Becoming Great by First Being Lowly

Today I am going to talk about the importance of humility. Let's read from Luke 22:24,26,"And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted  the greatest. And He said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve." This saddened Jesus very much. For one, this was the exact opposite of the spirit that would rule in Jesus' kingdom; and secondly, this was right before Jesus went to Gethsemane. This goes to show that Satan was doing all he could to discourage Jesus, by getting the disciples to think about self, instead of doing all they could to encourage Him, and to be united.  In fact, the spirit that the disciples manifested was the same spirit that Satan manifested before he got kicked out of heaven. Lucifer had said, "I will be like the Most High." Isaiah 14:14. If we manifest just a little pride and selfishness, and don't repent of it, it will become bigger and more dominant in our lives until it is extremely hard to break away from it, that is what happened to Lucifer. Proverbs 13:10 says,"Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom."  It is logical that if we are prideful, we will be in strife with somebody. That's what happened to the disciples.  When this text says "but with the well advised is wisdom" that means those who are willing to accept counsel, or are humble, are wise.
   The spirit of the Most High is to be a servant.  Philippians 2:5,8, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:Who, being  in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."   Notice that this text says that we are to have this mind that Jesus had.  So we are to be willing to do menial tasks and not consider any duty 'beneath' us.  And to imitate the character of Jesus.
  I would like to close with this text from 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:"  I would like to be exalted! So what we need to do to be exalted, is to be humble, and to accept the lot of life that God has given us, and someday, God will reward all those that are faithful to Him in the little things. I am looking forward to that day!

                                       The Chief Cornerstone Part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote on some of this subject; now, I will bring some more lessons from the parable of the Chief Cornerstone.
   Even Isaiah likened Christ unto a chief cornerstone. Let's read Isaiah 8:13-15, "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself: and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the House of Israel for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken." So what does this text mean when it says, "a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence"? I believe what this is saying is that when we are presented with the message of Jesus, we can resist the Holy Spirits's calling to accept Jesus into our lives; or we can resist. Then it says that many of them will fall, and be snared, and taken. Now what does that mean? Well, we tend to think of the words like  'falling' or 'snared'and 'taken' in a negative sense. But it is obvious in this text, that this speaking about surrendering ourselves to Jesus and not to evil. ,We are to fall at Jesus' feet and be broken and to be sorrowful of our sin, and to live a life in harmony with God.  This text is rather interesting for using such word terms a positive perspective.  1 Peter 2:6-8 says, "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."  I really like it when this text says "he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded". If Jesus bore the sin of every human being who has every lived, can He not bear our burdens? I am so glad that Jesus is ALWAYS there for us.  Then the text says that unto us that believe, Jesus is precious; but unto those that are disobedient, just the thought of Jesus, is a nuisance, it is something that is always pricking their conscience.  Isaiah 26:3 says,"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusteth in Thee." And to contrast, Isaiah 48:22 says,"There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."
  

                                              "Be Ye Thankful"

Today, we are going to talk about the importance of thankfulness, even when we may have many problems. Let's turn to Philippians 4:4,6-7. It says, "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. ... Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  I like it when Paul repeats " and again I say, Rejoice." I think Paul was trying to make it clear that it is very important to have positive attitude at all times. That reminds me of James 1:2, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;" That really doesn't make sense to the natural human mind, But God uses those trials for the purifying of our characters as we see in verse 3, "Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

   Now let's review verse 6 that we read earlier, it says that in every prayer request that we bring to God, we are to always add the things that we are thankful for.  Sometimes, we think that we have sooo... many problems that we don't have anything to be thankful for. But that is what the Word of God says. Then we read verse 7 in the beginning of the post. I think that verse 6 is linked with verse 7. So if we want to have  "the peace of God, which passes all understanding", we are to be thankful for the things which we do have. Because every human on this earth has at least one thing to thankful for. I definitely want to have peace in my heart, so I must be thankful in every thing. Let's close with this passage from 1 Thessalonians 5:18,"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 

                                                  The Chief Cornerstone                    

Today, I am going to talk about the parable of the Chief Cornerstone.  We are going to read this from Matthew 21:42,44, "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?  Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."

  In order to know what this means, we need to go back to when Solomon built the temple. All the stones that consisted of the temple's bulk were not hewn and shaped at the building site, but were hewn and shaped precisely at the quarry. One stone of unusual shape and size had been brought, and at the time, did not have a reserved place in the wall at the time, but when the time came to lay the corner they had to find a stone that  could endure an enormous amount of weight.  For a time, they ignored the long rejected stone; but they could not find a stone that could endure such crushing pressure. If they chose a stone that wouldn't be strong enough, the building would fall apart. They finally made the test trials on this stone and it endured them all. 

    This reminds me that we so often seek every other support before we, at the last resort, finally seek Jesus. Why don't we leave all of our problems to Jesus as soon as they occur? "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7.  If Jesus carried all the sins of the world, could he not carry our burden? Let's close with this text from Matthew 11:28-30, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
  I will write more on this subject later.  I am trying to write each blog more "bite sized". 

                                 Success in Apparent Defeat

Today, I am going to share some thoughts from latter days of the apostle Paul's ministry.  When Paul traveled to Jerusalem and was imprisoned by the Romans, it seemed that Paul's ability to spread the Gospel was greatly hindered.  But as he was imprisoned, he was greatly privileged to have a commodious house with all his needs provided for, except he couldn't go anywhere. And you could be sure that if Paul was despondent or selfish, or constantly whining and railing accusations at those who had charge over him, he would definitely not have a nice place to stay in, and none of the people with whom he came in contact would respect him, or listen to his advice.  Instead, Paul was cheerful and positive, constantly trying to minster to all that came to him.  Many souls can be won to Christ, when God's people, treated to injustice and trial, are patient and happy. Even when they can not actively work for God just like Paul couldn't, they can witness for Him by simply radiating God's love and showing the peace that comes by casting all the cares upon the Savior.  When Paul was brought before the Caesar, it was not so much the words that he spoke that caused conviction , it was almost entirely caused by his remarkable  peacefulness and  holy calmness.            

    Many of Paul's churches were greatly discouraged that Paul was imprisoned and thinking that he could no longer minister to anyone. But Paul says in Philippians 1:12-14, "But I  would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that the bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." And Philippians 4:11,12 says," for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know how both to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need."  I would like to close with this final passage from Romans 8:28,"And we know that all things work together for  to them that love God, to them who  are the called according to his purpose."

                                           The Healing Stream          

   This a continuation of my last blog, this is taken from Ezekiel 47:6-12. This post will explain why I entitled this "The Healing Stream".  Let's read from Ezekiel 47:6-12. It says, "And said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.  Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.  And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto  Eneg-laim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be spread according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.  But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."
    Like I said in my previous post, the river represents our relationship between us and our Heavenly Father. The angel is telling Ezekiel that these waters go through the desert, then finally flow into the sea. Along the way, the river brings everything around it, to life. Lots of green, healthy trees grow along the river bringing forth various fruits that heals everyone that eats them.
  What does the text mean when it says, " But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given over to salt."? Well, what do you think of when you think of a marsh or swamp? I think of stagnant, muddy water that doesn't move anywhere, that is perfectly satisfied with where it is.  Are we growing in the depth of our walk with Christ, or are we content to stay where we are? I hope that we are like the deep,moving river.  What are the consequences for being like a swamp? It says that they shall become salt marshes. That doesn't sound very good, does it? Salt stifles plant growth, or will even kill plant life, and if the water has enough salt it, it will have a detrimental effect on marine life. I pray that  we would be like the river that nourishes the thirsty, desert land,and turning it into a lush garden,and not like the salt marsh that refreshes no life whatsoever.  Let us keep moving toward the Heavenly Kingdom.
  
 

                                             The Healing Stream

This is an interesting message that I heard from the Iowa-Missouri camp meeting. I have never heard a message based on this passage, Ezekiel 47:1-12. And I have often wondered what it meant. Let's start out by reading the passage. Ezekiel 47:1-5 says "Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and behold waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side.  And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees.  Again he measured a thousand, and he brought me through; the waters were to the loins (waist).  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that that could not be passed over. Let's stop there. The  water was flowing from under the temple much like a spring,and flowing eastward,which developed from a very thin layer of flowing water to a very deep river.  It got deeper and deeper as you went down the river not across it.  That point proves that the Christian walk doesn't end, in the way that you as a Christian could say, "I have now become perfect, and I'm now on the other side."  The Christian life is a step by step experience that gets deeper and deeper until it is only God's Holy Spirit that governs us.
   Let's think of this passage in literal terms.  If you go to a river that is only ankle deep, even though it may be flowing rather swiftly, it still has very little effect on your ability to stand still. But if the water depth comes to the knees, it is fairly difficult to stand still, but is still possible.  However, when the flowing water reaches the waist, it is nearly impossible to stand your ground; and it takes the most determined effort to stay where you are.  But when the flowing water goes much above the waist it is impossible, to stand or walk in the current, that is what the passage means when it says "it was a river that could not be crossed, ... waters to swim in".
      So this river represents our walk with the Lord.  It is up to us, as to how much influence the Christian life has on our daily lives.  When we first accept Jesus Christ into our lives, (if it is sincere), other people will see a noticeable difference in the way we carry our lives.   We can decide to continually go deeper and deeper into our walk with God until we never let "the old man" govern us, or we can decide to just do some Christian deeds, like going to church and paying tithe,  but we still are hanging on to some old sins, and we prefer to just stay where we are.  But 2 Corinthians 5:17 says,  "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
     So let us continue to grow deeper in our Christian life, and not be satisfied with where we are.  Hebrews 12:1b says, "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"  I will post more about this subject from Ezekiel 47: 6:12 later, which will explain the title.