God Invites You to a Love Relationship with Him

Love God with all your heart (Greek: kardia).

The word, “heart” occurs about 210 times in the New Testament (600 in the OT).

The word “heart” is never used in reference to the physical heart.

The NT sees “heart” as the center of the real person.

Love God with all your soul (Greek: psuche)

Psuche denotes one’s inner life or actual personhood.

The soul is not the center of the person, it is his entire being.

In the NT, “soul” is contrasted with “body.”

Love God with all your mind (Greek: Phronema – thought, Ennola - reflection, Noema – perception, Gnome – intelligence and Dianoia – intention or purpose).

We are transformed from life to death by a renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2)

Our minds are the center of our thought processes.

We have the mind of Christ 1 Corinthians 2:16).

Love is initiated in us by the Holy Spirit.

No man comes to Christ who was not first prompted by the Holy Spirit.

No bad thought, word or deed was ever initiated by the Holy Spirit.

Each of us must personally abide with the Holy Spirt apart from what others do.

We will live our lives in direct proportion to our love for God through Christ.

The more we love God, the more He can do through us.

The more we love God, the more we will love Him. Love for God grows.

We cannot out-love God.

God’s love is manifested in His grace for us through Christ.

We are saved by _______________ (grace)

We are saved through ________________ (faith)

We are saved to ____________________ (works of service)

We will relate more lovingly to God more when we spend time with Him.

We must spend time with Him in reflection.

We must spend time with Him in private

We must spend time with Him corporately

God seeks company with righteous people.

Since there is not a single person righteous in-and-of himself, how will God keep

company with us?

God sees us as righteous through Christ’s eyes, as it were.

Christ’s righteousness in us enables us to experience God.

Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship with God through Christ.

God always speaks with His purpose in mind.

God peruses those who honestly want to know Him.

We spend time with reflection not to grow to love God, but because we love Him.

Following God is a way of saying to Him, “I love you, God.”

Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38)

SUNDAY SOUNDS OF PRAISE-El Shaddai-Amy Grand & Michael W. Smith

A Study in Nehemiah Week 5

(Get your Bible and read the verses as we study)

Nehemiah Chapter 9

Verse 1-2 - The Israelites were together fasting and wearing sackcloth and ashes (dust). Sackcloth and ashes were used as a symbol of debasement, mourning and repentance. The wearer wanted to show a repentant heart. They were used as a public sign of humility before God.

Verses 3-4 – The Book of the Law was read to them for a quarter of the day, reminding them of their failure to keep it. Then the Israelites spent a quarter of a day confessing their sin and worshiping the Lord. The Levites (the assistants to the priests who taught the Law) did the reading from a place where they could be seen and heard by the crowd.

Verses 5-31 – This was the message of the greatness of God, the sinfulness of His people and of their need to repent.

Verse 32 – God is recognized as great and mighty (powerful). He is awesome beyond measure or understanding.

Sometimes we lose sight of the reason we are to fear God. We tend to think of the fear of God as little more than just respect. But Isaiah tell us that just the right hand of God spans the universe (Isaiah 48:13 “…my right hand hath spanned [or spread] the heavens”…). Would it not be fearful to stand before a God that big? It not only would be, it should be. To trivialize or sin against such a mighty God would be terrifying indeed.

Verse 33 – God is just and cannot look upon sin. Whenever our sense of justice conflicts with God’s, it is always we who are wrong and need to adjust our concept of justice.

Verse 34 – The ancestors of the Israelites, including their religious leaders, were not able to keep God’s Law and therefore sinned against Him.

Verse 35 – The religious leaders wanted to be seen as righteous and worthy of respect, but even they did not serve God properly, and they, too, were guilty of sin.

Verse 36 – We are to be God’s servants, through Christ. Servanthood is an attitude of putting God and other people before ourselves. Matthew 20:26 states a principle: “Those who desire to be great in God’s kingdom must be the servant of all.”

Verse 37 – Sin separated from God and has certain consequences. When a nation sins, other nations reap the rewards that were intended for them. The Jews, because of the national sin(s) had been forced to labor for their captors as slaves.

Verse 38 – Once again the Israelites agreed to turn back to God. This time they put it in writing. That constitutes a contract. A contract is considered unbreachable under the law. As it turns out, however, the Jews did not even keep the covenant they made with God in writing! They breached their own contract.

It was time for a new contract, one initiated by God and sealed for eternity by Him. It was drawing close to the time of the New Covenant of the blood of Jesus Christ to atone once and for all for sin.

19 Things to Mull Over In Your Mind

1.  Jesus said, “I am the truth, the way and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7)

2.  It was Jesus’ claim to be God that got Him into such trouble with the religious leaders (Priests, Pharisees and Levites).

3.  God speaks to every believer, but He never speaks to any believer in any way that contradicts His Word.

4.  God works in our lives according to the Scriptures, not according to our imaginations.

5.  God requires perfection of us, but we are unable to achieve it for Him. He therefore provides our perfection through Christ. If we trust Him in Christ, we will not have to worry about our “works.” In direct proportion to our trust in His leadership, our works will “take care of themselves.”

6.  God never has, does not now and never will break His promise. His promises are clearly delineated in the Bible.

7.  God has a direction for your life that is in keeping with His word.

8.  God wants you to respond to the leadership of the Holy Spirit as He directs your daily life in accordance with His word.

9.  Commitment to God’s way for our lives is essential to experiencing Him.

10. Being in the center of God’s will is essential to experiencing Him. Anything that we do, think or say that is not in the “dead center” of God’s will is sin. He will not condemn us for it, but we will lose the joy and comfort of being in His will.

11. We do not determine God’s will by our experiences. Our experiences must conform to the Word of God or the results of them will be heresy. Experiences must be evaluated in the light of God’s Word. God will direct you in ways that are consistent with His Word.

12. Jesus is the only one worthy of our followship.

13.God’s will includes, but is not limited to: 1. Be joyful always. 2. Pray continually. 3. Give thanks in all circumstances. 4. Follow the Holy Spirit. 5. Study the prophets. 6. Test everything. 7. Hold to the good. 8. Avoid evil. 9. Sanctify (set apart) yourself for His works.

14. Being a servant of God means giving up one’s selfishness and dying daily for Him. Jesus is the potter, we are His clay to be molded in His hands according to His will.

15. God is not interested in our business for business’ sake. He wants everything we do to be for the ongoing and up-building of His work.

16. God’s church has three main purposes: 1) To worship and praise Him; 2) To edify (build up) one another; 3) To lead people to Christ.

17. God will use you to do His work. He will enter into a relationship with you. He will invite you to come to Him and to work for Him. He will speak to you through His word and through His Holy Spirit. He will see you through those times when you don’t understand what’s happening and when you tend to doubt Him. He will help you adjust your thinking to conform to His Word. He will help you experience Him more fully every day.

18. No matter how unable you think you are to follow and experience God, He can use you; starting where you are and advancing you to heights you may never have believed possible.

19. God is Holy. His ways are not our ways. We think we know how something should be done, but often God accomplishes His will in ways we never expect.

A Study in Nehemiah Week 4

 

(Get your Bible and study along with us) 

Nehemiah Chapter 8 - REVIVAL and REFORM

A Great Bible reading is led by Ezra in Chapter 8. Bible reading is essential to revival.

Verses 1-6— Ezra stands upon a pulpit of wood before the water gate. The water is symbolic of the Word of God. Notice that the pulpit’s purpose was not sanctimony, it was used for a very practical reason: so all of the people could see and hear the speaker.

Ezra reads in the Law of Moses from morning until noon. That’s a lot of Bible study. As we shall see, the people hungered for the Word of God.

Verses 7- 8 — Ezra evidently reads a section of the Word of God and then the Levites, scattered in the crowd, explain it to the people.  The method used here is still God’s method.  The Word is to be read distinctly and explained so that the people can understand it.

So many things we do today are questioned because they are not understood. God’s Word is very practical. The leader read the Word and then the Word was explained. That is God’s order and God’s way.

Verses 9-12 — Many people are overcome with emotion as they had never before heard the Word of God.  They weep.  The wept because they had never heard some of the Word’s accounts of their history. The wept because they felt the conviction of disobedience to God by Israel. The wept with joy over the prospects of God’s redemptive grace.

Nehemiah urges the people not to weep but to rejoice.  Here is the source of Christian strength, “for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).  This is the same admonition given to us in Philippians 4:13.

Verse 13 — Ezra instructs the teachers (Levites, the assistants to the priests) in the law. He tries to ensure that they will be teaching correctly and teaching right doctrine.

False doctrine is one of the most prevalent issues in the church today. Paul warned Timothy in his first letter to him to guard against putting teachers of false doctrine in positions of leadership.

Verses 14-18 — The feast of the seventh month is the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths and Sukkot, is the seventh and last feast that the Lord commanded Israel to observe and one of the three feasts that Jews were to observe each year by going to “appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose”.

John wrote in John 1:14. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The word John chose to speak of Jesus “dwelling” among us is the word tabernacle, which simply means to “dwell in a tent.” Some believe it is very likely that John intentionally used this word to associate the first coming of Christ with the Feast of Tabernacles.

Why the Crusades?

Islam's Own Crusades.
Notice the flag

If the Crusades are compared to the mission and ministry of Jesus and the first generations of Christians, then the Crusades seem cruel and ruthless . But did the Europeans launch the first Crusade in a mindless, bloodthirsty and irrational way, or were there more justifying reasons for their being?

In 635 AD, the first Christian city was overrun by Muslim armies.

In 638 AD, Jerusalem was conquered by Muslim armies

In 642 AD, Egypt was taken by Muslim armies.

In 652 AD, Muslims plundered Italy.

In 668 AD, Muslim armies laid siege to Constantinople, the Christian capital.

In 715 AD, Spain was conquered by Muslim armies.

In 732 AD, France was attacked by Muslims.

In 846 AD, the Christian world’s capital, Rome, was sacked by a Muslim army.

A more precise and detailed timeline follows.

630 Two years before Muhammad's death of a fever, he launches the Tabuk Crusades, in which he led 30,000 jihadists against the Byzantine Christians. He had heard a report that a huge army had amassed to attack Arabia, but the report turned out to be a false rumor. The Byzantine army never materialized. He turned around and went home, but not before extracting 'agreements' from northern tribes. They could enjoy the 'privilege' of living under Islamic 'protection' (read: not be attacked by Islam), if they paid a tax (jizya).

This tax sets the stage for Muhammad's and the later Caliphs' policies. If the attacked city or region did not want to convert to Islam, then they paid a jizya tax. If they converted, then they paid a zakat tax. Either way, money flowed back to the Islamic treasury in Arabia or to the local Muslim governor.

632—634 Under the Caliphate of Abu Bakr the Muslim Crusaders reconquer and sometimes conquer for the first time the polytheists of Arabia. These Arab polytheists had to convert to Islam or die. They did not have the choice of remaining in their faith and paying a tax. Islam does not allow for religious freedom.

633 The Muslim Crusaders, led by Khalid al—Walid, a superior but bloodthirsty military commander, whom Muhammad nicknamed the Sword of Allah for his ferocity in battle (Tabari, 8:158 / 1616—17), conquer the city of Ullays along the Euphrates River (in today's Iraq). Khalid captures and beheads so many that a nearby canal, into which the blood flowed, was called Blood Canal (Tabari 11:24 / 2034—35).

634 At the Battle of Yarmuk in Syria the Muslim Crusaders defeat the Byzantines.  Osama bin Laden drew inspiration from the defeat, and especially from an anecdote about Khalid al—Walid. An unnamed Muslim remarks: 'The Romans are so numerous and the Muslims so few.'  To this Khalid retorts: 'How few are the Romans, and how many the Muslims! Armies become numerous only with victory and few only with defeat, not by the number of men. By God, I would love it . . . if the enemy were twice as many' (Tabari, 11:94 / 2095). Osama bin Ladin quotes Khalid and says that his fighters love death more than we in the West love life. This philosophy of death probably comes from a verse like Sura 2:96. Muhammad assesses the Jews: '[Prophet], you are sure to find them [the Jews] clinging to life more eagerly than any other people, even polytheists' (MAS Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford UP, 2004.

634—644 The Caliphate of Umar ibn al—Khattab, who is regarded as particularly brutal.

635 Muslim Crusaders besiege and conquer of Damascus

636 Muslim Crusaders defeat Byzantines decisively at Battle of Yarmuk.

637 Muslim Crusaders conquer Iraq at the Battle of al—Qadisiyyah (some date it in 635 or 636)

638 Muslim Crusaders conquer and annex Jerusalem, taking it from the Byzantines.

638—650 Muslim Crusaders conquer Iran, except along Caspian Sea.

639—642 Muslim Crusaders conquer Egypt.

641 Muslim Crusaders control Syria and Palestine.

643—707 Muslim Crusaders conquer North Africa.

644 Caliph Umar is assassinated by a Persian prisoner of war; Uthman ibn Affan is elected third Caliph, who is regarded by many Muslims as gentler than Umar.

644—650 Muslim Crusaders conquer Cyprus, Tripoli in North Africa, and establish Islamic rule in Iran, Afghanistan, and Sind.

656 Caliph Uthman is assassinated by disgruntled Muslim soldiers; Ali ibn Abi Talib, son—in—law and cousin to Muhammad, who married the prophet's daughter Fatima through his first wife Khadija, is set up as Caliph.

656 Battle of the Camel, in which Aisha, Muhammad's wife, leads a rebellion against Ali for not avenging Uthman's assassination. Ali's partisans win.

657 Battle of Siffin between Ali and Muslim governor of Jerusalem, arbitration goes against Ali

661 Murder of Ali by an extremist; Ali's supporters acclaim his son Hasan as next Caliph, but he comes to an agreement with Muawiyyah I and retires to Medina.

661—680 the Caliphate of Muawiyyah I. He founds Umayyid dynasty and moves capital from Medina to Damascus

673—678 Arabs besiege Constantinople, capital of Byzantine Empire

680 Massacre of Hussein (Muhammad's grandson), his family, and his supporters in Karbala, Iraq.

691 Dome of the Rock is completed in Jerusalem, only six decades after Muhammad's death.

705 Abd al—Malik restores Umayyad rule.

710—713 Muslim Crusaders conquer the lower Indus Valley.

711—713 Muslim Crusaders conquer Spain and impose the kingdom of Andalus. Muslims today still grieve over their expulsion 700 years later. They seem to believe that the land belonged to them in the first place.

719 Cordova, Spain, becomes seat of Arab governor

732 The Muslim Crusaders stopped at the Battle of Poitiers; that is, Franks (France) halt Arab advance

749 The Abbasids conquer Kufah and overthrow Umayyids

756 Foundation of Umayyid amirate in Cordova, Spain, setting up an independent kingdom from Abbasids

762 Foundation of Baghdad

785 Foundation of the Great Mosque of Cordova

789 Rise of Idrisid amirs (Muslim Crusaders) in Morocco; foundation of Fez; Christoforos, a Muslim who converted to Christianity, is executed.

800 Autonomous Aghlabid dynasty (Muslim Crusaders) in Tunisia

807 Caliph Harun al—Rashid orders the destruction of non—Muslim prayer houses and of the church of Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem

809 Aghlabids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Sardinia, Italy

813 Christians in Palestine are attacked; many flee the country

831 Muslim Crusaders capture Palermo, Italy; raids in Southern Italy

850 Caliph al—Matawakkil orders the destruction of non—Muslim houses of prayer

855 Revolt of the Christians of Hims (Syria)

837—901 Aghlabids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Sicily, raid Corsica, Italy, France

869—883 Revolt of black slaves in Iraq

909 Rise of the Fatimid Caliphate in Tunisia; these Muslim Crusaders occupy Sicily, Sardinia

928—969 Byzantine military revival, they retake old territories, such as Cyprus (964) and Tarsus (969)

937 The Ikhshid, a particularly harsh Muslim ruler, writes to Emperor Romanus, boasting of his control over the holy places

937 The Church of the Resurrection (known as Church of Holy Sepulcher in Latin West) is burned down by Muslims; more churches in Jerusalem are attacked

960 Conversion of Qarakhanid Turks to Islam

966 Anti—Christian riots in Jerusalem

969 Fatimids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Egypt and found Cairo 

c. 970 Seljuks enter conquered Islamic territories from the East

973 Israel and southern Syria are again conquered by the Fatimids

1003 First persecutions by al—Hakim; the Church of St. Mark in Fustat, Egypt, is destroyed

1009 Destruction of the Church of the Resurrection by al—Hakim (see 937)

1012 Beginning of al—Hakim's oppressive decrees against Jews and Christians

1015 Earthquake in Palestine; the dome of the Dome of the Rock collapses

1031 Collapse of Umayyid Caliphate and establishment of 15 minor independent dynasties throughout Muslim Andalus

1048 Reconstruction of the Church of the Resurrection completed

1050 Creation of Almoravid (Muslim Crusaders) movement in Mauretania; Almoravids (aka Murabitun) are coalition of western Saharan Berbers; followers of Islam, focusing on the Quran, the hadith, and Maliki law.

1055 Seljuk Prince Tughrul enters Baghdad, consolidation of the Seljuk Sultanate

1055 Confiscation of property of Church of the Resurrection

1071 Battle of Manzikert, Seljuk Turks (Muslim Crusaders) defeat Byzantines and occupy much of Anatolia

1071 Turks (Muslim Crusaders) invade Palestine

1073 Conquest of Jerusalem by Turks (Muslim Crusaders)

1075 Seljuks (Muslim Crusaders) capture Nicea (Iznik) and make it their capital in Anatolia

1076 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) (see 1050) conquer western Ghana

1085 Toledo is taken back by Christian armies

1086 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) (see 1050) send help to Andalus, Battle of Zallaca

1090—1091 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) occupy all of Andalus except Saragossa and Balearic Islands

1094 Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus I asks western Christendom for help against Seljuk invasions of his territory; Seljuks are Muslim Turkish family of eastern origins

By 1094, Muslim armies had conquered two-thirds of the Christian world. In 1095, the Crusades began in order to rid the world of those people who denigrated women, beheaded their enemies, burned people at the stake, crucified infidels and stuck beheaded people’s heads on poles for all to see.

Do you still think the Crusaders were the bad guys?

For more information, click HERE.

Thanks to James Arlandson for his in depth research.

A Study in Nehemiah Week 3

 

Earliest use of "Israel"

(Get your Bible and follow along as we study. In this case, just read all of chapter 7)

Chapter 7

Record keeping in the church has come into disrepute. Reading Nehemiah 7 one cannot avoid the conclusion that God’s leaders should be exceptional record keepers. In fact, much of the Bible is about record keeping. It is, in fact, the record of God’s character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption.

God relishes numbers. He wrote a whole book called “Numbers.” In it He spends a lot of time describing how Israel’s tents were laid out on the plains. Why would he do such a thing? Well, think of their layout, then think about what Balam saw when he went to curse Israel. God had been careful to show that they were laid out in the shape of a cross. Balam could not curse them.

In this book we have already seen how Nehemiah carefully and deliberately organized the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. He delegated and he led. His mission was thereby accomplished.

In Chapter 7 we see more evidence of a leader organizing Jerusalem for growth. We see the porters, the singers, the Levites (assistants to the priests) and the co-“mayors” (one for governmental leadership, the other for protection).

We see that God, through Nehemiah, wanted His people to increase in number. Nehemiah found a register of the genealogy of the people and with it he designed a plan to populate Jerusalem. What if those record had not been kept?

It is so important to God that His people keep a record of His involvement in their lives that He lists those who were to increase the Population of Jerusalem. He embarks on what might be considered a boring list of names and leadership positions. But if you really understand what God is doing, it suddenly reveals His unsurpassable “genius.”

In our churches we used to keep records, just like God expects us to do. For instance in Sunday School we used to take attendance, check on tardiness (any idea why? There is a reason; a good one. Can you think of what it might be?), check on studying the lesson, on daily Bible reading, on giving, on worship attendance and “visitation.”

Someone who did not know their Bible or the character of the God we serve, decided that this emphasis on record keeping was somehow “unspiritual.” In effect they said, “Who cares?” Well, God cares, that’s who cares.

Group leaders (such as Sunday School teachers) should have an objective idea of the spiritual development of their class. Do some members need encouragement to be more regular in attendance? Do some need to understand the importance of not being disruptive? Do some need to know what’s going to be discussed in class before the class takes place?

Maybe some need to be encouraged to read God’s Word more regularly. They certainly should be encouraged to join together in worship. Many may need encouragement to give as the Lord lays on their hearts. And we should all be visiting the lost, the home-bound, the sick and those with other needs. Is all of that happening in your church? How do you know?

Why do we disparage what God has ordained? Few of us have considered organization, record keeping, progress checking and the like as spiritual.

Newsflash! God has demonstrated that record keeping is important! Careful record keeping results in Godly growth.

He has given us a record of His plan of salvation in the Bible. What would we do without it? If we believe Jesus is God and that He organized creation (John 1:1ff), and if we believe we are to be His followers, does it not behoove us to follow his example of keeping good records?

SUNDAY SOUNDS OF PRAISE-That's When He Steps In-Alvin Slaughter

A Study in Nehemiah - Week 2

Click to Enlarge

Chapter 6

Verses 1-4 – The wall was done except for the doors to the gates. Sanballat and his cronies pretended to want to make a deal with Nehemiah, but he knew them well enough to know that they meant him harm. Sanballat persisted, but Nehemiah was persistent, too.

Often Satan uses the “If you can’t beat them, join them” method to do his work. He tries four different approaches to get Nehemiah to compromise. They proposed a meeting in Ono, to which Nehemiah responded, “O, No!”

Verses 5-9 – Sanballat, liar that he was, accused Nehemiah and the Jews of plotting to overthrow the king. He said that was why they had built the wall. Nehemiah refused to be swayed from God’s work. He prayed for strength. Good idea for him and a good idea for us.

Nehemiah is pressured full bore by Sanballat, who circulates the false report about Nehemiah’s supposed intent to commit insurrection through gossip. Nehemiah respond by calling them liars.

Verses 10-12 – Shemaiah, the paid false prophet, had shut himself in his house and would not come out. Nehemiah perceived that Shemaiah had been paid by Sanballat to frighten him. He realized Shemaiah was not on his side.

Verses 13-19 – The building of the wall is completed, but the opposition still persists. Tobiah, who had apparently married one of the nobles’ daughters, sent intimidating letters to Nehemiah, in an apparent effort to bring dishonor to his name.

Here are some things to note about this chapter.

Nehemiah was well organized as is God. God wants His people to be organized. Organization is not evil, nor is it unspiritual. It is a way to get things done. Organization is nothing more than putting your socks on before you put your shoes on.

Nehemiah was not swayed by the naysayers. He knew what he needed to do, he planned it out, he delegated the work, and he reviewed the work. God’s people are to plan, coordinate and evaluate the work of the Kingdom of Christ.

Nehemiah was not afraid to “get his hand dirty.” He joined in the work. He helped those he had delegated. Christian leaders are to be involved wherever they are gifted. That might be teaching, singing, counting money…whatever he asks others to do he must be willing to help with.

Nehemiah was certain of God’s leadership. He did not falter in the face of adversity. He kept on keeping on.

Nehemiah would not want you to focus on him. He would encourage you to focus on God. God used both Nehemiah’s willingness and Nehemiah’s attackers to accomplish His work.

Nehemiah demonstrates the tremendous freedom we have in Christ. We have the freedom to do His work, even in the face of adversity.

Nehemiah showed that the Lord initiates the work and uses human perspiration to accomplish His tasks. A work started with man’s “perspiration” will smell bad. A work started with God’s inspiration will smell sweet.

Nehemiah overcame the temptation to compromise with the world. He was not swayed by false accusations and slander. He recognized the “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Nehemiah would do nothing that interrupted the work of the Lord.

Jesus could have allowed His work to be interrupted, but He did not. When he cried, “It is finished,” He proclaimed that He had seen His mission out to the very end.

Aren't you glad He did?

SUNDAY SOUNDS OF PRAISE-There is Grace-Lara Landon

Twelve Things (But Not Everything) You Need to Know

Twelve things you need to know about God 

1.  God is the Creator and Supreme Being of everything that there is.

2.  God is totally righteous beyond anything we can begin to imagine.

3.  God is sovereign, that is, He can act on His own without man’s permission.

4.  God knows everything there is to know…everything…no exceptions.

5.  God is everywhere at once.

6.  God is more powerful than all of the atoms of the universe.

7.  God exists in a triune nature: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

8.  The concept of the trinity cannot be fully understood but is imminently Scriptural.

9.  God is perfectly fair. If He and I disagree about fairness, I am wrong.

10. God totally loves His creation in a way that His creation will never understand fully.

11. God loves individuals (including you) as much as He loves all of creation.

12. God wants a personal relationship with you.

Twelve things you need to know about Jesus Christ 

1.  Jesus is 100% God.

2.  Jesus was 100% man.

3.  You will drive yourself crazy if you try to understand that.

4.  The man who was born in Bethlehem was named Jesus.

5.  Christ is the title given to the one who would bring salvation to the world.

6.  Christ is the Greek translation of the Old Testament Hebrew word for Messiah.

7.  Jesus was God incarnate and came to show us God, to live among us without sin, to be crucified, to die, to be buried and to rise from the grave. By Him sin is atoned for.

8.  Jesus is God; the Second Person of the trinity.

9.  Jesus is the Living Word through whom God created all that exists. (John 1:1-ff)

10. If you know Christ, you know God.

11. To know Christ, you must repent of sin, place your trust in, and only in, His finished work at the cross of Calvary.

12. By God’s grace you are saved when you place your trust in His Son, Jesus, Christ.

Twelve things you need to know about the Bible

1.  The Bible is God’s written Word and was inspired by Him.

2.  There are 66 books in God’s Word, written by 40 different men of different ages and at different times.

3.  The Bible contains things about you, but it is not about you…it is about God.

4.  Everything you need to know about God is in the Word of God. Nothing you need to know about God is not in the Word of God. Anything you think you know about God that is not in the Word of God, you just made up.

5.  The books of the Bible are in the Bible because each of them totally conforms to all of the others. (Many other books, such as the “Apocalypse of Peter,” the “Gospel of Thomas” and other writings are not included because they do not conform to the others.

6. The Bible is God’s revelation of His character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption.

7.  The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

8.  The Old Testament’s purpose is to record God’s choice of Israel as the nation through whom the Messiah (Christ) would come to bring salvation to the world and to point to Him.

9.  Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are about Christ.

10. Old Testament believers were saved the same way New Testament believers are saved: by trusting in Messiah. 

11.  There were 7 covenants in the Old Testament: The Edenic Covenant; the Adamic Covenant; the Abrahamic Covenant; the Noahic Covenant; the Land Covenant (Palestinian); the Mosaic Covenant and the Davidic Covenant. Some were irrevocable, some were revoked by Israel.

12.  There is 1 covenant in the New Testament: The covenant made through Jesus Christ. The New Covenant supersedes all other covenants and renders them obsolete. (Hebrews 8:13)

A Study in Nehemiah Week 1

A Study in Nehemiah Week 1 (Get your Bible and follow along as we study.)

Nehemiah OUTLINE:

I. REBUILDING the WALLS,

Chapters 1 — 7

A. Nehemiah’s prayer for remnant at Jerusalem, Chapter 1

B. Nehemiah’s request of the king, return to Jerusalem, and review of ruins of Jerusalem, Chapter 2:1-16

C. Nehemiah’s encouragement to rebuild the walls, Chapter 2:17-20

D. Rebuilding the walls and gates, Chapter 3

E. Nehemiah’s response to opposition, Chapters 4 — 6 
Wall completed, 6:15

F. Nehemiah’s register of people, Chapter 7 (Only 42,360 people, 7,337 servants, and 245 singers returned.  Compare this with the fact that Judah alone had 470,000 warriors [1 Chronicles 21:5].)

II. REVIVAL and REFORM,

Chapters 8 — 13

A. Great Bible reading led by Ezra, Chapter 8

B. Revival — the result, Chapters 9, 10

C. Reform — another result, Chapters 11 — 13

Chapter 1

Verses 1-4 – Nehemiah and Ezra were likely written by the same person. Nehemiah asks some visitors about Jerusalem and learned that the walls and gates are in shambles. He weeps, mourns and fasts and then prays a very simple prayer.

Verses 5-11 – This chapter records  the prayer. “Terrible God” is properly translated “Reverend God.” The word “Reverend” should never apply to a person, it should be applied only to God. Nehemiah confesses (6-7), reminds God of His promises (8-9) and casts himself on the mercy of God (10-11).

Chapter 2

Verses 1- 10 – The cup bearer was the one who tested the king’s drink to ensure that it was not poisoned and was of good quality. King Artaxerxes grants Nehemiah’s request for time off to build the wall and offers him whatever he needs to get the job done.

Verses 11-16 – Nehemiah estimates the size of the job he has undertaken and plans the job ahead. As we will see, he also coordinates and evaluates the job, both as it is being done and when it is finished.

Verses 17-18 – Nehemiah selects key leaders to whom he reveals his plan to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem.

Verse 19 – Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem ridiculed the plans. No doubt they said things like, “Nehemiah, you are over organizing this thing. You should spend your time worshiping God, not doing this unspiritual thing. We’ve never done anything like this before and we shouldn’t be doing it now.” They probably said, “This job is too big and we’re too small in number. We’ll never get the job done.”

Verse 20 – Nehemiah’s answer is brief, but to the point. “The God of Heaven…,” the one who organized all of creation, “…will give us success.”

Many church leaders: pastors, deacons and others, hate the difficult business of carefully thinking through a plan before they implement it. They consider planning to be unspiritual. They feel the same about organization and structure. Somehow, they believe God works by magic or genie-ism (my brand new word).

Anyone who reads anything between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21 and does not see total organization as one of God’s characteristics needs to go back and take 3^rd grade reading over.

If we organize like God and follow His method of planning, He will enable us to accomplish what He wants done. We cannot skip steps, skimp on planning or coordinating or fail to evaluate as we go and expect Him to let us proceed. We must follow His ways and not our own.

Ezra Continued

The Hebrews placed Ezra-Nehemiah in the Writings just after Daniel and just before the books of Chronicles.

There were three specific returns of Jews to the land of Judah.

The first was led by Zerubbabel and involved an initial rebuilding of Jerusalem.

The second was led by Ezra who oversaw the rebuilding of the Temple and the reinstitution of the sacrifices.

The third was led by Nehemiah and involved the rebuilding of the defensive walls of Jerusalem.

There are three major points to Ezra:

 1. The Sovereignty of God. The Lord is seen to be directing the events of history as He moves pagan kings to do His will (Proverbs 21:1).

2. The Continuing Need for a Land. God’s plan called for a return of the Jews to the land. They had been taken away as a punishment for their idolatry. They are now brought back so that they might serve Him and worship them in the land. This would be necessary so that the Messiah could be born in Bethlehem.

3. The Grace of God.  He was bringing the people back into the land to give them another chance to serve Him and to follow Him. They had formerly sinned in their idolatry. Now there is a call to renewed purity.

Ezra is a book of covenant renewal. The people return to their covenant relationship with God and renew their promises to follow Him.

Ezra can be outlined like this:

A.  Chapter 1 – 6: The First Return to Jerusalem under Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel

                       

Chapters 1 – 2: The Return from Babylon

                                    Chapter 1: The Edict of Cyrus

                                    Chapter 2: The Exiles who Returned

                       

Chapters 3 – 6: Rebuilding of the Temple

                                    Chapter 3: Construction Begun

                                    Chapter 4: Construction Opposed

                                    Chapter 5: Construction Delayed

                                    Chapter 6: Construction Completed

           

B.  Chapters 7 – 10: The Second Return to Jerusalem under Ezra

                        Chapters 7 – 8: The Return from Babylon

                                    Chapter 7: The Decree of Artxerxes

                                    Chapter 8: The Journey to Jerusalem

                        Chapters 9 – 10: The Restoration of the People

                                    Chapter 9: The Problem of Mixed Marriages

                                    Chapter 10: God’s Solution to the Problem

In this post we will deal with chapters 7-10.

Chapter 7

Verses 1-10 – Our first introduction to Ezra is in the seventh chapter of the book that bears his name. We see Ezra's priestly pedigree. We also see that he was a student of the Word of God. We no longer need the office of priesthood, because we are each priests in every sense of the word. As priests, one of our duties is to feed on the meat of the Word of God.

Verses 11-26 – King Artxerxes sent a letter to Ezra giving him permission to bring the Jews to Jerusalem, their most sacred place of worship. Our place of worship is in our hearts and in the church. The word for church in the Greek is ekklesia, meaning “the called out gathered”.

Chapter 8

Verses 1-14 – This is the roster of who Ezra brought with him to Jerusalem. It is meticulous. Meticulousness is part of God’s character. It is what brought the universe into being. If He were not meticulous, our salvation would be in doubt or altogether impossible. It was His perfect plan that afforded us salvation in Christ.

Verses 15-36 – Here we have the detailed account of the trip to Jerusalem.

Chapter 9

 Verses 1-15 – In these verses, we find Ezra in deep sorrow over the intermarriage of the Jews with pagans. He prays exhaustively about this sad situation. God required His people to be pure; perfectly pure from morning to night in every possible way.

With respect to marriage, God knows that when one of His unites with someone who is not his it is difficult to raise the unbeliever up (unless he turns to Christ in faith). Most often the believer is brought down, emotionally and spiritually. That is why Paul wrote: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

In the Bible, marriage is always a picture of our relationship to God. It is to be like the union of Christ and the church, for whom He died. God hates divorce because it pictures that Christ’s love for the church can somehow be broken.

The Jews were semi-pure at times and very impure at other times. Like us, they just could not keep God’s law perfectly.

When Ezra was informed that the people had sinned against God by marrying their heathen neighbors, he learned that the leaders (priests, Levites, princes, and rulers) had "been foremost in this unfaithfulness." The very people charged with the responsibility of modeling obedience to the law violated that trust by transgressing the law. Their disobedience no doubt emboldened others to do the same. We must keep in mind that God will hold leaders accountable for the example they set.

All the time, God was revealing His plan of salvation, as he forgave Israel over and over again for their trespasses.  He forgives us our trespasses through the shed blood of Jesus at the cross of Calvary.

Chapter 10

Verses 1-17 – Ezra’s actions and prayer had a tremendous impact on the people. Their consciences were awakened to the seriousness of the problem.

Shecaniah stepped forward to make a penitent proposal. He was a man who was not only willing to admit sin, but to do something about it. He proposed that the offenders "put away [divorce] all the [pagan] wives and their children."

While this proposal seems harsh by modern standards, the religious identity of the Jewish people was at stake. Shecaniah exhorted Ezra to act on his proposal and promised him the support of the people. Ezra responded by calling upon the people to take an oath to put Shecaniah's proposal into action.

Verses 18-43 – This list of those who had intermarried shows that none of them were able to hide their sin. They were exposed.

Sin is not to be trifled with and it cannot be hidden from God. When man sins, his only recourse is to repent and trust fully in, and only in, the finished work of Christ at the cross of Calvary.

HAPPY NEW YEAR