Epaggelia

Key Text: Psalm 40:1-16
Why Praise God? The Hebrew word for “Jew” (Est. 2:5), is a derivative of “OWDEH”, meaning to praise. Gen. 29:35.

1. Because no other creature but humans can sing as an expression of love & thankfulness.

2. Because when we patiently cry, He hears & answers! Psalm 40:1

3. Because God not only answers, but He delivers us from trouble on earth, delivering salvation in heaven! Psalm 40:2-3.

4. Because He put a new song in our heart and has given us a new name. Psalm 40:3, Isa. 62:2 & Acts 11:26, 26:28, 1st Peter 4:6

5. Because God not only delivers salvation, but He also blesses us in countless ways here and now! Psalm 40:5-10, 16, James 5:13

6. Because God views our praise as a fulfilment of prophecy in the body of Christ, Heb. 2:9-13, Psa. 22:22.

7. Because God views our praise as a sacrifice! Hebrews 13:15

8. Because God can teach us when we sing, Colossians 3:16.

9. Because God uses our praise to strengthen our resolve & help continue growing in His Spirit, and win over sin! Mat. 26:30, Mk.14:26, Acts 16:25, 2nd Chron. 20:17-22, Ephesians 5:18-20.

For all the reasons above and probably more that I will learn of in the future, I will forever fix my will daily, to praise Him. When evil days come that I feel even God is against me and I want to give up. I will try to plead my concerns to Christ my intercessor. Why? So that I might build up in my heart a new desire to praise Him. Remember Job 13:15.

Key Text: Matthew 6:5-15 

We all need to be decisively determined to pray with confidence. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time, Hebrews 4:16. If we lack confidence to pray, it is probably because of a lack of discipleship to the prayers of Jesus. Matthew 6:5-15, is one of the best passages to start working on to develop our lifestyle of prayer.  After all, if we feel spiritually powerless, it may likely be that we are faithless in our prayer, or absent of prayer altogether. One of the greatest needs of Christians is to be devoted to prayer, Colossians 4:2. We indeed may be ignorant about what answer to expect and what exactly to ask for, but we should not be ignorant about the need and act of prayer itself, Romans 8:26. We should be determined to ask, as the disciples asked, “Lord teach us to pray”, Luke 11:1. The person who does not pray, is really no better off than Christians who do not know how to pray. Having some kind of method or discipline of prayer, is better than having none!

Jesus gave us a starting place in Matthew 6:5-15. Notice the brevity of this prayer, Matthew’s account gives 64 words, and Luke’s account gives us 37 words. Firstly we learn that whatever method of prayer we use, it should be straight to the point and understood. If we don’t really know why we are saying what we are saying, we will either quit, or keep going aimlessly. The religiously pious people Jesus saw and derided, were on street corners getting rewarded for their prayers from men, Mt. 6:5, so obviously our method of prayer should not reflect an outward appearance, but rather we should be praying in such a way, that reflects an inward humility and sincerity. Do we search in our prayers, to be rewarded by God, and not men? Hebrews 11:6. This an obvious goal in prayer. Mt. 6:9 is filled with reverence because of the holiness of God the Father, which Jesus wanted to impress upon his disciples, Lev. 19:2 & Isa. 6:3. His name represents His power, and without God’s strength, we are helpless to live holy lives. This address in verse 9, is a type of praise, and helps us keep our hearts open for his strength.

 Jesus prayed publicly, and also taught his disciples to pray privately. The place of prayer isn’t real important to God, it’s the attitude that counts. Jesus prayed at his baptism, (Lk. 3:21), before crowds (Lk. 9:16) and on the cross (Lk. 23:34), but also privately on the mount being transfigured, (Lk. 9:28) and in the garden of Gethsemane (Mt. 26:39-44), and all night before selecting his twelve apostles (Lk. 6:12). Therefore he didn’t condemn praying for a long time, what he condemned was the meaningless repetition. If we follow His example, our private prayers should be longer, and our public prayers should be short. But the effect will be lasting on and on…

Key Text: Proverbs 3:1-12 & 34 

BIND MERCY & TRUTH AROUND YOUR NECK, v3Mercy & Truth are virtues which are like keys, you don’t want to be without, keep them on your body to use at all times. They can also be compared to a soldiers I.D. tags around his neck, so that he can be identified anytime, anywhere. Jesus reminded religious people to never forget mercy as a weightier matter that they cannot afford to lose, Mt. 23:23. He grew in Mercy & Truth, before He could bring these qualities of perfection to the world, Lk. 2:52. The boy Jesus knew what it was like to learn about them, put them on, EVERYDAY, so that he grew in wisdom. God never expects us to do something He wasn’t first willing to do Himself. How do you wear Mercy & Truth? If you don’t wear them all the time, you can fall out of favor with God and lose a good reputation with your neighbors. This is one of the first steps in becoming a real disciple. 

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, v5When we hear the truth from the words of Jesus, we should put our trust in Him and not trust our own version of the ‘truth’. God’s opinion is far better to trust than our own in any subject, Eph. 1:12-13. In order to win God’s approval and look good in His sight, we need to prayerfully study God’s word so that we can correctly understand the word of truth in the right context, 2^nd Timothy 2:15. When we deliberately do something that we know God says is wrong, we have immediately placed our trust in our self, instead of Him. This is discipleship in action. Faith without deeds is dead, Jas. 2:17. Our heart is a tablet God can write upon, 2^nd Cor. 3:3, will we submit it and let Him write? 

DO NOT DESPISE THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD, v11The New Covenant of Jesus only records this act of God once in the entire New Testament, which proves that chastening is not a priority of God, but rather a necessity. A little of the Lord’s disciple if taken in the right way by ourselves, can go along way, and have great affect. Hebrews 12:5-6, is a divine commentary on this proverb. God disciplines us because He loves us, and since He is full of justice and practices righteousness, His discipline is always perfect, Jer. 9:23-24. Never forget the truth of Prv. 17:10, when enduring the pain of any event which you feel is the Lord’s chastening, the truth sets us free and embellishes the God’s lessons of life on our heart. The fruit of holiness is worth the price of the pain. 

HE SCORNS THE SCORNFUL, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE, v 34

James 4:6-10, Any exhaltation is pure grace, because none of us deserves to be exhalted by our Omnipotent Creator,  God the Father, please read 1^st Peter 5:5-6.  If we  believe that He exhalts so highly so as to keep our name written in the Lamb’s book of life, and that He truly cares for us personally, then there is no enemy evil enough to make us fall, not even the roaring lion himself, 1^st Peter 5:8-9. However, the Lord’s view of people who mock Christianity is dim, see Psalm 138:6. We need always to consider how near or far we are in God’s sight. He is Omniscient, but His personal recognition of sinners, is dim towards people who won’t get personal with Him. Associating with the humble, will help us remember our place before God, Romans 12:16.

Key Texts: Prv. 2:1-15 & Matthew 13:34 & James 1:5 

We can not gain a meaningful relationship with God as mere happenstance, anymore than we can gain a spouse or even a close friend. We must…

Incline our ear

Apply our heart

Cry out and search avidly for His wisdom

Accepting and practicing this advice will protect us from sin. It is good for us to train our soul to search for God’s wisdom, this blesses Him and He blesses us. Prv. 2:1, Heb. 11:6 & Psa. 103:1-4. Whether we are searching for God or not, once we find Him, we should recognize the benefits and blessings He offers, and be willing to SELL ALL to grow in His wisdom, power and blessings, Matthew 13:44-45. How do we “incline”, “apply” and “search avidly”? (v2-3). By prayerfully reading His word and discovering his nature and will. In prayerful reading, we should actively ask God for understanding. That is truly to “incline our ear”. Then when we understand, we should prayerfully ask Him to strengthen us to practice what we understand. Without His strength, we will not apply wisdom. Then of course, we need to KEEP searching for more and grow in His nature. This is easier for you as a Christian, than it was for any faithful Jew, absent of God’s Spirit in their heart. Rom. 8:9 & Gal. 5:22-23.  

Since God is our creator, He knows what will work best for us and help us be completely satisfied and whole. He will protect those who try to live righteously and help our pathway be successful, 2:6-8.  A Selfish Greedy Christian, or a Devoted Mormon Elder?Does God view either of them worse than the other? If we truly love, apply and search to grow in God’s wisdom, then God will protect us from becoming perverted. Remember God sees us as perverted, if we grow twisted and fruitless, instead of straight and fruitful. John 15:5-8. 

In what way is the knowledge we are to pursue more than the mere intellectual awareness of facts?  How can we gain wisdom?  When you recognize the truth of a “lesson in life”, what do you do about it? 

There are stories from eastern legends which tell us of Syrians, Egyptians and Arabians, using their front door to their house as a threshold altar for sacrifices. This is reflected in the Bible, when God tells the Hebrews captive in Egypt to put lamb’s blood on the front doorposts of their house during the tenth plague, Ex. 12:1-13.  In some eastern cultures, weddings are still held in the front-yard and sometimes an animal is sacrificed during or right before the wedding, then soon after the ceremony, the groom carries the bride over the blood before the threshold. This is the origin of some modern grooms carrying their bride into a new abode. It is interesting that three important modern day events are still affected by an ancient threshold covenant.

1, Weddings. 2, Passover and 3, Communion.
In Judaism, the doorposts or threshold of every Jewish house was sacred, where the shema of Dt. 6:4 is inscribed on parchment and kept protected for the touching or kissing of it practically everyday. When pious Jews do this, they quote “the Lord shall preserve thy coming in and going out from this time forward and forever”, (Psa 121:8). But why? It reminds them of God’s covenanted promise! His faithfulness and blessings. 

The word “Passover” has two meanings, both to pass above something and also to pass through. Today modern orthodox Jews during their Passover feast, will put an empty chair and an extra cup at the table in the hope that God’s messenger will cross the threshold, entering the home as a welcomed guest. In the ancient 10th plague on Egypt, the angel of the Lord passed over the life of the firstborn child, if and only if the blood was on the front door posts. If not, then the angel of the Lord killed the firstborn child as he passed through.  The issue is this: Is the Lord welcome?  Obviously the Egyptians had rejected the Lord, but the faithful Hebrews were receiving Him. Why? The blood. The same sentiment is found in the ancient eastern custom of a groom passing over the blood at threshold with his bride. Why? Because the blood means she is received into a new family and is welcome!

Jesus conglomerated both the Threshold Covenant and the Passover Covenant together to make a new Covenant, which is renewed every Lord’s Day in the Communion. He did this by using the cup, representing His blood, but also the bread, representing His body which suffered to give the blood, Luke 22:14-22. Have you ever wondered why Jesus said repeatedly, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God”.  Because that is where we are finally received and welcomed. This reflects His desire to have us share in taking the cup and bread, as a sign that we welcome and receive Him (His Holy Spirit) every first day of the week. It reinstates that we are ‘betrothed’ to Him and a bride for no one else spiritually, until the great wedding feast in Heaven is enjoyed, Rev. 19:6-10. Why? Because of the blood, it means we are received and welcomed in this new eternal family, Eph. 1:10 & 3:14 in heaven and on earth, we are one.  On earth before we become a Christian, we are outside the family and destitute of God’s blessings & promises of forgiveness, power and life eternal. But when we become a Christian, all that changes into a new family.

What are the full and glorious benefits of His covenant with Christians here on earth and also in Heaven?
In the body of Christ on earth, the church or kingdom of Christ (Col. 1:12-14)
Forgiveness of redeemed people & sanctification of their hearts to grow the fruit of His Spirit.
In the body of Christ in heaven, the kingdom of God (1st Cor. 15:24-28)
Eternal life with glory & power unimaginable, while enjoying the full effects of all the spiritual blessings from the tree of life.

Key Texts: Proverbs 1:8-33 & Romans 3:9-18

God uses Solomon’s advice to his son Rehoboam, as if he is searching for what will satisfy his strongest desires. God puts wisdom forward as a woman, to remind us that there are more important features than just outward appearances.  A proverb may sound nice and pretty, but does it convey the truth in such a way that you can use it and fall in love with everything the woman can offer you? Jesus conveys the same picture in Mt. 11:19. Contrary to popular fiction, there were only two women who held a special place in the heart of Jesus, His mother Mary, and wisdom herself! In being like Christ, we need to work up in ourselves a desire for the right things in our daily lifestyle. Jesus said “man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God,” Mt. 4:4.

Why does Solomon contrast violence with wisdom?  Because violence is bad for yourself, whereas, Wisdom is good for you. Notice whose feet running towards violence end up getting killed? Prv. 1:16-19. Jesus said those who live by the sword die by it, Mt. 26:52. Would Steve Irwin been safer, had he believed this proverb? Wisdom preserves life, and violence ruins it.
She Speaks Loudly  & Teaches Clearly, Prv. 1:21-23. Wisdom is not the illusive and obscure possession of a few mystical professors. No, she is willing to teach ANYone, ANYtime & ANYwhere! The gospel is likened to this simplicity, Lk. 10:20-24.
She extends her hand, offering Discipline. Prv. 1:23-24. The Hebrew word here infers that the woman has a reasoned corrective argument which she hopes everyone will examine. Will you?  What is the reasoned argument all about?  The Apostle Paul tells us that we should pray about the Spirit of Wisdom, Eph. 1:17. The Apostle John tell us that the Spirit of Christ is Truth, 1st John 5:6.

She will make one of two responses to our reaction of her warnings:
1.  She will either laugh at us, Prv. 1:26. Generally speaking men have always been quicker to laugh at someone than women, usually women are more hesitant to mock other people, therefore God uses this mocking as a real distasteful event, surely Rehoboam wouldn’t want a woman laughing at him!). She will laugh at us if we don’t recognize right from wrong, or if we dismiss her by scorning or mocking her, or if we reject her knowledge.

2.  or,…She will guard our freedoms, Prv. 1:33. She will give herself to those that prayerfully ask God for all her counsel & advice, James 1:5. If we try her discipline, and listen to her words, and direct our heart to understanding, Prv. 2:2.

The New Testament quotes Prv 1:16 in Rom. 3:15. God in Jesus wants us to remember that every single one of us has fallen prey to the world’s woman of foolishness. Violence is to be avoided in our lifestyles. How many of us spend money on horror movies, or allow our children to watch WWF?   Does our heart really desire the world’s woman of foolishness? Be honest! How can we avoid a desire for violence? See Php 4:8.

Christians should remember the words of Jesus, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”, Mt. 12:34.  No doubt Jesus had read Prv. 15:2, The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. The only way your heart can be filled with wisdom is for us to fall in love with her.

God’s love is different in comparison to human love, but since we are made in his image, we have the capacity to enjoy God’s love and practice sharing it. God is love and this part of His nature is what makes His covenants so effective, eternal and attractive.  An example of God’s love in his covenant with the Israelites is seen in David’s Psalm 89:28-34.  If it were not for the love of God, His promised covenant would not remain with us, equally true, if it were not for the faith of Christians, we would lose the covenant’s blessings. This is why the church is considered a bride for Christ in Ephesians 5:23-32. Our faith is our victory, even when hope may seem so bleak  in our everyday life.

Remember the story of the man searching for a job during the 20’s great depression. Frantically needing to feed his family, he went to a telegraph office where he had heard of an opening job. When he arrived, he saw 50 other men in line for an application, he felt like it was hopeless, but he believed he had an equal chance as any other man who knew Morse code. So he took a ticket and stood in the corner to wait his turn for an interview. While waiting, he heard a tapping sound and started listening and trying to interpret the tapping. He learnt the tapping was saying, “if you can hear this, come in the office for a job”, so he rushed to the door, burst in and won the position! Out of over 50 other men, he won. Why? Because the tapping message was loud enough for everyone to hear it, but only he was listening. This is true of God’s covenanted promise. The message is clear and concise and well known in the world (Jer. 31:34 & Col. 1:6).  But who is listening and will believe in order to make this ‘marriage’ work.  Our faith is the victory, 1st Jn. 5:4.  The question is: Do we want the benefits of His covenanted promise earnestly enough to listen, learn, and put into action by faith?

When or if we break all faith in God’s covenanted promise, we begin to live like we do not have hope or faith. Israel did this early in Hosea’s lifetime. God used his children to speak about Israel’s lack of faith. God then promises to bring it all to an end, Hosea 1:6. However, God’s patience with an unfaithful wife would be prolonged until Christ came, please read Hos. 2:18-20.  Eventually God shows us in Romans 7:4, a new marriage God wants to enter into, “…so that you may belong to another…”. The Jews used to belong to God the father of Abraham, but they fell faithless and rejected God as a covenanted husband, but now in Jesus Christ, God is offering another marriage and we Gentiles are introduced to the ‘agape’ of God which keeps this marriage alive, even though we (like the Jews) continually commit spiritual adultery. All of us have at least toyed with idolatry. But God remains faithful, it is only us that breaks off with the marriage, see 2nd Tim. 2:11-13.

Our society does not value covenants sealed with blood, but it does observe contracts. Why? Because they have limitations and involve money, instead of life. We see this in the immorality that surrounds us, consider the letter written to “Dear Abby”, I am in love with two different women, obviously I can’t marry them both, what should I do, and please don’t give me any of that morality stuff, “Dear Abby” replied, the only difference between humans and animals is morality, perhaps you should ask a veterinarian!

How can we grow our faith, love and appreciation for the blood covenant in Jesus with us? Do we view our relationship with Christ like a contract or a covenant? If we accept God’s view of the church as being a bride, then we will enjoy our relationship with him in a covenant affecting our whole life now and into eternity, rejecting the idea of a contract which innately carries many ideas of limits. Ephesians 5:23-32 & Revelation 21:2.