Talk of JESUS .com

Category: TalkofJESUS.com – NEW Testament

Scriptural exposition on the books of the New Testament of the Bible

 

  • A River of Redemption Flowing from Eden – Redeemer

    A River of Redemption Flowing from Eden – Redeemer

    For I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and at the last he will stand upon the earth. – Job 19:25 ESV

    Redeemed from what?

    Scripture records that Job is a righteous man. Can you say that? Most assuredly, I cannot.

    A great and powerful leader loves God and does everything right, yet the Lord permits Satan to test him. He has everything a man could ever want, but then the Lord takes it away. Job loses everything except his life. 

    And how does he respond? 

    Job cries out to the Lord to be saved from miseries which have come to him in the flesh of this life (and his miseries are many). Yet hear Job’s assurance of judgement by a just God.

    19:25 וַאֲנִי יָדַעְתִּי גֹּאֲלִי חָי וְאַחֲרֹון עַל־עָפָר יָקֽוּם׃

    19:26 וְאַחַר עֹורִֽי נִקְּפוּ־זֹאת וּמִבְּשָׂרִי אֶֽחֱזֶה אֱלֹֽוהַּ׃

    And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: – Job 19:26 KJV

    Though he dies he will see God his Redeemer, face to face. In a word: resurrection. Judgment, face to face judgment by God!

    Our return to dust

    The Lord’s original curse against man does not dissuade Job from hope of seeing his Redeemer on the day of his judgment. Job repents before God acknowledging that he knows that he is dust. 

    Do you? Have you acknowledged before God that you are only dust?

    By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
    till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
    for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.” – Genesis 3:19 

    Redeemers

    What is a Redeemer? (It’s certainly another important concept this world has relegated to triteness, as in ‘redeeming coupons.’)

    Redeem – to buy or pay off, buy back, recover, exchange or convert (as in the blood of an animal for sin or money for a sacrificial animal), to discharge or fulfill a promise or a debt, to make amends for (some wrong), obtain release by a payment, restoration; theology: to deliver from sin and its consequences by means of a sacrifice offered for the sinner.

    Job was a righteous man, yet he knew he would face his redeemer after his death. Have you had enough to have cried out to your Redeemer?

    Earlier in this series I referred to Joseph as a redeemer not only Israel, but also of Egypt by saving them from famine. Joseph was purchased and no ransom was paid for his release. With God’s help Joseph paid for his own redemption.

    Many look to Moses as a redeemer of the Hebrews, saving them from slavery. Moses had been born into slavery under imminent threat of death, but the Lord rescued the Hebrew boy into the household of Pharaoh. He escaped when discovered buy returned when called by the Lord. Moses freed the Hebrews from slavery under Pharaoh. The Lord used Moses to save His covenant people, but Moses did not pay a ransom for their return.

    The Lord saves David and other later kings of Israel and Judah. In fact, it is always the LORD who intervenes in these and other rescues of mankind. Even Noah had been rescued by God.

    From Noah, Abraham, Jacob and Joseph before the Law, to Moses, David and kings after the Law you will read of sacrifices made to the Lord. All of these faithful men recognized their own need for a Redeemer for their sins.

    If you have never considered your own need for a Redeemer, you may want to weigh the significance of its antonym as it could apply to your soul at the Judgment without a Redeemer: 

    Antonyms

    1. abandon.

    Strong currents of these last days

    Have you plead to the Lord for mercy? ‘Oh Lord, do not abandon me.’

    Though requirements of the Law placed severe penalties upon those disobedient to the Lord, Moses assured the faithful:

    “Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the LORD your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6 

    In Psalm 16, David offers an assurance similar to to that of Job:

    10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol;
    you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.

    God warned Adam and Eve that on the day they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they would surely die. Adam died. So did Eve and their sons, daughters and descendants, except the family of Noah.

    So did Eve and their sons, daughters and descendants, except the family of Noah. And all mankind from Adam until now has sinned, every one of us.

    Surely we will also die; then as Job said, we will be resurrected to the Judgment.

    LORD, the hope of Israel,
    all who abandon you
    will be put to shame.
    All who turn away from me
    will be written in the dirt,
    for they have abandoned
    the LORD, the fountain of living water. – Jeremiah 17:13

    A Redeemer and Judge

    Our Redeemer was before Eden and was in Eden. He IS a river of righteousness, pure waters springing forth which refresh the soul and give life to dust.

    John 1:2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him… 3:5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

    John 4:13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”

    John 5:24 “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

    25 “Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live… a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.

    Christ Jesus! He IS our Redemption, for He has sacrificed His own blood as payment for our sins. Jesus the Son of Man sacrificed His life as payment for mine. He IS the river of life, springing forth from before Eden and cleansing our sins.

    Beloved brother of dust and sister of sin, will you plea to our Redeemer for His great mercy?

    Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river…

    Revelation 22: 
  • Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

    Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

    PRAISE & WORSHIP GOD! (as faithful worshipers have blessed God and been blessed by God for generations…)

    • Genesis 1:21 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
    • Genesis 5:2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.
    • Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
    • Genesis 14:19-20 And he [Melchizedek] blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
    • Exodus 18:10  Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
    • Exodus 39:43 (after the building of the Tabernacle for worship of the LORD) And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.
    • Leviticus 9:22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.
    • Deuteronomy 12:7-9 And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the LORD your God has blessed you. “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.
    • 2 Samuel 6:18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
    • 2 Chronicles 2:12 Hiram also said, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, who has discretion and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
    • 2 Chronicles 30:25-27  The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.
    • Nehemiah 8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

    Psalm 34:8

    Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

    Matthew 21:9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

    Worship the Lord your God!

    2 Corinthians 1

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Greeting

    1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

    To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

    2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

    God of All Comfort

    3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

    1 Peter 1

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Greeting

    1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

    To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

    May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

    Born Again to a Living Hope

    3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

    Ephesians 1

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Greeting

    1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

    To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

    2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Spiritual Blessings in Christ

    3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known[c] to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

    11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

    Thanksgiving and Prayer

    15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

     A doxology (from the Greek δόξα [doxa] “glory” + -λογία [-logia], “saying”) is a short hymn of praises to God in various Christian worship services.

    Doxology – worship video & music of David Crowder

  • As in the days of Noah

    As in the days of Noah

    Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26-27

    While our lives and attentions become entangled in worldly affairs: politics, news, entertainment, sports, gossip, shopping, empty relationships with thankless individuals, online social contact, cell phone texting and numerous other distractions awayfrom God Almighty, our Creator and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: God IS.

    Yet do we bow down for even a moment in our hurried days of this futile flesh?

    2013, in the year of our Lord, may be a time for Christians to look forward to a time that will not be and years no longer numbered…

    This could be a time like any other when our time will end as do the mortal lives of all men.  You MAY have seventy (or perhaps a hundred years) OR perhaps the Lord will call for your death tomorrow.

    Are you ready to be awakened NEXT to the trumpet of the calling up for Judgment?

    Twenty centuries ago Christians were ready. Twenty centuries ago persecution of the church and the imminent fall of Rome would have seemed like a world near to Judgment. (And throw in some disasters of God like the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. and a case for preparedness could well be made.)

    NOW, in the year of our Lord 2013, would it not be more prudent to hear the voice of Christ Jesus in our attitude toward preparedness for the Judgment and the end of the old earth?

    It doesn’t look like the end of the world is near.  It doesn’t seem like God is doing anything about the pervasive evil of this world and the lack of worship (even respect) of God Almighty and the Sacrifice of his only Son, Christ Jesus, for our sins.

    So it is and as in the days of Noah the world did not listen to God. Will you worship the Lord? (Don’t miss the boat.) 🙂

    2 Peter 2

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    False Prophets and Teachers

    2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

    4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

    Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.

     Thus says the Lord: Beware.

    Beware of the days of much false teaching that would lead the elect astray.

    In these last days you will need no other ark than the Spirit of the Living God and the Cross of Christ Jesus our Savior.

    Mark 13

    English Standard Version (ESV)

    Signs of the Close of the Age

    3 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

    19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

    The Coming of the Son of Man

    24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

    The trumpets of Heaven will then sound; but first, much tribulation, many false signs and false prophets, as were Muhammad and others.

    JESUS CHRIST IS. JESUS CHRIST is Lord. Worship Him. He IS God. Receive the Holy Spirit through Him. Receive life eternal and grace – the mercy, forgiveness and peace of God our Father in Heaven.

    For as in the days of Noah, so it shall be. Are you bowed down to the Lord our God and the Cross of our Savior?