Meditate on it

Section 95 JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM TEN LEPERS CONCERNING THE KINGDOM (Borders of Samaria and Galilee) LUKE 17:11-37 "All ten lepers were healed—but only the one who gave thanks was made whole. That is, he was saved spiritually as well as healed physically. Jesus notices those who come back to say, "Thank you." In fact, according to Mal_3:16, the things we say concerning what the Lord has done for us, how He has blessed us, His faithfulness to us are written in a book of remembrance. I think of the baby books parents keep in which to record their children's first words, first steps, and growth. So, too, the Lord keeps such books recording the words, walk, and growth of His children. " -Courson "And having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God comes, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come in such a manner that one can carefully observe its approach. Neither shall they say, Look, here or there, for, see, the kingdom of

Section 94 RETIRING BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN'S DECREE Jerusalem and Ephraim in Judea JOHN 11:47-54 Summary: Upon heading about the raising of Lazarus, the response of the Pharisees and leaders was to call a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we going to do about Jesus?" the Jews ask each other. "If we don't stop Him, the Romans will come down to quell a potential insurrection and we'll lose our place." You see, for the Pharisees, the ministry was simply a platform for personal prestige and power. Thus, they weren't concerned about God being in His rightful place. They were only concerned about losing their place." -John Courson Such a good point here by Ryle: "This is a marvelous admission. Even our Lord's worst enemies confess that our Lord did miracles, and many miracles. Can we doubt that they would have denied the truth of His miracles, if they could? But they do not seem to have attempted it. They were too many, too public,

Section 93 PERÆA TO BETHANY RAISING OF LAZARUS JOHN 11:1-46 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”  But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”   John 11:3-4 The raising of Lazarus is only recorded in John. "St. John, who seldom relates any thing but what the other evangelists have omitted, does not tell us what gave rise to that familiar acquaintance and friendship that subsisted between our Lord and this family. It is surprising that the other evangelists have omitted so remarkable an account as this is, in which some of the finest traits in our Lord’s character are exhibited. The conjecture of Grotius has a good deal of weight. He thinks that the other three evangelists wrote their histories during the life of Lazarus; and that they did not mention him for fear of exciting the malice of the Jews against him. And indeed we find, from

Hebrews 11: 8-12 Abraham Review We learned about faith: ...substance to things we hope for ...has tangibility ...provides evidence for the things you can't see ...carried forth by elders from one generation to then next ...testimony of the believer has always been God's faithfulness ...helps us to understand things that without faith, we could never understand We've looked at examples: Abel--will come to worship God in the way God prescribes Enoch--walked with God in obedience and hope, and preached in a generation that was headed for the flood....faithful to the Lord and before the judgement of God came God took him Noah--true faith produces works/actions that bring results.  Noah was warned of rain, yet it had never rained.  For 120 years, he built ark in midst of most vile society family, by the time he was done his family was saved, and the world had been put on notice and found itself condemned and Noah was given right standing with Him. Right standin

Faith Defined #5 Message 12/27/2018 Jack Abeelen Growing Thru Grace Hebrews 11:7 Noah By faith Noah....divinely warned of things not seen as yet...moved with godly fear and went to work. Context: Reviews Hebrews 10. This is a Hebrew fellowship ready to go back, to quit on their faith. Let us draw near. Let us hold fast.  18 or 19 examples, then non-named examples. Genesis 6 & 7 The generation of Noah was as bad if not far worse than ours.  6:5  "Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually..."  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  Noah walked with God.  Had three sons.  All flesh had corrupted its way.  The end of flesh has come upon me. Darkness in Noah's day was everywhere...yet in the midst of all these people, easily 6 billion people in the day of Noah, there was one shining light in the desert.  Perfect in his generation Noah is the first person in the Bible to be called righteous. "that which God accepts&quo

Faith Defined #4 Message 12/26/2018 Jack Abeelen Growing Thru Grace Hebrews 11: 6 Enoch Two Examples: Abel & Enoch ENOCH Genesis 5:24 His entire story covered in 4 verses, 50 words "and he was not, for God took Him" 7th generation from Adam, Methuselah's dad, and the great-grandfather of Noah who would be saved through the flood. Notice: Methuselah's birth had a tremendous spiritual impact on his life. At 65 years old, he has a son and he begins to walk with the Lord.  For the next 300 years, his relationship with God continues to go forward. Methuselah oldest man in the Bible, lived to be 969, died in the year of the flood, never accomplished anything but this, according to the Bible. You'd think if you lived that long something else would be said.  Sometimes shares the story of Methuselah's life at children's funerals--just because you are young, doesn't mean your life is incomplete. His greatest work was being born. He'

Section 92 SECOND GREAT GROUP OF PARABLES Probably in Peræa Subdivision G CONCERNING OFFENSES, FAITH, AND SERVICE. LUKE 17:1-10 FORGIVENESS " And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!"   Luke 17:1 Principle: Sin will come. "In this life sin cannot be eradicated - such things are bound to come."  -BKC "The plain meaning of our Saviour, when He affirms it to be impossible but that offences will come, is this only—that, considering the state of the world, the number of temptations, the freedom of men’s will, the frailty of their nature, the perverseness and obstinacy of their affections; it cannot be expected, it cannot be supposed, it cannot be hoped, but that offences will come; though it be very unreasonable they should come. Since our Saviour has forewarned us that it must needs be that such offences will come as may prove stumbling-blocks to the weak and inattentive, let us

Faith Defined Message 12/20/2018 Jack Abeelen Growing Thru Grace Hebrews 11: 4-6  Abel & Enoch Two Examples: Abel & Enoch Doctrine finishes 10:18, then we come into practical examples... Every example He gives us, you can add to your understanding of what persevering Biblical faith is. One sentence explanation of what they add to the picture of persevering Biblical faith that pleases God. "By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice....and through it, he being dead still speaks...." First example is Abel. One thing for sure, faith is the only thing that God has ever responded to from the lives of the people. In the OT and the New, faith has always been the way to life with God, not works.  Works are just evidence of the faith that you have. It was true for Adam, and it was true for Eve. Adam & Eve had seen the face of God, but they still had to decide if they would obey by faith or if they would turn to their own ways. Their childr

Faith Defined #1 12/19  Hebrews 11: 1-3 "The Hall of Faith" Focus: "What true faith is all about" 12-13 week series Jack Abeleen, Growing Thru Grace Lead up Laid out doctrinal truths before this then... Paul, Hebrews 10 ---Let us...true heart in full assurance of faith, let us hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering, let us consider one another. Paul, Hebrews 10:38---Don't throw away your confidence, will have great reward waiting, need endurance, after you have done the will of God, you will receive promises in a little while, but just will live by faith. Hebrews 12--run the race Paul could have just skipped 11 and moved on to 12, but he stops to define, to illustrate, to distinguish the characteristics of a kind of faith that is not only true and saving but is pleasing to God.  They needed to see the truth of God's promises that could see them through; ultimately they needed to trust God. What kind of faith pleases God? This i

Section 92 SECOND GREAT GROUP OF PARABLES  (Probably in Peræa) Subdivision F PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS LUKE 16:19-31 "The charge against the rich man was, not that he had injured Lazarus, but that he had not helped him. Man condemns us for doing wrong, God for failing to do right." -F.B. Meyer Lazarus was translated to the realm of blessedness-the bosom of Abraham bespeaking nearness to him at the great feast-not because he had been so poor and miserable, but because, beggar though he was, he possessed the faith of heart and the purity of motive that characterized his great ancestor. -F.B. Meyer "The poor man died and was carried by the angels Abraham's side ." -Luke 16:22 What a lovely promise to think upon--angels escorting us to Heaven.  The Pulpit Commentary suggests that it teaches also the continuance of the spirit without delay to Heaven or Hell. The Rich Man and Lazarus, 1610, anonymous, Dutch low countries Is it a p

A side discussion on the word Hades. "The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side ."  Luke 16:22-23 Hades (en tōi Hāidēi). See note on Mat_16:18 for discussion of this word. Lazarus was in Hades also for both Paradise (Abraham’s bosom) and Gehenna are in the unseen world beyond the grave. -RWP Mat 16:18   And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  "The gates of Hades (pulai hāidou) shall not prevail against it. Each word here creates difficulty. Hades is technically the unseen world, the Hebrew Sheol, the land of the departed, that is death. Paul uses thanate in 1Co_15:55 in quoting Hos_13:14 for hāidē. It is not common in the papyri, but it is common on tombstones in Asia Minor, “doubtless a survival of its u