12/4/12

From "NO, NO, to "Yes"!


Children can be so cute when they are small, so innocent, but they still have to be taught and nothing teaches like the word "no".  Those under the first covenant were as children, but then came the new covenant and adulthood.  Paul puts it this way...

Galatians, Chapter 4
 1 But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a bondservant, though he is lord of all; 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed by the father.  3 So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world.  4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,  5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.  6 And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba,Father!”  7 So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Now that we are adopted into the family of God, we don't have the "yes" and "no" of the Law, but the Spirit of God to guide us.  And although we might have just become a babe in the family of God, our relationship entitles us to be treated as adults.  This must give God great pleasure when HE sees us maturing.  Humm; if the first word is no, then I wonder what the second word is...?

Could it be...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 2
 6 We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing.  7 But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,  8 which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.  9 But as it is written,

“Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear,
which didn’t enter into the heart of man,

these God has prepared for those who love him.”

  10 But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  
 

Bible Reading, Dec. 4


Dec. 4
Ezekiel 29-32

Eze 29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
Eze 29:2 "Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
Eze 29:3 Speak and say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, that has said, 'My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.'
Eze 29:4 I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales; and I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.
Eze 29:5 I'll cast you forth into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You'll fall on the open field. You won't be brought together, nor gathered. I have given you for food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
Eze 29:6 All the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
Eze 29:7 When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke, and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke, and paralyzed all of their thighs."
Eze 29:8 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Behold, I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off from you man and animal.
Eze 29:9 The land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste; and they shall know that I am Yahweh. Because he has said, 'The river is mine, and I have made it;'
Eze 29:10 therefore, behold, I am against you, and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even to the border of Ethiopia.
Eze 29:11 No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of animal shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.
Eze 29:12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries."
Eze 29:13 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were scattered;
Eze 29:14 and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom.
Eze 29:15 It shall be the base of the kingdoms; neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
Eze 29:16 It shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to memory, when they turn to look after them: and they shall know that I am the Lord Yahweh." ' "
Eze 29:17 It came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
Eze 29:18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.
Eze 29:19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.
Eze 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he served, because they worked for me, says the Lord Yahweh.
Eze 29:21 In that day will I cause a horn to bud forth to the house of Israel, and I will give you the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.

Eze 30:1 The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying,
Eze 30:2 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Wail, Alas for the day!
Eze 30:3 For the day is near, even the day of Yahweh is near; it shall be a day of clouds, a time of the nations.
Eze 30:4 A sword shall come on Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
Eze 30:5 Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mixed people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
Eze 30:6 Thus says Yahweh: They also who uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Seveneh shall they fall in it by the sword, says the Lord Yahweh.
Eze 30:7 They shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.
Eze 30:8 They shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed.
Eze 30:9 In that day shall messengers go forth from before me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid; and there shall be anguish on them, as in the day of Egypt; for, behold, it comes.
Eze 30:10 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
Eze 30:11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
Eze 30:12 I will make the rivers dry, and will sell the land into the hand of evil men; and I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
Eze 30:13 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Memphis; and there shall be no more a prince from the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
Eze 30:14 I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments on No.
Eze 30:15 I will pour my wrath on Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.
Eze 30:16 I will set a fire in Egypt: Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up; and Memphis shall have adversaries in the daytime.
Eze 30:17 The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity.
Eze 30:18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
Eze 30:19 Thus will I execute judgments on Egypt; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
Eze 30:20 It happened in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
Eze 30:21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up, to apply healing medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.
Eze 30:22 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong arm, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
Eze 30:23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
Eze 30:24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.
Eze 30:25 I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon; and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am Yahweh, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out on the land of Egypt.
Eze 30:26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
Eze 31:1 It happened in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
Eze 31:2 Son of man, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom are you like in your greatness?
Eze 31:3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, and of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs.
Eze 31:4 The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow: its rivers ran all around its plantation; and it sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.
Eze 31:5 Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it shot them forth.
Eze 31:6 All the birds of the sky made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches did all the animals of the field bring forth their young; and under its shadow lived all great nations.
Eze 31:7 Thus was it beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters.
Eze 31:8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir trees were not like its boughs, and the plane trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like it in its beauty.
Eze 31:9 I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.
Eze 31:10 Therefore thus said the Lord Yahweh: Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
Eze 31:11 I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness.
Eze 31:12 Strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: on the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
Eze 31:13 On his ruin all the birds of the sky shall dwell, and all the animals of the field shall be on his branches;
Eze 31:14 to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up on their height, even all who drink water: for they are all delivered to death, to the lower parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit.
Eze 31:15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained its rivers; and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
Eze 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth.
Eze 31:17 They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, that lived under his shadow in the midst of the nations.
Eze 31:18 To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth: you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord Yahweh.

Eze 32:1 It happened in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
Eze 32:2 Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tell him, You were likened to a young lion of the nations: yet are you as a monster in the seas; and you did break forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.
Eze 32:3 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will spread out my net on you with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring you up in my net.
Eze 32:4 I will leave you on the land, I will cast you forth on the open field, and will cause all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will satisfy the animals of the whole earth with you.
Eze 32:5 I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height.
Eze 32:6 I will also water with your blood the land in which you swim, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of you.
Eze 32:7 When I shall extinguish you, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
Eze 32:8 All the bright lights of the sky will I make dark over you, and set darkness on your land, says the Lord Yahweh.
Eze 32:9 I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known.
Eze 32:10 Yes, I will make many peoples amazed at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for you, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.
Eze 32:11 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come on you.
Eze 32:12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause your multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall bring to nothing the pride of Egypt, and all its multitude shall be destroyed.
Eze 32:13 I will destroy also all its animals from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of animals trouble them.
Eze 32:14 Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, says the Lord Yahweh.
Eze 32:15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that of which it was full, when I shall strike all those who dwell therein, then shall they know that I am Yahweh.
Eze 32:16 This is the lamentation with which they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, says the Lord Yahweh.
Eze 32:17 It happened also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
Eze 32:18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of the earth, with those who go down into the pit.
Eze 32:19 Whom do you pass in beauty? Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised.
Eze 32:20 They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes.
Eze 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with those who help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
Eze 32:22 Asshur is there and all her company; her graves are all around her; all of them slain, fallen by the sword;
Eze 32:23 whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
Eze 32:24 There is Elam and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit.
Eze 32:25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are around her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of those who are slain.
Eze 32:26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude; their graves are around them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living.
Eze 32:27 They shall not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are on their bones; for they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
Eze 32:28 But you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shall lie with those who are slain by the sword.
Eze 32:29 There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with those who go down to the pit.
Eze 32:30 There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
Eze 32:31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, says the Lord Yahweh.
Eze 32:32 For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord Yahweh.


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Dec. 4
1 Peter 2

1Pe 2:1 Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking,
1Pe 2:2 as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby,
1Pe 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious:
1Pe 2:4 coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.
1Pe 2:5 You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 Because it is contained in Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed."
1Pe 2:7 For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,"
1Pe 2:8 and, "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.
1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
1Pe 2:10 who in time past were no people, but now are God's people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
1Pe 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
1Pe 2:12 having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify God in the day of visitation.
1Pe 2:13 Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme;
1Pe 2:14 or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and for praise to those who do well.
1Pe 2:15 For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
1Pe 2:16 as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God.
1Pe 2:17 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
1Pe 2:18 Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the wicked.
1Pe 2:19 For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God.
1Pe 2:20 For what glory is it if, when you sin, you patiently endure beating? But if, when you do well, you patiently endure suffering, this is commendable with God.
1Pe 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps,
1Pe 2:22 who did not sin, "neither was deceit found in his mouth."
1Pe 2:23 Who, when he was cursed, didn't curse back. When he suffered, didn't threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously;
1Pe 2:24 who his own self bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
1Pe 2:25 For you were going astray like sheep; but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Proverbs: Beware of evil companions 1:10-19, Mark Copeland

                         "THE BOOK OF PROVERBS"

                  Beware Of Evil Companions (1:10-19)

INTRODUCTION

1. In our study of Proverbs thus far, we have seen that wisdom
   requires...
   a. Fearing the Lord, so that we heed His Word - Pr 1:7
   b. Respecting our parents, so that we listen to their advice - Pr 1:
      8-9

2. What about our friends...?
   a. Our peers with whom we spend so much time?
   b. Might they not be a source of good counsel, i.e., wisdom?

[Indeed they can (cf. Pr 27:9).  But the wrong kind of friends must be
avoided.  This is illustrated in our text for this study (Pr 1:10-19)
which contains...]

I. FATHERLY WARNING CONCERNING EVIL COMPANIONS

   A. DO NOT CONSENT TO THEIR COUNSEL...
      1. A father’s advice:  "If sinners entice you, do not consent"
         - Pr 1:10
      2. Especially when they seek to entice you to do evil - Pr 1:
         11-12
      3. When they tempt you with promises of easy gain - Pr 1:13-14
      -- The example is enticement to murder and robbery

   B. DO NOT WALK WITH THEM...
      1. Keep away from such "friends" who are quick to do evil - Pr 1:
         15-16
      2. Their efforts are ultimately in vain - Pr 1:17
      3. Eventually they will pay with their own lives - Pr 1:18-19
      -- Such is the way of greed; it destroys those who possess it

[While the example in our text pertains to murder and robbery, the
principle holds to true to all kinds of sinful conduct.  So let’s expand
on the lesson to be learned here...]

II. THE DANGER OF EVIL COMPANIONS

   A. THEY PERSUADE THROUGH ENTICEMENT...
      1. Like the serpent tempted Eve, sinful friends will appeal to:
         a. The lust of the flesh ("good for food")
         b. The lust of the eyes ("pleasant to the eyes")
         c. The pride of life ("desirable to make one wise") - cf. Gen
            3:6
      2. Evil friends will offer easy gain
         a. Such as wealth without work
         b. Such as pleasure without commitment
         c. Such as companionship without cost
      -- It sounds so good and easy, doesn’t it?

   B. THEY IGNORE THE COST OF SIN...
      1. That sin destroys those who possess it
         a. So called "friends" will eventually turn on one another
         b. If they will sin with you, how do you know they won’t sin
            against you?
         c. They will be friends only as long as it benefits themselves
      2. That sin eventually exposes those who continue in it
         a. "Be sure your sin will find you out" - Num 32:23
         b. Sin requires lies and deception; eventually one gets caught
            in their web of lies
         c. Sin often carries a physical price that cannot be hidden
            1) Addiction (drugs)
            2) Disease (STDs)
            3) Unwanted pregnancy
      -- Evil companions never talk about the cost of sin, do they?

[Finally, let's glean from our text what is...]

III. THE SOLUTION TO EVIL COMPANIONS

   A. DON’T LISTEN TO THEM...
      1. "Do not consent..." - Pr 1:10
      2. What they promise they cannot really deliver, at least for long
      3. The truly blessed man does not walk in their counsel - Ps 1:1
      -- Be wise enough not to heed their enticing words

   B. STAY AWAY FROM THEM...
      1. "Do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their
         path" - Pr 1:15
      2. Do not let them be your companions - Pr 13:20
      3. Especially if they are unbelievers - 2Co 6:14-18
      -- Be even wiser to avoid letting them become your companions

CONCLUSION

1. This is not to say that we cannot try to save them...
   a. We must be separate from the world, but we cannot isolate
      ourselves - cf. 1Co 5:9-11
   b. Even Jesus was a friend to sinners - Mt 11:19

2. But we must be honest with ourselves...
   a. Do we influence them more than they do to us?
   b. If not, then we should stay away until we are strong enough to be
      a positive influence

What we have studied in Pr 1:10-19 perhaps is best summarized by the
apostle Paul:

      Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."
                                                - 1Co 15:33

To be wise, we must know who to listen to (God, parents, and good
friends), and who not to listen to (anyone who would entice us to do
evil)...