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The People
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Here is food for thought; ponder on the following and consider how it affects
you.
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Your future may depend on it.
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Abraham believed God:
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What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh,
hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof
to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed
God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh
is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the
man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only,
or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to
Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision,
or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he
received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith
which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father
of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness
might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them
who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of
that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet
uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world,
was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through
the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be
heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because
the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the
end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is
of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the
father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many
nations,)before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the
dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against
hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations,
according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not
weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about
an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving
glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he
was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that
raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences,
and was raised again for our justification.
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(Romans 4:1-25)
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God called the Children of Israel (Jacob/Isaac/Abraham), His people:
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And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the
LORD God of Israel, Let my
people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
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(Exodus 5:1)
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However, after backsliding Israel was warned again and again by the old
Covenant prophets, God withdrew His Covenant hand of protection, raised
up the Babylonians in warlike power, and most of the people who were not
killed went into slavery.
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Ezekiel, a prophet of the Babylonian captivity, who recorded God's word,
mainly for those left behind in Jerusalem, wrote the following:
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Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak
to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the
sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts,
and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the
land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth
the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and
take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound
of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But
he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see
the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned;
if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken
away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;
therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die;
if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man
shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he
do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered
thy soul. Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel;
Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon
us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As
I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked;
but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your
evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Therefore, thou son
of man, say unto the children
of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver
him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked,
he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness;
neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness
in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say to the righteous, that
he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit
iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his
iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say
unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do
that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge,
give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing
iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that
he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which
is lawful and right; he shall surely live. Yet
the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal:
but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from
his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful
and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not
equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth
month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that
had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was
escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning;
and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. Then the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the
land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land:
but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. Wherefore
say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift
up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the
land? Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every
one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? Say thou thus
unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that
are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is
in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that
be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. For
I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease;
and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.
Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land
most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.
Also, thou son of man, the
children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls
and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to
his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh
forth from the LORD. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they
sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but
they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but
their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto
them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play
well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. And
when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,)then shall they know that
a prophet hath been among them.
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(Ezekiel 33:1-33)
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However, it was a group of released slaves who returned to Jerusalem (the
City of Peace) who brought back holiness unto the Lord and were an example
to the residue of the people. Men of the seed Royal such as Zerubbabel,
Ezra, Nehemiah.
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The same spiritual falling away and rejuvenation occurred with the death
and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, the Son of God, Christ Jesus.
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The same principles applied.
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The same principles still apply - in these days of wantonness and physical
plenty.
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I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness
in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in
my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my
brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom
pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the
giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose
are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came,
who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Not as though the word of
God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are
of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they
all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which
are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God:
but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is
the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even
by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither
having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her,
The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom
I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that sheweth mercy.
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(Romans 9:1-16)
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O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the
truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified
among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having
begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered
so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that
ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth
he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Even as
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know
ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying,
In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are
blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to
do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it
is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of
faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written,
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of
Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after
the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if
it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham
and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of
many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say,
that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the
law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that
it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be
of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to
Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added
because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise
was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is
the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had
been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should
have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that
the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith
which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For
ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of
you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's,
then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
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(Galatians 3:1-29)
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What is the promise?
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According to God's Covenant1.
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Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the
house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way
and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed
woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had
shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted
it: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through
the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged
them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned
my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the
LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. But I had pity for mine holy
name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither
they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine
holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye
went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen,
which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know
that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified
in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and
gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from
all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new
heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and
I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you
an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to
walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and
ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
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(Ezekiel 36:16-28)
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Have you or I prepared our souls sufficiently for any eventuality that
may occur in this evil and uncertain world?
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My death may be the next bit of sensation on the 7pm news!
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Are you of the seed Royal?
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Is your whole life coloured by the example of your Covenant Representative?
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The just shall live by faith.
On a day to day basis.
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1 Heart of the Gospel
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