Exploring The Minor Prophets -- Part 8

 Micah -- Part 1

     Micah was a much different type of prophet than the one that we just learned about. The book of Micah is similar to the other Minor Prophets we've studied so far in that the Lord gives a message to the prophet who is then tasked with delivering God's message to a certain group of people. 

     Micah ministered in the southern kingdom of Judah. He was a prophet at the same time as the great prophet Isaiah. While Isaiah had a wide ranging message during his ministry, Micah is mostly concerned with people living in and near to the city of Jerusalem. He preaches a message of repentance to them. During the reign of King Ahaz, the people had drifted far away from the Lord. God wanted them to turn back to the true way and follow Him and Him alone. 

     There are two things in particular that I want to point out from the book of Micah that are applicable to us today. Micah contains one of the most well-known Messianic prophecies. Micah is the one who told that Jesus would be born in the city of Bethlehem. He would come from the same city as King David.

     The people in Micah's day would easily understand the significance of the place of the Messiah's birth. The Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David. 

     God made a covenant with David while David was on the throne. God told David that a member of his family would rule on his throne forever. The ultimate fulfillment of this would be the reign of the Messiah ruling from the throne of his ancestor David. 

     We know looking back how the prophecy was fulfilled. Just as Micah told us, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. He was the Messiah, and He was of the house and lineage of David. He was and is the fulfillment of the covenant that God made with David all those years before. 

     When Jesus returns at the time of His glorious Second Advent, He will rule and reign with righteousness and justice throughout the entire universe. There will be no more sin, suffering or sickness. Nation will no longer rise against nation. They will study war no more. Even so, Lord Jesus come. 

Verses For The Week

 Jeremiah 17:14  - "Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise."

Isaiah 40:29 -- "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

Weekend Sermon -- Jesus The Man of Sorrows

      I hope that you didn't think that I abandoned the blog. I haven't. I have been very sick for the last couple of weeks with pneumonia. I have been off work, and I am just starting to get back in the swing of things. Hopefully, I will be able to get everything going on the proper schedule on here starting today. Thank you for taking the time to read the message today. 

     We are currently studying a series of messages where we are looking at some of the names and titles of Jesus found in both the Old and the New Testaments. For today's message, I want us to look at the fact that Jesus is referred to as a Man of Sorrows. This reference to Jesus is found in the Messianic prophecy given by Isaiah in Isaiah 53:3 that reads, "He is despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." Why is Jesus referred to as a man of sorrows?

     I believe that there are at least three reasons why Jesus is called The Man of Sorrows. First of all, the Bible tells us in Philippians 2 that Jesus emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form of a servant. In actuality, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity took up humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. The Lord gave up so much in order to come to this world in order to redeem us and the universe from sin and its consequences. Coming to this earth was not something easy for the Lord to do. It cost Him a lot. Things would never be the same again in a way.

     Primarily, I believe that Jesus is called The Man of Sorrows because of what He endured as He suffered for the sins of the world. Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. All through His life, He knew that it was His mission to be the Lamb of God that would take away the sins of the world. On the cross, Jesus suffered for us bearing our sins in His body on the cross. He endured mocking and abuse. He cried out, "My God, My God. Why have You forsaken Me." None of us can even begin to understand what Jesus endured as He was on the cross suffering for our sins.

     I also believe that Jesus is called The Man of Sorrows because He understands as no other person does the terrible state of the this world and those who live in it. Jesus knows that sin has caused pain and oppression, sickness, disease, injustice and an entire of raft of social and moral ills. Jesus knows the darkness that is in the heart of many people, and He knows how many people truly suffer and hurt in this world. He knows that people would be so much better off if they would come to Him. However, the majority of people do not. 

      Jesus is called a man of sorrows, but He is the one who will bring ultimate and eternal joy and harmony to this world. He will come again, and there will be a new Heaven and a new earth. There will be no more sin. All will be well and returned to the state that was in existence before sin entered into the world. Jesus through His life, death, resurrection and Second Coming is the one who will bring joy to the world. 

     You can know the joy of the Lord in your heart if you trust in what Jesus has done on your behalf. Jesus died and rose again that you might have life. Abundant life now, and eternal life in the ages to come. Trust in the Lord today. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray that I will fully recover from my illness. I thank you for your prayers.

     Pray for those in Maui recovering from the fires.

     Let us pray that the fires in Canada will be extinguished.

     Continue to pray for peace in the trouble areas of this world. Pray for Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and Sudan among others. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Gambia and Indonesia. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.

     Next week, I hope to get things back on track. I will post the verses on Monday. I will post the next part of the book midweek. I will post the message at the end of the week. May God bless you all. 

Weekend Sermon -- Jesus Is The Judge

      Thank you for reading the message this week. I hope that all of you have had a good week and are doing well. My week has been OK. I am feeling good some days and not so good on others.

     Last week, we saw that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. As we learned, the Bible says that whoever has the Son has life. Those who do not have the Son do not have life. Eternal life is through Jesus Christ. 

   Today, I want us to focus our attention on the fact that Jesus is the Judge of all. John 5:22 lets us know that the Father has turned all judgment over to the Son. In Romans 2:16 Paul tells us, that God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. Paul again tells us in II Timothy 4:1 that Jesus is the one who will one day judge the living and the dead. II Corinthians 5:10 is a sobering verse that informs us of the fact that all will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 

     There is one extended account found in Matthew 25 where Jesus tells about His judging of the nations when He returns to earth. He said that He will separate the nations as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. His judgment will be based on who has done good and right to the least among them. Jesus said that when you have done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me. When you do not do for the least of these, you have not done service for the Lord. 

     So, what is that Jesus is going to judge? First of all, we know that after we die, there is a judgment. The Bible says in Hebrews that it is appointed that all will die, and after that the judgment. I believe that when we die, we are judged by the Lord Jesus as to whether or not we will be allowed into Heaven. As we learned, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. Jesus is the decider. Jesus is the one who knows the thoughts and intents of every heart. He knows what is in a person. He knows those who have a true possession of faith versus those who only have an empty profession of faith. He does not look on appearances. He looks on the heart. Those who have truly put their faith and trust in Jesus and love Him will be with Him in the place that He has prepared. Jesus takes everything about a person into account. He is the one who decides who gets into Heaven not us. 

     Now, what about this verse that all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. At this judgment, Christians will receive reward for what they have done for Jesus while on this earth. They will receive one or more of the crowns spoken of in the Bible. Paul says that some people's work for the Lord will be like gold, silver and precious stones. When tried by fire, their works remain. Others works are like wood, hay and stubble. When tried by fire it burns up. 

     Some Christians I am afraid will not have much treasure in Heaven. They will be saved by grace through faith, but they won't have what they could have because they were too concerned with building up treasures on earth that are just going to pass away.

     Finally, I want to focus on the judgment that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25.  Those who really were in Christ helped the least among them. This didn't provide them with salvation, but it did demonstrate if they truly had Jesus as the Lord of their lives. If you have Jesus as Lord, you will follow Him. That means doing unto others as you would have done unto you. That means helping people and trying to make things better for those who are hurting and oppressed. Some will say at the judgment Lord we knew you. But Jesus will say I never knew you. Why? Because their actions did not demonstrate that they really loved Jesus. Jesus knows what is really in the heart. What is in the heart will ultimately manifest itself outwardly. 

     Jesus is the judge. What should be our response? If you don't know Jesus as Savior and Lord, I urge you to trust Him. If you are a believer, live your life so that when you stand before Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ you will have gold, silver and precious stones and not wood, hay and stubble. Do all knowing that we will all give an account to the Lord. Amen.

Prayer Request

     I am doing a little better with my help. I am seeing a specialist on Monday, so pray that I will keep getting better. Also, there are supposed to be bad storms in my area tonight, so pray that they won't be too bad. Thank you.

     Please pray for those who lost so much in the fires in Hawaii. Pray that they will get the help that they need. 

     Pray for an end to the fires in Canada.

     Let us all pray for peace. Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and many other nations need our prayers for peace. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in the nations of Somalia and Iran. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Monday, and I will post the next part of the book midweek. May God bless you all. 

     

Exploring The Minor Prophets -- Part 7

 Jonah -- Part 2

     Jonah's reaction to the call God placed upon his life demonstrates at least a couple of different things. For one, it demonstrates that some people don't want God to be merciful to certain types of people. Sometimes, we only want God to be merciful to those who are like us or agree with us in some way. We act as if surely God doesn't want people like that to be in church with us. 

     Another thing that strikes me about Jonah trying to flee to the far end of the known world is that it revealed that he had a false understanding of the true nature of God and that he wasn't familiar with the Scriptures available to him at the time. 

     In Jonah's day, many of the surrounding nations believed that deities with localized. They only had power within a certain area or over a certain people. Jonah must have held to this false belief because he thought that if he got far enough away, God would forget about him. Jonah didn't understand what David expressed when David said that there was no place that one could flee from the presence of the Lord. God is omnipresent. He is everywhere.

     This is something that should be of comfort to those who are in Christ. The Lord is always watching out for us and helping in this life until we come to be with Him in the life that is to come. 

     God knew where Jonah was, and He sent a storm. Jonah was cast into the sea, and the Lord prepared a big fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was not swallowed by a whale. This fish was specifically created by the Lord for this specific purpose. 

     Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the fish. He was there until he decided to repent and do what God called him to do. He was a stubborn man. Most would have repented a lot sooner. 

     In the Gospels, Jesus would use the example of Jonah in the belly of the fish. Jesus said that this was a sign that He would be in the grave for three days, and then He would rise up from the grave. Jonah was a sign to the people. Jesus' resurrection is a sign that God the Father has accepted all that Jesus taught and did while He was here on this earth. It is a sign to all people everywhere throughout all time. 

     After the fish deposited Jonah on the dry land, he went to Nineveh and preached a message of repentance. The people repented in sackcloth and ashes. 

     Jonah wasn't happy with God having mercy on the Assyrian capital. However, God told Jonah that He was a God of compassion who cared about all people include those in Nineveh. God also cared about all of the animals that were in the city. 

     Jesus came to redeem the entire universe and return the entire cosmos to the state in which it existed before sin entered into the creation. God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. One day, the Lord will redeem all creation when He returns in power and great glory. 

Verses For The Week

 Titus 3:5 -- "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."

Acts 16:31 -- "...Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..."

Weekend Sermon -- Jesus Is The Way, The Truth, and The Life

      Thanks for reading the sermon. I am sorry that everything is delayed this week. I will get back to posting on a more regular schedule next week. We had a bad storm, and the power was out for a long time, plus it's been terribly hot and my health isn't great. Please pray that the storms tonight won't be bad. 

     Today, we are continuing with our series examining the titles and names of Jesus found in the Bible. In today's message, we see that Jesus referred to Himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life. We read this in John 14:6 that states, "Jesus answered, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through me."

     This statement given by Jesus is one of the most controversial statements of the Christian religion. Let's examine what Jesus meant by this, and what other passages in the New Testament have to say along this line. 

     In this statement, Jesus is saying unequivocally that He is the only way of salvation. When humans sinned, it caused separation from God. God is holy, and He cannot allow sin into His presence. Sin has to be punished because God is a holy, righteous and just God. In this verse, Jesus is saying that He is the only one who can provide reconciliation with the Father. 

     We know from the Bible that God sent His Son the Lord Jesus into this world to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus came to be the atoning sacrifice for sin. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be forgiven of their sin, and they will receive the imputed righteousness of Christ. We can only have a relationship with the Father when we are in Christ Jesus His Son. Jesus is the way to the Father. He is the one who provides new and abundant life now and eternal life into the future in the home that He has prepared for us. His way is the only way of truth. Jesus is the one who reveals the truth about God and how to have redemption from sin. 

     Here's where the controversy arises. Jesus and orthodox Christian doctrine teaches that Jesus is the only way. You have to believe in Jesus or you are lost in your trespasses and sins. This causes offense to many because they want to falsely proclaim and believe that there are many ways to God. Jesus said He is the Way.

     So, what else does the Bible say about this. Peter preached in Acts 4:12 stating, "Therefore there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." I John 5:12 tells us, "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son does not have life."

     That's about as clear as it gets. Those who have the Son, Jesus Christ, as Savior and Lord have life. Those who are not in Christ do not have life. Salvation is through Jesus alone. 

     Jesus does not exclude anyone from His offer of salvation. He will not cast aside any who come to Him in repentance and faith. Whosoever will may come. Jesus invites you, me and everyone else to find the way, the truth and the life in and through Him. I hope that you will trust in Jesus today. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please pray that the storms tonight will not be bad. Also, please pray that my health will improve. I've been doing a little better.

     Keep praying for an end to the fires around the world. 

     Pray for refugees and migrants that they will be safe and find the help they need. 

     We need to keep praying for peace. Remember to pray for Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and Sudan.

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Laos and Sri Lanka. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, I want to get back on schedule. I will post the verses on Monday. I will post the next portion of the Minor Prophets book. I will post the sermon on Friday. May God help me to be able to get the posting done right this week. May God bless you all.