I know that some could be getting tired of my harping on Amos 3:3 but after all is said and done our spiritual awakening and with it our learning of Christ is paramount to us all. And after spending some time looking as a minor for the gold hidden in the ground we will hit our pay day for our efforts of seeking GOD. That said, I will look into our ability of self-denial as the subject of this posting. An area that most people will resist because of what they fear, the outcome of the unknown, even rebuking the enemy of GOD and man. Because of misunderstanding and church religious error. But first Pastor Hoekstra and his teaching on Grace and those resistant to it's call in this worldly life. Then I will look into my targeted subject matter using the ESV translation all being done under the watchful eye of the LORD.
"Manasseh Pridefully Rebelling against the Lord"
"Manasseh . . . did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel . . . And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. Therefore the LORD brought upon them . . . the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon." (2Chronicles 33:1-2, 10-11)
"Manasseh was another king who walked in prideful rebellion against the LORD. "He did evil in the sight of the LORD." His pride was even more shocking than Nebuchadnezzar's (who ruled in Babylon), since Manasseh ruled in Jerusalem and had been raised by a godly father, King Hezekiah.
Manasseh was heavily influenced by the remaining presence of the godless nations that dominated the land before GOD gave it to Israel. His evil was "according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel." The spiritual behavior of these Canaanite nations was abominable in GOD's sight. They indulged in licentious worship of idols on the hills and mountains. Manasseh "rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them" (2Chronicles 33:3). Manasseh also brought idolatry into the very Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem. "He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, 'In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.' " (2Chronicles 33:4)
The nations that preceded Israel in the land were even engaged in sacrificing their children and seeking demonic guidance. Shockingly, Manasseh also "caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists" (2Chronicles 33:6). Actually, Manasseh brought more evil into the land than his abominable predecessors. "So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel" (2Chronicles 33:9). Lovingly, the LORD reached out to this pridefully rebellious king. "And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen." The ultimate result of this persistent resistance was humiliating and painful captivity. "Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon."
Our Duty of Self-Denial,
Matthew 16:24-27 "Jesus told His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then HE will repay each person according to what he has done."
Luke 14:25-33 "Now great crowds accompanied Him, and He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in comparison to our love of Him for pure Love brings obedience with sacrifice, the denying of all others, to walk as One], he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? [this reveals what takes place while we are in redemptions school of the Holy Spirit and by Him learn of our true condition of nakedness and bankruptcy, our need for more Christ] Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple."
Romans 8:9-11, 12-17 "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of GOD dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, HE Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of GOD are sons of GOD [now living as a Genesis 2 person again]. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons (Psalm 2), by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of GOD, and if children, then heirs—heirs of GOD and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer [by way of self-denial of all worldliness] with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him."
Romans 15:1-13 "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on me." (Psalm 69:9) For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the GOD of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, (Amos 3:3) that together you may with one voice glorify the GOD and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of GOD. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show GOD's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs [by the greater Patriarch], and in order that the Gentiles might glorify GOD for His mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name." (Psalm 18:49) And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." (Deuteronomy 32:43) And again, "Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol Him." (Psalm 117:1) And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope." (Isaiah 11:10) May the GOD of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
Galatians 5:16 [5:15]-24, 25-26 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.] For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Romans 7:14-20, 21-25) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of GOD. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no Law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Amos 3:3) Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
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