ccc

Dearest Reader,

Below is last night's blog posted 12/4/08 @ 6:45 am because of technical difficulty.

Dear Heart,

Tonight is a reading session.

Enjoy… Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.

But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.

Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.

The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.

In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:

And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?

Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the LORD came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.

He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.

This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

But Solomon built him an house.

Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

Hath not my hand made all these things?

Commentary:

Imagine if God had supposed to do otherwise after Adam disobeyed the last thing he was told not to do. What if God had decided to never communicate with us again? You cannot imagine that can you? Neither can I. Thank God disobedience is not an unpardonable sin. But let us especially thank God for all those men and women from B.C. to A.D. who heard from God, who listened, did and obeyed His voice. Let us praise God and give thanks for everyone in this present age doing the will of God.

Who will labor in the earth without complaining and murmuring? God requires the hearts of men and women who will not suppose their worth by their time in the service of the Lord. You have heard the parable of the kingdom of heaven being likened to a land owner or householder who needed employees to work his vineyard and went out to hire his need. The work of the Lord is labor intensive and the reward as promised is eternal life. When the time comes we will share the same inheritance as those who have helped to build the legacy of faith in God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost. In the meanwhile, our job is to remain as intense laborers committed to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” This simply means that until He returns there is always going to be room for another employee, no matter the lateness of the day. As long as Jesus tarries the kingdom of God will be hiring. (smile).

Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:” is a standing mandate. Before you can teach the people of the earth you must first have heard a word from the Lord. “Whatsoever I have commanded” clearly implies that if as a disciple you are faithful to study and shew yourself approved you will hear continuously from the Lord God his revelation and rhema word. “And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” further confirms the relationship of covenant he has with us. Jesus sealed this word with his Amen, which is to say so be it. In other words, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Which brings me back to Matthew 20:10, “But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.” Please note, those who were hired in the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hour were told, “Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you.’ Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive,” whereas the early morning hires negotiated their daily price.

You see the problem with what the first supposed don’t you? They never understood what they agreed to. They only understood what they received. Because they failed to understand their status an unnecessary dispute took place. The Lord of the harvest said, “Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?”  But go back to verse 2 which reads, “And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” They missed the opportunity for more work because the only thing they could see was the inequality of pay against the time served.

So you know what happened don’t you? When the first forfeited their daily hire the last stepped right in. For many be called but few chosen. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

“Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?”

Scripture reference: Acts 7:1-50, Matthew 9:37-38; 20:1-16, Hebrews 4:1, 6, 11, Isaiah 55:11