Tag Archives: fulfilled

STAMP YOUR AMEN ON GOD’S PROMISES

Prayer, ,

From time to time, we have examined what the Bible has to say about prayer. We have looked at some of the recorded prayers of Old and New Testament saints, tried to copy them, and probably still struggle with what prayer is really meant to be.

Prayer has so many facets that we find it difficult to embrace every detail, and end up getting stuck on a few, like praise, – perhaps, – thanksgiving, – if we remember, – asking God for things or to do stuff, – a whole lot, – and praying for others, – if we are alerted to a crisis or need. This list probably sums up much of our praying.

However, God made prayer simple. We can sum prayer up in one word, fellowship! Yes, God intends prayer to be, in all its many facets, fellowship with Him.

There is a difference between fellowship and relationship.

We have a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus. This means that we are His beloved sons and daughters, and He is our perfect heavenly Father. There is no greater or more wonderful relationship than this, God’s forever family.

There are many spin-offs from this relationship, as there are in human families, but perhaps the most comforting and secure is that of belonging.

‭1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for GOD BOUGHT YOU with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

‭1 John 3:1 NLT‬
[1] “See how very much our Father loves us, for HE CALLS US HIS CHILDREN, and that is what we are!…”

‭1 Peter 2:9 NLT‬
[9] “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, GOD’S VERY OWN POSSESSION . As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

There are many Scriptures that affirm our belongingness to God which secures a life-long connection with Him that nothing or no one can break.

‭John 10:27-29 NLT‬
[27]” My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
[28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, [29] for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand”

However, belonging to God and being a member of His family is only the beginning. How precious it is when a baby says its first words and begins to communicate with the family. So it us with us.

That’s what we call ‘fellowship’. Fellowship is the interaction between people who share a common life, be it in the intimacy of a family or outside the family in common interests and activities. Our greatest and most meaningful fellowship happens in the ‘God-family’, with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and within God’s human family.

‭1 John 1:3, 7 NLT‬
[3] “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that YOU MAY HAVE FELLOWSHIP with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ….
[7] But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

We build our fellowship in God’s family by sharing our growing knowledge and experience of God and His ways, and by doing life together in loving service and ministry. So, fellowship happens through COMMUNICATION. Fellowship is built on the foundation of the knowledge of one another, honesty, transparency and trust.

Likewise, communication (prayer) is the way we have fellowship with the ‘God-family’ – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, built on the same foundation as we build fellowship in the human family.

So, if prayer, in its simplest form, is about communucation with God, (and remember that the three persons of the Trinity are the God-family we talk to), how do we communicate?

Communication happens when two people talk to one another with verbal and non-verbal language. If one dominates the conversation, that’s not communication. Speaking and listening are both included.

So, learning to listen is equally as important as learning to speak in the right way to God.

In this short meditation, I want to focus on one important way in which we ‘listen’ in this conversation with God.

God’s promises form an important and major way in which He speaks to us. The problem is that we come to Him with our issues but, before we stop to listen, we rush off to sit in our ‘worry rocking chair’ and get nowhere but deeper into despair.

When we stop to listen, God’s Word begins to speak. The Holy Spirit quickens promises that provide understanding and hope. Sometimes the promise comes in the form of a ‘pattern’, what God wants the person or situation to be in His original plan. Take, for example, His pattern for marriage in Ephesians 5:22ff.

‭Ephesians 5:22, 25, 31-33 NLT‬
[22] “For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord…
[25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church….
[31] As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” [32] This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. [33] So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.“

If your marriage, or any other for which you are praying, is out of line, you have God’s ‘ blueprint’ and intention which are in His promise. So, how, then, must you pray? Once again, the Bible has the answer.

‭2 Corinthians 1:19-20 NLT‬
[19] “For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.”… and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. [20] For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, OUR “AMEN” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

So, instead of whining, and crying, and pleading with God… stop, listen… the Holy Spirit will provide the promise from God’s Word, a solid foundation on which your faith can stand, and you can stamp the AMEN on that promise!

Done! Finished! Guaranteed because “he always does what he says.”

Now all you need to do is to believe and wait.

‭Hebrews 6:12 NIV‬
[12] “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

Amen to that!

When we follow this principle, we quickly deal with issues so that we can enjoy the fellowship, the sharing of our lives with God and He with us, in the conversation we have with Him called ‘PRAYER ‘.

So, in the end, prayer is much more than communication, conversation, and even fellowship. Engaging in real communication with the God who has pledged to be our heavenly Father includes strengthening our faith in Him. Trusting in Him and His interventions for us, moves us along the way He has planned for us to prepare us for our eternal life with Him.

SEEING JESUS IN THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL – LESSON 5 Concl

Christian Life, ,

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN FEASTS

Here below is an overview of the seven feasts as they have unfolded so far.

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1. Passover              Fulfilled! (By Jesus/Yeshua at His crucifixion 
on Nisan 14 in the spring of 32 A.D.)

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2. Feast of Unleavened Bread    Fulfilled! (By Jesus/Yeshua in His burial in the tomb 
on Nisan 15 in the spring of 32 A.D.)

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3. Feast of Firstfruits        Fulfilled! (By Jesus/Yeshua at His Resurrection 
on Nisan 17 in the spring of 32 A.D.)

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4. Feast of Pentecost        Fulfilled! (By the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost on Sivan 7 in the summer of 32 A.D.)
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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(A gap of 2000 years or so has allowed the Gospel, the Light of Israel
.             to go forth into the nations for the heathen Gentiles to be evangelized). (Isa.49:6) 
. 
. .    – – – – – – – – – – – –     WE ARE HERE     – – – – – – – – – – –

Now here come the three Fall Feasts of Israel. 
They will erupt into holy history in spectacular fashion. 
And the first of the three is probably just up ahead. 
Indeed the very next feast coming up for fulfillment will be,

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5. The Feast of Trumpets       Unfulfilled ….(as of yet). 
Something BIG is going to happen here. And it will happen on the first day of the Tishrei moon, on some future Rosh Hashanah, in the Autumn season of some future year.

And as we come to the last day of this age we make this discovery. 
Yes, it is the fulfillment of . . .

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6. The Day of Atonement       Unfulfilled ….(as of yet). 

The seventh and final feast, or “appointed time” is the . . .

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7. The Feast of Tabernacles    Unfulfilled ….(as of yet).
The fulfillment of this feast will see the establishment 
of the long awaited glorious 1000 year long Millennium of Messiah.

SUMMARY AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. The month of Elul, which is the last month before the Feast of Trumpets, is a time of preparation for the final trumpet blast which will herald the Day of Atonement when the nation of Israel is judged according to their obedience to the Law of God.
  2. The Feast of Trumpets is heralded by the blowing of the shofar when the new moon is sighted on the 1st of Tishri – a period of 48 hours called “the day of which no one knows the day or the hour.”
  3. The Feast of Trumpets begins the “Ten Days of Awe” which precedes the Day of Atonement when the books are opened

During the month of Elul the Israelites were to do three things:

  1. Tephilla – prayer. The essence of this prayer was to change their awareness from themselves to God and to re-attach themselves to God.
  2. Teshuvah – repentance. Repentance in Hebrew thought was to think God’s thoughts rather than their own and to return to their original nature as good. .
  3. Tsidaqah – righteous acts. They were to carry out their duty to God by being generous towards other people because God had been generous to them.

“By returning to one’s innermost self (teshuvah), by attaching oneself to G-d (tefillah) and by distributing one’s possessions with righteousness (tzedakah), one turns the promise of Rosh Hashanah into the abundant fulfillment of Yom Kippur: A year of sweetness and plenty.” (Teshuvah, tefilla and tzedaqah – by Johnathan Sachs).

During the period of our betrothal, it is the responsibility of God’s New Covenant people to prepare themselves for the return of the King and the Day of Judgment when the books are opened and the nations are judged according to their deeds.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:11, 12.

The bride’s preparation consists of:

Separating herself from all other men – becoming holy;

Preparing her bridal gown – righteous deeds (Revelation 19:6-8, e.g, “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practise hospitality.” Romans 12:13; “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10.

The Beginning Of The End

Bible Study, , , ,

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple. Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?

Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pangs.’ (Mark 13: 3-8).

What a golden opportunity for Jesus to give His disciples a timetable of the end times – but He didn’t. He could have, had He wanted them, and us, to have a countdown of events to the end of time. His response to His disciples is puzzling if we do not understand what He was telling them and why. He answered and yet He did not answer His disciples’ question. He told them what would happen, but He did not tell them when it would happen. Why?

Had He given them a timeline, it would have given them, and those who followed them an excuse to live carelessly and only come into line as the events took place that heralded His return. Jesus was wise. Instead, He gave them principles and warnings because His people had an assignment – to follow Him and to be replicas of Him and citizens of the kingdom of heaven in the midst of the darkness of a fallen world.

Deception is a formidable enemy – and we humans are very good at falling for the deception of others and deceiving ourselves as well. ‘Watch out for false messiahs.’ Jesus warned. Why do people fall for their deception so easily? Surely they are easy to detect? How can we protect ourselves from falling for deception?

God gave us an infallible test – prophecy! Remember John the Baptist’s question? ‘Are you the Messiah or do we look for someone else?’ What was Jesus’ response? Check the database. God had given a “database” of prophecies to His people of messianic “fingerprints” in their sacred Scriptures. All John had to do was to check Jesus against the fingerprints and he would have his answer.

How can we check the claims of those who insist that they are followers and representatives of Jesus? Jesus gave us the answer – examine their fruit. Do their lives measure up to their profession? Who do they represent – themselves or Jesus? There is a database of evidence in the Scriptures to help us identify true followers of Jesus.

The second warning – don’t get excited when natural disasters happen. These are what Eugene Peterson, in “The Message” paraphrase of the Bible calls “routine” disasters. They have always happened and they will always happen because the earth was corrupted by Adam’s disobedience. Jesus called them “the beginning of birth pains”. Nature is in labour. This is nothing new. Paul observed and wrote about it in his letter to the Romans.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom. 8: 22).

Wars are another phenomenon which have been going on since the Fall. Human greed was born in the hearts of men when Adam chose his own way over the will of God. Man is at enmity with God and men. He wants what is not his and he will take it when and where he pleases at the expense of others. Wars will continue until the end of time, as long as fallen man pits himself against fallen man.

It is true that there is an escalation of both natural disasters and human conflict, with warfare becoming more sophisticated and destructive of human life. Just as a woman’s birth pains increase in frequency and intensity, so the earth’s “birth pains” are likewise becoming more violent and intense, a sign that her labour will soon have its end result. Nevertheless, there is no way in which we can or should predict the time of His return.

Like the bridegroom whose return for his bride is set by his father when he is satisfied with his son’s preparation for the consummation of his marriage, so Jesus awaits the Father’s time to return for the church and to restore everything that was broken by the Fall.

The role of the bride is to prepare for His return so that, whenever the bridegroom comes, she will be ready. When He returns is not as important as that He will return, for He has promised. In the interim she has a task to do – to prepare her wedding gown so that she may take her place with Him in the beauty of His holiness.

Are you ready for Jesus’ return or will you be caught, like the five foolish virgins, unprepared for His coming, and left out in the cold?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

The Ultimate Reward

Bible Study, , , ,

THE ULTIMATE REWARD 

“‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’

“I am telling you now before it happens so that, when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.'” John 13:18-20 NIV.

Amazing, isn’t it, how often the experience of Jesus paralleled that of His ancestor, David! He often quoted David’s words, or the gospel writers quoted David to show how accurately Jesus fulfilled Messianic prophecy. Jesus even cried out in the anguish of His abandonment on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Psalm 41 is one of the psalms which David possibly wrote at some time during the years of his flight from Saul’s murderous jealousy; or perhaps in his reign after a time of serious illness he describes how God sustained him in his weakness and vulnerability in spite of his enemies’ wish that he would die. Even the one closest to him had turned against him and he felt keenly the pain of betrayal.

In a time of intimate fellowship and a tender moment with His disciples before He left them. Jesus was face-to-face with His betrayer. He wanted him to know that He knew what he was about to do. It was a silent plea for Judas to think again. He was also warning the other eleven of what was soon to happen so that they would realize who He was when it happened.

He knew that His lesson on humility and loving service would be lost on Judas who was already so hardened against Jesus and his fellow disciples that the words of Jesus fell on the hard soil of his heart, just like the parable He had told about the sower and the seed. There were important things Jesus needed to tell His disciples before He left them but they would be wasted on the traitor. He hinted at the fact that Judas was no longer included in the company of His followers.

One thing Judas needed to hear, even if it was for the last time, that there is an inseparable union between a disciple, his Master and the Father. The mission Judas was about to embark on was not one on which he was sent by his erstwhile Master. By his own choice that connection had been broken and Judas was on his own, and would have to face the music of his actions alone.

On the other hand, those who went at the bidding of their Master, showed that they enjoyed the oneness with the Master and the Father which Jesus had already proved by His obedience to the Father’s will. To accept and submit to Jesus’ authority was to submit to the authority of the Father. Now Jesus takes it a step further, to accept the one whom Jesus sends is the same as accepting Him, and to accept Him is to accept the one who sent Him.

This puts the follower of Jesus in a very secure position. Although the Father required of Jesus obedience that went as far as giving Himself as a sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world, Jesus knew that it would not end there. He was destined for a position in the universe higher than any other. In the same way, although He may call His followers to deprivation and suffering in this life, He has guaranteed us eternal life because He rose from the dead and will never die again.

How tragic that Judas was willing to forfeit all of this for a reason only he knew. Was he trying to force Jesus to make a move against the Romans and fufill his and their dreams for a kingdom free from Roman oppression? Was he only motivated by greed and the bag of silver the religious hierarchy had offered him for handing Jesus over to them?

Whatever his reason, it could never match the grandeur of the future prepared for those who faithfully follow the Messiah. There may be trials to endure but, as the apostle Paul said, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ” 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18 NIV.

The Scriptures Have to be Fulfilled

Christian Life, , ,

THE SCRIPTURES HAVE TO BE FULFILLED

“Then He said, ‘Everything I told you when I was with you comes to this: All things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.'” Luke 24:44 (The Message).

The prophetic fingerprints of Messiah are woven into the story of a nation, the Hebrews, from its beginning as a single and initially childless couple, through the growth of this family in Egypt, their miraculous deliverance from slavery and their journey to, and life in the Promised Land.

It is a record of their chequered history as a people who persisted in rejecting their God and living in rebellion against His teachings. Their disobedience and idolatry brought them back into slavery to another wicked and idolatrous world power, Babylon, from which God again graciously restored them to their own land although it remained occupied territory under Persia, Greece and Rome.

The most important details of Messiah’s life, death and resurrection are encoded in this book, miraculously preserved and passed down over a period of four thousand years. It was written by some forty authors from every ancient walk of life and yet it is one story, a record of the Creator God’s dealings with man, and specifically the Hebrews, whom He chose to be His own people, and their response to Him.

God’s master stroke was to weave the story of Messiah into the story of His people as His signature of authenticity. What other religious book contains a signature like that – with one hundred per cent accuracy of fulfilment? Through the prophet Isaiah He claimed supremacy over the idols they so loved to worship, which were powerless to speak and act, let alone predict the future.

Apart from His resurrection, what else would have convinced His followers that He was who He said He was? For three years they had followed Him. They had walked with Him, listened to Him and watched him do miracles and interact with all kinds of people. Their experience of Him had brought the growing conviction that He was their Messiah, but the events of the previous few days blew their hopes apart. They thought they were the victims of a terrible hoax.

Jesus brought them back to the Scriptures they knew so well. He was the one of whom the writers of their sacred books had written, whose fingerprints were on every page of their carefully-copied scrolls. He took them through their Bible, book by book, and highlighted every prophecy that He had fulfilled until they were convinced beyond doubt that He was their long-awaited Messiah.

If these men, who were fearful and faithless until Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, were so convinced of His identity as Messiah and Lord that many of them paid the supreme price for the truth, can we not take their testimony at face value and trust the person and words of Jesus as they did? That conviction, empowered by the Holy Spirit who came on the day of Pentecost and took up residence inside them, energised their lives and gave them the courage to die for their testimony.

The same Jesus is Lord today and the same Spirit energises us to stake our lives and our destiny on Him because everything written about Him in the Scriptures is true.