Grosey's Messages: August 2024

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Backwards Christian Soldiers

Backward Christian soldiers,
fleeing from the fight,
With the cross of Jesus clearly out of sight:
Christ our rightful Master stands against the foe,
But forward into battle we are chicken to go.
Like a mighty tortoise moves the church of God;
Brothers we are treading where we've often trod,
We are much divided, many bodies we,
Having different doctrines, not much charity.
Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus hidden does remain;
Gates of hell should never "gainst that Church prevail,
We have Christ's own promise, but think that it will fail.
Sit here, then, ye people, join our useless throng;
Blend with ours your voices in a feeble song.
Blessings, ease, and comfort, ask from Christ the King.
With our modern thinking, we won't do a thing.
-- George Verwer, Come! Live! Die!, p. 91-92.

# posted by Groseys messages @ 2:56 PM

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Father’s Day

This weekend: Father's day in Australia ...
it is a truth that for many people this is something that is awkward.... for some people their dads are at best a disappointment and at worse a tragic tale of abuse and madness, to say nothing of those who grieve over not having a dad or being able to become a dad, and so we could ask is Father's day worth celebrating? Indeed the same can be said about mother's day. Yet the scriptures remind us that there is a rightness about honouring our father and mother. Parents ought to be honoured and be honourable. They are to love, provide and protect ... That's the ideal; and when that does not happen - that is not God's fault. It does, however, give us an insight into the reality of sin in our lives and in society. The good news is - sin can be forgiven. God Himself offers to be the ultimate Father to us. He offers us all that an earthly father should give in comfort, strength and encouragement.
When we say Father we express God's nature, as in all eternity past In the trinity, the Triunity of the Godhead, the Father is always in eternal relationship with the Son, Jesus. These are deep truths hard to comprehend but revealed in scripture.
When we say Father, we also expect His nurture. Calling Him Father infers that we are His children. When we become Christians, we are supernaturally born again. His very life comes into us.
We can find great comfort in knowing we have His care. Matthew 6:31-33 NASB95 - Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you
We also have His correction. Hebrews 12:7 NASB95 - God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
We also have His companionship. Matthew 6:8-9 NASB95 - So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9" Pray, then, in this way 'Our Father who is in heaven." You can come to Him anytime any day and talk to Him and call Him Father.
And we have His compassion. A true father would die for his children. That is exactly what God the Father did when He sent Jesus to take on the sins of the world.
As we Father's experience our Great Father's Care, Correction, Comfort and Compassion, so we can express this to our own children, no matter what our personal experience of Fatherhood may have been.

Happy Father's Day guys. Trust yourself to our great Father.

# posted by Groseys messages @ 4:51 PM

Sunday, August 18, 2024

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Bitterness and Unforgiveness

Do you have a friend or family member who has been hurt by somebody and is struggling to forgive? Perhaps your loved one is waiting for their offender to show remorse before they let go of the offense. They may say, "I know God wants us to forgive others, but I just can't forgive that person until they apologize to me!"

As Christians, we're familiar with these words in the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). But what if our "debtor" refuses to apologize? Is it possible to forgive people who aren't sorry?

The world says people have to apologize and attempt to make things right—or at the very least show some remorse—to earn forgiveness. But the Bible says we have the power to forgive the people who hurt us, even if they don't apologize.

Perhaps you've also been deeply hurt, and you're struggling emotionally and spiritually as you wait for the person who hurt you to say "I'm sorry." Let me offer three powerful reasons to unconditionally forgive those who have wronged you, even if they're unwilling or unable to say "I'm sorry."

Unconditional forgiveness is biblical. In Mark 11:25, Jesus said, "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." If somebody has wronged you, Jesus said you're to forgive that person. It doesn't matter whether your offender is in the next room, the next state, or the cemetery—Jesus said you have the ability in your own heart to begin and end the forgiveness transaction.

In Luke 17:3, Jesus said, "If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." Notice that Jesus didn't say, "If and only if he repents, forgive him." No, He was simply saying, "If somebody asks for your forgiveness, forgive them."

Repentance is your offender's responsibility; forgiveness is your responsibility. It takes two people to reconcile a relationship, but it takes only one person to forgive.

Unconditional forgiveness is practical.

Do you want to spend your life confronting everybody who wrongs you, demanding an apology so you can forgive and move on? Not only would that be uncomfortable, but it might be impossible. You may have lost touch with your offender, or perhaps they've died. Does that mean you're doomed to a lifetime of bitterness?

No. Unconditional forgiveness allows you to let go of the wounds of the past regardless of what your offender does. That doesn't mean they won't face any consequences. It means you're letting go of your right to hurt them for hurting you.

Unconditional forgiveness is beneficial.

Have you ever been in a three-legged race? Your leg is tied to your partner's leg, and as you hobble toward the finish line, you think, If I could get free from this person, I could run a lot faster and farther. But you are bound to your partner. You can travel no faster and no farther than they can.

When you refuse to forgive, it's like you're binding yourself to your offender. You can go no farther and no faster in life than they're willing to travel. Your well-being depends on what they choose to do.

God designed forgiveness to free us from the people who hurt us. When we forgive, we're saying, "What this person did to me was wrong, but I don't want to be bound to them any longer. I'm letting God settle the score so I can get on with my life."

Has God brought to your mind somebody who has hurt you deeply? Perhaps you've lost touch with that person, or perhaps they're unwilling or unable to repent.

You don't have to be their prisoner any longer. God wants you to be free from the wounds of the past so you can "run with endurance the race that is set before [you]" (Hebrews 12:1). The way to experience that freedom is to forgive.

I've seen it a lot – church members who get angry at someone and then stay that way. I've seen people refuse to talk to each other at church, as if their silence is a godly adult reaction to disagreement. My heart breaks when I see such reactions because I've seen bitterness consume people for years. Here's why that happens:

The enemy wants you to stay unforgiving so your prayers are hindered. Jesus' words were clear here: "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing" (Mark 11:25). Satan delights in anything that harms your own walk with God and halts your prayers.

Your bitterness is sin. When you stay angry and unforgiving, you are living in disobedience. That sin has a way of becoming a foothold, and then a stronghold – even while you deceive yourself that your continual anger is just.

Your stronghold of bitterness can quickly become an idol. If you choose to stay bitter when God demands a change of heart, you are choosing to serve your emotions over God's command. You may not have a carved idol sitting on a shelf in your living room, but you're just as much an idolater.

You carry the bitterness wherever you go. Even when you separate yourself from the person who's offended you, the bitterness resides in you—and affects the rest of your life.

Your bitterness affects every other relationship you have. Few of us are so intentional and strong that we can compartmentalize every relationship. Your bitterness affects all your relationships, even if only by others seeing your continual anger.

Even stifled bitterness is still present in you. You may have pressed it down, but all someone needs to do is "push the right button" in you—and all that anger rises to the surface again. It's still there, slowly eating a hole into your soul.

Our sinful egos naturally protect our "right" perspectives. Few people want to admit their own failures, especially when someone else has clearly been in the wrong. So, we refuse to forgive rather than even suggest that we may have been wrong.

Bitterness hinders living in faith. Bitterness usually looks backward, but faith looks forward. It's hard to look in that latter direction with hope when bitterness has captured you.

Bitterness opens the door to other sin. That's just naturally the case—one unforsaken sin dulls our senses to the work of the Holy Spirit, and other sin begins to invade our lives.

If you are holding on to bitterness today, I encourage you to repent and ask God to change your heart. Holding on to bitterness is not worth the cost.

I'm convinced one of Satan's tools in the church is to influence believers to get angry at each other – and stay that way. He knows that we will never threaten his kingdom as long as we're shooting each other in the back (Matt 6:14-15).

As you prepare for worship this weekend, take some time to answer these questions to see if you need to forgive someone.

Has someone deeply hurt me or one of my family members? Many of us must answer "yes" to this question – which means that we also must (or have had to in the past) decide what we will do with our pain. Thus, we must ask the following questions, too. . . .

Do I still get angry or anxious when I think about that person? The pain may be so recent that you've simply not fully worked through it yet, or it might be that you're just holding on to it because you feel justified in doing so.

If that person has already passed away, am I justifying my continued anger? He or she's gone, so what's the big deal about dealing with your feelings now?

Do I quietly hope that that person also hurts like I have? That's a harsh question, I know, but I've known people who would only "forgive" after their offender also experienced some kind of similar pain.

Would I help that person if he or she needed ministry? An unwillingness to serve a perceived enemy is an indication of a disobedient heart.

Can I pray for that person? I don't mean a "may God get you" prayer, of course. If that person is a non-believer, can you pray for him or her to be saved? If he or she is a believer, can you pray that God will use him or her for His glory?

Would I be frustrated if God blesses that person? If you would dare wonder what God would be thinking if He blessed your enemy, your heart is out of tune with Him.

Would I probably avoid that person at church this weekend? If so, you know you still have some forgiveness work to do.

Am I willing for this post to confront me and convict me? What you do with this post will show you something about where you are. Increased anger is a sign that you need the Lord to keep working on your heart this weekend.

If you need to forgive somebody and would like us to pray for you, let us know.

# posted by Groseys messages @ 10:24 AM

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

The conversion of Bruce

One church I pastored in country New South Wales was dominated by the Shire Clerk treasurer organist and Masonic leader. The normal stay of a pastor at that baptist church was 9 months. He would depart with the church cheque book and starve them out. For 30 years he did this. I arranged an automatic transfer of funds while he was away too his hatred and annoyance. A few months later I ran into the local building inspector. "What's going on at your church ?" I looked across at our building: it wasn't on fire and only my car was there. "Bruce is nice!" At that moment his secretary walked bye. "Yes Bruce is nice! Can we come to your church and find out what's going on?"
Two weeks later we needed to discipline a sour old farmer in our church. He presented at the deacons meeting "Bruce, you're a mason….!" Oh no. They were both masons! There was going to be blood on the floor and it was all going to be mine!
Bruce looked at me then the floor then the other men, then Keith the farmer, then me, the floor. "I used to be a mason until a few weeks ago. I gave my heart to Jesus, He came in and now there's no more room in my heart for the Lodge!"
All our jaws dropped. We were all speechless until Keith spoke "pastor everything you said about me is right! I'll get my life right now and I'll sort out my wife too!"

# posted by Groseys messages @ 3:55 PM

2Corinthians 4:16-18, 5:1-10 How Christ Transforms Your Present Troubles

Don't Lose Heart, Be Of Good Heart Get a Great Heart. 4:16 ἐγκακοῦμεν, So we do not lose heart.

5:6, 8 We are of good courage (θαρρουμεν).

The Past Tells Us Troubles cause a loss of heart.

We could lose heart. A Tenting Life Οἴδαμεν γὰρ ὅτι ἐὰν ἡ ἐπίγειος ἡμῶν οἰκία τοῦ σκήνους καταλυθῇ, For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed,

A. A Tenting Life Is Testing. We Are in Perishing Condition Though our outer self is wasting away,

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them";2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain,3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed,4 and the doors on the street are shut---when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low---5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets---6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern,7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

B. A Tenting Life Is Tormenting We Are in a Painful Condition affliction 5:3 we groan, being burdened-

C. A Tenting Life Is Temporary We Are in a Passing Condition For the things that are seen are transient

D. A Tenting Life Is Traumatising We Are In A Perplexing Condition.. we cannot see it all yet. Why did I think tents ?

BUT! 4: 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

The Present Tells Us The Lord Jesus Is Bigger Than The Troubles What we can see is Jesus' resurrection. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν earthen vessels

What we can feel and Understand is the Spirit's assurance.

5:5He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 4:16 our inner self is being renewed day by day.

The Future Encourages That The Lord Jesus Transforms All Troubles We Can Gain Heart

But death leads to a greater life. 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

Our Mortality Will Be Swallowed Up By Life4. καταποθῇ τὸ θνητὸν ὑπὸ τῆς ζωῆς. what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Our Temporary Home Will Be swallowed Up By The Eternal Home. Absent from the body and Present with the Lord.

Our Formality Will Be Swallowed Up By Intimacy at home with the Lord. we make it our aim to please him.

1 Face to face with Christ, my Savior, Face to face- what will it be When with rapture I behold him, Jesus Christ who died for me?

\: Face to face I shall behold him, Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all his glory, I shall see him by and by.2 Only faintly now I see him With the darkened veil between,
But a blessed day is coming When his glory shall be seen. \3 What rejoicing in his presence, When are banished grief and pain; When the crooked ways are straightened And the dark things shall be plain

2 Corinthians 5:10

FIVE THINGS IN OUR LIFE WILL BE EVALUATED.

A.Our love for God and others.

1 Corinthians 14:1 "Let love be your greatest goal."

B. How faithful we were with what God gave us.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 " [2] Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."

C. The motives we had for serving God. I Cor 4:5 "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."

D. The purity of our life. Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."

Matthew 12:36 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken."

E. Our faithfulness in sharing Christ with others.

Acts 20:26-27 "Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. [27] For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God."

# posted by Groseys messages @ 2:56 PM

Saturday, August 10, 2024

The Peril Of Pornography

Matthew 5:27-32 Psalm 119:9-15, Proverbs 5:9-23

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

What Is Wrong with Pornography?

It Is Psychological Poison

Just like a drug, he has to go deeper and deeper, and move into more hard drugs, as he moves into more hard-core pornography: first, addiction;; then, escalation;; and then, thirdly, the person is desensitized. Dr. Klein said, "What was originally shocking;; what was seen originally as anti-social;; what was seen originally as depressing, becomes now acceptable, and the person is no longer shocked, no longer offended, by this material."

That is the third step. And then, he says, the fourth step is this: Almost invariably, the individual is tempted, and many times does act out what he sees. Now he may try to act that out with his partner, his wife; sometimes, other members of his family; sometimes, his children; to engage in sexual activities, many of which are deviant. It goes: addiction; then, escalation; and then, desensitization; and then, finally, dear friend, the acting out of this thing.

It Brings Domestic Damage

Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house." (Proverbs 5:7–8)

"Flee also youthful lusts." (2 Timothy 2:22) "Flee," the Bible says.

"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18) "Flee fornication." "Flee youthful lusts." Don't even come near her house.

Consider the Deadly Consequences (Proverbs 5:9–10)

Dissipation Don't come near the door of her house,"—"lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger." (Proverbs 5:9–10)

Disease "And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed." (Proverbs 5:11) You're saying, "Is AIDS the judgment of God?" My dear friend, it is the consequence of sin. It's the consequence of sin.

Disappointment "And [you'll] say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!" (Proverbs 5:12–13) The Living Bible translates this verse this way: "Oh, if only I had listened! … Why wouldn't I take advice?" People say this is what liberates. It doesn't liberate.

Disgrace "I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly." (Proverbs 5:14) What does that mean in plain English? The Living Bible says, "For now I must face public disgrace." You can only hide it so long. One of these days, sir, God is going to expose you. One of these days, young lady, your sin is going to be made known. If not here, at the Final Judgment, for Luke chapter 12 and verse 2 says, "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." (Luke 12:2) What a disgrace that's going to be! Your wife, your children, your parents, your pastor, your friends, will know. You will not be able to hide this sin. You may be hiding it now, but sooner or later it will be made known. That's what verse 14 is talking about. I remember reading about a newspaper that had this motto: "If you don't want it printed, don't let it happen."

Dominion His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." (Proverbs 5:22) I don't know of any other sin that enslaves like the sin of immorality. There is a dominion; there is a person who is held, is entrapped, by this sin. "Every other sin that a man commits is without the body. He that commits adultery and fornication sins against his own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18) And there is a bondage there.

Death "He shall die without instruction." (Proverbs 5:23) There is moral death. There is spiritual death. There is eternal death. And the warm flames of lust will turn to the fiery flames of hell. Do you think that you can live this way and strut into heaven? I am telling you, my dear friend, you are going to go straight to hell. Listen to 1 Corinthians 6:9 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,"—that means "homosexuals"—"nor abusers of themselves with mankind…shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)

God intends better for you!

"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth." (Proverbs 5:18) What is God's best? God's best is one man for one woman till death do them part. I love my wife. I thank God for my darling wife. I would not trade our Christian home for anything on earth. Sometimes I teasingly say to Joyce, "If you ever leave me, I'm going with you." My dear friend, listen. She's mine. She's mine to keep, and I'm hers to keep. What a lasting marriage, the Bible says here, "Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth"—the same wife that you had as a young man.

A Loving Marriage

Not only is it a lasting marriage; God's best intention is a loving marriage. Look in verse 19: "Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love." (Proverbs 5:19) Oh, my dear friend, listen—listen. Don't get the idea that, if you live according to God's law, you are going to miss out. The problem is if you don't live according to God's law; you are going to miss out. These kids are talking about going all the way. That's the one thing they don't do; they don't go all the way. They don't know the fulfillment, the joy, of a monogamous marriage—the ravishing love that comes by one man committed to one woman until death do them part.

Don't you know that God's laws are for your welfare? God is not some tyrant sitting up there in heaven making a bunch of laws to make you squirm, like a worm in hot ashes, trying to keep those laws. God loves you! God's laws are for your welfare. And every time God says, "Thou shalt not, " God just simply says, "Don't hurt yourself. " And every time God says, "Thou shalt, " God is saying, "Help yourself to happiness. " And God is not trying to keep sex from you; He is trying to keep sex for you! Here is God's wonderful gift! And that's the reason God says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14) That's the reason God says, "Flee fornication," (1 Corinthians 6:18) because God has something so wonderful for you. And God wants you, my dear friend, to have a lasting marriage, and God wants you to have a loving marriage.

How Can You Keep Your Mind Pure?

Admit Your Problem and Get Clean 1John 1:9

Affirm Your Purpose to Stay Clean

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?" Now when he says his way has to be cleansed, that means that he knows that the way is dirty. He must cleanse his way. Now, look at the word way. Do you see it? "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?" Do you see the word way there? The Hebrew word here has the idea of a rut—like a rut in a dirty road. It's a groove. It is something that is a groove in one's mind. A person with a filthy mind has a groove in his mind;; he has a one-track mind. He has a muddy rut in his mind. And his thoughts always run in that way, just like the wagon wheels get down in the rut in a road. That's what he's talking about. He has a way.

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to [the Word of God]." The instrument of cleansing is the Word of God. Now, my dear friend, if you don't first of all get clean, you are never going to win the war. First of all, you must admit your problem and get clean. Jesus Christ said in John chapter 15 and verse 3, "You are clean. You are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." (John 15:3) And the word clean there is the word katharos. It is the word that we get catharsis from. Do you know what a catharsis is? A catharsis is a cleansing on the inside. Now Jesus will make you clean on the inside through His Word. "You are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."

"With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments." (Psalm 119:10)

Half-hearted Christians. My dear friend, if you don't get clean, then you're not going to stay clean. But you can get clean and not stay clean unless not only do you admit your problem, but you affirm your purpose. You say with all there is of you and in you; every inch, every ounce, every nerve, every fiber, every corpuscle;; with your whole heart, you seek God. Look in verse 10: "With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments." Being halfhearted is an insult to God, and it does no good. There is a battle for your mind; and if you're halfhearted, you're going to lose it.

Listen to these verses. James chapter 1 and verse 8: "A double minded man is unstable in all of his ways." (James 1:8) James 4, verse 8: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4:8) Listen to this. I am talking about a whole heart now. Deuteronomy 4:29: "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29)

"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself." (Daniel 1:8) Have you ever purposed in your heart? Have you ever said, "With my whole heart I am determined; by the grace of God I am determined I will not behave this way"? The Bible says in Job chapter 31 and verse 1—Job speaking, and he said— "I have made a covenant with my eyes. Why then should I look upon a maid?" (Job 31:1) What Job did was this. He said, "I have determined;; I made a covenant with my eyes, I'm not going to do it."

Apply Your Protection to Keep Clean "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." (Psalm 119:9) Now, let me tell you how to use the Bible as an antidote against pornography. Let me tell you how to use the Bible as an antidote against lust. Let me tell you how to use the Word of God to purify your heart and to keep your heart clean and pure. Jesus said, Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17) Now, how? All right, here are the steps.

1.Memorize the Word of God "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." (Psalm 119:11) Do you see it? That is black print on white paper, my dear friend. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." The Bible is your one true protection. If you do not load up on the Word of God, even though you may purpose to stay clean, you will not stay clean. These hath God married, and no man shall part: Dust on the Bible, and sin in the heart.

My dear friend, you need to get into the Word of God. Do you have a daily quiet time with God? Do you have a time when you get alone with God? Do you have a time when you're taking mega-doses of the Word of God? If not, no wonder that you are failing. No wonder that you are going down.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." And all of those things are found in the Word of God. That's a description of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then Paul said, "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." (Philippians 4:8–9) God says, "Listen. Fill your mind with that which is right."

2. Personalize the Word of God "Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes." (Psalm 119:12) What good is it to memorize it, if you don't understand it? My dear friend, not only must you memorize it;; you must personalize it. Facts from the Bible are not enough—even wonderful facts. You cannot separate the Word of God from the God of that Word. And God must take that Word and teach it to you. And He will teach it to you.

"O God, teach my thy Word;; Lord, I want to know your Word"—it's not enough to memorize it;; my dear friend, personalize it. Let me give you five little steps as you read any passage. Just ask yourself: Is there a lesson to learn? Is there a sin to avoid? Is there a blessing to enjoy? Is there a promise to claim? Is there a new thought to carry with me? If you'll just use those five questions, almost any passage of Scripture will just burst aflame. "Teach me, O God, thy Word."

3. Verbalize the Word of God "With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth." (Psalm 119:13) Now, my dear friend, when you memorize it, and when you personalize it, then begin to share it. Begin to verbalize it. Begin to speak it.

4. Vitalize the Word of God 14 "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches." Is that true to you? Do you really rejoice in God's Word? Does God's Word mean more to you than any other possession that you could posses? David said so: "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways." Do you stand in awe of the Word of God? Do you have respect unto God's ways? Look in verse 16: "I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word." (Psalm 119:14–16) Now, look at these words. Verse 14: rejoice. Look in verse 15: respect. Look in verse 16: delight. What I'm trying to say is just vitalize the Word of God. Just understand how wonderful it is.

5. Internalize the Word the God 15 "I will meditate in thy precepts." (Psalm 119:15)

Do you see that? Do you know what meditation is? It has two ideas. One is the idea of rumination, or chewing the cud. They say a cow has four stomachs, and it will go out there in the field and load up on alfalfa and hay and clover and Bahia and whatever, and put these things in various stomachs. And then the cow goes out and will lie down under a tree and get to thinking about that clover, and say, "Clover, please," and some clover comes up, and he chews that clover. And then he says, "Alfalfa, please," and that comes up, and he chews that. You've seen the cow just ruminating and chewing the cud, because the cow, she has assimilated that: it is down there to be drawn upon.

Or again, the word meditate has the idea of humming. Have you ever had a tune get into your head and you just couldn't get it out, and you go around all day long just humming a tune? The Word of God is to be that way. How important is meditation?

"Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes." (Psalm 119:23) Look, if you will, in verse 48: "My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved;; and I will meditate in thy statutes." (Psalm 119:48) Look, if you will, in verse 97: "O how I love they law! it is my meditation all the day." (Psalm 119:97) Look in verse 148: "Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word." (Psalm 119:148)

All this junk about "safe sex" is a crock. Listen to me, my dear friend. That's like talking about safe sin. There is no such thing. It is sacred sex—which is the best sex. And God says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14) He's not trying to keep sex from you;; He's trying to keep sex for you. God loves you. It is one of His greatest gifts. And don't mess it up. And don't you blow it. And if you have, my dear friend, admit your problem and get clean. And then, dear friend, affirm your purpose to stay clean. And then, apply your power to keep clean, which is the Word of God. Get that Word of God in your heart. Let it flow through you. And don't tell me it won't work if you haven't tried it. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." (Psalm 119:9)

# posted by Groseys messages @ 10:13 PM

Tuesday, August 06, 2024

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

BEATITUDE 3 The MEEK INHERIT

Word puzzles One on the screen. Frustrating.. this Beatitude can be frustrating too. The Meek.. inherit the earth! What??!! Inherit.. it implies someone dies and leaves you an inheritance. The earth? Well that's a big inheritance. Exaggeration? When? How ? who ? what? Merret: "Frankly, we don't know all that that means, but I do know this. What Jesus is saying is, "When you will give God all that should come to Him, you will get all that you would want to come to you.""

Beatitude 1 guilt. 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Beatitude 2 grief 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Beatitude 3 grace adoption to the Father. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

When a man is converted, the first operation of the Grace of God within his soul is to give him true poverty of spirit, so the first Beatitude is, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." The Lord first makes us know our emptiness and so humbles us. Then next He makes us mourn over the deficiencies that are so manifest in us. Then comes the second Beatitude, "Blessed are they that mourn." First, then, is a true knowledge of ourselves and then a sacred grief arising out of that knowledge.

And then there is grace. Brought into the family of God reconciled to God you can now call Him "our father which art in heaven.." our Father. My Father.

A Deeper Covenant Commitment and A Broader Personal Promise and A Life-changing Response

A Deeper Covenant Commitment

In Matthew 5:5 Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Now to some, meekness means weakness; but not to Jesus and not to Christians. To understand the meaning of "meek," we need to go back before Jesus because these words were not original with him. In fact, he was quoting Psalm 37:11, "The meek will inherit the land, and enjoy great peace."

Psalm 37:9 NASB95 - For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. 10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. 12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Psalm 37:22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
Psalm 37:29 The righteous will inherit the land And dwell in it forever.
Psalm 37:34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

It was a promise that the meek would inherit the land. The early readers of the Psalm took it, and rightly so, to be referring to the promised land of Palestine. God was promising to give his faithful people of Israel villages, towns, valleys and mountains where they would prosper.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (6:10). The opposition between heaven and earth clearly implies that land/earth refers to the entire earth. The petition anticipates a time when God's plan for the earth itself will be fulfilled finally and completely. This is the blessed earth that Jesus' disciples will inherit.

Meekness in the LXX meant dependence and submission towards God.

How are we to be submitted to God?

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

Wow it is still an issue today! But how did Israel keep the land in the times of the Kings of Judah? Reading through the books of Chronicles and Kings is telling. It gives us understanding of what it means to be meek. To be dependant upon the covenant relationship with God. Most of the Kings were too strong for God to use. And they lost "the land" either in part, as other opposing kings took valuable cities from Israel and Judah in battle, or totally, as another king came in and exiled all the people of Judah to Babylon.

2 Chronicles 16: 1 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, 3 "There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me." 4 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. 6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah. 7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars."

How do you stop from worry? How do you stop from anger? How do you stop yourself from selfish retaliation or an unsubmissive response to abuse or persecution or malice?

Remember God is your Father. Be Submissive to God's Ways Because God is Your Father

God is in Covenant with you, therefore trust Him! God was the Creator of every human being, not just of Israel, but he had not established a covenant relationship with everyone. Only with the people of Israel and Judah. That was the Old Testament. Only Judah and Israel had a covenant relationship with God. It was only the Jews. But now the Lord Jesus takes this purely national Israel promise and makes it broader and personal to anyone who grieves over their sins and finds grace from the Lord. The Old covenant: Jews alone! The New Covenant: to anyone world wide who trusts in Jesus!

God as Father is a term rarely used in the Old Testament. It is there is Isaiah, but the Lord Jesus developed the term so that we understand under the new covenant in Jesus we are in a better covenant relationship with God. The Lord Jesus brought us to understand the Fatherhood of God the Father.

And this is where we get on with this Beatitude. We are loved by the Father because of the grace we have received in the Lord Jesus Christ. We as believers who have been poor in spirit and mourned for our sin and received comfort from God have the greatest comfort available, that we should be called the children of God. We have entered into a Father-child relationship with God. That is our new identity! You are no longer just an Aussie just a dutch, just an asian, just a middle easters, just a Europen, you have a greater new identity. You are a child of God! That which was unknown under the Old Covenant is now made known to us in the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Covenant. And that knowledge of the Fatherly covenant with God changes us. Look out how the Lord Jesus picks up on this idea of reconciliation with God to know Him as Father in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.

You Can Rest Because Your Father Knows Best

Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

You Can Rest Because Your Father Cares Best

Matt7:11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

We live in such a competitive culture that we are taught never to give up, never to give out, and never to give in. There are certainly times when that is great advice, but there is virtue in a totally different way and for a totally different reason to sometimes giving up and giving in. What we are going to learn today is simply put: the way to be in control is to be surrendered to God's control. The way to be surrendered to God is to recognise your new relationship to the Father. So, a meek person is a person whose will has been broken by the power of God and whose will is totally surrendered to the will of God. A meek person is simply someone who has finally and fully waved the white flag and surrendered all that they are to all that God is. And because He is our Father who knows and cares for His children best, we can confidently submit ourselves to His control.

A Broader Personal Promise

Surrender To Our Father In Heaven.

Conversion is inviting God to transform us and yearning for a complete turnaround, a shift in direction both morally and spiritually. It is not just about what you say, but about the transformation of your heart. Conversion is not just a one-time decision or a mere commitment; it is a complete surrender to the authority of Christ in your life. Have you experienced a personal transformation like this? If so, I encourage you to take a moment to express gratitude to the Lord for His saving grace. If you have not yet taken this step personally, I pray that today will be the day you wholeheartedly surrender your life to Christ and embark on the journey He has planned for you.

Surrender Your Cares to The Father

"Be still before the Lord," commands Psalm 37:7, and verse 11 promises, "The meek will inherit the land." Meekness is the secret of possessing everything. And when you possess everything, you do not have to fret over what others have or what they are doing. King Saul's restlessness was caused by his envy of David, and he literally killed himself chasing David and trying to keep him from getting the crown. Saul's power was not under control, and it destroyed him.

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." What does that mean? Does it mean that meek people escape the difficulties of life? I don't believe so, because Moses was meek and yet he faced one difficulty after another. To answer the question we must go back to Psalm 37, where the original statement is found. The conflict in this psalm is between the righteous and the wicked. (Note the repetition of "the wicked" in verses 10, 12, 14, 20–21, 28, 32, 34–35, 38, and 40.) It appears that the wicked are winning and the righteous are losing. James Russell Lowell phrased it, "Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne."

What can the righteous do in such a dangerous and difficult situation? Fret? No. God said, "Do not fret because of evil men" (Psalm 37:1). Fight? No. The Lord stands by to protect the righteous and fight their battle for them. "The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble" (v. 39).

Then what should the righteous do? Meekly submit to God's will by trusting in the Lord (v. 3), delighting in the Lord (v. 4), committing their way unto the Lord (v. 5), and resting in the Lord (v. 7).

The result is that they will "inherit the earth," which simply means that they do not have to be afraid of anybody or anything because God is in control of them and their circumstances. To inherit the earth means to reign as king over yourself and your circumstances through the power of the Holy Spirit. "A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace" (vv. 10–11).

When you are meek, you seek nothing for yourself, and when you seek nothing for yourself, God gives you all things. Saul's self-seeking cost him his crown, but David's submission gave him the kingdom. Something else is true: Meekness means power under control, and when you can control yourself, everything belongs to you. If you can reign in peace over the kingdom within you, then God will give you all you need .. you inherit the earth!

King Saul never learned meekness because he always tried to scheme his way out of the difficulties of life. Instead of trials bringing out the best in him, they brought out his worst. And he always had an excuse ready whenever Samuel showed up. But David profited from the trials of life and, in spite of his failures (and we all have them), learned how to be meek. Saul tried to use his own authority to make himself great, but David decided to leave the whole deal with God. God promised, He would do it.

Surrender Your Material Cares To Your Father The meek person is never envious of others because of what they have. "Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked" (Psalm 37:16). "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). The great enemy of meekness is impatience. "Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land" 34

A Life-Changing Response

Are you Submitted to God's Word?

James 1: 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Learn of Him With A Repentant Heart Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness

Learn of Him With A Receptive Heart and receive with meekness the implanted word,

Learn of Him With A Responsive Heart which is able to save your souls.

Learn of Him With A Reflective Heart which is able to save your souls.

Are You Submitted to God's Purposes?

James 1: 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

Why does James begin with anger and the Psalmist begins with anger and fretting?

Because when we are under pressure and stress from outside forces we are always tempted to react with anxiety (fretting) or anger. It is the Flight or Fight Response.

Instead, having drawn our self-worth from our relationship with God as our Father, and knowing that our Father Knows Best and our Father Cares Best, we should respond with trust in the Lord.

Psalm 37: 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

CH SPURGEON wrote "If there should be anybody here who is of an angry spirit, kindly take home these remarks and try to mend that matter, for a Christian must get the better of an angry temper. Little pots soon boil over and I have known some professing Christians who are such very little pots that the smallest fire has made them boil over! When I hear of anybody losing his temper, I always pray that he may not find it again, for such tempers are best lost. The meek-spirited man may be naturally very hot and fiery, but he has had Grace given to him to keep his temper in subjection. He does not say, "That is my constitution and I cannot help it," as so many do. God will never excuse us because of our constitution–His Grace is given to us to cure our evil constitutions and to kill our corruptions!"

Have you heard the term Donnybrook? A donnybrook in Aussie English comes from the Irish settlers.

Some are always on the alert for some cause of annoyance. An Irishman at Donnybrook Fair, trailed his coat in the dirt, asking for somebody to tread on it, so that he may have the pleasure of knocking that somebody down!

The truly meek person is humble, gentle, patient, forgiving and contented–the very opposite of the man who is proud, harsh, angry, revengeful and ambitious. It is only the Grace of God, as it works in us by the Holy Spirit, that can make us this meek. It is recognising that our self-worth is not a crown for us to defend. We have submitted the crown of our life to our Father. If they say.. let them say. It is not to you to defend yourself. If you don't defend yourself, then you inherit the earth!

I have felt, when I have been in a meek and quiet spirit, as if everything around me belonged to me. I have a beautiful view where we are living. And I didn't have to pay for it. The farmer across the road paid for it. And I have been very much obliged to him for keeping it just for me to sit on my front verandah and look at it.

If trouble should come, you are in God's hands. If there should come little aanxieties that cause you to fret and fume, you will not allow yourself to be troubled by them, but will say, "With a little patience, they will all pass away… or I will pass away." "The meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."

Spurgeon said: "After this earth has been purified by fire. After God shall have burned the works of men to ashes and every trace of corrupt humanity shall have been destroyed by the fervent heat, then shall this earth be fitted up again, and angels shall descend with new songs to sing and the New Jerusalem shall come down out of Heaven from God in all her glory! And then upon this earth, where once was war, there will be quietness and peace! There shall be neither swords nor spears and men shall learn the arts of war no more. The meek shall then possess the land and every hill and valley shall be glad, and every fruitful plain shall ring with shouts of joy, and peace, and gladness throughout the long millennial day!"

Is God your Father? He cares for you no matter what others say. If they say.. let them say.

# posted by Groseys messages @ 10:22 PM

Saturday, August 03, 2024

BEATITUDE 3 The MEEK INHERIT

Call to worship Psalm 37:1-17

Law grace reading : 2 Chronicles 14:1-15

Bible reading Matthew 5:1-12

Benediction Hebrews 13:20.21 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Word puzzles One on the screen.

Frustrating.. this Beatitude can be frustrating too. The Meek.. inherit the earth! What??!!

Inherit.. it implies someone dies and leaves you an inheritance. The earth? Well that's a big inheritance.

Exaggeration? When? How ? who ? what? Merret: "Frankly, we don't know all that that means, but I do know this. What Jesus is saying is, "When you will give God all that should come to Him, you will get all that you would want to come to you.""

BEATITUDE 3 The MEEK INHERIT

Beatitude 1 guilt. 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Beatitude 2 grief 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Beatitude 3 grace adoption to the Father. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

And then there is grace. Brought into the family of God reconciled to God you can now call Him "our father which art in heaven.." our Father. My Father.

Psalm 37: 10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. 12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Psalm 37:11, it was a promise that the meek would inherit the land. The early readers of the Psalm took it, and rightly so, to be referring to the promised land of Palestine. God was promising to give his people villages, towns, valleys and mountains where they would prosper.

But we get to Inherit the world.. inherit the land…

Meekness in the LXX meant dependence and submission towards God.

Most of the Kings were too strong for God to use.

1 Be Submissive to God's Ways In All of Life Because God is Your Father

God is in Covenant with you, therefore trust Him!

You are the sons of the Lord your God … For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth (Deut. 14:1–2).

You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from old is your name (Isa. 63:16–17).

O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever (Isa. 64:8–9).

At first sight it might appear that Isaiah was calling God Father because he was Israel's Creator, but matters are not as simple as that. God was the Creator of every human being, not just of Israel, but he had not established a covenant relationship with everyone. It is clear from the way that Isaiah addressed him that he regarded Israel's connection to God as something special, and different from what could be said about the entire human race. For him to call God Father was to acknowledge a particular relationship with him. In these verses, God is addressed as Father, not because he is Israel's Creator, but because he is its Redeemer, which reveals the nature of the special relationship that God has with his chosen people. The covenant context of God's fatherhood is also expressed in other Old Testament texts, although the word "Father" is not specifically mentioned. Consider, for example, the words of Moses: Psalm 103: As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him (Ps. 103:13).

The Lord Jesus brought us to understand the Fatherhood of God the Father.

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34) and "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46) there is no doubt that he was not talking to himself.

Jesus revealed that the Father had decided to redeem the world, not by himself but through his Son. The New Testament never explains why the Father and the Son are related to each other in this way. All that we can say is that both of them are eternally present in the Trinity, but why one of them is the Father and the other is his Son is a mystery hidden from our eyes (John 1:1–3) What we do know is that it was the Father's plan to save his chosen people and that the Son voluntarily agreed to become a man in order to carry out the Father's intentions (Phil. 2:5–8). The sins of human beings had to be paid for, not because the Father is vindictive but because his human children matter to him.

And this is where we get on with this Beatitude. We are loved by the Father because of the grace we have received in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We as believers who have been poor in spirit and mourned for our sin and received comfort from God have the greatest comfort available, that we should be called the children of God. We have entered into a father child relationship with God. That which was unknown under the Old Covenant is now made known to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that knowledge of the Fatherly covenant with God changes us.

Look out how the Lord Jesus picks up on this idea of reconciliation with God to know Him as Father in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.

7: 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Of course the best reminder of the new relationship with God is the parable of the prodigal son. The Father restores the son to a restored relationship with his father.

Are you Submitted to the Father's Will?

We live in such a competitive culture that we are taught never to give up, never to give out, and never to give in. There are certainly times when that is great advice, but there is virtue in a totally different way and for a totally different reason to sometimes giving up and giving in. What we are going to learn today is simply put: the way to be in control is to be surrendered to God's control. So, a meek person is a person whose will has been broken by the power of God and whose will is totally surrendered to the will of God. A meek person is simply someone who has finally and fully waved the white flag and surrendered all that they are to all that God is.

Two horses: one is tame and the other is wild. On the outside, they both look exactly identical. They act the same, eat grass the same way, and both neigh the same way. How do you know they are different? Just try to put a saddle on both of them and one of those will react far differently because one is a meek horse (a broken horse, a tamed horse, a surrendered horse) while the other is not. That is why a truly meek person will get out of his bed every morning saying three words to God every single day, "I surrender all."

Matt 6:33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

Surrendering to the Lord of Heaven. You may hear about people experiencing mystical encounters, wonderful dreams, or mind-blowing moments during their conversion stories. And you might wonder if you have experienced true conversion, true salvation, if you haven't experienced something almost unbelievable, too. While those types of experiences can be a part of a journey towards conversion, they are not the defining factor. Conversion isn't merely a feeling or an extreme encounter.

Rather, conversion is inviting God to transform us and yearning for a complete turnaround, a shift in direction both morally and spiritually. It is not just about what you say, but about the transformation of your heart. Paul's true conversion on the road to Damascus was not solely based on what he saw or heard, but on the profound change that took place within him.

Conversion is not just a one-time decision or a mere commitment; it is a complete surrender to the authority of Christ in your life.

Have you experienced a personal transformation like this? If so, I encourage you to take a moment to express gratitude to the Lord for His saving grace. If you have not yet taken this step personally, I pray that today will be the day you wholeheartedly surrender your life to Christ and embark on the journey He has planned for you.

The conflict in this psalm is between the righteous and the wicked. (Note the repetition of "the wicked" in verses 10, 12, 14, 20–21, 28, 32, 34–35, 38, and 40.) It appears that the wicked are winning and the righteous are losing. James Russell Lowell phrased it, "Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne."

King Saul never learned meekness because he always tried to scheme his way out of the difficulties of life. Instead of trials bringing out the best in him, they brought out his worst. And he always had an excuse ready whenever Samuel showed up. "An excuse," said Billy Sunday, "is the skin of a reason, stuffed with a lie." People who are good at excuses are rarely good at anything else. But David profited from the trials of life and, in spite of his failures (and we all have them), learned how to be meek. Saul tried to use his own authority to make himself great, but David said to God, "You stoop down to make me great" (Psalm 18:35).

2. Are You Submissive To God's Ways and Timing?

The meek person is never envious of others because of what they have. "Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked" (Psalm 37:16). "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread" (Psalm 37:25).

The great enemy of meekness is impatience. This is why the psalmist admonishes us: "Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land" (v. 34).

3. Are you Submitted to God's Word?

James 1: 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Learn of Him With A Repentant Heart Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness

Learn of Him With A Receptive Heart and receive with meekness the implanted word,

Learn of Him With A Responsive Heart which is able to save your souls.

Learn of Him With A Reflective Heart which is able to save your souls.

4. Are you Submitted to God in your temper?

CH SPURGEON wrote If there should be anybody here who is of an angry spirit, kindly take home these remarks and try to mend that matter, for a Christian must get the better of an angry temper. Little pots soon boil over and I have known some professing Christians who are such very little pots that the smallest fire has made them boil over! When you never meant anything to hurt their feelings, they have been terribly hurt. The simplest remark has been taken as an insult and a construction put upon things that never was intended. And they make their brother offenders for a word, or for half a word, yes, and even for not saying a word! Sometimes if a man does not see them in the street through being short-sighted, they are sure he passed them on purpose and would not speak to them because they are not so well off as he is. Whether a thing is done or is left undone, it equally fails to please them. They are always on the alert for some cause of annoyance and almost remind one of the Irishman at Donnybrook Fair, trailing his coat in the dirt and asking for somebody to tread on it, that he may have the pleasure of knocking that somebody down! When I hear of anybody like that losing his temper, I always pray that he may not find it again, for such tempers are best lost. The meek-spirited man may be naturally very hot and fiery, but he has had Grace given to him to keep his temper in subjection. He does not say, "That is my constitution and I cannot help it," as so many do. God will never excuse us because of our constitution–His Grace is given to us to cure our evil constitutions and to kill our corruptions!

Put these five qualities together and you have the truly meek man–humble, gentle, patient, forgiving and contented–the very opposite of the man who is proud, harsh, angry, revengeful and ambitious. It is only the Grace of God, as it works in us by the Holy Spirit, that can make us thus meek.

They inherit the earth that they enjoy what they have.

"but that is not inheriting the earth–it is only inheriting a part of it." Well, it is inheriting as much of it as we need and there is a sense in which the meek do really inherit the whole earth. I have often felt, when I have been in a meek and quiet spirit, as if everything around me belonged to me. I have walked through a gentleman's park and I have been very much obliged to him for keeping it in such order on purpose for me to walk through it!

If trouble should come, you will bow to it as the willow bows to the wind and so escapes the injury that falls upon sturdier trees. If there should come little vexations, you will not allow yourself to be vexed by them, but will say, "With a little patience, they will all pass away." I think I never admired Archbishop Leighton more than when I read a certain incident that is recorded in his life. He lived in a small house in Scotland and had only a manservant beside himself in the house. John, the manservant, was very forgetful and, one morning when he got up before his master, he thought he would like to have a day's fishing, so he went off and locked his master in. He fished until late in the evening, forgot all about his master, and when he came back, what do you think the bishop said to him? He simply said, "John, if you go out for a day's fishing again, kindly leave me the key." He had had a happy day of prayer and study all by himself.

"The meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." After this earth has been purified by fire. After God shall have burned the works of men to ashes and every trace of corrupt humanity shall have been destroyed by the fervent heat, then shall this earth be fitted up again, and angels shall descend with new songs to sing and the New Jerusalem shall come down out of Heaven from God in all her glory! And then upon this earth, where once was war, the clarion shall ring no more! There shall be neither swords nor spears and men shall learn the arts of war no more. The meek shall then possess the land and every hill and valley shall be glad, and every fruitful plain shall ring with shouts of joy, and peace, and gladness throughout the long millennial day!

# posted by Groseys messages @ 9:47 PM

Grosey's Messages

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Backwards Christian Soldiers

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Father’s Day

Sunday, August 18, 2024

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

The conversion of Bruce

2Corinthians 4:16-18, 5:1-10 How Christ Transforms Your Present Troubles

Saturday, August 10, 2024

The Peril Of Pornography

Tuesday, August 06, 2024

Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

Saturday, August 03, 2024

BEATITUDE 3 The MEEK INHERIT

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