The Hebrew writer declared, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22) The implication is that a sacrifice of a life is required for remission of sins to be possible. Jesus told the apostles when instituting the Lord’s Supper, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28) Jesus laid down his life so that we might have the forgiveness of our sins. There is no greater demonstration of the love of God than this sacrifice. Let us never tread underfoot the blood of the Son of God!
Religion is often viewed as something that is done when it is convenient. This attitude was expressed by Felix when he said, “when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” (Acts 24:25) This view of religion is not what was expressed by Jesus. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) In fact, Paul expressed it this way, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1) The next time the world starts to creep into your life, will you choose to sacrifice for the Lord?
Genesis 38:14-15: And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
By today’s standards one would not consider the dress of Tamar immodest. The text says that she wrapped herself and covered her face with a veil. The problem is that she adorned herself after the manner of the harlots of the day. She did so to entice Judah and it worked. People in ancient times understood that harlots dressed a certain way. (Proverbs 7:10) Not long ago someone came up to me in a restaurant and asked me where I preached? I asked how he knew I was a preacher. He said that I dressed like a preacher. What does the way you dress say about you? Because of the wickedness of man God destroyed the world with a flood. Imagine if you will the terror that would fall on Noah and his family the first time that it rained following the flood. Having lived through that great flood one would imagine that Noah would not run for the hills but for the boat when water starts to fall from the sky. Yet that never happened because God allayed those fears by making a promise to Noah. “And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:11)
I am friends with a meteorologist who posts lots of weather related pictures on Facebook and Twitter. Many people love to look at the beauty of rainbows. Make no mistake, they are beautiful. I don’t know what is in the mind of the masses when they behold a rainbow but I do know what is in mine. “And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” (Genesis 9:17) God does not break His promises! “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: (Genesis 12:1).”
Have you ever thought of what you would do if you were called upon to move? No doubt it is difficult when such things happen. Moving because of a job, school or other reasons means separation from the ones we love. When moving what are your priorities? For many, shelter would be a priority. For others, a means of making a living would be at the top of the list. Too many times (once is too many), God gets lost in the shuffle. Not for Abraham. “And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.” (Genesis 12:8) No matter where we are or the reason for moving/traveling, we should always seek a place to worship God. “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” (Genesis 15:1) There are three great lessons in this very brief verse.
(1) Fear not: Jesus said it this way, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) 2) I am thy shield: David wrote, “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4b) (3) Thy Exceeding Great Reward: John was told, “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10b) The interesting thing about David’s words and those given to John by Jesus is that in both cases “fear” was removed from the picture. David said, “I will fear no evil.” John records, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.” Fear not! When informed by the Lord that Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed because of the wickedness of the people, Abraham asked if the righteous would be destroyed with the wicked. (Genesis 18:23) If ten righteous could be found the cities would be spared. Abraham knew Lot, his family and his herdsmen were in the area. One would think that they would have been sufficient to account for ten righteous souls. But Peter writes, “(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;).” (Second Peter 2:8) Lot stayed above the wickedness but lost his wife while fleeing the city. “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:26) We sometimes think that we will not get pulled down to the level of the unrighteous. But beware, it is easier to pull something down than to pull something up.
Creation
The Bible declares that “God created the heaven and the earth.” Those who treasure man’s wisdom above that of God have denied God as creator. Evolutionary thought has been around for a very long time. Aristotle said, “Nothing can be made out of nothing.” This may be true with man but “with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27) The question is whether you will accept what the Scriptures say or what man says. Some try and harmonize these but in doing so have to deny that which is plainly stated within God’s Word. For example, some believe that the days of creation can be vast periods of time. The Bible declares that each day of creation had “the evening and the morning.” (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31) It does not say many evenings and mornings. Moses stated that the earth was created in six days and that God rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 20:11) The Hebrew writer’s words should be heeded. “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:3) That God created the universe from nothing is as much a matter of faith as our belief in God. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) The Fall
The Garden of Eden has been called paradise on Earth. Some consider paradise to be carefree and without responsibility. This was not the case with Adam and Eve. “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15) In addition to the duties assigned to man was the prohibition of eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) When Eve was tempted, she and her husband violated the rule that God had set forth. (Genesis 3:11-12) The result was that man was expelled from the garden and no longer had access to the “Tree of Life.” Once sin entered the world it grew. Abel’s sacrifice was offered by faith (Hebrews 11:4) meaning he did as God instructed. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Cain’s sacrifice was not offered according to God’s command and God did not respect it. Cain got angry which lead him to murder his brother. (Genesis 4:8) From this point sin in the world grew worse and worse. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5) When man departs from God he will wax worse. Society will suffer from a lack of morality. That first transgression may seem small and insignificant but notice where it lead. “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Genesis 6:6) Sin has great consequences! Get Moving!
One thing that is apparent to those who have been involved in any type of public project is that there are a number of attitudes. One attitude is that of a person who is trying to destroy the project. The second attitude is one that complains about the project. The final one we will consider is one that will seek to forward the project. When one examines the Bible it is clear that God will be with those who are seeking to do His will. (Romans 8:28) The will be obstacles from time to time. Satan will try and oppose us at every turn, but we can accomplish God’s will if we persevere. To illustrate the point of this lesson please consider Exodus 14:5-18. In this text the project under consideration is Israel leaving Egypt and traveling to Canaan. The one who seeks to destroy this project is Pharaoh. “And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.” (Exodus 14:5-9) Pharaoh decides that he shouldn’t have allowed the project to begin and determines to do whatever he can to stop the project. Violence is even considered to be an option. Too many times there are those who oppose the work of God. Sometimes this type of opposition will even come from within God’s camp. This type of destructive attitude is contrary to accomplishing the goals set forth by our Lord. In our text we also see the attitude of the complainer. “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12) When adversity presented itself on the project those who were not dedicated to it faltered. Often times there are those who will start out supporting a project but will pull back when something doesn’t go according to plan. Remember, Satan will always oppose that which is good. Because of that we must not allow ourselves to become discouraged. Some of those under the care of Moses would have given up and become slaves to Pharaoh. Will you serve God or give up and serve Satan? Not proceeding with the project meant the goal would never be reached. The attitude for which we must strive is exemplified by Moses. “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:” (Exodus 14:13-15) Moses was told by God to instruct the people to go forward. Prayer is a powerful thing but there are times when God wants us to take action on a project. If the world is going to be evangelized it will be by men and not by prayer alone. Yes, we need God on our side but don’t forget we fight together with God, not hide behind God. We are to be active in the Kingdom of God. Let us fight the good fight and be rewarded by our master for moving forward instead of giving up. -Pete Ward |
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