1 Timothy 4:1,2 says: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall DEPART FROM THE FAITH, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-3 says: Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by
spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day
shall not come, except there come a FALLING AWAY first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;
Make sure you are not among those who will DEPART FROM THE FAITH or FALL AWAY!
How can you make sure
that you will NEVER fall away?
2 Peter 1:10-11 says: So,
dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those
God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will NEVER fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into
the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
According
to this verse and many others like it, it is saying that it is possible for a
believer to fall away!
So, what
is the answer in this verse? It said, “WORK HARD!”
Work
hard at doing what? Well, it tells us in the preceding verses, but let’s reason
with the scriptures.
The
first critical question to ask yourself is this:
Who is
the Lord going to reject on Judgement Day?
In
Matthew 7:22,23 Jesus said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy
name done many wonderful works? But I
will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
Note
here, that Jesus is going to say to “many” believers “get away from Me.”
How do
I know they will be believers that Jesus is going to reject?
Because
Jesus said in John 15:5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who
remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can
do nothing.
Jesus also said in John 14:13, "You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father."
Thus,
no one can cast out a devil, or do wonderful works/miracles, etc. apart from
Jesus. Only one who prays in faith that
Jesus will cast the devil out or perform the miracle for him or her can do
these things. Demons will laugh at you,
if you come against them with sin in your life.
And the Bible says: If I regard
iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me.
And God must be able to hear you in order to cast a devil out or perform
a miracle for you. Thus, these “many”
that the Lord will reject on Judgement Day is referring to believers.
So, why
will they be rejected?
What did Jesus say in that same scripture?
“Get
away from Me, you who break God’s laws.”
Therefore,
these believers were once obedient to the faith, but obviously fell away!
Another
critical point to note here is this: The
scripture says that Jesus is going to say to these many, “I never knew you.”
Why is He going to say, "I never knew you."
Because Ezekiel 18:24 says:
But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? NONE OF THE RIGHTEOUS THINGS THAT PERSON HAS DONE WILL BE REMEMBERED. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.
So the sixty four thousand dollar question we should be asking ourselves is: Does God know me?
How can
one know if God knows him or her?
1
Corinthians 8:3 says: But if anyone
loves God, he is known by God.
But then what does it mean to love God?
1 John
5:3 says: In fact, this is love for God:
to keep his commands.
The
word "keep" means what? It means DON'T STOP!
Why do some believers stop obeying God’s commands and fall away? Or, to put it another way, why do people stop loving God?
All we
need do is read the parable of the sower by Jesus.
Why do
believers fall away?
Philippians
2:12 says: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in
my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your
salvation with fear and trembling,
Obviously,
these believers failed to continue to work! They became lazy and ceased to work hard! Thus, they succumbed to temptation and fell into sin which hardens the heart and causes one to fall away.
It takes a lot of work to stay in the faith! The reason being, God gave us a body that is given to lust, surrounded us with temptation, and instead of sending the devil and all the fallen angels straight to hell (after they tried to dethrone God), He threw them down to earth! So they dwell among us to make sure we don't miss anything exciting! Why?
Because God wants to see how much we love Him back!
Obviously, God wants to see if we will remain loyal to Him or succumb to peer pressure like one third of the angels of God who followed Lucifer in his rebellion, where Lucifer became Satan and his angels became demons.
God has given the devil a lifetime to hit each one of us with every temptation, test, distraction, and shiny object that promises peace, power, pleasure, prosperity, fame, and happiness that he can in order to convince us that what he has to offer is better than what God has waiting for us on the other side of all this insanity. When shiny objects don't work, the devil will even bring trials and affliction on us to try to cause us to become offended at God and stop us from loving God as we read in the book of Job.
We just read earlier that the Bible says: This is love for God, to keep His commands. And in order to keep His commands, it is necessary for us to flee from and resist temptation. For example: If a man looks at a woman who is not his wife, whether she is on a computer screen or alive in person, and he is tempted to stare at her with lust, then in order to keep the command of God (Thou shall not covet), that man must flee temptation by bouncing his eyes off the image of the woman and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
The devil and the fallen angels have been here since the Garden of Eden. And he and the fallen angels have been studying mankind all this time. So they know how we think. Thus, the devil knows how to get each one of us in a fix where we are tempted to break any one of the commands of God. Therefore, we need the power of God to overcome the flesh, the devil, and all the distractions of this world in order to remain true to God. And thanks be to God, He provides all the power we will ever need to overcome in every situation.
Romans 13:14 says - Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and DO NOT THINK about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Why does it say clothe yourselves or put on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Because Jeremiah 23:6 says - In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Thus, since the Lord is our righteousness, or the one who makes us righteous, we must by faith trust Him to enable us to to live righteous. Because, as we read earlier that apart from Him/Jesus we can do NOTHING!
So, it's a good thing that when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior that He comes to live in us!
2 Corinthians 6:16 says - You are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will live in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
1 John 4:4 says - Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
Thus, Romans 8:13 says - For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit (of God that is in you) you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Revelation 19:7,8 says - Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb (Jesus) has come, and his bride (Church, body of believers) has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
Notice in the above verse that it says "his bride has made herself ready." And the righteous deeds of the saints are the acts performed by believers via the enabling power of the Holy Spirit of God. Notice, it said: "It was granted her to clothe herself." So you see that it's a cooperation by faith between the believer and the Spirit of God where all the glory goes to God. Thus, the scripture says, "Let us give Him glory!"
We must stay ready always to meet the Lord, because we are not promised our next breath, and because we do not know the day or hour when He (our bridegroom) will return. Spiritually speaking, the Church, or the body of believers, is the bride, the eternal wife of God Himself! If that doesn't give you a sense of dignity and value, then nothing will.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:24 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
2 Peter 3:13,14 says: But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
1 John 2:28 says: And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.
The goal is to remain in Christ. And it doesn't matter how we start as much as it does how we finish this race. This life is a race through time to get to the finish line with our faith in God intact!
Jesus said in Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And that takes work! But listen to what Jesus said happens to lazy servants in His parable of the talents:
Matthew ch 25:26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
And that goes along with this verse in Ezekiel 3:18 where God says - If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
The above verse implies that if we fail to warn the wicked of the wrath to come, then we may suffer the same fate of those we fail to warn. Just listen to what Jesus said here in Matthew 10:38 - "Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me."
And a personal cross represents suffering and dying to your will to follow God's will for your life. So, if you thought becoming a Christian was for the faint of heart, you need to learn what it means to follow Jesus as a true disciple. But no matter what we may suffer in order to follow Jesus, eternal life with Him will be worth the cost!
Jesus said in Matthew 10:39 - Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Again, Jesus said, "Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me."
I don't want to be found unworthy of Jesus. Do you know what it means to be considered worthy? Here's a clue: Revelation 5:9,10 says of Jesus: And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Since Jesus was willing to suffer more than any man and die that you might be saved and receive eternal life, are you willing to risk your life to bring the message of the gospel or the good news about Jesus to a lost and dying world, so that others might be saved?
I certainly don't understand everything there is to know about the Bible, yet. But one way to explain what I think the word worthy means is this: If someone made an effort, even to the extent of risking their lives if need be, in order to warn you of the coming wrath of God and to bring you the message of escape or the way of salvation and let's say you receive the message and repent -- If you never bother to warn or share your faith with anyone else, would you consider yourself worthy of having been warned yourself?
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19,20 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
And by this statement and others, Jesus intended for His first generation of disciples to pass down this same command/commission to every generation of disciples, even to you and me! As the scripture says, "even unto the end of the world."
Of course, we are saved by grace through faith. Don’t be mistaken, we are saved and declared justified by only what Jesus did for us and nothing by what we do. But we must keep the faith! And it’s your faith that Satan is after!
Keep
reading! Very important! This is critical now!
How
does the devil weaken and eventually cause a believer’s faith to be destroyed to the point the believer falls away?
Hebrews
3:13 says: But exhort one another daily, while it is
called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
So, one
way the devil causes believers to fall away is by hindering them from receiving daily
exhortation. Remember this! Work hard to receive and give daily
exhortation!
We see
in the above verse that sin will harden a believer’s heart. The hardening of the heart is the same as
the weakening of one’s faith. And, if
the believer continues to walk after the dictates of his/her sinful nature, the
Bible says they will die.
Romans
8:13 says: For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the
Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Jesus
said in Mark 14:28 Stay awake and pray
so that you won't enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh
is weak.
So,
another way Satan causes believers to fall away is by hindering them from
praying enough! Remember this! So work hard to pray enough!
What is the minimum amount of time that we should daily pray?
Matthew
26:40 says: Then he (Jesus) returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.
"Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
Another way the devil causes a believer to fall away is by encouraging them to associate with the wrong type of people and to dissociate from the right type of people. So work hard to choose your friends wisely!
Proverbs 13:20 says: He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18, 7:1 says: Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Hebrews 10:24-31 says: Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Again, what
type of people fall away? Simply those who fail to work hard to keep the
faith!
Hebrews
11:6 says: And without faith it is impossible to please
God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who EARNESTLY seek him.
Jesus said in Revelation
3:15-21 - I know your deeds, that
you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor
cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.'
But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in
the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover
your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So
be earnest and repent. Here I am! I
stand at the door and knock. If ANYONE (including you dear reader!) hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the
right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My
Father on His throne.
Note here: Since Jesus said, "To the one who overcomes just as I overcame," means you can overcome too the same way Jesus did!
How did Jesus overcome?
Well, He sure didn't do it by Himself. Although, He surely could have being God with us. But, the scriptures say that Jesus being God chose to become like one of us and lived as our example to follow.
Thus, Jesus said the following (and here is the secret to overcoming!)
Jesus said in John 14:10 - Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
Thus, Jesus was not the one raising the dead, healing the sick, casting out devils, etc. But, it was the Father in Him doing the work through Jesus. And by this, Jesus was showing His disciples by example how to do the same. And so they did, by Jesus working through them as He will through us today.
So, what is it that we must overcome? Keep reading! By the way, you need to study to find out what it means when the scripture mentions “gold tried in the fire,” “white clothes,” “salve to put on your eyes.”
Jesus
said in John 15:2 “He (My Father) cuts
off every branch “of mine” (believers/Christians) that doesn’t produce fruit,
and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”
Thus,
only those who bear fruit go to heaven! And I can prove that with many scriptures. So
make sure that you bear fruit! Why do
some fail to bear fruit?
Jesus
said in Matthew 13:18-23 18 “Listen
then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches
away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to
someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only
a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they
quickly fall away. 22 The
seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the
worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word,
making it unfruitful. 23 But
the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and
understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty
or thirty times what was sown.”
We must
work hard! Not to be saved but to keep
the faith! Because, since we are saved
by grace through faith, if we lose the faith, then we will lose our salvation
and become among the “many” believers that the Lord will reject on Judgement
Day. Their righteous deeds will be forgotten and their names will be blotted out of the Book of Life. I can prove it by many scriptures!
What
else must we work hard at?
2
Timothy 2:15 says: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Romans
10:17 says: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So,
another way the devil causes believers to fall away is by hindering them from
spending sufficient time reading, meditating on, and studying the Word of God.
Now what happens when believers read the Bible but refuse to do what it says?
James
1:22 says: Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are
deceiving yourselves.
Are you deceiving yourself?
Are you thinking that you are going to heaven when you are not?
Remember: Believing = obedience. And obedience = believing. If you believe, you will obey.
Because Philippians 2:13 says - for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Ephesians 2:1-10 says: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Did you notice the words in bold in the above passage? That means if there was no change in your lifestyle once you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then you need to be very concerned and seek out a Bible believing pastor or counselor (who is not a member of a cult) immediately for help.
Proverbs
14:12 says: There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Revelation
12:9 says: This great dragon—the ancient
serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was
thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
So, not
only can we deceive ourselves, but look out for Satan and all his angels who
use people to deceive us, hence the reason there are now more than 4200 religions in the world.
But John 14:6 says - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Jesus said in Luke 6:46 “So
why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?
Romans
6:16 says: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto
death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Hebrews
12:1- 3 says: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before
him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God. Consider him who
endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose
heart.
James
1:12 says: Blessed is the man that endures
temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the
Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Hebrews
12:14-19 says: For we are made partakers
of Christ, “if” we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; As has just been said: "Today, if you
hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of
Egypt? And with whom was he angry for
forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the
wilderness? And to whom did God swear
that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter,
because of their unbelief.
Did you
see that?! “We are made partakers of
Christ “if” we hold the beginning of our confidence (faith) steadfast unto the
end.”
Jesus
said in Revelation 3:11 I am coming
soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
Notice
here that there is something we must do!
And what is that? Hold on to what
you have!
Why? Because whether you realize it or not, you
are in the fight of your life! Satan and
his minions are at war over your soul! It’s
their way of getting revenge against God.
Misery loves company. And you are
their very target!
Ephesians
6:12 says: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
1 Peter
5:8 says: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Hold on
to what Christ has given you (at a great cost to Him) and fight to keep it!
1
Timothy 6:12 says: Fight the good fight
of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you
made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Ephesians
6:14-18 says: Stand therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…
1 Timothy
6:20,21 says: Guard what God has
entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you
with their so-called knowledge. which some have professed and in so
doing have DEPARTED FROM THE FAITH.
Proverbs
4:23 says: Guard your heart above all
else, for it determines the course of your life.
How do
you guard your heart?
Proverbs
23:7 says: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
You are
what you eat. If you only feed your soul
spiritual food, you will be a spiritually minded person on fire for God. If you feed your soul only carnal food, you
will be a carnal minded person and cold towards the things of God. If you feed your soul both spiritual and
carnal food, you will be a lukewarm Christian who God said He will spit out of
His mouth and blot their name out of the Book of Life!
A practical way to guard your heart is by watching what goes into your eye gate and ear gate. Because what enters through those gates become a part of who you are. So what we allow to enter those gates should pass the Philippians 4:8 test which says: Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Romans 12:2 says: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
1 John 3:4 says - Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
1 Peter
4:1 says: Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also
with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.
Hebrews
11:24-26 says: By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called
the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with
the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had
respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Psalm 11:5 says: The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
Romans
9:13 says: As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Why did
God hate Esau? Because, unlike Moses who
esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures he could have
enjoyed in Egypt as being the son of Pharaoh's daughter, Esau didn’t treasure what had
been given to him.
Because
Esau did not consider what he had been given precious. Thus, he did not guard, protect, or fight to
keep it. But Jacob did! In fact, Jacob said to the angel, “I’m not
going to let you go until you bless me!”
What
about you?
Hebrews
12:9-17 says: Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we
respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits
and live! For our earthly fathers
disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s
discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest
of right living for those who are trained in this way. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and
weak knees. Make straight paths
for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live in peace with
everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you
fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of
bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is
godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the
oldest son. Afterward, as you
know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he
sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
Revelation
3:5 says: He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed
in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but
I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
WARNING! Those who fail to esteem as precious above
all else those things that have been freely provided for them by our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ at great cost, they are in danger of falling away and having their names blotted out of the
Book of Life! Notice: According to the above verse, only those who overcome are sure to be clothed in white and will not have their names blotted out!
1 John 2:16,17 says: For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
In John 16:33 Jesus said: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
And that means you can too!
Because, Philippians 4:13 says: I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
2 Corinthians 2:14 says: Now thanks be to God who ALWAYS causes us to triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
1 John 5:3-5 says: In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Daniel
12:2 says: And many of them that sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to
shame and everlasting contempt.
Revelation
14:11 says: And the smoke of their
torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night.
Revelation
20:12 says: And I saw the dead, great and small, standing
before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the
book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded
in the books.
The apostle Paul said in Acts 24:15 and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive ALWAYS to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7,8 - I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Philippians 4:8,9 says: And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Ecclesiastes
12:13 says: Now all has been heard; here
is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this
is the duty of all mankind.
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Written by Michael Wilkerson
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