Ecclesiastes 9:14-15 (NKJV) There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city…
The Bible is filled with the stories of the exaltation and the extermination of cities. Sodom could have been saved had there been a few righteous souls. Ninevah was saved when Jonah called them to repentance. Jerusalem was called the city of God and was solely established as a habitation for the presence of the Lord. Jesus also wept over the city of Jerusalem showing His compassion for a people who had rejected Him. Cities take on the character of its historical background, leadership, and national influence. In other words, cities have a personality. In fact, Jesus referred to believers as a ‘city sit on hill’. History proves that cities given to righteousness have not only survived but thrived. The writer of Proverbs said, “When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation. By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 11:10-11). Spiritually strong families make strong homes; spiritually strong homes make strong godly cities. The subtle attack of the world, the flesh, and the devil is to create means to ensnare cities in their traps, thus weakening the city until it is totally captive to its wicked ways. However the Lord is looking for a wise man who will stand in the gap, so He might save the city. God saves city through His righteous intercessors, “…Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1). God is looking for wise men and women who will intercede on behalf of their cities so they might be delivered. Apparently it doesn’t take that many for God to divinely intervene and turn the situation around. What is the stronghold that is holding your city hostage? Pray until God directs you to the snare and ask God to pull down the stronghold.
2 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV) Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."
Corinthians were very carnal by nature. They were exposed to the most vile and wicked ways known to man and fell prey to it themselves. Paul spent time teaching them about very specific sins in which they were not to be involved. "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). In the Old Testament, God had chosen a people for His very own and required them to live to a higher standard than the world. Now the Lord has chosen us who believe to a higher standard for the Bible says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;" (1 Peter 2:9). Some might say, "If we live separate lives how can we ever reach those who are living on the dark side?" The truth is separation means that our manner of living is not carnal, but holy and righteous. The Lord even said that He had not called us out of the world, but we were not of the world. We do not have to compromise our standards in order reach the world. Jesus didn't compromise His integrity and He managed to give His life a ransom for sinners. Some have said, "It is impossible to life a holy life." If that were so, then why did God say, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." If it were not possible, He would not have commanded it. We are given the Spirit of Christ and we must allow Him to manifest the Christ-life through us.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV) He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Adam Clarke, Bible commentator, said the proper translation of this clause is the following: “Also that eternity hath he placed in their heart, without which man could not find out the work which God hath made from the commencement to the end.” The New Century version translates Ecclesiastes 3:11 this way, "God has given them a desire to know the future. He does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what he is doing." We do have a desire to know the future for our personal lives and also for the world at large. Personally, God has a plan for each of us according to Jeremiah 29:11,"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." Daniel was given detailed prophetic revelation, but he didn't understand it completely. We are intrigued with prophecies concerning the future, and though we are understanding more as we go along, yet we still don't have the complete understanding to date. In merging the two, God has major plans for you as it relates to his eternal plans. It is not until we make Jesus the Lord of our lives that God's eternal plans come into focus. Yes, indeed he has placed eternity into every person's heart, but it will not make sense until the spirit within you is made alive by the Holy Spirit. God's plan is for us to spend eternity with Him, and He is making exquisite preparations even now. People despair because of having no hope, but God has placed hope in your heart and you should give your primary attention to it. Matthew 6:33 declares, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." God's plan and provisions will be doled out to those who keep eternity in their heart as confirmed in Paul's letter to the Church at Colosse, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2).
Job 42:5 (NKJV) "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
The Message Bible interprets Job 42:5 in this manner, "I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!" Job had moments of understanding during his very trying times, but for the most part was only conjecture. Many so called Christians have this kind of mind-set; they know about God and even what Christ did on the cross, but never have personally invited Him into their lives. Having only a head knowledge of God and His Christ is a very dangerous place to be. What does it really mean to know the Lord? Paul wrote, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). The word 'know' comes from the Greek word 'optomai' from which we get our word 'optometry' and its equivalents, and it means, to gaze (i.e. with wide-open eyes, as at something remarkable). Job's revelation is a classic Old Testament to New Testament reality. It is in the Old Testament that we read of the coming Messiah. Then, in the New Testament the Messiah is revealed and the disciples would say, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life" (1 John 1:1). An example of this is found in Numbers 24:16-17, "The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel..." The man whose eyes are open is the person who has not only heard about Christ but has had a spiritual eye procedure that opens his eyes to what Christ has done and has allowed it to effect his life.
2 Corinthians 4:7 (NKJV) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
In 1947, some Bedouin boys living near the Dead Sea, made one of the most important archeological discovery of the twentieth century. Their discovery was of a group of manuscripts which were a thousand years older than the then-oldest-known Hebrew texts of the Bible. They found this magnificent discovery in a cave hidden away for years in clay jars. Among the many fragments eventually found in eleven caves, the entire scroll of Isaiah was virtually in tact and is now on display at the Shrine of the Book museum in Jerusalem. There was very little regard for the manuscripts in the beginning, but eventually someone recognized them for their historic value. Eventually, the manuscripts were sold to Israel for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In a bit of irony, Israel became a nation in 1948, hardly coincidental. There is an analogy to be drawn from this story as it pertains to us as believers. Paul likened us to earthen vessels with great treasures on the inside, but some have been hidden away for years because of an ignorance of who we are in Christ. We have also allowed our past and what others may think of us to dictate how we feel about ourselves. To the common observer, we might not look like much, but to God we are of great value. The scrolls, once discovered, went through a meticulous process in order to preserve them and continue to remain in a controlled environment to ensure it maintains its integrity. We have been discovered by God and brought out of darkness into marvelous light. We have subjected ourselves to the Lord's work in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We remain in the word of God, in church, in prayer and praise in order to maintain our spiritual integrity. May you make an awesome discovery in the year of 2010!
Job 32:8 (NKJV) But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
There is a spirit in man, but it is dead until the life-giving breath of God is blown into him. This is made clear in Ephesians 2:1, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." A picture of this is found in Ezekiel 37 concerning the 'Valley of Dry Bones.' It went from a valley of dry bones to a host of human beings, but they were not alive until they were given breath. Adam became a living soul and God's crown jewel of creation when God breathed into him the breath of life. Adam was in right fellowship with God. He had great understanding and intelligence, but when he sinned he took the breath right out of man. Consequently, man had little understanding of God and fell into a life of sin and rebellion. Spirit also means breath, so that when we come to an understanding of our sin and separation from God and then invite Christ to be our Savior, the Spirit comes and raises up our spirit and we are truly alive and in fellowship with God. We first hear about the gospel through the inspired word of God because no one can be saved without hearing. The Bible is the inspired word of God. Inspired means 'God-breathed.' So, it is the God-breathed word that quickens our hearing and when we accept the truth, the Spirit that makes us alive comes and raises us up. The world is not privy to this understanding for it is all foolishness to them, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. Isaiah was writing concerning Christ and defined the Spirit's attributes, "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord" (Isaiah 11:2). We may not be rocket scientists, but we have come to a knowledge of the truth and that makes us wiser than unregenerated man.
Psalms 44:5 (NKJV) Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
Let's make it clear, that in regards to our enemies, we are not talking about flesh and blood. In fact, the Psalmist said we could not rely on conventional weapons to save us. We are reminded of this fact in 2 Corinthians 10:4, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds." Our enemies are the unseen forces of darkness as described in Ephesians 6:12, "Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world." Their objective is cold and calculated, 'to steal, kill, and destroy.' To think this is some fabricated fairy tale of a little man dressed in a red suit with horns, a pointed tail, and a pitch fork is to totally underestimate your enemy. For the child of God, there is no reason to be afraid because our enemy has already been defeated on the cross and has no power over us. The only way the devil can gain control over you is to paralyze you with fear through intimidation; otherwise he is powerless. It doesn't mean we take a 'fort' mentality and stay tucked away waving the white flag of surrender. No this is war and we must push forward to advance the gospel to the regions held captive by the enemy of our soul. The Psalmist said, 'Push down our enemies' Matthew 16:18 declared it like this, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." This victory came at the hands of Jesus over 2000 years ago, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). It is the Lord who saved us from our enemies and in His name we win!
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NCV) But thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume.
Do you remember taking a true and false test? Some of the key words you looked for to determine if the answer was false were always and never. Many look at being 'always victorious' as an impossible task, because we seem to apply the true and false test rules to the promises of God found in the Bible. Someone wrote a song once that said, 'You may lose a battle now and then, but I've already won the war.' Many identify with that because they have become programmed to lose. The battles Israel lost were because of their own sin, because as long as the Lord was on their side they never lost so much as a skirmish. The deep Greek for 'always' is, you guessed, always. As believers, we are by no means exempt from trouble, but we have the promise of victory. The Psalmist affirmed this, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all" (Psalms 34:19). We have been promised that, 'No weapon formed against us shall prosper...' (Isa. 54:17). The key to our victory is the One who won every battle in life, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:15 revealed that Christ triumphed though being subject to all human temptations, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Why would we want to think that Jesus being victorious in life and death would want anything less for us! If you go into a battle thinking you might lose, the enemy already has one up on you. You can win in life and in death by putting your whole trust in the Lord without wavering. You are always victorious in Christ! TRUE!
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NCV) The yes to all of God’s promises is in Christ, and through Christ we say yes to the glory of God.
Christ is the fulfillment of all the promises of God in all the law and the prophets. It all began with the promise found in Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." Then there are literally hundreds of scriptures that point to the most important promise of God and that is Christ. The last chapter of the Old Testament signed off with one last promise of the Messiah, "But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves" (Malachi 4:2). The prophet not only spoke of Jesus, but also gave a hint of what would be possible through Him. Albert Barnes commented on the promises we have through Christ in his notes on the Bible, "The promises of God which are made through Christ, relate to the pardon of sin to the penitent; the sanctification of his people: support in temptation and trial; guidance in perplexity; peace in death, and eternal glory beyond the grave. All of these are made through a Redeemer, and none of these shall fail." These things are foundational and most important, but God has also promised, "as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:3-4). It can't be fathomed what God has prepared for us through Christ both in this life and the life to come, but we can be assured of God's promises through the 'Amen' as the Revelator described Christ, which means, trustworthy.
2 Corinthians 1:10 (NCV) God saved us from these great dangers of death, and he will continue to save us. We have put our hope in him, and he will save us again.
2 Corinthians shows the very personal and vulnerable side of Paul more than any of his other writings, which is good for us who struggle with life in general from day to day. Life happens and sometimes it is good, bad, and ugly, but Paul in the midst of his human struggles revealed how he learned to deal with them. In the fourth chapter, he wrote, "We have troubles all around us...we don't know what to do...we are persecuted...we are hurt sometimes..." In the eleventh chapter, Paul gave more vivid details about his dangerous and costly encounters. He was beaten, stoned, and shipwrecked; he was in danger from raging rivers, bandits, Jews and Gentiles, and at sea. He worked hard, lost sleep, went without food or water, and was cold and naked. Paul said at one point he had even given up hope of living. Talk about occupational hazards! It should be noted that he did all of this for the cause of sharing the gospel of Christ to the world. He was fulfilling what God had called him to do and yet he was suffering for it. When we compare our lives with his, ours seems rather tame, but it doesn't mean that we don't or won't have some serious troubles in life. Just serving the Lord does not insulate us from occasional troubles and its consequences. But as God so powerfully saved Paul, he will save us if we put our hope in the Lord. We must keep the proper attitude and keep from cursing the darkness and confess like Paul, "...but we are not defeated...we don't give up hope...God does not leave us...and we are not destroyed!" Paul said these are but temporary and light afflictions that are working in us for a far greater treasure that brings glory to God.
Job 16:19-21 (NIV) Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend.
Job's friends are accusing him of being a rank sinner because only sinners experience the apparent judgment of God. Job, pleading his case, appealed to a higher authority who would bring justice to this situation. We were all sinners at one time, but whoever calls on the name of the Lord would be forgiven of their sins and cleansed from all unrighteousness. However, this doesn't keep the accuser from tormenting us and trying to bring up our past. Revelation 12:10 exposes the works of the evil prosecutor, "For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night..." But in the court of Heaven we have our defense attorney, our advocate, who answers every accusation on our behalf. John confirmed this by what he wrote in 1 John 2:1, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Yes, we were guilty of sinning against God, but Christ came and removed any evidence from the record! Colossians 2:13-15 in the Message Bible explains it well, "When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets." Revelation 12:10-11 declares, "Salvation and power are established! Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah! The Accuser of our brothers and sisters thrown out... They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb and the bold word of their witness..." When the accuser comes, appeal to your Heavenly Advocate and He will speak up on your behalf.
Job 14:7-9 (NKJV) "For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground, Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant.
In this portion of scripture, the writer is addressing the issue of man’s destiny following the brevity life. There seems to be an uncertainty about life after death and the resurrection in portions of this book, but then there are moments of spiritual understanding that is confirmed in other parts of the Bible. One of Job's moments of spiritual lucidity is found in Job 14:14, "If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes." One of the most recognized of Job’s revelations of the resurrection is found in the nineteenth chapter, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27). In our focus scriptures today, Job declares that a stump of a tree has hope and resurrection at just the scent of water. We too can identify with that tree and I believe Job was referring to man in this. We were cut down because of sin but at the scent of the water of life, we awaken to spiritual life. To the sinful woman Jesus met at the well, He offered her living water leading to everlasting life, "Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life'" (John 4:13-14). This earth bound life is not all there is, there is an eternal life awaiting. If this life was it, it would be miserable and hopeless, but we, as believers, know there is so much more and this life is just a dress rehearsal for the life to come.
Job 9:33-34 (NIV) If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.
Job considered it hopeless to argue his case, as in a court of law, before an all knowing and powerful God. Despite his argument that he was innocent of deliberate sin, in desperation he cried out "...But how can a man be righteous before God?" (Job 9:2). If his life of integrity was not enough to make him right with God, then what would it take? His plea was to find someone who could arbitrate between He and God to settle the reason for seemed to be God's judgment on his life. Arbitration is a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides. Although Job's case has many practical life lessons, there is none more important than finding out how a man can be right with God. We either were or are undeniable sinners and nothing we could do could can satisfy the righteous demand of a holy God. We were helpless sinners without a way to be reconciled to God until Jesus became our arbitrator and settled the sin issue that separated us from God. Paul said it well, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men..." (1 Timothy 2:5-6). We have no argument before God about our goodness or righteousness. Our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God. But through Christ, we have been made righteous, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). To Job, it was a great mystery, but he knew, on his own he could not settle the rift between he and God, but he cried out for a mediator. Is there an unsettled issue between you and God? Then go to Jesus, the arbitrator.
Job 4:12 (NKJV) "Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it.
The book of Job is filled with misunderstanding and miscommunication and all based on misinformation. It is the inspired word of God, but written to teach us some powerful lessons. Job's three friends are the main culprits in this volley of verbal spewing. Job's miserable comforters' argument was based on the assumption that any person experiencing hard times were no doubt out and out sinners. Thus, Job tried to counter this barrage of attack by trying to justify himself and then question God about his seemingly unjustified circumstances. This was a paradigm shift in their thinking and all of us know how difficult it is to change our mind, especially when we are convinced it is right. We also must be careful not to place everyone in what we think are clearly defined categories, because it might not be the case. Certainly, Job's so called friends were right to a point. We will eventually pay for unconfessed sins, but we can't say that everyone is a sinner because they suffer. Most of us know that now, but there are those who are so 'spiritually elite' that still hold on to some misconceptions. Take Job's friend Eliphaz, who believes he has come upon some truth because it came to him mysteriously. Upon examining this 'word', we too must question his real source, which is obvious in the sixteenth verse, "Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up." First, he didn't say it was a word from the Lord. Then, Eliphaz said it came to him secretly. Peter put this kind of thinking to rest when he wrote, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20). Finally, in the light of his new found revelation, it appears that God does not care for the crown jewel of His creation. We have the privilege of having the whole truth of God's word, which must form our thinking, judgment, and ultimately our communication.
Job 1:8 (NKJV) Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"
What would the Lord say about your life? Not only did the Lord testify about Job's godly character, but the Spirit-anointed writer's first line of the book declared, "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil." Even Job's wife, in a less than adoring way said, "...Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9). People should notice our godly character, but it should not be worn as a person that is 'holier than thou' nor should we wallow in the sin of others simply to try and fit in. Character is what a person is when no one else is looking, but rest assured we have a Heavenly audience and One who is keeping record. At first it would appear Job was wearing his integrity as a badge of honor, especially in light of his wife's questionable comments, but in light of what God said about Job, we know he was truly a godly man. We, too, have to understand that though Job was suffering greatly, his wife also suffered. Job's friends, who came to comfort him, accused him of having a hidden sin. They looked at all he had suffered and presumed that he had sinned against God. Therefore, in a round-about-way, they too were testifying to what they had known concerning his integrity. Even through the devastating losses, his physical ailments, and the verbal attacks, Job maintained his integrity because following his wife's outburst the scripture said, "...In all this, Job did not sin with his lips" (Job 2:10). It is times of testing that reveal our true character and be aware people are watching to see if we will maintain our integrity. When you do, it strengthens you and brings glory to God.
