Bible Study with Fred, Mark, chapter 5, verses 1 20, part three, publish it

Mark, chapter 5, verses 1-20, comments, part three, publish it

 

5:11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

Devils crave a body and animals will do. Obviously, not only humans, but animals can be possessed by unclean spirits.

5:13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

There are possibly a thousand unclean spirits in a man or more.

5:14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Devils like nakedness. Contrast the shame that a Godly person feels about his or her public nakedness by the statements in Genesis 2 before the Fall and the understanding of good and evil. People who insist on displaying their nakedness to the world are not innocent little children who have no understanding. They are adults possessed by an unclean spirit which somewhat explains pornography and much of the activity at the beach, which, as I have heard, 95% of Americans live within an hour of.

Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

5:16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.

Devils make a person hurt themselves, they want a body to inhabit, and they are drawn to water.

5:17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

Often, when God’s power is manifest in a person’s life his family and friends want nothing more to do with him because they want Jesus to leave.

Mark 5:18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

Decapolis, from the Greek words, Deka, for ten, and polis, for city, the ten cities, was a region on the eastern side of what is now Israel. Some of the cities would be in Jordan now, and the furthest north, Damascus, is in Syria. Most of them, except for Damascus, were founded between the death of Alexander the Great and the conquest of Palestine by the Romans. In their beginning, those cities founded by Greek conquerors had a Greek culture in sharp contrast to the surrounding Semitic people. The existence of a herd of pigs, forbidden to eat under the Law given to Moses, shows how much this was a Gentile dominated region. Until the emperor, Trajan, added Arabia to the official roster of Roman claimed territories, Decapolis would have been the frontier area for the empire in that particular part of the world.

Psalm 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

This man who had been delivered of so much pain and anguish wanted desperately to go with Jesus but Jesus ordered him to publish, to let everyone know, what had been done for him in his home cities. There are many great preaching illustrations from these verses but one might be how as much as we might think it would wonderful to go home to be with the Lord as soon as we are saved we are told to stay here and publish what a marvelous thing Christ has done for us in our home city. Of course, there are Christians who are mighty witnesses for God down the road but who don’t even know their own neighbors much less publish what God has done for them to those folks.

How many of your neighbors have you visited? Handed a gospel tract to or helped in some way to show your love for them and Christ’s love for them? Does your family know your testimony? Do you have a sound witness to them and those who live around you? If the people closest to you in your family or neighborhood aren’t drawn by you having the fruit of the Spirit of God flowing from your life what makes you think God is going to give you the blessing of seeing people saved twenty miles away? It’s possible the only way that your neighbors and family know you’re a Christian is by your conspicuous absence on Sunday morning or Wednesday night.

In your day-to-day activities around the people you spend the most time with, at work, at home, in your neighborhood, at the local market, what is your testimony? Is it that of a person of character who is grateful to Christ for His mercy and loves other people or are you known as a pain in the neck who just likes to point attention to how different or weird they are? Maybe no one who lives around you even knows what you are?

Publish in (fill the town in which you live in the blank) how great things Christ has done for you.

Bible Study with Fred, Proverbs, chapter 21, verses 5 and 6, part one, a...

Proverbs 21: 5,6 comments, a lying tongue, part one

 

Proverbs 21:5 ¶ The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

Notice how diligent is contrasted as an antonym, a word having the opposite meaning of another, with hasty. Diligent is thorough in the following verses, as well;

Deuteronomy 19:18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;

Psalm 64:6 They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

So, if you want to do something diligently you won’t be hasty. There is an old saying, “haste makes waste”. This is a practical Proverb for everyday life on the literal level. We say, “if something is worth doing then it’s worth doing right.” We also say, “we don’t have time to do it right but we will have time to do it over.” Take your time, do something thoroughly and do it right.

The way to have plenty is to be diligent, careful, and thorough. One of the many ways to poverty is to make rash decisions; to be hasty and thoughtless in business. Making decisions from the “gut” as they used to say is a good way to keep that gut empty. People who act impulsively may be fun to be around for about a minute but they are horrible examples to follow.

 

Proverbs 21:6 ¶ The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

Proverbs 10:2 has already told us;

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

Proverbs 13:11 has said;

Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

In fact, in this age of Christ’s Church we Christians are warned of something even more explanatory of the time in which we live;

1 Timothy 6:6 ¶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

This Proverb specifically talks about obtaining wealth by lies, deception, and fraud which, alas, appears to be one of the common ways in which such treasures are obtained. Investment bankers and traders use other people’s hard-earned money which they naively placed at their disposal to engage in trades that relieve the investor of his cash and benefit the bankers and traders with great commissions on every transaction. It seems amazing to me that people still trust a system that appears to seek to impoverish them by playing and gambling with their hard-earned money. In the end, though, such “success” on the part of the person doing the lying is simply the road to death. The person who finds such treasures in dishonesty and deception will think himself a success and very clever and neither in need of a Saviour nor feeling the need to repent of his wickedness. With each commission check the weeks and months tick off closer to the time of his death and the eventual facing of God in a fiery judgment for an eternity that knows no end to pain and humiliation. The road to his destruction is paved with the ruined finances of the people he deceived and the lives that had the potential to not suffer want that were led to poverty by his actions. Of course, we hope this represents a small minority of bankers and traders, don’t we?

This would apply to anyone who gains wealth, blind to his or her own need for repentance and salvation, dishonestly, by lying and fraud.

But there is a deeper meaning to this Proverb, perhaps. There are preachers and teachers who gain the treasures of souls won for Christ by lies and fraud. It is a common thing and has been since the days of the Bible’s writing, as Paul warns.

 

2Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Many of them would even be using what I would call the right Bible and still be engaged in lies, fraud, and deception.

These lying so called men of God, like the old prophet in 1 Kings 13 who lied to the man of God resulting in the younger man’s death, are deceivers and speak “great swelling words of vanity”. They will tell people that you get saved by trusting Christ and believing in and on and just believing Him, as the Bible says very clearly in Romans 10, and then add a laundry list of other things you must do, in their opinion, which they have heard from other liars they admire, in order to “make it stick”.

And yes, new converts to Christ are likened to treasures. As Jesus warns His disciples about false teachers;

Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs (false male teachers; read 2 Peter chapter 2, Philippians 3:2; and Revelation 22:16) , neither cast ye your pearls (for believers and the people of God as precious stones see Exodus 28 with 1 Peter 4:5,6) before swine (false female teachers; again see 2 Peter, chapter 2 and pay close attention to verse 22), lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

These people will tell the new Christian that the most important thing once saved is that he or she come to church and go “soul winning” when, as Pastor David Peacock so aptly points out in his sermon “The Meaning of Revival” that is a lie. The most important thing is their relationship with Christ.

These lying so called men of God do not warn the new Christian that as soon as he received Christ as his Saviour he would be attacked by Satan and that the very first thing he or she must do is to start reading God’s word and praying for help and understanding. No, they’ll tell them at the end of a service to just be sure to be at church the next time the doors are open because if they’re in church they won’t be at the bars or in the street. Oft times, what happens is they never see the convert again unless they start banging on his door and shaming him into coming to church. The poor soul has been beaten, bruised, and battered by Satan and his own flesh and is more confused now than he was before he prayed for salvation.

These liars will tell the struggling convert to come to church, witness to the lost, and tithe in order to get close to Christ, a sort of religious “fake it to make it” process. But, you don’t do those things to get close to Christ. You do those things because you ARE close to Christ.

They’ll tell the convert that what he does and doesn’t do, his works and his separation from the world, will set him apart for God’s purpose. But, Christ says that God’s word sets us apart for Him.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Bible Study with Fred, Mark, chapter 5, verses 1 to 20, part two, Legion

Mark 5:1-20, part two, comments, focus on verses 6 to 10, Legion

 

5:6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. 10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

It would appear that modern Bible translators don’t even need to defer to corrupt Alexandrian manuscripts to attempt to downplay the deity of Christ. In this verse, most of the apostate, counterfeit versions remove “worshipped” from the verse in favor of the weaker “fell on his knees” or “bowed down” which hardly carries with it the same power as the word translated 60 times in the KJV as worship or a form of that word. One more reason that if you think of an NIV or an NASV as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) you are actually holding a butter knife.

Devils know who Jesus is. This devil(s) runs to worship Christ. So, what good does merely acknowledging and worshipping Christ do? It didn’t do much for this devil(s).

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Now, think, Christian. The one who wants you to relish in your personal suffering and to even seek and be proud of how much you can torture yourself for Christ and make yourself uncomfortable is Satan. You have a devil if you are proud of the hour you spend on your knees praying and hurting. Just because you worship Christ acknowledging Him and His mastery over you means nothing if it is a source of pride. Judas even calls Him “master” over and over. But, devils never call Him “Lord”.

Mark only focuses on one man but in a similar account in Matthew there are two although there are some differences in the context. Either Matthew is speaking about a different event or Mark has simply narrowed the focus down to this one individual rather than the two. Whether Mark is merely focusing on one of two individuals or not historical accounts often vary in their focus. A book on the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War that focuses on the heroic actions of the 20th Maine on the slope of Little Round Top does not mean that there wasn’t a Wheatfield or a Peach Orchard or a Pickett’s Charge as well.

Matthew 8:28 ¶ And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Gergesenes is another name for Gadarenes.

5:7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

The devils acknowledge who Jesus is and they know what time they have. The devils will go crazy on the world when it’s their time. You would go insane if you could see what is around you in the spiritual world.

5:8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

Notice the singular again, “thou unclean spirit.”

5:9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

There are many devils in this man that are also called an, singular, unclean spirit that calls itself by a singular pronoun, he. Many devils can make up one devil. One possibility can be that the Devil can manifest himself into many devils as the Holy Spirit can exist completely in millions of believers and yet still be one Holy Spirit.

5:10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

Luke gets specific about this and says the following;

Luke 8:31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. 32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. 33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.

Some say that “the deep” is not the lake because they chose themselves to go into the lake and the devils were afraid to be sent far away. What is “the deep”? By that interpretation it is not the water. Perhaps there are some hints in these verses.

Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Job 38:30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? 32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? 33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

Reading the first few verses of Genesis carefully might imply to you that “the deep” is outer space.

Genesis 1:1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 ¶ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 6 ¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Bible Study with Fred, Proverbs, chapter 21, verse 4, an high look, and ...

Proverbs 21:4 comments; an high look, and a proud heart

 

Proverbs 21:4 ¶ An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

The wicked, the evil person is characterized by a proud and haughty demeanor. The commentators say that even the common acts of the wicked person, those acts that we carry out every day, such as working in the field spoken of here, plowing, is sin because of his or her pride and arrogance.

No wonder then that back in chapter 15 even the sacrifice and, of course, the way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.

Proverbs 15:8 ¶ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

9 ¶ The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.

Narcissus, in Greek mythology, or rather demonology as it should be called, was so vain that he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water and being unable to remove himself from looking at it, he died there. David’s son, the rebel Absalom, would be a good example of a Narcissist, as would Samson, perhaps in that they both had the attitude “it’s all about me”. Psychologists, who are good at categorizing behavior but have no real clue as to that behavior’s origin because they deny the existence of spiritual entities around us and in us, have categorized certain types of people as being Narcissistic or having a Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

The Mayo Clinic, defines the Narcissist.

“Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism.”

 

You dare not question these people. To even ask them to consider the possibility that they are wrong can drive them into a rage. Another source about the disorder goes on to explain what happens when this falsely inflated view of Self is threatened.

“The exposure of the False Self for what it is - false - is a major narcissistic injury. The narcissist is likely to react with severe self-deprecation and self-flagellation even to the point of suicidal ideation. This - on the inside. On the outside, he is likely to appear assertive and confident. This is his way of channelling his life-threatening aggression. Rather than endure its assault and its frightening outcomes - he redirects his aggression, transforms it and hurls it at others.”

http://www.healthyplace.com/personality-disorders/malignant-self-love/myths-about-narcissism/menu-id-1469/

Rather than a personality disorder, which gives the impression that narcissism is a sickness one has no control over and must be “cured” of, we could easily say that it is the characteristic of a proud and haughty heart, that it is sin, and needs to be repented of. If that man or woman would submit to God’s word, read it, believing it is God’s word, and hear preaching soundly taken from God’s word, Christ will heal him or her of this so called disorder, if he actually belongs to Christ.

That being said, pulpits across America attract the narcissist, particularly the pulpits of churches where the Pastor is the absolute authority. The narcissist is drawn to the place where he can not only be admired but be unquestioned, the untouchable man of God. If the man is also an angry sociopath who has no real conscience and hates women then the danger he poses is multiplied ten times.

The congregation that has no Biblical discernment, that has swallowed the lie of Nicolaitanism, that of a separate priesthood that is elevated above the laity rather than the priesthood of all believers, and that does not faithfully read their Bible and search the Scriptures daily can easily be fooled. For as Dr. Ruckman says, most Christians are like your pet dog. They don’t really know what you’re saying but merely focus on your tone of voice. The wicked person can use the right terminology and even do good things for some people and, yes, even lead people to the Lord. If Adolf Hitler could fool a nation then how hard should it be for one false but charismatic preacher to fool a handful of naive, trusting Christians? A narcissist sociopath (one without conscience or empathy), proud and disdainful, can fool many but not all congregations, particularly where authority is focused in one or two deacons who are looking for the good but naive about the evil in a candidate for preacher.

Many of these types of men create scandal and pain within the body of Christ by sexual crimes that are almost always associated with crimes involving money; either embezzlement or fraud. Folks, I’ve read of literally dozens of fundamentalist pastors, youth workers, and teachers over the past few years who’ve committed egregious sexual sins, fooled congregations, and exploited the helpless not once, but repeatedly. The situation in fundamentalist churches is no better than the priest scandals of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the paper, “Understanding the Predatory Nature of Sexual Violence” by David Lisak, Ph.D. on pages 6 & 7, it says about the sexual predator that he is;

“more angry at women, more motivated by the need to dominate and control women, more impulsive and disinhibited in their behavior, more hyper-masculine in their beliefs and attitudes, less empathic and more antisocial.”

When a church’s doctrine is excessively harsh against women, viewing them as mere property or pack animals, who should not speak* in church or whose pastor does not consider their abilities or their concerns as being of any importance, then the stage is set for the wicked to come in like the Proverbial weasel in the hen house. A clear sign is his disrespect of young women, daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers in his speech and tone. This is not to say a Pastor shouldn’t call out sin and tear the hide off people when necessary. I think we all know the difference between that and hatred of women. (*Note: The command for women not to speak in church in 1 Corinthians 14 is given by Paul in the context of speaking in tongues, one of the signs that died with the Apostles and the generation they personally taught that came after, once a complete Greek Vulgate, Old Latin Bible, and Syriac Bible were available, which is referenced in 1 Corinthians 13:10 and context. Timothy, a young preacher, is later told that women should not teach their husbands, usurping his responsibility to be the spiritual head of the family, or ask a bunch of questions, by understanding the context, when the church meets. I doubt anyone that disagrees with my understanding belongs to a church where women sit mute at all times and never participate in testimony or teaching.)

With the proud look and the high heart, even the good things, the normal things the wicked does, are sin by virtue of their pride and arrogance.

On our level, out here in the pews, we can ruin any value that our worship has or any importance that our service has for Christ with our pride and haughtiness. With pride and haughtiness even our repentance must be repented of. When we think of ourselves as having done a great service for God and we are filled with our own righteousness (and others can see this when we are dismissive of their experience, their efforts, or their successes in service for the Lord) and self-glorification it would appear that we make God nauseated if I can use that kind of symbolism.

The proud and haughty must be at the center of every event or they are not satisfied, must be the originator of every good effort or they are not pleased, and must be the wizened authority for every “speaking from experience” who dismisses everyone else with, “oh well, you just haven’t been there, done that, and gotten the t-shirt like me.” I’m always afraid of sounding like that to other people when I’m just like everyone else, trying to get God’s understanding from Him of His words, trying to respond to Him rather than my own Self.

Watch the high look and proud heart in yourself and think how you appear to others when you speak, and beware of the proud look and the high heart in others; it may be more than a mere weakness. Be thankful for a humble pastor who loves God’s word. Beware of a “man o’ God” who acts as if he thinks the sun rises and sets on his word and that he is incapable of sin. Christ humbled Himself. Satan is proud and haughty. Who do you want to emulate?

Bible Study with Fred, Mark, chapter 5, verses 1 to 20, part 1, the demo...

Mark, chapter 5, verses 1 to 20, part 1, the Gadarene demoniac

 

Mark 5:1 ¶  And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2  And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3  Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4  Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6  But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7  And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8  For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9  And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. 10  And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 11  Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12  And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13  And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 14  And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15  And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 16  And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17  And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. 18  And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19  Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20  And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

Note the singular, an unclean spirit. An unclean spirit is a devil. There is a Devil who is over many devils and there are unclean spirits that do his work and his bidding.

An interesting contrast appears with this verse in Isaiah;

Isaiah 65:4 Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

Devils are attracted to bodies and to graveyards and tombs.

5:3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

Devils are unusually strong.

5:4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

Here is an excellent study on demonic possession. Notice what the followers of Baal in the Old Testament did in an attempt to manifest their god before Elijah’s challenge.

1Kings 18:28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.

Now, note the expressions of grief at the death of the emperor of Tang Dynasty China, T’ai-tsung from historical writer, Will Durant;

“When he died the grief of the people knew no bounds, and even the foreign envoys cut themselves with knives and lancets and sprinkled the dead emperor’s bier with their self shed blood.”

Devils encourage self-abuse and self-damage including religious processions in Iran (Shi’ite Muslims) and the Philippines (Catholic Christians) and the self-cutting behavior of some young girls. There are numerous examples of self-mutilation in religious rituals from all over the world as well as in literature. Self-mutilation as a religious ritual is a common theme in mankind’s religions.

Christ does not call us to mutilate ourselves like the popular Christian philosopher, Origen, live on a platform in the desert high off the ground to mortify the body like the ancient monks, or to think that we please Him by deliberately making ourselves suffer as I have heard some modern Christians say. Such behavior is the work of devils.

For those of you who don’t believe in the importance of the Bible God has preserved for us I would warn you that if you believe you are saved because you have “chosen” Christ let me point out to you how to tell if you are merely devil-possessed. If your Christ encourages you to hurt yourself or allow others to hurt you as a sign of your sanctification. If you seek to be uncomfortable rather than simply denying your Self and selfishness, but actually look for ways to cause pain and suffering to yourself. If your Christ makes you feel that it’s okay to glorify yourself or mankind in general, your nation, your government, or to place anything above the God who created you. If you are constantly lamenting how your gender, your race, your culture, your country is mistreated and misunderstood. If you are always beating yourself with sins that are forgiven. If you are drawn to death, destruction, violence, graveyards, battlefields, or anywhere else where death is prominent out of morbid curiosity or entertainment RATHER than merely seeking understanding or to remember the fallen. If you love horror movies, war movies, action-adventure movies or anything else where scenes of gruesome death are reenacted with buckets of fake blood, screaming, and agony. If your religious practices require suffering rather than putting Christ first, which leads to self-will worship.

You might possibly be saved. But, you are most definitely influenced by devils. I won’t argue with you about whether a Christian can be oppressed or possessed but only say that if a devil has got your eyes, your tongue, your hands, or your mind then whether you call that oppression or possession it makes no difference. You need the cleansing that is only found in God’s word.

Bible Study with Fred, Proverbs, chapter 21, verse 3, justice and judgment

Proverbs 21:3 comments; justice and judgment

 

Proverbs 21:3 ¶ To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Throughout the Old Testament, God emphasizes that in order of priority, ritual and service to God are empty of meaning if you don’t do what He has said in your day-to-day dealings with others. In other words you can’t hide out in the church like some medieval monk in a monastery to avoid having to deal in the world. You must be out there most of the time and out there doing right. That is more important to God than your sacrifice is, without that.

And even judgment pales in comparison to mercy.

Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Jesus emphasizes this twice in Matthew, once in regard to His eating dinner with tax collectors;

Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

And once in response to His disciples being accused of Sabbath breaking;

Matthew 12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

James also emphasizes mercy.

James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

But with regard to this Proverb, God lays out what the essence of His requirement of man to God under the Law is in Micah. It would appear to apply at all times.

Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Jesus Himself accuses the twice separated, temple going, fundamentalist, religious people of the first century.

 

Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Notice Jesus wouldn’t be saying to you not to come to church, go knocking on doors, hand out tracts, or to give liberally to the work but that if that’s all you’re doing you’re leaving some important things out.

In fact, Jesus tells the Jews, and there is no reason not to apply this in the way you can safely do to the church age without confusion, that your relationship with others must be straightened out in that if someone has something against you, you should deal with that before He wants anything from you with regard to religious service. And since we are the temple of the Holy Ghost now and the altar He is referring to would be in our own hearts this takes on an even more personal importance.

Matthew 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Doing justice and judgment is very important to God. Before the Law of Moses;

Genesis 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

And under the Law given to Moses;

Psalm 82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Now, the Gentile or Jewish Christian in the age of the Christian Church is not given the power to enact civil law in the dispensing of justice and judgment. It is not given to us to rule over men in a political sense. When Romans, chapter 13 was penned there were no kings or magistrates of high authority that we know of who claimed to be Christian. So, our application must be on a personal level and within the church body itself.

Christ, therefore, wants you to do right, to do justly, and to judge correctly within the relationships you have and particularly in the house of God, which is the church, which is you, the people. This takes precedence over your service, your work for God, not meaning that your service isn’t important but that it has to be put in the proper perspective. You are incapable of doing God’s justice and judgment unless you have the fruit of the Spirit manifested in your lives. Examine yourselves.

On top of that, Christ wants unity from us in regard to judgment so that we seek to follow Christ and not a man or a false culture of Christianity in part of society.

1Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

And our judgment is to be in love for each other.

Philippians 1:9 ¶ And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

This is not to say that we are all robots who have no personal convictions that aren’t shared necessarily by others;

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

But, we must, in order to be just, live by that faith we are given by God.

Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

And be just in our dealings. For example, employers;

Colossians 4:1 Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

Pastors, particularly, must be just in their dealings within the body of Christ.

Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; 8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;

We, as Christians, must be just and impartial, not playing favorites, letting this one off the hook for their behavior but holding that one to a different standard, but we must also do judgment, discerning between what is good and bad, sound doctrine and heresy, and literal, Biblical truth or the imagination of some charismatic individual trying to control us. And God regards justice and judgment as more acceptable than sacrifice, not to ignore sacrifice but to regard your service and offering to God as incomplete without Godly justice and judgment.

Bible Study with Fred, Mark, chapter 4, verses 35 to 41, the storm

Bible Study with Fred, Mark, chapter 4, verses 35 to 41, the storm

 

Mark 4:35 ¶  And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36  And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Your service for Christ will invariably take you into storms. Notice also that others, not among the closest of the disciples, followed in other small boats. All of the followers were in danger, not just the ones He empowered to do the greatest works. Many of the multitudes who were able followed after Christ and suffered the same danger as the Apostles. But Christ is in control.

Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

Psalm 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.

Proverbs 11:8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.

4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

He expects faith from you. But there will be times when you might wonder if God cares for you at all, when things get really bad, overwhelming.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Mark 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Jesus is in control of the storm.

Psalm 65:7 Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

Psalm 89:9 Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

Psalm 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

Mark 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

The disciples are in wonder at what Christ can do and you will be, too, if you let Him work on you with His word. You will see things that you thought you were overcome by removed like dead skin. Although, I personally, am a very wicked individual, I have seen this and wondered myself, “what manner of man is this”? What a great God we have.

When you realize that God is in control of the universe and all events and that nothing happens that He does not either will to occur or permit to happen you will be amazed, looking for His hand in every event of your life from success at work to a diagnosis of a deadly disease, from the joy of a new baby to the grief of the loss of a loved one. We are to have faith even unto death. Remember that we live in fallen bodies in a fallen world because of mankind’s sin, starting with Adam. Satan is the god of this world and the de facto ruler of it. Christ is the answer for the problem of death and sin. We must physically die in order to be in heaven with Christ (unless the Translation of the Church happens in our lifetimes.) We can never get there in this body as it is now constituted; decaying and dying as we speak. Christ is calling those who trust in Him out of this world and the death that comes with it. He demands faith and trust. We can’t cross that bridge unless we believe it will hold us up until we reach the other side. Note what Job said in the first part of the fifteenth verse of chapter 13 of his book;

Job 13:15a Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him…..

And what Daniel’s three friends said to King Nebuchadnezzar;

Daniel 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

This is a great problem for many Christians. We think we should somehow be exempt from pain, grief, anguish, disappointment, sickness, accident, and even physical death. We want our assurances now, in this life, and we want our rewards and the results of our faith here and now, as well. We don’t want to go through the storm at all. But, we will, no matter how much we wish it were not so. Always remember who is in control, though. Think in terms of eternity.

Herein lies the difference between the philosophical Christians such as were this country’s Founding Fathers and the Bible Believer. The philosophical Christian views Christian principles as a good thing, something for good people to adhere to such as the Sermon on the Mount. But, when it comes to disease, misfortune, and death he or she has no more to cling to than the atheist. They have not experienced a real Risen Saviour in their life, nor have they had a relationship with their Creator. In the end there is only fear, sadness, and, perhaps, doubting. Maybe even they are ready to give up and feel that they’ve led a good life and if there is an afterlife they’ll have a chance to get there and not burn in Hell, if there is one. In the end, they have just as much uncertainty as someone who doesn’t believe in The Golden Rule.

But, the Bible Believer, as weak and frail, or as ignorant and uneducated as he or she may be, has the assurance of eternal life as soon as they trust Christ and how He works in their lives each day strengthens that faith so that they know in their hearts what the future holds, no matter what may come on this earth, an eternity with the one who created them. That is the essence of salvation, belief in a supernatural Saviour who rose from the dead and trust in Him.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Bible Study with Fred, Proverbs, chapter 21, verse 2, right in his own eyes

Bible Study with Fred, Proverbs, chapter 21, verse 2, right in his own eyes

 

Proverbs 21:2 ¶ Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Remember, God searches you from the inside;

Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Also, remember what God has to say about those who justify themselves.

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

Doc Ruckman has said that men have three needs of the flesh; one to survive and to reproduce themselves, one to gratify themselves, and one to justify themselves. I believe that many if not most of our sins come from an obsession with and a perversion of one of those three things. In this Proverb, man’s self-justification is laid bare and it is said that God ignores your extolling of your own so called righteous intention and goes right to your heart.

When the Hebrews came out of the Wilderness into the Promised Land they fell into this trap. They were warned about self-justifying, carnal religion in Deuteronomy 12:1-12 which is worth reading and contemplating and praying about, and pay particular notice to verse 8.

8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.

The religion of Cain is an example of doing whatever you think is right without regard to what God has commanded to justify yourself in your own mind.

Genesis 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 ¶ And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Like Cain, many of us have made up our own religious practice and we say because we do it to glorify God that He must accept it. That’s not true. First, God sees your heart. He sees and judges you by your true intention. Does it please you and satisfy you or does it really glorify Him? Second, if you don’t do things the way God has prescribed them then they are not of God.

 

Paul warned the Galatians that the reason the Judaizers wanted them to be circumcised was not to honor God, but as all self-righteous religious people demand, “to glory in their flesh”.

Galatians 6:13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

No matter what they say, folks, many people want you to do fleshy, carnal minded things for God, the works they approve of, so that they can glory in your flesh. It’s a way of justifying themselves. A man can’t control the fruit of the Spirit. He can’t direct God working on you through His words in the Bible by the Holy Spirit. Man sees from the outside and God from the inside. Man sees the flesh and God sees the heart. You can fool man. You prance and parade your self-assumed righteousness and holiness around and satisfy man. You can’t fool God.

Self-justifying man knows you began your walk with Christ in the Spirit but they want you to be perfected, completed in the flesh so they can see you, control you, and judge you.

Galatians 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

The Hebrews in the period of the Judges descended into this “Democracy”. Judges 17:6 and 21:25 both say essentially the same thing. I’ll give the 17:6 version of these verses here.

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

When our religious expression becomes a dog and pony show, a sort of holy entertainment, an alternative to a rock concert but just like one in response only not as wicked, or a professional football game or boxing match but only without the foul language and scantily clad cheerleaders and round card girls, when we go from emotional fix to fix and emotional high to high, needing constantly to be recharged, to be rebooted because we do not feed on God’s words every day and in every way, and neither rest in Christ nor wait on His will we practice this form of self-justifying religion where what we do is right in our own eyes and we arrogantly presume that if we say we do it for God then God must and will bless it.

Fundamentalists like myself like to point fingers at compulsive liars, gossips, thieves, murderers, drug addicts, alcoholics, fornicators, and people who engage in homosexual behavior to express our contempt under the heading of people doing things that are right in their own eyes. That is true that people sin because people want to do what they want to do and what people usually want to do is wrong and the natural man or woman usually rejects Christ or even the concept that they are in need of the Saviour. However, when you cross reference and link up verses in the Bible with like phrasing and words you can’t help but come to the conclusion that while God is, indeed, furious with those who have rejected Him in the visible form of the Lord Jesus Christ, He is also frustrated with those who claim to be His people who justify themselves and who insist on doing it their own way.

We’ll take one verse and focus on its application in the lives of those among the church body because its expression is satisfying to our flesh. But, yet we’ll ignore verse after verse about the importance of other traits which God has commanded to be manifest in us which are spiritual and can’t be judged or gauged by men and women easily. We judge the outside of a person and imagine vainly that we know what they are thinking. If church member A meets all the criteria we’ve decided in our own eyes smacks of spirituality and holiness we approve of them even if they are playing “fake it to make it” on the inside. We criticize church member B if his walk with Christ doesn’t meet our approval because we personally can’t see or control it and he or she doesn’t brag about it or trumpet it enough in meetings.

Christians will respect anger, paranoia, fear, and rebellion because it can be justified as righteous indignation while they view devotion to God’s word, waiting on God, and trying to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in your life expressed in your dealing with others within the church and without as weakness, indecision, and a lack of a commitment and a lack of being willing to sacrifice one’s personal needs and desires for Christ. Our ways are right in our own eyes, but God knows our hearts.

Proverbs 16:2 ¶ All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

Proverbs 16:25 ¶ There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The usual way of explaining these verses has to do with others. Those wicked “others” we like to talk about, those non-believers, who, as is exalted in our American form of political and personal life are free to do whatever is right in their own eyes within certain limits which, to us, are never limiting enough for THEM and always too limiting for US.

But, I’m doing the unusual here for what Dr. Ruckman calls jokingly, a “funnymentalist”. From a historical standpoint, flesh satisfying, carnal religion leads to unbelief. Fleshy religious expression leads to the death of faith. The more political and ritualistic the expression of your faith becomes, the more it slides into apostasy.

We need to wake up. If we are to be true to our faith, it needs to be Christ’s way or the highway. Not Jack Hyles way, not Joel Osteen’s way, not Billy Sunday’s way, not Joyce Meier’s way, but Christ’s way. Not simply a way that pleases our fleshly needs, expresses a Christian culture, or copies a charismatic preacher whom we think is successful. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but God sees what’s really going on inside of each of us in a way we can’t even begin to wrap our minds around.

Bible Study with Fred, Mark 4, 21 to 34, part 6, verses 33, 34, parables

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 22, verses 22 to 31, part two, 29 to 31, a see...

Bible Study with Fred, Mark 4, 21 to 34, part 6, verses 33, 34, parables

 

Mark 4:33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. 34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

Jesus talked to His disciples in parables in front of the crowds but explained those parables when they were alone. Why was this? I’ll repeat some things I said earlier in the chapter when the question came up.

To these people who want the truth God promises to give more truth. Read your Bible once through and God will give you truth. Read it through multiple times and you’ll keep growing as He gives you more truth. If you reject what little truth He has given you, He’ll take away what little you have. There will be a great test for Christians. The more you read the greater the challenge will be when Satan attacks you with doubts and unbelief. The closer you get to God, the deeper the mud, the thicker the briars. The Christian must keep pushing through toward the goal of knowing God and ignore Satan’s pleas and attacks and his deceptions. This is not about salvation but about your sanctification, being set apart for God’s purpose through Jesus Christ.

Many people who get deceived start out with the right intention but one little twist of the truth takes them far off the mark. Others start out using God’s word to justify their convictions rather than being merely open to the Holy Spirit’s leading and guidance and then they wind up way off the mark. In church when we talk about not setting a stumbling block before other Christians we often forget to mention that twisting the Bible to make your own personal convictions doctrine is just as wicked as putting a bottle of hooch in front of an alcoholic.

I’ll give you two examples. Modern Christians, brainwashed in government schools, will accept the current scientific theory about the origin of life and the age of the universe, atheistic and materialistic, totally without proof of any kind other than the vain ramblings of so called educated men and women. They will try to hold the two very conflicting beliefs; that God created all things by His Word, and that all existence, including the complexity of life, happened by chance. In the end they will wind up with a strange and very twisted view of reality that denies the Bible that God has provided. The ultimate conflict arises in their hearts. They cannot be special creations of God and random accidents of impersonal nature at the same time. Heresy and Christianity as a philosophy, with Christ as merely the ultimate philosopher and teacher, are the result if they don’t just outright leave the faith entirely, to be kicked around by Satan.

The second example I’ll give you is of a fundamentalist Christian. He or she has a conviction that women should not wear slacks because of the immodesty of most styles and verses such as this one written under the Law;

Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

The fundamentalist then takes the word, breeches, which was the underwear that Aaron and his sons wore;

Exodus 28:42 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:

….and make them trousers, an item of apparel that wasn’t even written about for hundreds of years after this, a Persian innovation for riding on horseback, used by both men and women. Fundamentalist dictionaries of Bible words will even mistakenly call breeches, trousers. Do you think the deception ends with just one word? If you do you are not reading the Bible. Everything you believe must be examined in the light of God’s words in the Bible as your final authority in all matters of faith, practice, AND doctrine. I assure you it is not a far distance from calling breeches trousers to Ron Williams of Hephzibah House infamy telling you to spank a six-month-old baby. All you have to do is to take your own personal convictions, fetishes, and perversions and find a verse to justify them.

The Bible is God’s truth revealed. Just be after God’s truth and what is right and plead with Him not to let you be deceived or to deceive others which was one of the prayers of the translators of this Bible.

Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

Isaiah 6:9 ¶ And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

Isaiah 44:18 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.

Jeremiah 5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

Isaiah 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

2 Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

If you reject salvation and truth then God will deceive you or allow you to be deceived. Yes, our Creator will deceive men who reject His salvation. God examines the heart and what happens after that is up to Him if you are worshipping self. I have been to a few church services that were humanistic in execution and were self-worship. God will propound that foolishness which serves only Satan by deluding those self-worshippers.

The lesson in these verses seems clear to me. Those of the multitudes who came for a physical benefit but lacked true belief and genuine faith would go away but those who sincerely wanted to know more would have approached Jesus. The majority did not. Those Christians today who want to know more about God’s words in His Book will dig deeper and deeper into it to seek more. Those who don’t want it, aren’t interested in it, and won’t hear it will not. The latter will be deceived.

There are preachers and scholars out there who spew out foolishness because in their heart they have rejected God’s words and God has turned them over to delusions and falsehoods. And sadly, there are Christians who follow them, always looking for an excuse not to believe and their false teachers giving them many.

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 22, verses 22 to 31, part two, 29 to 31, a seed shall serve him

 

Psalm 22:29  All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

 

The fat is a reference to those who have plenty because all through history until recently having proof of your having plenty to eat showed your wealth and status.

 

Psalm 92:14  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

 

Those that go down to the dust are the poor and the ‘wretched of the earth’ to use the name of Fanon’s book on revolution from the early 1960s.

 

Psalm 113:7  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;

 

Both poor and rich shall bow to God and neither of them can keep themselves alive.

 

Isaiah 45:23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

 

Romans 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

 

They cannot escape death on their own.

 

Ecclesiastes 8:8  There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

 

30  A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. 31  They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

 

I think this is a clear prophetic reference to those who will be born again in Christ. He generates their new birth and they come from Him spiritually.

 

John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

John 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

 

1Peter 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

 

This also speaks of the work of evangelism that Christians do when they declare, as an evangelist, Christ as the Saviour of the world and the creator of all things by which they are also sustained.

 

Here, Timothy is told by Paul to do the work of an evangelist.

 

2Timothy 4:5  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

 

Here the Word is said to have made all things.

 

John 1:1 ¶  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2  The same was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 

Here the Word was made flesh, given skin and bones.

 

John 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

 

Here Christ sustains and holds all things together and keeps them in play.

 

Colossians 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

 

For the modern Christian in a country where they are tolerated somewhat or a country where their existence is not tolerated at all this is an affirmation of their faith in Christ and a recognition of the horror they are facing. I think we can see here the Christian in places in the communist and the Muslim world whose fate on earth hangs on a thread pleading for deliverance but acknowledging the Lordship of Christ and His enduring work through all the generations. I can envision one of these persecuted ones praying this Psalm as a prayer for help, for justice, and as a revelation of Christ in whom they have all their confidence.