THE TALISMAN OF VICTORY

THE TALISMAN OF VICTORY
"In all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us."-- Rom_8:37.

CAN ANYTHING separate me from the love of Christ? was the only question that St. Paul felt worth consideration. 
In this paragraph he takes the extreme conditions of being, and carefully investigates them, knowing that they include all between. 
First, he interrogates Existence--"death and life"; next, created Intelligences--"Angels, principalities, and powers"; 
next, the extremes of Time--"things present, things to come"; next, of Space---"height and depth"; 
lastly, the created Universe --"any other creature." Each of these extremes is passed in review. 
He is like a man proving every link of the chain in which he is going to swing out over the abyss. Carefully and fervently he has tested all, and is satisfied that none of them can cut him off from the love of God.

We strangely misjudge and mistrust the Love of God our Father, and think that our distresses and sufferings, our sins and failures, may make Him love us less. 
But in the home, it is not the troop of sturdy children that engross the mother's care so much as the puny feeble life, that lies in the cot, unable to help itself and reciprocate her love. And in the world, death and pain, disease and sorrow, sin and failure, so far from separating us from God's love, bind us closer.
Oh blessed Love! that comes down to us from the heart of Jesus, the essence of the eternal love of God--nothing can ever staunch, exhaust, intercept it. It is not our love to Him, but His to us, and since nothing can separate us from the love of God, He will go on loving us for ever, and pouring into us the entire fullness of His life and glory. 
Whatever our difficulties, whatever our weakness and infirmity, we shall be kept steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; gaining by our losses, succeeding by our failures, triumphing in our defeats, and ever more than conquerors through Him that loved us.

PRAYER
Yea thro' life, thro' sorrow and thro' sinning He shall suffice me, for He hath sufficed: Christ is the end, for Christ was the beginning, Christ is the beginning, for the end is Christ.

Scatters yet increases!

Scatters yet increases!

John Francis <disciplejohn@outlook.com>

Back to the Bible daily 30th September

Proverbs 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

Our God has great super natural power that is beyond our understanding, because we know that no one can walk on water yet our Lord did. No one can bring the dead back to life after they have been dead for three days, but our Lord did. In the same way my life can be such that all my personal possessions are lost to me yet I still can increase. How can this be? The answer is in the text that shows us that God is a supernatural power that can both give and take away.

In the past I was put in a situation where all my reserve of savings were used in a purpose I had not expected. I believe there should have been sufficient money there from another source, and there was no satisfactory explanation where that money has gone. I was not concerned because God has already restored a lot of my savings from another unexpected source. My God restores what the locust has taken. away

Prayer: Thank you loving Heavenly Father because all we have comes from you, we are nothing without you. Grant that God the Holy Ghost will constantly provoke us, so we will serve you better. May your will be done your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. 

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Put you on the Lord Jesus

“Put you on the Lord Jesus.”
Mat_22:1-14
Mat_22:2-3
It was their sovereign who invited them, and to refuse His invitation was an act of rebellion. 
Their presence was intended to render honour to the marriage of their prince, and their resolution to be absent was a studied insult both to the king and His son. God in infinite condescension has decreed to glorify His Son by bestowing His rich grace upon undeserving man, and when man willfully rejects the favour, he is guilty of insulting the Lord of love. 
Will any of us live and die in this sin?
Mat_22:4
He was very patient, and condescended to reason with His erring subjects, hoping that perhaps their second thoughts might correct their hasty words. He even pleaded with them, though He might have sent forth His armies at once to destroy them. How true a representation is this of the great Father of mercy!
Mat_22:5-6
Only a few were persecutors, the many were despisers only, but they perished in the general doom, for they had despised their prince.
Mat_22:7; Mat_22:10
Those who hear the gospel regularly are often found rejecting it, yet the Lord’s purposes of grace will not fail, Jesus shall see of the travail of his soul, and heaven shall be tenanted by rejoicing millions. Out of the poorest and meanest of mankind sovereign grace will select its favoured ones, and make them partakers of its bounty.

Mat_22:11-12
His conduct was as gross an insult as that of those who refused to come. A dress was provided for each guest, but he would not put it on, he despised the royal livery, and defied the regal law in the palace itself. Thus do those act who unite themselves with the church, and yet are not holy, nor obedient to Jesus. 
They insult the Redeemer to His face and defy Him in His own house. Are any of us guilty of this? Do we profess to be Christians, and go to the communion table, though we do not wear the garments of sanctification! 
If so, let us tremble at the doom which awaits us.

Mat_22:13-14
Even in the visible church all are not the
Lord’s elect. What need of careful self-examination! 
Lord, make us to be truly thine own.

Oh! why do mortals yet despise
This Bridegroom from above?
And for their farms and merchandise
Neglect the feast of love?

Send forth thy messengers, O Lord,
Through all the haunts of sin;
And, hailing sinners by thy word,
Compel them to come in.

For they, who once this supper taste,
Shall thirst for sin no more;
And they, who see The Bridegroom’s face,
Eternally adore.

“What think you of Christ?”

“What think you of Christ?”
Mat_22:15-46

Mat_22:15-16
Men who wish to ensnare us begin with flattery. Let us beware of smooth speeches.
Mat_22:21
By using Cæsar’s coinage they confessed their subjection to his authority, and they were bound to act accordingly. Civil rulers are to be obeyed in civil things, but they must not touch religion, that is the sphere of God alone. Attention to this rule would be a great blessing both to Church and State.
Mat_22:22-32
A most conclusive reply, which shut the mouths of the Sadducees, and showed the Saviour’s infinite superiority to their fancied wisdom.
Mat_22:43-45
This was a puzzle for them, out of which they could not see their way, and thus Jesus left the field victorious over all his foes.

If ask’d what of Jesus I think,
Though still my best thoughts are but poor,
I say, he’s my meat and my drink,
My life, and my strength, and my store,
My Shepherd, my Husband, my Friend,
My Saviour from sin and from thrall,
My Hope from beginning to end,
My Portion, my Lord, and my All.

Christ must be born miraculously

Luke 1:31  You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call His name Jesus. 
Luke 1:32  He will be great, be called 'Son of the Highest.' The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; 

Luke 1:34  Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man."

Luke 1:35  The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God.

 Luke 1:26-38

We have here an account of the mother of our Lord; though we are not to pray to her, yet we ought to praise God for her. Christ must be born miraculously. The angel's address means only, Hail, thou that art the especially chosen and favoured of the Most High, to attain the honour Jewish mothers have so long desired. This wondrous salutation and appearance troubled Mary. The angel then assured her that she had found favour with God, and would become the mother of a son whose name she should call Jesus, the Son of the Highest, one in a nature and perfection with the Lord God. JESUS! the name that refreshes the fainting spirits of humbled sinners; sweet to speak and sweet to hear, Jesus, a Saviour! We know not his riches and our own poverty, therefore we run not to him; we perceive not that we are lost and perishing, therefore a Saviour is a word of little relish. Were we convinced of the huge mass of guilt that lies upon us, and the wrath that hangs over us for it, ready to fall upon us, it would be our continual thought, Is the Saviour mine? And that we might find him so, we should trample on all that hinders our way to him. Mary's reply to the angel was the language of faith and humble admiration, and she asked no sign for the confirming her faith. Without controversy, great was the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, 1Ti_3:16. Christ's human nature must be produced so, as it was fit that should be which was to be taken into union with the Divine nature. And we must, as Mary here, guide our desires by the word of God. In all conflicts, let us remember that with God nothing is impossible; and as we read and hear his promises, let us turn them into prayers, Behold the willing servant of the Lord; let it be unto me according to thy word.

to believe in Christ as a spiritual Saviour, as the Lamb of God,

Luke 1:16  
He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. 

Luke 1:16

And many of the children of Israel,.... To whom only, or at least chiefly, He was sent, and came preaching, and administering the ordinance of baptism; and great multitudes of them flocked unto Him, attended on His ministry, believed in His doctrine, and submitted to His baptism, but not all; for some slighted His preaching, and rejected His baptism: however, some there were, and many too, that were converted under His ministry, confessed their sins, and were baptized by Him; which verified this prediction: 

shall he turn to the Lord their God; not Jehovah, the Father; for though He was the Lord God of the Jews in general, and of those that were turned by John's ministry in a special manner; yet John cannot be said "to go before him", as He is in the next verse; but the Messiah is here meant, who is the Lord Jehovah, and is often so called in the Old Testament; particularly in a prophecy afterwards respected, Isa_40:3 a name peculiar to God alone: and who also is called God, as He is frequently with additional epithets; as the mighty God, God over all, the great God, the true God, and eternal life; and our, your, and their God, the God of His covenant people, whether Jews or Gentiles; see Isa_25:9. Conversion, which is meant by turning to God, is not man's work, but God's; and is effected by His mighty power, which is only equal to it; but John was to be, and was, an instrument of the conversion of many among the Jews, by preaching the doctrine of repentance towards God, and faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, that was just ready to come: he was the means in the hand of God, of turning many from sin, of bringing them to a true sense of it, and to an hearty and ingenuous confession and acknowledgment of it; and from trusting to, and depending upon, their birth privileges, legal duties, and self-righteousness; and from their gross notions of a temporal Messiah; and of leading them to believe in Christ as a spiritual Saviour, as the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, that should take away the sin of the world.

all one in Christ Jesus, who is the one, and only head of this body: and this is an argument to excite the saints to unity of Spirit

Eph 4:5-18  

You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, 
one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness. 
But that doesn't mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. 
The text for this is, He climbed the high mountain, He captured the enemy and seized the booty, He handed it all out in gifts to the people. 
It's true, is it not, that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? 
And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with His gifts, 
filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher 
to train Christians in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, 
until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. 
No prolonged infancy among us, please. 
We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. 
God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love--like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. 
He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love. 
And so I insist--and God backs me up on this--that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. 
They've refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. 

 Ephesians 4:4
There is one body,.... The church; in what sense that is a body, and compared to one; see Gill on Eph_1:23. It is called "one" with relation to Jews and Gentiles, who are of the same body, and are reconciled in one body by Christ, and are baptized into it by the Spirit; and with respect to saints above and saints below, who make up one general assembly; and with regard to separate societies; for though there are several particular congregations, yet there is but one church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven; and saints of different ages, places, states, and conditions, are all one in Christ Jesus, who is the one, and only head of this body: and this is an argument to excite the saints to unity of Spirit; since they are, as one natural body is, members one of another, and therefore should not bite and devour one another; they are one political body, one kingdom, over which Christ is sole King and lawgiver, and a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand; they are one economical body, one family, they are all brethren, and should not fall out by the way. 

And one Spirit; the Holy Spirit of God, who animates, quickens, and actuates the body: there is but one Spirit, who convinces of sin, enlightens, regenerates, and makes alive; who incorporates into the body, the church; who comforts the saints; helps them in their access to God through Christ; makes known the things of Christ to them, is a spirit of adoption, and the seal and earnest of the heavenly glory; and the consideration of this should engage to unity, because a contrary conduct must be grieving to the Spirit of God, unsuitable to his genuine fruits, and very unlike the true spirit of a Christian: and by one spirit may be meant the spirit of themselves, who, as the first Christians were, should be of one heart, and of one soul, of the same mind, and having the same affections for one another; which sense is favoured by the Syriac and Arabic versions; the former rendering the words, "that ye may be one body and one spirit", making this to be the issue and effect of their endeavours after union and peace; and the latter reads them as an exhortation, "be ye one body and one spirit"; that is, be ye cordially and heartily united in your affections to one another: 

even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; that is, the glory hoped for, and which is laid up in heaven, and will be enjoyed there, to which the saints are called in the effectual calling, is one and the same: there are no degrees in it; it will be equally possessed by them all; for they are all loved with the same love, chosen in the same head, and secured in the same covenant; they are bought with the same price of Christ's blood, and are justified by the same righteousness; they are all equally the sons of God, and so heirs of the same heavenly inheritance; and are all made kings and priests unto God, and there is but one kingdom, one crown, one inheritance for them all; and the holiness and beatific vision of the saints in heaven will be alike; and therefore they should be heartily affected to one another here on earth, who are to be partners together in glory to all eternity. So the Jews say (p), that in the world of souls, all, small and great, stand before the Lord; and they have a standing alike; for in the affairs of the soul, it is fit that they should be all שוים, "equal", as it is said Exo_30:15, "the rich shall not give more". 

(p) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 154. 2.

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him might not perish, but have everlasting life

Job 33:24  Then [God] is gracious to him and says, Deliver him from going down into the pit [of destruction]; I have found a ransom (a price of redemption, an atonement)! 

Job 33:24

Then He is gracious unto him - He exercises mercy towards fallen man, and gives command for His respite and pardon. 

Deliver him from going down to the pit - Let him who is thus instructed, penitent, and afflicted, and comes to me, find a pardon; for: - 
VI. By an Atonement

I have found a ransom - כפר  copher, an atonement. 
Pay a ransom for him, פדעהו  pedaehu, that he may not go down to the pit - to corruption or destruction, for I have found out an atonement. 
It is this that gives efficacy to all the preceding means; without which they would be useless, and the salvation of man impossible. I must think that the redemption of a lost world, by Jesus Christ, is not obscurely signified in Job_33:23, Job_33:24. 
While the whole world lay in the wicked one, and were all hastening to the bottomless pit, 

God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Jesus Christ, the great sacrifice, and head of the Church, commissions His messengers - apostles and their successors - to show men the righteousness of God, and His displeasure at sin, and at the same time His infinite love, which commands them to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and that they who believe on Him shall not perish, shall not go down to the pit of destruction, for He has found out an atonement; and that whoever comes to Him, through Christ, shall have everlasting life, in virtue of that atonement or ransom price. 
Job 33:24
Then He is gracious to him,.... To the sick man; either the messenger or the minister that is with him, who pities his case and prays for him; and by some the following words are supposed to be a prayer of his, "deliver me", &c. since one find in the Gospel there is a ransom for such persons. 
Rather Christ, who is gracious to man, as appears by His assumption of their nature and becoming a ransom for them, and who upon the foot of redemption which He has "found" or obtained, see Heb_9:12; pleads for the present comfort and future happiness of His people, in such language as after expressed, "deliver him", &c. Or rather God the Father is gracious to the sick man for His Son's sake, 

and saith, deliver him from going down to the pit; addressing either the disease, so Mr. Broughton renders the word, "spare him (O killing malady) from descending into the pit", the grave, for the present his disease threatened him with. Or the minister of the word attending the sick man, who is bid to declare to him, as Nathan to David, and Isaiah to Hezekiah, that he should live longer, and not die for the present: or rather the address is to law and justice, to let the redeemed of the Lord go free, and particularly the sick man being one of them; and not thrust him down into the bottomless pit of everlasting ruin and destruction, for the reason following: 

I have found a ransom; which is no other than Christ the Son of God; whom Jehovah, in His infinite wisdom, found out and settled upon to be the ransomer of His people; to which He agreed, and in the fullness of time came to give His life a ransom for many, and for whom He has given Himself as a ransom price, which has been testified in due time: and this ransom is for all the elect of God, and is of them from sin, Satan, law, hell, and death; and the finding of it is not of man, nor is the scheme of propitiation, peace and reconciliation by Christ, or of atonement and satisfaction (s) by the sacrifice of Christ, as the word here used signifies, an invention of men; but is the effect of infinite wisdom, and a scheme drawn in the eternal mind, and formed in Christ from everlasting; see 2Co_5:19. 

Some take these words to be spoken by the Father to the Son, upon His appointment and agreement to be the ransomer and Redeemer, saying, "go, redeem him", &c. for so the words (t) may be rendered; and others think they are the words of the Son the messenger to His Father, the advocate with Him for His people, as before observed. 


(s) כפר "propitiationem", Beza, Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Bolducius, Vatablus; "expiationem", Tigurine version; "lytrum", Cocceius; "satisfactionem", Schmidt. (t) פדעהו "redime eum", Pagninus, Montanus &c.

EMBRACE THE CHRISTIAN FAITH BY ASKING JESUS INTO YOUR HEART NOW!

Heb 3:1  SO THEN, brethren, consecrated and set apart for God, who share in the heavenly calling, [thoughtfully and attentively] consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest Whom we confessed [as ours when we embraced the Christian faith].

Hebrews 3:1

Holy brethren - Persons consecrated to God, as the word literally implies, and called, in consequence, to be holy in heart, holy in life, and useful in the world. The Israelites are often called a holy people, saints, etc., because consecrated to God, and because they were bound by their profession to be holy; and yet these appellations are given to them in numberless instances where they were very unholy. The not attending to this circumstance, and the not discerning between actual positive holiness, and the call to it, as the consecration of the persons, has led many commentators and preachers into destructive mistakes. Antinomianism has had its origin here: and as it was found that many persons were called saints, who, in many respects, were miserable sinners, hence it has been inferred that they were called saints in reference to a holiness which they had in another; and hence the Antinomian imputation of Christ’s righteousness to unholy believers, whose hearts were abominable before God, and whose lives were a scandal to the Gospel. Let, therefore, a due distinction be made between persons by their profession holy, i.e. consecrated to God; and persons who are faithful to that profession, and are both inwardly and outwardly holy. They are not all Israel who are of Israel: a man, by a literal circumcision, may be a Jew outwardly; but the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit makes a man a Jew inwardly. A man may be a Christian in profession, and not such in heart; and those who pretend that, although they are unholy in themselves, they are reputed holy in Christ, because his righteousness is imputed to them, most awfully deceive their own souls.
Dr. Owen has spoken well on the necessity of personal holiness against the Antinomians of his day. “If a man be not made holy he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. It is this that makes them meet for the inheritance of the saints in light; as without it they are not meet for their duty, so are they not capable of their reward. Yea, heaven itself, in the true light and notion of it, is undesirable to an unsanctified person. Such a one neither can nor would enjoy God if he might. In a word, there is no one thing required of the sons of God that an unsanctified person can do, and no one thing promised unto them that he can enjoy.
“There is surely then a woful mistake in the world. If Christ sanctify all whom he saves, many will appear to have been mistaken in their expectations at another day. It is grown amongst us almost an abhorrency to all flesh to say, the Church of God is to be holy. What! though God has promised that it should be so; that Christ has undertaken to make it so? What! if it be required to be so? What! if all the duties of it be rejected of God, if it be not so? It is all one, if men be baptized, whether they will or not, and outwardly profess the name of Christ, though not one of them be truly sanctified, yet they are, it is said, the Church of Christ. Why then let them be so; but what are they the better for it? Are their persons or their services therefore accepted with God? Are they related or united to Christ? Are they under his conduct unto glory? Are they meet for the inheritance of the saints in light? Not at all: not all nor any of these things do they obtain thereby. What is it then that they get by the furious contest which they make for the reputation of this privilege? Only this: that, satisfying their minds by it, resting if not priding themselves in it, they obtain many advantages to stifle all convictions of their condition, and so perish unavoidably. A sad success, and for ever to be bewailed! Yet is there nothing at all at this day more contended for in this world than that Christ might be thought to be a captain of salvation to them, unto whom he is not a sanctifier; that he may have an unholy Church, a dead body. These things tend neither to the glory of Christ, nor to the good of the souls of men. Let none then deceive themselves; sanctification is a qualification indispensably necessary to them who will be under the conduct of the Lord Christ unto salvation; he leads none to heaven but whom he sanctifies on earth. The holy God will not receive unholy persons. This living head will not admit of dead members, nor bring men into possession of a glory which they neither love nor like.”
Heavenly calling - The Israelites had an earthly calling; they were called out of Egypt to go into the promised land: Christians have a heavenly calling; they are invited to leave the bondage of sin, and go to the kingdom of God. These were made partakers of this calling; they had already embraced the Gospel, and were brought into a state of salvation.
Apostle and High Priest of our profession - Among the Jews the high priest was considered to be also the apostle of God; and it is in conformity to this notion that the apostle speaks. And he exhorts the Hebrews to consider Jesus Christ to be both their High Priest and Apostle; and to expect these offices to be henceforth fulfilled by him, and by him alone. This was the fullest intimation that the Mosaic economy was at an end, and the priesthood changed. By της ὁμολογιας ἡμων, our profession, or that confession of ours, the apostle undoubtedly means the Christian religion. Jesus was the Apostle of the Father, and has given to mankind the new covenant; and we are to consider the whole system of Christianity as coming immediately from him. Every system of religion must have a priest and a prophet; the one to declare the will of God, the other to minister in holy things. Moses was the apostle under the old testament, and Aaron the priest. When Moses was removed, the prophets succeeded him; and the sons of Aaron were the priests after the death of their father. This system is now annulled; and Jesus is the Prophet who declares the Father’s will, and he is the Priest who ministers in the things pertaining to God, see Heb_2:17; as he makes atonement for the sins of the people, and is the Mediator between God and man.

God be merciful to me a sinner;

Heb 2:17  
So it is evident that it was essential that He be made like His brethren in every respect, in order that He might become a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful High Priest in the things related to God, to make atonement and propitiation for the people's sins. 

Hebrews 2:17

Wherefore in all things - In respect to His body; His soul; His rank and character. There was a propriety that He should be like them, and should partake of their nature. 
The meaning is, that there was a fitness that nothing should be wanting in Him in reference to the innocent propensities and sympathies of human nature.
It behoved Him - It became Him; or there was a fitness and propriety in it. The reason why it was proper, the apostle proceeds to state.
Like unto His brethren - Like unto those who sustained to Him the relation of brethren; particularly as He undertook to redeem the descendants of Abraham, and as He was a descendant of Abraham Himself, there was a propriety that He should be like them. 
He calls them brethren; and it was proper that He should show that He regarded them as such by assuming their nature.
That He might be a merciful and faithful high priest - 
(1) That He might be “merciful;” that is, compassionate. 
That He might know how to pity us in our infirmities and trials, by having a nature like our own.
(2) that He might be “faithful;” that is, perform with fidelity all the functions pertaining to the office of high priest. The idea is, that it was needful that He should become a man; that He should experience as we do the infirmities and trials of life, and that by being a man, and partaking of all that pertained to man except His sins, He might feel how necessary it was that there should be “fidelity” in the office of high priest. Here was a race of sinners and sufferers. They were exposed to the wrath of God. They were liable to everlasting punishment. The judgement impended over the race, and the day of vengeance hastened on. “All now depended on the great high priest.” 
All their hope Was in His “fidelity” to the great office which He had undertaken. If He were faithful, all would be safe; if He were unfaithful, all would be lost. Hence, the necessity that He should enter fully into the feelings, fears, and dangers of man; that He should become one of the race and be identified with them, so that He might be qualified to perform with faithfulness the great trust committed to Him.
High priest - The Jewish high priest was the successor of Aaron, and was at the head of the ministers of religion among the Jews. He was set apart with solemn ceremonies - clad in his sacred vestments - and anointed with oil; Exo_29:5-9; Lev_8:2. He was by his office the general judge of all that pertained to religion, and even of the judicial affairs of the Jewish nation; Deu_17:8-12; Deu_19:17; Deu_21:5; Deu_33:9-10. 
He only had the privilege of entering the most holy place once a year, on the great day of expiation, to make atonement for the sins of the whole people; Lev_16:2, etc. 
He was the oracle of truth - so that when clothed in his proper vestments, and having on the Urim and Thummim, he made known the will of God in regard to future events. 
The Lord Jesus became in the Christian dispensation what the Jewish high priest was in the old; and an important object of this Epistle is to show that He far surpassed the Jewish high priest, and in what respects the Jewish high priest was designed to typify the Redeemer. 
Paul, therefore, early introduces the subject, and shows that the Lord Jesus came to perform the functions of that sacred office, and that he was eminently endowed for it.
In things pertaining to God - In offering sacrifice; or in services of a religious nature. The great purpose was to offer sacrifice, and make intercession; and the idea is, that Jesus took on Himself our nature that He might sympathize with us; that thus He might be faithful to the great trust committed to Him - the redemption of the world. 
Had he been unfaithful, all would have been lost, and the world would have sunk down to wo.

To make reconciliation - By his death as a sacrifice. The word used here - ἱλάσκομαι  hilaskomai - occurs but in one other place in the New Testament Luke_18:13, where it is rendered “God be merciful to me a sinner;” that is, reconciled to me. 
The noun (ἱλασμός  hilasmos - “propitiation”) is used in 1Jo_2:2; 1Jo_4:10. 
The word here means properly to “appease,” to reconcile, to conciliate; and hence, to “propitiate” as to “sins;” that is, to propitiate God in reference to sins, or to render Him propitious. The Son of God became a man, that He might so fully enter into the feelings of the people as to be faithful, and that He might be qualified as a high priest to perform the great work of rendering God propitious in regard to sins. How He did this, is fully shown in the subsequent parts of the Epistle.

Hebrews 2:17
Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren,.... The adopted sons of God, who were brethren before Christ's incarnation, being from all eternity predestinated to the adoption of children: Christ's incarnation was in time, and after that many of the brethren existed; and it was only for their sakes that He assumed human nature; and therefore it was proper he should be like them in that nature, in all things: in all the essentials of it; it was not necessary that He should have it by natural generation; nor that it should have a subsistence in itself as theirs: and in all the properties and affections of it, that are, not sinful; for it did not behove Him to be like them in sin, nor in sickness, and in diseases of the body: and in all temptations; though in some things His differ from theirs; none of His arose from within; and those from without could make no impression on Him: and in sufferings, that there might be a conformity between the head and members; though there is in some things a difference; His sufferings were by way of punishment, and were attended with wrath, and were meritorious, which cannot be said of theirs; but that He should have an human nature, as to its essence and perfection, like to theirs, was necessary: it was proper He should be truly and really man, as well as truly God, 

that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest; He could not be an high priest, offer sacrifice for sin, and make intercession, unless He was man; nor could He be a "merciful" and compassionate one, sympathize with His people in their sorrows, temptations, and sufferings, unless He was like them in these; nor would He be a "faithful", that is, a true and lawful one otherwise, because every high priest is taken from among men: 

in things pertaining to God; in things in which God has to do with His people, as to preside in His name over them, to declare is will unto them, and bless them; and in things in which the people have to do with God, to offer to God a sacrifice for their sins, to present this sacrifice to Him, to appear in His presence for them, to carry in their petitions, and plead their cause as their advocate: 

to make reconciliation for the sins of the people; of God's covenant people, the people He has chosen for himself, and given to His Son; and whom Christ saves from their sins, by making satisfaction for them, to the law and justice of God, which is here meant by reconciliation: and in order to this, which could not be done without blood, without sufferings and death, it was proper He should be man, and like unto His brethren: the allusion seems to be to the two goats on the day of atonement, one of which was to be slain, and the other let go; which were to be, as the Jews say (p), שוין, "alike", in colour, in stature, and in price; and so were the birds to be alike in the same things, that were used at the cleansing of the leper (q): and the Jews tell us (r), that the high priest was to be greater than his brethren, in beauty, in strength, in wisdom, and in riches; all which is true of Christ. 


(p) Misna Yoma, c. 6. sect. 1. (q) Misna Negaim, c. 14. sect. 5. (r) T. Bab. Horayot, fol. 9. 1. Maimon. Cele Hamikdash, c. 5. sect. 1.

Made Like unto His Brethren

Hebrews 2:10-18

“Made Like unto His Brethren” 



Captain reminds us of Act_3:15. It means file-leader. The Church follows its Leader, Jesus Christ, in single file through this world, the cross and the grave, to the glory. But notice that God Himself is engaged in bringing us through; and He cannot lose one. See John_10:29. But He is not only our Captain, He is our Brother. 
We also are born of God. He is sanctifying us and we are being sanctified for a marvelous future, John_17:19. 
How great is His love, that He is not ashamed of us!
Our Elder Brother has encountered our foes, and won deliverance for all who believe. Death remains, but its teeth are drawn and its power is annulled. We need not fear what men call death; to us it is only as falling asleep. He has taken hold of us with a grasp that will never let us go again, Heb_2:16. 
He has been tempted that He might be able to succor us in our temptations. He has suffered that He might tread our darkened paths at our side. He has made reconciliation for our sins, and as our merciful and faithful High Priest, pleads the cause of our souls.

Thomas answered Him, My Lord and my God!

John 20:19-31  

Then on that same first day of the week, when it was evening, though the disciples were behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace to you! 
So saying, He showed them His hands and His side. And when the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy (delight, exultation, ecstasy, rapture). 
Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you. 
And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit! 
[Now having received the Holy Spirit, and being led and directed by Him] 
if you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained. 
But Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 
So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it]. 
 Eight days later His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though they were behind closed doors, and stood among them and said, Peace to you! 
Then He said to Thomas, Reach out your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place [it] in My side. Do not be faithless and incredulous, but [stop your unbelief and] believe! 
Thomas answered Him, My Lord and my God! 
Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, Thomas, do you now believe (trust, have faith)? 
Blessed and happy and to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believed and adhered to and trusted and relied on Me. 
There are also many other signs and miracles which Jesus performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book. 

But these are written (recorded) in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Anointed One), the Son of God, and that through believing and cleaving to and trusting and relying upon Him you may have life through (in) His name [through Who He is]. [Ps. 2:7, 12.Amp] below;


Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son; this day 
[I declare] I have begotten You. [Heb. 1:5; 3:5, 6; II Pet. 1:17, 18.]

Psa 2:12  Kiss the Son [pay homage to Him in purity], lest He be angry and you perish in the way, for soon shall His wrath be kindled. O blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in Him! 

There is A Calling On Your Life

There is A Calling On Your Life

“Called by God.” (Heb_5:4 KJV)

I was invited to speak at a historic church in the North East, a church that was facing a defining moment in their long history. I realized that showing up and simply preaching a sermon would not be the thing to do –  they were desperately needing a word from God, and they were fully expecting me to bring it. I could sense what the Lord was stirring me to say, and on the plane ride to my destination I took a napkin and wrote down these words.

 “There is a calling on your life; a purpose that God has assigned to you. Thus, you can make a difference. However, this calling is not uncontested. To answer it one must be ready to contend for it against challenges great and plenty. The key will be in keeping your heart open and responsive to God. In the end a great work will have been wrought, and a lasting legacy endowed with the grace of God. Shudder, therefore, at the thought of saying no.”
Sunday arrived I preached a message about answering the call of God upon our lives, and during the sermon I took out the napkin and read what I had written to the congregation. It was a dramatic moment. I could tell immediately that the Lord was speaking to many.

Perhaps He is speaking to you even now.

There is a call of God upon your life; a purpose He has for you; an assignment for which you are uniquely suited. Your life matters. You can make a difference in some way that counts. There are no inconsequential people – and certainly this is true of you. 
History is upon us now in its full measure, and the time has never been more certain than now for men and women to answer the call and deliver the goods.

However, you must know that there is an enemy engaged in war against your soul. The call on your life, and you answering it, pose a great threat to this enemy. Thus, he will oppose you in every way – seen and unseen; subtle and spectacular – so as to turn you from your call, deter you from your cause, and diminish your life’s effectiveness and potential. Do not cooperate with him! Fight the good fight to become the man and woman God created you to be, to fulfill the purpose for which you were born, to achieve the goal toward which you press. Submit yourself to God and He will exalt you. Resist the devil, and he will flee!

Open your heart to God and let Him fill it with His Spirit. He will give you the desire to go the distance once you decide to do so. 
He will honor your dedication by granting you success day by day — here a little, there a little — until at length a great work will have been achieved in you and through you for others.
He will garner your determination with His supply of strength, so that no weapon formed against you will prosper, no lie spoken against you will prevail, no bandit sent to rob you will succeed, and no word or work you do will fall ineffective to the ground. You will triumph as He takes hold of your hand and secures your labors in His Name.

Even now as you read these words the Lord makes this offer to you.

“Here am I, Lord; send me!” This was how Isaiah responded. Won’t you follow his example and do the same? After all — there is a calling on your life.

The world is crucified unto Me, and I unto the world

“The world is crucified unto Me, and I unto the world.”
Luke_14:25-35
Luke_14:26
Jesus did not wish to win disciples by mistake. He would not have men follow him without knowing the terms upon which he would receive them as disciples. 
He therefore told them plainly that he must be everything or nothing; he claims the first place in the heart; even parents and children must be second to him. He must be so paramount that for his sake all other dear ones would be abandoned, if need be, and life itself would be relinquished for love of him. 
Less love to Jesus than this is no love at all. Do we love him with an all-absorbing, masterly affection? If not, we have not yet learned to be his disciples.

Luke_14:27
Still further, our Lord proceeds to lay down the terms of discipleship. His followers must suffer loss and shame, and be willing to do so, or they have not learned the first elements of the faith. 
Jesus denied himself for the good of others, and for the truth’s sake, and so must we, or we cannot be his followers. What say we to this?
Luke_14:28-30
To make a profession of religion and not to consider what it will cost us is to subject ourselves to ridiculous failure. We must give Jesus all our heart, and be willing to suffer for his sake. Can we carry this out by the Spirit’s help? If not, it is better not to profess to be Christians.
Luke_14:33
We may not be called actually to do so, but we must be quite ready to lose all for Jesus’ sake, or else we are not his true followers. What martyrs have actually done we must be willing to do, or we have not the grace of God in us.
Luke_14:35
If Christianity itself could become powerless, of what good would it be? If a man renewed by grace could become like other men, how could he be saved? If the Spirit of God and his regeneration could fail, what would remain? Blessed be God, such a failure shall never occur; but if it could, the result must be final and total destruction.
Php_3:7-11
The apostles and the first believers were ready to sacrifice all things for Jesus; they did not ask to walk with the truth in its silver slippers, but were willing to go through the mire with her. Paul is a notable instance of this, for he says,—Php_3:7-11.
Php_3:11
Better far to die for Christ than live by apostacy. Gain by selling Christ would be deadly loss; loss for him is gain. May the Lord enable us calmly to choose Christ and His cross and to forsake sin and its transitory pleasures. Amen.

This man receiveth sinners

“This man receiveth sinners.”
Luke_15:1-10
Luke_15:1
Then drew near unto him all the publicans or tax-gatherers
Luke_15:1
They filled the inner circle, being anxious to catch every word. The Lord Jesus was so kind and affable, that they felt at home with him. He had none of the repelling pride of the Pharisaic doctors, but his loving interest in the fallen classes, like a loadstone, drew them around him.
Luke_15:2
They formed an outer ring of grumbling spies, carping at all that he said and did. In their zeal to find fault with him, they uttered that which has ever remained as his highest praise. It is for us poor sinners a signal mercy that Jesus does receive the guilty, and commune with them. Let us ask him to receive us again at this moment, and eat with us, for it is still true, that “this man receives sinners.” The cavilling of the Pharisees drew from our Lord that richest of all his gospel parables, which we are now about to read. It is but one picture, though painted in three panels.
Luke_15:7
This first picture describes the joy of the Son of God in mans salvation. He is the Good Shepherd, and cares for each one of his sheep. To rescue the lost, he left the saints and angels in heaven, and traversed this wilderness world. He finds those who are not seeking him, and, with hands of love and shoulders of power, brings them home, making himself and all holy beings glad at the finding of the lost. If for us to be saved gives to the Saviour so muck joy, there must be hope for the very worst. Is it not so?
Luk_15:10
The second picture of the one great parable sets forth the work of the Holy Spirit through the church. Man is a precious thing; he bears the image of God; but he is lost. The Spirit, by the church, seeks the lost treasure. The candle of truth is brought, and much trouble is taken by the preaching of the searching word to seek for the lost. Lost souls are found, and then the church is glad, and God himself, before whom angels stand, is full of rejoicing. Whatever we may do, he values the pieces minted in his own mint, and has no pleasure in their being lost. What comfort it ought to be to anxious souls when they learn that their salvation will give joy to the heart of him whom angels adore. One repenting sinner is more joy to God than a new-made world. Let us return to our loving Lord, and grieve him no more. Those who are once found by divine grace are saved, for the angels would not rejoice prematurely over one who might yet be lost. Heavenly joy is never rash; angels cannot be supposed to have rejoiced too soon. True penitents are saved, and therefore, before they enter heaven holy beings rejoice over them with unalloyed delight, expecting to see them ere long in glory.

To see a sinner saved,
Makes glad th’ angelic choir;
O’erwhelmed with mightier ecstasies
They lift their praises higher.

From every golden string
Sublimer praises sound,
The dead restored to life they sing,
The wandering sinner found—

Found, to be lost no more,
Alive, in life to stay,
And love, and wonder, and adore
Through one eternal day.

“Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies

“Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies.”
- Psa_5:8

Very bitter is the enmity of the world against the people of Christ. Men will forgive a thousand faults in others, but they will magnify the most trivial offence in the followers of Jesus. Instead of vainly regretting this, let us turn it to account, and since so many are watching for our halting, let this be a special motive for walking very carefully before God. 
If we live carelessly, the lynx-eyed world will soon see it, and with its hundred tongues, it will spread the story, exaggerated and emblazoned by the zeal of slander. They will shout triumphantly. “Aha! So would we have it! See how these Christians act! They are hypocrites to a man.” Thus will much damage be done to the cause of Christ, and much insult offered to his name. 
The cross of Christ is in itself an offence to the world; let us take heed that we add no offence of our own. It is “to the Jews a stumblingblock”: let us mind that we put no stumbling blocks where there are enough already. “To the Greeks it is foolishness”: let us not add our folly to give point to the scorn with which the worldly-wise deride the gospel. How jealous should we be of ourselves! 
How rigid with our consciences! In the presence of adversaries who will misrepresent our best deeds, and impugn our motives where they cannot censure our actions, how circumspect should we be! Pilgrims travel as suspected persons through Vanity Fair. 
Not only are we under surveillance, but there are more spies than we know of. The espionage is everywhere, at home and abroad. If we fall into the enemies’ hands we may sooner expect generosity from a wolf, or mercy from a fiend, than anything like patience with our infirmities from men who spice their infidelity towards God with scandals against his people. O Lord, lead us ever, lest our enemies trip us up!

Be ye separate.

“Be ye separate.”
- 2Co_6:17
The Christian, while in the world, is not to be of the world. He should be distinguished from it in the great object of his life. To him, “to live,” should be “Christ.” 
Whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he should do all to God’s glory. You may lay up treasure; but lay it up in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where thieves break not through nor steal. You may strive to be rich; but be it your ambition to be “rich in faith,” and good works. You may have pleasure; but when you are merry, sing psalms and make melody in your hearts to the Lord. 
In your spirit, as well as in your aim, you should differ from the world. Waiting humbly before God, always conscious of 
His presence, delighting in communion with him, and seeking to know His will, you will prove that you are of heavenly race. And you should be separate from the world in your actions. If a thing be right, though you lose by it, it must be done; if it be wrong, though you would gain by it, you must scorn the sin for your Master’s sake. 
You must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Walk worthy of your high calling and dignity. Remember, O Christian, that thou art a son of the King of kings. 
Therefore, keep thyself un-spotted from the world. Soil not the fingers which are soon to sweep celestial strings; let not these eyes become the windows of lust which are soon to see the King in His beauty-let not those feet be defiled in miry places, which are soon to walk the golden streets-let not those hearts be filled with pride and bitterness which are ere long to be filled with heaven, and to overflow with ecstatic joy.
Then rise my soul! and soar away,
Above the thoughtless crowd;
Above the pleasures of the gay,
And splendours of the proud;
Up where eternal beauties bloom,
And pleasures all divine;
Where wealth, that never can consume,
And endless glories shine.

The Reversions of Jesus

The Reversions of Jesus
When he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me— John_21:19

The First Command
It is deeply significant to notice the reversions of our blessed Lord. The last command that Peter got (John_21:19) was the first that ever broke upon his ear. When Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee He saw Peter busy at his fishing. It was not the first time that they had met, as we learn from the Gospel of St. John (John_1:42). The Lord had met him and seen his latent strength and given him his new name of rock, but hitherto Peter had been free. It was of that our Lord was thinking when He said: Once thou "walkedst whither thou wouldest" (John_21:18). Peter had no Master then. He was free to go wherever his heart took him. And the first command that Jesus laid on him was "Peter, follow Me," and Peter left his nets and followed Him. Then the Lord of Galilee was risen. In a little while He was going to the Father. He was laying His last commands on the disciples in view of the years that were to come. And the last command He gave to Peter, in that never-to-be-forgotten interview, was the first command that Peter ever got.
The Same Command Came at the End with Deepened Meaning
One thought which springs from such reversions is how words are deepened by the years. How beautifully in this instance is that illustrated. When Peter first heard that word of Christ he was a young man, dreaming the dreams of youth. Conscious of power, he was growing restless at the thought of spending a lifetime dragging nets. And when the Lord said, "Peter, follow Me, and I will make you a fisher of men," He struck home, with His unerring touch, to that slumbering and uneasy discontent. That was what following meant for Peter then. It meant the realization of his dreams. It meant a loftier and nobler service than he could hope for by the sea of Galilee. Peter was like a Highland lad, rebelling at being a tenant farmer all his days, and then one comes and calls him to the ministry. Now the years had passed, and life had come. Peter had been in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had witnessed the suffering of Jesus and learned the necessity of cross-bearing. What a depth of meaning now in the words "Follow me," a depth that he had never dreamed of once, when he first heard the call beside the lake.
And when we come to think of it that is what life does with every one of us. It does not give us new words after the years; it fills the old words with a deeper meaning. Think of the word war, for instance. How little it meant to us twenty years ago. It was a word of history and far-off battlefields, in those quiet and peaceful days. Then came the Great War, pouring its tides into our hearts and homes. And what a depth of meaning we never dreamed of once is wrapped up for us now in the word war. Think of the word mother. When we were young we took the word for granted. We never saw the patience and the sacrifice sleeping in that word mother. Now with the flight of years we understand, and the word is richer by ia thousand times than when it was uttered by the lips of childhood. Life does not come to us with new words. It comes to us with old familiar words. By joy and sorrow, by suffering and striving, it fills them with meanings which once we never saw. And that is just what Jesus did with Peter, when at the end, infinitely deepened, He gave him the first command he ever got.

Return to the Old and Simple Things
Again how often, after life's experience, do we come back to the old and simple things. That is precisely what Simon Peter did under the perfect handling of the Lord. These three years that he had spent with Jesus had been the greatest years of Peter's life. Old things had passed away; they were years of exploration and adventure. Walking with Christ is always a fine adventure; it is a launching out into the deep, and so had it proved itself with Peter. He had been led to a new thought of God; he had fathomed the secret of his Lord; he had stood on the summit of transfiguration; he had eaten the sacramental bread. And now, in the hour of Christ's departure, when he might have looked for something strange and wonderful, he was led back to the old simplicities again. "Follow me" was the earliest word in Galilee, when the morning was beautiful and life was tranquil. Since then the windows of heaven had opened and all the deeps had been broken up. And now, after that spiritual voyaging, Jesus lays on him anew the first command, and leads him back to the old and simple things.
And so does life do in many different ways, often, for instance, in reference to the Bible. From all the glory and the wealth of literature, life brings us back to that old Book again. Need I recall to you Sir Walter Scott, dying beside the music of bagpipes. "Lockhart," he said, "read to me from the Book," and Lockhart answered, "Which book, sir?" And then Scott, the same great heart in dying as he had been in living, said, "My dear, there is only one book." What a poorer world it would be for many of us without the glorious stories of Sir Walter. What a poorer world it would have been for him without his ballads and his Dryden and his Shakespeare. Yet, when the hand of God had touched him, and deep was calling unto deep, 
"My dear, there is only one book." He was back to the old simplicities again. Mortal needs conspired to bring him back. And what mortal needs conspired to do for him Christ did for Simon Peter. He brought him back to the old and simple word which he had heard in the morning by the sea of Galilee, "Follow thou me."