Our Jewish Sabbath*

 

Both men and the Church have interpreted the Sabbath, and in doing so, have separated themselves from the blessed concept and truth of God. Generally, it is considered a day of rest and perhaps, relaxation. However, the rest into which God invites us is more powerful than that understanding implies. The observance of the Sabbath is so vital that it is one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God:

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thy labour and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days, the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore, the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."   Ex. 20:8-11

The sabbath is first mentioned earlier as the children of Israel murmured about their lack in the wilderness, and felt resentment towards Moses and Aaron for their condition. The LORD heard their murmurs and tested Israel in their faith in His word, and in His provision for them. In the evenings, the LORD promised that He would provide flesh (quail) for them to eat, and in the mornings, He would "rain bread from heaven" for them encompassed in the dew. As the dew evaporated, the bread was left behind. It would be "bread to the full", that would well satisfy their need for the day. Each day for six days, they could collect an omer portion per person of the bread (manna: "What is it?"). If they collected more or less than the omer commanded, when they went to measure it, it measured to be an omer anyway. If they tried to keep part of that omer portion for the next day, not believing God's promise of new provision, the bread would become wormy. On the sixth day only, they could collect a double portion to have on hand for the seventh day, when there would be no bread provided for their collection on the sabbath (Ex. 16:1-26):

"Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?"  Ex. 16:26-28

The symbolic power of the miraculous provision of the manna, and its incorporation into the sabbath blessing, was so important to God's people, that an omer of the manna was collected to be placed in the ark of the covenant. It represented covenant provision, and covenant rest in faith.

The sabbath also played a crucial role in the blessings of the Feasts of the LORD. The Day of Atonement created a sabbath, for example. "It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever." (Lev. 16:31). The Day of Atonement is a prophetic foreshadow of the atonement work of Christ on the cross, and written this way:

"And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments..."  v. 32

The priest made the atonement for the holy sanctuary, the tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. This was to be an everlasting statute (v. 33-34).

The Book of Hebrews tells us that Christ is our High Priest who makes the atonement for us with His own blood. This created and fulfilled a sabbath for us, as the Day of Atonement did for Israel.

Psalm 92 was written as a song for the sabbath day. In it, the psalmist thanks and praises God for all of His works: "For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands." v. 4. The works of the LORD for which the psalmist remembers and praises Him on the sabbath day, includes a personal and eternal work in the soul of the individual: "I shall be anointed with fresh oil...The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." v. 10,12-15
This is the sabbath blessing for us: the completion of God's wonderful work for us and in us, as well as in all creation. This is what makes the sabbath a holy thing in God's sight, and in ours. The prophets told us that faithfully honoring the LORD's Sabbath would complete a wonderful work in us. Isaiah wrote that we would be called "The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." (Isa. 58:12). We would be caused to ride upon the high places of the earth, and be fed with the heritage of Jacob, our father (v. 14). Honoring the Sabbath is not about relaxing in our leisure and entertainment for the day, finding our own pleasure and going our own way. Honoring the Sabbath is about understanding the honor due His Word, and calling His sabbath a delight (oneg-exquisite delight, delicate life, to be soft and pampered) (v, 13).
Jeremiah connects the honoring of the sabbath directly to the establishment of the kingdom of the Messiah:
"Then there shall enter into the gates of this city (Jerusalem) kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come...bringing sacrifices of praise into the house of the LORD."  Jer. 17:25-26
Although religious legalists would interpret the keeping of the Sabbath in a burdensome manner, Jesus taught that this was not the intention of God for this day. The sabbath celebrates the holiness and completion of God's work, and Jesus did just this. He made it a point to heal on the sabbath. Though the religious leaders sought to persecute and even kill Jesus for "working" on the sabbath, Jesus answered: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." (Jn. 5:16-17). The true meaning and holiness of the sabbath encapsulates the Lordship of Jesus Christ: "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." (Mt. 12:8). We see Jesus elaborate on this connection: The benefit of the observance of the sabbath in Spirit and in truth, as Jesus taught, which included His Lordship as a completed work of God, was meant as a benefit to man, rather than a benefit to God: "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."  (Mk. 2:27-28).
The sabbath rest is a benefit for the land, and for man, according to the word of God. We miss our sabbath blessing when we fail to honor it as the holy day of completion of all of God's wonderful works. 

*The above is based upon the 6/23/19 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson.

 

To Contact/Submit prayer requests/Support the ministry/Order the book, "NAZAH":

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https://everlastingcovenant.sermon.net/main/main/21320220
 

Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.

 

Dr. Stevenson's newest book is now available:
  

To order "NAZAH": https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8     http://endtimeschool.com/ 



Color HIM Father*

 

The title of this Father's Day message was taken from a song by The Winstons. In it they sing about a wonderful father, saying, "Color him father, color him love".

How many of us can remember ourselves as toddlers trying to walk around in our father's adult shoes? We are also encouraged to walk in our heavenly Father's shoes!

Jesus continually taught of God as His Father, and as our Father. Speaking about the titles of honor used towards and among the religious elite, Jesus said that we should call no man our father in the earth, but only one is our Father: the One in heaven (Mt. 23:9).

In teaching His disciples how to pray, Jesus taught that our prayers begin and hinge upon our understanding of, and relationship with, God as our Father:

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed (holy) be thy name..."   Mt. 6:9

However, the powerful truth of God as our Father is not limited to the New Testament, but is very much part of our Jewish faith, which we have been discussing these past weeks. The prophet Isaiah wrote in prayer:

"Look down from heaven, and behold the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards me? are they restrained? Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting....But now, O LORD, thou art our father;  we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we are the work of thine hand."   Isa. 63:15-16, 64:8

Although Israel took knowledge of their forefathers, Abraham and Israel (Jacob), Isaiah wrote in prayer that the greater Father was God, Himself. This acknowledgment of the Fatherhood of God, puts us into His hands in the same manner as common clay, that when taken into the hands of the gifted potter, then becomes a vessel of value and purpose.

David wrote of his understanding of God as his Father, which he declared before all of the congregation:

"...Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all."   1 Chron. 29:10-11

We can see that in several ways above, what we know from Jesus' teaching as "The Lord's Prayer", was revealed also to David, beginning with the understanding of God as Father.

The prophet Malachi brought the Word of the LORD in correction to the priesthood that ministered in injustice and partiality:

"Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?"  Mal. 2:10

The truth of God as our Father should unite all men with one another. Are we walking in this truth today? Or are we more divided than ever? In all these things, we can say, "color Him Father", as our theme song exhorts. The Winstons also say of the father in the song, "...color him love", because of all the good things that the father did for his child. We can say this even more so about our heavenly Father.

One of our most familiar scriptures tells us that God as a Father, gave His only begotten Son because He loved the world. He so loved the world (Jn. 3:16-18). The gift of His Son to us in love also brought us the gift from the Father of everlasting life for those who would receive His precious Son. Though the world deserved condemnation for their unbelief, the Father made it clear that He was giving a gift of saving love instead. Can there be a greater gift than everlasting life that delivers us from the darkness of death forever? This gift doesn't flow from a religious deity, but it flows from a Father Who loves. In the same manner, the Church is not to condemn, but to point others to our Father Who loves, to show this truth like the vessel molded by the Potter becomes the work of the Potter's hand.

Jesus said the works that He did were done in His Father's name. His miraculous works could not be separated from His Father, who sent Him. Jesus also described those who received Him as sheep who hear their Shepherd's voice and follow Him (see video here). He revealed that the One who put those sheep into His hand was His Father:

"...neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one."  Jn. 10:24-30

The religious people who challenged Jesus to reveal Himself as Messiah sought to stone Him, accusing Him of blasphemy. They claimed that Jesus made Himself to be God by His statement above. Jesus brought them to the scripture that proclaimed "ye are gods" (Ps. 82:6). Those scriptures proclaimed that we are all children of the Most High only as we "walk in His great shoes", according to His word, in His likeness, in the stature of His Son. We only accomplish this as we walk one with Him as our Father, as Jesus walked. This oneness with Himself and our Father was also the prayer of Jesus for His disciples (Jn. 17:20-23). It is also the witness to the world of our Father's love for us (v. 23).

Not accepting the gift of love from our heavenly Father of His only begotten Son, not believing the name and the works of the Son, also means rejecting the Father Who sent Him (Jn. 8:31-47). He sent His son to set us free indeed from the slavery of sin, and the penalty of death that accompanies it.

We often see today, as in Jesus' time, that many prefer to bless what God has cursed: sin and death, and curse what He has blessed: everlasting life found in the name of His Son.

This Father's Day, if you will hear His voice, then "color Him Father, color Him love".

 

*The above is based upon the 6/16/19 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson.

 

To Contact/Submit prayer requests/Support the ministry/Order the book, "NAZAH":

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

http://endtimeschool.com/

To watch/hear Dr. Stevenson's complete message:

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

https://everlastingcovenant.sermon.net/main/main/21320220
 

Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.

 

Dr. Stevenson's newest book is now available:
  

To order "NAZAH": https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8     http://endtimeschool.com/ 

 

 



Our Jewish Feasts-Shavuot/Pentecost*

 

Continuing our exploration of our Jewish faith, this week marked the observance of Shavuot, one of the Feasts of the LORD given to Israel. According to Lev. 23:15-17, this feast is to be observed 50 days, which includes 7 Sabbaths, after the Feast of First Fruits. Jesus fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits by His resurrection. Shavuot, 50 days later, was fulfilled by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with fire upon the disciples who waited according to His instructions. This event is known to us as Pentecost.

The rabbis teach that Shavuot memorializes the giving of the Law, the Torah, on Mt. Sinai. The later outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost would seem to have no connection to the giving of the Law, but we will see that it is directly connected. It is also directly connected to the prophetic promises made by God regarding the new thing that He would do concerning His Law.

In the account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on believers on this feast day, Acts records:

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."   Acts 2:1-4

This miraculous event was witnessed by many devout Jews who had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from all the nations of the world to observe Shavuot. These devout pilgrims were visiting the tomb of David, which was located directly beneath the Upper Room, where the disciples were. They heard the disciples of Jesus praising God in the visitors' languages of their various foreign homelands. They wondered how these disciples could be speaking in so many different foreign languages, even foreign languages not commonly known or used in Israel (v. 5-12). The disciples explained that this was the fulfillment of the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit sent by God because of the atonement and resurrection of Jesus (v. 32-33).

Connecting this occasion to the understanding of Shavuot, the receiving of the Torah, Moses documents that the receiving of the Law was the engraving into stone tablets by the fire of God:

"...The LORD came from Sinai (thorny), and rose up from Seir (sacrificial animal as a goat, dread, horror) unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran (place of caverns, to glorify, beautify, adorn, honored by Jehovah), and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words."  Deut. 33:1-3, (Ex. 20:18)

Jewish teaching also contains a description of the receiving of the Law on the mountain, with the accompaniment of fire:

"On the occasion of [the giving of ] the Torah, the [children of Israel] not only heard the Lord’s voice, but actually saw the sound waves as they emerged from the Lord’s mouth. They visualized them as a fiery substance. Each commandment that left the Lord’s mouth traveled around the entire camp and then came back to every Jew individually."  Midrash Chazit

In His prophetic promise to His people, the LORD states that He will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. He promises, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jer. 31:31-33). The prophet Ezekiel wrote of the promise of God to sprinkle His people with clean water to cleanse them of filthiness. He promises to give His people a new heart and a new spirit. He would put His Spirit in them, and cause His people to walk in His statutes and judgments (the Torah). His people would return to their land, and receive great blessings in that restoration, which we have seen fulfilled in this generation (Ez. 36:24-28).

The giving of His Word is connected to receiving fire. Prophecy promised that the Word within His people's heart would be connected to the Spirit that would be placed in them. The giving of the Holy Spirit was also connected to receiving fire.
Paul wrote about this connection, and also the differences between the old covenant giving of the Law, and the new covenant giving of the Holy Spirit:
"...ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. ...(God) made us ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life....if the ministration of death, written and engraven on stones, was glorious ..How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?...much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory."  
                                                                                               2 Cor. 3:1-9 (excerpt)
The Law written upon our hearts by the receiving of the Holy Spirit represented in this feast of Shavuot/Pentecost, is not about religious legalism or tradition, or the setting aside of the Law. Jesus explained:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill...one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whoseoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven....except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."   Mt. 5:17-20
Having the statutes and judgments of God written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, creates in our hearts a keeping of the Law in a manner that even the most stringent religious adherents could never attain, because the keeping of it is by the (fire) power of the Spirit of God, received in that much more glorious ministration spoken of by Paul, rather than by the natural strength and understanding of man.
Paul wrote that this new testament is not of the letter, but of the Spirit:
"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law....If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."  Gal. 5:14-25 (excerpt).
Walking and living in those fruits of the Holy Spirit mentioned by Paul, is the preventative against those sins that, by the Law, condemn us to death. By walking in the Holy Spirit that God sent in fire because of His Son, rather than walking in the ways of the flesh, we fulfill all of the requirements of the Law.
God has given us new hearts and new spirits, and has placed His Spirit within us who will receive. These are new hearts upon which He has written His Law by fire. This is Shavuot and Pentecost.

*The above is based upon the 6/9/19 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson.

 

To Contact/Submit prayer requests/Support the ministry/Order the book, "NAZAH":

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http://endtimeschool.com/

To watch/hear Dr. Stevenson's complete message:

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

https://everlastingcovenant.sermon.net/main/main/21320220
 

Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.

 

Dr. Stevenson's newest book is now available:
  

To order "NAZAH": https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8     http://endtimeschool.com/ 

 



Our Jewish Father*

 

At the very beginning of the New Testament, the two most miraculous events, the birth of John the Baptist, and the birth of Jesus, are tied to the promises that God made to Abraham many generations before. Mary, pregnant with her child, declared regarding the fulfillment of God's salvation work:

"...My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour...his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation...He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, (as he spake to our fathers), to Abraham, and to his seed for ever."   Lk. 1:46-55 (excerpt)

After the birth of John the Baptist, his father, Zacharias, exalted the Lord saying:

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people...To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life."   Lk. 1:68-79 (excerpt)
Abram's great journey of faith began in a heathen nation, in Ur of the Chaldees. The inhabitants of this city were known for pagan moon worship and their practice of astrology. His father and family left that city and began their westerly travel until they came to Haran. After his father died, the LORD spoke to Abram saying:
"...Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land which I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing...and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."   Gen. 12:1-2
As Abram obediently journeyed into the land that God showed him, the LORD promised him:
"...unto thy seed will I give this land..."  Gen. 12:7
Abram, who came out of a pagan people, built altars to the LORD, and called upon His name in his new land.
When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him and again spoke to him:
"I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly."   Gen. 17:1-2
Up to this point in his and his wife's old age, Abram and Sarai had no children, though Abram had a son, Ishmael, with his wife's Egyptian maid, Hagar. How could Abram and Sarai be multiplied? How could a great nation come from them, as God promised? How could all of the families of the earth be blessed by this nomad, removed from his original homeland? God showed Abram the depth of His covenant with him:
"As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name anymore be called Abram (exalted father), but thy name shall be called Abraham (father of a multitude); for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee."   Gen. 17:4-7
As a token of this covenant, God commanded that Abraham's whole household be circumcised, and Abraham obeyed. As God told Abraham, the covenant was a personal one between Himself and Abraham, and would be the same for all of Abraham's future generations. While God promised Abraham to bless his son, Ishmael, greatly, He made clear to Abraham that His covenant would be with his future son, Isaac, who was to be born miraculously to the barren Sarai (Gen. 17:21).  In accordance with the promise of God, Abraham did indeed have a child in his old age with Sarai, who was renamed Sarah by God. Abraham had several additional sons, including six sons by his second wife, Keturah.
The future generations of Abraham, were continually reminded of the everlasting covenant which the LORD had made to their father. God identified Himself to Moses, upon his calling as the deliverer for the enslaved Israelites, as the same covenant God of Abraham Isaac, and Jacob, as He called the Israelites "My people" (Ex. 3:6-7). God's promise of the miraculous deliverance of a whole nation from foreign slavery and into a land of their own, is directly tied to His everlasting covenant relationship with Abraham and his seed (v. 7-8).
The prophet Isaiah brought the word of the LORD concerning the promise of His righteousness forever, and His salvation from generation to generation:
"For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody...for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people."   Isa. 51:3-4
Where should the people look to find the origin and seal of this promise from God? The LORD tells us to "Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him." (v. 2).
According to the word to Isaiah, those generations of Abraham, to whom the promise of the LORD is given, are "ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law."
John the Baptist said the same thing when confronted by religious Pharisees who came to him to be baptized, but had not accepted his word of repentance. They rejected his call to repentance because they relied on the assurance they believed they had with Abraham as their father, and therefore they were in covenant with and acceptable before God. John called them, not a generation of Abraham, but a generation of vipers. He told them to bring forth fruit showing repentance (Mt. 3:1-8). John warned that God was able to raise up children of Abraham from the stones. God did not need them in order to provide descendants of Abraham. John rebuked their sureness in their own righteousness based upon a physical relationship to Abraham, warning that an axe is at the root of the trees. Those trees not bearing good fruit would be hewn down and thrown into the fire (v. 9-10). This is a warning to be taken seriously by all of us.
The scriptures declare that all are sinners, that there are non righteous. The generations of Abraham are not defined by the flesh, but by the law of God and His righteousness in their hearts, as Isaiah wrote. They are not those who are circumcised in the flesh, but those circumcised in the heart.
In view of the tragedies we see daily in the headlines, why haven't we repented? Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is its reproach. The word of God speaks to God's people, who are called by His name, to pray and repent, and to turn away from our wickedness (2 Chron. 7:14).
Considering these things, are you a child of our father, Abraham?


*The above is based upon the 6/2/19 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson.

 

To Contact/Submit prayer requests/Support the ministry/Order the book, "NAZAH":

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

http://endtimeschool.com/

To watch/hear Dr. Stevenson's complete message:

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

https://everlastingcovenant.sermon.net/main/main/21320220
 

Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.

 

Dr. Stevenson's newest book is now available:
  

To order "NAZAH": https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8     http://endtimeschool.com/