Prayer

2021 06 27

Joke

He knows your Name

Isaiah 43:1 (NKJV)  But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

Isaiah 49:1 (NKJV)  “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

Revelation 20:15 (NKJV)  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Take it to the Lord in prayer

1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV)  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV) ⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! ⁵  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Beginning from the end

Isaiah 46:10 (NKJV)  Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

Patience hang in there

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) ²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Bridge over sin not over trouble and pain

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV) ¹⁶  Rejoice always, ¹⁷  pray without ceasing, ¹⁸  in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NKJV) ¹⁶  Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸  while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The Passover and the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ

Exodus 12:1-14 (NIV) ¹  The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ²  “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. ³  Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ⁴  If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵  The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶  Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. ⁷  Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸  That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹  Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire–head, legs and inner parts. ¹⁰  Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹  This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover. ¹²  “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn–both men and animals–and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. ¹³  The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. ¹⁴  “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD–a lasting ordinance.

John 1:29 (NKJV)  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
1 Corinthians 5:6-7 (NKJV) ⁶  Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷  Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
1 Peter 1:18-19 (NKJV) ¹⁸  knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹  but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Don’t stay in Egypt

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV)  Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (NKJV) ¹⁷  Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” ¹⁸  “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”

No Condemnation

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

John 3:16-21 (NKJV) ¹⁶  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

• Condemnation: basis of judgment, not the result of it.

John 12:47 (NKJV)  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

• John said that Jesus didn’t come to judge or condemn the world (12:47), but elsewhere we clearly read that Jesus will function as Judge on the last day, condemning some to hell (e.g., Mt 25:31-46).

Matthew 25:31-46 (NKJV) ³¹  “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³²  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ ³⁷  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ⁴¹  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴²  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ⁴³  I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴  Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵  Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

• This is scarcely a contradiction, since John himself recorded that Jesus had all judgment entrusted to Him (Jn 5:22).

John 5:22 (NKJV)  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

• The purpose of the incarnation was to offer a plan of salvation for all who would receive it.
• Those who refuse it simply remain in the condemned state they were already in.
• When Jesus talks about unbelievers, he means those who reject or ignore him completely, not those who have momentary lapses of faith

Psalm 138:8 (NKJV)  The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

• To the Chief Musician, a psalm of David.
• David frequently claimed that God was slow to act on his behalf.
• We often feel this same impatience.
• These complaints of David are normal for man who is oppressed, condemned, and reaping what he sows.
• God sometimes seems to hides his face,
• This is often to show/prove to us that which is in our hearts.
• This psalm is the deserted soul’s case and cure.

Psalm 13:1-6 (NKJV) ¹  How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? ²  How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? ³  Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death; ⁴  Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. ⁵  But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. ⁶  I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

• Many people don’t want their lives exposed to God’s light because they are afraid of what will be revealed. They don’t want to be changed. Don’t be surprised when these same people are threatened by your desire to obey God and do what is right, because they are afraid that the light in you may expose some of the darkness in their lives. Rather than giving in to discouragement, keep praying that they will come to see how much better it is to live in light than in darkness.
• Some people look for points of disagreement so they can sow seeds of discord, discontent, and doubt. John the Baptist ended this theological argument by focusing on his devotion to Christ.
• S. Lewis’s (1963-84) was a British writer and theologian, He said that “There are only two kinds of people in the end;
  • those who say to God,
  • ‘Thy will be done,’ and
  • those to whom God says,
  • ‘Thy will be done.'”

Introduction to The Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:29-30 (NIV) ²⁹  For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

• When Paul said that no one should take the Lord’s Supper unworthily, he was speaking to the church members who were participating in it without thinking of its meaning. To not honor the “body of Christ” means not understanding what the Lord’s Supper means and not distinguishing it from a normal meal.
• Those who did so were “guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” Instead of honoring his sacrifice, they were sharing in the guilt of those who crucified Christ. In reality, no one is worthy to take the Lord’s Supper.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

• We are all sinners saved by grace. This is why we should prepare ourselves for Communion through healthy introspection, confession of sin, and resolution of differences with others. These actions remove the barriers that affect our relationship with Christ and with other believers. Awareness of your sin should not keep you away from Communion but drive you to participate in it.
• Most people interpret it as if it were unworthy, and not unworthily; and seem to suppose that it refers to their personal qualifications, to their unfitness to partake of it, rather than to the manner in which it is done.
• It is to be remembered, therefore, that the word here used is an adverb, and not an adjective, and has reference to the manner of observing the ordinance, and not to their personal qualifications or fitness.
• The term unworthily (αναξιως) means in an unworthy or improper MANNER;
  • in a manner unsuitable to the purposes for which it was designed or instituted; and may include the following things.:
• It is true that in ourselves we are all unworthy of an approach to the table of the Lord; unworthy to be regarded as his followers; unworthy of a title to everlasting life: but
• We should partake in a worthy, i.e., a proper manner, with a deep sense of our sinfulness, our need of a Saviour, and with some just views of the Lord Jesus as our Redeemer.

Genesis 2:15-17 (NKJV) ¹⁵  Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. ¹⁶  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Matthew 26:26 (NKJV)  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

• Remember, the Bible ends with Grace

Revelation 22:21 (NKJV)  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (NIV)  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.