September 20, 2018 PTF – Three Reminders

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Three Reminders

Reflections on trips to:

Denali National Park (this summer)
Grand Canyon National Park (March 2010)

Listened to some presentations by
Park Rangers.
Employed by our Federal government.
Paid with our tax dollars.
Clearly in positions of authority. (Uniforms and badges)

For the most part, their presentations contradicted everything taught in the creation account found in the Scriptures.

These individuals are described in Romans 1

Romans 1:25 (NLT)
They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

This is the world we live in.  This is the world our children are being raised in.

This is not just happening in the secular world.  This is happening in the church.

First reminder

There will be false teachers in our society, in the church, and in the schools cleverly promoting false philosophies.

2 Peter 2:1 (NLT)
The Danger of False Teachers
But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them.

Jeremiah 5:31 (NLT)
… the prophets give false prophecies,
and the priests rule with an iron hand.
Worse yet, my people like it that way!

2 Peter 3:3 (NLT)
Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.

Biblical truths will be mocked by scoffers who are following their natural instincts.

Colossians 2:8 (NLT)
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

 

 Second Reminder

 Never stop praying.

 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)
Never stop praying.

 Pray that your child will grow in spiritual knowledge, spiritual understanding, and spiritual wisdom.

Pray also that your child will know God’s will for their lives.

Prayers from the Scripture:

Philippians 1:9
I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

Colossians 1:9
So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

 

 Third reminder:

Teach Biblical Truth to Your Children

Redeemer Day School Core Values
Christ-Centered
Redeemer Day School believes in nurturing students in the development of Christ-like character and a love for the Lord by hiding His Word in their hearts (Psalm 119:11). Our students learn about the Bible and that His Word is Truth. We teach them about God’s character so that they will understand what their character should be. Prayerfulness, love and respect for others, obedience, truthfulness, and good manners are all modeled and taught in the classroom.

Psalm 78:4 (NLT)
We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (NLT)
5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

  • We all need to learn and be reminded of the truths taught in the Scriptures.
  • Repetition enhances memory.

Review

First reminder
There will be false teachers in our society, in the church, and in the schools cleverly promoting false philosophies.

Second Reminder 
Never stop praying.

 Third reminder
Teach Biblical Truth to Your Children

 

 

 

Life Gets Complicated

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Life gets complicated when we do things our way rather than trusting God to do things His way.

Genesis 16 (NLT)
The Birth of Ishmael
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. 3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)

4 So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!” 6 Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied. 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.” 11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. 12 This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” 14 So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 16 (NLT)
The Birth of Ishmael
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him.
        More than 20 years

But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.”

Man’s way vs. God’s way.

***Galatians 4:22-23 (NLT)
22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

Sarai was impatient.

A custom of the day.  (Man’s way)  May appear to be a good solution.
This behavior was not wrong in the eyes of the secular world.
A barren women could give her maid to her husband as a wife.  The child would be regarded as the first wife’s child.
If the husband said to the slave-wife’s son, “You are my son” then he was the adopted son and heir.

  • Man’s efforts to resolve problems may appear to be good solutions.

God’s way

Genesis 15:2-5 (NLT)
2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Throughout the scriptures multiple wives caused problems.

Jacob married Leah and Rachel

El-ka-nah married Hannah and Pen-in-nah

(and many others)

And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. 

 Reminds me of Adam and Eve.

 3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.) 4 So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant.

 Hagar’s status changes from servant to wife.

Genesis 2:24 (NLT)
This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

  • Life gets complicated when we do things our way rather than trusting God to do things His way.

But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. 

Conflict between Hagar and Sarai.

Sarai’s proposal brought about conflict.

 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”

Conflict between Sarai and Abram.

6 Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.”

             Abram transferred his responsibility to Sarai.

 Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.

Hagar may have been heading back to her homeland of Egypt.

7 The angel of the Lord

 Messenger of the Lord

Preincarnate manifestation of Christ

The Lord Himself. (Verse 10)

 found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. 

 An angel (God) found Hagar.

But she had obviously become a believer in the God of Abram, and she has a place in God’s Holy Word.

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NLT),
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”  “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied. 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 

Submit to authority.

 In Genesis chapter 21, after Isaac was born, Hagar was sent away.

 10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”

 Genesis 17:20 (NLT)
As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

 Arabs (hostile to the Jews)

 Genesis 25:13-16 (NLT)
13 Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped.

 11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. 

  • God heard Hagar’s cry of distress.

 12 This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”

 Arabs (hostile to the Jews)

  • There are negative consequences for doing things outside of God’s will.

 13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” 

 Hagar recognized God as the one who hears the afflicted and recognizes their needs.

Hagar renames God.

  • The living God sees and hears.

14 So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.

 15 So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. 

Abraham named Ishmael, acknowledging him as his son and heir.

  • The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise.

 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

11 years after Abram settled in Canaan.

  • God’s servants are to trust His Word and wait patiently for its fulfillment.
  • Human efforts will not help.

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 5 – God holds Christians accountable for the behavior of other Christians.

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A five word review of 1 Corinthians.

Serious issues in the Church

Lesson:

God holds Christians accountable for the behavior of other Christians.

Examine the scriptures:

Who is being addressed?

1 Corinthians 1:2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

All of the people in the church.

1 Corinthians 5 (NLT)
Paul Condemns Spiritual Pride
1 I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do.

I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. 

This is a serious violation of the Old Testament law as well as Roman law.

Leviticus 18:8 & 29 (NLT)
8 “Do not have sexual relations with any of your father’s wives, for this would violate your father.
29 Whoever commits any of these detestable sins will be cut off from the community of Israel.


2 You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame.

See verse 9 (continuation of a behavior addressed in a previous letter from Paul)

Ephesians 5:3 (NLT)
Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.

 Ephesians 5:11 (NLT)
Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.

Apparently the church was showing no remorse for this behavior.

Indifference

Jonathan Edwards:
“The more a true saint loves God, the more he mourns for sin.”

 James 4:8-9 (NLT)
8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

  • An appropriate response to sin in the church is sadness, mourning, and feeling shame.

 And you should remove this man from your fellowship.

Another example of removing a believer from the church.

Matthew 18:15-17 (NLT)
Correcting another Believer
15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

 3 Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. 5 Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.

  •  Sin in the church must be addressed.

 Destroy the sinful nature, not the man.

Thrust the believer back into the world on his own, apart from the care and support of Christian fellowship. That person has forfeited his right to participation in the church of Jesus Christ, which He intends to keep pure at all costs.

Thrust into Satan’s realm.

Many have supposed that by the “destruction of the flesh” Paul meant only the destruction of his fleshly appetites or carnal affections; and that he supposed that this would be effected by the act of excommunication.

The inner believer belongs entirely to Christ and we have the absolute assurance that he will be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. But in the meanwhile the unrepentant believer may be turned over to suffer greatly at the hands’ of Satan.

The goal:

Ultimate purification of the person.

Preservation of a believer.

  • One reason to discipline those inside the church who are sinning is for the benefit of the individual.

6 Your boasting about this is terrible.

Blinded to their duty in regard to blatant sin that devastated the church.

Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you.

One bad apple in a basket of apples will eventually ruin the entire basket of apples.

  • Unaddressed sin will corrupt the local church.

Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. 8 So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.

9 When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 

 10 But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11 I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.

  •  Professing believers are held to a different standard than individuals outside the church.

12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

  •  The local church is responsible for judging those inside the church who are sinning.
  • A second reason to discipline those inside the church who are sinning is for the benefit of the Church.

 

 

How Can I Be Sure? (How Can I Know?)

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How Can I Be Sure? (How Can I Know?)

Who’s asking?

Abram (Abraham) A man of faith.  (Hebrews 11:8-10 (NLT))

 

Genesis 15:7-21 (NLT)
7 Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”

God promised to give Abram “this land.” (Descendants were promise in verses 4-5)

  • God promised to give Abram descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. (Genesis 15:5)
  • God promised to give Abram the land He was showing to him.  (Land identified in Genesis 15:18-21).

8 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”

 How can I be sure?  How can I know?

A genuine request for information and assurance.  It’s a legitimate question.

Is it o.k. to question God?

  • Numerous people of faith (Hebrews 11) asked for and received signs from God. (Abraham, Gideon, David (Psalm 86:7), Moses)

God responded, using an ancient tradition.

9 The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”10 So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. 

 11 Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.

Evil omen

  • God’s promises of blessings do not negate hard times.

12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep,

A unilateral covenant. Abram was sleeping.

 and a terrifying darkness came down over him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land,

 “You can be sure ….”

 where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. 

400 years of oppression.

 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 

15 (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) 

 16 After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

 God’s timing

  •  God tells us that we can know for certain that His promises will come true. (“You can be sure …”)
  • God’s promises might not be fulfilled in our lifetime.

The ritual (the sign)

17 After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch (symbolized the presence of God) pass between the halves of the carcasses.

Abram did not walk through the halves of the carcasses.

Ancient tradition

Referred to in scripture:

Jeremiah 34:18-19 (NLT)

18 Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows. 19 Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath.

 18 So the Lord made a covenant with Abram

  •  God’s promises must be taken seriously.

that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— 19 the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Unilateral covenant

Numbers 23:19 (NLT)

God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

  •  God does not lie.  God keeps his promises.

P.S.
Genesis 24:1-7 (NLT)
A Wife for Isaac
1 Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. 3 Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”
6 “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. 7 For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.

Abram believed.

Hebrews 11:13 (NLT)
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.

How can we be sure that we can live a godly life?

Pray

Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

Colossians 1:9 (NLT)
So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Spend time in the Word

Acts 17:11 (NLT)
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

John 8:31-32 (NLT)
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Remain faithful: hold to my teaching, If you continue to accept and obey my teaching, If you abide in my word,

God’s promises to us.

2 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT)
Growing in Faith
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

 

  • God has given us great and precious promises.
    • God gives us everything we need for living a godly life
    • God’s promises enable us to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption.

Reflections on 1 Corinthians (Part 14)

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Choices Have Consequences

1 Corinthians 4:18-21 (NLT)

18 Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again.19 But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. 21 Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?

  •  Scripture teaches us to walk humbly with God.
  • Christians are held accountable for the good or evil they have done in their earthly bodies.
  •  Those who trust their own insight are foolish.
  • Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, learn to rely only on the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • The Lord disciplines those He loves.
  •  God’s discipline is always good for us.
  • Choices have consequences.

I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.     (1 Corinthians 1:2 NLT)

“Reflections on 1 Corinthians” will be continued in future posts.

Click here to view previous posts on the Seeking His Kingdom website.

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Reflections on 1 Corinthians (Part 13)

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The Responsibilities of a Spiritual Parent.

1 Corinthians 4:14-17 (NLT)

14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I urge you to imitate me.  17 That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.

  •  A spiritual parent directs his/her children onto the right path.
  • A spiritual parent sets an example for others to follow.
    • Spiritual leaders must set an example of Christlikeness for others to follow.
    • Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

 Are you living a life that you want others (your children or students) to imitate?

  • A spiritual parent equips his children to teach others.

Are you teaching others to become teachers? 

I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.     (1 Corinthians 1:2 NLT)

“Reflections on 1 Corinthians” will be continued in future posts.

Click here to view previous posts on the Seeking His Kingdom website.

If you liked this post, share it with a friend.

The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram

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Genesis 15:1-6 (NLT)

The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram

1 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”  2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.  3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”   4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”  6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

 

  • Believers in Christ do not need to be afraid.
  • Do not depend on your own understanding.
  • Don’t play the blame game, especially with God.
  • God’s promises are beyond our imagination.
  • The only work God wants from us is to believe in Jesus.
  • Abram had a right relationship with God because of his faith, not because of his works.
  • Christians have a right relationship with God because of their faith, not because of their works.

 

And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? (Part 2)

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For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.   John 6:44 (NLT)

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.  John 14:6 (NLT)

  • No one can come to Jesus unless the Father who sent Jesus draws them to Jesus.
  • No one can come to the Father except through Jesus.

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”  Romans 10:14-15 (NLT)

 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere …  Acts 1:8 (NLT)

  •  God uses Spirit-filled people to tell others about Jesus. (Tell others about Jesus.)

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.  1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)

  • God has given each of you (Christian) a spiritual gift (or gifts). Use your spiritual gifts to serve others.

 

Teach Truth.  Teach Scripture.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.”  Isaiah 40:8 (NLT)

10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
    and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
    producing seed for the farmer
    and bread for the hungry.
11 It is the same with my word.
    I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
    and it will prosper everywhere I send it.  Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT)

  • God’s word is alive and powerful.
  • Use Scripture when telling others about Jesus.

4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NLT)

  • Repetition enhances memory.

The Goal

Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.  2 Peter 3:18

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,  1 Peter 2:2 (NLT)

 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.  Matthew 13:12

  •  Work to stimulate the appetites of your students.
  • Create an environment where students can grow in knowledge and understanding.

Our Prayer

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  Philippians 1:9

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.   Colossians 1:9

 

 

 

 

 

And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?  (Part 1)

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Romans 1:25 (NLT)  They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself…

2 Peter 1:12-15 (NLT)  12 Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. 13 And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live. 14 For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, 15 so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone.

  • We all need to be reminded of the truths taught in the Scriptures.
  • Repetition enhances memory.

2 Peter 1:2-3 (NLT)  2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.  3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

  • It is crucial to be growing in the knowledge of God and Jesus.
  • As we grow in our knowledge of God and Jesus, we become better equipped to live godly lives.

2 Peter 2:1 (NLT)  But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them.

1 John 4:1-5 (NLT)   Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. 4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 

 Jeremiah 5:31 (NLT)  
… the prophets give false prophecies,
and the priests rule with an iron hand.
Worse yet, my people like it that way!

  • There will be false teachers in the church and in the schools cleverly promoting false philosophies.

2 Peter 3:3 (NLT)  Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.

Jude 3-4, 17-19 (NLT)
A Call to Remain Faithful
3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. 4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.
17 But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. 18 They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. 19 These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

Colossians 2:8 (NLT)  Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

  • Biblical truths will be mocked by scoffers who are following their natural instincts.

The reminder:

Psalm 78:4 (NLT)
We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.

Psalm 145:4 (NLT)
Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.

  • We need to tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.

Proverbs 23:12
Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.

Hebrews 2:1 (NLT)
A Warning against Drifting Away
So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

 

Happy Independence Day 2018

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Francis Scott Key describes America as “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. 

July 4th is a day set aside each year to celebrate our nation’s birth. July 4th is a time to celebrate America’s independence.  July 4th is a time to be reminded of the fact that freedom came with a price.  Many people fought and died for the freedoms we now experience.

This 4th of July is also a good time to be reminded that genuine freedom comes from God, not from government.

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.       (2 Corinthians 3:17 NLT)

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence

“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor”

President George Washington

“I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God who has so blessed our land. We need God’s help to guide our nation through stormy seas.  But we can’t expect Him to protect America in a crisis if we just leave Him over on the shelf in our day-to-day living.”

 Ronald Reagan

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.  (John 8:36 NLT)

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:31-32 NLT)

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD … (Psalm 33:12 ESV)

Enjoy your Independence Day Holiday.

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