THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM (HEBREWS 11:8-19)

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ABRAHAM’S FAITH (1): BY FAITH ABRAHAM LEFT UR WHEN HE WAS CALLED Hebrews 8:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going.” Ur was an ancient Sumerian city in southern Mesopotamia near the head of the Persian Gulf in what is Iraq today. . “A thriving, wealthy port city during the Early Bronze Age, it was dominated by the Sumerian moon god Nanna. The city was at its height around 2000 B.C., which aligns with traditional dating for Abraham. Critics claimed Ur never existed but it was excavated extensively by Sir Leonard Woolley from 1922-1934, revealing it was a highly advanced civilization with intricate jewelry, musical instruments, and urban housing, unearthing a grand ziggurat, royal tombs, and thousands of cuneiform tablets that confirmed its status as a major Sumerian city-state..” (AI) Joshua 24:2 says that Abraham’s father Terah served other gods (maybe Nanna) but we don’t know if Abraham did. Jewish tradition (Midrash) characterizes Terah as a maker and seller of idols,We don’t know how many times God spoke to Abraham or if God gave him some kind of miraculous confirmation that He was the one true God. We just know that God called Abraham to leave Ur at the age of 65 and he left in faith, not knowing where he was going. He would head 600 miles northwest with his wife Sarai, nephew Lot, his brother Haran, and servants to Haran (where Nanna was also worshipped) where he would spend about 10 years until Terah died. We don’t know if Terah ever quit serving other gods. At the age of 75 God told him (Genesis 12) to make the 400 mile journey on down to the Promised Land, and he did so. Abraham left Ur by faith to go the Promised Land. He didn’t have a map or GPS to guide him He just trusted in God as his GPS. 50 years ago my wife and I left Alabama to go to Trinidad, West Indies, which is over 2,000 miles from Alabama. I remember a big “send-off” at the Birmingham airport with our parents and many Christian supporters gathered right at the gate (you could do that back then) as we boarded the plane.I remember taking our seats on the plane and thinking, “What have we done? This is crazy. We are going off to a far away land for at least 3 years, not knowing so many details about our stay in Trinidad.” I had a really sick feeling in my stomach on that plane. But we knew that we would come back to Alabama once each year to visit and see our parents. We knew we had missionary friends in Trinidad to greet us and take care of us until we found our own place to live. Our parents came to Trinidad to visit us so we didn’t leave all relatives forever as Abraham did. Abraham was leaving Ur not knowing any details about provisions in the Promised Land for his stay there. He just trusted God and obeyed Him, leaving Ur by faith. BTW, our going to Trinidad, while not equal to Abraham’s journey, began a journey of faith for my wife and me. We felt the need to go train leaders in the newly established churches in Trinidad and establish new churches. We didn’t get some miraculous call, but we believed that was what God wanted us to do, so we did it. We were scared and nervous, but we went. It turned out to be the beginning of a life journey of faith for us, going wherever we felt God wanted us to go work over the past 50 years. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us. I had an engineering degree from UAB and a job with Alabama Power, and probably could have continued to work there until retirement as a friend of mine did. We could have stayed in Birmingham, living close to our parents, which would have been great. But God had something better for us. I just got calls from Trinidad from two close brothers and sisters there. It made my heart glad. We would have missed baptizing and working with all those people in Trinidad if we had stayed in Birmingham! Abraham could have stayed in Ur and started serving the one true God, but God had a better plan for Abraham. Does God have a possible plan for you that scares you? Just trust God and “go”. Most people want their futures to be laid out in detail with secure plans for success. Life is so much more interesting if we see ourselves on a faith journey with God, just going where He calls us to go, doing what He calls us to do.

ABRAHAM’S FAITH (2): BY FAITH ABRAHAM LIVED IN THE PROMISED LAND LIKE A STRANGER Hebrews 8:9 By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Abraham lived 100 years in the Promised Land. He lived in tents the whole time, moving from place to place, often driven from water wells by the Canaanites. He never built a house for Sarai, or lived in a city in Canaan. He never received “citizenship” in Canaan. He would have been considered an “illegal immigrant”. He was just a stranger, a foreigner, living the entire 100 years in Canaan. After 3 years in Trinidad, we moved to Colombia, South America to do mission work. I remember that on our visas to stay there we were considered “estranjeros” for our 2 year stay there. That means “strangers”, just like in Hebrrews 11:9 Abraham was a “stranger” in Canaan. We sing that song, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through”. Here is that song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8e57YGVj7Q One of the verses touched me: “I have a loving mother waiting for me.” My mom moved to Huntsville to be near us where we could take care of her as she aged. I would sometimes just go by her apartment and sit when I was struggling with things. We didn’t talk much. We mainly watched “Samford and Son” on TV! She did in 2010 at the age of 92. I often wish I could go sit and visit with her. My dad died in 1992. I look forward to seeing both of them some day in heaven. Most of us spend too much time planting roots in this world as if we are going to be here forever. Abraham was looking for a heavenly city and was totally content to just be a stranger in Canaan. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).

ABRAHAM’S FAITH (3): BY FAITH ABRAHAM DIED WITHOUT RECEIVING THE PROMISED LAND Hebrews 11:13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country which they left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” Can you imagine how Abraham might have felt when he arrived in Canaan and God told him that he would never personally actually receive official ownership of the Promised Land. In Genesis 15, after being in the land for several years,God informed him he would not personally get to own the land but that it would be his descendants who would get it, but even then only 4 generations later and after spending a few hundred years in slavery in a foreign country. I wonder how he felt after hearing that? Did he think, “God, why didn’t you tell me that before I left Ur.” Did that discourage him? Did he feel like God had deceived him? Apparently not. Apparently he just trusted God on those promises that were “far off, from a distance” (Hebrews 11:13) and confessed that he would spend the next 90 years as a “stranger and pilgrim” in Canaan. He would go through many difficult times during that 100 years: famine that caused him to go to Egypt where he feared for his life and told Pharoah that Sarah was his sister, conflict with Lot that separated them, conflict with the Canaanites who would drive him from wells of water that his servants dug. The only piece of property in Canaan that he ever owned was the cave of Macpelah which he had to buy to bury Sarah in. He had to buy property that technically he already owned! I wonder if during that 100 years in Canaan he ever thought about going back to Ur? Since he would never actually get the land, why not go back to Ur where he would probably have relatives and a more secure living standard? He would probably be a respected citizen back in Ur. I know that I often thought about going back to Alabama while we were in Trinidad for 3 years, even though we had a nice house and a great life and ministry there. I missed a lot of things about our life back in Alabama. The only shows on TV were British shows that were weird (we did get MASH shows and looked forward to that). I was not able to see any American football games on TV, only soccer and cricket matches. No Alabama football games for 3 years!!!! No internet to get shows or games. To talk to our parents we had to go through a ham operator in San Fernando who had to go through a ham operator in the US who would make a collect call to our parents! Now we can talk to Trinidadians and see their faces as we talk! So yes, even though we were very happy and fulfilled, I thought often about when we would go back to Alabama. Did Abraham ever think about going back to Ur? Apparently not! Hebrews 13:16 says that he had the opportunity to go back to Ur any time that he wanted to. But Abraham was not discouraged or frustrated and never wanted to go back to live in Ur, or even to visit in Ur. He was looking for a heavenly country, a heavenly city. I don’t know what that heavenly country and city would have looked like in his mind. I guess that’s kinda like our vision of going to heaven even though we don’t know exactly where that is or what it will look like. We know that there will be no hunger or thirst or scorching heat or tears and that the Lamb Jesus our shepherd will guide us to springs of the water of life giving us eternal life where God dwells (Revelation 7:16,17). But we don’t even know where that is or any other details. I wonder what Abraham’s vision of the heavenly country or city looked like? All we know is that Abraham by faith lived in Canaan for 100 years as a stranger and was totally satisfied with his status. Genesis 25:7-8 says that he lived a long life and was “satisfied” with his life. He died satisfied with his journey of faith with God. If your goals in life are materialistic, you will never be satisfied. Ecclesiastes 5:10 “Those who love money will never be satisfied with the money they have. Those who love wealth will not be satisfied when they get more and more. This is also senseless.” (ERV) They will die, not satisfied with their life on earth. Those who seek a heavenly eternal existence will live to please God and will die satisfied with their life on earth. But it takes faith to live like Abraham did: faith that there is such a heavenly place prepared for us. I hope you have that faith. An atheist has nothing to look forward to after death. Go listen to the song “Looking for a city” for an encouraging reminder of our heavenly city that we are looking for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVjXDhOfne0 Great lyrics!

ABRAHAM’S FAITH (4): BY FAITH ABRAHAM OFFERED ISAAC AS A SACRIFICE Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and the one who had received the promises was offering up his only son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “Through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” 19 [o]He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” Of course, he did not have to actually kill Isaac as a human sacrifice. An angel told him there was a ram to offer in the place of Isaac. But Hebrews 11:17 says that in God’s eyes he “offered Isaac as a sacrifice” since Abraham was willing to do that. I can’t possibly imagine what Abraham thought when God told him to go to Mt Moriah and offer Isaac as a sacrifice. He had spent 25 years planting his seed in the womb of his barren wife Sarai but finally at the age of 100 Isaac was born. He loved his son Ishmael that he bore through Hagar, but he knew that the promise that his descendants would be “like the stars and the sands on the shores” would be fulfilled through Isaac, not Ishmael. Killing Isaac would mean that that promise would never be fulfilled. We don’t know how old Isaac was when going with Abraham to Mt Moriah: we do know he was old enough and strong enough to carry the wood for the sacrifice. Josephus estimated that Isaac was 25, but he could have been just a teenager. The idea of making a human sacrifice would have seemed totally inconsistent with the God that Abraham worshipped. The Canaanites did human sacrifices to their gods, like to Molech the Moabite god, and God would later condemn such a practice as an abomination. He would strongly condemn King Ahaz and King Manasseh of Judah for offering a son as a human sacrifice to Molech. But here God is commanding Abraham to offer his son to God as a human sacrifice. But did Abraham argue with God? No. He got up early the next morning to take Isaac and offer him. He told Sari, “we will return after making the offering” (Genesis 22:5). That implies that he expected to return with Isaac after the sacrifice. How could he think that? Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us what Abraham was thinking. It says that Abraham thought that God would surely raise Isaac from the dead after offering him as a sacrifice. Abraham had never seen God raised anyone from the dead, and yet he reasoned this out in his mind. He offered Isaac by faith. He trusted God so much that he believed that God would do the impossible and raise Isaac from the dead after the sacrifice. Talk about faith that God will provide! Talk about “with God all things are possible”. Have you ever been in a tough situation where it just looks like there is going to be a terrible ending? Have you ever been terribly frustrated with some tragedy and wondered how God could allow such a thing to happen? Were you able by faith to think of a great positive thing that God might do to help you overcome that situation even if it ended terribly, some good that God had in mind? It’s called the “power of positive thinking” (Norman Vincent Peale: you can read his book online free). It’s called “possibility thinking”. “Impossibility thinking” fixates on why something cannot be done rather than how it can be done. With God, all things are possible. Always think of what great thing God might do in a terrible crisis. He might not save someone you love from cancer, but there is something great that God can do even in that situation. BTW God provided a ram to take Isaac’s place. Abraham named the place, “The Lord will provide” (Jehovah Jireh). That ram was aa type of Jesus’s death sacrifice to take our place as sinners. Jesus was offered to saved us from spiritual death. It’s amazing to see all the Old Testament types that should have prepared the Jews to accept Jesus as the offering for their sins.

CONCLUSION Paul says that those who believe in Jesus will be credited with righteousness and just like Abraham was credited with righteousness throug his faith (Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6-9). His faith is our example to follow. We become the “sons of Abraham” (spiritually) when we imitate his faith by believing in Jesus. Paul said that Abraham was “the father of all who believe’ (Romans 4:11). Christians are the true sons of Abraham today. The unbelieving Jews told Jesus,“Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham (i.e. believe like Abraham did)”. (John 8:39). He went on to tell them that the devil was their father! God promised Abraham that he would have many descendants. There are the Arabs who descended from his son Ishmael. There are still Jews who don’t believe in Jesus and yet have been given statehood in Palestine. They claim to be God’s chosen people and most evangelicals still consider them to be God’s chosen people even though they don’t believe in Jesus (although many Messianic Jews do believe in Jesus). God’s chosen people, the true sons of Abraham, are believers in Jesus. They make up the church which consists of believers in Jesus from all the nations. Thus all the nations are blessed through the seed of Abraham, which is Jesus (Galatians 3:16). I know this article was long, but I think the faith of Abraham can be of great encouragement for our faith today. I hope this article blesses you.

BY FAITH ENOCH WAS TAKEN UP AND DID NOT DIE

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Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for before he was taken up, he was attested to have been pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.”

ENOCH WAS PLEASING TO GOD. What does that mean? Paul said: “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. (2 Corinthians 5:9)”. “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1).” Who do you most want to please? When we admire someone, we want to please them. Jesus said, “The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). When we admire and revere God, we want to do whatever pleases Him, whatever brings Him joy and pleasure. We know what pleases Him and we try to do that. For example, the Lord is also pleased when we are generous and share with those in need: “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 11:16). We don’t just live to please ourselves.

AN ILLUSTRATION FROM MARRIAGE: From GotQuestions.org “The concept of pleasing God can be compared to a marriage. A woman accepts a man’s proposal and becomes his wife because she loves him and he loves her. They are as married and in love as two people can be, yet they seek ways to continue pleasing each other. He brings her flowers, not so that they will remain married, but because he delights in pleasing her. She gives him a backrub and wears the perfume he likes, not so that he will love her but because she loves him. Likewise, once we’ve entered into a spiritual relationship with God, we want to do things that honor and delight Him.”


ENOCH HAD FAITH IN GOD. Pleasing God begins with faith in God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. We don’t know how much special revelation Enoch had from God. Had God spoken to him often? “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God’ (Romans 10:17) so surely God had spoken to him. He was a descendent in the line of Seth, the godly line, so surely he would have been taught about the one true God through oral tradition. The most basic thing that someone coming to God needs is to believe that God exists, of course. One might possibly believe that God exists and yet not want to come to God, but if you do want to come to God you must believe that God exists in order to be pleasing to God.

HAVE YOU EVER DOUBTED THE EXISTENCE OF GOD? Have you ever been an atheist who denies that God exists? Or maybe a skeptic who doubts that God exists? Or maybe an agnostic who says that we can’t really know if God exists? Do you ever have moments of doubt where you kinda wonder how this omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, spirit that fills the universe can really exist? I think most of us have those moments. A friend of mine said that when he has such a moment of doubt, he goes to the mirror and looks at his eye! He is thinking about all the complex steps required to see: steps and parts that could not have randomly formed by atheistic evolution. The eye is designed by God. The whole human body with its many systems is designed by God. All the systems have to be present and working for the body to be alive and function (irreducibal complexity). The over 30 physics constants in the universe are finely tuned (such as the “G” gravitational constant in the equation F=Gm(1)m(2)/r^2, or the “C” speed of light in the equation E=mc^2). The periodic table is arranged by atomic numbers with each succeeding element in the table having one extra proton and electron. Atheists say the universe started with an explosion of a few elements (although they can’t say where the elements or the explosion came from). How could a few elements evolve randomly into the precision of the periodic table? Atheists say that the universe began from nothing, but the first law of thermodynamics says that, if there was ever nothing, then there would still be nothing. You can’t get something from nothing. As Hebrews 3:2 says, “every house has a builder”. You would never think that a house just popped into existence from nothing. Atheists say that life had to come from non-living chemicals at some point in evolution, but the law of biogenesis says that you can only get living things from living things. Scientists like Redi and Pasteur showed that spontaneous generation doesn’t happen. Before that, it was thought maggots could come from dead meat (they come from flies laid on the meat which is what Redi showed). I could go on, but the bottom line is that there is no other believable view as to how the universe and well designed life came to be if there is no God. It might take faith to believe that there is a God who created everything, but that is more plausible that not believing in God. There must be a supernatural force outside of nature that created it all, and we call that “God”. Romans 1:20 says that we can see God’s invisible power by what he created and that there is no excuse for not bellieving that there is a god. That is called “natural revelation”. That doesn’t tell us what that God is like. It takes “special revelation” where God speaks through prophets to tell us what God is like and what His will is for us. God has done that also in His Word, the Bible. You can see why David said, “The fool has said in his heart that there is no God.”

If you have faith and are pleasing to God like Enoch, you probably won’t get carried up into heaven before you die. But one day when you do die, you will be carried up into heaven to be with Jesus forever. You can meet Enoch and talk about his life and his faith. Won’t that be fun?

IS EZEKIEL 38,39 BEING FULFILLED IN IRAN????

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MANY VIDEOS THINK IT IS! I google youtube and get a wide variety of videos. Sports, songs, shorts, religion, history, travel, AGT, cults, ads, politics, etc. I have to click on Ray Stevens “The Mississippi Squirrel Revival”! But also there are usually videos claiming that what is going on in Iran is the fulfilling of Bible predictions from Ezekiel 38,39.

EZEKIEL 38,39 IS NOT AN ELEPHANT! I will tell you what I think Ezekiel is predicting, but first let me tell you what he is definitely not predicting. An illustration that I use is that if you are looking at a really strange small insect you might not know what it is but you definitely know that it is not an elephant! Ezekiel 38, 39 is not predicting anything past the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans in 70 AD. I know that b/c of what Jesus said in Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled.” This surrounding of Jerusalem had to occur within the generation of those whom Jesus was speaking to b/c he said in Luke 21:32 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.” The word for “generation” in the Greek is genea and in the New Testament it always means a 40 year period or the people living in a 40 year period. One usage of the word is in Matthew 1 where there are 42 “generations” from Abraham to Jesus, which covers about 2,000 years. Or Matthew 23:36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation” where Jesus is specifically talking about that generation of wicked Jews living at the time he was speaking, predicting the judgement to come on them in 70 AD when a million evil Jews were killed by the Romans.

WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL OLD TESTAMENT PREDICTIONS? But notice what Jesus said: Luke 21:22 because these are days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled.” He is saying that all things which had been written in the Old Testament would be fulfilled by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. That would include Ezekiel 38,39. So we might not be sure what Ezekiel 38,39 is predicting, but we can be sure that it was not predicting any event past 70 AD! That means it was not predicting what is going on in Iran right now as many claim that it is! It is not an elephant!

HERE IS WHAT I BELIEVE EZEKIEL 38,39 WAS PREDICTING TO HAPPEN IN 70 AD: So what was Ezekiel 38, 39 predicting. Here is my brief belief on that. First of all the time of the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38,39 is “in the latter years” (38:8), “in the last days” (38:16) That phrase “in the last days” used in the New Testament means the last days of the Jewish Age, the time period from 30 AD to 70 AD. The end of the Jewish Age was in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed and when the old covenant “disappeared” (Hebrews 8:13). Ezekiel is predicting a leader God of the land of Magog from the north coming to destroy God’s people Israel. He even said that former prophets had predicted all this. Ezekiel 38:17 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them?” Several Od Testament prophets predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD at the “end of the age” (Daniel 9,12; Zechariah 14; Isaiah 65,66). But Ezekiel also predicts that God and Magog will be destroyed, after which God will “restore the fortunes of Israel” (39:25) when “I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord God (39:29). The pouring out of the Spirit on Israel is predicted by Joel (2:28-32) and Isaiah (44:3 where pouring out life giving water on the offspring of Israel is the pouring out of the Spirit). Ezekiel 37 had predicted the famous valley of dry bones where the bones come to life when God pours out His Spirit on them (37:14). This pouring out of the Spirit is fulfilled beginning in Acts 2 when Peter said that Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled in the “last days” with the pouring out of miraculous powers on the Jews dead in Judaism who believed in Jesus as the Messiah and came to life spiritually. That would also be the “restoring of the fortunes of Israel: not restoring the physical kingdom fortunes of the whole nation, most of whom rejected Jesus, but restoring the spiritual fortunes of the remnant of Jews who did accept Jesus. It is referring to spiritual blessings in the church kingdom. So Ezekiel 38:17 is predicting that the events predicted in Ezekiel 38,39 would be fulfilled when God poured out His Spirit miraculously on the Jewish church from 30 AD to 70 AD. That would be in total harmony with Jesus’ prediction in Luke 21:22 that “all things written in the Old Testament” would be fufilled by 70 AD.

WHAT DOES THE BOOK OF REVELATION SAY ABOUT GOG AND MAGOG? One final note since Gog and Magog are mentioned in Revelation 20:7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” Revelation 1:1-3 and 22:6,10 says that the events predicted in the book of Revelation would happen “shortly” for the time is “near”. The book was written about 63 AD, so the events concerning God and Magog in Revelation 20:7-9 had to be fulfilled soon after that. Gog and Magog “surround the camp of the saints (i.e. Jewish people)’ and the beloved city (i.e. Jerusalem). That must be referring to the Romans surrounding Jerusalem (Luke 21:21) and destroying Jerusalem. That would happen when Satan was released at the end of the “1000 years” to get the Romans to attack Jerusalem. The 1000 years is not a literal 1000 years as most teach b/c it had to end in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. That means that the 1000 years must be figurative of the period from 30 AD to 70 AD, a 40 year period, the period of the last days of the Jewish Age. But did God destroy God and Magog as Ezekiel 38,39 and Revelation 20:9 predicted. Physically, no. Jesus said that his kingdom was not “of this world” (John 18:36) so the church kingdom has never been about physically destroying the Roman empire or any nation. But the evil princes who controlled Rome, and all the evil princes of all the world kingdoms, were judged in 70 AD and their powers conquered by Jesus. In that senese, God and Magog were destroyed in 70 AD (i.e. their spiritual powers). The kingdoms of the world would then become the kingdoms of the Lord and Christ would reign over his spiritual kingdom, the church, forever (Revelation 11:15). He has been reigning over that spiritual kingdom for 2,000 years now.

So I wish people would quit trying to convince others that Ezekiel 38,39 are being fulfilled in the war in Iran right now. If that was true, then Jesus was a false prophet! I feel the need to to defend Jesus’ words!

DEALING WITH CONFLICT OVER HOW TO BEST DO THE LORD’S WORK OR SPEND THE LORD’S MONEY!

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HOW DO YOU HANDLE A DISAGREEMENT OVER HOW TO BEST DO THE LORD’S WORK? Let’s suppose that you disagree with someone about how to best do the Lord’s work or spend the Lord’s money. Maybe an eldership that is, in your opinion, unwisely spending the Lord’s money on buildings and staff instead of on helping the poor and printing Bibles. You have spoken up boldly and shared your views on how you think things should be done. But those you disagree with do not see the value of your ideas and are not implementing your ideas. Maybe they are even making comments that offend you or hurt your pride. You are tempted to respond rashly and get caught up in a “war of words” with them. That’s probably when you just need to walk away quietly, prayerfully leaving it to the Lord to get things done the way you think they should be done. You can’t make it personal. It’s not about you. It’s. only about how to best do the Lord’s work and spend the Lord’s money. Off course, you could even be wrong in your ideas and the Lord might have a better way that your way.

HOW DID DAVID HANDLE CONFLICT How did David haandle such situations? AI: “David frequently avoided getting “caught up” in petty wars of words, choosing instead to focus on actions, divine trust, or, in moments of crisis, simply walking away. When David visited his brothers on the battlefield, his oldest brother Eliab did not see David’s value and put him down. When Eliab questioned his competence, David did not stand up for his ego. He let it slide. Turn away and don’t spend time trying to prove your value, promote yourself, argue your competence or perhaps respond with an equal amount of negativity. David could have been offended and gotten into a war of words with Eliab but he didn’t. There was a bigger battle of the Lord to fight with Goliath. While Goliath, a giant, spent 40 days issuing threats and insults to “fight with words,” David did not engage in a verbal shouting match. Instead, he made one declarative statement of faith (“The battle is the Lord’s”) and moved immediately to action. Despite being relentlessly pursued by Saul, David refused to respond to the slander and injustice with verbal attacks or retaliation. He maintained his “prudent speech” and refused to take vengeance, often leaving his defense to God. He rashly was about to kill Nabal b/c Nabal had refused to give David’s men food after David had asked very politely and peacefully. Abigail brought David food and asked him not to seek vengeance on her foolish husband. David thanked her and did not attack Nabal. When Shimei cursed David, threw stones, and threw dust at him, David explicitly refused to engage or retaliate. He told his men, “Leave him alone, and let him curse,” choosing not to be dragged into a war of words.  David is often described as looking at problems from God’s viewpoint rather than reacting emotionally to insults. Ask God to give you the wisdom you need to know which battles to ignore at home, school, work, church and everywhere you may find yourself (Joseph Anwana, “The Battle David did not fight”).”

PRAYERFULLY WALK AWAY FROM CONFLICT AND TRUST IN THE LORD You may or may not right now be dealing with a situation like what I described, but I assure you that you will be at some time if you are really concerned about how to best do the Lord’s work and spend the Lord’s money. You must speak up. You must make your arguments. You must try to convince others to see it your way. But then leave it with the Lord. Don’t get caught up in a war of words trying to show your worth or the worth of your ideas. Prayerfully walk away and wait to see how the Lord handles it. Trust that the Lord will bring about the best results.

PAUL’S “SHARP DISAGREEMENT WITH BARNABAS”: The apostle Paul did not always handle such situations well. He had a “such a sharp disagreement with Barnabas” over whether to take John Mark (with them on the 2nd missionary journey that they separated and went different ways. John Mark had deserted Paul and Barnabas while on the first journey. Paul took Silas on the journey and Barnabas took John Mark with him on a different journey. Here are two godly men arguing about how best to do the Lord’s work. That’s understandable and inevitable but when did they resort to a “sharp disagreement” instead of just prayefully discussing it and trying to come to a good resolutiion? BTW it turns out that Barnabas might have been the wiser one in this disagreement. As always, he was the “son of encouragement” ( Acts 4:36 his name translated meant that) and was willing to give John Mark a “second chance” but Paul refused to do that. But 10 years later when Paul was in prison in Rome awaiting his beheading, he told Timothy, “Take along Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.” (2 Timothy 4:11) So apparently Paul changed his mind about John Mark’s ability to do the Lord’s work after all. But the Lord used the disagreement to perhaps do a better plan that just Paul and Barnabas taking John Mark on the 2nd journey after all. The Lord multiplied one missionary journey into two journeys, perhaps accomplishing more spreading of the gospel.

HOPEFULLY THIS BLOG HELPS YOU IF YOU ARE DEALING WITH A SIMILAR SITUATION I obviously am caught up right now in a situation like I described, so I am writing this to help me deal with it. My emotions are stirred to got caught up in such a war of words, to try to prove my value or the value of my ideas. Even some anger. I hope I can take my own advice, which is hard to do at times! There’s is someone out there reading this blog who is in a similar situation. I recently personally talked to 3 friends who are dealing with a similar situation. We are all frustrated and don’t know what else we can do to advance our ideas. I will share this advice with them just as I am sharing it with you readers.

“You had a bad day!”

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Daniel Powter’s song “You had a bad day” hit me Sunday. Sunday was a bad day for me. Without going into details, everything felt like it was “caving in” in several areas of my life. I am thankful that it was not getting a call from a doctor telling me that I have cancer, or finding out that one of my children or grandchildren was killed in a car wreck. Nothing like that, but still things that were stressing me out and depressing me as I look at the future. Some critical decisions that I need to make. Some things that I feel need to be changed but that are out of my control. I remembered that David felt depression during that 7 years on the run. I decided to pull up the psalms that show that.

Many of David’s psalms were written during the 7 years that Saul was chasing him in the wilderness. Saul almost captured and killed David several times, including twice when David was in a nearby cave. It appears that David had a cloud of distress and depression hanging over him that entire 7 years. He gets impatient and pleads with God to answer his prayers “quickly”. But then he resolved to “wait” on the Lord to answer his prayers. If we really trust that the Lord can help with our problems, and then turn our problems over to Him, then we should be able to sit back and just wait for Him to answer our prayers. He might not give us exactly what we ask for but we can trust that He will do what is best for us.

Psalm 6:6 I am weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I flood my couch with my tears.
7 My eye has wasted away with grief.

Psalm 13:1 How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long am I to feel anxious in my soul,
With grief in my heart all the day?

Psalm 25:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses.
18 Look at my misery and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins.

Psalm 38:8 I feel faint and badly crushed;
I groan because of the agitation of my heart.

Psalm 42:5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him
For the help of His presence, my God.

Psalm 56:8 You have taken account of my miseries;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your book?

Psalm 62:1 My soul waits in silence for God alone;
From Him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken. 8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your hearts before Him;
God is a refuge for us. 

Psalm 69:3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God. 16 Answer me, Lord, for Your mercy is good;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in distress; answer me quickly. 29 But I am afflicted and in pain;
May Your salvation, God, set me safely on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with song,
And exalt Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 77:1 My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will listen to me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out and did not grow weary;
My soul refused to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, then I am restless;
When I sigh, then my spirit feels weak. Selah
4 You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Psalm 102:1 Hear my prayer, Lord!
And let my cry for help come to You.
2 Do not hide Your face from me on the day of my distress;
Incline Your ear to me;
On the day when I call answer me quickly.

Psalm 143:4 Therefore my spirit feels weak within me;
My heart is appalled within me. 7 Answer me quickly, Lord, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Your face from me,

So, this morning I am going to try to turn my stress over to God and wait for Him to do what is best. I am going to thank God for all the blessings He has given me. I am going to listen to some praise songs. I am going to go through my prayer list. I am going to enjoy an omelete that my wife will make. I hope that this blog article will help you if you are struggling right now. God bless you.

IS GOD WORKING IN THE WORLD?

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HISTORY IS FILLED WITH EVIL: History is filled with wars, genocides, poverty, murder, slavery, greed, political power struggles, revolts, racism, etc. It is pretty obvious that God has allowed people to do about what they want to do, whether it could be doing good or doing evil. We know that God was heavily involved in the history of nations in the Old Testament. He foretold the next 3 kingdoms after Babylon, which would be the Medo-Persians, Greece and Rome (Daniel 2) and raised up and deposed rulers to make that happen. The purpose was to bring about the establishment of his eternal kingdom, the church, in the days of the Roman Empire. God’s sovereignty over the nations was obvious and no one could stop it. But notice that in the New Testament, there is no such prediction of who the world powers would be after Rome. Some thought that the book of Revelation predicted the Catholic Church, but that is not true. Revelation was about things to happen soon, but the formation of the Roman Catholic Church was a few centuries in the future after the book was written. Many have tried to say that the OT prophets predicted nations to come in modern history but all have been shown to be false predictions. There are no NT verses that predict historical events after the Roman Empire and after the fall off Jerusalem in 70 AD.

HAS GOD NOT BEEN WORKING FOR THE LAST 2,000 YEARS? So we might ask, “Has God been working among the nations over the past 2,000 years since the Roman Empire? Since there are no verses that answer that directly, we can only speculate based on what we think is the nature of God’s working among men. Could God have worked with nations to control them over the past 2,000 years? Certainly. If so, we are still left with a lot of questions about when and where God worked? Did he providentially help the allies defeat the Germans to stop Hitler? That might make sense since Hitler would have wiped out Christianity if he wasn’t stopped. But then why didn’t God stop Hitler before he killed 6 million in the Holocaust? Why didn’t he stop Stalin from killing millions in the Ukraine? Why didn’t he stop all the other genocides led by evil dictators?

GOD IS CERTAINLY WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS IN GOOD AND BAD CIRCUMSTANCES: Maybe God did intervene among the nations but we have no prophets to tell us what He was doing. In the OT the prophets would tell the people exactly what God had done, was doing, and was going to do. So we can only speculate about God’s work among the nations over the last 2,000 years since we have had no prophets during that time (in spite of all the false claims of latter day prophets who falsely tried to predict the future). Maybe God has simply quit working at all among nations or even among people on earth. That is what the deists believe about God’s working from the very beginning. They believe that God created everything, but never intervened in any way after that. No miracles, no prophets, no incarnation of His Son, no predicting the future and controlling the destiny of nations. Maybe after God completed His plan, sent Jesus, destroyed death, maybe He just left everything to free will. If you are fortunate enough to hear the gospel then accept Jesus and be saved. If not, too bad. I don’t want to accept that. I believe that has been working providentially among individuals for the last 2,000 years just as He worked with Joseph and Esther. I believe that He is more concerned with how individuals handle circumstances than He is making circumstances happen one way or the other, for good or for bad. Romans 8:28 He will make all things work together for good but that doesn’t mean that He will make all things work out for good as we define good. I believe He is especially working with those who face dire circumstances, giving them hope through the gospel of Jesus and the hope of eternal life. He will no doubt allow wars to continue and yet give hope to those caught up in those wars. That is happening in the Ukraine as as many are finding Jesus through Bibles given them by EEM. The same with Christians in Iran. It is estimated that there are 120,000-500,000 Christians in Iran. I don’t know if God will get directly involved in Iran to give the people a government that is more accepting of Christianity. But I do know that God will work with the Iranian people on the ground to use the war to lead others to Jesus. Pray for persecuted Christians all over the world. Slavery will no doubt continue in spite of efforts to abolish it, but God will give eternal hope to those who can’t escape slavery. Pray for those caught up in the slave trade and human trafficking.

GOD WORKS IN US AND THROUGH US TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSES: A verse comes to mind. Philippians 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.” Men will continue to be evil, to hurt innocent people. God is not going to stop that completely. His desire is for people believing in Jesus and receiving eternal life. People have always been more inclined to come to Jesus during bad circumstances. The first century church grew amidst extreme persecution. It got soft when Constantine legalized Christianity and it became popular to be a Christian. The church is still growing best in countries where Christians are persecuted worldwide. The church in the US has become soft bc/ of our materialism, greed, and sinful ways. It doesn’t cost us anything to be a Christian. What we do have in the US is a lot of money. We can help persecuted Christians through various organizations. We can use our money to print and distribute Bibles all over the world through organizations like Eastern European Missions (EEM). Get Bibles to people so that the Holy Spirit can do His work to convince men of their sins and then show them eternal life through Jesus.

ANOTHER LOOK AT CALVINISM

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JOHN CALVIN’S TULIP: John Calvin’s doctrine of predestination posits that God, before creation, eternally and sovereignly decreed who would be saved (the elect) and who would be condemned (the reprobate). Calvin believed God’s will is supreme, and human salvation is not based on foreseen faith or merit.” In other words, God arbitrarily chooses who will be saved or lost and people do not have the ability to change that fate even if they want to b/c they are born “Totally depraved” (the T in TULIP). There are no “conditions” or requirements to be met by a person if he is the saved “elect”: thus “Unconditional election” (the U in TULIP). Since only a select number, the elect, were were predestined to be saved, then Jesus only died for those elect and not for all men: “Limited atonement”(the L in TULIP); If you are the predetermined elect, then you can’t choose to resist God’s salvation. You are depraved and can’t just choose to believe. God must send His Spirit on you to change your heart and enable you to believe.Thus, “Irresistible” grace (the I in TULIP). Finally, if you are the saved elect, you will never lose your salvation no matter what you do or don’t do. God’s grace is so powerful that your salvation doesn’t depend on what you do or don’t do. Even if you continue in willful sin, grace will still save you. Thus: “Perseverance of the saints”: you can’t fall from grace (the P in TULIP). THAT’S CALVINISM AND TULIP!!!!!!! Calvinists have Bible passages to support each of the 5 points in TULIP: Ephesian 1:4; Romans 8:28; John 6:44; 10:27-29.

ARMINIANISM: Have you ever heard of the Arminians? AI: “Arminians are followers (called the Remonstrants) of the 16th-century Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, holding a Protestant theological view that emphasizes human free will in accepting or rejecting God’s grace, universal atonement (Jesus died for all), and conditional election. They generally disagree with Calvinist doctrines of predestination and irresistible grace, believing instead that God desires all to be saved. God extends grace to all people, enabling, but not forcing, them to believe. Humanity, empowered by grace, has the ability to choose or reject salvation. God chooses (“elects”) individuals for salvation based on His foreknowledge of who will freely believe in Christ, not by arbitrary decree. Christ’s death was for every person, though only those who believe receive the benefit.  While views vary, many Arminians believe it is possible to fall from grace or lose salvation through apostasy. Arminianism is widely found in many Pentecostal, Wesleyan, Free Will Baptist, and other evangelical denominations.” Arminians have Bible passages to support each of their counter arguments against Calvinism: Galatians 5:4; 2 Peter 2:1,20,21; John 3:16; Revelation 3:20; 1 John 2:2; Hebrews 2:9; 6:4-6; Acts 2:38. AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, I AM AN ARMINIAN!!!!!!

CALVIN (16TH CENTURY) AND AUGUSTINE (5TH CENTURY): Calvinistic verses emphasize God’s grace and power in salvation. We can’t earn salvation by good works. Calvinism really began with Augustine, not Calvin. AI: “In the early 5th century, Augustine of Hippo opposed Pelagius in a major theological controversy over salvation, grace, and human nature. Pelagius argued that humans have the free will to achieve righteousness without divine aid, denying original sin. Augustine countered that humanity is corrupted by sin and requires irresistible grace to be saved. Augustine argued that Adam’s sin corrupted all humanity, while Pelagius believed sin is merely a voluntary act. Pelagius emphasized humanity’s capacity to choose good independently. Augustine insisted that, due to the Fall (and original sin), human will is enslaved to sin and entirely dependent on God’s grace for salvation.” Augustine was defending God’s grace against the doctrine that man can saved himself by his own goodness. AI: “Augustine’s theology of predestination profoundly influenced John Calvin, forming the foundation of Calvinist soteriology. Calvin considered Augustine a faithful interpreter of Scripture, often quoting him to support unconditional election, irresistible grace, and the inability of fallen humanity to initiate salvation.”

RECONCILING CALVINISTIC AND ARMINIAN VERSES: To me, it does seem that that many verses appear to support Calvinism, but then there are those verses that refute Calvinism that can’t be ignored. For example, John 10:27-29 appear to teach that no one can fall from grace, but then Galatians 5:4 clearly says that some had “fallen from grace”. They can’t both be true. The scriptures can’t contradict themselves. The only possible explanation that teaches the truth of both verses is this: John 10 says that the sheep who hear his voice and follow Jesus will always have God’s grace, but that is conditional on the sheep hearing and following Jesus. If they do not do that, then they can fall from grace as in Galatians 5:4. So John 10 is a great verse that gives assurance to those following Jesus even though they can fall from grace if they quit following Jesus. That is the only possible reconciliation of the 2 verses that makes sense and avoids a contradiction. The same logic can be applied to all TULIP points and verses that refute TULIP. In each case, each point of TULIP is shown to be false based on the verses that refute TULIP.

A LOVING GOD WOULD NOT DO THE THINGS OF CALVINISM: Then there’s the emotional, logical argument for free will and the nature of God. God is a loving God who desires all men to be saved, “not willing for any to perish” (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Why would God send Jesus just to die for a few men instead of all men? Why would God not allow all men to make a free will choice to believe in Jesus and be saved? Why would He arbitrarily pick some to be saved and others lost with no ability to choose to be saved. Why would He put conditions, like repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38) if it is totally unconditional? Why would Stephen condemn the Jews for “resisting the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51) if the Spirit is “irresistible”? Why would God blame the for resisting when they weren’t the elect and didn’t even have the ability to choose to accept or resist? There are so many illogical flaws in Calvinism that go against the loving nature of God.

Churches that teach Calvinism (Reformed theology) are primarily found in the Presbyterian churches, Primitive Baptist churches, and Reformed churches. Presbyterian churches owe their origins to John Knox, who studied under Calvin in the 1550s and desired to establish churches governed by the elder system (elder, in Greek, is presbuteros, hence “Presbyterian”). They follow the “Westminster Confession of Faith” that was drawn up in 1646 AD in England. The confession is a systematic exposition of Calvinist theology but also contains many other church doctrines and beliefs.There have been many famous Calvinistic preachers such as Jonathon Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, R.C.Sproul, and John MacArthur. Most evangelical churches and preachers are Arminian, not Calvinists. Barton Stone and Aexander Campbell were key leaders in the Church of Christ Restoration Movement. Though a Presbyterian minister, Stone rejected the Westminster Confession of Faith and Calvinistic teachings on predestination, viewing them as unscriptural and divisive. He was more Arminian in his views and focused on the idea that salvation was available to all. Alexander Campbell: Campbell left his Presbyterian ordination (mainly due to infant baptism) and was known for strongly opposing Calvinism and, in particular, the Calvinist-influenced Baptist confessions. He favored a view that emphasized personal faith, repentance, and immersion as necessary for the remission of sins,”

IS CALVINISM HERESY? Can a person believe in Calvinism and still be saved? A saved person might believe that he can’t fall from grace and yet never commit sins that would cause him to fall from grace. But what if a saved person believes that he can’t fall from grace b/c of Calvinist teaching and then commits sins that do cause him to fall from grace? He might still feel like he is saved even though he has fallen from grace. His belief in the P of Calvinism can cost him his eternity with Jesus. Some Baptists avoid this possible situation by saying that a “backsliding church member” who falls back into sin and rejects Jesus “never was really saved”, which doesn’t make sense. They will assure that person that he is saved by God’s grace through his faith for a year and then tell him that he never was really saved if he backslides after that year. The Bible teaches that you can be fully assured of your salvation by grace through faith and yet fall from grace. Why is that so hard to understand? I must also include an experience I had teaching someone who had been influenced by Calvinism. He was a very good moral man who wanted to be saved. But he had been taught by Calvinists that you go to the mourners’ bench to see if you are one of the saved elect and wait for the Spirit to enter and enable you to be saved and give you a sign (an emotional or miraculous sign) to confirm that you are the elect. He tried that 2 or 3 times and got nothing (he was not an emotional person). He gave up on being saved although he continued to be a good moral, family man. I studied Acts 2 with him and showed him the those whose hearts were pricked simply repented and were baptized for the remission of their sins. They knew they were saved b/c the gospel Peter preached to them told they would be saved if they repented and were baptized. My friend said, “You mean if I do that tonight then I will be saved?” I said “yes” and he was baptized that very night and was a faithful, assured Christian until his death several years ago. I wonder how many people never found salvation b/c of Calvinism?

ANOTHER LOOK AT CALVINISM.

TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE

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2 CORINTHIANS 10:1-11 2 Corinthians 10:1 Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! 2 I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I intend to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

7 You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, have him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so too are we. 8 For if I boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame, 9 for I do not want to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.” 11 Have such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.”

THE HISTORICAL SETTING “Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (c. A.D. 55-56) from Macedonia, following a “painful visit” (2 Cor 2:1), Paul faced continued opposition from “false apostles” who attacked his character, motives, and ministry. Paul addressed false accusations regarding his integrity, his changing travel plans, and his refusal to accept financial support from them, which some deemed evidence of not being a true apostle.” (AI) Some had criticized that he was not bolder when he was with them in confronting the false teachers, thus implying that his authority as an apostle was weak. He basically says, “if you want to see me bold, then just wait: I will be as bold as need be when I come”. He hoped the Corinthians would all repent so that he did not have to be bold when he came.

PAUL’S BATTLE WITH THE FALSE TEACHERS IN CORINTH But I want to focus on vs 5-6. Paul is in a battle for the spiritual minds of the Corinthians. Arrogant false teachers were apparently undermining Paul’s authority with the Corinthian church. No doubt they had convincing arguments. They had heretical doctrines that Paul opposed. But they were not just attacking Paul on a personal level. They were attacking his authority as an apostle. The apostles were given the Holy Spirit to guide them into “all truth” (John 16:13). Their preaching and writings would be the standard for truth from the first century on. By Paul’s authority granted him as an apostle he was “destroying all arguments” against him. He was “taking every thought captive”. What does that mean? “Taking every thought captive (based on 2 Corinthians 10:5) is the proactive, spiritual practice of monitoring your mind to intercept negative, doubtful, or ungodly thoughts. It involves actively rejecting thoughts that contradict biblical truth and replacing them with God’s word, ensuring mental, emotional, and spiritual alignment with Christ. Treating thoughts as potential intruders that must be arrested rather than passively accepted. Comparing thoughts to the Gospel and Scripture to determine their validity. ” (AI) The language Paul uses is of a battle in war: “battle, weapons of warfare, destruction of fortresses, taking thoughts captive”.

PAUL’S BATTLE WITH THE FALSE TEACHERS AT CORINTH But I want to focus on vs 5-6. Paul is in a battle for the spiritual minds of the Corinthians. Arrogant false teachers were apparently undermining Paul’s authority with the Corinthian church. No doubt they had convincing arguments. They had heretical doctrines that Paul opposed. But they were not just attacking Paul on a personal level. They were attacking his authority as an apostle. The apostles were given the Holy Spirit to guide them into “all truth” (John 16:13). Their preaching and writings would be the standard for truth from the first century on. By Paul’s authority granted him as an apostle he was “destroying all arguments” against him. He was “taking every thought captive”. What does that mean? “Taking every thought captive (based on 2 Corinthians 10:5) is the proactive, spiritual practice of monitoring your mind to intercept negative, doubtful, or ungodly thoughts. It involves actively rejecting thoughts that contradict biblical truth and replacing them with God’s word, ensuring mental, emotional, and spiritual alignment with Christ. Treating thoughts as potential intruders that must be arrested rather than passively accepted. Comparing thoughts to the Gospel and Scripture to determine their validity. ” (AI) The language Paul uses is of a battle in war: “battle, weapons of warfare, destruction of fortresses, taking thoughts captive”.

PAUL’S AUTHORITY AS AN APOSTLE Oh how this applies to our spiritual warfare today. The Bible is the inspired, God-breathed word of God. The original manuscripts were infallible and error free. We have over 5,000 ancient manuscripts that allow us to say that we have 99% accurate copies of the originals. Paul’s was of equal authority to the original 12 apostles. 2 Corinthians 12:11 I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, since I was in no respect inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. 12 The distinguishing marks of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs, wonders, and miracles. “Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, qualifying and choosing him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. The Corinthians had seen his apostolic miracles that he did in their presence, They should not have listened for a second to the arguments of the false teachers against Paul’s apostleship. Paul’s letters were inspired by the Holy Spirit and fully authoritative on all matters of Christian living and doctrine. But apparently some of the members had been swayed by the false teachers We are dealing with that same situation today. Many today say that Paul’s writings are not authoritative. The big issue is the LGBTQ issue. Paul plainly and clearly condemns homosexuality as a sin (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). The LGBTQ supporters say that Paul was just homophobic and that we don’t have to follow his teaching. They say that he does not have the authority of an apostle. They might argue that we only have to listen to the words of Jesus and not Paul. So we present arguments to counter their claims, but it seems as if we are losing the battle over Paul’s authority. What’s even more distressing is that many preachers and churches don’t respect Paul’s authority and writings as an apostle either. The recent Methodist church departure from the truth illustrates that.

TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE But there is a more personal application of 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 “taking every thought captive”. Am I aware of the battle for control of my thoughts and mind? Do I recognize thoughts that cause fear, anxiety, or disobedience to God, and then treat them as dangerous enemy intruder that must be taken captive instead of allowing them to roam freely in my mind? Do I replace negative, false, or unhelpful thoughts with biblical truths? Do I actively reject the thought and replace it with a positive, constructive, or truthful one? I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of bad thoughts that come to my mind every day. But I don’t always fight to capture and destroy those thoughts. I know they are wrong but I just allow them to occupy my thoughts for a while. I’m always thinking, “what can I do to capture such bad thoughts when they attack”? Of course, quoting Scripture is good. That is what Jesus did when he was tempted. Surely the thought entered his mind about how good some homemade fresh bread would taste if he turned those stones to bread, especially since he had been fasting for 40 days. But he quoted Scripture, “Man shall not live by bread alone” to counter Satan. David said in Psalm 119:11 “Your word I have hidden/stored in my heart, that I might not sin against You”. Maybe it would be good to visualize something else when a bad thought enters. Maybe picture Jesus on the cross dying for me so that I would not let sin master over me.  

I hope this helps me most of all, but I hope it helps you also.

ISAIAH 61/LUKE 4 IN THE SYNAGOGUE

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JESUS READS FROM ISAIAH 61 IN THE SYNAGOGUE: Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region. 15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE HAS BEEN FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING: 20 And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. 21 Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Can you imagine shock and anger when Jesus said that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:10-3? Luke 4:28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. 30 But He passed through their midst and went on His way.” “In the post-exilic and intertestamental periods, these verses in Isaiah 61:1-3 were viewed as promises for a future time when a Davidic ruler would bring restoration. The community at Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls) specifically held an eschatological, messianic view of this passage, connecting it with the end-times redemption of Israel.” The Jews in the synagogue in Luke 4 considered Jesus’ claim to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-3 to be blasphemous. They had aready rejected Jesus as the Messiah b/c he did not bring a restoration of the physical Jewish kingdom. Instead, he preached a spiritual kingdom, the church, to be established soon.

THE ANOINTING OF JESUS WITH THE SPIRIT AND HIS MISSION: Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord anointed me
To bring good news to the humble;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:38 You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” That allowed Jesus to give “recovery of sight to the blind” and to preach the gospel that freed people from the spiritual prison of sin. “The “favorable year of the LORD” (or “acceptable year”) in Isaiah 61:2 refers to a spiritual era of divine grace, restoration, and freedom from captivity, modeled after the Old Testament Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25).” (AI) “Every 50 years (the year of Jubilee), Israelites returned ancestral land to original owners, cancelled debts, released slaves/indentured servants, and allowed the land to rest without sowing or reaping.” (AI)

GLADNESS AND. EVERLASTING JOY: Isaiah 61 goes on to describe the joy of those who would be freed by Jesus from the captivity ot sin. Isaiah 61:2 “And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. 7 Everlasting joy will. be theirs.”

Jesus would bring a “day of vengeance” on the Jews who had killed the saints, prophets and apostles, but the remnant who accepted Jesus as the Messiah would have gladness and everlasting joy. We Christians should be the happiest people on earth, even in the midst of sad earthly troubles. We might not can laugh on the outside due to pain and sadness, bur we can still have joy on the inside.

TRY TO PICTURE THIS OCCASION IN THE SYNAGOGUE: THE CHOSEN EPISODE Can you picture Jesus standing up in that synagogue to read from the scroll of Isaiah, and then after. reading Isaiah 61:1-3 he hands the scroll back to the attendant and sits down? All eyes are staring at him as he says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Can you picture going with the mob as they carry Jesus to the crest of a ciff to throw him off for blasphemy? But the mystery of how he “passes through their midst” and goes on his way. How did he do that? Did God supernaturally stun the crowd, freezing them long enough for Jesus to pass through them and escape?

Here is the Luke 4 synagogue incident from “The Chosen”.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyHp0TovnUQ&t=6s I strongly suggest that you watch this. It is interesting how it picture Jesus “passing through their midst”. He simply tells the rabbi, “This isn’t going to happen: not today”, and then he just walks through them and no one tries to stop him.

ZECHARIAH 3: A MESSIANIC PROPHECY

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THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The first return from Babylonian captivity i n 536 BC was to rebuild the temple that had been destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC. It was led by Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor. Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:17) and thus a descendant of David. Joshua son of Jozadak was the 24th high priest in line from Aaron and a key spiritual leader alongside Zerubbabel in rebuilding the Temple. They laid the foundation of the new temple but then the work was stopped for 16 years due to oppositon from the neighboring Samaritans. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah were sent to get the people back to the work of rebuilding the temple. The people did eventually finish rebuilding the temple in 516 BC.

ZECHARIAH 3″1-7 JOSHUA’S NEW CLEAN ROBES AND HEADBAND: Zechariah 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a log snatched from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before the angel. 4 And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you and will clothe you with festive robes.” 5 Then I said, “Have them put a clean headband on his head.” So they put the clean headband on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.” 6 And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “The Lord of armies says this: ‘If you walk in My ways and perform My service, then you will both govern My house and be in charge of My courtyards, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.”

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SPEAKS: The Jews had been sent into Babylonian captivity for 70 years (606 BC – 536 BC) due to their sins. Satan is standing by Joshua to accuse him of those sins and condemn him. But the angel o the Lord was also standing beside Joshua. “The angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament is thought to be none other than the pre-incarnate form of Jesus by many. The angel is called “the Lord” which shows that he wasn’t just an ordinary angel. He rebukes Satan for condemning God’s chosen people. They had indeed been in the punishment of the exile to Babylon like a log burned in the fire but God had snatched them out of the fire before it was completely turned into ashes in order to save a remnant and keep the nation going forward until the Messiah would come. The filthy garments of the high priest would represent the many sins of the priesthood and of the Jews for which God sent them into exile. The angel tells those standing by Joshua to remove his filthy garments and put on festive, clean robes and a clean headband. The angel then promises Joshua that his priesthood would continue to function in the new temple if he would obey God.

ZECHARIAH 3:8-10 A MESSIANIC PREDICTION ABOUT THE FUTURE BRANCH: This changing Joshus’s robes symbolized the purification of the remnant of the Jews from their sins after their return from exile, allowing the high priest to continue to function in the new temple. But it also is a Messianic prediction of the remnant of the Jews in the book of Acts who would be purified by the Messiah through His death on the cross. The rest of chapter 3 is an all Messianic prediction. Zechariah 3:8 Now listen, Joshua, you high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a sign: for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. 9 For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘and I will remove the guilt of that land in one day. 10 On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”

JESUS THE BRANCH OF DAVID, THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE, FULFILLS ZECHARIAH 3:8-10 This is definitely Messianic. Jesus is called the Branch that would stem from the root of Jesse and his son David (Isaiah 4:2, 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15, and Zechariah 3:8, 6:12). The “sign” in 3:8 would be that the cleansing of Joshua’s garments (and of the remnant returning from exile) would be a sign of how Jesus the Branch would cleanse the remnant in the book of Acts of their sins and clothe them with His imputed righteousness. There was a stone before Joshua that had 7 eyes. That also would be Jesus who is called the chief cornerstone in Psalm 118:22 which Jesus applied to Himself in Matthew 21:42. Paul called Jesus the chief cornerstone in Ephesian 2:20 and Peter called him that in Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:6-7 The 7 eyes on the stone would be Holy Spirit with which Jesus was fully endowed and would represent His watchfulness of all that was going on with His people. The stone was engraved with an inscription but we don’t know exactly what it said. Maybe it was engraved with the Father’s declaration of the identity of His Son Jesus, the chief conrnerstone, or maybe it was engraved with the names of the elect whose guilt of their sins Jesus would remove “in one day”. In one day on the cross, Jesus provided remission of sins from the Jewish remnant who would believe in Him as the Messiah. The remnant would then have peace with God and with one another (represented by inviting neighbors to sit together under their grape vines and fig trees).

WHAT AN AMAZING, ENCOURAGING PROPHECY FOR JEWS BACK THEN AND ALSO IN THE FUTURE! The Jews returning from exile are discouraged by the opposition of their Samaritan neighbors. They have quit work on the temple. Satan is accusing them of their sins and their failure to finish God’s work on the new temple. No doubt many of them are saying, “Why did we even leave Babylon to come back to the God-forsaken Palestine?” The angel of the Lord is encouraging them by showing them that they are still God’s chosen people, cleansed from their sinful past by God’s grace, not by their own righteousness. The angel even promises that the Messiah would in the distant future (over 500 years in the future) cleanse another remnant of their people which was fulfilled in the book of Acts. There is no way they would have understood what that meant, so it must have implications for the Jewish remnant living when Jesus the Branch, the Messiah, came. This prediction in Zechariah 3 would be fulfilled in Jesus’ atoning work on the cross. Only a remnant of the Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but no doubt they would have read this prophecy with great joy, knowing that Jesus had removed their guilt of sin “in one day” on the cross. Jesus would be confirmed to be the Messiah when he fulfilled all the Messianic prophecies made in the Old Testament. Jesus stated that everything written about him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44).

THE PROPHECY APPLIES TO US GENTILE CHRISTIANS ALSO: But this prophecy would also apply to us Gentile Christians who have been allowed to partake of the saving work of Jesus. “Jesus came primarily to the Jewish people (in Matthew 15:24 Jesus said that he was sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”) to fulfill Old Testament prophecy as the Messiah. While his initial earthly ministry focused on Israel, the New Testament indicates this mission was to ultimately bring salvation to all nations, as demonstrated by his interactions with Gentiles and the later commission to spread the gospel worldwide.” (AI) Jesus and the apostles would convert the elect remnant and then that remnant would convert the Gentiles to add them to the church. That is exactly what happened in the book of Acts. So we Gentile Christians can read the prophecy from Zechariah 3 and rejoice that our guilt of sin has been removed also. We also have new clean spiritual clothes, i.e. the righteousness of Jesus “imputed” to our sinful, bankrupt spiritual account.

Isaiah 61:10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a groom puts on a turban,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

If you are humble, you realize how sinful you are and have been. You realize how many times you have let Jesus down. You know that Satan has every right to accuse you and condemn you before the Father. But Jesus steps in and begs that Father to forgive you and to give you His righteousness so that all the Father sees in us is not our filthy rags, but the righteousness of Jesus.

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring charges against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 

Begin this day with praise and thanksgiving for what Jesus did for us on the cross and that He is constantly interceding for us before the Father.