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Psalms 72:12-20 For He will
deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper. He will spare the poor and needy, And
will save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and
violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight. And He shall live;
And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him
continually, And daily He shall
be praised. There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the
mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His
name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All
nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be
the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let
the whole earth be filled with
His glory. Amen and Amen. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. Father, in the name of Jesus we give
you thanks for the rain you blessed us with this past week. We thank you for
the love you have for us and we ask that you bless us with your grace. We give
you all the glory and praise. Amen!
Romans 8:31-36 NKJV
The
verses in this lesson should give a saved individual great comfort in their
salvation. I have heard saved individuals talk about their salvation and wonder
if they have done something to anger God, because everything is quiet in their
spiritual world, therefore they question their salvation. I have also
experience these quiet times and don’t understand them. The only explanation I
can give is maybe we have all that we can handle at the present time, and God
knows that. He will only give us what we can handle. Maybe we are being prepped
for something that is coming up in our life and it is a resting time to be in
scripture study, and prayer. Maybe God is talking to us and we aren’t listening
because our flesh is blocking His message. I don’t know why or what the answer
is nor does anyone else.
If you
have experienced any of these things, then these verses are especially for you.
In the following verses there are two reasons why we need not question our
salvation from Gods view point. First God gave His only Son for us. Second
Jesus gave His life for us. God loves us so much that He allowed this to happen
so why would He take our salvation away. The meaning of the verses in this
lesson can be viewed as a love letter from God to you as a saved person.
As stated
last week I believe there is only one thing that can strip us of our salvation
and that is our flesh. Why, because it was our free will to take a hold of
God’s extended hand of grace and come to him from His calling, and that free
will is the only thing that would cause us to turn back to our sinful
lifestyle. Do remember this, from my experience, that a truly Born Again person
would have a very difficult time turning from God and going back to their old
way of life after experiencing God’s grace and love, but it could happen. It is
through salvation the truth is revealed to the person, that veil of deception
is lifted. When a person is saved, they realize there is a Heaven and Hell,
good spirits and bad spirits, right from wrong, and the Bible is a living
document. After knowing the truth and God’s love I feel a horrific life event
would have to happen for a truly saved person to turn their back on God, and if
that happened it would be that sin nature that would be the cause. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Revelation 19:13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called
The Word of God.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Paul is posing another question that
is similar to last week’s lesson. If we heeded God’s calling and reached out
and took his hand then who can be against us? There is no one! God has us in
his hand and no one can touch us. We can’t be plucked out of his hand by any person.
God is all powerful and above all other powers. If He has you, you are safe and
secure. There will be deception in the believers life, flesh will rear up, and
decisions will have to be made, but with Jesus guiding light and if you heed
his guidance, you will be led through the trial. When a person accepts Jesus as
their saviour a transformation happens, and that being, Jesus is in you and you
are hidden in Jesus.
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? He, meaning God, did not spare His
only Son, but delivered Him up in order that each and every person on the face
of the earth, could have a chance for eternal life if they so desire. There is
no other definition of love, than this sacrifice that God and Jesus predestined
for all. With this expression of love, why would God not freely give all things
to his adopted children? After all Paul has already explained to us we are
co-heirs with Jesus and being co-heirs we are entitled to everything that has been
granted to Jesus. Romans
8:17 and if children, then
heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified
together. 2 Peter 1:3-7 NLT By His divine
power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have
received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by
means of His marvelous glory and excellence.
4 And because of His glory and
excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises
that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world's corruption
caused by human desires. 5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond
to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral
excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and
knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and
patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and
brotherly affection with love for everyone. All we have to do is believe and keep our faith in Jesus
and what he did on the Cross for us.
33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. With God being omniscient, omnipotent,
and omnipresent, then who can judge one of God’s elect? There is no other power
in the universe more powerful than God. God has set and executed the rules with
Jesus dying on the Cross to wash away our sins when we accept Him. God is the
judge and the one that justifies. He is the one and only.
Who is Paul talking about
when he mentions God’s elect? It is those that have accepted Jesus as their
saviour. Paul isn’t talking about individuals that God selects into his kingdom,
because God doesn’t select anyone, he calls them and it is up to the individual
to accept His invitation of salvation. Many believe and get confused thinking
God chooses certain individuals and not others, but as we studied last week
that is not scriptural. The truth is that eternal life is for anyone no matter
who they are, if they accept Jesus as their Saviour they become God’s elect. John 3:16
34 Who is
he who condemns? It is Christ
who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also makes intercession for us. Here Paul is raising the same type of question as the
previous verse, and the answer is no one is to condemn others or God’s plan of
salvation. No one has the right to judge and condemn; only God has this right.
If we engage in judging and condemning others we are also guilty and will be
judged for our actions. If we talk about someone in a negative way, we are
judging that person. We are not to gossip and condemn others because that is up
to God. Vengeance is to be given to God and let Him take care of the situation.
Hebrews 10:30 For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS
MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE
HIS PEOPLE."
For the believer there is
no condemnation and as believers we have a fourfold protection in Jesus and
what He did for us.
Jesus
died for us so we are protected by His death; Jesus took all the condemnation that we deserved. He is
the peace offering for our sins. Galatians
3:13 Christ has redeemed us from
the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written,
"CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"),
We
are protected by Jesus resurrection; when Jesus came back from the grave He proved
His victory over sin and death. He was raise by God His father which
demonstrates God was satisfied with the sacrifice of His Son as the only basis
for our justification. His resurrection is the proof of our justification. Romans 4:23-25
Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also
for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and
was raised because of our justification.
We
are protected by Jesus exaltation;
Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. The exaltation of Jesus to God’s
right hand symbolizes the honor, power, and authority given to Him. Philippians 2:8-9 And being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself and became obedient to the
point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore
God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every
name, Psalms 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my
Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your
footstool."
In the Old Testament there
were no seats in the temple because the priests work dealing with sin was never
done. But verse 34 tells us Jesus was exalted and He sat down, meaning God was
satisfied with the sacrifice for sin that Jesus did. The work is done and never
will there be a need for any other type of sacrifice. The priest job of
repeatedly offering sacrifices for sin was eliminated forever. Hebrews 10:11-12 And every priest stands ministering daily and
offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this
Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right
hand of God,
We
are protected by Jesus intercession;
Jesus very presence at the right hand of the Father is proof of the completed
work of the Cross. With Jesus sitting at the Fathers right hand he is always
there waiting for our beckoning call so that He can intercede for us to the
Father. It was all part of God’s plan to have Jesus at His right hand and
intercede for us. Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ and what He did on
the Cross for all mankind. There is no other way to obtain God’s gift of grace
but though Jesus and His intercession for us. If there was any other way to
Heaven, or any other to intercede, then Jesus death was in vain. Hebrews 7:24-26 But He, because He continues forever, has an
unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost
those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession
for them. 26 For
such a High Priest was fitting for us, who
is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become
higher than the heavens; 1 John 1:9 If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 2:1 My
little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if
anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Paul is speaking here of the love
Jesus has for the believer, not the believer’s love for Jesus. There is nothing
that will take Jesus love from us, but with our free choice we can remove our
love from Jesus by turning to the lust of our flesh and the world. There is no
situation, powers, or principalities that can remove the love Jesus has for us.
Jesus loves everyone and wants to see everyone in Heaven because they are His
creation, but the sad truth is many will not go to Heaven. Have you ever
thought about what cause Judas to fall away? Some say he was saved and the lust
of money drove him to betray Jesus. Some say he was never saved and that is why
he betrayed Jesus. Since we can’t see the hearts of our fellow man then we
really don’t know for sure. But he spent three years with Jesus, he knew who
Jesus was, witnessed the miracles, and heard all the teaching right from Jesus
mouth. So a person would think that he was saved. What cause him to fall, an
outside force, a tribulation, a distress, a persecution, a famine, a nakedness,
a peril, a sword, or lust of his flesh, money? It would have to be the lust of
his flesh, because we have already learned that no outside forces can touch us
as believers. God protects us! There is only one thing that will separate us
from Jesus love and that is our flesh. Just as we accepted God’s calling by
choice we can also reject His love. It isn’t any different than a man and a
woman entering into a relationship resulting in marriage. It is each person’s
choice to marry out of love for each other, but they can also fall out of love,
and divorce is usually the result. It isn’t any different with a relationship
with Jesus. That is why God’s word says to put on the armor of God daily in
order to stand fast in the faith.
Paul experience all of
these things, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and
sword, but never once faltered in his faith. All of these things were cause by
outside forces, but Jesus love for him protected him.
36 As it is written: "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE
KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER." Paul is quoting a Psalm here in
regard to their persecutions as followers of Jesus. Psalms 44:22 But for
Your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep. The disciples were leading a tough
life be followers of Jesus and proclaiming the Gospel. Many were led off and
killed like sheep. No one would listen to or believe what they had to say,
which is still true today. Other parts of the world today people are killed for
preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are fortunate so far living in the US,
but I feel a time may be coming when people will be killed for preaching the
Gospel in the US.
I leave you with this
thought. Say these four words four times with the emphasis on a different word
each time and let them speak to you.
GOD is for me!
God IS for me!
God is FOR me!
God is for ME!
For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God
to salvation for everyone who believes,
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
Unless you are Born Again,
you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."
Bill Wiesbrock
Last Week’s Trivia: Who is Abagtha?
Answer: He was one of seven servants of the
Persian King Ahasuerus that was ordered to escort Queen Vashti to the Kings
presence. Esther 1:10-12 On the
seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded
Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs
who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus,
11 to bring Queen Vashti before the
king, wearing her royal crown,
in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. 12 But Queen
Vashti refused to come at the king's command brought by his
eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him. Since she refused you will have to get
your Bible out and see what happened to her.
This week’s Trivia: Who is Abi?
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