More Excellent*

Continuing this week in our series "Search the Scriptures", we will find that the Word of God teaches us of a more excellent way. The Book of Proverbs contains the counsel of godly wisdom and it says, "The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor: but the way of the wicked seduceth them." (Prov. 12:26. The Hebrew word for "excellent" is tur, meaning to search (for righteousness). Even each Hebrew letter of the word tur, has a meaning that reflects the source of excellence. The Hebrew letters together mean "the cross/the covenant, the nail, and the Highest or the most important person". The more excellent way is to be searched out in God's Word. Proverbs also says, "A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised." (Prov. 12:8). We have also spoken these last two weeks of the condition of the heart, and its importance in our walk. Paul wrote of how the Jews rested and boasted in their knowledge of the law. He wondered why, as they taught others the law, they didn't also teach themselves. If they did, then Paul would not have to ask them: "...dost thou steal?", "...dost thou commit adultery?", "...dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written...if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision...For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision , which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. 2:17-29). The more excellent way is to be transformed and circumcised inwardly, in the heart, by the Word and the Spirit of God. This was Paul's prayer for the believers as he wrote to the Philippians: "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God." (Phil. 1:9-11). In the more excellent way, your love has to increase along with the fruits of righteousness by Jesus Christ. The Book of Hebrews says that by His inheritance as the Son of God, the name of Jesus is more excellent than even the angels: "...when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.". It is unto the Son that he said, "...Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." (Heb. 1:4-8). The more excellent way is the Son, and for us to follow in the righteousness of His authority and kingdom. Also in Hebrews, the more excellent priesthood of Christ, the Son, is written about: "We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." (Heb. 8:1-2). While earthly priests offered gifts according to the requirements of the law, which was only after the pattern of the heavenly things, this Priest, Jesus, also came with an offering, fulfilling the "heavenly things", rather than a pattern or shadow of them. Because of this: "...now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." (v. 6). This new covenant established after the true heavenly things is not the same covenant which God had established with the fathers, which they broke, and were still breaking, as Paul mentioned above. However, the new covenant promised by God through the prophets, and established in the offering by Jesus of Himself, surpasses the old: "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people...for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (v. 9-12). As we saw that Jesus established a better priesthood of the heavenly things rather than the pattern of them, He also fulfilled, and will fulfill, the Feasts of the LORD, as given by God to Moses in the law. Jesus has already fulfilled the spring feasts, but approaching immediately are the fall feasts, which the Lord shall also fulfill. Tonight begins the Feast of Trumpets. This is the way that the fall feasts are written: "...In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. Ye shall do not servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD." (Lev. 23:23-25). The observing of the sabbath, itself, is the first of the LORD's feasts (Lev. 23:2-3), by the way. The Feasts of Trumpets will be fulfilled by Jesus. We know that in the Rapture, the trump shall sound, and we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The next of the fall feasts, which is also soon to arrive, is the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur (v. 26-32), a solemn feast day which comes ten days after the Feast of Trumpets, and calls all of God's people to a sabbath, with the affliction of our souls in fasting, prayer and repentance. It is prayed and hoped at this time that one's name will be written in the (Lamb's) Book of Life. Five days later, the Feast of Tabernacles, lasting seven days, will be observed (v. 33-36). All of these Feasts require a special offering to be brought before the LORD. Have you prepared your offering to Him? All of the Feasts of the LORD are commanded to be observed forever. The Feast days are upon us now. Don't be caught unaware of their meaning, and their importance in God's eyes, and to the salvation of His people. These Feasts represent Christ: the Bridegroom is coming - be ready. Although many churches do not teach these things, this is part of our preparation for the Lord's return. They are part of the more excellent way. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 9/25/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and endtimeschool, also on Facebook.

Open Heart Surgery*

This message continues the series: "Search the Scriptures". I believe that the Body of Christ is in need of spiritual open heart surgery, as we have been dealing with issues of the heart (see last week's message). We will see how God works this spiritual surgery in us according to His Word. The Book of Hebrews identifies Jesus Christ not only as our Savior, but as our Apostle and High Priest: "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession (homologia/homologeo - to say the same thing as), Christ Jesus..." (Heb. 3:1). The first "heart problem" is identified here: our profession - are we speaking the same thing as the Word of God? Hebrews continues in warning believers: "...today if ye will hear his voice...", not to harden their hearts, as their fathers did in the wilderness, although they saw the mighty works of God. The LORD said of that previous generation: "Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest." (Heb. 3:10-11). Hebrews then says: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God...lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (v. 12-13). Unbelief and sin cause our hearts to be hardened, leading to a departure from the Lord. There is also a rest to be entered into if we hold fast to our belief. It is the "rest" that the unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness were not allowed to enter (Heb. 4:1-3). "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (v. 9-11). The importance of the Word of God in dealing with this problematic heart condition is explained: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." (v. 12-13). The Word discerns, and God sees, what is in our hearts, and a godly man places his heart and his thoughts before God for examination: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Ps. 139:23-24). We read last week in Jeremiah that the heart is wicked and deceitful above all things. Only the Word of God can reveal the things that are hidden in our hearts that cause us to harden ourselves against God. Proverbs also confirms this: "The (re)fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue." (Prov. 17:3-4). The LORD has a refining process by which He purifies the hearts like a smith purifies a precious metal - by fire. Both of the prophets Zechariah and Malachi also wrote the Word of the LORD concerning this purification and refining process by which the God will cleanse the hearts of His priests and His people in preparation for the appearing of the LORD among them (see Zech. 13:7-9 and Mal. 3:1-3). The apostle Peter also wrote to the believers, those "...who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time", about the trying fire of God: "...though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ...receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Pet. 1:1-11, excerpt, see also James 1:1-4). This purifying fire perfects our way of salvation in preparation for the Lord's appearing. If we need wisdom to understand the necessary working of this refining process in us, the Lord will give that wisdom to whoever asks Him for it (James 1:5). Scripture gives us another reason for the hardening of a heart: Pharaoh of Egypt was experiencing the trying plagues of the LORD for his disobedience of the command of God. However, once the plagues were lifted, Pharaoh would again harden his heart against the Word of the LORD though Moses (Ex. 8:15). King Zedekiah of Judah, was appointed king by Nebachadnezzar of conquering Babylon. However, Zedekiah was an evil king. He broke his agreement with Nebachadnezzar, which he had sworn by God, and "he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel." (2 Chron. 36:11-13). Unfortunately, as the king followed after evil, and hardened his heart against God, his sin influenced others in his kingdom, the chief priests and the people, to do the same. They followed after the abominations of the heathen and polluted the house of God. They would not listen to the messengers that were sent from God, mocking and despising instead God's warning words and abusing His prophets, until there was no remedy left, and the wrath of God broke out against them (v. 14-16). We see the same hardened hearts today, disregarding the Word of God and His servants, and open heart surgery is needed within God's own people. The prophet Daniel dealt with the son of Nebachadnezzar, Belshazzar, who became king of Babylon when his father died. He disrespected the holy temple vessels that the Babylonians had looted from Jerusalem. This king, Daniel said, had known about the terrible event that had overtaken his father when he had tried to exalt himself before the people of God. God had taken his father's sanity from him, and Nebachadnezzar had become like a beast. It was not until Nebachdnezzar had looked up to heaven that God returned his right mind to him. Even knowing what had happened to his father, Belshazzar still lifted up his heart against God and His holy vessels: "...and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.". Ominous handwriting mysteriously appeared upon the wall during the king's feast prophesying of his death to come that night. (Dan. 5:18-23). Even when a man has witnessed for himself the judgment of God, and His subsequent healing restoration, he can still harden his heart against the LORD. God spoke about the spiritual open heart surgery, even a heart transplant, that He has provided for His people: "...I will even gather you from the people...and I will give you the land of Israel...and they shall take away all the detestable things...and all the abominations from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezek. 11:17-20). However, as for those who continue to walk after their abominations instead, "I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the LORD God." (v. 21). Ezekiel wrote again the Word of the LORD: "Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you..." (Ezek. 37:25-28, excerpt). The cleansing water of the LORD is His Word received into our hearts (Eph. 5:26). This same cleansing Word of God, believed and confessed, saves a heart, and a life: "...The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." (Rom. 10:8-16, excerpt). Search the scriptures, and get life saving open heart surgery from the Lord. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 9/18/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and endtimeschool, also on Facebook.

The Heart of the Matter*

This weekend we, as a nation, have been commemorating the 9/11 attacks, and the lives lost in them, including members lost from our own congregation. The world has also heard the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth, and ascension of a new king. Considering the lateness of the hour on the prophetic clock, and the events taking place throughout the world, it is time to take stock of ourselves, and examine our hearts. Scripture tells us that there is a "heart problem", which is noted from the beginning, from Genesis: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart (leb - inner man, heart, soul, mind, understanding, emotions, conscience) was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Gen. 6:5-8). The heart of man was evil, the LORD said. As we see above, the Hebrew word for heart is leb, and the letters that form that word, which are lamed and beth, mean "the house within from which we are prodded or urged forward". An evil heart, which all men have as the result of the fall of Adam and Eve, prods us to think and do evil. However, one man, Noah, found grace (chen - acceptance, favor, grace) in the LORD's eyes. The two Hebrew letters used to write the word, chen, or grace, are cheth and nun, which mean together "a fence, inner room, protection of the Heir to the throne". There is the protection of Christ in the gift of grace. Jeremiah wrote of the condition of men's hearts also. He wrote that a man is blessed who trusts and hopes in the LORD. That man is like a tree planted by the waters, which prospers and bears fruit even in times of drought. However: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jer. 17:7-10). Regarding Israel, His own people, the LORD prophesied that although a glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of their sanctuary: "...they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters." (v. 12-13). Jeremiah cried out to God as a result: "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise...Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil." (v. 14, 17). After the attacks of 9/11, neither America, nor the Church, took that moment to search their own hearts, and repent, and cry out as Jeremiah did. Instead, a verse from Isaiah was read by our political leadership. That verse from Isa. 9:10, "The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars", is spoken by a proud, defiant and unrepentant Israel in facing the judgment of the LORD coming against them (see v. 9-12 for context). We as a nation also spoke those words in the same spirit of defiance. In Psalm 95, a call to praise unto the LORD, the writer exalts the LORD and also brings a warning: "For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods...For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest." The Book of Hebrews brought this same Psalm to the attention of the believers in Christ, adding: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God....lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end....Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it...For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 3:7-18, and 4:1-2, excerpts). The heart is deceitful and wicked above all things, as Jeremiah wrote. Don't be fooled by it, because God is not fooled, but discerns the true state of our hearts, and we are required to examine and guard our own hearts. The Book of Proverbs tells us the care that is needed to keep our hearts: "...Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments and live. Get wisdom, get understanding...Let them (my words) not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee." (Prov. 4:4-7, 20-24, excerpt). We see here a connection between what is in the heart, and the words that are spoken out of the mouth. Jesus taught the same saying, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." (Mt. 12:34). In saying this, Jesus was speaking to the most religiously observant people of His day, but what was in their hearts, and came out of their mouths made them "vipers". Jesus also warned that we will have to give an account for every idle, empty, vain word which we have spoken, and by our own words we will be either justified or condemned (v. 35-37). According to the verses in Proverbs which we read above, and the words of Jesus, the words coming from our hearts and out of our mouths should be the same Words as God speaks. This is called homologea, or "speak the same". God created by speaking, and our words also have power and effect, for good or evil. We can only speak the Word of God if we have kept it within our hearts. We enter into salvation in the same manner - by what we believe in our hearts, and what we confess with our mouths (Rom. 10:9-10). King David wrote Psalm 26, and in it, he showed us the basis for God's judgment: "Judge me, O LORD...Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth...redeem me , and be merciful unto me..." (v. 1-3,11). In another Psalm of David's, Psalm 51, he pours out his heart before the LORD, because he has committied terrible sins: adultery and murder. David had a deep relationship with God, and God loved David, calling him, "a man after My own heart". However, David's heart, like the hearts of all men, was deceitful and wicked above all things. Now David must bring his heart before God, his only Hope: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight...Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me and I shall be whiter than snow...Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit...Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise...". As David knew, there is only one solution when we realize the sin hiding in the depths of our hearts. We must bring them to God. When we confess our sins to Him, God is faithful to forgive them. At this time of remembrance of the 9/11 tragedy, and other events in the world, and the approaching fall Feasts of the LORD, when men examine their own hearts, with the hope and prayer that they will be inscribed in the (LAMB's) Book of Life, it is necessary for the Church of believers to come before the LORD in repentance: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chron. 7:14). *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 9/11/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and endtimeschool, also on Facebook.

Becoming Bereans*

We will be continuing in a series of messages that began with last week's message, "Search the Scriptures". Jesus told His listeners: "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." (Jn. 5:39). Jesus is the Word of God who came in the flesh, and the scriptures continually illustrate the Savior, the Messiah, to whoever searches them. When the Apostle Paul travelled to Thessalonica, he preached for three Sabbaths in the synagogue there. He reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening the Word of God, and showing in them that the Messiah (Christ) must suffer and be raised from the dead (Acts 17:1-3). Some believed after hearing Paul, including some Gentiles, but others reacted with envy. Those envious hearers joined with a rough element and created an uproar in the city, and converged upon Jason's house, one of the believers in Christ. The mob took Jason and other brethren to the city elders and accused them saying: "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also...and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus." (v. 6-7). Even though this outcry against Jason and the believers of Thessalonica began with the envious Jews in the synagogue, who should have been worshippers of God and followers of His Word, they used the worldly kingship of Cesar, and his decrees, to accuse the believers. They let Jason and the others go after they received money from them (v. 9). Money, rather than the revealed scriptures, is the interest of the world and those who reject God's Word. The believers in Thessalonica were accused of "turning the world upside down". Are we, the church, also turning the world upside down as believers in Christ? Many "megachurches", with vast resources, are not even having an effect on their own communities. Our weapons of warfare are not carnal but spiritual, and mighty through prayer in the pulling down of strongholds. Is the church praying? The believers of Thessalonica sent Paul and Silas to Berea, where the Jews in the synagogue there: "...received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:10-11). As a result, many in Berea believed, including again, Gentile men and women (v. 11). Because of the readiness to receive the Gospel, and the diligence they showed in confirming all that they heard by searching the scriptures, the Bereans were recorded in scripture as being "more noble than those in Thessalonica". The resentful Jews from Thessalonica then came to Berea to try to stir up the people there against the Gospel. The Bereans, however, sent Paul on to Athens, while Silas stayed with them (v. 13-15). Upon arrival in Athens, Paul began delivering the Gospel there, disputing with the Jews in the synagogue, and meeting with others in the marketplace. Finally, those of the Stoic and Epicurean philosophies met Paul, and at first, thought of him as being a "babbler" when he preached to them of Jesus, and the resurrection (v. 16-18). Paul soon used the example of an altar that he had seen on Mars Hill which had the inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Paul then taught them about the God Who had been "unknown" to them, but was now making Himself known. Paul told them about the God who made the world and all things within it, the Lord of heaven and earth. This God does not inhabit temples made with human hands, Paul told them, because God does not need anything, but gives life to all, gives breath, and all things to us. This God made all men of one blood, "...that they should seek the Lord...feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being..." (v. 23-27). Paul revealed that God was not found in gold, silver or stone, like an idol, and God had ordained that it was time that man repented of this idea, because there is appointed a day of judgment. All the world will be judged in the righteousness of that Man whom God ordained and sent, and God had given men assurance in the resurrection of that Man from the dead (v. 29-32). Some Greek hearers mocked this idea, but othere believed and joined with Paul (v. 32-34). We can see that the hostile and envious Jews of Thessalonica had only caused the Gospel that they so hated and persecuted to be spread successfully to other cities, even Athens, the stronghold of the worship of mythology and men's philosophies. One powerful truth in the scriptures that Paul taught above is that all men were made from one blood. The divisions between Jews and Gentiles, and among various labels of men's philosophies could not overcome that truth. All men have one Creator, one God, and are of one blood, and are also saved by one Blood, the Blood of Jesus, the Son of God. Any Christian organizations that try to divide men along racial or ethnic lines are not speaking the Word of God, because God has said that His Kingdom is made out of every nation, tribe and tongue. Search the scriptures for yourself, like a noble Berean, and see. Paul wrote to his faithful assistant Timothy about the importance of the Word of God: "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not...even to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain," (1 Tim. 6:3-6). Pul wrote that one of the great temptations and snares for believers and all men is the desire to obtain riches. There is no contentment to be found in that trap, but rather destruction and perdition: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (v. 9-10). Paul encouraged Timothy to fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which he was called and of which Timothy has professed before many witnesses. Jesus professed the Word of truth before Pontius Pilate, and Timothy is to keep this commandment "without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ...keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.". (v. 12-21, excerpt). The temptation to seek the false knowledge and love of riches offered by the world and by men, rather than receiving and searching the Word of God, is always with us. Even the priests of the LORD fell into the temptation for riches and lusts. Eli the priest was warned by a prophet that because he would not restrain his greedy sons who oppressed the people of God, his priesthood and his house would be cut off. Eli ignored that Word, and his young trainee, Samuel, had to deliver to Eli the final Word from the LORD that the time of the prophesied judgment had come (1 Sam. 2 and 3). God's people, who are His priests, are expected not only to seem godly, but to be godly, and to be led by His Word, so they may live. The Prophet Hosea called God's people to return to Him, and in doing so, Hosea's prophecy testified of Jesus Christ: "Come and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." (Hos. 6:1-3). The prophet wrote that God's people had fallen into iniquity, treachery, lewdness, whoredom, murder, pollution, and defilement, but God has set a harvest for them in their return from captivity (v. 4-11). Search the scriptures for the knowledge of God and return to Him, and for the scriptures' testimony of the Son's third day resurrection, that you may live in His sight. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 9/4/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and endtimeschool, also on Facebook.