Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter six
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6. CHRIST, THE I AM
“So the Jews said to
Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said
to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’ Therefore
they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of
the temple.” John 8:57-59
THE
SON OF GOD IS ETERNAL AND OMNIPRESENT
The words of Jesus, “I
AM”, have the same significance that the writer of Hebrews gave to us, when he
wrote, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. The only one
who does not change is God. The Jews understood well what He was saying and for
that reason they wanted to stone Him. To them, His declaration was blasphemy,
because He was proclaiming himself to be God. To suggest that He existed
before Abraham, after saying “before Abraham was born”, simple correct grammar
would demand the same tense from the following state-of-being verb. He should
have said, “I was”. However, truth demanded that He say “I am”, because that
means that He exists in eternity, where there is no past or future. He was
declaring Himself to be eternal.
March 26 – April 1 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
March 26
Psalms 27:1-8
1.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is
the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2.
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up
my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3.
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though
war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4.
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may
dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
5.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the
secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
6.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me:
therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I
will sing praises unto the LORD.
7.
Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and
answer me.
8.
When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face,
LORD, will I seek.
God’s ability eclipses the natural assets,
which came to me through birth or which I have acquired. The Lord is the source
of light, salvation and strength. When the attributes of God become mine, the
fear of man is removed. I can trust in the Lord and rest assured, though
surrounded by enemies. What foe can stand before Him?
The Lord is secretary of our
department of defense, leaving us free for one
single-hearted purpose: “One thing have I desired of the Lord” (verse 4). Paul
said, “This one thing I do....” Jesus
said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.” The one
passion, the one goal in the life of
every saint is to dwell in the place of God’s presence. There are two good
reasons for it: First, it is to enjoy and to contemplate Him; to be as the
living creatures, full of eyes, in order to attempt to take in as much of Him,
as we possibly can. Secondly, we seek to inquire at the source of wisdom for
the answers to those things, which pertain to Christ and His kingdom. It is the
theme of this Psalm.
We sense the attraction and hear the call.
I believe it to be the cry of the Spirit
of God today – “seek ye my face” It is the single quest, which we are now
considering. The born-again spirit warms and responds, “Thy face, Lord, will I
seek.”
Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter five
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My great concern for the
church today is that, in fulfillment of Paul´s prophecy, it has a form of
godliness, but denies the power. It has doctrines that excuse and justify the
lack of power. We have grown accustomed to the abilities and talents of men and
fit it to their plans and schemes. Where is the manifestation of the Wonderful
One as a practical Head over His Body, the Church. Where is the supernatural
demonstration of the Holy Spirit moving and working among us. If He were in
practical control, the ritualism and traditionalism would disappear from our
gatherings and we would experience days of heaven on earth. Wesley said something like this: “Would to God
that we could have revival without the excesses! But if there must be excesses,
then let us have revival at any cost!” Samson certainly had the excesses, but
no one ever questions that the power of God rested upon him and that he
supernaturally delivered Israel from their enemies.
5. CHRIST, THE WONDERFUL ONE
“Unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORD ‘WONDERFUL’
The book of the prophet
Isaiah has been called, at times, the Gospel of Isaiah, because it gives the
clearest vision in the Old Testament of the coming Messiah, with the possible
exception of the Psalms of David. Isaiah looked for a name for the coming
Messiah, in order to present him to Israel and the world. He could not find one
single name, so instead he used these five: Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. A person’s name should reflect his
character and personality. Throughout scripture, we read of a change of names,
when people were changed, beginning with Abram, who later was called Abraham.
In the New Testament, Simon was called Peter by Jesus and Saul of Tarsus came
to be known as Paul.
March 19 - 25 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
March 19
Psalms 24:1-6
1.
The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein.
2.
For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the
floods.
3.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his
holy place?
4.
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his
soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5.
He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the
God of his salvation.
6.
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O
Jacob. Selah.
Does this Psalm teach universal salvation
because all the people are the Lord’s? Not at all. The Owner has the right to
save and the right to condemn. Who, of mankind, shall excel and ascend unto
God? Those, who intend to outlive this world, rise into the presence of the
Lord, and stand in His holy place must come with clean hands and a pure heart.
They have come to understand the vanity of humanism. They have repented of the
human method of guile (by which all humanity operates and gains promotion) and
submit to the godly way of truth and honesty. They receive the blessing of God
and the imputation of righteousness.
The last verse refers to a generation. It
does not define people in relation to time, but in relation to kind. Bred and
born for the purposes of God, they are a spiritual race. They will enter into
salvation, the blessing of God and be clothed with divine attributes. They are
born, not made. They are generated, following the pattern of Jacob (the name
means supplanter), who became Israel (prince of God), through a
supernatural transformation. By this means they have been saved, their hearts
and hands have been cleansed, and they will ascend into the eternal, holy hill
of God.
The Ten Most Read Articles
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What we have in this
document are the articles most visited in this Call to Commitment blogspot.
Half of them are personal testimonies, stories of how a very real and
living God moved in the life of different ones. Some are family and all are
people that I know very well. For those
who haven’t read some or all of the stories, or if you would like to review
them, I have made it easy by giving the site, where they are found.
The story most read
was from Alaska, written by Karyn about Steve’s airplane accident. Following it
is one of over twenty documents, in which were included 45 of Len Ravenhill’s
personal letters to us. This one contains a couple of them. There are stories
about Coach Luneau's best basketball player, Brandon; our daughter, Raquel, writing about Katia swallowing a
battery, as well as the life story of a good friend… a Native American, named
Herman Williams. There is an article from our grandson, John, and there is a
chapter taken from one of my books.
I hope you enjoy going
over these documents…
Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter four
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Important messages
4. THE CHRIST WHO PROVIDES
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son: it was he to whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called’. He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” Hebrews 11:17-19
“DO NOT STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD”
|
The truth is that Abraham had been tested many times before. His faith was first tested, when God called him and he had to go, leaving everything behind without knowing where he was going. He was tested by a famine in the land of Canaan and had to go to Egypt. In Egypt he was proven, when Pharaoh wanted his wife and took her into his house. He was tested in the strife between his servants and those of his nephew, Lot. He was tested by the king of Sodom, who offered him great riches won in battle. He was tested, because he and his wife entered old age without a son to inherit his name. As in Egypt, he was tested again in Gerar, because of the beauty of his wife.
The life of faith is one filled with testing for anyone who enters into it. One test prepares you for the next and it seems that each new test is more difficult that the one before. We cannot avoid them. It is not because God desires to bring difficulties upon us, but because He has a very important reason for permitting and even commanding that they should enter our lives. He is polishing a jewel that has great value for Him. He is perfecting the virtue of highest price in His children and that virtue is faith.
March 12 - 18 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
March 12
Psalms 22:1-16
1.
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from
helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2.
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night
season, and am not silent.
3.
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4.
Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5.
They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were
not confounded.
6.
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the
people.
7.
All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they
shake the head, saying,
8.
He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him,
seeing he delighted in him.
9.
But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope
when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10.
I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's
belly.
11.
Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12.
Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13.
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart
is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my
jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16.
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me:
they pierced my hands and my feet.
Seeking the King of the Kingdom, chapter three
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3. THE CHRIST WHO TEACHES US TO PRAY
“Then the angel of
God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am’… ‘I am the God of
Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me’”. Genesis
31:11, 13
THE
GOD OF BETHEL
Here again, we
specifically have the Angel of God. He appeared to Jacob in the place that he
called Bethel, which means The House of God. He is the Messenger of God
or the one who is the Word of God in person. We will turn to Genesis 28 to
study the story and, as we do so, we will remind ourselves that the principle
purpose that we have in mind is to see this Person revealed.
In spite of having taken
place thousands of years ago, what God revealed to Jacob, He has preserved,
because He wants to show it to many more people. We have something of top
importance before us, if we are people awake to the things of God and are
seeking the treasures of heaven and eternity. If we want to have a part in
them, this portion of Scripture will reveal to us the way that we can have it.
We will consider the connection – the only connection – between earth and
heaven. We ought to be happy to know that God has given us this word, which
shows us that He has provided the way and it is within our reach.
THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE PROTEST
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THE
PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE PROTEST
against the miniseries and the new movie, Son of
God
A. W. Tozer
said that the first step towards the downfall of the Christian Church is “a
wrong answer to the
question, ‘What is God like?’ and goes on from there.
Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her
adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and
that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.”
 | |||
| Author of "The Knowledge of the Holy\" |
“It is my
opinion that the Christian conception of God… is so decadent as to be utterly
beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for
professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.”
The movie is
said to be an evangelistic tool. However, it is essential in evangelism that God
be presented rightly: “The multiple burdens of time may be lifted from (a man,
but) the one mighty single burden of eternity begins to press down upon him
with a weight more crushing than all the woes of the world piled one upon
another. That mighty burden is his obligation to God. It includes an instant
and lifelong duty to love God with every power of mind and soul, to obey Him
perfectly, and to worship Him acceptably. And when the man’s laboring
conscience tells him that he has done none of these things, but has from
childhood been guilty of foul revolt against the Majesty in the heavens, the
inner pressure of self-accusation may become too heavy to bear. UNLESS THE
WEIGHT OF THE BURDEN IS FELT THE GOSPEL CAN MEAN NOTHING TO THE MAN; AND UNTIL
HE SEES A VISION OF GOD HIGH AND LIFTED UP, THERE WILL BE NO WOE AND NO BURDEN.
LOW VIEWS OF GOD DESTROY THE GOSPEL FOR ALL WHO HOLD THEM.
March 5 - 11 Daily Meditations in the Psalms
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Daily Meditations
March 5
Psalms 19:11-14
11.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is
great reward.
12.
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have
dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the
great transgression.
14.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable
in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
The Bible, on the one hand,
carefully warns and illuminates us concerning every possible pitfall and
danger. On the other hand, it inspires and motivates us to great reward. It
invokes prayer, because we see that we need God, in order to be preserved or
rewarded. We do not know the deceit in our own heart. What we might think
totally justifiable, can be an abomination to Him and condemn our soul. We need
to open the scriptures in faith and trust God. Let Him reveal the unknown
faults and also give us the strength to overcome known sins, for from Him alone
comes the enabling. Only in His spotlight can I be upright, blameless and
innocent.
The Psalm in the last verse expresses the
noblest desire of the human heart. It states: let me be acceptable, not before
men, but before God; not only in actions, but also in words; not only in words,
but also in thoughts and motives. Let me be totally right before you, Lord. Let
me make You smile, but not by my own strength or self-righteousness. Bring the
two graces of strength and redemption into my life. You are the source of my
strength. You are my Redeemer, who bought my soul, cleansed and renewed it, and
brought me into fellowship with You.
A New Movie Called, "The Son of God"
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When I was a teenager, my older brother told me about something he had
seen concerning advertisers, who would display their product for less than a
split second and a person would not be conscious that he had seen anything. Yet,
an impression was made on his subconscious mind that effected him positively
towards the product.
Movies
that are well-produced, with a good story, appealing background music, good
writing, good acting, etc., creates a powerful impression through the
eye-gate (as John Bunyan termed it) into the human soul. While you are taken in by this creation, some even
overwhelmed by it, you are positively impressed by the main character.
All of this is fine, if we are talking about secular entertainment, but when we are taking into account a movie, such as the recent production, titled "The Son of God", then we must be very careful of characteristics that are subtilely introduced into the story, to leave you with something
less than the biblical revelation of the main person in the film, namely Christ, especially when it concerns his divinity... i.e. the Son of God. In that case, a misinterpretation can mean blasphemy.
Someone directed me to a critical review of the film, written by Sunny Shell. Before I took her review into account, I went to her website and was very impressed with her doctrinal
statement and also the presentation of salvation, which was offered. It was better than most. Sunny Shell is
an Asian-American, a professional writer and editor. Early in her review, she stated: "Last year
I was contacted by a media group for The History Channel. They emailed me,
requesting my help in promoting their upcoming 10-episode mini-series called
'The Bible'." She wrote a review after watching the entire series and they never
contacted her again. I was impressed by that kind of personal conviction.
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