’s will, God’s way and you will enjoy a little bit of peace on earth.
1 – The Comfort of God 1-5
2 – The cry of God 6-8
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Isaiah reminds us of two very important thoughts in these verses:
A – The works of man will fade away as the grass.
He is saying remember the shortness of life. Remember, that it seems like just yesterday, you sat on your daddy’s knee. Remember, just yesterday, mom and dad were alive and your heart was filled with joy. But, stop, Isaiah says, and come back to reality. Life is short. Death is certain and eternity is forever.
In September of 2008, a hurricane hit Galvaston, Texas leaving 4.5 million people without power. Entire subdivisions destroyed and many dead. That same night to commuter trains in L.A. hit head on killing 25. Life is short.
B – The Word of God will forever endure.
Isaiah seems to say, quit living in a fantasy world. Quit playing games. Prepare for death, and live for eternity. Look for the Lord’s coming. Everything in this life will die, only living for the eternal truths of God’s word will last.
Let me share you with a little bit about the Bible you hold in your hand. It is the very mind of God for man. It is 100% accurate. It offers great blessings to all who will read it. It came to you and me by the sacrifice of many men, who gave their lives to preserve it and to print it and then to place it in the hand of the common man.
A man was born in 1400 named Johannas Gutenberg. God gave this man the wisdom to invent the printing press. He had to borrow money to finance the project and then borrow again. He printed nearly 200 Bibles. If you owned one of them today, you could sell it and retire. One of them would be worthy over a million dollars.
There are only 48 in existence today. He died bankrupt. The invention of the printing press was one of the greatest inventions in the world. Since 1450, it has been estimated that there have been 6.5 billion bibles printed. 85% of these Bibles are been printed in English. Only 9% of the world use English as their mother tongue. 91% of the world has 15% of Bibles printed in their language.
1 – The Comfort of God 1-5
2 – The Cry of God 6-8
3 – The Communion of God 9-11
A - Isaiah reveals that our God came to rest in a manger.
Read verse 9: O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
“Good tidings” refers to the good news of the coming of the Savior of the world. The angel came to the shepherds the night Christ was born and said, And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)
The good news was the baby in the manger was, “Behold your God!”
B – Isaiah reveals our God will come to reign over mankind.
10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
1 - This verse (10) reveals His prophecy. Christ shall come again and give rewards to His Church. It also reveals that when the Millennium begins, he will rule with a rod of iron. Thus, the evolutionist, the humanist, the Marxist, the socialist, the communist, the God-haters will cease to exist. The world will be filled with His love and His wonder.
2 – This verse (11) reveals His position.
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Our Lord is like unto a shepherd. He provides and He protects. He cleanses and He cares and He comforts, as a shepherd. Though our Lord will rule with a rod of iron, He will rule in love. He will take care of His own.
****************************
Isaiah 40: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
As we come to Isaiah forty, we come to the last section in Isaiah. The first thirty-nine chapters represent the Old Testament economy. The next twenty-seven chapters represent the New Testament economy.
In the first thirty-nine chapters, we saw the government of God. In the next twenty-seven chapters, we see the grace of God.
In the first thirty-nine chapters, we saw the Sovereign God, sitting on His throne (Isaiah 6), ruling by His law. In the next twenty-seven, we see the Savior of man, sacrificing his life on the cross (Isaiah 53), ruling by His love.
We have lived in the days of grace, but those days are quickly coming to an end, and a new age will soon begin. The last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah deals with the age of grace, which we live in today, as well, as the new day when our Lord will rule forever.
Think back over the first thirty-nine chapters and there were a lot of woes and burdens that the nation of Israel and Judah had to face. We come to a section now, that reveals again and again, God’s marvelous grace.
There are four main thoughts in Chapter forty. The best outline for this chapter is given in Isaiah 9:6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
I – THE WONDERFUL COUNSELLOR - 1-5
A – Voice of Comfort:
1 - He is my comfort in any situation.
Isaiah 40:1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Do you have a burden today? Do you have a problem that seems impossible to overcome, or do you feel like you are under a load to big to bear? I want you to know, Jesus will help you, if you will take your burden to Him.
Matthew 11:28-29, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Years ago, Dr. Donald Barnhouse (1895 -1960) was a great teacher and preacher of God’s Word. He was holding a meeting for a young preacher, back in the 9140’s, whose wife was expecting their first child. All week, Dr. Barnhouse poked a little fun at the preacher. On the last night of the meeting, the preacher did show up. Dr. Barnhouse got up and introduced himself and preached. At the end of the service the preacher came into the church and sat on the back pew. Afterwards, he told Dr. Barnhouse, he needed to talk to him in his office. The preacher told Dr. Barnhouse that they had a down-syndrome baby, but folks back then we didn’t have that politically correct term. Back then the term was mongoloid. “How do I tell my wife?” the pastor cried. Dr. Barnhouse said, “Pastor, have you read what God says in Exodus 4:11.”
11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Then he said, “Pastor, in Romans 8:28, God said, “All things work together for good to them that love the Lord.” You may not understand what God is doing, but He is God. He maketh no mistake.”
Dr. Barnhouse went to the phone and called the hospital and asked to speak to the pastor’s wife. He gave her the same Scriptures and she cried long and hard. Then she said, tell me the passages again.
The operator at the hospital was listening in as Dr. Barnhouse comforter her and her burden was lifted. Now folks, Dr. Barnhouse was a great preacher so what I am about to tell you may sound unreal today, but it happened. The operator at the hospital told this story to nearly all the nurses. The next Sunday the pastor was in his pulpit and seventy nurses showed up for the church service. When the invitation was given thirty of them came forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. One burden, one mongoloid child was the means of thirty nurses coming to Christ. How many people have you led to Christ in your life time?
God offers comfort and rest and relaxation and peace and prosperity to the world. Today, you can have that rest in your soul, and one day that rest and peace will be extended world wide, for one thousand years.
How can you have that rest and comfort today? When you accept Christ as your personal Savior, He gives His very Spirit to comfort you. John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
2. He is my comfort in Salvation
V 2 -- Isaiah 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned:
This is a prophetic picture of the Millennial Kingdom. There will come a day when there will be no warfare, sickness or pain. There will be no sins to pay for, for all sins will be pardoned.
Isaiah 40:2b …for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
There is a two-fold application in this verse. 1) Israel has truly suffered twice as much as every other nation for their sins. Why? They were given the truth first hand, by God, by the prophets, and by the pastors, and they shunned it. Learn a truth: To receive truth and to reject truth will bring double trouble, yea a greater judgment. For Christians to play with sin, thinking, I’m OK, like Israel, the judgment will be more severe that the judgment that would fall on a lost man who knows not God’s Word.
2) A second application is an old one. When a family owed an unpaid debt, a legal document was put on their doorpost so all their neighbors could see their failure to make payment. When the debt was paid, another copy was nailed over the previous debt papers saying, “Paid in full”. That is what is meant, “The Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” The Lord paid for the sins of mankind, when He suffered outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem, on Calvary.”
This idea separates Christianity from all other religions in the world, every pagan religion and even the Mosaic Law. The difference in wrapped up a word found in the New Testament called “propitiation.”
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
The heathen religions made the people bring an offering to their gods to appease them. In Christianity, my God brought an offering for me. He gave His own Son, to satisfy the great debt that had been nailed to my heart. When I accepted Christ as my Savior, a blood soaked payment was placed over my great debt of sin that said, “Paid in Full.”
3. He is my comfort as I walk the road called strait.
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Here is a sign that this Scripture is dealing with the age of grace. John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Christ. The phrase, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,” refers to John in all four gospels. When John came, he cried to Israel to repent and believe in Christ. Israel did not. They rejected Christ and nailed Him to the tree of Calvary. They could have had the comfort, the peace, the security of God but they said, “no.”
When we come to verse four, two-thousand years have elapsed, since Christ came. When Christ comes the next time, He will straighten out this world. Those mountains, which speak of men’s great burdens, will be made low. The valley’s which speak of men’s great sorrow will be made level. The crooked or wicked ways of man, with his silly philosophies and ideas, will be destroyed and we will walk in the straight and narrow way of the Lord.
Walk in God’s will, God’s way and you will enjoy a little bit of peace on earth.
1 – The Comfort of God 1-5
2 – The cry of God 6-8
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Isaiah reminds us of two very important thoughts in these verses:
A – The works of man will fade away as the grass.
He is saying remember the shortness of life. Remember, that it seems like just yesterday, you sat on your daddy’s knee. Remember, just yesterday, mom and dad were alive and your heart was filled with joy. But, stop, Isaiah says, and come back to reality. Life is short. Death is certain and eternity is forever.
In September of 2008, a hurricane hit Galvaston, Texas leaving 4.5 million people without power. Entire subdivisions destroyed and many dead. That same night to commuter trains in L.A. hit head on killing 25. Life is short.
B – The Word of God will forever endure.
Isaiah seems to say, quit living in a fantasy world. Quit playing games. Prepare for death, and live for eternity. Look for the Lord’s coming. Everything in this life will die, only living for the eternal truths of God’s word will last.
Let me share you with a little bit about the Bible you hold in your hand. It is the very mind of God for man. It is 100% accurate. It offers great blessings to all who will read it. It came to you and me by the sacrifice of many men, who gave their lives to preserve it and to print it and then to place it in the hand of the common man.
A man was born in 1400 named Johannas Gutenberg. God gave this man the wisdom to invent the printing press. He had to borrow money to finance the project and then borrow again. He printed nearly 200 Bibles. If you owned one of them today, you could sell it and retire. One of them would be worthy over a million dollars.
There are only 48 in existence today. He died bankrupt. The invention of the printing press was one of the greatest inventions in the world. Since 1450, it has been estimated that there have been 6.5 billion bibles printed. 85% of these Bibles are been printed in English. Only 9% of the world use English as their mother tongue. 91% of the world has 15% of Bibles printed in their language.
1 – The Comfort of God 1-5
2 – The Cry of God 6-8
3 – The Communion of God 9-11
A - Isaiah reveals that our God came to rest in a manger.
Read verse 9: O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
“Good tidings” refers to the good news of the coming of the Savior of the world. The angel came to the shepherds the night Christ was born and said, And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)
The good news was the baby in the manger was, “Behold your God!”
B – Isaiah reveals our God will come to reign over mankind.
10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
1 - This verse (10) reveals His prophecy. Christ shall come again and give rewards to His Church. It also reveals that when the Millennium begins, he will rule with a rod of iron. Thus, the evolutionist, the humanist, the Marxist, the socialist, the communist, the God-haters will cease to exist. The world will be filled with His love and His wonder.
2 – This verse (11) reveals His position.
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Our Lord is like unto a shepherd. He provides and He protects. He cleanses and He cares and He comforts, as a shepherd. Though our Lord will rule with a rod of iron, He will rule in love. He will take care of His own.
****************************
Friday, September 12, 2008
THE PRIESTHOOD
THE PRIESTHOOD
When Robert Louis Stevenson was a boy he once remarked to his mother, "Momma, you can't be good without praying." "How do you know, Robert?" she asked. "Because I've tried!" he answered.
Another little fellow, one who had been sent to his room because, he had been bad, a short time later, came out and said to his mother, "I've been thinking about what I did and I said a prayer." "That's fine," said the mother. "Did you ask God to make you good?" "Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me be good," replied the boy. "I asked Him to help you put up with me."
One of the greatest offices in the house of God is the priesthood. In First Peter 2:9, we are called a “royal priesthood.” Originally, God intended for every man to be the priest of his family as was the case seen in the life of Job, who prayed for his family daily (Job 1:5).
However, sin and evil flooded society and corrupted the home. God, then choose the tribe of Levi to perform the priestly duties. The priests were to sanctify their lives, or set their lives apart to perform the priestly work, within the tabernacle and then, the temple.
Their duties fell under three main headings.
1 Serving: The priests were to minister in the sanctuary, but when Israel became a settled nation it would be the temple. Today, God’s priest are to minister in His Church. Their calling is to serve each other, widows, strangers and the needy. The needy include the elderly and any people unable to take care of them selves.
2 Teaching: Priests were responsible for teaching the people the law of God. It is clear that this applies to the pastor. But, it also applies to all believers, for all believers are called “priest.”
3 Praying: When God's will was sought for the nation, it was the priests who prayed for guidance. The greatest power of the church is the practice or prayer and intercession. Anyone can do it. Why would people seek greater positions, than the greatest position, prayer?
Priests wore distinctive clothing whenever they were in attendance at the altar or entered the Holy Place. Their clothing had to be clean and pure before they could approach God. This application is simple. God’s children must have their hearts clean and their sins confessed before they can rightly perform any priestly duties or their prayers do not get above the sound of their voice.
The office of the priesthood was given to Aaron and his descendants. Two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, died and left no children. Aarons other two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar left children.
In the days when David was king, and Israel was the head of the nations, we discover David distributing the priesthood among TWENTY-FOUR of the descendants of Aaron. First Chronicles 24:1-18 reveals to us the particulars of this distribution. We will just look at the first few verses and notice the number of the priesthood.
First Chronicles 24:1 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office.
3 And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.
4 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.
5 Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.
There are a number of things we observe in these few Scriptures:
1 – It is clear that the sons of Eleazar and Ithamar add up to twenty-four. This is the numeric picture of the priesthood.
2 -For many years this priestly work was carried out daily in the tabernacle and then, in the temple. The incense was offered from the incense altar, twenty-four hours a day.
3 - Eleazar had sixteen sons, the number of love and Ithamar had eight sons, the number of new beginnings. To have the right to intercede for others, a person must be born again, and be in love with Christ.
Sadly, and slowly, the nation of Israel became corrupt and even though, they went through their rituals of the priesthood, their hearts were far from God. They lost their freedom and the baton was passed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Jesus Christ came into the world, He was of course, the Priest of all priests.
Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Hebrews 4: 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus was prophet, priest and king. He was not only the priest that made the offering; He was the offering as well. As the offering, He shed His blood on Calvary when He gave His life. He then, as Priest, passed into the heavens and ascended on high, and presented the blood to God. Jesus today, sits at the right hand of God making intercession for His bride twenty-four hours a day.
The priests of Israel were but dim shadows of the one Great Priest of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. A few brief passages give us an understanding of the perfection found in the priestly character of Christ:
(1) Christ as Priest is appointed and chosen by God (Heb 5:5).
(2) He is consecrated with an oath (Heb 7:20-22).
(3) He is sinless (Heb 7:26)
(4) His priesthood is unchangeable (Heb 7:23-24)
(5) His offering is perfect and final (Heb 9:25-28)
(6) He Intercedes continually (Heb 7:24-25)
(7) He is the only mediator (1 Tim 2:5)
When Jesus ascended on high, He passed the baton or prayer, to His Church. Jesus told His own to pray many times:
1) Matthew 5:45b, “…and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
2) In Matthew 6:4-6, Jesus tells His own not to pray like the hypocrites. They stood in public and made a show of their prayers for they wanted everybody to see them and hear them. Jesus reveals that the most importance prayers that are offered to God in secret.. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
3) In Matthew 6:9-15, Jesus instructs His disciples how to engage in prayer.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
4) In Matthew 9:37, Jesus tells men to pray for the souls of men.
37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
5) In Mark 13:33, Jesus tells his disciples to engage in prayer so they won’t lose their discernment of the times.
33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
6) Paul admonishes the Christians in Thessalonica to “Pray without ceasing” (First Thessalonians 5:17).
Lord Tennyson said, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
The Church has been given that priestly office. Every individual Christian should pray and intercede for others. The calling of the priest was to intercede for another, who is a transgressor. God reminds each of us every day, of the need to be priest. How? There are twenty-four hours in every day and twenty-four is the number of the priesthood.
What do you think God would do for a body of believers, if that body volunteered to have one person, each hour pray through their church directory, for their missionaries and for their nation, seven days a week? God would do great things!
In the years gone by, our church would take seventy-two hours and do that. It seemed like heaven came down and glory filled our souls. I recall that God moved in mighty ways, saving souls and adding to the church. Why not start a twenty-four hour prayer chain? You would not have to pray for an hour if you do not wish, but at the top of each hour, pray through the directory, for the missionaries and for our nation. Then wait and see what God would do.
When John was exiled to the Island of Patmos, God gave him great revelation of the last days and even sights of heaven. John tells us in Revelation 1:5, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
The Christians of today have taken the place of the Old Testament priest. We are priest and kings on earth. That is a great honor bestowed on the Church. We have the two greatest callings and responsibilities in the Universe. We are to engage the enemy in prayer, for we have been given that kingly or authoritative right to do so.
John revealed this truth to the Church in Revelation 1:5. A few chapters later, in Revelation 4:1, John pictures the rapture of the Church as he is taken to heaven. In the throne room of God, John reveals the Church’s presence in Revelation 5:8. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
I believe the twenty-four elders represent the Church of Jesus Christ. Some writers have suggested that these twenty-four elders represent the priesthood of the Old Testament. That cannot be for verse ten reveals that the elders said, they had been made kings and priest. Only the Church is given the kingly rights, not the Old Testament priest.
Some say the twenty-four represent Israel’s twelve tribes and Christ’s twelve apostles. I cannot see that for many reasons. One reason is the twelve tribes changed. Another reason, is only one tribe was given the priestly office. Then, when I examine the apostles, I discover that one was lost, Judas, so they added another, Mathias, which makes thirteen, and some folks argue that Paul should have been the twelfth disciple. I do not believe any of that matters for the twenty-four elders reveal the very character traits of the Church.
A – Humility and worship (8a)
B – Praise and prayers (8b)
C – Songs of redemption (9)
D - A testimony of their priestly calling (10)
John ends with the greatest news in this world. We shall reign on the earth with Him for one thousand years. To that we rejoice, but we must here and now ask, “Will I be a faithful priest for my Lord and Savior?”
A Christian prisoner, Ivan, was enduring all the horrors of a Soviet prison camp. One day as he is praying with his eyes closed, a fellow prisoner notices him and says with ridicule, "Prayers won't help you get out of here any faster." Opening his eyes, Ivan answers, "I do not pray to get out of prison, but to do the will of God."
"...Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons -- but they are helpless against our prayers." Sidlow Baxter
Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."
Today in the Word, June 29, 1992.
Mary, Queen of Scotland fighting against the Church of Jesus Christ said, “I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men.”
“The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel.” Thomas Watson
‘When you pray, it would be better if your heart would be without words, than your words without heart.’ John Bunyon
“You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” John Bunyon
“Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer." John Bunyon
When Robert Louis Stevenson was a boy he once remarked to his mother, "Momma, you can't be good without praying." "How do you know, Robert?" she asked. "Because I've tried!" he answered.
Another little fellow, one who had been sent to his room because, he had been bad, a short time later, came out and said to his mother, "I've been thinking about what I did and I said a prayer." "That's fine," said the mother. "Did you ask God to make you good?" "Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me be good," replied the boy. "I asked Him to help you put up with me."
One of the greatest offices in the house of God is the priesthood. In First Peter 2:9, we are called a “royal priesthood.” Originally, God intended for every man to be the priest of his family as was the case seen in the life of Job, who prayed for his family daily (Job 1:5).
However, sin and evil flooded society and corrupted the home. God, then choose the tribe of Levi to perform the priestly duties. The priests were to sanctify their lives, or set their lives apart to perform the priestly work, within the tabernacle and then, the temple.
Their duties fell under three main headings.
1 Serving: The priests were to minister in the sanctuary, but when Israel became a settled nation it would be the temple. Today, God’s priest are to minister in His Church. Their calling is to serve each other, widows, strangers and the needy. The needy include the elderly and any people unable to take care of them selves.
2 Teaching: Priests were responsible for teaching the people the law of God. It is clear that this applies to the pastor. But, it also applies to all believers, for all believers are called “priest.”
3 Praying: When God's will was sought for the nation, it was the priests who prayed for guidance. The greatest power of the church is the practice or prayer and intercession. Anyone can do it. Why would people seek greater positions, than the greatest position, prayer?
Priests wore distinctive clothing whenever they were in attendance at the altar or entered the Holy Place. Their clothing had to be clean and pure before they could approach God. This application is simple. God’s children must have their hearts clean and their sins confessed before they can rightly perform any priestly duties or their prayers do not get above the sound of their voice.
The office of the priesthood was given to Aaron and his descendants. Two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, died and left no children. Aarons other two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar left children.
In the days when David was king, and Israel was the head of the nations, we discover David distributing the priesthood among TWENTY-FOUR of the descendants of Aaron. First Chronicles 24:1-18 reveals to us the particulars of this distribution. We will just look at the first few verses and notice the number of the priesthood.
First Chronicles 24:1 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office.
3 And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.
4 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.
5 Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.
There are a number of things we observe in these few Scriptures:
1 – It is clear that the sons of Eleazar and Ithamar add up to twenty-four. This is the numeric picture of the priesthood.
2 -For many years this priestly work was carried out daily in the tabernacle and then, in the temple. The incense was offered from the incense altar, twenty-four hours a day.
3 - Eleazar had sixteen sons, the number of love and Ithamar had eight sons, the number of new beginnings. To have the right to intercede for others, a person must be born again, and be in love with Christ.
Sadly, and slowly, the nation of Israel became corrupt and even though, they went through their rituals of the priesthood, their hearts were far from God. They lost their freedom and the baton was passed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Jesus Christ came into the world, He was of course, the Priest of all priests.
Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Hebrews 4: 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus was prophet, priest and king. He was not only the priest that made the offering; He was the offering as well. As the offering, He shed His blood on Calvary when He gave His life. He then, as Priest, passed into the heavens and ascended on high, and presented the blood to God. Jesus today, sits at the right hand of God making intercession for His bride twenty-four hours a day.
The priests of Israel were but dim shadows of the one Great Priest of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. A few brief passages give us an understanding of the perfection found in the priestly character of Christ:
(1) Christ as Priest is appointed and chosen by God (Heb 5:5).
(2) He is consecrated with an oath (Heb 7:20-22).
(3) He is sinless (Heb 7:26)
(4) His priesthood is unchangeable (Heb 7:23-24)
(5) His offering is perfect and final (Heb 9:25-28)
(6) He Intercedes continually (Heb 7:24-25)
(7) He is the only mediator (1 Tim 2:5)
When Jesus ascended on high, He passed the baton or prayer, to His Church. Jesus told His own to pray many times:
1) Matthew 5:45b, “…and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
2) In Matthew 6:4-6, Jesus tells His own not to pray like the hypocrites. They stood in public and made a show of their prayers for they wanted everybody to see them and hear them. Jesus reveals that the most importance prayers that are offered to God in secret.. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
3) In Matthew 6:9-15, Jesus instructs His disciples how to engage in prayer.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
4) In Matthew 9:37, Jesus tells men to pray for the souls of men.
37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
5) In Mark 13:33, Jesus tells his disciples to engage in prayer so they won’t lose their discernment of the times.
33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
6) Paul admonishes the Christians in Thessalonica to “Pray without ceasing” (First Thessalonians 5:17).
Lord Tennyson said, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
The Church has been given that priestly office. Every individual Christian should pray and intercede for others. The calling of the priest was to intercede for another, who is a transgressor. God reminds each of us every day, of the need to be priest. How? There are twenty-four hours in every day and twenty-four is the number of the priesthood.
What do you think God would do for a body of believers, if that body volunteered to have one person, each hour pray through their church directory, for their missionaries and for their nation, seven days a week? God would do great things!
In the years gone by, our church would take seventy-two hours and do that. It seemed like heaven came down and glory filled our souls. I recall that God moved in mighty ways, saving souls and adding to the church. Why not start a twenty-four hour prayer chain? You would not have to pray for an hour if you do not wish, but at the top of each hour, pray through the directory, for the missionaries and for our nation. Then wait and see what God would do.
When John was exiled to the Island of Patmos, God gave him great revelation of the last days and even sights of heaven. John tells us in Revelation 1:5, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
The Christians of today have taken the place of the Old Testament priest. We are priest and kings on earth. That is a great honor bestowed on the Church. We have the two greatest callings and responsibilities in the Universe. We are to engage the enemy in prayer, for we have been given that kingly or authoritative right to do so.
John revealed this truth to the Church in Revelation 1:5. A few chapters later, in Revelation 4:1, John pictures the rapture of the Church as he is taken to heaven. In the throne room of God, John reveals the Church’s presence in Revelation 5:8. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
I believe the twenty-four elders represent the Church of Jesus Christ. Some writers have suggested that these twenty-four elders represent the priesthood of the Old Testament. That cannot be for verse ten reveals that the elders said, they had been made kings and priest. Only the Church is given the kingly rights, not the Old Testament priest.
Some say the twenty-four represent Israel’s twelve tribes and Christ’s twelve apostles. I cannot see that for many reasons. One reason is the twelve tribes changed. Another reason, is only one tribe was given the priestly office. Then, when I examine the apostles, I discover that one was lost, Judas, so they added another, Mathias, which makes thirteen, and some folks argue that Paul should have been the twelfth disciple. I do not believe any of that matters for the twenty-four elders reveal the very character traits of the Church.
A – Humility and worship (8a)
B – Praise and prayers (8b)
C – Songs of redemption (9)
D - A testimony of their priestly calling (10)
John ends with the greatest news in this world. We shall reign on the earth with Him for one thousand years. To that we rejoice, but we must here and now ask, “Will I be a faithful priest for my Lord and Savior?”
A Christian prisoner, Ivan, was enduring all the horrors of a Soviet prison camp. One day as he is praying with his eyes closed, a fellow prisoner notices him and says with ridicule, "Prayers won't help you get out of here any faster." Opening his eyes, Ivan answers, "I do not pray to get out of prison, but to do the will of God."
"...Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons -- but they are helpless against our prayers." Sidlow Baxter
Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."
Today in the Word, June 29, 1992.
Mary, Queen of Scotland fighting against the Church of Jesus Christ said, “I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men.”
“The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel.” Thomas Watson
‘When you pray, it would be better if your heart would be without words, than your words without heart.’ John Bunyon
“You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” John Bunyon
“Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer." John Bunyon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
