Christ was a Scripturalist. What’s the first thing that He told Satan? It is written…! He didn’t say the tradition of the fathers. Many of the Jews consider the traditions greater than the Word of God. That creates great problems.
 
Matt. 1 is very important. This is the first book in the Bible after 1st & 2nd Chronicles. What is there? Genealogies! Legal genealogies! Matthew was a Levite, and where did he start? With the legal genealogy!
 
Matthew 1:1: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
 
I had a man write me, and he had ‘bone to pick’ with me when I said that Gen. 15 was the foundation of the Passover. He wrote me and quoted many things like in Revelation ‘before the foundation of the world’ and so forth.
 
So, I wrote him back and told him that in the days of Abraham the book of Revelation wasn’t there. So, this was the foundation of the Passover and the Exodus for Israel. And with the maledictory sacrifice, walking between the parts, God made His death as a human being absolute.
 
If you are Christ’s you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise!
 
So, you have to have—and this is very important for Jews—the legal genealogy. What are they doing to day to find Kohan’s? They’re using the genealogies plus DNA! The Kohan’s are the priests. Then Matthew goes through all 14 generations and so forth.
 
Luke 3 is different. It has to be the son of David; cannot be any other son. But we’ll see something very interesting here. Let’s first of all talk about Mary and Elizabeth.
 
Elizabeth was the wife of Zacharias, the high priest, who was of the eighth course of Abijah and was working weeks eight and nine during Pentecost. It says that they were both well-stricken in age. How old is well-stricken in age? We have one place that right up to the death of David that it said that at 70-years-old he was well-stricken in age! I guess he got wore out from all the fighting and warring that he went through. His life was turmoil every single day.
 
Mary was a relative of Elizabeth. Elizabeth must have been about 70-years-old, and Mary had to be probably 20-years-old. That means that Elizabeth was the aunt of Mary. Mary’s father had to be of the line of David in order for it to be the son of David. But Mary’s mother undoubtedly had to be the sister of Elizabeth. So, within Mary you have Aaronic genes, Davidic genes and Godly genes, for Christ.
 
The genealogy in Matt. 1 is going through the king genealogy. In Luke 3 it’s not a contradictory genealogy, it’s a different genealogy. This is the genealogy of Mary’s father.
 
Luke 3:23: “And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years old, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son-in-law of Eli.”
 
The genealogy in Matthew stops with Joseph, and the father of Joseph was Jacob:
 
Matthew 1:16: “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, Who is called the Christ.”
 
In Luke 3:23 it reads differently: “And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years old…” Why? Because the birthday will be different every leap year! On the calendar, the dates vary according to the week and month!
 
“…being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph…” (v 23).
 
You can’t have the father of Joseph being Eli and Jacob both, impossible! So, Joseph is “…the son-in-law of Eli” (v 23). That is the correct translation!
 
That’s why it’s a different genealogy! Both the one Mary was married to had to be of the house of David, the tribe of Judah, as well as Mary’s father had to be of the house of David of the tribe of Judah.
 
Then we go down through the genealogy, v 31: “The son of Meleas, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David.”
 
Isn’t that interesting? Why did it go through Nathan and not through Solomon? Because Solomon sinned grievously! Nathan apparently did not. Then it takes the genealogy all the way down to Adam, the son of God.
 
Why is that important? Because of a prophecy given to Adam and Eve in Gen. 3:15-16! There you have the legal genealogy coming down to the adoptive father Joseph, and down to the real father of Mary: Eli. Both have to be lf the house of David. That’s why they are different.
 
·         What did Jesus say about His words of prophecy in Matt. 24?
·         What did He say concerning the Law and the Prophets?
ü  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall never pass away! (Matt. 24)
ü  Until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law! (Matt. 5)
 
So much of the fake Christianity of today’s world is in the realm of what Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees many, many times. What was that? ‘Have you never read…?’ Same thing with fake Christianity, have you never read…?
 
Matt. 13—Here’s where Jesus speaks to the disciples in parables. This is really a fantastic thing in the way it is that we see it working.
 
Matthew 13:10: “And His disciples came to Him and asked, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ “And He answered and said to them…” (vs 10-11). Think about these Scriptures in relationship to the world and to you, there’s a distinct difference. 
 
“…‘Because it has been given to you…’” (v 11). What understanding do we have of the Word of God? It all comes from God!
 
·         from His Word
·         from His Spirit
·         His Word is Spirit and Life
 
“…to know the mysteries…” (v 11)--secrets! What is one of the most obvious secrets that fake Christianity misses? The Sabbath! That’s the first key to understanding! God has deliberately hidden it so they wouldn’t know. Why did He do that? That’s kind of nasty and not being fair! Any atheist that looks at that…
 
If you look at one of the latest Church at Home that we just did, we’ve got an atheist telling why he’s an atheist and hates God. Why? Because if you don’t believe God, there is a spiritual blindness that automatically comes!
 
·         What happens when you get to the Church of the Laodiceans?
·         What does it say? You’re poor, blind and naked!
·         Why? Because they’ve gotten so used to it that they’re all resting on their laurels just waiting for it to happen!
 
What’s going to be happening is not what they’ve been thinking! IF you’re not:
 
·         constantly keeping the Sabbath
·         constantly studying the Word of God
·         constantly living by the Word of God
 
You’re going to fade back into the world! You’ll be busy and occupied with other things.
 
“…it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given” (v 11).
 
Think about how important that is! You have something of more value than treasures of gold, silver, stocks and bonds, lands and everything like that. God has given His Church and His people the understanding of eternal life and His plan through the Sabbath and Holy Days!
 
Verse 12: “For whoever has understanding, to him more shall be given…”
 
·         IF you don’t get lifted up in vanity
·         IF you are meek and yielded to God
·         IF you are constantly looking to God to grow and overcome
 
Think on this for a minute: Every cell in the human body is like a miniature universe! The way that the cells interact in the body are very complicated and complex things that God has made. That’s exactly how God’s Word is! There are simple things, just like in life. Simple things that you can see, you can hear, you can eat, and your body processes go on, regardless of who you are, and God is no respecter of persons in that.
 
As I’ve said many things, in Him everyone in the world lives, moves and has their being whether they know it or not! But for those who have the Spirit of God, now you have understanding of the Word of God IF you apply yourself!
 
Proverbs 25:2: “The glory of God is to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”
 
You might say, ‘I’m not a king.’ What does God say you’re going to be? Kings and priests! We have to search it out. I don’t think that studying for a whole lifetime you’re going to understand everything that’s in the Bible. It’s all inspired by the mind of God, and there are layers of understanding!
 
Think on this: We have the full Word of God; what’s it going to be like during the Millennium when the knowledge of God will be like the oceans that cover the earth? What is that going to be like? We have no idea! God wants to know the most important thing:
 
·         Do you love Me?
·         Do you keep My commandments?
·         Are you searching for the Truth at all times?
 
That’s what God wants to know!
 
Matt. 13—here’s what God does. Someone might say that this is not fair. Well, God never said that He was fair. He’s no respecter of persons, but here’s what He said:
 
Matthew 13:12: “For whoever has understanding, to him more shall be given, and he shall have an abundance…”
 
Remember the one who had the ten talents and gained ten, and the five talents and gained five, and the one who had one talent, but didn’t do anything with it. Then He said to take the talent from the one who didn’t do anything with it and give it him who has ten.
 
Everybody said, ‘Lord, he’s got ten, why do you give it to him?’ Because he knows what to do with it!
 
“…but whoever does not have understanding, even what he has shall be taken away from him” (v 12)--and that is sure happening today!
 
Verse 13: “For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing, they see not; and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand.” That’s why there are few!
 
Verse 14: “And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, ‘In hearing you shall hear, and in no way understand, and in seeing you shall see, and in no way perceive.”
 
Have you watched the Trump rallies. Every time he mentions that ‘every child is a sacred gift from God’ everyone cheers! Which is true! They like to hear those things, but if Trump got up there and said, ‘Now I’m converted and I’m keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days and we’re shutting down the government every Saturday.’ They would all booo! They would have an assassin after him right away.
 
Well, that’s what Christ is going to do! He’s going to say, ‘Folks, are you tired of the wars? Are you tired of the fighting? Are you tired of diseases? Look at the shambles of the earth, that it was made by all of your illustrious leaders. We’re here to heal you and help you to rebuild, and you’re going to have to work. We will have full employment and we will just have tithes and very few other taxes.’
Verse 15: “For the heart of this people has grown fat, and their ears are dull of hearing…”
 
I tell you, after so much television and everything, how much can sail right over your head right while you’re looking at the television. How much enters your brain that you don’t want to enter in there, that gets stuck in there for a while.
 
“…and their eyes they have closed… [don’t bother me with it] …lest they should see with their eyes, and should hear with their ears, and should understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (v 15).
 
That’s not only physically, but don’t you think that if you’re not converted you’re spiritually sick? Think on that!
 
Verse 16: “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
 
Peter writes of this, too (1-Pet.); that we have things that even the Prophets wanted to know about and didn’t know. We just passed out the updated Chart of the Daniel/Revelation series for the last seven years. On the flipside is on the Calculated Hebrew Calendar, because that’s how God fulfills prophecy. Every major thing is based on the Calculated Hebrew Calendar and the Holy Days.
 
Verse 17: “For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what you see, and have not seen; and to hear what you hear, and have not heard.”
 
That’s an astounding thing! If you get down in the doldrums, realize that you’ve been given the most precious thing in the world: the Spirit of God and the knowledge of His Word! We don’t understand it all, but we can understand more!
 
Here’s what happens, and we’ve seen this, v 19: “When anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and snatches away that which was sown in his heart. This is the one who was sown by the way.”
 
A lot of people say, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful, that’s good.’ We’ve had people in the past who attend for a while and then drop out.
 
Verse 20: “Now, the one who was sown upon the rocky places is the one who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy; but because he has no root in himself, he does not endure; for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, he is quickly offended” (vs 20-21).
 
He’s all excited and goes and tells all of his friends,
 
Guess what, I keep the Sabbath. ‘You what? I don’t ever want to talk to you again, you’re kicked out of this club, you’re not on our bowling team anymore!’
 
You can’t do that because you can’t come on Friday night. ‘I hate to lose my friends,’ so they drop away!
 
Verse 22: “And the one who was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the Word, but the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
 
I’ve got to keep up on those stocks and bonds. I’ve got to keep up on all of these financial things. I got to make money.
 
What did Paul write about money? Money is a root of all evil! Think about it today: Could the people today live like they did in 1930s and 40s? They’re spoiled rotten! You’ve got everything you need in your hand, which you could use for good. Every evil comes through the same thing, and most people go after that.
 
It’s just like today: We’ve got Thanksgiving and next Friday is going to be a mad dash to the store. They are going to buying for Christmas. I’ve often thought of this, but have never seen it: What if a man that God called owned a Christmas Tree farm? He read Jer. 10 that says, ‘Don’t be like the heathen and go into the forest… he’s got a Christmas Tree farm, that’s a forest …and cut down a tree.’ He sells thousands of them. That’s his living. He’s got to quit keeping Christmas and he cannot sell anymore Christmas trees.
 
If he were a Jew he could work it out this way: ‘I’ll lease it out to a Gentile during Christmas Tree harvest season and give him a cut of the money.’ But that’s not what God says!
 
Or how about a man who is a fisherman and he owns rights in the bay for all the oysters and all the clams? And God calls him! That would be a difficult one!
 
I saw a special in Alaska and this man was a shrimp fisherman. He would go out and get the shrimp and the first one that would come in, he would take it raw and eat it and say that it is so good. What if God called him and said, ‘Hey, you can’t do that anymore!’
 
Verse 23: “But the one who was sown on good ground, this is the one who hears the Word and understands, who indeed brings forth fruit and produces—one a hundredfold, another sixtyfold and another thirtyfold.”
 
Let’s look at a couple of things here that are important, because these collective parables all end at the end of the world, the consummation of the age!
 
Verse 24: “And He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man who was sowing good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping…’” (vs 24-25)--weren’t paying attention! The tares were sown!
 
Verse 27[transcriber’s correction]: “And the servants came to the master of the house and said to him ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where did these tares come from?’ And he said to them, ‘A man who is an enemy has done this.’.…” (vs 27-28)--Satan the devil!
 
I’m going to get into all these satanic and demonic things that are on the market for kids today, and give some sermons on it. He always comes with that which is funny, humorous, but is a lie, given as a benefit. That tells you everything you need to know with all the holidays. They can say that they’re ‘Christian’ all they want to, until you come to the holidays and they’re rank pagans!
 
“…Then the servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go out and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you are gathering the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them.’” (vs 28-29).
 
How does God do it? He causes His people to leave the contaminated! or If it’s just one or two, the contaminated can be disfellowshipped!
 
Verse 30: “Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers… [the angels] …‘Gather the tares first, and bind them into bundles to burn them… [all the wars that take place leading up to the return of Christ] …but gather the wheat into my granary.’”
 
Remember how we have covered that when you die your spirit goes back to God, and it says that when you ‘come to God you also come to where the spirit of the just are perfected’ (Heb. 12), so it goes back to God.
 
Then another parable about the tiny mustard seed (vs 31-32).
 
Verse 33: “Another parable He spoke to them: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until all was leavened.’”
 
Verse 35: “So that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.’”
 
After the people left the disciples said, ‘Tell us what it will be, v 37: “And He answered and said to them, ‘The One Who sows the good seed is the Son of man.’” So, Christ is the One Who is behind the preaching of the Gospel!
 
Who is the One Who does the drawing? The Father (John 6:44)!
 
Verse 38: “And the field is the world… [down through all time] …and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one. Now, the enemy who sowed them is the devil; and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels” (vs 38-39).
 
Verse 49: “This is the way it will be in the end of the age: the angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the righteous.”
 
When is the end of the age? We’ve experienced quite a bit in our lifetime. There was a Protestant minister—Harold Camping—said that on May 22 (I forget the year) that Christ was returning. That didn’t happen. Then he said that he got an update from God and it’s Oct. 22. That came and he died!
 
Matthew 24:3: “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him alone, saying, ‘Tell us, when shall these things be?…. [after He said in v 2 that there shall not be one stone left upon another; that literally came to pass] …And what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the completion of the age?’” He did not tell them!
 
Verse 34: “Truly I say to you, this generation shall in no wise pass away until all these things have taken place. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words shall never pass away. But concerning that day, and the hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (vs 34-36). When is the completion of the age?
 
Matthew 28:18: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples in all nations…’” (vs 18-19).
 
This is why you need the sermon series: Scripturalism vs Judaism, because you need understand the tremendous fight they had in the 1st century; it was something. The way that Judaism treated the Gentiles was absolutely the most despicable thing possible.
 
“…baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things…’” (vs 19-20).
 
Sidebar: When did Jesus keep the Passover? The 14th? or the 15th? The 14th! The Jews will say the 15th, because they are in the Diaspora! That’s one of the reason that we have the book: The Christian Passover!
 
“…that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even until the completion of the age.’ Amen” (v 20).
 
When does this age come to an end? The Day of the Lord! The harvest!
 
Revelation 11:15: “Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.’” At the last trump!
 
The first act of the ending of the age is the resurrection of the saints! That has to be because the world must be taken over by all the saints and Christ.
 
Verse 16: “And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and have reigned’” (vs 16-17).
 
He has taken over the rulership of the world! But the first thing that has to happen is that all of those who died in the faith must be resurrected and brought up to the Sea of Glass. There are many things that are going to happen on the Sea of Glass. But one of the most important things is that we’re going to receive eternal life and know what we’re going to do. We’re going to know what Christ is going to do.
 
We’re going to be able—while we’re on the Sea of Glass—to do is look down on the earth. I imagine that Christ, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the Prophets will be in one place watching what’s going on, because they gave all the prophecies. They’re going to seeing what’s happened to Babylon the Great and being destroyed. That’s going to be an amazing thing to do.
 
Then once we’re resurrected we’re going to be like newborn babes, because that’s when we’re born again, and not until then. We’re going to have to learn how to take care of the new body. How to appear as a man and how to appear in glory.
 
I’ve often thought that just as we’re ready to come down with Christ to the earth, all the saints are ready, the marriage has taken place, the marriage supper has taken place, and then Christ says to all of us:
 
Speculation: ‘All right, just before we leave the Sea of Glass, we’re all going to appear in glory and light up the whole heavens like they have never seen before!’ All of those on the earth are going to say, ‘We’re being invaded from outer space.
 
That’s going to be something! Think about that! This whole nasty upside down satanic world is going to come to an end because of the saints of God and Christ!
 
That’s when the consummation of the age will be!
​

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Booklet: Understanding God's Command For the Wave Sheaf by Dwight Blevins - ORDER
 
We have lots and lots of things for you to study. We need to make sure that we have them online. Some of them we’ve updated.
 
Scripturalism vs Judaism is quite a series. You really cannot understand the New Testament until you go through this series. But there were a couple of things in #4 that were outdated, so I need to get that taken care of, then we’ll have the updated series.
 
Christ was a Scripturalist. What’s the first thing that He told Satan? It is written…! He didn’t say the tradition of the fathers. Many of the Jews consider the traditions greater than the Word of God. That creates great problems.

​Scriptural References:
 
1)      Matthew 1:1
2)      Luke 3:3, 23
3)      Matthew 1:16
4)      Luke 3:23, 31
5)      Matthew 13:10-12
6)      Proverbs 25:2
7)      Matthew 13:12-17, 19-25, 27-30. 33, 35,
                                    37-39, 49
8)      Matthew 24:3, 34-36
9)      Matthew 22:18-20
10)  Revelation 11:15-17

​​Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
 
·         Genesis 15; 3:15-16
·         Matthew 24; 5
·         Jeremiah 10
·         Hebrews 12
·         Matthew 13:31-32
·         John 6:44
·         Matthew 24:2

​Also referenced:
 
·         Booklet: Understanding God's Command For the Wave Sheaf by Dwight Blevins
·         Sermon Series: Scripturalism vs Judaism
·         Book: The Christian Passover by Fred R. Coulter

Sermon Transcript...
 
I want to cover one thing that I covered in Pasadena: there are a lot of Messianic groups that keep the Feast of Firstfruits (what they call it), but it’s actually Pentecost. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but the commands for Pentecost contain the greatest number of verses. It begins in v 9, and it ends in v 22; that’s inclusive counting, 13 verse long. Beginning with the Wave Sheaf Offering, this covers a span of right at 2,000 years.
 
Leviticus 23:9: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, “When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest”’” (vs 9-10).
 
When they entered into the land, the barley had already been planted and was ready for harvest. You find in Joshua 5 that the manna ceased after they crossed the Jordan River and got to Gilgal and Jericho was only three miles away. They kept the Passover, and after the Wave Sheaf Offering the manna stopped. Think of that! For 40 years they had manna, so you’d get up in the morning and the wife would say, ‘Honey, how would you like your manna today?’ Raw? Boiled? Toasted? Roasted?
 
Can you imagine how great that first bite of unleavened bread must have tasted to the children of Israel? There’s a Church of God that says that they didn’t have that Wave Sheaf Offering and the eating of the grain until the next year, because that was a crop planted by the Gentiles and their hands were contaminated. They actually believe that! But what did God say?
 
“…When you have come into the land, which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it…” (v 10). If He gives you the land, whose harvest is it? It’s yours!
 
When you plant a seed in the ground, what happens to it? So, any uncleanness, wouldn’t you say that the dirt was unclean as far as just picking it up to eat? So, to say that the seed was unclean and therefore the harvest was unclean, ‘so we’ll wait to the next year.’ No! that’s not how it is!
 
“…then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest” (v 10).
 
·         Who all is involved in this ceremony?
·         Where did they get the premiere sheaf, which was barley?
 
The barley harvest started first and then toward the middle of the barley harvest the wheat was getting ripe, so it says in another place your wheat harvest; it means both.
 
The way that they got this sheaf was when they had the temple they had a special place on the Mt. of Olives. There they would plant the premiere sheaf to be waved. This was to be waved on the first day of the week during Unleavened Bread, because you have to have complete weeks. It could not be waved on a Monday. The day after the Sabbath never falls on a Monday. I don’t care what calendar you use, it never does.
 
So, they would plant the grain there and Edersheim reveals that they had a special service. They had a man at the top of the Mt. of Olives and one of the men next to the one who had the sickle who had the sickle ready to cut that premiere sheaf. The man next to him would say, ‘Has the sun set?’ Why? When the Sabbath ends then you can work!
 
He says, ‘Has the sun set?’ three times! Then he would cut it. Then they would take the sheaf and bind it up and lay it alongside the altar. So, in the morning they had this special ceremony. Let’s look at it.
 
Verse 11: “And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.”
 
There are occasions when the first day of Unleavened Bread occurs on the Sabbath. So, you have a Thursday night Passover, then the Night to be Remembered on Friday night, and then you have the regular Sabbath. The next day is when the Wave Sheaf would be offered in that case. Some people say that you have to wait until the next one.
 
Whenever the first day of Unleavened Bread comes on a Sabbath, the last Day of Unleavened Bread comes on a Friday. Remember that when you count it’s different than adding.
 
They would be a week off. Many times it was said that on the day after the regular Sabbath. That’s true in most cases, but if the regular Sabbath is also the Holy Day, then the day after that Sabbath is the Wave Sheaf Offering Day.
 
·         What participation did the people have?
·         What was their part?
 
They were all out in their fields ready to use the sickle to cut the grain! They cut the grain before it got really dry. Have you ever tried to use a sickle on hard dry stocks? Most of the time it won’t cut! So the way they did it, they cut it while it was still a little green, wrapped them in sheaves and stood them up to dry in the field.
 
So, the only ones who would participate in this, outside of the priests, would be those ready to harvest the barley.
 
·         Was there a special meeting?
·         Was there a special celebration?
·         No, the harvest began; it was work, a work day!
 
Verse 12: “And you shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering to the LORD…. [all of these refer to Jesus Christ] …And its grain offering shall be two tenth parts of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD for a sweet savor. And the drink offering of it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor green ears until the same day, until you have brought an offering to your God. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings” (vs 12-14).
 
People read that and some say, ‘We ought to observe it.”
·         Is there a temple? No!
·         Is there a high priest? No!
 
If you live up north, maybe you just planted the barley three or four weeks before, so you would have nothing to wave!
 
·         What is the fulfillment of this? Christ!
·         Who is involved? The priest, who represents Christ! The Wave Sheaf Offering represents Christ!
 
We will see in the New Testament that the disciples on that day weren’t at any particular meeting. They weren’t at the temple. If they were at the temple think about what would happen.
 
Verse 15: “And you shall count to you beginning with the next day after the Sabbath, beginning with the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete.”
 
That means a whole week, each ending in a Sabbath! So it must start on the first day of the week, each week, and end on the Sabbath.
 
Verse 16: “Even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.”
 
This new grain offering is entirely different. Here the people are involved, and a ceremony is involved!
 
Verse 17: “You shall bring out of your homes two wave loaves of two tenth parts. They shall be of fine flour….” This is for the 50th day!
 
Since this is the day after the Sabbath this was baked right after the sun went down on the Sabbath so that on Pentecost—because on a Holy Day you can do whatever is necessary for keeping the Holy Day—they could prepare food.
 
“…They shall be baked with leaven…” (v 17). We see in Matt. 13 that there’s a good use of leaven.
 
·         Why two loaves?
·         Why not one?
·         Why not three?
·         How many Testaments do we have? Two; that’s why!
 
We know that Matt. 13 says that ‘the Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a woman who took leaven and put it in three measures of flour until all was leavened.’
 
If leaven was always  a type of sin all he time, then we’re making a sinful offering to God. There’s a good use of leaven, and that is to change the form of the dough. We’re all likened to one lump in Christ. What happens when you put leavening in the dough? The bread rises! You can beat it down a couple of times and it will still rise up. But what happens when you bake it? It’s permanently in its final form! What is this? This is a good use of leaven!
 
Can you see leaven working? No! You can see the result of leaven working! It is gas, unseen! In this case it’s like the Holy Spirit. The working of the Holy Spirit in our mind to change our mind and convert us. When we’re baked, that’s like to unto the resurrection. It’s the finished product! That’s why there are two loaves, one for those in the Old Covenant, and one for those in the New Covenant.
 
“…they are the firstfruits to the LORD” (v 17). What is the Church called? We are the firstfruits! We are the firstborn!
 
Verse 18: “And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year… [a type of each church; we have seven churches in Rev. 2 & 3] …and one young bull, and two rams. They shall be for a burnt offering to the LORD with their grain offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor to the LORD. Then you shall sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings…. [that must refer to the two Testaments] …And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits, a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be Holy to the LORD for the priest” (vs 18-20).
 
Who is the Head of the Church? Christ our High Priest!
 
This is the keeping of Pentecost; v 21: “And you shall proclaim on the same day that it may be a Holy convocation to you. You shall do no servile work therein. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.” That’s little different than this one here in:
 
Verse 14: “…It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
 
·         Why do we keep Pentecost and we don’t keep the Wave Sheaf Offering Day?
·         On that day, what did the disciples do?
 
Passover was on a Wednesday, Thursday was the first day of Unleavened Bread, and they rested according to the commandment. Friday was a preparation day. Wednesday, Passover, was the preparation for Unleavened Bread. Friday was preparation for the weekly Sabbath.
 
What did they do on Friday? They went down brought spices, mixed them all up, and then rested again on the Sabbath! But a couple of the women went down just as the Sabbath was ending to look at the tomb and find out what’s going on with the tomb. Then they went back and rested.
 
In the morning Mary Magdalene went down leaving while it was still dark. In other words there was probably just a little light starting on the horizon in the east. She went down to the tomb and she didn’t find Jesus. She ran back and told Peter and John, so they both came running down to the tomb and John writes that he was faster than Peter. He got there first, but Peter went into the tomb first. Then John went into the tomb, and what did he see? He saw the wrapping where the body was!
 
What did that look like? It wasn’t cut! It had to be that Jesus was raised right through the wrapping! The wrappings were there crunching down in the middle showing that the body was gone. Then what else was the phenomena? The napkin was folded up in another place!
 
How many of you women have ever had a napkin fold itself? Wouldn’t that be nice if your laundry all folded itself!
 
Mary Magdalene came back and looked into the tomb. This time she saw two angels, one at the head and one at the foot where Jesus had been lying. She came out weeping, and Jesus automatically appeared and said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She thought He was the gardener! Mary said, ‘Where have you taken the body of Jesus so we can anoint Him?’
 
Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She said, ‘Rabboni!’ She came over to hug Him and Jesus said, ‘Don’t touch Me for I have not yet ascended to My Father.’
 
His ascension to the Father was the fulfillment of the Wave Sheaf Offering. It was between Christ and the Father. None of the disciples participated.
 
They weren’t in a meeting and they weren’t at the temple. They went out to the temple and didn’t have a special service. They just returned back home, and Mary was there. Then Jesus ascended! That was at the exact time that the Wave Sheaf Offering was being waved at the temple, and He presented Himself to the Father.
 
Remember, that must have been quite an emotional and fantastic spiritual experience for Christ and the Father. They hadn’t been together person-to-person since He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary. Here He ascends to heaven and He’s got the nail marks in His hands and feet and thrust marks in His side.
 
Let’s see what that was like. This was quite a thing. The very fulfillment of what was prophesied in Gen. 3:15 and planned before the foundation of the world was complete. This was between Jesus Christ and God the Father alone. No other human beings were involved. So, here’s the scene when John was told to ‘come up here’:
 
Revelation 4:2: “And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One was sitting on the throne…. [that’s God the Father] …And He Who was sitting was in appearance like a jasper stone and a sardius stone; and a rainbow was around the throne, like an emerald in its appearance. And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments; and they had on their heads golden crowns” (vs 2-4).
 
This is the scene! Here comes Jesus up to the Sea of Glass in heaven. I imagine the 24 elders are all bowing down at that time, and the four living creatures were saying ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,’ that they were bowing down. And Jesus walked up to the Father, and I can just imagine the embrace that they had, the tears that they had, that the most difficult part of their whole plan was finished! That Jesus succeeded!
 
This is why we don’t participate in it. It was complete fulfillment for Jesus Christ and God the Father.
 
Let’s see what happened after that. What happened before John 20? Jesus came back… We don’t know how close the Throne of God is, and we don’t know how portable it is, but it has to be somewhat close to the earth, because in Rev. 11 it says that John saw the heavens open and he saw the Ark of God right near the throne. When Jesus first came back who did He meet? The two disciples walking to Emmaus! They were all forlorn and saying, ‘What happened? Jesus died! We were expecting Him to be the Messiah!’
 
Jesus walked up to them and said, ‘What are you talking about?’ So, they told Him the things concerning Jesus. It’s been more than three days now since it happened and ‘He said that He would be raised the third day,’ and here it was actually the fourth day since He died. So, Jesus walked with them to Emmaus explaining the Scriptures to them, and said, ‘You’re hard-hearted and don’t believe the Scriptures.’
 
Then they say down to eat, Jesus blessed the bread and immediately they knew it was Jesus and poof He disappeared. They came running back to the disciples, and they were all gathered together. Why?
 
John 20:19: “Afterwards, as evening was drawing near that day, the first day of the weeks…” This is plural because this is the first day of counting toward Pentecost!
 
“…and the doors were shut where the disciples had assembled for fear of the Jews…” (v 19).
 
·         Don’t you think the Jews were looking for them?
·         Where did you take the body?
 
They were afraid that they would be killed!
 
“…Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.’ And after saying this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced because they had seen the Lord. Therefore, Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be to you. As the Father sent Me, I am also sending you.’ And after saying this, He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (vs 19-22).
 
Let’s see what else He did. Even though this was evening, do you think any of them could have slept that night? After seeing Him alive, can you imagine the adrenalin? the pounding of the heart? the racing of the mind? Here in this one session Jesus told them more about Himself from the Old Testament than any other time in all of His teachings.
 
Luke 24:41: “But while they were still disbelieving and wondering for joy, He said to them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ Then they gave Him part of a broiled fish and a piece of honeycomb” (vs 41-42).
 
Fish and honey is good, I like it! Sardines and honey is good, and it leaves you with a sweeter taste in your mouth and less fishy!
 
Verse 43: “And He took these and ate in their presence.”
 
I’ve often wondered: how does a spirit being assimilate food? Remember, at the wedding feast, we’re going to eat and drink! How is that going to be?
 
Verse 44: “And He said to them, ‘These are the words that I spoke to you when I was yet with you, that all the things which were written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.’” Every word! Not a syllable will be left out!
 
There’s a man who has done a study through the Psalms and all the things about Jesus. I asked him if he would like to go through the whole Old Testament and do it? He said that he would undertake the project!
 
What he sent me with the Psalms was incredible. Remember that the apostles preached the Gospel from the Old Testament.
 
·         Why was that important? Because the Gospel was to be preached to the Jew first!
·         What did the Jews have? The Old Testament!
·         What was said of the Bereans? That they went to synagogue and searched the Scriptures whether these things were so or not!
 
Sidebar: As you study the book of Acts, what you will find is that all of the elders that were ordained by Paul in the churches that he raised up were Jews! Why? Because they had knowledge of the Old Testament! Very important!
 
You couldn’t have Gentiles coming in to be elders right away, because they didn’t have very much knowledge. Even if they were proselytes. That’s interesting.
 
Verse 46: “And said to them, ‘According as it is written, it was necessary for the Christ to suffer… [Psa. 22] …and to rise from the dead… [Psa. 17, that I will awake with Your likeness] …the third day. And in His name, repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. For you are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but remain in the city of Jerusalem until you have been clothed with power from on high” (vs 46-49).
 
That happened ten days after He had ascended into heaven and hasn’t returned since! That’s why we keep Pentecost but we don’t keep the First of the Firstfruits, because that’s between Christ and God the Father in Their personal relationship!
​

​Advertisement:
 
It says in Ecclesiastes that in the making of books there is no end. Ken knows this well because he’s making books.
 
Transcript Books:
·         Word of God vs Traditions of Men
·         Rewards of God
 
So, if you think overcoming is difficult, remember, there are rewards to come!
 
We have another thing going, which is going to prove to be good because they’re actually teaching children to contact demons. I’ll bring you more on that:
 
This is what they’re doing in Australia, and it is Bible for Kids. We also have this in relationship to Korner for Kidz with the First Christian Fellowship in Florida. So, we’re doing jointly with that and Pam Bruening runs that website:
 
Kidz Korner: Link

Teens' Table: Link
 
In Australia they have 9x12, so when they send it to us it’s reduce to 8-1/2x11. We will have these online and they will be downloadable. 

​Scriptural References:
 
1)      Leviticus 23:9-21, 14
2)      Revelation 4:2-4
3)      John 20:19-22
4)      Luke 24:41-49

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
 
·         Joshua 5
·         Matthew 13
·         Revelation 2; 3
·         Genesis 3:15
·         Revelation 11
·         Psalm 22; 17

Also referenced: Transcript Books: Order
 
·         Word of God vs Traditions of Men
·         Rewards of God
​

​FRC:bo
Transcribed: 11/27/19
 
Copyright 2019—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.

Church at Home - Video Message
​The Delusion of Drugs
Fred R. Coulter—October 25, 2019
​ 

 
I destroy homes, I tear families apart,
I take your children, and that’s just the start.
 
I’m more costly than diamonds, more precious than gold,
The sorrow I bring is a sight to behold.
 
If you need me, remember I’m easily found,
I live all around you—in schools and in town
 
I live with the rich, I live with the poor,
I live down the street, and maybe next door.
 
My power is awesome, try me you’ll see,
But if you do, you may never break free.
 
Just try me once and I might let you go,
But try me twice, and I’ll own your soul.
 
When I possess you, you’ll steal and you’ll lie,
You do what you have to—just to get high.
 
The crimes you’ll commit for my narcotic charms
Will be worth the pleasure you’ll feel in your arms.
 
You’ll lie to your mother, you’ll steal from your dad,
When you see their tears, you should feel sad.
 
But you’ll forget your morals and how you were raised,
I’ll be your conscience, I’ll teach you my ways.
 
I take kids from parents, and parents from kids,
I turn people from God, and separate friends.
 
I’ll take everything from you, your looks and your pride,
I’ll be with you always—right by your side.
 
You’ll give up everything—your family, your home,
Your friends, your money, then you’ll be alone.
 
I’ll take and take, till you have nothing more to give,
When I’m finished with you, you’ll be lucky to live.
 
If you try me be warned—this is no game,
If given the chance, I’ll drive you insane.
 
I’ll ravish your body, I’ll control your mind,
I’ll own you completely, your soul will be mine.
 
The nightmares I’ll give you while lying in bed,
The voices you’ll hear, from inside your head.
 
The sweats, the shakes, the visions you’ll see,
I want you to know, these are all gifts from me.

Fred Coulter, "The Delusion of Drugs" on Video, also available to download is the audio portion. 
About this message - Church at Home is sponsored by the Christian Biblical Church of God and we are dedicated to restoring original Christianity. 

    If there was ever a nation that is losing its way it's the United States of America.
And not just the United States but many other nations too.  The problems in the world are international and they affect everyone. ​When we look at the prophecies in the Bible one of the most astounding prophecies that we have in Matthew 24 verse 12 (Matthew 24:12. Because lawlessness shall be multiplied, now multiplied means just that, sin upon sin, against law, we see it in the government we see it in the school we see it in the churches we see it in the lives of individuals.

     We find in the Book of Jeremiah, that human nature wants to go against the laws of God, and human nature is a mixture of good and evil, but evil is always there pulling down, and evil in most cases tends to be victorious. What happens then when people are caught in the trap? All sorts of difficulties.

     One of the most difficult ones we have is drugs, drugs cause the most disillusionment possible.  

To find out more about the message, you may watch this video by clicking HERE. You will be taken to the Church at Home website where you can also find the video Keys to Overcoming Addiction.

( second half)
I want you to see the parallel between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Here’s what Israel does over and over again, every generation.
 
Isaiah 43: 21—God says: “This people that I formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise. Yet, you have not called upon Me, O Jacob… [no, they’re always interested in what they can do, how smart they are and how great they are] …much less have you troubled yourself about Me, O Israel. You have not brought Me the lamb of your burnt offerings; nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with a grain offering, nor wearied you with incense. You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have made Me serve with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities” (vs 21-24).
 
This sounds just like TBN! What happens when people do that? The people of Israel have always known about God, always turned to God, even flattery in their troubles and difficulties. What happens when you flatter God and you don’t come with real repentance and confession?
 
Mark 4:11: “And He [Christ] said to them [the disciples]…”
 
Now, here’s something that a lot of the Protestants always bring up to us:
 
What gives you the right to be right? We’re good people and we’re out here doing this, why don’t you come to our Christmas party and see what a good time we have.
 
Here’s what Jesus says to us; “…‘To you it has been given… [whatever knowledge we have comes from God] …to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God…” (v 11).
 
How does God do that to His Church, but not to the world?
 
“…but to those who are without, all things are done in parables; so that in seeing they may see, and not perceive; and in hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them” (vs 11-12). That’s quite a statement!
 
Without the knowledge of the second resurrection, you would think that is really a terrible, terrible thing that Jesus is doing. But it’s actually a good thing that they become blinded. It is a spiritual blindness! They can look at the words, read the words, and they always jump over it.
 
Let’s see how it is with Bible knowledge. It’s not given to them to understand. God does not want half-heartedness in anything, so He blinds them so they can be converted later.
 
Isaiah 29:9: “Be stunned and amazed! Blind your eyes and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink, for the LORD has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep…” (vs 9-10).
 
In other words, it doesn’t matter who you are, if you never turn to God you are spiritually blinded! You may see, but you don’t see the Truth! You may hear, but it doesn’t make any sense to you!
 
“…and has closed your eyes…[that’s an amazing thing] …He has covered the prophets and your rulers, and the seers. And the vision of all has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to one who is learned saying, ‘Please read this,’ and he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ And the book is delivered to him who is not learned…” (vs 10-12).
 
Of course those who are learned! There was a man who wrote me an e-mail that he had three theology degrees. I wrote back and said that that ‘may be part of your problem.’ What do you do? You get the interpretation from the blind! It’s like leading a man to an elephant and he doesn’t know it’s an elephant because he’s blind.
 
Take one blind man and put him at the head, take another blind man an put him on the side, and take another one and put him by the rear legs, and have them feel and touch and say, ‘What is this?’ The guy in front will say, ‘This feels kind of like a funny snake.’ The guy on the side says, ‘I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s a whale.’ The guy on the backside feels it and says, ‘I don’t know what this is, but those are sure some legs.’ It’s an elephant!
 
“…which they give to one who is learned saying, ‘Please read this,’ and he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ And the book is delivered to him who is not learned… [like the preachers out back] …saying, ‘Please read this,’ and he says, ‘I am not learned’” (vs 11-12)--but I sure know how to handle rattlesnakes! Have you ever seen the special on handling rattlesnakes?
 
Verse 13: “And the LORD said, ‘Because this people draws near Me with their mouth… [say all the right things] …and with their lips honor Me, but their worship of Me is made up of the traditions of men learned by rote…’”
 
They do real good in between the holidays. I got a magazine, a religious magazine, and it’s advertising things for Christmas. They’re advertising a nice little shopping bag, which says, Christmas begins with Christ.  They think that’s a wonderful thing!
 
Someone will say, Maybe it’s pagan, but at least the name of Christ is getting out there.’ Because they want to it their way!
 
“‘…and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandments of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do again a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise ones shall perish, and the wisdom of their intelligent ones shall vanish.’ Woe to those who go deep to hide their purpose from the LORD!…. [sounds like the ‘deep state’] …And their works are in the dark, and they say, ‘Who sees us? And who knows us?’ Surely, you have turned things upside down!….” (vs 13-16).
 
In other words, if God is God, and He’s all powerful, Almighty all knowing, all forgiving, all understanding, why then do people come to tell God what they’re going to do for Him! How much can a person do for God? Compare that to what God can do for you! That’s what God wants us to learn.
 
“…Shall the potter be regarded as the potter’s clay…” (v 16). When they choose Sunday, isn’t that what they’re doing? We know better! When they choose Christmas, Easter and all the holidays over the Holy Days of God, they know better. They put Christ’s name in it and then Christ serves with their sins, and they think they’re doing wonderful things.
 
·         there’s no repentance
·         there’s no confession
·         there’s absolutely no forgiveness
“…for shall the work say of him who made it, ‘He did not make me?’….” (v 16). ‘We evolved, I’m my own person; I’m going to do what I want.’ That’s the whole thing with abortion. ‘I’m my own person, I’m my own body, I will choose what I want to do.’ Now we have all of these murderers killing the next generation.
 
“…Or shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘He had no understanding?’ Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field…” (vs 16-17). Then Isaiah goes on showing the coming of the Kingdom of God!
 
1-John 1—let’s see how this compares with the prayer that Solomon made. IF you confess your sins! Same thing with how Daniel confessed the sins. That’s quite a prayer. You can hardly read that prayer and not have tears come out of your eyes when you understand the depth of that prayer, and after 70 years of captivity. Here Daniel was there in Babylon as one of the leading men for probably over 70 years. He came as a young man; he must have been 16-18-years-old. Yet, God was with him and gave him all these prophecies.
 
Here he is in his old age and he’s wondering, ‘O Lord, what’s going to happen. Look at how sinful we have been.’ So, here we have this:
 
1-John 1:6: “If we proclaim that we have fellowship with Him…” This is what it is today:
 
A lot of people say ‘know the Lord, go to church’ and everything. The difference between Protestantism and the Truth of God is that Protestantism wants you churched. God wants you converted! A vast difference!
 
“…but we are walking in the darkness, we are lying to ourselves…” (v 6). It’s one thing to believe a lie because someone has told you a lie; it’s another thing to believe your own lies! That’s the worst kind, because those are the hardest to get rid of.
 
“…and… [when you do that] …we are not practicing the Truth” (v 6). What is the Truth?
 
·         Your Word is the Truth
·         Your commandments are the Truth
·         Your statutes are the Truth
·         Your Word is the Truth from the beginning
 
Verse 7: “However, if we walk in the Light… [the Light of Christ, which is His Word, His Spirit, His Truth] …as He is in the Light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His own Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
 
Notice how that parallels with what Solomon had in his prayer.
 
Verse 8: “If we say that we do not have sin…” I’ve come across a few of those. ‘I’ve been born again, I cannot sin.’ If you’ve been born again, as Jesus said, ‘You’re like the wind and you can go wherever you want to go.’ So, why don’t you see if you can walk through a door like Jesus did when He met with the disciples? If you can’t do it, you’re not born again.
 
Born again goes back to what Christ is: the Firstborn from the dead!
 
Verse 7: “However, if we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His own Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
 
That means every single one. But the greatest sins we need to get rid of are not exterior behaviors, but are interior thoughts! You’ll see what we need to do with that.
 
Verse 8: “If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the Truth is not in us.” So, you have v 6 with v 8; you’re not practicing the Truth an:
 
“…we are deceiving ourselves, and the Truth is not in us. If we confess our own sins… [repentance, confession and forgiveness] …He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (v 8-9). How important that is!
 
Remember where we read what Solomon wrote, ‘For every many knows the plague of his heart.’ That’s talking about all the inner sins within our mind, and how many of those are there.
 
Psalm 86:1—Let’s see how this ties in, in parallel, with the New Testament: “Bow down Your ear, O LORD, answer me, for I am poor and needy.”
 
Quite a difference! Remember what the young rich man said when he came to Christ? ‘Lord, what do I need to do to inherit eternal life?’ Don’t call me ‘good master,’ there’s only one good, and that’s God. But if you will enter into life, keep the commandments! The rich man said, ‘Which ones?’ He named off: don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t like don’t cheat, honor your father and mother, etc.! He said, ‘I’ve done that all my life. What else do I need.’ Jesus took him up on it and said, ‘If you want to enter into life, sell all that you have and give to the poor.’ That’s was his idol, and he didn’t know it! Here was a different attitude from the rich man.
 
Verse 2: “Preserve my soul, for I am Holy; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I cry unto You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O LORD, do I lift up my soul, for You, LORD, are good and ready to forgive…” (vs 2-5).
 
Remember that. God is always read to forgive when there’s a humble, yielded giving attitude.
 
“…and rich in mercy to all those who call upon You. Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me” (vs 5-7).
 
If you don’t call upon God in the day of your trouble, God is not going to answer you, and you’ll continue in the trouble. What does this do? What kind of attitude does this do? It gives us a teachable, learnable attitude, because the Word of God is Spirit and in Truth, and there’s so much to it!
 
Verse 11: “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your Truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O LORD my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore, for great is Your mercy toward me; and You have delivered my soul from the depths of the grave” (vs 11-13). That’s something!
 
An interesting study: go through all the Psalms and pick out all the verses—some are just a one shot verse—that refer to Christ, His life, crucifixion and resurrection.
 
If you do that, send it to me. I’m still working on the Interlinear. We’re making progress but we’re still quite a ways from it.
 
Let’s see what real deep repentance is. Psa. 51 is the Psalm of David after the affair with Bathsheba and had Uriah the Hittite—her husband—killed in battle. That was a grievous sin! You need to think about that. Bathsheba was in on it, because she took her bath out on the roof of her house, which was right next to where the king would walk. So, the king was in on it, because he sent one of the servants over there to get her. She could have said no, I’m indisposed at this time, but she didn’t. So, the servant brought her and one thing led to another, and then she sent a message that she was pregnant.
 
So, rather than repent, he turned to his own devices and figure out a scheme. Joab knew all the sins of the royal household! David told Joab to take Uriah the Hittite and put him in the forefront of battle and when it’s going heavy, back the rest of the troops off. Joab knew what that was. Think of all the intrigue that went on. Then after that took place, and after a period of time, David took Bathsheba to be one of his wives.
 
This went on for so long that God had to send Nathan the prophet to David and he told David that this rich man came and took the little ewe lamb from this poor little man, and the rich man had plenty of his own. David said, ‘What should I do to this man? I’ll take care of him.’ Nathan said, ‘You are the man!’ And Nathan told him what he did with Bathsheba and the whole thing.
 
David repented! Some people who would have someone who came with a message like that killed. Notice David’s prayer, and what all of this involved. Repentance has to do something inside!
 
Psalm 51:1: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion, blot out my transgressions”--because there was sin after sin all wrapped up in one big package!
 
Verse 2: “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” That has to be from the inside out, all the scheming, all the plotting! After Uriah the Hittite was killed, he thought after a while ‘I’ll take Bathsheba and she’ll be my wife and everything will be fine.’
 
·         What does God know? He knows the secrets of all men!
·         Are we ever going to fool God? No!
 
We have to be cleansed inside! That’s what it is!
 
Verse 3: “For I acknowledge… [confess] …my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” There are some things that come along that you have flashbacks all the time, and that’s what this was.
 
Verse 4: “Against You, You only, have I sinned…” Even though it was against Bathsheba, against Uriah the Hittite, and Joab knew the whole thing!
 
“…and done evil in Your sight, that You might be justified when You speak and be in the right when You judge” (v 4). God is always right!
 
The biggest problem that people have with God is that somehow they come along and they think that something with God is not right, whatever that may be. Then they devise their own belief and start cutting themselves off from God.
 
Verse 5: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
 
I think that’s talking about not that his mother committed adultery, but the very fact of human nature is that it’s sinful from conception! Why? Because it has the law of sin and death as the New Testament brings out! It’s in children just as well.
 
Verse 6: “Behold, You desire Truth in the inward parts…” That’s the only thing that’s going to wash it away; replace the inner sin with Truth!
 
What are we promised with the New Covenant in Heb. 10:16? Write the commandments in our mind and inscribe them upon our heart! That’s how you get rid of the sin within. All sin starts within!
 
“…and in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop…” (vs 6-7). That’s like a good ole scrub pad; some things you have to get out are very difficult to do.
 
“…and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones, which You have broken, may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities” (vs 7-9). Complete absolute confession!
 
Even though he repented, even though he turned to God with this deep repentance and everything, he still had punishment to bear for quite a while, and that was his whole household rebelled against him, beginning with Absalom and Tamar. Then the rebellion to try and unseat him by Absalom! Then Joab, a little later before David died, tried to take over being king when he heard that Solomon was going to be made king. He probably thought, ‘Why did God have Solomon to be the king, when his mother was Bathsheba?’
 
You can use human reasoning and say that that’s not right. Well, God made the choice. That also shows God’s mercy and forgiveness, as well.
 
Verse 10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me” (vs 10-11).
 
How close was he to losing it? Probably pretty close! So, this shows the kind of repentance. Not just do a deed and say, ‘O Lord, forgive me.’
 
·         What do you have in your mind that’s still there?
·         That’s still sin?
·         How much sin comes into our mind today through the boob-tube (television) through all of those ads?
 
Every single ad, if you look at it carefully, has some sexual overtone to it, one way or the other: by dress, action, word or implication. All of those things come into our mind!
 
Let’s see the solution. Matt. 6 is the model of the daily prayer, and what we need every day. Our mind needs to be cleansed, and there is sin that pops into our mind all the time.
 
Matthew 6:5: “And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.” They were seen!
 
Verse 6: “But you… [every single one] …when… [doesn’t say if] …you pray… [because this is a model of a daily prayer] …enter into a private room…” It says in the KJV ‘closet’!
 
The first time I started to pray, I had a closet. In there were my shoes and socks, and all of the perfumy things that are the result of living. So, I scattered them to the side and started praying. I about choked! So, I figure that I would get right alongside the bed and leave the closet alone. It’s a private room, a private place!
 
“…and after shutting the door, pray to your Father Who is in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret shall reward you openly” (v 6). Many different ways!
 
Some things will come along that you don’t know what a fantastic blessing it is, and everything comes from God. This is great!
 
Verse 7: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions…”
 
If there something that you need to pray about continuously until there is a answer, then you repeat that every day. That is not a vain repetition, which is like the prophets of Baal with Elijah. ‘O Baal, O Baal…’ I don’t like to listen to that one on the Messiah by Handel, because it sticks in my head, it’s such a catchy tune. They jumped up and down on the sacrifice and cut themselves, shed the blood, all to make Baal hear.
 
But if you’re sincere you will be just like Elijah. You know that God hears! You know that God answers! So, Elijah wanted to demonstrate how powerful that God actually was so that the people of Israel was the God of Israel.
 
He took the sacrifice and poured water on it. This is after three and a half years of drought and water was precious. So, they poured water on it three times until it was running in the little trough where they had the rocks setup for the sacrifice. Then he prayed for 21 seconds—we timed it—and said:
 
We know that You are God of Israel, O God. Show to these people that You are God and Baal is not!
 
Then fire came down and consumed everything! Then the people accepted God for a short time! Amazing!
 
“…as the heathen do; for they think that by multiplying their words they shall be heard. Now then, do not be like them; for your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him” (vs 7-8).
 
One person said, ‘If He knows before you ask Him, why ask?’ Because if you don’t ask, He might take it away! Think on that!
 
Verse 9: “Therefore, you are to pray after this manner: ‘Our Father, Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.’” Always the Father first! His greatness; what He has done; Christ at His right hand!
 
Verse 10: “Your Kingdom come… [Your rule in my life as well as the Kingdom coming back to the earth] …Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors” (vs 10-12).
 
We need to repent of sin every day! Sin is within! Can any of us say that our heart is absolutely clean? Our mind is free of any evils? Hatred? Unforgiveness? Whatever!
 
Verse 13: “And lead us not into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one….” Who comes around when your guard is down? Satan, always!
 
“…For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (v 13). Notice that you start out with the Kingdom of God and you end up with the Kingdom of God!
 
You’re not to take this prayer and recite it just because you know the words of it. But use this as an outline and put all of the things you need to pray about in whatever order you desire. God will hear and answer. There is a catch! There is an IF that is important!
 
Verse 14: “For, if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you…. [this is conditional] …But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (vs 14-15). Quite a thing!
 
In the sermon series on Healing one of things that is important is that you hold nothing against anyone and you forgiven them. Someone asked, ‘What if they’re already dead? My dad/father did this or that to me, or brother, whatever, and I’ll never forgive them.’ Well, forgive them even if they don’t know that you have forgiven them before God! You can’t have that in your mind. Get rid of it in your mind by confessing to God!
 
I had one person that I said that to, and they did that and they said that I ‘lifted a big load off my mind.’ You can’t have righteousness in one cubbyhole and hatred in another cubbyhole. You have to have God cleanse it!
 
This is what we’re seeing. There are many other things that we can add to it, but this covers the whole thing. There must be repentance, confession and forgiveness!

Scriptural References: Link to A Faithful Version Bible.
 
1)      1 Kings 8:31-39, 46-50, 52-61
2)      Psalm 74:1-5, 7-9, 11-23
3)      Psalm 78:34-39
4)      Daniel 9:2-4
5)      John 14:15
6)      Daniel 9:4-9, 12-19
7)      Isaiah 43:21-24
8)      Mark 4:11-12
9)      Isaiah 29:9-17
10)  1 John 1:6-8, 7-9
11)  Psalm 86:1-7, 11-13
12)  Psalm 51:1-11
13)  Matthew 6:5-15
 
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
 
·         Hebrews 13
·         Deuteronomy 28
·         Leviticus 26
·         Daniel 9:1
·         Hebrews 10:16
 
Also referenced:
 
·         Church at Home {churchathome.org} The Delusion of Drugs
·         Sermon Series: Healing
​

Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services! Today we’re going to cover quite a subject. Let’s look at some of the things in the Old Testament, and then the New Testament.
 
1-Kings 8 will prove the unity of Scripture between the Old and New Testaments. This is Solomon’s prayer, and he covers many, many things in it. It’s a long prayer. We can see that this is very similar to the New Testament, which we will cover later.
 
1-Kings 8:31: “If any man sins against his neighbor, and if an oath is laid upon him to cause him to swear, and if the oath comes before Your altar in this house, then hear in heaven, and do, and judge Your servants, to declare the wicked to be wicked, to bring his way upon his head, and to justify the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness” (vs 31-32).
 
That’s very similar to what we have in the New Testament.
 
Verse 33: “When Your people Israel are crushed before the enemy because they have sinned against You, and shall turn again to You and confess Your name, and pray, and cry to You in this house, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them again into the land which You gave to their fathers” (vs 33-34).
 
Here we have repentance, confession and forgiveness! It’s very interesting when you consider about Solomon, and you start reading how he became philosophical in the book of Ecclesiastes. Here is when he was still young, the temple was being dedication, and this is part of the prayer of dedication of the temple.
 
Verse 35: “When the heavens are restrained, and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, if they pray toward this place and confess Your name… [and also their sins] …and turn from their sin when You afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, and of Your people Israel, for You shall teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance” (vs 35-36).
 
This next one is very interesting, and also very New Testament when you understand it.
 
Verse 37: “If there is famine in the land, if there is plague, blasting, mildew, locusts; if there are creeping locusts; if their enemy encircles them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness, any prayer, any supplication from any man of all Your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart…” (vs 37-38).
 
·         What is the plague of his ‘own soul’?
·         Is that referring to just the outward plagues?
or
·         Is that referring to the sinfulness of the human mind?
 
Trying to capture this human mind and keep it going the way that God wants is quite a challenge, indeed!
 
“…and shall spread forth his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven Your dwelling place and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to all his ways, whose heart You know; for You, You only, know the hearts of all the children of men” (vs 38-39).
 
Here Solomon had it exactly right. It was quite a thing!
 
Verse 46: “If they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin)… [understanding that all of sin comes short of the glory of God] …and if You are angry with them and have delivered them up before the enemy and they have been led away captive to the land of the enemy, far or near, yet, if they shall think within themselves in the land where they are carried captives, and repent, and pray to You in the land of their captors saying, ‘We have sinned… [repentance] …and have done perversely… [confession] …we have done wickedly,’ and so return to You with all their heart and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and if they pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, to the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name” (vs 46-48). This sounds an awful lot like the teachings of Jesus!
 
Verse 49[transcriber’s correction]: “Then hear their prayer and their cry in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, even all their sins which they have done against You, and give them compassion before their captors, so that they may have compassion on them” (vs 49-50)--find grace and favor in the land of their captivity!
 
Verse 52: “For Your eyes shall be open to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your people Israel, to hearken to them whenever they call to You.”
 
Think about this for just a minute; think about the children of Israel today. Are they turning to God in their troubles? Maybe some few are! Think about the children of Judah in the Holy Land. Are they turning to God in their troubles? That’s an interesting thing, indeed! There they are right in the land!
 
Verse 53: “For You have separated them from among all the people of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke by the hand of Moses Your servant when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.” That goes back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
 
Verse 54: “Now, it came to pass as Solomon finished praying all this prayer and petition to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. Then he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, ‘Blessed be the LORD…’” (vs 54-56).
 
Think about this because just a few chapters over—that we covered during the Feast of Tabernacles—look at all the trouble that Solomon got into himself, and he started out so well! The old saying is: it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, IF you finish!
 
Verse 56: “Bless be the LORD, Who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promises, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant.”
 
Think of all the history of Israel. Because they didn’t chase out and go after the enemy the way that God said, He left them in the land as a thorn in the flesh to test them whether they would love God and keep His commandments or no.
 
This also tells us something very important: How important to God is it concerning our own individual choices? He gives choices to us! In the recent Church at Home {churchathome.org} The Delusion of Drugs, there’s a clip that shows someone who has been on drugs a long time. The whole family is there and they keep talking to him and saying:
 
 ‘You can recover. Why don’t you come with us and we’ll help you?’ NO! then the mother would say, ‘Look, I can help you so much, and these people here, we’re all going to help you. Why don’t you come?’ NO! Then someone else says, ‘We’ll be able to do this, that and the other, why don’t you stop the drugs and come?’ NO!
 
He said at least seven or eight times and finally it showed the whole family group—must have been about a dozen—and he stood up and walked out! Quite a thing! So, whatever we choose today, if it is good, that’s fine. But:
 
·         What are we going to choose tomorrow?
·         What do we do when we make bad choices?
·         Or do things that are not right?
 
Verse 57: “May the LORD our God be with us as He was with our fathers. Let Him not leave us nor forsake us.”
 
In the New Testament--Heb. 13—and God says, ‘I will not ever, no, not ever leave you.’ That’s quite a thing! Actually in the Hebrew there are five negatives that:
 
·         He’s not going to leave you
·         He’s won’t forsake you
·         He won’t turn His back on you
 
Verse 58: “To incline our hearts…” How do you incline your heart to God? By knowing that:
 
·         everything we have comes from God
·         be thankful for what God has given
·         use what God has given, whether much or little
 
It’s the attitude in how you use it!
 
“…to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments which He commanded our fathers. And let these my words, with which I have made supplications before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night…” (vs 58-59).
 
Here we have it written for us! This is in about 1000B.C. Here we are 3,000 years later reading the same words, and it tells you that human nature is exactly the same today as it was back then.
 
“…so that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel at all times as the matter requires, that all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other” (vs 59-60).
 
Think about how the world would have been completely different IF from this time forward Solomon would have kept this attitude and helped the people of Israel keep this attitude, and then the successor kings that came along.
 
Verse 61: “And let your heart be perfect with the LORD our God… [New Testament doctrine] …to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.” That’s quite a thing!
 
Psa. 74 is written by Asaph, one of the priests. This is just before they went into captivity. This is when the temple was being destroyed in 536B.C.
 
Psalm 74:1: “O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, the rod of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed; this Mount Zion in which You have dwelt. Lift up Your feet unto the perpetual ruins; all this destruction the enemy has done in the sanctuary” (vs 1-3). Here he’s seeing everything being destroyed.
 
Verse 4: “Your enemies roar in the midst of Your congregation; they set up their own banners for signs. They seem like men who lifted up their axes against the thick trees” (vs 4-5).
 
Verse 7: “They burned Your sanctuary to the ground… [v 8]: They said in their hearts, ‘Together let us rage against them’; they have burned up all God’s meeting places in the land.” All the synagogues were destroyed!
 
Verse 9: “We did not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet; neither is there among us any who knows how long.” How long is this going to be?
 
Think about this prayer, because there is something that is really missing here.
 
Verse 11: “Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Draw it out of Your bosom and consume them, for God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth, You divide the sea…” (vs 11-13).
 
Verse 14: “You crushed the heads of leviathan in pieces… [v 15]: You break open the fountain and the flood…”
 
Verse 16: “The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have established the light and the sun. You have set all the boundaries of the earth…” (vs 16-17).
 
Verse 18: “Remember this--that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, and the foolish people have blasphemed Your name.” Quite a prayer! Very earnest!
 
What is missing? This is the same way that the Jews look at enemies today, but what is missing?
 
Verse 19: “O deliver not the life of Your turtledove unto the wild beasts; forget not the lives of Your afflicted people forever. Have respect unto the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of the houses of cruelty” (vs 19-20).
 
What was the covenant with God? Deut. 28; Lev. 26!
 
Verse 21: “Oh, let not the oppressed ones return ashamed; let the poor and needy praise Your name. Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; remember how the foolish man reproaches You daily. Forget not the voice of Your enemies; the noise of those who rise up against You increases continually” (vs 21-23).
 
What is missing? Nothing about confession of sin and repentance!
 
You can rage against the enemy all you want. You can cry out to God all you want to come and kill the enemy. But unless there’s repentance, it isn’t going to be! Same way with today.
 
For the carnal people in the world, God will accept something less than what’s required for conversion, because they’re in the world and they’re unconverted.
 
Psalm 78:34: “When He slew them, then they sought Him…” Every time there’s a great disaster, people return to God somewhat, but never under repentance and conversion.
 
“…and they turned back and sought after God earnestly. And they remembered that God was their Rock, and the Most High God was their Redeemer. Nevertheless, they flattered Him with their mouths, and they lied to Him with their tongues, for their heart was not steadfast with Him; either were they faithful in His covenant” (vs 34-37).
 
In Psa. 74 Asaph says to remember the covenant. God never forgot it! God was never slack in it! Who did the forgetting? The people! But in spite of all of that, because of His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:
 
Verse 38: “But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; yea, many times He turned His anger away and did not stir up all His wrath, for He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes away and does not come again” (vs 38-39).
 
That’s quite a statement about Israel! IF they would have done like Solomon said, then it would have been different.
 
Let’s look at the opposite, Dan. 9. This is quite a chapter because it is so profound that it ends up with the prophecy of the Messiah. As we read this, you will see why Daniel was one of the most righteous. Not that he necessarily did everything perfectly as far as the law is concerned. Notice the two differences:
 
Psa. 74—Asaph is saying, ‘God, go after the enemy; look at what they’re doing, see what is happening. They’re destroying us They got us all bottled up! And so forth.
 
·         Not a word of repentance!
·         Not a word of the cause why all these things happen!
 
Remember the history of the temple, Jeremiah was called by King Zedekiah to ask what’s going to happen, because the enemy was all around.
 
Jeremiah said, ‘You’re going into captivity! But you can avoid the destruction of the city and the destruction of the temple if you just surrender to Nebuchadnezzar.’ Then he would have probably left him there as a vassal king.
 
What did Zedekiah[transcriber’s correction] do? He said, ‘Leave and don’t tell anyone you were here. If they find out you were here, tell them thus and such’ Well, Zedekiah tried to escape with his sons. Quite a lesson! If God tells you to do one thing, and you turn around and do the other thing, it isn’t going to work! It wasn’t successful! The troops of Nebuchadnezzar caught the king and his sons—who left by night—by a secret way out and brought them before Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had the eyes of the king removed!
 
So, it’s a fearful thing to go against God in whatever it is!
 
Daniel 9:2: “In the first year of his reign… [Darius the son of Ahasuerus (v 1)] …I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years, which came according to the Word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.”
 
Notice the complete change of attitude compared to Asaph, v 3: “And I set my face toward the LORD God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God and made my confession…” (vs 3-4).
 
What does it mean “…understood by books…”? (v 2). He probably had Jeremiah’s, Isaiah’s and perhaps maybe some of Ezekiel’s prophecies!
 
Notice how Daniel approaches God. Asaph said, ‘Lord, look at what they’re doing to Your people.’ Here’s what Daniel said:
 
“…‘O LORD, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commandments’” (v 4).
 
John 14:15: “If you love Me, keep the commandments—namely, My commandments.”
 
Daniel 9:5: “We have sinned… [confessing sin] …and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, and have turned aside from Your commandments and from Your ordinances”--turned their back on them!
 
Verse 6: “Neither have we hearkened unto Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our rulers, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.”
 
He’s rehearsing what went on before they went into captivity. But most of them were just like Asaph, ‘O God, You’re doing all of this, why don’t you come and destroy the enemy.
 
God is waiting for them to repent! ‘When are you going to repent and confess your sins? When are you going to turn to Me. I’ll forgive you.
 
We have the promise given with Solomon. ‘If they turn to You, You will forgive them.’
 
Verse 7: “O LORD, righteousness belongs to You, but to us confusion of face, as at this day to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem, and to all Israel who are near… [those in Babylon] …and who are afar off… [wherever the Israelites were by that time] …through all the countries where You have driven them because they dealt treacherously with You.”
 
In reading this I think about the Code of Jewish Law and all of that; how they set that in place of God’s Law, though it has some of God’s Laws in it. But the laws and commandments of men cannot make you right with God; it’s just impossible. I think about the Protestants. If you watch TBN and you look at what these ministers do, it’s quite a thing. They use the name of God over and over again, and we’ll see later what Isaiah has to say about that.
 
Verse 8: “O Lord, confusion of face belongs to us, to our kings, to our rulers, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You…. [that’s quite a confession there] …To the LORD our God belong mercies and forgivenesses even though we have rebelled against Him” (vs 8-9).
 
Think about the two worst kings, one in Israel—Ahab—and God sent Elijah there to tell him that he was the most wicked man in the world and ‘God is going to destroy you and the dogs are going to lick up your blood and Jezebel’s blood.’ What did Ahab do? He listened! The Bible says he put on sackcloth and ashes and walked ‘tenderly.’
 
So, as Elijah was on his way going back, God said to him, ‘Go back to My servant Ahab.’ What’s that, Lord! ‘He has repented!’ So, Elijah had to modify the prophecy and say, ‘It’s not going to happen right away, it will happen later.’ Sure enough it did happen!
 
Then you have the king of Judah—Manasseh—who got involved in witchcraft and false spirits and demons. He built idols and had homosexual booths built around inside the temple area. The king of Nineveh came and took him away captive to Babylon, because they controlled Babylon at that time, and there he repented and came back and cleaned up the temple, tore down the idols and the booths.
 
So, never say that you have sinned a sin so bad that God can’t forgive it. Unless you blaspheme the Holy Spirit and rebel against God and have no remorse, your sins can be forgiven.
 
Verse 12: “And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us by bringing upon us a great evil, for under the whole heaven it has not been done as it has been done upon Jerusalem…. [quite a confession] …As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us….” (vs 12-13)--Deut. 28; Lev. 26.
 
Think about what’s happening with us to today in America. Think about what is happening with Judah over there in Jerusalem and what is called ‘the Holy Land.’ They blame all the enemy! The enemy is doing this! Let’s build up our fornications! Let’s detect them and catch them before they do it. But not a word of repentance and turning to God! That would change the whole picture.
 
How can you say you’re clean from sin when you have all this abortion and drugs going on? Impossible!
 
“…Yet, we did not make our prayer before the LORD our God… [confession their fault] …that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your Truth” (v 13). We’ll see in a minute when you turn your back on Truth!
 
Verse 14: “Therefore, the LORD did not hesitate concerning the evil that He brought upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works, which He does, but we did not obey His voice.”
 
There we have the three words: obey My voice! Amazing! Today we have no excuse; we’ve got the whole Word of God, all the voice of God, all written for us! And all the teachings of Christ written for us!
 
Verse 15: “And now, O LORD our God, Who has brought Your people out from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and has made a name for Yourself, as it is this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly!” Quite a difference from Psa. 74!
 
Verse 16: “O LORD, I pray You, according to all Your righteousness, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your Holy mountain. Because of our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those who are around us.” Complete abject confession and repentance!
 
Verse 17: “And now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that is desolate for the LORD’S sake…. [quite a thing] …O my God, incline Your ear and hear. Open Your eyes and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name. For we do not present our supplications before You on account of our righteousnesses, but because of Your great mercies” (vs 17-18). Getting self completely out of it!
 
Verse 19: “O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, hearken and do. Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God; for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
 
·         Who came immediately? Gabriel!
·         What did Gabriel bring? The prophecy of when the Messiah would come!
ü  first when the city would be built
ü  next when the Messiah would come
ü  then the gap between His crucifixion and the last seven years, which is filled in with the book of Revelation
 
Quite a thing! Very moving, indeed! Just think how God honors prayers when there is the right repentance, confession, then God forgives! (watch for second half posting soon).

"Godly Meditation," is the title for the Sabbath morning CBCG GoToMeeting on-line services that was given on November 2nd. Be sure to watch this video, as Steve Durham covers several steps you can take to have Godly Meditation. Steve also suggest downloading the sermon by Fred Coulter,
"Guard the Door of Your Mind," as another great bible study. 

Epistle of Second Corinthians
​By Fred Coulter.

I want us to truly appreciate what God has made possible for us today, having the instant communication that we do and like in the sermon: News, Flesh & Bone and N.T. Fraud that showed there is someone who says they have the most accurate Greek N.T. ever. We proved, by having Greek ourselves, that's incorrect. Do you suppose they could have done that 200 years ago? No way! You go down through history:

• How many people have had the whole Bible? Billions!
• How many people use part of the Bible? Probably hundreds of millions!
• How many people believe and know that the whole Bible was made for the end-time and for us?
• What does that do for us in our responsibility with God and toward God since all of this has been provided?
• Remember the prophecy that says knowledge shall be increased?
• Would you not say that we have much more knowledge today than 200 years ago? Absolutely!

Let's start out in Luke 12; this tells us what we must be doing, and really, when you understand it, more than at any other time in the history of the Church and our lives. I'll show you why.

Visit the entire Video Play List HERE.
All of the transcripts to the series - "Epistle of Second Corinthians" may be Found HERE on the Truth of God website.

​Gods Judgement of Fire by Fred Coulter - November 2, 2019.
For wickedness burns like the fire, it shall devour the briers and
thorns. Now do all of these fires just come for a reason? Why do they happen and in spite of the fact of not cleaning up, why we'll see it's a judgment of God as a result of the behavior of the people. (VIDEO HERE)

Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burns like the fire; it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall roll upwards like the lifting up of smoke. (A Faithful Version)
https://afaithfulversion.org/isaiah-9/