Remember the Reason For the Season...JESUS!!!
II Chronicles 7:1-14, Deuteronomy 28:1-10, 4:7-9
Apostasy is prevalent among the (Saints) Christians today. We can certainly attest to it. The Christian world has taken on some idols, things that seem to take the place of real devotion to God. Those idol gods of our neighboring religious organizations are mighty enticing. To include them in our worship seems to be alright with some. God will hold us responsible for our actions. Solomon was the man that God chose to build the Glorious, Magnificent Temple. This beautiful temple attracted the attention of the world of that day. It became the center of the nations. it was a symbol of unification. All of the tribes came together. At the completion of the temple, Solomon knew how to invoke God on His Throne. He called upon the Lord to dwell in the temple. Solomon said these words "Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts." II Chronicles 6:14 NKJV Solomon was on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven when he prayed this prayer. Solomon in chapter six had asked God to provide a way for the people to get back on track when they had sinned and come short. God answered him with four conditions for forgiveness:
My friends, the Lord is waiting right now for your cry for help. He is listening for your prayers. Just dial Him up on the Royal Telephone. His line is always open, no putting you on hold. You don't have to worry about Him answering the next line, you will be on the direct line. "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV excerpt from the book "By the Foolishness of Preaching" by the Reverend Dr. Grace Ruth Batten, DD St. Matthew 26:36-46; 27:2, 26-28, 31, 35, 46, 50
I Corinthians 1:23-24 Luke 23:33 John 1:14 Have you ever read John 1:14 from the Amplified Bible? If not I want to share some of it with you. "And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacle - fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile among us and we (actually) saw His glory - His honor, His majesty; such glory as an only begotten Son receives from His Father, full of grace (favor, loving kindness) and truth." The translators did a masterful job in dichotomizing this particular verse they did their best to get the reader to comprehend the humanity of Jesus. Humanity must be understood from the standpoint of conception and human parentage. This is what we humans recognize as the way human personage begins. Therefore God, Yaweh, Jehovah, Elohim, Adonai, sanctioned the human beginning by allowing Jesus to be conceived in the human womb of Mary by the Holy Ghost. It is important to keep in mind that Jesus actually possessed a human body and all the attributes of humanity with one exception; he was without sin...For humanities sake it was essential that Christ possess both human and divine natures. In order for Christ to be the mediator between God and humans, He had to be human and in touch with real life experiences, that is, pain, infirmities, frustrations, disappointments and sorrow...Yes, Jesus was in touch with reality. Because of His humanity He could suffer and experience agony. He knew what it was to be hungry, to be thirsty and to be tired. Jesus also experienced the emotions of love and compassion. Be it know that He experienced grief. He wept over the death of Lazarus. The death of Christ was the (real) purpose for His coming in the flesh. "For this in My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin." Matthew 26:28 NRSV Lest I Forget! The death of Christ had special significance in that He was not beheaded or stoned to death, but crucified, which history tells us is the cruelest form of Roman punishment. Lest I Forget! They hung Him high; they stretched Him wide; He dropped His head and He died. Lest I Forget! The blood of Jesus opened the door of Heaven. How would you feel if your birthday was forgotten? What if your spouse forgot about your wedding anniversary? Suppose all the significant events in your life were totally ignored? What would you do? I don't think any of us would handle it very well if we were forgotten on our special occasions. We would probably have some pretty intense emotional moments. Therefore, we should never forget the real reason for Communion. It is our way of saying that we have accepted the Blood Shed of Christ in a real and personal way. LEST I FORGET! excerpt from the book "By the Foolishness of Preaching" by the Reverend Dr. Grace Ruth Batten, DD I Samuel 15:2, 3
We live in a society where there is constant noise. It could be a jet flying over, a jackhammer breaking up the street, or a cement mixer pouring concrete. It simply is noise. At night when there is stillness and a strange noise occurs, people get real quiet because they want to listen so they can determine what kind of noise it is. How do you respond to a noise or to a voice when you cannot tell from whence it is coming? How do you react if you know whose voice it is? Just think about the two questions that I just asked while I elaborate upon a little bit of history from the first book of Samuel, which recorded the birth, dedication and the call of Samuel. The lesson is on obedience. "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being King." I Samuel 15:22, 23 "Responding To What You Hear." What does this mean? The definition of the word respond means "to answer," "to reply," or "to react." Please note that we respond according to our mentality. Responses generally emanate from our attitudinal position. Believe it or not, this is how we function in our Spiritual thought pattern. The Scriptures state in Proverbs 23:7a, "For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he..." If you are thinking positive or negative in your hearts, that is how you will respond to what you hear. Be it remembered that obedience brings about a life of joy and happiness. Disobedience brings about sorrow, rejection and death. How will you respond to the voice of God? Will it be negative, passive, or positive? Can you say today that when He calls me I will answer because I'll be somewhere listening for my name. excerpt from the book "By the Foolishness of Preaching" by the Reverend Dr. Grace Ruth Batten, DD James 4:14
In this day and age, everybody seems to be in a hurry. One could ask a question, in a hurry for what? Are your rushing because you are late for work, school, a party, shopping, a trip or the doctor? How about late for church? Let's look at it and face reality, the world at large seems to be in a hurry. The question again is where to and for what? I remember when my mother took about fifteen minutes to cook the old-fashioned oatmeal or grits. Now, today, we have instant oatmeal and instant grits. All you have to do is just drop the contents into some boiling water, stir it around, take it out and it's all done and ready to be served. My, how times have changed. When I think of the frailty of humans and the scripture passage of James 4:14 KJV, "What is your life," I automatically think at the end of life "What Then?" Since everything and the world is hurrying right by, so is your life. When your life has hurried by, "What Then?" The most righteous man of his day considered life as a cloud. "As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more." Job 7:9 KJV What Then? My friends, have you though about it? At the end of your life, what then? Life is very short. It has been said " A thousand years with God is but as one day." Life has been considered as a very little thing, as a shadow. A shadow is unreal, it is illusory. I Chronicles 29:15 b KJV "Our days on earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding." What Then?! The Psalmist pictured life as a tale that was being told. A tale is a story, and event or a narrative. It can be true or not true. It is something that is told from one generation to another. So it is, that at the end of your life, What Then? You will be considered by people as a past event. Think about it. Only what you do for Christ will be counted at the end. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." James 4:14 KJV WHAT THEN? excerpt from the book "By the Foolishness of Preaching" by the Reverend Dr. Grace Ruth Batten, DD |
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