Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (humility)

To day I will begin a look at Humility and keep in mind that since the day of our LORDS return in the person of the Holy Spirit that GOD has pulled of the worlds greatest of Reformations almost known to natural man. In other words it was not visible seen nor is it acknowledge by theologians or even the worlds philosophers. And for the following reasons I will again draw from the writings of Pastor Hoekstra found in my e-sword program and make use of the ESV translation.

                            "The Manifold Grace of God"
"The manifold grace of God . . . but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . . . Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."  (1Peter 4:10; 2Peter 3:18 and Galatians 6:18)

"The manifold Grace of GOD is such an appropriate Truth. It is both Humbling and Faith building to be reminded of the majestic diversity of GOD's Grace. 

GOD's Grace is Manifold. It is like a heavenly diamond with innumerable facets. Every vantage point reflects a new insight into the gracious resources of our LORD. From some biblical viewpoints, the justifying Grace of GOD is seen: "justified freely by His Grace" (Romans 3:24). Yet, our devotional studies have concentrated upon sanctifying Grace, Grace for growing. "But grow in . . . Grace." Many scriptural vistas display this sanctifying Grace in its manifold beauty. It can be seen stabilizing the inner man. "It is good that the heart be established by Grace" (Hebrews 13:9). It can also be seen in its edifying ability. "I commend you to GOD and to the word of His Grace, which is able to build you up" (Acts 20:32). From another angle, GOD's sanctifying Grace can be seen for its strengthening capacity. "Be strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2Timothy 2:1). It can also be observed in its fruit producing role: "and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the Grace of GOD in Truth" (Colossians 1:6). It can also be seen in its ministry developing function. "But by the Grace of GOD I am what I am, and His Grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the Grace of GOD which was with me" (1Corinthians 15:10). From still another viewpoint, the sanctifying Grace of GOD can be seen sustaining through the agonies of one's "thorny impossibilities." "My Grace is sufficient for you" (2Corinthians 12:9). What heavenly riches await us in a lifetime of observing, and appropriating, GOD's Manifold Grace.  

What final words would be fitting for us now? The closing benediction in so many New Testament epistles would be perfectly suitable. "Brethren, the Grace of our LORD Christ Jesus be with your spirit" (Galatians 6:18). Ultimately and essentially, Grace is found in the LORD Jesus Christ Himself, and it is experienced through His work in our hearts, as we humbly seek to know Him more and more. "But grow in the Grace and Knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ."


Humility:
Our Promises Concerning:
Our first sight is found in Proverbs 16 where we find the contrasting of the Upright and the wicked.
Proverbs 16:14-22 "A king's wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it. In the light of a king's face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain. How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly."


Proverbs 22:1-5 "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the maker of them all. The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them."


Proverbs 29:16-23 "When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall. Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart. Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.  By mere words a servant (slave) is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond. Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will in the end find him his heir. A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression. One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor."


Isaiah 57:14-21 "It shall be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way." For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, Who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before Me, and the breath of life that I made. Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid My face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near," says the LORD, "and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. There is no peace," says My GOD, "for the wicked."


Matthew 18:1-6 "At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Luke 18:9-17 "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'GOD, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Now they were bringing even infants to Him that He might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him, saying, "Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of GOD. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of GOD like a child shall not enter it."

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (warning against Impenitence)

This is a first for me, where I am posting twice in the same day. But this is so very important that I just could not allow it to rest for another day. This study is dealing with the warning against our being Impenitent. Now before I get to it I will again tap into e-sword for the teaching by Pastor Hoekstra and his meditation of Jesus. And again I will make use of the ESV translation.

       "More on Walking with Jesus the Way We Received Him"
"As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the LORD, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7)

"The manner in which we received the LORD is the very same manner in which we are to walk in Him. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the LORD, so walk in Him." We received Him by Grace, we must walk by Grace. We were born again by the Spirit, we must walk by the Spirit. Furthermore, when we first received Christ, He was our only hope. Now, we are to walk with Him in the same way.   

It is good to recall how Jesus was the comprehensive focus of our beginning with Him. When we received Him and His forgiveness, we knew He had to provide all that was needed for our Salvation. We agreed with the word of GOD that there was no other hope than Jesus. "Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me' . . . Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12). We knew that we could supply nothing ourselves. We were spiritually dead (separated from GOD), having no righteousness at all: "dead in trespasses and sins ... .  all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Ephesians 2:1 and Isaiah 64:6). We had entered the blessed condition of being convicted of our own spiritual bankruptcy. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Jesus was our comprehensive focus, our only hope.  

This is how we are to walk in Him today. We need the LORD Christ Jesus as much now for living the Christian life, as we needed Him at the beginning to be born again (redeemed) in order to enter Him. For growth and victory and fruitfulness, He is the One we must focus upon. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the LORD, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in His Faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." We need to be rooted in Him, having our faith reaching out to Him for nutrition and strength, even as the roots of a tree reach into the soil. We need to be built up in Him, having our lives developed by His work in us. We need to be established in the Faith, allowing Him to stabilize us through the study of His word. This will lead to lives of overflowing appreciation, grateful that "Christ is All and in all" (Colossians 3:11). Truly, we need the LORD Christ Jesus as much now for living the Christian life, as we needed Him at the beginning to be born again into Him."

Warning against Impenitence:
Leviticus 26:21-22, 23-26, 27-33 "Then if you walk contrary to Me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted. 

"And if by this discipline you are not turned to Me but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I break your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied. 

"But if in spite of this you will not listen to Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I Myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and My soul will abhor you. And I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas. And I Myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it. And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste."

Proverbs 1:20-33 "Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at My reproof, behold, I will pour out My spirit into you; I will make My words known to you. Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out My hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all My counsel and would have none of My reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently but will not find Me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of My counsel and despised all My reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to Me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster."


Ecclesiastes 8:10-13 "I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear GOD, because they fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before GOD."


Jeremiah 7:8-11, 12-15, 16-20 "Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!'—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I Myself have seen it, declares the LORD. 

Go now to My place that was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by My name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. I will cast you out of My sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim.

"As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger. Is it I Whom they provoke? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? Therefore thus says the LORD GOD: Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched."

Hosea 7:8-16 "Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not. The pride of Israel testifies to his face; yet they do not return to the LORD their GOD, nor seek Him, for all this. Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria. As they go, I will spread over them My net; I will bring them down like birds of the heavens; I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation. Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me. They do not cry to Me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against Me. Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against Me. They return, but not upward; they are like a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt."


Amos 4:4-5, 6-9 "Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!" declares the LORD GOD. 

"I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to Me," declares the LORD. "I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither; so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to Me," declares the LORD. "I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to Me," declares the LORD."


Haggai 2:10-19 "On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests about the law: 'If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?'" The priests answered and said, "No." Then Haggai said, "If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?" The priests answered and said, "It does become unclean." Then Haggai answered and said, "So is it with this people, and with this nation before Me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to Me, declares the LORD. Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you."


Matthew 11:20-24 "Then Jesus began to denounce the cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you."

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (Returning to GOD by way of a contrite heart)

There is another term for a Contriteness of heart which our requirement for entry into the promised kingdom and that term is "Contrition." This is the word of promise as we will soon learn. But first I want again the turn to a teaching of Pastor Hoekstra's which is found in my e-sword program. And also that I will for now continue to use the ESV translation for my quotes of scripture. One other thing there is also a warning that accompanies this study, this I will treat in the next meditation.

               "Walking with Jesus the Way We Received Him"
"As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the LORD, so walk in Him . . . Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?"  (Colossians 2:6 and Galatians 3:3)

In this vital matter of relating rightly to the risen LORD, one common mistake is attempting to develop our Christian walk in a different manner than we began it. Our present verse points us to the proper outlook. We are to build our life with the LORD upon the very same terms that we began that life. "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." We are to walk with Christ Jesus the way we received Him. if indeed we did receive Him, I interject this because it is apparent to me that there are millions who have not done so. This known by the way they talk and act in every day life....that being no change in their manner of life what so ever. Even in their Bible study time they exhibit no understanding and remain stuck in the world and earthy or the practice things of the Bible. I have also notice in many of the scholars and theologians when speaking of Bible history and the Bibles meanings. There is absolutely no revelation of the spiritual things hidden within the context of the Bible or any of the other Hebrew writings. These people do bring out some every interesting facts and some are on the traditions of the Hebrew children which only served to point them to the Christ and His appointed time after which all things changed for them and mankind.
 
We receive the LORD and His great Salvation as gifts of Grace. "Thanks be to GOD for His indescribable gift! . . . For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of GOD" (2Corinthians 9:15 and Ephesians 2:8). We must, therefore, walk in Him with a "grace-receiving" mentality. "And of His fullness we have all received, and Grace for [upon] Grace" (John 1:16). We must never attempt to treat the Christian life as something we can manufacture or earn. Sinful, earthly fathers were created with a desire to give beneficial gifts to their children. Even more so, our Holy, Heavenly Father has a heart to give all that is needed to those who are willing to ask and receive. "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthews 7:11).   

Galatians 3:3 reinforces the necessity of keeping our pattern for beginning a walk with GOD the same one we use for developing that walk: "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" These rhetorical questions warn of the deadly danger of having our approach to Christian growth differ from how we found spiritual birth. The Holy Spirit alone was able to bring us spiritual birth. The flesh of man could avail nothing. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). The Holy Spirit must bring us spiritual progress. The flesh can contribute nothing. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63). Any change in approach from birth to growth is foolishness. It is doomed to failure.  

We began by Grace, so we must continue by grace. We began by the Spirit, so we must continue by the Spirit. Yes, we are to walk as Jesus walked and the way we received Him. Any changes in approach are unacceptable, ineffective, impossible."

Promises to those of a Contrite or of a Contrition of heart:
Psalm 34:8-14, 15-18 "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." 


Psalm 51:10-13, 14-17  "Create in me a clean heart, O GOD, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your Salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You. 

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O GOD, O GOD of my Salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of Your Righteousness. O LORD, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of GOD are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O GOD, You will not despise."

Isaiah 57:14-21 "It shall be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way." For thus says the One Who is High and lifted up, Who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the High and Holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before Me, and the breath of life that I made. Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid My face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near," says the LORD, "and I will heal (restore) him. But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. There is no peace," says my GOD, "for the wicked."


Isaiah 66:1-2 "Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My Throne, and the earth is My footstool; what is the house that you would build for Me, and what is the place of My rest? All these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word."


Joel 2:12-17 "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the LORD your GOD, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your GOD? Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep and say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, and make not Your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their GOD?'"


2Corinthians 7:5, 6-7, 8-12 "For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within.
 But GOD, Who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.
For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of GOD."

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (Returning to GOD)

To day we will begin yet another of GODS Promises and this is our returning to HIM. There are some general references to this in the old Testament that I will use to pull towards our ultimate end. And again I will make use of the ESV translation in my e-sword program to aid us along the way. Before I progress I want to say this, from the very moment that the LORD Christ returned in the person of the Holy Spirit the Bible was transformed to those who would become His. Meaning for the spiritual it says one thing but for the worldly and earthy person another. This is stated elsewhere, 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

Returning to GOD:
1Kings 8:46-53  "If they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,' if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house that I have built for Your name, then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions that they have committed against You, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are Your people, and Your heritage, which You brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). Let Your eyes be open to the plea of Your servant and to the plea of Your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to You. For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your heritage, as You declared through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O LORD GOD."


Our next passage is found in Psalm 78 where GOD is giving guidance to His people in Spite of their unfaithfulness.
Psalm 78:34-39 "When He killed them, they sought Him; they repented and sought God earnestly.
They remembered that GOD was their rock, the Most High GOD their redeemer. But they flattered Him with their mouths; they lied to Him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward Him; they were not faithful to His covenant. Yet He, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not utterly destroy them; He restrained His anger often and did not stir up all His wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again."


Isaiah 19:19-22  "In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. And the LORD will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and He will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them."


Isaiah 30:6-17 "An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.
Egypt's help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her "Rahab who sits still." And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever. For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel." Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, "Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern." For thus said the LORD GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling, and you said, "No! We will flee upon horses"; therefore you shall flee away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill."

Isaiah 55:6-13 "Seek the LORD while HE may be found; call upon Him while HE is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion on him, and to our GOD, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. "For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."


Hosea 6:1-3 "Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth."


Hosea 14:1-3, 4 "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your GOD, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to Him, "Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, 'Our God,' to the work of our hands. In You the orphan finds mercy."
I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for My anger has turned from them."


Malachi 3:5-7  "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?'"


Luke 15:11-24 "And He said, "There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."'
He arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate."


Our example is none other than the LORD Christ Himself.
1Peter 2:21-25 "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to HIM Who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (true believer do not faint)

I will try to finish up our look at affliction with the fact that all true believers do not faint under what ever condition or state of affliction that they find themselves in. And again I draw on the teaching on prayer without ceasing done by Pastor Hoekstra that is in my e-sword program as my aid. And your help in faith building that comes through our LORD and His being restored within our awaken spirit. Still making use of the ESV translation.

                     "An Invitation to Pray at the Throne of Grace"
"Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need."  (Hebrews 4:16)

"Seated upon the throne which rules this universe is the sovereign, Holy, Judge of all humanity. Yet, He is also the "GOD of all Grace" (1Peter 5:10). All who relate rightly to Him (through humble faith in Christ Who is Jesus) can come boldly to that throne, praying with assurance that mercy and Grace will be His response. 

Truly, the LORD Christ Jesus is the reason that we can answer the invitation to "come boldly to the Throne of Grace." His death on the cross opened the Way for us to come into GOD's presence, allowing us to talk to Him directly in prayer through Christ, as we were actually Him praying. It is as though the Holy of Holies is now our family den, our home. GOD is again our Father, Who delights to commune with His children as we pray to Him through Christ as we carry the name and title of Christian: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by (though or in) the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us" (Hebrews 10:19-20). This "new and living way" is the New Covenant of Grace. It is by the LORD's grace alone that we can come to His Throne of Grace, that we might live daily and moment by moment by His Grace.  

At this inviting Throne of GOD, we "obtain mercy." Mercy is heaven's wondrous companion to Grace. Mercy is GOD's provision for holding back from us the awful things that we actually deserve, due to our sin and rebellious nature that remains in our flesh. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our GOD, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:7). Now, each day, His children can benefit from the faithful mercies of GOD. "Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your Faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).  

Also, at this inviting Throne of GOD, we "find Grace to help in time of need." Our initial need was for the Lord's saving Grace, which brought forgiveness for our ungodliness and made heaven our eternal home "For by Grace you have been saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8). Our ongoing need would be for transforming Grace for the developing of a godly life here on earth. "For the Grace of GOD that brings Salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11-12). In prayer at the Throne of Grace, we find GOD's continuing supply of Grace. That Grace is irreplaceable and sufficient to sustain us through, and use us in, the needy situations we encounter daily at home, work, school, church, — wherever."

A True Believer does not Faint Under adversity or Afflictions:
2Corinthians 4:1-6, 7-12, 13-15, 16-18 "Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of GOD, we do not lose heart. For we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with GOD's word, but by the open statement of the Truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of GOD. And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of GOD. For what we proclaim is not of ourselves, but Jesus Christ as LORD, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For it was GOD, Who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the Knowledge of the glory of GOD in the face of Jesus Christ.

We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to GOD and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Christ Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the Life of Christ also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but His Life in you.

Since we have the same Spirit of faith according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that HE Who raised the LORD Jesus will raise us also with Christ Jesus and bring us with you into HIS Presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as Grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of GOD.

And so we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Galatians 6:5, 6-10 "For each will have to bear his own load.

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap Eternal Life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the Household of Faith."


Ephesians 3:1-13 "For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of GOD's Grace that was given to me for you, how the Mystery (the secret things of GOD spoken of in Deuteronomy 29:29) was made known to me by Revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations (the old Testament) as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles (evangelists) and prophets (pastors and teachers) by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same Body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. Of this Gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of GOD's Grace, which was given me by the working of His power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this Grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to Light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery (secret) hidden for ages in GOD Who created all things, so that through the Church the manifold wisdom of GOD might now be made Known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that HE has realized in Christ Jesus our LORD, in (through) Whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory." 


I will pick up the flow of our next witness from the end of chapter 11 of Hebrews as it bears witness to those of the old Testament erea that did not receive the benefit of Grace. But only saw it as a shadow as being in the future, that is ours in the New Covenant of GODS Grace. Then I will trun our attention on Hebrews 12.
Heb 11:32-38, 39-12:2, 3-11 "What more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.(Matthew 27:52-53, Ephesians 4:8, Psalm 68:18, Colossians 1:19-20, 2:15) Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

All these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since GOD had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the Throne of GOD.

Consider Him Who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the LORD, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the LORD disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. GOD is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but HE disciplines us for our good, that we may share His Holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."


Revelation 2:1, 2-7 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of Him Who holds the seven stars in His right hand, Who walks among the seven golden lampstands.'
'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for My name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; REPENT, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you REPENT. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of GOD.'"

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (our spiritual refining)

To day I will look at the refining influence of our spiritual refining. But again before we get into it we will look again at prayer. And how prayer works in the process of GODS wonderful work to conform us to His image and likeness again. So again I will pull in Pastor Hoekstra's teaching on Prayer from my e-sword program as our aid and comfort, Again I will make use of the ESV translation.

                    "An Invitation to Pray at the Throne of Grace"
"Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  (Hebrews 4:16)

"If we are going to live by Grace, we must relate rightly to the GOD of all Grace: namely, by walking in humble dependency. Continual, Spirit-led prayerfulness is the basic way to express humility and faith to the LORD. How fitting it is, then, to consider GOD's invitation to pray at the Throne of Grace.  

The throne to which we are invited is the Throne of GOD, revealed to the Apostle John. "Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the Throne" (Revelation 4:2). This honored King of the universe is the Creator of everything, exercising His sovereign Will by His infinite power. "You are worthy, O LORD, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your Will they exist and were created" (Revelation 4:11). This is a throne of everlasting Holiness, as declared constantly by angelic creatures. "And they do not rest day or night, saying: 'Holy, holy, holy, LORD GOD Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!' " (Revelation 4:8). For the godless, this will become a Throne of Judgment. "Then I saw a great white Throne and Him Who sat on it . . . And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before GOD . . . And they were judged, each one according to his works . . .  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:11-13, 15).   

If this throne were only characterized by sovereign power, holiness, and judgment, we could never approach it with any expectation of blessing. Yet, for those who will humbly Receive Eternal Life through faith in Christ Jesus, this is a Throne of Grace. "Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace." We can approach this throne with spiritual confidence, because Christ Jesus is seated there with the Father. "And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the Throne . . . stood a Lamb as though it had been slain . . . Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" (Revelation 5:6, 12). The worthy One, Who died for our sins, has opened the door to an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by (through) Whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father' " (Romans 8:15). The Dread of GOD is replaced with Boldness, by the Grace of Christ Jesus: "in (through) Whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him" (Ephesians 3:12). Now, this throne is to us an altar of prayer for mercy and Grace!"

The Refining Influence of our spiritual refining:
Job 23:8-17 "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive Him; on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him; He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food. But He is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back? What He desires, that He does. For He will complete what He appoints for me, and many such things are in His mind. Therefore I am terrified at His presence; when I consider, I am in dread of Him. GOD has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face."


Psalm 66:8-15 "Bless our GOD, O peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard, Who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. For You, O GOD, have tested us; You have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; You laid a crushing burden on our backs; You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet You have brought us out to a place of abundance. I will come into Your House with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to You, that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. I will offer to You burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats."
We must keep in mind that when this was first written, sin offerings were of the animal sacrifice. However now that the true Lamb of His intent has been offered, we can approach Him with Praise and Thanksgiving for the blood that cleanses us.

Isaiah 1:24-26 "Therefore the Lord declares, the LORD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: "Ah, I will get relief from My enemies and avenge Myself on My foes. I will turn My hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy. And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city."


Isaiah 48:4-5, 6-11 "Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, 'My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.'
"You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known. They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.' You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel. "For My name's sake I deferred My anger, for the sake of My praise I restrained it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I do it, for how should My name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another."
But still to this day the world over, modern man practices the same evils that ancient Israel did eons ago. With each new pagan season and its holiday all is done in the name of the LORD, for the same reason herein given. For few there are who stand alone in this matter calling it out for what it is SIN. And the honoring of a pagan deity and making the use of the LORDS own name in the process making it vain.

Jeremiah 9:7 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: "Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of My people? Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully; with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD, and shall I not avenge Myself on the nations such as this?"

Zechariah 13:7-9 "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who stands next to Me," declares the LORD of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn My hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are My people'; and they will say, 'The LORD is my GOD.'"


Malachi 3:1-4 (it should be pointed out that this can have a double meaning because those who are the LORDS typify Him) "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the LORD Whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years."It can be stated that John the Baptist was the first to be the typifying person but with the infilling of the LORDS Own Spirit within His own, they can also fit the description given here.


1Peter 1:3-9 "Blessed be the GOD and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by GOD's power are being guarded through faith for a Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Christ Jesus. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the Salvation of your souls."


1Peter 4:12-19 "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of GOD rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify GOD in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of GOD; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the Gospel of GOD? And "If the Righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" Therefore let those who suffer according to GOD's Will entrust their souls to a Faithful Creator while doing good."

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (our tribulations part of the earthy experience)

Yes indeed the tribulations are part of our earthy experience and like the afflictions they are used by GOD to perfect Christ's nature within us. And has become our necessary means of bring this out I will again draw from Pastor Hoekstra's teaching on prayer without ceasing, as found in e-swords Bible program. With limited editng and I will also continue to use the ESV translation.

              "More on a Biblical Example of Spirit-led Praying"
"We . . . do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His Will . . . being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of GOD; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father Who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light."  (Colossians 1:9-12)

"In our previous meditation, we began to examine a classic illustration of Spirit-led praying. The basic request of this majestic prayer concerned learning about, and walking in, the Will of GOD. We "do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His Will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord (I will leave this as it is because by doing so I am expressing that it is our own earthy walk that is being expressed here, though we have been changed to being a spiritual being by now), fully pleasing Him." Now, we consider more on a biblical example of Spirit-led praying.  

A significant aspect of the Will of GOD involves fruitful laboring to the LORD: "being fruitful in every good work." The abounding Grace of GOD is able to produce abundant ministry in our lives. "And GOD is able to make all Grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work" (2Corinthians 9:8). 
 
The very core of GOD's Will is next: "increasing in the Knowledge of GOD." Getting to know the LORD is the supreme issue of Life. "I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my LORD" (Philippians 3:8). The corollary prayer in Ephesians has this as its fundamental request: "that the GOD of our LORD Christ Jesus, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the Knowledge of Him" (Ephesians 1:17). A key verse for our Grace devotionals suggests the connection between GOD's Grace and Knowing Him. "Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ" (2Peter 3:18).  

Another vital part of GOD's Will for us is spiritual empowering: "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power." With the LORD of Grace Himself as our strength, there is no limit to what we can do. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Yet, such Divine Power is often imparted for reasons other than we might imagine: "for all patience and longsuffering with joy."   

The final aspect of GOD's Will mentioned is gratitude: "giving thanks to the Father Who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in (the) HIS Light." Since all of these riches are GOD's Grace available through humble, trusting prayer, no wonder that the LORD concludes with a reminder about grateful hearts."

Tribulation, a Part of our Earthy Experience:
Deuteronomy 4:24, 25-31  For the LORD your GOD is a consuming fire, a jealous GOD. 

"When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your GOD, so as to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek the LORD your GOD and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your GOD and obey His voice. For the LORD your GOD is a merciful GOD. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that He swore to them."


Matthew 24:13-14, 15-28 "The one who endures to the end will be saved. And this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

"So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy place (let the reader understand, this took place between 66-70 AD and it can be repeated again), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There He is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."


John 16:25-28, 29-33 (Jesus is here speaking) "I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from GOD. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

His disciples said, "Ah, now You are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that You know all things and do not need anyone to question You; this is why we believe that You came from GOD." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me. I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." 



Acts 14:19-23 "But Jews (this term or phrase distinguishes the Hebrew children from their political-religious over lords, where ever it is used) came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the Gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of GOD. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the LORD in Whom they had believed."


Romans 5:1-5 "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with GOD through our LORD Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this Grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of GOD. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because GOD's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us."


1Thessalonians 3:1-5 "Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and GOD's coworker in the Gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain." (this last stanza is what is now and has been taking place in all Counts and Nations, who practice the ancient paganism's of  the seasons and holidays under the guise of them being now an excepted Holiday of GOD's own directing and being of "Christian" origin. Not heeding the warnings against having other gods before Him and taking His name vain. These being part of the spiritual law of the Ten Commandments.)


Revelation 2:8-11 "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'The words of the first and the last, Who died and came to Life. "'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.  Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of Life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.'"


Revelation 7:13-17 "Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore they are before the throne of GOD, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He Who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and GOD will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (the waters of affliction)

As we slowly pass through the waters of affliction with all prayers and supplications for our selves and those brought before us we will gain the more in the true and accurate knowledge of our LORD the Spirit of Grace and Truth. Again I will turn to Pastor Hoekstra's teaching on prayer as our example. And like all things that I share I have also taken the liberty to edit this.

                                "A Biblical Example of Spirit-led Praying"
"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His Will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may have a walk worthy of the LORD, fully pleasing Him."  (Colossians 1:9-10)

"As we have seen, the LORD calls us in various ways to pray without ceasing. Every day in every way, every issue of life is to be engaged through continual, Spirit-led prayer-fullness: "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18). In addition to this extensive call to prayer, the word of GOD also gives us heavenly insight concerning the general content of our prayers. Our next meditation reflects this by offering a biblical example of Spirit-led praying.  
The Apostle Paul prayed consistently for the believers at Colosse: "do not cease to pray for you." GOD's Will was the primary issue that the Holy Spirit impressed Paul to pray about: "to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His Will." Such praying will ultimately lead people deeper into the word of GOD, where the Will of GOD is revealed. "This is the Will of GOD, your sanctification . . . in everything give thanks; for this is the Will of GOD (revealed) in Christ Jesus for you" (1Thessalonians 4:3; 5:18). Truly understanding GOD's Will requires heavenly insight (spiritual revelation and inward knowing and knowledge of understanding): "in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." Of course, this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. "When He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all Truth (all things pertaining to Christ)" (John 16:13).   

The LORD does not inform us of His Will merely for our curiosity. Knowing GOD's Will is to lead to our actually living GOD's Will: "that you may have a walk worthy of the LORD, fully pleasing Him." Our LORD desires that we walk in a manner that is appropriate for identifying with Him and His great Gospel of Grace. "Only let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel of Christ" (Philippians 1:27). He wants us to be interested in what pleases Him, not what pleases self or the world: "proving what is acceptable [well-pleasing] to the LORD" (Ephesians 5:10). The LORD wants to work in us the heart seen in David's Messianic confession. "I delight to do Your Will, O my GOD, and Your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8). Bringing the Will of GOD into the heart of man is what the New Covenant of Grace accomplishes. "I will make a New Covenant . . . I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts . . . Who also made us sufficient as ministers [servants] of the New Covenant" (Jeremiah 31:31, 33 and 2Corinthians 3:6). Living in prayerful dependence upon the Grace of GOD will make us true "servants of Christ, doing the Will of GOD from the heart" (Ephesians 6:6).

Waters of Affliction:
Psalm 42:4, 5-8, 9-11 "These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of GOD with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in GOD; for I shall again praise Him, my Salvation and my GOD. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves have gone over me. By day the LORD commands His steadfast Love, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the GOD of my life. 

I say to GOD, my Rock: "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your GOD?" Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in GOD; for I shall again praise Him, my Salvation and my GOD."


Psalm 69:1-4, 5-12, 13 "Save me, O GOD! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my GOD. More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? 

O GOD, You know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from You. Let not those who hope in You be put to shame through me, O LORD GOD of Hosts; let not those who seek You be brought to dishonor through me, O GOD of Israel. For it is for Your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons. For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.

But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O GOD, in the abundance of Your steadfast Love answer me in Your saving faithfulness."


Psalm 88:1-7 "O LORD, GOD of my salvation; I cry out day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom You remember no more, for they are cut off from Your hand. You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and You overwhelm me with all Your waves."


Psalm 124:1-5, 6-8 "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side— let Israel now say—if it had not been the LORD Who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters.

Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."


Isaiah 30:18, 19-22 "The LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is the GOD of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.

For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as He hears it, He answers you. And though the LORD give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, "Be gone!"


Jonah 2:1-9 "Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his GOD from the belly of the fish, saying, "I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and He answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, 'I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon Your Holy temple.' The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet You brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my GOD. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to You, into Your Holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to You; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!"

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (continuing with our light affliction)

We as men have a propensity to prolong our won perfection through GODS Afflictions or put another way we prolong our own trials. It is these that we will look at today and because prayer is our resource and supply of GODS Grace as needed for all things spiritual we will again look to Pastor Hoekstra's teaching on continuous prayer, with some editing on  my part. And again I will make use of the ESV translation.
                                              "Call to Pray without Ceasing"
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:18)

"Through His word, GOD calls us to lives of continual prayerfulness. "Pray without ceasing" (1Thessalonians 5:17). Jesus as the Son of man also called us to this life of prayer, both by His teaching and His example. This pattern is carried over into our spiritual life with Him. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart . . . in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (Luke 18:1 and Mark 1:35). Our present verse is another call to praying without ceasing. 
 
The context concerns appropriating by faith the powerful spiritual resources that are ours in and through the LORD. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of GOD, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:10-11). These heavenly provisions are put on by looking to the LORD unceasingly in prayer: "praying always." This constancy in prayer can be done with "all prayer and supplication." GOD has arranged many appropriate ways for us to pray to Him: such as, confession, repentence, request, thanksgiving, rejoicing, praise, adoration, and more. Note however, that every type of praying is to be done "in the Spirit." As in all areas of life, we must depend upon the Spirit. He will grant us guidance and wisdom for praying according to the Will of GOD. Unlike the Hebrews who prayed without aid of the Spirit except the few who were His Prophets. The average person on the streets may not have had it to accure to them that they were able to pray to GOD at all. Because they thought it sacrilege to do so without them being in the temple. The priest's had so brain washed them to the point that it was believed that only the priest could pray for the needs of the people. Keeping mind that all were of the constant opinion of fear, their consciousness was that great of their sin. As this was the effect of the Laws that had been imposed upon them by the priesthood.  

Godly praying also includes spiritual alertness: "being watchful to this end." When prayer is especially needed, we can be tempted to slumber. In Gethsemane, the disciples were not alert to the great need to pray. "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (Mark 14:38). Again, this highlights our need to be led of the Spirit. Further, a part of our need for the Spirit pertains to perseverance: "with all perseverance." Praying requires all kinds of spiritual persistence. Praying amounts to demanding spiritual labor. The Holy Spirit must sustain us in GOD's strength, if we are to engage in prayer to the extent that our LORD often desires. Some of this call to persevering prayer involves the battles and needs that others are facing: "with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." It is not wrong for us to cry out to GOD though our LORD Christ concerning our own needs. Our LORD invites us to do such. "Let your requests be made known to GOD" (Philippians 4:6). Still, the LORD Christ wants to use us in the lives of people near and far through the wonderful avenue of intercession. The vision for prayer given here is quite expansive: "Praying always . . . all prayer . . . all perseverance . . . all the saints."

Our Afflictions sometimes are Delayed or Prolonged:
Psalm 6:1-3, 4 "O LORD, rebuke me not in Your anger, nor discipline me in Your wrath. Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O LORD—how long?
 
Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of Your steadfast love."


Psalm 13:1-2, 3 "How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 

Consider and answer me, O LORD my GOD; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death."


Psalm 35:17-21 "How long, O LORD, will You look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions! I will thank You in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise You. Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit. They open wide their mouths against me; they say, "Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!"


Psalm 79:1-7, 8-13 "O GOD, the nations have come into Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the bodies of Your servants to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of Your faithful to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us. How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out Your anger on the nations that do not know You, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon Your name! For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let Your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O GOD of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for Your name's sake! Why should the nations say, "Where is their GOD?" Let the avenging of the out poured blood of Your servants be known among the nations before our eyes! Let the groans of the prisoners come before You; according to Your great power, preserve those doomed to die! Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted You, O LORD! But we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will give thanks to You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise."


Psalm 80:4-7  "O LORD GOD of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O GOD of hosts; let Your face shine, that we may be saved!"


Psalm 89:46-48 "How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? How long will Your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is! For what vanity You have created all the children of man! What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?"


Psalm 90:13-17 "Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on Your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the LORD our GOD be upon us, and establish the work of Your hands upon us; yes, establish the work of Your hands!"


Psalm 94:1-7, 8-11, 12-13 "O LORD, GOD of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. They crush Your people, O LORD, and afflict Your heritage. They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; and they say, "The LORD does not see; the GOD of Jacob does not perceive." 

Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He Who planted the ear, does He not hear? He Who formed the eye, does He not see? He Who disciplines the nations, does He not rebuke? He Who teaches man knowledge—the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.
 
Blessed is the man whom You discipline, O LORD, and whom You teach out of Your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug deeper and wider for the wicked."


Habakkuk 1:1-4 "The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and You will not hear? Or cry to You "Violence!" and You will not save? Why do You make me see iniquity, and why do You idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed (made ineffective), and justice never goes forth (is withheld). For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted."


Zechariah 1:12-17 "Then the angel (messenger) of the LORD said, 'O LORD of Hosts, how long will You have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which You have been angry these seventy years?' The LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. So the angel who talked with me said to me, 'Cry out, Thus says the LORD of Hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of Hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, Thus says the LORD of Hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.'"

Discovering the Great and Precrious Promises of GOD (GODS affliction of His called workers)

To day I will look at both our Old Testament and New Covenant workers. In the old they were called Prophets in this New Age of GODS Grace they are called to be ministers, that is to say servants to all. Now a minister is at times a teacher and at other times a pastor but the over all thing is that we are all stewards of the LORDS secrets and mysteries. To do the work of an evangelist among the people who are in need of strength and support to face their own afflictions. In each group GOD uses the same way to train us, His Affliction of our souls both for training and proofing of our worthiness. For how can we in this Age of Grace come along side those we meet on the streets for their aid and sometimes comforting do so, if we have not also faced and overcome the same that these people also face. As my aid in today's venture I will again draw from the ESV and Pastor Hoekstra's daily message from e-sword. And like yesterday's message this one is also dealing with our need for prayer without ceasing.
                                         "Jesus' Call to Pray without Ceasing"

"Pray without ceasing . . . Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart . . . And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him?" (1Thessalonians 5:17 and Luke 18:1, 7)

"Praying without ceasing is the way to relate rightly to the GOD of all Grace. Jesus called His followers to live in this prayerful manner, when He told a parable that contrasted a godless human judge with GOD, our righteous judge.  

Jesus' primary message would be that men should persistently pray at all times. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart." Jesus' illustration involved a wronged widow who was appealing for help from an unjust judge. At first, the judge had no interest in assisting her. However, when she persisted, he relented and gave her relief. "Though I do not fear God nor regard man, because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me" (Luke 18:4-5). The ungodly judge granted her relief, although he was not motivated by fear of GOD nor by compassion for man. His action was merely self-serving. Jesus then contrasts the Holy motivations of our loving GOD, Who will certainly respond to the needs of His chosen ones, as they call upon His name ceaselessly. "And shall GOD not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him?" (Luke 18:7). The Lord Jesus hereby encourages us to pray without ceasing.
 
Jesus' call to a life of persistent prayer was commended to us by His own example. "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (Mark 1:35). Early in the inspired recordings of the ministry of Jesus, His habit of prayer is noted. At times, Jesus was up before dawn for extended prayer with the Father. On another occasions, He prayed the entire night through. "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to GOD" (Luke 6:12). In addition to His rich private prayer life, Jesus prayed regularly in public as well. "I thank You, Father, LORD of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes . . . Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them . . . Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me" (Matthew 11:25; Luke 9:16; and John 11:41-42). If Jesus, the Son of GOD prayed habitually, how clearly we are to do the same."

GOD Afflicts His Ministers and Prophets:
Ezekiel 24:15-24 "The word of the LORD came to me:
"Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men."
So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded. And the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?" Then I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me: 'Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the LORD GOD: Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the LORD GOD.'"

1Corinthians 4:1-5, 6-7, 8-13, 14 "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the LORD Who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the LORD comes, Who will bring to Light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from GOD. 

I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 

Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that GOD has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
 
I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children."

2Corinthians 6:1-10, 11-12 "Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the Grace of GOD in vain. For He says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable (these believers has grown in the knowledge of the LORD Christ beyond where they were in the first letter after their Redemption had taken hold of them) time; behold, now is the day of Salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of GOD we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of GOD; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. 
 
We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections."

2Corinthians 11:16-29 "I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelite's? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews (these is the religious political establishment of which as Saul of Tarsus Paul was a member as a Pharisee and lawyer) the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?"

2Corinthians 12:1, 2-10, 11-12 "I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the LORD. (these are the foundations stones of the LORDS Church, Matthew 6:18)
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the LORD about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, "My Grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works."

1Thessalonians 3:1-5 "Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the Gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain."