The “Red Cross”

“Then the Lord said to me, Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me. My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth” (Jeremiah 15:1).

One would think that God would hear the prayer of His servant Moses and Samuel in any circumstance. But here we learn that the people of God were resilient in their behavior unfavorably before God. They were recalcitrant and rebellious.

Jeremiah is heavy in heart. He is running out of steam. He has prayed, prayed, and prayed some more and yet he is not seeing the God of Israel move. God doesn’t even seem to care about saving them out of their upcoming judgment and Jeremiah is also caught in the judgment.

What do we do when America doesn’t seem to understand? What do we do when our children and grandchildren do not understand and we don’t seem to get our prayers answered? We have to be taught like Jeremiah to run with the footmen, and to contend with the horses. Don’t wear out where you are but look up to where God is.

Our source of grace is found in the Lord. Our strength is found in Him. Things are going to get worse but we need to get better. Don’t run from your assignments because it doesn’t matter where you are God has you there to train you, to form you, and to fill you.

Though the world loves to wander away from God, nor restrain their feet from living in pleasure, don’t you do it? Keep on the line with God. Let God toughen you! Things are going to get worse but let God make you the man or woman of God you need to be.

“Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”–Revelation 6:17 The Day of the Lord will be a day of ferocious intolerance. It is better to turn to God’s grace while it is freely offered. The world will become more tolerant while at the same time turning more rigid and biased toward Christians and their Christ. God is patient and long-suffering which are the warnings to all that one day He will move in great opposition against those who refuse to believe. God is tolerant but now He commands all men to repent. Today Christians are considered to be narrow-minded, bigoted, homophobic, or unscientific. This is contributing to the marginalization of the church in history. We should not be surprised to feel that the NCAA and the LGBTQ is filled with contempt for North Carolina’s caution to the “bathroom bill.” Holding back progress, losing money that is “much needed”, keeping us in the dark ages, of all that are thrown out there are the complaints and the energy which are trying to bully its way back into the “discrimination state.” Because we are living in the last days, time is not our friend. The days are evil and we are to make the most of our time. We are not to panic but to purpose with urgency. We must pass our faith on to the next generation, to our children and grandchildren. This keeps us on track. We are bound together by a common faith in the Lord Jesus. This is the true essence of fellowship. We are His living stones. The Apostles have laid the foundation. Therefore, your time and my time is God’s story. Don’t wimp out but stay and get on track with God’s program of tolerance.

“Let Down. Look Up.”

“Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket” (Acts 9:25).

The greatest day of Paul’s life, beside his salvation, was the day he realized that God’s plan for him was far better than his plan for his own life.

The chance of being let down by someone or something is 1 in 1.

Paul wanted to preach to his own people, the Jews, and went to them but they rejected him because of his new found message of grace in Christ Jesus. He had to be let down in a basket through a window over a wall to escape the bounty which was upon his head.

Paul wanted to go to the Jews but God said, “My plan is for you to go to the Gentiles, Paul.”

‘But my heart–‘protested Paul.

‘To the Gentiles, Paul,’ answered the Lord.

‘But my background—‘
‘To the Gentiles, Paul.’

‘But my training–‘
‘To the Gentiles, Paul.’

‘But, Lord–‘
‘To the Gentiles, Paul.’

‘But–‘
‘To the Gentiles, Paul.’

‘OK, Lord.’

Some of you will make this decision today. You’ll finally choose to say, ‘OK, Lord.’ And when you do, you’ll at last will find rest in your soul.

The Offerings

 

“But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice [peace offering] on the third day shall be burned with fire” (Leviticus 7:17).

 

God spoke to Moses out of the Tabernacle of the congregation (Leviticus 1:1). The offerings were now of worship and witness of Himself. Five offerings were given to Moses as God called out to him, not from Mount Sinai but from the Tabernacle.

 

The first three offerings were “Dedicatory Offerings.” It spoke of the value of Christ’s death. They are called the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the peace offering. The offerings prefigured Christ as a “sweet smelling savor” to God, rather than as a sin offering.

 

The burnt offering speaks of the value of Christ’s death in terms of his “devotion.” The meal offering speaks of the value of the death of Christ in terms of its “perfection.” The peace offering speaks of the value of Christ’s death in terms of His “communion” (Leviticus 3; 7:11-13; Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:20). This was not an offering to make peace, but celebrated and rejoiced in the peace already made.

 

The power of the third day is that you and I are to experience communion in the Lord Jesus Christ daily, the same day the offering is made. Our communion in Christ ought to take us to tomorrow and then we start over again. To become stale is to lose our freshness and reality in our communion with Christ, and is meant to be cut off from fellowship. This applies not only to our quiet times, but to the holy celebration when we come together for the remembrance of the Lord in His death, until He comes.

 

“For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after he is killed, he shall rise the third day” (Mark 9:31).

Why did the Lord Jesus have to teach His disciples about His death and resurrection when it should have been plain to see? One reason was that the nation of Israel was in denial and ignorance because they had not been taught the pure Word of God. Past generations were in the dark concerning God’s remedy for sin and its dominion. They did not take time to hear.

Sin will blind and deafen a soul to the voice of God. In Daniel’s day the LORD revealed by books and scripture the plan and purpose of God to Daniel. Daniel realized the people had sinned, and brought reproach unto their own head, which degenerated the minds of the people toward their promise. God’s chosen people did not hearken to the servants, the prophets, who spoke God’s name to the Kings, princes, and the fathers, and to the people of the land (Daniel 9:6).

Do you want to know how to know God? Get alone with God and allow Him to instruct you. Read His word, pray unto Him in prayer, in secret private prayer. It’s been said that the pious, religious hypocrite needs an audience to pray because he prays to be heard. To impress. But, friend, if you and I really desire God’s voice then we need to take time to hear and to be heard by God above. There in the secret place He will instruct in righteousness which yields fruit everlasting.

“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (Proverbs 1:10). “I am the peer pressure,” said a young man in high school. He was being interviewed by a reporter who asked him how he lived the Christian life in front of his peers. He pointed out that it was not the culture that swayed him but he the culture. He would not back down or stand down. Who taught him this mode of affront? We hear of all kinds of horror stories about the local “goings on” in the public schools. There seems to be a certain death knell that is pervading and depressing many Christian parents about our local schools, even our youth groups in our churches.  There is a modern, degenerate America,  we all know that is before us. And the reasoning given to us today is that we can shelter our children in our “mission schools.” The “woe-mongers” are all around us. Their forecast is intimidating. Their language is severe. We who are children of God live by faith, and we are to stand up with conviction with courage and declare with a great emphasis, “I refuse to be intimidated. I believe that our children will be the positive peers!” Parents train, pray, and send them out as arrows that leave their hands. It is better to allow tough things for our children to encounter than to take every obstacle away from them. Let’s train our kids to win their peers to Christ and rejoice in that. Let’s train our children to be a catalyst which stops the other sheep dead in their tracks, letting them know everybody’s not doing it. The faithfulness of God is to be depended upon and not the faithfulness of a dad and mom who “outthinks” God. Students swimming against the stream, students strengthening the spiritual sinew of their own bodies, who lean hard upon God is the joy of doing life God’s way.