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Ezek. 46:9 - "But when the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, he who enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate. And he who enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. No one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered but shall go straight out." NASU
You will notice the worshippers were to exit a different gate from the one they entered. I like what Dr. James E. Smith said in his commentary, The Major Prophets, about this symbolism, "Each person should leave worship a different person than he came in." This is the best way I know to change your life for the good. When you go to worship make sure when you exit the building you are leaving as a different person from the one who entered.
Acts 4:24 - "And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM,…" If you go and sit in a grassy field it is because of God. If you go and throw rocks in a creek or put your feet in a lake or an ocean it is because of God. If you take a ride and look at the trees changing from green to bright orange, red, and yellow colors it is because of the awesome Creator He is. When I look into the sky at night and see the millions of twinkling stars they are there to look at because of God. When Leah had her fourth son she named him Judah. When you translate the name Judah it means "to praise." Gen. 29:35 - And she conceived again and bore a son and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she named him Judah. When you correctly Praise the Good LORD for who He is and what He has done it will change you. Psalm 34:1 - I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Exodus 15:1-6 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said, "I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. "The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will extol Him. "The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name. "Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. "The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone. "Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. What great things has the LORD done for you that you need to remember as you worship Him? Moses and the Israelites remembered what the LORD had done for them by making it into a song. Think On These: Too many people try to get something from worship without putting anything into it. Worship should be a place where you meet God and it is impossible to forget Him. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend.
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Heb 8:12 - "FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES,
AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE."
This is probably the greatest piece of news any forgiven person has ever received. When God says, "I will not remember your sins." It doesn't get any better than that my friends. One of my favorite preachers was a man named Don DeWelt. I remember one of his illustrations about when he would visit his elderly mother in a nursing home. Don said, "Every time he visited her she would ask him the same thing. It was if he would pray for the Lord to forgive her of her sins?" Don said, "At first I said, 'Yes' and would ask the Lord to forgive her." Finally, he said, "I couldn't take it any more and the next time he visited her and she asked him, he said, "No. I am not going to ask God to do something He has already done." This is a great lesson for all of us. When God has forgiven us of our sins and we remain in Christ, the blood of Christ continually cleanses us. In other words, God doesn't remember our sins. 1 Jn 1:7 - "...if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." We all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, but we can have our sins forgiven by accepting the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 1 Jn 2:1-2 - And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. The word "propitiation" means "to appease." Jesus' sacrifice of Himself appeased God's holy demand from His creation. I like how the Psalmist has written it. Ps 32:1-2- "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,…" Have you ever taken the time to sit and ponder how blessed you are because God has forgiven you of your sins? If not lately, now would probably be a great time to take inventory of this tremendous blessing.
The second thing God can't do is break His promises. God not only makes promises He keeps them. One of my favorite promises from God is found in Psalms 34:19 - "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all." You will notice it says the righteous are going to have many afflictions, BUT the LORD will deliver us out of them ALL. I found that in 32 years of ministry a lot of Christians believed they weren't supposed to have any troubles. Yet, it is plain to see God's Word says the opposite. The good news as I see it is God is going to deliver the righteous from ALL their afflictions. What better way to build trust then to be there to help someone in their time of need. God is there for us and that is a promise. Think On These: God makes a promise - Faith believes it, Hope anticipates it, Patience quietly awaits for it. Promises are only as dependable as the individuals who make them. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. Gen. 50:20 - “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
In the above text Joseph is saying these words to his brothers who had sold him into slavery. What can be worse than having your own flesh and blood do something evil to you? Joseph’s brothers had sold him to the Ishmaelites (Gen.37:27) who in turn would sell him to the Egyptians to be their slave. Then the brothers would return to Jacob, their father, and purposefully deceive him by lying to him. Yes, it is true some people will do some very mean, wicked and cruel things not only to their siblings but to people they work with or people who are considered their friends. How are we to handle such situations?
First, there is the Permissible Will of God, second there is the Preceptive Will of God and lastly, the Purposeful Will of God.
In the story of Joseph recorded for us in Genesis, God permitted the brothers to sell him into slavery. When someone does evil to someone else it fits into God's permissible will. What the brothers did was not what God wanted or desired to have happen, but it is what He permitted.
1 Corin. 11:26 - For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. I want to proclaim the Lord's death and so should you. When we proclaim His death it tells the world how much God loves us.
There was nothing that was going to happen that would have hindered Jesus from going to the cross. It was God's Purposeful Will that Jesus dies on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind. 1 John 2:2 - and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Then prepare yourself for a "deer in the headlights" look, which will give you an opportunity to teach them this lesson. Think on These: When things get rough, remember: It is the rubbing that brings out the shine. The best way out of a difficulty is through it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. Luke 3:7-9 - So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ' We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. "Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." NASU
I have heard more than one teacher say, "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. So make your messages palatable to the hearer." I always thought after I heard that, "Yeah, but I am not trying to catch flies. I am trying to convert people." John has no time for "fakes. I know quite a few Collegiate Wrestling Coaches and I have learned this much from them. They don't want any pretenders on their team. They want men who want to learn who want to be the best they can be. If you want to just go through the motions then go somewhere else and do it, would be their thoughts.
In Matthew 3:7 we can see he's specifically addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees: "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? John's first point: he is telling them to Stop Playing Their Silly Religious Games. He calls them out when he says: "You brood of vipers." In other words, those that came in contact with them were poisoned by their teachings and the hypocrisy of their lives. Jesus later in His ministry will say it this way in Matt 23:15: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. WOW! Jesus and John didn't waste their words. You didn't have to wonder: "What did they just say?" John's second point: to "Bear Fruit." He is saying, "If you think for one moment you are going to use the trump card that you are children of Abraham you're sadly mistaken." God is able to make stones turn into children of Abraham. John's third point: "Judgment is Coming." "The axe is laid at the root of the trees" is John's way of saying, "Judgment is coming." He goes on to say, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." So let me ask you are you bearing any good fruit? You might be thinking I am not sure. What exactly is good fruit? Here is what Jesus said in Matt 10:42 - "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." It could be as little as giving a cup of cold water to one of these little ones.
He probably would not have to change his message at all: 1. Stop Playing Silly Religious Games 2. Bear Fruit 3. Judgment is Coming We can do this. Think On These: God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts. The Gospel of Jesus Christ breaks hard hearts, and heals broken hearts. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. |
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