Jew-els

Jew-els

This passage is speaking of the redemption of a remnant of Jews in Israel. We see they are refered to in terms like “they will sparkle in the land like jewels in a crown.”

There will be a number of Jews in the last days that come to believe in Jesus Christ. Paul explained this in Romans

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

Romans 11:25-27 –

Yet there is a time were also “non Jews” are being given the opportunity to turn to Christ also for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

Now lets go with the crown illustration for a bit. Suppose for a second a king had a crown and the very frame and base of the crown is precious metal like silver or gold. Yet there are spaces within that gold glittering frame to put precious gem stones in. Suppose there were twelve holes in the gold frame to put twelve precious gem stones.

What we must understand as non Jews who are saved by Jesus Christ, we have received a place among God’s people by faith- us who are not Israel, have been made into what is like the gold fram. Yet the Scripture indicates that a number of Israelites will in time turn to faith in Christ and too be “grafted in”

Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:4-10 –

Here in Revelations 7 it speaks of 144,000 Jews that will during the last times turn and believe the gospel and be saved. Then it transitions to say:

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. “

So we have been included as God’s people, from all countries and nations- all who believe in Christ and turn to Him by faith can be included.

Most of us all heard the term Im sure “We as Christians share in the common wealth of Israel.”

Yet what does this mean exactly? The Lord first came to bring salvation to Israel

Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the Lord our God and will be afraid of you. Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago. Micah 7:16-20 –

Micah which was writen hundreds of years before Christ pointed to a day where a Messiah would come to save Israel from her sins.

Yet, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — John 1:11-12 –

What about the part of Israel that never believes?

They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: “‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

Acts 28:25-28 –

There is a number of Israelites who believed Jesus when he was here on earth, there were those who rejected him. There will also in future times be those who are of Israel who will eventually believe in Jesus, and those who reject him “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

This is why Paul wrote

As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.” It is just as Isaiah said previously: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.” What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Romans 9:25-33 –

Then says in Romans 10

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile —the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:1-13 –

The Gospel is simple, none of us can find forgiveness by doing good enough but believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

We cannot be saved by our efforts, but must receive mercy!

Significance Of City Of David

What is the significance of “the town of David”?

Long before, this city belonged to the Jebusites. David led a successful campaign against it and took this city,

David had said, “Whoever leads the attack on the Jebusites will become commander-in-chief.” Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and so he received the command. David then took up residence in the fortress, and so it was called the City of David. He built up the city around it, from the terraces to the surrounding wall, while Joab restored the rest of the city. And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord Almighty was with him. 1 Chronicles 11:6-9

This city became known as the “City of David”

Yet years and years later, the “son of David” was born there. When Jesus was refered to as the “son of David” what that implies is God years before prophesied that from David’s geneological line, one of his descendents would be the Messiah.

And indeed Jesus was born there. He was the one whom earlier God spoke of,

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

Jeremiah 23:5-6 –

Finally that day had come. At last, tje prophesy was unfolding before the very eyes of the Jews. The One whom it was said

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.Micah 7:18-20 –

The very One whom would unite the two fractured kingdoms of Israel in the north, Judah in the south. After Solomon, these two broke into two seperate kingdoms and there was often bitter rivalry between both kingdoms. Up till both went into captivity.

Yet there is a prophesy:

He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. Isaiah 11:12-14 –

This prophesy here was speaking of a time where one King would rule over both Judah and Northern Israel.

The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob. Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.

Isaiah 14:1-2 –

Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel. Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves. “Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!”

Zechariah 11:14-17 –

Jesus’s arrival was very significant for the Jews who understood the Old Testament prophesies. Yet how are we in on it? Well we who are not Israelites, have still received salvation through Jesus Christ and are now included in the “common wealth” of Israel.

Look “Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.”

Jacob in this passage is referring to the descendants of the patriarch, Jacob- the grandson of Abraham- who became the founding father of the Jewish nation, Israel.

God kept his word,

He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars —if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Genesis 15:5 –

Israel became a nation of many many people. Yet the problem was, they needed a Savior. They needed a Sacrifice that could totally take away sin.

Up until Christ, there was a temporary sacrificial system to preserve them so God could preserve a race of people who the Messiah would eventually come.

Jesus came, born in the “Town of David” and His campaign was not to reclaim a city from Jebusites, but redeem and recapture the hearts of His people- and recapture the hearts of all who will believe His good news (gospel) and follow Him.

The Scripture points to a day in the future, where Christ will return in glory and splendor and set up His Kingdom in Jerusalem and rule over the world. (See Revelation 21)

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars —they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 21:2-27 –

Here in Revelation 21 we see A new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven-

Yet likely what is Christ doing until he returns to gather up those who belong to Him?

He said, “3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 14:3-4 –

When Thomas heard this, he did not understand. He said “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:5-7 –

So the way to eternal life, and peace with God is through Jesus Christ. Jesus was saying, “You know me, you will end up where I am going.”

Heaven- that is what he is refering to. Yet Scripture seems to suggest God will remake the Jerusalem and bring heaven to earth.

This is the gospel- that all who want to be included in His Heavenly City- must turn to receive Him now. He offers forgiveness of sin and newness of life to all who call upon him ans turn to Him!

Can You Find Room For Jesus In The Inn of Your Heart and Life.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:7 –

“Because there was no room in the inn”

We see how literally in this narrative there was no room in the inn for Jesus. Yet this calls us all to ask the greater question. Do I make room for Jesus. If your life was like an inn, could you find room for him? Or is your days filled with activity and you give Jesus your left over space with whatever is left of the day?

We should realize what privilege it is to have Jesus in our midst. The very person of God, Imanuel, meaning “God with us”

If you are not a believer, there still is the invitation

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20 –

Though also as believers, Jesus knocks too at our hearts and wants us to make room for Him. I venture to say, save the first and best portion of your day for Him. After all, through His sacrifice for our sins, it made it possible for us to even have a relationship with Holy God. We cannot take that lightly. He suffered way too much and gave His best, for us to just give him our left overs.

Consider it this way. Suppose Jesus came to eat at your house. You serve your other guests the best part of the meal, then when you come to Jesus, you give him left overs from your refrigerator because the main food that was warm ran out.

Many of us would gasp at the thought of doing this to our Savior and Lord if He actually came and ate at our house. Yet when we give him the last bit of our time, effort, and energy. How do you think he feels? When you fill yoir morning, afternoon so full of activities and doing mant things- that you Jesus does not get the first and best portion of your day, how might he feel?

Lets look here from a passage in the Old Testament for a moment.

“A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ “By offering defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty. “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 1:6-9 –

These people were giving God just the left over and unwanted things they could offer. We see the animals they offered the Lord were “blind, lame, diseased.”

Now lets translate this. We are not called to as Christians bring God animal sacrifices. We can sacrifice and give offerings to the Lord many other things but we are not under Old Testament sacrificial law. Yet what if God was to ask “When you bring me the last bit of your time, give me the last bit of money you have left over to spare. When you give me your left overs and you have given everyone around you their share first- why should I be pleased with this?”

What if God was to say then after “You would be certain not to do that to someone you were dating? You would not give your close loved ones just whatever you had left over that you could afford, of your time, attention or resources? Why would you give me the bones after you have cleaned the meat of the ribs with your teeth? Will you eat your bread and food and leave me just crumbs?”

May the Lord forgive us when we break His heart in this way. After all, Jesus poured out His life unto death to show how important we are to Him, and shudder the sad thought we would glve any less then our full wholehearted time and devotion!

Winning at the Game of LIFE.

A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1 –

What a seemingly odd thing for Solomon to say about the day we all must face, the day we die. Yet for the Christ follower death is not the end. Death is not to be feared for us who belong to Jesus Christ.

D. oor

E. ntering

A. fterlife

T. o

H. eaven

But there is more to this wisdom as well. We are never truly safe until we die. Death is that exit from this mortal realm and into eternal rest. In this life we will be tested, have many troubles, and face many temptation- death becomes the victor’s finish line. We must endure the whole race and keep the faith to the end- then we will receive the eternal reward.

Yet along this race of life, we are in continual danger, from temptations, from tests! We are neither immune to temptations regardless of seasons of pain or seasons of prosperity and abundance.

For in the fiery trials we may be tempted by doubt or discourage, or tempted to grumble, tempted to lose faith, tempted to give up under trying heavy loads. Yet in times where things are good and prosperous, don’t dare let your guard down either, for we may be tempted to pride or tempted to grow fat and complacent in heart.

For the Psalmist too felt unshakable when prosperous

When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

Psalm 30:6-7 –

And let us take note of King Uzziah whose heart became proud,

“But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. (2 Chronicles 26:16)

Indeed dear believers we are never beyond the reach of temptation. Whether it comes through forms of envy, lust or greed, or whether it comes from pride or self indulgence.

We are creatures so prone to be tempted on all sides. On one hand a person may be tempted to envy and jealousy of others. Yet another one may be tempted by arrogance and pride and look down on others. To the right there are snares and briars and thorns to steer clear of, yet to the left there are pits of tar and deadly traps as well.

Oh dear believers we must pray- pray daily and plead for God to grant us grace and continual help. We must depend on him always and regularly “approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16)

Temptation will come to all, both rich and poor, little known and famous alike. Both man and woman, both this person or that. As long as we live on this side of eternity, we are never fully beyond the reach of temptation.

It is like the game of of Sorry. The game’s objective is to get all your pieces into home base first and then you truly are safe and win. Yet as long as there are pieces of yours still outside on the board and not in home base, those pieces are subject to possibly being sent back to square one.

For us as Christians, we who die following Christ are truly secured and saved as a result of death, not destroyed by it.

For as it is written, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)

How To Cultivate A Delight In The Lord and Cultivate An Ear To Hear His Voice.

Today’s Sermon: How To Cultivate A Delight In The Lord and Cultivate An Ear To Hear His Voice.

This is a very critical step when it comes to tuning our spiritual ears to the voice of the Lord. When we offer ourselves to the Lord and keep ourselves from the things that displease Him, we tune our senses to better hear His voice and understand His Will.

Though Job was advised that if he repented of sin (Though he was not willfully sinning) by his friends. Yet there is truth in this, they just unfairly applied this to Job.

Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.

Job 22:22-28 –

Yet, we still see truth, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16

Lets make some key highlights about this passage in Job.

•Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.

•If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:

Repentance is to turn away from sin to turn to the Lord. When we first became Christians, we did just that, turned from a lifestyle of sin to follow Jesus Christ.

•If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.

Spiritually cleaning house. If we want the presence of the Lord to be fully experienced in our lives, we must clean out all the things that would make him not feel at home.

Result: as we do this, keeping our lives clean, we will “then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.”

Just like Psalm 37:4 says: “Delight yourself in

the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Many people may misunderstand that as meaning God will give us whatever we want if we just delight in him. Well the truth is, we actually can truly delight in Him and enjoy closeness with Him as we obey and have faith in Him. After all, our hearts deepest desires can only be fully satisfied not with God’s presents, but rather His presence!

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

Psalm 63:2-3 –

Yet when we walk in his ways wholeheartedly, God wont withold what is truly best for our lives either

Psalm 84:11 says “The Lord is a sun and shield, he bestows favor and honor, no good thing does the Lord withold from him who walks uprightly.”

It does not mean we get everything we want, but every good thing that God knows is best for us, He faithfully supplies.

•You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.

Is the last phrase in the Job passage we looked at, yet this also corresponds with what Jesus later says

14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:14-17 –

Jesus kept it to two very simple instructions. One, “obeying his commands”- that is loving God. Secondly, “Love eachother”- we should walk in the way of love toward other people too.

This is keeping all God’s commands in two simple commands, loving God and loving people

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40 –

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:14 –

The Fatherless Find Compassion

The fatherless

Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

Hosea 14:3-4 –

It speaks here first of how Assyria would prove vain help to save them. Israel had many time sought aid in human allies of great and powerful nations. Then they text says “We will never again say, ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made,” [The temptation for these people was so often turning to what they thought was powerful people for help, or idols their hands made.]

Yet then the text concludes, “for in you the fatherless find compassion.”

And only the Lord God could save, but also was willing to save (key word: “compassion”)

Did the Assyrians have power, maybe some militarily- but not really. Because only God has “the power to help or overthrow” (See 2 Chronicles 25:8)

Did their military alliances like Assyria or Egypt have “compassion”- certainly not. In order to have the help of such nations, often there was some price tag.

But here we see, God has compassion and power. We see here, “for in you the fatherless find compassion.”

Then it transitions from “orphans” being shown compassion by God to “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.”

What does that have to do with having no father or mother? Well indeed it is true for spiritual orphans too.

Look, at what it says: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:36 –

We know obviously in the literal sense God has compassion on widows and orphans, we know that, yet there is a spiritual case of beinf fatherless as well. We without Jesus Christ have not the Father. We are hopeless and lost.

Jesus refered to His own disciples as “orphans”

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:15-18 –

He speaks not about an earthly father, but His heavenly Father. And understand that through Jesus Christ, we gain access to the Heavenly Father and are “adopted” into God’s family

The Apostle Paul explains:

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16 –

Meaning that the moment one turns to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin by faith, they are received into God’s family. We receive the Holy Spirit, the very presence of the Lord Himself to enable us to live for Jesus Christ.

We become new. We get a new name on that birth certificate. Changed from sinner- to “child of God.”

When we are born naturally, our parents gave us a name and we got a certificate (birth certificate) with our name on it. Yet when we are saved by grace through faith, God gives us a new name, nature, and new life.

This is what it is to be “born again”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

John 3:3-8 –

We all who are alive today are born once. Maybe we had parents who loved us and gave their best to show us they did. Sadly, some parents forsake, neglect or abandon their children.

But behold, not with God:

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:15-16 –

As hard as it is to imagine, there are fathers and mothers who do not love their own children. It’s hard to believe that is true, but even some mothers can forget and discard their babies, but behold

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Numbers 23:19 –

Here is the promise reader,

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile —the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:12-13 –

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

John 6:35-37 –

Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

Psalm 27:10 –

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10 –

Today’s Devotional, Human Scrolls.

Imagine every person you meet as being like a scroll. Every interaction you have with another human being, you can either write good into their lives or leave bad marks and writing in their lives.

We start out our lives like blank scrolls. Many have marks of negative written on from an early age. Yet as Christ Jesus’s followers, we should make it our aim to write, truth and love into people’s lives. We should leave a positive impact on others. We can only truly do so through the enabling help of the Holy Spirit we have received as a result of faith.

Paul used an analogy like this, saying:

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:2-6 –

We can write life and love and kindness in people’s lives, we should not write death

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21 –

God’s Three Distinct Types Of Wills

God has three types of wills

1.) God has a [moral will]- as we see throughout Scripture God has made it clear what is pleasing to Him and what is defined as sin.

We obviously see there are alot of things that go on down here on earth God obviously does not smile upon. After all, sin is rampant in the world. Many people wonder, why does God not intervene if His will is being violated. The Psalmist also said “It is time for you to act, Lord; your law is being broken. Psalm 119:126 –

Yet when God does not act, it is not his indifference or absence. In fact 2 Peter says God’s slowness to punish this sin filled world is not slowness as much as His patience

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 –

God is giving the people who will repent time to come to their senses and turn from wrongdoing to faith in Jesus Christ.

2.) God has a (conditional will) and this is often set up in a way, “If you do this, God will do that”- many of God’s promises or what He does is contingent on what we do or how we respond.

For example, the story of King Hezekiah who became ill and God said, “Put your house in order, you are going to die” and Hezekiah humbled himself, prayed and wept before the Lord. God seems to change his mind and grant Hezekiah an additional fifteen years to live. You can read about the story in 2 Kings 20:1-11 as well as Isaiah 38:1-22) we also see that God said when the people of Israel sinned and God brought afflictions, if they would humble themselves and pray he would hear from heaven, forgive them and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:13-16)

In the New Testament, James writes that some prayers go unanswered for failure to have right motives as well as just not praying to God at all, (James 4:2-3)

The Gospel message has also a condition and promise, that is, if we turn from sin and self effort to have faith in Christ, our sins will be blotted out and we will receive new life to walk in relationship with Him.

3.) God has a (sovereing decided will) meaning, He has already purposed to do certain things regardless of what people do. God’s sovereign will always happens.

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalm 33:10-11 –