Numbers 18
Responsibility of Levites and Priestsverses 1-5
And the LORD
said to Aaron
You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear
the iniquity of the sanctuary – and you and your sons with
you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood
And your brethren also of the tribe of Levi – the tribe of your father
bring you with you – that they may be joined to you
and minister unto you
BUT you and your sons with you shall minister before the
tabernacle of witness
And they shall keep your charge – and the charge of all the tabernacle
only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary
and the altar that neither they – nor you also – die
And they shall be joined to you
and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation
for all the service of the tabernacle
and a stranger shall not come nigh to you
And you shall keep the charge of the sanctuary – and the charge of the altar
that there be no WRATH any more upon the children of Israel
Warning to the Priests regarding their dutiesverses 6-7
And I BEHOLD I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the
children of Israel – to you they are given as a gift for the LORD
to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation
THEREFORE you and your sons with you shall keep your priest’s office
for everything of the altar – and within the veil
And you shall serve – I have given your priest’s office to you as a
service of gift – and the stranger that comes nigh shall be
PUT TO DEATH
Heave offeringsverse 8
And the LORD
spoke to Aaron
BEHOLD – I also have given you the charge of MINE heave offering
of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel
to you have I given them by reason of the anointing
and to your sons by an ordinance forever
Priests portion of the offeringsverses 9-19
This shall be yours of the most holy things – reserved from the fire
every oblation of theirs – every meat offering of theirs
every sin offering of theirs
every trespass offering of theirs
which they shall render unto ME
shall be most holy for you and for your sons
In the most holy place shall you eat it – every male shall eat it
it shall be holy unto you
And this is thine – the heave offering of their gift
with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel
I have given them to you – and to your sons
and to your daughters with you – by a statute forever
everyone that is clean in your house
shall eat of it
All the best of the oil – wine – wheat
the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD
them have I given you
And whatsoever is first ripe in the land
which they shall bring unto the LORD
shall be thine every one that is clean in your house
shall eat of it
Everything devoted in Israel shall be thine
Everything that opens the matrix in all flesh
which they bring unto the LORD
whether it be of men or beasts – shall be thine
nevertheless the firstborn of man shall you surely redeem
and the firstling of unclean beasts shall you redeem
And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shall you redeem
according to thine estimation – for the money of five shekels
after the shekel of the sanctuary – which is twenty gerahs
BUT the firstling of a cow – sheep – goat – you shall not REDEEM
they are HOLY – you shall sprinkle their blood on the altar
and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire
for a sweet savor to the LORD
And the flesh of them shall be thine – as the wave breast
and as the right shoulder are thine
All the heave offerings of the holy things
which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD
have I given you – and your sons and you daughters
with you – by a statute for ever
It is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD
to you and to your seed with you
LORD is inheritance of Levitesverses 20-23
And the LORD
spoke unto Aaron
You shall have no inheritance in their land
neither shall you have any part among them
I am your part and your inheritance among the
children of Israel
And BEHOLD – I have given the children of Levi all the TENTH
in Israel for an inheritance – for their service which they serve
even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation
Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the
tabernacle of the congregation – lest they bear sin – and die
BUT the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation
and they shall bear their iniquity
It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generation
that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance
Levites inheritance: Titheverses 24-32
BUT the TITHES of the children of Israel
which they offer as a heave offering unto the LORD
I have given to the Levites to inherit
THEREFORE I have said to them
Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance
And the LORD spoke to Moses
saying
Thus speak unto the Levites
and say to them
When you take of the children of Israel the TITHES
which I have given you
from them for your inheritance
Then you shall offer up an
heave offering of it for the LORD
even a TENTH PART of the TITHE
And this your heave offering shall be reckoned to you
as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor
and as the fullness of the winepress
Thus you also shall offer an heave offering to the LORD
of all your TITHES which ye receive of the children of Israel
And you shall give thereof the LORD’S heave offering
to Aaron the priest
Out of all your gifts you shall offer every heave offering of the LORD
of all the best thereof – even the hallowed part thereof out of it
THEREFORE
you shall say to them
When you have heaved the BEST thereof from it
Them it shall be COUNTED to the Levites as the
increase of the threshingfloor
and as the increase of the winepress
And you shall eat it in every place – you and your households
for it is your REWARD for your SERVICE in the
tabernacle of the congregation
And you shall bear no SIN by reason of it
when you have heaved from it the BEST of it
neither shall you pollute the holy things of the
children of Israel – LEST YOU DIE
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 And the LORD said to Aaron, You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. (4984 “bear” [mithnasse’] means to carry, to life, lift up, to make oneself subject to, bring upon oneself, become liable to, or to incur)
DEVOTION: The LORD picked one tribe to take care of the spiritual needs of the children of Israel regarding the ministry of the Tabernacle. It was their responsibility alone. They were held accountable if anything went wrong in the worship services.
The test of who was chosen by the LORD was over. The rest of the nation knew who the LORD had chosen and were supposed to respect HIS choice. If they didn’t, they were sinning against HIS commands and death was the penalty for their failure to obey HIM. Now we have to realize that God wants everything done decently and in order today. HE has chosen men to serve as leader of the church. They are to respect their responsibility or face the consequences of their actions.
All believers have a responsibility as the New Testament teaches the fact that every Christian needs to be using their gift for service to HIM. If we fail to serve HIM properly, HE cannot bless us or the church we are involved in.
Too often we find that believers in a local church are not loving one another in a way that is pleasing to the LORD. Visitors see this and move to another place or just stop going to church because they think that no one is getting along in the church.
Jesus died to give us salvation and an abundant life. That life is to available to serve the LORD. If we are not working together in the local church, we have to realize that we have to bear the responsibility for not reaching our world for HIM.
CHALLENGE: The LORD challenged Aaron and the tribe of Levi. HE is challenging us today regarding the use of our gifts to cause the local church to move forward for HIM. Is your church moving forward?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 Therefore, you and your sons with you shall keep your priest’s office for everything of the altar, and within the vail; and you shall serve: I have given your priest’s office to you as a service of gift: and the stranger that comes nigh shall be put to death. (4979 “gift” [mattanah] means present, something acquired or given without compensation in return, or something given to another as a present of good will or relationship)
DEVOTION: All of us like gifts when we receive them for our birthday or at the time we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
The priests were given a gift of the rest of the tribe. The rest of the Levites were gifts to the priests. They were to help the priests do their duty. If anything was done wrong the priests were to be the protectors of the Holiness of God and HIS sanctuary. Everything was to be done decently and in order. Nothing was to be done haphazardly.
Serving the LORD was a special privilege that only the tribe of Levi could perform. It was an honor to be chosen by the LORD for such a work. It is true then and it is true today.
Those who are called to serve in the leadership of a local church are given a special privilege of service. They have to answer to the LORD for what happens in the congregation especially in the area of worship and service.
It is important to have those who are called given the responsibility of instructing the rest of the people in the congregation. The instructing includes setting an example of someone who truly loves the LORD.
Each priest did their part to make sure God was honored in their service to HIM. HE gave them all the help they needed to perform their tasks correctly. Things had to be done correctly on both sides of the holy place.
CHALLENGE: We have to do the best we can on both sides of the church. Everyone is important to the witness of the church to each other and to the community. People were watching the priests and people are watching us.
: 11 And this is your, the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, by a statute forever: every one that is clean in your house shall eat of it. (2706 “statute” [choq] means portion, prescription, an individual portion of food or drink, share, quota, custom, ordinance, or prescribed limit)
DEVOTION: The offerings were the payment for the priests. There were other sources of income as well for the tribe of Levi. The priests were to have a portion of the offerings brought to the LORD.
There were about 600,000 men in Israel that were supporting about 22,000 Levites. So there was good support as long as the tribes gave what they were supposed to the LORD. If the people didn’t bring their tithes to the priests then there would not be enough for the priests and Levites to live on.
The LORD gave instruction that there should always be enough for the tribe of Levi and the priests if the people did their part. No one would be hurt or go without if they followed HIS plan.
The priest’s families would have enough to eat at all times. It is also mentioned that the daughters of the priests would be able to eat of the sacrifices. They were not excluded.
One of the restrictions regarding the eating of the food was that only those who were ceremonially clean could partake of the offerings. If there was someone in the house that was unclean they had to wait until they were clean to eat of these types of meals.
The Bible gives this same type of example regarding the partaking of the communion table. There has to be a personal internal examination before anyone partakes of the LORD’S Supper in church.
CHALLENGE: God wants us to be clean when we come into HIS presence to remember what Christ did for us on the cross.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 20 And the LORD spoke unto Aaron, You, shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any part among them: I am your part and your inheritance among the children of Israel. (2506 “part” [cheleq] means portion, inheritance, share, territory, tract, lot, reward, or allotment)
DEVOTION: The tribe of Levi received forty-eight cities to live in but they were scattered among the twelve tribes of Israel. They didn’t receive one whole plot of ground but a lot of little plots where there were cities.
Some of the cities were cities of refuge for those who had accidentally killed someone to run too, so that, the avenger couldn’t kill them. There would be a judgment by the high priest at the time if the killing was accidental or not. If not they would take the person outside the city of refuge and them to the avenger of blood or blood relative of the one who was killed.
Now God was making it plain to the Levites that they were not going to get a plot of land like the other tribes because HE was their inheritance. They were to serve HIM and HE would provide for their needs through the gifts of the other tribes.
So, they had a special purpose and a special provision for their service to HIM. HE wanted them to be totally dedicated to serving HIM. HE wanted them to realize that HE was all they needed.
Today we need to realize that the LORD is the one who is caring for us and providing for our needs. This is especially true of those who go into full time Christian service. HE is the one who has promised to provide for their every need.
No fulltime worker should be looking to the local church or mission agency to provide for their every need. They are supposed to depend on the LORD. Many times, a small local church will not provide enough for their pastor leader but the LORD always sends what is necessary through other means.
Too often we find men going into ministry with the idea that they were going to demand all they need for their family from the local church. That is a wrong idea. The LORD will provide even when the local church sometimes doesn’t give enough.
Remember if the local church doesn’t give what they can, they will answer to the LORD. If the pastor takes more than he needs, he will answer to the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Once in fulltime Christian service remember the LORD is your portion. HE will provide for all your needs. HE knows your heart.
: 26 Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, “When you take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe”. (4643 “tenth” [ma`aser] means payment of a tenth part, or tithe.)
DEVOTION: Responsibility is given to the Levites and the priests. They were to protect the sanctuary. They were to keep the common people away from the holy things of the Tabernacle. Each of them had their individual responsibility of service. If they failed to complete their assignment, they were committing a sin/iniquity. They were to pay the consequences for their sin. The tribe of Levi, which included the priests, was given no inheritance of land. Their inheritance was the LORD. HE also gave the part of some of the offerings. HE gave them the first fruits of the land. HE gave them the first born that were not redeemed. HE gave them the redemption money. HE provided for all their needs through the gifts of the people.
There was a payment for service to the LORD. The tribe of Levi was chosen to be the servants of the LORD regarding the tabernacle of the congregation. The sons of Aaron were the priests. The other sons of Levi were those who cared for the tabernacle. Both groups were paid by the tithes of the rest of the children of Israel.
The tithe is ten percent of their income. Their income came from farming and raising animals. Once the congregation of Israel paid the Levites, they were to use that payment wisely.
Here we find that the Levites were to give a tithe of a tithe. Once they were paid, they had to give a tithe back to the LORD. This means that the fulltime servants of the LORD were to give a portion of their salary to the LORD. Everyone is to honor the LORD with their tithe.
We need to remember that everything we have we receive from the LORD. HE gives us the power to work. We need to thank HIM. One of the ways we thank HIM is by giving ten percent of our income back to HIM for those who are serving HIM in the local church and around the world.
Many don’t say “thank you” each paycheck. The LORD wants us to give HIM our tithe cheerfully. The church and parachurch ministries should not have to beg for the money. It should come to them because of their service to the LORD. IF they are faithful to the LORD, HE will provide for them. There are many ministries that are unfaithful to the Word of God. They will answer to the LORD.
There are some churches that are not paying their minister a living wage. It has been my belief that the LORD will provide for HIS servants, even if the church does not. However, if the church fails to pay the pastor, they will answer to the LORD for it. If the pastor takes more from the ministry than he needs, he will answer to the LORD.
Warning: Pastor’s don’t preach messages that the people want to hear because they are giving you a paycheck. The greater reward is given by the LORD for your faithfulness to preach what HE wants you to preach, even if it cost you the church.
Are we honoring the LORD with our money? Is the church of Jesus Christ moving forward with the amount we give each Sunday? Are we a thankful people?
Remember that this world is not our home, we are just passing through. If we are storing up treasures here on earth, they will disappear.
CHALLENGE: Storing up treasures in HEAVEN is MORE IMPORTANT. How much will we leave behind when we die????
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sanctuaryverses 1, 3, 5, 16
Priesthoodverses 1, 7, 10, 11, 21
Within the vail
Service of gift
Every male shall eat of offerings
Everyone that is clean
Tenth
Tribe of Leviverses 2, 6, 21, 26
Given as a gift for the LORD
Do service
Ministerverse 2
Tabernacle of witnessverses 2, 3
Tabernacle of the congregationverses 4, 6, 21-23, 31
Altarverses 5, 7
Heave offeringsverses 8, 11, 19, 26-32
Tenth of a tenth
Anointingverse 8
Meat offeringverse 9
Sin offeringverse 9
Trespass offeringverse 9
Wavy offeringverse 11
Everything devoted in Israelverse 14
Everything that opens the matrixverse 15
Redeem firstborn of manverses 15, 16
Redeem firstborn of unclean beastsverse 15
Redeem with shekelsverse 16
Covenant of saltverse 19
No inheritance in their landverses 20, 23
Titheverse 24
Reward for serviceverse 31
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Ordinanceverse 8
Statuteverses 11, 19, 23
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verses 1, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 24-26, 28, 29
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Strangerverses 4, 7
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Iniquityverses 1, 23
Stranger near the veilverse 7
Sin offeringverse 9
Trespass offeringverse 9
Sinverses 22, 32
Pollute holy thingsverse 32
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Ministerverse 2
Chargeverses 3-5, 8
Serviceverses 4, 6, 7, 21, 23, 31
Giftverse 6
Anointing verse 8
Cleanverses 11, 13
Redeemverses 15-17
Inheritanceverses 20, 21
Titheverses 24, 26, 28
Reward verse 31
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Aaronverses 1, 8, 20, 28
Tabernacle of witnessverse 2
Tabernacle of the congregationverses 4, 21-23, 31
Wrathverse 5
Children of Israelverses 5, 6, 8, 11, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 28, 32
Priests portion of offeringsverses 9-19
Devoted in Israelverse 14
Covenant of saltverse 19
Tenth to Levitesverse 21
Titheverses 24, 26, 28
Mosesverse 25
Priests had to tithe the titheverse 26
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Death penaltyverses 3, 7, 22, 32
Ordinance foreververse 8
Statute foreververses 11, 19, 23
Covenant of salt foreververse 19
DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
The offerings that the Levites would render to the Lord are not themselves fresh. Their grain is not new; neither is their wine. But since they themselves are not doing the harvesting of their own lands to bring their firstfruits to the Lord, the produce of others will be regarded as their own. For those who cannot harvest for themselves, God reckons (neḥšaḇ Niphal perfect of ḥāšaḇ, “to be reckoned”; v.27) their gifts as though they are just harvested. As in the case of the people, the Levites are to render to the Lord “the best and holiest part of everything” (v.29). Never is God the happy recipient of shoddy gifts; his demands are of the very best that one has. (Allen, R. B. (1990). Numbers. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 857). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
18: 19 A covenant of salt forever. Salt, which does not burn, was a metaphor to speak of durability. Ad salt keeps its flavor, so the Lord’s covenant which the priesthood was durable. The LORD would provide through the offerings of His people for His priests forever. (p. 181, The MACArthur Bible Commentary (NEW)
18:25–32. Similarly, the Levites themselves were to tithe of their income and present that to the Lord. This tithe was to be grain or grape juice (v. 27). It was to be considered as though they themselves had raised it (v. 30). It also must be the best … part of what they had (vv. 29–30, 32). The Levitical tithe would go directly to the priest (v. 28) and be retained at the tabernacle as a holy offering to the Lord (vv. 29–30). The remainder could be eaten and imbibed anywhere the Levites chose because it was not the priest’s but theirs alone. When they took the people’s tithes and in turn paid their own tithe of it to the Lord, they would be using the people’s gifts as God intended and would therefore be free of blame before God (v. 32). (Merrill, E. H. (1985). Numbers. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 237). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The principle here is clear and is emphasized often in Scripture: Those who serve the Lord and His people should be supported from the material blessings God gives His people. “The laborer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7; Matt. 10:10), said Jesus; and Paul wrote, “Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the Gospel should live from the Gospel” (1 Cor. 3:14, nkjv). Paul further explained this principle in Galatians 6:6–10; Philippians 4:10–19; and 1 Timothy 5:17–18.
The Jewish people didn’t always obey this law and bring their tithes to the Lord, and as a consequence the ministry at the tabernacle and temple suffered. (See Neh. 10:35–39; 12:44–47; 13:10–14; Mal. 1:6–2:9.) If the priests and Levites didn’t have food for their families, then they had to leave the sanctuary and go to work in the fields (Neh. 13:10). It’s tragic when God’s people don’t love the Lord and the Lord’s house enough to support it faithfully.
God expected the Levites to tithe what they received and share it with the high priest (Num. 18:25–32). On occasion I’ve met people in Christian service who don’t give to the Lord’s work because they consider themselves exempt. “We’re serving the Lord and all that we have belongs to Him,” they argue, but their argument doesn’t hold water. The Levites were serving God full time, yet they tithed what they received.
Tithing isn’t necessarily a legalistic practice, for Abraham and Jacob tithed centuries before the Law was given (Gen. 14:20; 28:22). If the Jews under the Old Covenant could give 10 percent of their income (produce) to the Lord, can Christians under the New Covenant do less? For us, tithing is just the beginning! If we grasp the meaning of 2 Corinthians 8–9, we’ll practice “grace giving” and go far beyond the tithe. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1999). Be counted (pp. 79–80). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)
Ver. 31. And ye shall eat it in every place, &c.] In any of their tents or dwelling-houses, not being obliged to eat it in the tabernacle, where the priests were obliged to eat many of their holy things, and second tithes were only to be eaten at Jerusalem, Deut. 14:22, 23 but the Levites might eat theirs anywhere, in any place, clean or unclean, according to Jarchi; for, he says, it might be eaten even in a grave-yard; but Aben Ezra much better, in a clean place, be that where it would: ye, and your households; they and their wives, their sons and daughters, their servants, whether bought or hired; and they might sell it to strangers, to purchase other necessaries with. The Targum of Jonathan interprets this of the priests; but the Levites only are plainly spoken of: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation; which is said to encourage them in their work, and animate them to it, as well as to clear their right to such a maintenance against all objections; for the labourer is worthy of his reward, as those that labour in the word and doctrine are of theirs, 1 Tim. 5:17, 18. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 796). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
The Post-Church Christian by J. Paul Nyquist and Carson Nyquist
Carson:
In this moment we need leaders in our generation to dream about the future of the church – not to change our faith but to introduce new ways to express it. (p. 131)
The church has left an imprint on the world often associated with judgment, not love. (p. 132)
Forgive the church for not always representing Jesus. Forgive leaders for holding standards above my head. Forgive the Christian community for avoiding honesty. (p. 132)
I leave you with these words from Theodore Roosevelt:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the area, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. (“Citizenship in a Republic” (speech delivered at Sorbonne, Paris , France, April 23, 1910).
Philippians 1
Paul urges us to have his perspective: “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (v. 21).
INSIGHT With Paul’s perspective on life, he cannot lose. Wherever he is, Paul considers it “the world” into which the Lord wants him to go to preach the Gospel. Even prison is a positive experience for Paul, because he is able to spread the Gospel there. And if he is to die, that is even better. To live is fruitful ministry, but to die is gain. Most of us have our affections too deeply implanted in the things of this world to identify with his perspective. We must learn to let go. (Quiet Walk)
LOOK FORWARD IN ANTICIPATION
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8
As we believe the message of the Gospel, we are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light—the kingdom of God’s dear Son. He is building up His own kingdom; he is drawing men and women unto Himself out of the world; He is going on with the work. He is in glory seated at the right hand of God, and He must reign until His enemies shall be made His footstool. He is going on until the number of the elect shall have been gathered in. And when that has happened, He will come again. He will return into this world as King and Lord, and He will finally finish the work. He will come with a mighty sword, and not only evil and sin but Satan himself and all his cohorts shall be cast into the lake of fire and will finally be banished from the sight of God for all eternity. And our guarantee of all this is the glorious fact of the resurrection: He “was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Remember then what He has already destroyed, and look forward in anticipation; the blessed hope that faces us as Christian people is that He will destroy these works of the devil utterly, completely, and finally. Evil and sin will be finally destroyed out of existence, burnt, destroyed forever. God shall be all and in all, and if we are in the army of the mighty Victor who has already risen from the grave and thereby conquered death, if we belong to Him, we shall behold that final judgment of Satan, and we shall dwell for all eternity in a perfect state with no sin and no sorrow, with no sighing and no tears.
A Thought to Ponder: We shall dwell for all eternity in a perfect state with no sin and no sorrow, with no sighing and no tears.
(From Children of God, p. 69, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Regeneration
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)
Perhaps the greatest purpose of Christianity is to take that which is only flesh and see it reborn as Spirit—to see spiritual life born where before there was only death. But then, even in the most mature of believers, there remain aspects of the old nature mixed in with—even at war with—the new. In frustration Paul cried, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me” (Romans 7:21). But each Christian should, through the power of God, be winning that war.
Christ came to regenerate the spiritual side of people. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2)
Too many Christians still have their spirits buried deeply within the flesh, having “yielded [their] members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity” (Romans 6:19). But Christ came to change all that. “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4).
Through faith, “according to his abundant mercy [He] hath begotten us again” (1 Peter 1:3). To “beget” means to reproduce a like kind. Since He has “begotten us,” we should be becoming like Him in attitudes and aims. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). This is the object of Christianity. (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Please read the first 24 words of this tweet by John Piper, very carefully, and very slowly. Let it sink in what he is saying.
“I find it bewildering that Christians can be so sure that greater damage will be done by bad judges, bad laws, and bad policies than is being done by the culture-infecting spread of the gangrene of sinful self-exaltation, and boasting, and strife-stirring (eristikos).” -John Piper
To reiterate, Just in case these remarks are indirectly directed to the president. His encouraging self talk comes across as self exaltation. It’s optimism. He also boasts about the job performance of others all the time. Yes it makes people angry but who does it make angry? We are in a serious war. People in past administration have been very polite while doing serious damage. Others were very polite and got slandered and plowed by the opposition. Nice no longer works with these folks so God put in a bull dog fighter who is as tough as his opponents.
Here is, my humble answer to Mr Piper.
“Oh my. Personality flaws and weaknesses are nothing compared to the lasting results of bad, even corrupt judges, laws, and policies. Can we look a little broader? “Bad companions corrupt good morals”. Now take a serious look at who has corrupt companions and who surrounds themselves with people of integrity, God fearing people, People of prayer. Who is not ashamed to be identified with Christ or his followers. Who openly supports Israel. Then who is the one who says nothing about his support of Israel. But we know from the past what is their stance. That is my focus What do they stand for what do they support. Before God, our country’s welfare depends on it. Five years before Donald Trump actually ran for the office of the presidency, he was considering it a possibility to run for the previous election. He went to a charismatic church to be prayed for about it. He stood on the platform in front of the congregation and was surrounded by the pastor the pastor’s wife and others. They prayed over him for God to give him guidence and wisdom. This was no sham, no pretence. He did not run for office then, obviously but it does show he had been seeking God for a long time. Not just for votes, as some say. He is not a man of oracle skills but he is a warrior. I believe our country will be blessed through this man if for no other reason but that he supports and blesses Israel. Can we please pray for him to be a peace maker, a little less self boastful and exalting, a gentler and kinder person. Can we pray this for our culture as well, in Jesus name?
Franklin Graham: Pope Francis attempts to ‘Normalize Homosexuality’ Is to say the Bible is False
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