Wednesday Good Evening!!! PLEASE give the Lord your undivided attention as you worship Him in song.
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Those who endure will reign
Paul gives Timothy a hymnic creed – a sort of foundational doctrinal statement in an easily recalled and recited format.
This was often done in the church in order to solidify and fortify believers in the truth and as a type of confession of belief.
The 4 points of the creed include:
– If you died with Christ you must raise to a new way of living with Him as well.
– If you endure or overcome to the end you will be saved and reign with Him.
– If you deny Him, He WILL deny you
– If you are unfaithful to Him, He remain’s faithful to His Own character. He cannot deny Who He is!
This is a sort of Christianity 101 short course which is affirmed and repeated throughout the New Testament which we spend some time exploring in this message.
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Psalms Book IV
This begins the 4th division within the greater book of Psalms.
It starts off with a the only known Psalm by Moses who composed it in the wilderness in response to God’s wrath at Israel’s unwavering unfaithfulness. Moses acknowledges God’s power, eternal nature and sovereignty. He openly admits Israel’s failings but nevertheless cries out to God for a return of His mercies.
Psalm 91 is well known among Christians as a Psalm of God’s protection. However, this Psalm makes it clear that His protection is towards those who abide with Him, are lovingly devoted to Him and who know His name. It is an Old Covenant promise which still has some implications for those under the New Covenant.
Psalm 92 is an interesting Psalm for the Sabbath and has to be read in that context or you will miss its direction and meaning.
Finally Psalm 93 is simply a brief but exaltant praise of God – His power, majesty and eternal nature. In this way it addresses the key points Paul makes in Romans 1.
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Free-willed vessels of Honor Part 3
In this final segment of this mini-series, we cover who are ‘the chosen’, the foretold, those whose minds are blinded and the process by which that blinding takes place.
References include Jesus, Paul, Isaiah. Elihu and Jude. Though the language can sometimes be confusion, as I’ve said since the first installment of this series – “these statements do not appear in a vacuum”. The scriptures have to be taken as a whole on the subject before a well studied conclusion can be made and I am convinced it comes done on the side of free will!
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I will make My firstborn, greatest of the Kings of earth!
A Prayer of David and two Psalms of the sons of Korah.
David prays for and expects in the deliverance of God due to their relationship of faithfulness to each other and God’s great mercy.
The sons of Korah write a Psalm about the great value God places on every heart which is completely His and that He knows those who belong to Him from every nation, tribe and tongue.
Finally the sons of Korah approach God in prayer. They extol His love and His faithfulness to His covenants. But then present God with a conundrum which callenges their faith. God promised David to have one of his descendants on the throne but now, in Babylonian exile the one ruling over them is a foreigner. One from the lineage of David never again took the throne and this was a source of uncertainty for Korahites. In the end, though we know Jesus was, is and will be the final and eternal king of God’s Kingdom, Israel and the world they did not. But even in their uncertainty they took their stand, trusting in God’s unwavering charcter even when it seemed all evidence pointed to the contrary.
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