Discovering the Great and Precious Promises of GOD (continuing with Divine Guidance)

I am about to step into an area where few people have gone and with that step the title heading of this area of GODS Divine Guidance could be changed to Divine Instruction. In yesterdays post I touched lightly on this subject. Before I room on I must raise again the subject of our obedience to GOD because all things of receiving of HIM is based upon it, OBEDIENCE. To fail this is rebellion, plan and simple. So I will jump into Pastor Hoekstra's writing on Grace and then make use of the ESV translation in this out look. And as is my usual habit I will allow the LORD to give insight where and when HE deems appropriate.

                 "More on the Resurrection and Justification"
"[You were] buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses . . . He has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses."  (Colossians 2:12-13)

"These truth-packed verses unfold the role of the resurrection as we start out with GOD through HIS Justification, when HE declared us Righteous in Christ. In this initial work of the LORD on our behalf, we were "buried with Him in baptism." Here, baptism is referring to our identification with Christ, not with water baptism. When we first believed on the Lord Jesus, we were joined to HIM, made one with Him, identified with HIM. "We have been united together in the likeness of His death," in Romans 6:5. From GOD's perspective, we who trust in Jesus Christ died on the cross with Him and were buried in the tomb with Him. Water baptism bears testimony to this Truth, but it does not produce this reality. Identification with Christ makes this our spiritual history before GOD. In GOD's sight, our old life was crucified and buried.

Through faith in Christ and our identification with Him, we were also raised from the tomb with Jesus. "In which [that is, by identification] you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of GOD, Who raised Him from the dead." Just as His death became our death through identification, so also His resurrection became our resurrection. "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection," in Romans 6:5. In GOD's sight, we were raised to a Newness of Life in Christ. "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism [that is, by identification] into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in Newness of Life" also in Romans 6:4.

The next verse in Colossians offers another aspect of our need for a personal spiritual resurrection. "And you, being dead in your trespasses . . . He has made alive together with Him." Before we were justified through faith in Christ, we were not only guilty and condemned, we were spiritually dead (in our rebellion). We had no true life in us. We could not relate to GOD or interact with HIM. For us to start out with GOD in justification, the LORD had to raise us with Christ from our spiritual deadness (caused by rebellion in unbelief)."


Divine Inspiration:

Promises of Special interest,
Exodus 4:10-12 "But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my LORD, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since You have spoken to Your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I Will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."


Isaiah 50:4-11 "The LORD GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning HE awakens; HE awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The LORD GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the LORD GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He Who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the LORD GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up. Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment."


Isaiah 51:12-16 "I, I am HE Who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor? He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking. I AM the LORD your God, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD of Hosts is His name. And I have put My words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of My hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, 'You are My people.'"


Jeremiah 5:14-17 "Therefore thus says the LORD, the GOD of Hosts: "Because you have spoken this word, behold, I AM making My words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them. Behold, I AM bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the LORD. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. Their quiver is like an open tomb; they are all mighty warriors. They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword."


Matthew 10:16-23 (Jesus is speaking) "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for My sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."


Luke 21:12-19 (Jesus is speaking) "But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I Will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives."


1Corinthians 2:6-13 "Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of GOD, which GOD decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the LORD of Glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what GOD has prepared for those who love HIM"— these things GOD has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of GOD. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of GOD except the Spirit of GOD. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is (from) GOD, that we might understand the things freely given us by GOD. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual."

Divine Instruction:
Proverbs 1:8-19 "Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse"— my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors."

Proverbs 6:6-11 "Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man."

Proverbs 30:24-28 "Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces."

Isaiah 1:1-3 "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, My people do not understand."

Jeremiah 8:1-7 "At that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs. And they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family in all the places where I have driven them, declares the LORD of Hosts. "You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return? Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but My people know not the rules of the LORD."

Discovering the Great and Precious Promises of GOD (continuing with Divine Guidance)

As I stated yesterday this portion of the revelation of GODS workings in man again, is misunderstood. And often denied all together, solely because of lack of simple trust which is like the smallest of all seeds. Jesus likened it to a grain of mustard, a small seed, which will over time grow to become a mighty tree of faith. Our many afflictions of life are what cause this seed to grow and the word is the light of this growth when received in its proper perspective form. That being spiritual, if it is only heard as being literal and practical the word is limited and even denied light in the heart of any person. And they remain in darkness and self-will. If a person remains in this state every word heard by them just may become perverted, twisted and distorted to out right lies causing harm to themselves and those around them. Now moving on the Pastor Hoekstra's writing on Grace. And then my subject of Divine Inspiration, our guidance and growth in spirit as GOD intends us to grow. I will make use of the ESV translation and will edit when and where the LORD leads.

                       "The Resurrection and Justification"
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  (1Peter 1:3)

We have a myriad of reasons to bless our great GOD, to speak of Him with grateful praises. "Blessed be the GOD and Father of our LORD Christ Jesus." Our heavenly Father has mercifully showered us with so many blessings that we rightly desire Him to be honored and blessed. "For You, LORD, are good, and ready to forgive, and Abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You," in Psalm 86:5. Based on His great selfless Love, He sent His Son to pay for our debt of sin. Through faith in His name, we have received Forgiveness and Newness of Divine Eternal Life. Day by day He is present with us and is working in and through our lives. How blessed we are!

In the scripture before us, GOD's merciful heart toward us is focused on a magnificent matter: "Who according to His Abundant mercy has begotten us again to a Living Hope." The LORD's mercy has provided a plan whereby He can righteously hold back the awful judgment that we rightly deserve.

This plan of Salvation is through New birth. GOD has "begotten us again." This could be rendered, "caused us to be born again." We all were begotten of our earthly parents, a birth that brings temporal human life. For all of us who believe the Lord Jesus as our personal Redeemer will then allow and even desire Him to become our Savior, Salvation. When we have been given a New birth from GOD into Everlasting Spiritual Life in Christ. Which is the very Life, Light and Love of GOD. This is one of the heavenly realities that relate to Justification (being declared Righteous in GOD's sight, and thereby able to walk with GOD).

This New birth is also "to a living hope." When we were born into the LORD's Family, real "hope" became available to us ever after. Biblical hope is about absolute certainties concerning the future. It is about guaranteed expectations for time and eternity. These are vital needs for every person. Otherwise, people flounder in hopelessness and despair, or they march along in vain fantasies and imaginations.

The unique hope the LORD provides for us is a "living hope." It is a hope that pulsates with resurrection life. "[GOD] has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, now the I AM within us." This hope is permeated with the LORD's resurrection. This Resurrection hope is sufficient to raise us from any agonizing deadness, whether in our aching hearts or in our threatening circumstances."

Divine Inspiration:
This is seen in the Inspiration of the Prophets and Teachers,

2Kings 3:9-12 "So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. Then the king of Israel said, "Alas! The LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab." And Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here, through whom we may inquire of the LORD?" Then one of the king of Israel's servants answered, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah." And Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."


2Kings 17:7-18  "Now this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their GOD, Who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their GOD things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtowers to fortified city. They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every evergreen tree, and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger, and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, "You shall not do this." Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by My servants the prophets." But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. They despised His statutes and His covenant that HEe made with their fathers and the warnings that HE gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only."


Nehemiah 9:26-31 "Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against You and cast Your law behind their back and killed Your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to You, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore You gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to You and You heard them from heaven, and according to Your great mercies You gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest they did evil again before You, and You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to You, You heard from heaven, and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies. And You warned them in order to turn them back to Your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey Your commandments, but sinned against Your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. For many years You bore with them and warned them by Your Spirit through Your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless, in Your great mercies You did not make an end of them or forsake them, for You are a gracious and merciful GOD."


Job 32:6-8 "Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: "I am young in years, and You are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to You. I said, 'Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.' But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. Therefore I say, 'Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.'"


Hebrews 1:1-4 "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, GOD spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days HE has spoken to us by His Son, Whom HE appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also HE created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of GOD and the exact imprint of HIS nature, and HE upholds the universe by the word of HIS power. After making purification for sins, HE sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name HE has inherited is more excellent than theirs."


1Peter 1:10-12 "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the Grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look."


2Peter 2:17-22 and 2Peter 3:2 "These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilement's of the world through the Knowledge of our LORD and Savior (Salvation in) Christ Jesus, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."

2Peter 3:1-7 "This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the LORD and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of GOD, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."

Discovering the Great and Precious Promises of GOD (continuing with Divine Guidance)

This section of GODS Abundance of His Promise is the most misunderstood of them all. Because it is so far reaching in our lives as Believers, become Receivers of Christ, by way of Revelation. It is for that reason alone that makes it a must have to grab hold of GOD in man, again. Now looking to Pastor Hoekstra's writing on GODS Grace at work in the New Life of those who will receive HIM by Revelation within. I will continue to use the ESV translation and as usual when the LORD provides so added information I will edit.

     "The Resurrection Related to Justification and Sanctification"
"I am the resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."  (John 11:25-26)

"It would be appropriate to again follow a pattern we have used previously, applying our present subject (the Resurrection) both to our starting out with GOD (Justification) and our going on with GOD (Sanctification). The great value in doing such is to be repeatedly reminded that the Grace of GOD that starts us out in this New Life in Christ is the same Grace that develops this Life in Christ.

When Jesus proclaimed the words of our present verses, He was standing at the tomb of Lazarus. Martha, one of the sisters, was interacting with Him. She had hoped that Jesus would have arrived earlier, knowing He could have prevented this death. "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died," in John 11:21. Even now, with her brother in the tomb, she realizes He could possibly yet intervene. "But even now I know that whatever You ask of GOD, GOD will give You," in John 11:22. Jesus comforts her by assuring that Lazarus will be resurrected. "Your brother will rise again," in John 11:23. Martha assumes that Jesus is referring to the final resurrection of the saints. "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day," in John 11:24. For Martha and the world did not know or fully understand that the birth, death and resurrection, and His ascension still to come.  Marked their period as the last of days as foretold. The last of days for GODS solely dealing with the Nation of Israel alone, that GOD was about to pull off one of the greatest transformation ever.

At this point, Jesus offers one of those glorious "I am" revelations. "I AM (NOW) the Resurrection and the Life." Then, He added two wonderful applications. First, faith in Him can even bring the dead to Life, like Lazarus. "He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." Second, faith in Him can ensure Eternal Life to those who are yet alive. "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."

Think again of the implications connected with Jesus' basic statement. "I AM the Resurrection and the Life." Martha desired an immediate resurrection for her brother. She wanted him to live once again. Jesus revealed that He Himself was what Martha desired for her brother. He was (IS) "the Resurrection and the Life." Jesus provides Resurrection and Life, because in His very person He is Resurrection Life. He is the Resurrection that we all need from our deadness, whether physical or spiritual. "I AM the Resurrection."  He is the Life that we need, if we are to live as GOD intended. "I AM . . . the Life." Knowing Christ by faith makes us partakers of what He Himself IS: "the Resurrection and the Life." This is vital to see, because the true Christian life is a Resurrection Life. Such a life can only be found in a Resurrected LORD, and it can only be developed following a Resurrected LORD."

Light Promised:

To the Obedient;
Job 22:21-30 "Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if you remove injustice far from your tents, if you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed, then the Almighty Will be your gold and your precious silver. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to GOD. You will make your prayer to HIM, and HE Will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. For when they are humbled you say, 'It is because of pride'; but HE saves the lowly. He delivers even the one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

Psalm 97:10-12 "O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, O you Righteous, and give thanks to His Holy name!"


To the Upright;
Psalm 112:1 "Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in His house, and His righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever."


To the Just;
Proverbs 4:10-19 "Hear, My son, and accept My words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the path of uprightness. When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble."


To the Benevolent;
Isaiah 58:5-12 "Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD? "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD Will answer; you shall cry, and HE Will say, 'Here I AM.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD Will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in."


To the true Church;
Isaiah 60:15-21 "Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I Will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, AM your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD Will be your everlasting Light, and your GOD Will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD Will be your everlasting Light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I might be glorified."


To the Followers of Christ;
John 8:12-30 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I AM the true Light of the world. Whoever follows Me Will not walk in darkness, but Will have the Light of Life." So the Pharisees said to Him, "You are bearing witness about Yourself; Your testimony is not true." Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness about Myself, My testimony is True, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, My judgment is True, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father Who sent Me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I AM the one who bears witness about Myself, and the Father Who sent Me bears witness about Me." They said to Him therefore, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also." These words HE spoke in the treasury, as HE taught in the temple; but no one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come. So HE said to them again, "I AM going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sin. Where I AM going, you cannot come." So the Jews (the elite highly esteemed Hebrews) said, "Will He kill Himself, since He says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?" He said to them, "You are from below; I AM from above. You are of this world; I AM not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM HE you will die in your sins." So they said to Him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but HE Who sent Me is True, and I declare to the world what I have heard from HIM." They did not understand that HE had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM HE, and that I do nothing on My own authority, but speak just as the Father taught ME. And HE Who sent ME is with ME. He has not left ME alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to HIM." As HE was saying these things, many believed in Him."

1John 2:7-11 "Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the True Light is already shining. Whoever says he is in this Light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the Light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."

Discovering the Great and Precious Promises of GOD (continuing with Divine Guidance)

I am still looking deeply into our need for spiritual guidance. Because in my past life this subject seemed to be glossed over or was not even broached at all. Today's target is Enlightenment. But first what does Pastor Hoekstra have to say about Grace? And then Enlightenment using the ESV translation along with any editing the LORD may add.

          "Resurrection Victory for Effective Christian Living"
"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."  (1Corinthians 15:57-58)

"The Resurrection of Jesus Christ brings spiritual victory over sin and death to all who believe in Him (I have in the past removed this little word "in" when used as it is here because by revelation I am currently "In Him and Believe Him Who operates within and then through me.) "But thanks be to GOD, Who gives us the victory through our LORD Christ Jesus." As we allow the LORD to be our guide through each day, He "leads us in triumph in (through, in Union with) Christ," in 2Corinthians 2:14. When this process is unfolding, an effective our Christian life is developing, by the Grace of GOD at work in us.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast." It is the Will of GOD that our lives be marked by steadfastness (constancy and stability). Paul rejoiced concerning fellow believers who manifested such attributes: "rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in (through) Christ," in Colossians 2:5. He later added that they were to be "rooted and built up in Him and established in the (His) faith," in Colossians 2:7. It is always His Faith in the Fathers Faithfulness that we acquire when we are in Him and He is in use by enlightenment and revelation. If either of these two elements are lacking we are still within the corral of Redemption's workings.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be . . . immovable." Our heavenly Father also wants us to be "immovable" (firmly persistent, unable to be swayed). Paul was a good example of this. Although he faced many threatening difficulties, he professed "But none of these things move me," in Acts 20:24. When Paul wrote to the saints at Ephesus, he warned of another threat to spiritual persistency: "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine," in Ephesians 4:14.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be . . . always abounding in the work of the LORD." Our ascended LORD wants us to be Abundantly (allowing His) laboring with Him, as a matched Unite of One. This is one of the purposes of Jesus' redemptive work for us: "Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works," in Titus 2:14. Yes, living by Grace will produce abounding good works through selfless Love, the law of Faith, as it is revealed above. The glorious fact is that such labors are actually the LORD at work in and through us: "always abounding in the work of the LORD." As the LORD sustains His work with us, we can grow in a certainty that this kind of laboring will be effective: "knowing that your labor is not in vain in the LORD."

Note the key word that indicates the basis for all of these desirable traits: "Therefore." This refers back to the Resurrection victory provided by the Lord Jesus. In light of this victorious work of Christ on our behalf, anyone trusting in this reality will find these spiritual virtues developing in their lives, by the Grace of GOD at work, within us again as promised man in Genesis 3:15."

Our Spiritual Enlightenment:
Psalm 18:25-29 "With the merciful You show Yourself merciful; with the blameless man You show Yourself blameless; with the purified You show Yourself pure; and with the crooked You make Yourself seem tortuous. For You save a humble people, but the haughty eyes You bring down. For it is You Who light my lamp; the LORD my GOD lightens my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, and by my GOD I can leap over a wall."


Pe.
Psalm 119:129-136 "Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for Your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your Way with those who love Your name. Keep steady my steps according to Your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. Redeem me from man's oppression, that I may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes. My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep Your law."


Proverbs 29:9-18 "If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright. A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked. The poor man and the oppressor meet together; the LORD gives light to the eyes of both. If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever. The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. 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."


Isaiah 29:17-21 "Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off, who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right."


Isaiah 60:15-22 "Whereas You have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD Will be your everlasting light, and your GOD Will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD Will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I might be glorified. The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I Will hasten it."


Acts 26:12-18 (Paul is speaking) "In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' And I said, 'Who are you, LORD!?' And the LORD said, 'I AM Jesus Whom you are persecuting (now it must be asked, How is Jesus now being persecuted when HE has ascended? HE as Christ in the person of the Holy Spirit is within those who have become HIS again). But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint (anoint) you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen ME and to those in which I Will appear (make known) to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I AM (as the Living "Now") sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to GOD, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in ME.'"


2Corinthians 4:1-6, 7-11 "Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of GOD, we do not lose heart. But 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 ourselves, but Jesus Christ as LORD, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For GOD 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. But 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 Jesus (the Messiah-Christ the anointed within us) 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 Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."


Ephesians 1:15-23 "For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the LORD Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the GOD of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which HE has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that HE worked in Christ when HE raised Him from the dead and seated Him at HIS right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And HE put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills All in all."


1Peter 2:4-8, 9-10, 11-12 "As you come into Him, as living stones rejected by men but in the sight of GOD chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a Holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to GOD through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I AM laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes (in) Him Will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession (seen in Psalm 2), that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are GOD's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify GOD on the day of visitation."

Discovering the Great and Precious Promises of GOD (continuing with Divine Guidance)

Today's chosen subject under Guidance is Instruction but before I step off into it I want to look at what Pastor Hoekstra has to reveal on his subject of Grace. And then making use of the ESV translation my subject and as always I reserve the right to edit as the LORD within me gives to me utterance.

                   "Resurrection Victory by the Grace of God"
"The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  (1Corinthians 15:56-57)

Before I even get into Pastor Hoekstra's writing there is this to say about the Bible translators and how they disrespect the title of the risen LORD. In His duties while here on earth He should be Lord Jesus Christ as this shows His humanity. But after His resurrection He should be LORD as He was within the context of His original position in the old testament writings. That with LORD Christ because it is His anointed position within our receptive soul that He now reigns and the kingdom has come. To say Jesus Christ is to show again great disrespect for His Promised New position of our anointing. Even the use of the word God should show more respect to it when HE is the one speaking or being identified as having spoken the words. But when the person speaking is referring to Him it would be okay to use the God relational-ship position.

"1 Corinthians 15 is the great Resurrection chapter of the scriptures. In verse 56, we see two of the enormous problems that the resurrection of Jesus Christ overcomes. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law." The sting that brought physical and spiritual death to the family of man is sin. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Adam sinned and immediately died spiritually. Eventually, he died physically. "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all (carry the penalty of having) sinned" (Romans 5:12). We sinned in Adam, our leader. Also, we personally walked in sin and spiritual death until we came to the Hebrews Messiah, Christ. The hidden people through whom GOD would come to restore Himself within those who receive HIM. (John 17)

The strength that sin exerts over lives is the law. "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before GOD" (Romans 3:19). There is no way that man by his own strength can remove the guilt of sin which GOD's law holds powerfully over him. (This  by the way is not the Law of Moses but is the law of Genesis 2 enacted in Genesis 3.) The righteous power of this law holds sinful humanity fully accountable before the LORD.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ validates His sacrifice for sin, removing sin's sting. "O Death, where is your sting?" (1Corinthians 15:55).  Eternal Life (the restored presence of GOD in Christ within mans soul / spirit, again seen in Genesis 2) replaces sin's sting for all who believe in the LORD (the Divine, Chief Head ) Christ (anointing) Jesus (in the second Adam, man). "The gift of GOD is Eternal Life in Christ Jesus our LORD" (Romans 6:23). Such victorious Grace stirs gratitude in the hearts of the Redeemed. "But thanks be to GOD, Who gives us the victory through our Lord (chief head-leader) Jesus (second Adam of promise) Christ (the anointed one of promise)."

Notice the language of Grace used to describe that which is provided through the resurrection. "The gift of GOD is Eternal Life . . . thanks be to GOD, Who gives us the victory." These two terms ("gift" and "gives") are the language words of Grace. Eternal Life comes to us as a gift, an undeserved generosity from GOD. HIS presence restored to mans soul or spirit, mans original state of being in Genesis 2. But still carrying the physical material curse, which can also be broken at GODS choosing, that being of sickness disease and death or decay of the earthen body made for man The victory that we receive through the resurrection is established through Jesus Christ. Then, this victory is given to us, not earned or achieved by us. Thereafter, our LORD desires to guide us daily in His resurrection victory of Grace. "Now thanks be to GOD Who always leads us in triumph in Christ" (2Corinthians 2:14)."

The Value of Instruction,
Proverbs 1:8-19 "Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse"—my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors."

Proverbs 6:20-35 "My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts."

Proverbs 12:1-15 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. A good man obtains favor (pleasure) from the LORD, but a man of evil devices he condemns. No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved. An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones. The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them. The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised. Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread. Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel. Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit. An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble. From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."

Ecclesiastes 12:11-12 "The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh."

Instruction:

Examples of the Divine,
Deuteronomy 4:5-8 "See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon Him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?"

Nehemiah 9:16-25 "But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey Your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that You performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a GOD ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast Love, and did not forsake them. Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, 'This is your God who brought us up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, You in Your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. "And You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in Your great goodness."


For the Young,
Psalm 71:17-21 and Isaiah 8:11, 28:26 "O GOD, from my youth You have taught me, and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O GOD, do not forsake me, until I proclaim Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O GOD, reaches the high heavens. You Who have done great things, O GOD, who is like You? You Who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth You will bring me up again. You Will increase my greatness and comfort me again." (can you grab hold of the double meaning here?)

Isaiah 8:11-15 "For the LORD spoke thus to me with His strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: "Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of Hosts, Him you shall honor as Holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And HE Will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken."

Isaiah 28:23-29 "Give ear, and hear My voice; give attention, and hear My speech. Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his GOD teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the LORD of Hosts; He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom."


Given with Infinite Pains,
Jeremiah 32:26-35 "The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Behold, I AM the LORD, the GOD of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me? Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I AM giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke Me to anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. This city has aroused My anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I Will remove it from My sight because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke Me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned to Me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. They set up their abominations in the house that is called by My name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into My mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin."


Foretold,
John 6:41-51 and 1Corinthians 2:12 "So the Jews grumbled about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him. And I Will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me—not that anyone has seen the Father except He Who is from GOD; He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has Eternal Life. I AM the bread of Life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I AM the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I Will give for the life of the world is My flesh."

1Corinthians 2:6-13 "Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of GOD, which GOD decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the LORD of Glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what GOD has prepared for those who love Him"—these things GOD has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of GOD. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of GOD except the Spirit of GOD. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from GOD, that we might understand the things freely given us by GOD. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual."

Christ, the Great Teacher,
Ephesians 4:17-24, 25 "Now this I say and testify in the LORD, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles (mere earthy carnal and worldly people) do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the Life of GOD because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about Him and are taught in Him, as the Truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of GOD in true Righteousness and Holiness.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak this Truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."


Love's Great Lesson,
1Thessalonians 4:9-12 and 1John 2:27 "Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by GOD to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one."

1John 2:26-27 "I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing Teaches you about everything, and is True, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him."

Discovering the Great and Precious Promises of GOD (continuing with Divine Guidance)

Continuing with the thought of our need for a teacher once we have entered Redemption's gate, which is Christ. Why Redemption? You may ask, because it is there having passed through that we are given the Holy Spirit Who is our Comforter, Guide and Teacher. The revealer of all things now to become Christ. Okay looking to Pastor Hoekstra's writing on Grace and then I will return to my focus on the Spirit Teacher and His working. I will make use again of the ESV translation and will edit things as the LORD the Spirit leads.

           "The Resurrection Essential to the Gospel of Grace"
"And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain . . . And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins . . . But now Christ is risen from the dead."  (1Corinthians 15:14, 17, and 20)

"The early Church persistently proclaimed the resurrection of the LORD Christ Jesus. This was not an option for them; neither is it an option for us. The Grace of GOD that is available in HIS Gospel for both Justification and Sanctification requires a risen Lord, Who became LORD and Christ. The resurrection is essential to this Gospel, which is the New Covenant of Grace.

The Spirit of GOD emphasized this strongly, as He inspired Paul to write: "And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain." If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, our preaching would be empty. If Christ were still in a tomb, His Salvation mission ended in failure, not victory. There would have been no Redemption made available through which His Salvation would come to the obedient. Jesus is the object of our faith. If He is not alive, our trusting Him would be fruitless. Jesus frequently taught of His death and resurrection. "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes (the Jews), and be killed, and be raised the third day" (Luke 9:22).

Furthermore, Paul wrote: "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." The Gospel of forgiveness of sins includes the Resurrection. "I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1Corinthians 15:1, 3-4). Faith is only as effective as its object. If our Lord is not resurrected, it is useless to place our confidence in Him. If we are trusting in a dead Savior to forgive us and set us free, we are still guilty and bound.

However, our Lord is not in an ancient tomb. "But now Christ is risen from the dead." He rose victorious over sin and death, bringing everlasting Righteousness to all who believe. "[faith] was accounted to [Abraham] for Righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us [i.e., credited to our account] who believe in Him Who raised up Jesus our LORD from the dead, Who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our Justification" (Romans 4:22-25). Thus, all of the Grace Blessings of the Resurrection (within us) are ours by faith. "Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to Grace" (Romans 4:16).

The Spirit As Teacher:

Nehemiah 9:16-25 "But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey Your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that You performed among them, but they stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a GOD ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast Love, and did not forsake them. Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, 'This is your God who brought us up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, You in Your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. "And You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and You brought them into the land that You had told their fathers to enter and possess. So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in Your great goodness."

Luke 12:8 (Jesus is speaking) "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also Will acknowledge before the angels of GOD, but the one who denies Me before men Will be denied before the angels of GOD. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit Will Not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit Will Teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
John 14:25-31 (Jesus is speaking) "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father Will send in My name, HE Will Teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard Me say to you, 'I am going away, and I Will come to you.' If you love Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I Will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on Me, for I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here."

1Corinthians 2:6-13, 14-16 "Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a Secret and hidden wisdom of GOD, which GOD decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the LORD of Glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what GOD has prepared for those who love HIM"—these things GOD has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of GOD. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of GOD except the Spirit of GOD. Now we have received kept the spirit of the world, but have received within the Spirit Who is from GOD (and is GOD), that we might understand the things freely given us by GOD. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual Truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of GOD, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has understood the mind of the LORD so as to instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ."

1John 2:23-25, 26-27, 28-29 "No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the Promise that HE made to us—Eternal Life.
I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing (Messiah and Christ, the Spirit of all Truth) Teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as HE has taught you, abide in HIM.
And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when HE appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that HE is Righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices Righteousness has been born of Him."

Discovering the Great and Precious Promises of GOD (continuing with Divine Guidance)

Yesterday I looked at the requirement of our being teachable and today keeping within that line of thought I want to look at the Lords Disciples who were seeking instruction from Him. As they are our examples. But first I will look to Pastor Hoekstra and his writing on Grace. And then to the Seeking of Instruction given to the Disciples using the ESV translation. And has become my habit when the LORD gives me enlightenment I will edit as needed.

          "Grace Empowered Proclamation of the Risen Christ"
"This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses . . . the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses . . . Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead . . . And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all."  (Acts 2:32; 3:15; 4:10, 33)

Jesus is called here the Prince of Life, from this then Satan is the prince of darkness chaos sin and death.

At the Lord's Supper, the resurrection was implied. "I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of GOD comes" (Luke 22:18). At the tomb, the resurrection was documented. "He is not here, but is risen!" (Luke 24:6). With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the resurrection was proclaimed. "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of GOD, you have taken by lawless hands, and put to death; (the one Whom) GOD raised up" (Acts 2:23-24).

The risen Christ was the constant message of the early Church. In Peter's Spirit empowered message at Pentecost, he repeatedly proclaimed the Resurrected LORD Jesus. "Him . . . you have crucified , and put to death; Whom GOD raised up . . .You will not leave My soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption . . . He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ . . . this Jesus GOD raised up, of which we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:23-24, 27, 31-32).

Not long after this glorious beginning, another proclamation of the risen Christ occurred as the lame man was healed at the Beautiful Gate. When the crowds gathered to see what had happened, Peter's message was again centered around the Resurrection of Christ Jesus. "You denied the Holy One and the Just One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, Whom GOD raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses" (Acts 3:14-15).

Soon after this, the religious Jewish leaders arrested the apostles, "being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead" (Acts 4:2). Here, Peter again proclaimed the resurrection. "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, Whom GOD raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole" (Acts 4:10).

It was the Grace of GOD that empowered the Church to witness boldly about the risen Christ. "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the LORD Jesus. And great Grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33).

The Seeking of Instruction Manifested by the Disciples:

Matthew 13:34-36 "All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, He said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."

Mark 4:10-12 "And when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parables. And He said to them, "To you has been given the Secret of the kingdom of GOD, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven."

Mark 7:17-23 "And when He had entered the house and left the people, His disciples asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Mark 9:9-13, 27-29 "And as they were coming down the mountain, He charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked Him, "Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" And He said to them, "Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that He should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."
"But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And He said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."

Mark 10:10-12 "And in the house the disciples asked Him again about this matter. And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Mark 13:3-8 "As He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" And Jesus began to say to them, "See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains."

Luke 3:10-14 "And the crowds asked Him, "What then shall we do?" And He answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to Him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And He said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." Soldiers also asked Him, "And we, what shall we do?" And He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

Luke 11:1-4 "Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." And He said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."

Luke 18:18-27 "And a ruler asked Him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except GOD alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of GOD! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of GOD." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But He said, "What is impossible with man is possible with GOD."

John 6:24-25, 26-34, 35-40 "So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to Eternal Life, which the Son of Man Will give to you. For on Him GOD the Father has set His seal." Then they said to Him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of GOD, that you believe Him Whom HE has sent." So they said to Him, "Then what sign do You do, that we may see and believe You? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of GOD is He Who comes down from heaven and gives (Light and) Life to the world." They said to Him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me Will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I Will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the Will of Him Who sent Me. And this is the Will of Him Who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that HE has given ME, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the Will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes Him should have Eternal Life, and I Will raise him up on the last day."