1. Mordecai (Esther 3). Haman was so enraged that he decided to exterminate all Jews.
2. The Significant Life, George Weaver cites President Lyndon B. Johnson:
According to one commentator, “It is a curious footnote to history that long before he ran into trouble, Johnson had turned central Texas into a living monument to his heritage and his journey to the summit (the L.B.J birthplace, the L.B.J. boyhood home, the L.B.J. state park, the L.B.J. ranch and more).” (22)
3. “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)
4. KING HEROD “This is the voice of a god, not of a man” (Acts 12):
“The fear [trusting in the opinions] of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. (Proverbs 29:25) (Jugel)
SOLUTION – Release from Bondage:
· Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)
HOW?
1. WISDOM IS RARE: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” (I Corinthians 3:19-20)
2. “the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. (Psalm 94:11)
3. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. (I Corinthians 2:14-15)
4. THEREFORE, CHRIST MUST BE OUR FOCUS, NOT OTHERS: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
5. GOD LOVES US > SELF-DEFINITION: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10)
6. PAUL THEREFORE PRAYED THAT WE WOULD “...know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:19) W/0 this confidence – Resent God!
· ATHEIST: “How do you Christians know that your Bible isn’t a deception from one who has the power to deceive you all?
7. …“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:23-24; Mathew 26:39)
BUT DOES GOD LOVE ME?
· The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-16)
· For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:12–13)
BUT I AM A LOSER. I AM UNWORTHY?
· Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord. (2 Samuel 12:24-25)
It is only by confidence in the love of God that I can stand against adversity and resist the oppressive opinions of man.
WHAT GOD THINKS ABOUT US
Daily, I need to remind myself of a simple truth: God loves me!
HARD TO SEE:
Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
1 Corinthians 1:26–30 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
Genesis 20:11–13 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.’”
BUT HOW DID GOD REGARD ABRAHAM: Genesis 20:6–7 Then God said to [the king] in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
God had promised Abraham that he would be a blessing to all the nations of this world (Genesis 12:2), even though, at times, he would be a curse to them.
CONDUIT OF GOD’S BLESSINGS:
1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
PAUL: Acts 27:22–27 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.”
SODOM: Genesis 18:32 [Abraham] said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
GOD’S GRACIOUSNESS AMID OUR SINS:
Romans 4:20–22 No unbelief made [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.
2 Peter 2:7–9…He rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.
THE PROPHET-FOR-HIRE BALAAM HAD BEEN HIRED BY THE KING BALAK OF MOAB TO CURSE ISRAEL.
· The oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!” (Numbers 24:4-5)
· "He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them.” (Numbers 23:21)
GOD GRACIOUSLY REGARDS OUR FAITH:
Hebrews 11:11By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
Hebrews 11:27 By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. (But Exodus 2:11-15)
Hebrews 11:29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. (But Exodus 14:10-12)
HOW CAN THIS BE SO?
Proverbs 28:13–14 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Blessed is the one who the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. (1 John 1:9)
ILLUSTRATION: JOB HAD MADE MANY RASH INDICTMENTS AGAINST GOD. WHEN GOD FINALLY APPEARED TO JOB: Job 38:2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”
· "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." (Job 42:7-8)
WE DO NOT SEE AS GOD SEES: Ephesians 2:6 “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”
WHEN PRAYING TO HIS FATHER: John 17:6–8 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.”
GOOD DEEDS COULD NEVER ACHIEVE GOD’S MERCY:
Romans 11:35 Or “who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 3:19-20)
1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him.”
Romans 5:8–10 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
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