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Understanding the Promise of Messiah in Genesis 3:15

The Promise of Messiah: Genesis 3:15

I [God] will put enmity [hostility/hatred) between you [serpent/Satan] and the woman [mankind], between your [Satan] seed and her Seed [Messiah/Redeemer]; He [Jesus] shall bruise your [Satan] head, and you shall bruise His [Jesus] heel.

Old Testament Prophecy

  • Isaiah 7:14
    • the Lord Himself will give a sign
    • a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son
    • His name shall be Immanuel – God with us
  • Isaiah 9:6-7
    • unto us a Child is born – humanity
    • unto us a Son is given– deity
    • His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor Mighty God, Everlasting Father Prince of Peace
  • His government – kingdom/rule
    • upon His shoulder – authority
    • peace
    • no end- everlasting/forever
    • upon the throne of David – covenant
    • established with judgment and justice

The Lord of Hosts -Jehovah Sabaoth – our Deliverer – will perform this

New Testament Prophecy

  • In remembrance of his mercy…
  • In remembrance of His holy Covenant… (Luke 1:54-55; 72-73)
  • in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son (Gal 4:4) 
  • Mary brought forth a Son and called Him Jesus (Gospels)
  • the word became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn 1:14)

The Ministry of Jesus

  • I will declare the decree: the Lord has said to Me, You are My Son, today I have begotten You. (Psalm 2:7)
  • But Jesus answered and said to him (John the Baptist), permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting pon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:15-17)

Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18

  • the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me
  • the Lord has anointed Me
  • to preach the gospel to the poor
  • to heal the broken hearted
  • to proclaim liberty to the captives
  • to open the prison of those who are bound
  • to comfort all who mourn
  • to console those who mourn in Zion
  • to give them beauty for ashes
  • to give the oil of joy for mourning
  • to give the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness
  • recovery of sight to the blind
  • to set at liberty those who are oppressed
  • to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord

1 John 3:8b

  • to destroy the works of the devil

John 3:16-17

  • to bring everlasting life
  • to save the world

1 Peter 1:20; Titus 2:11; 3:4

  • grace, kindness and the love of God our Savior has appeared to all men
Exploring God’s Eternity: A Comprehensive Bible Study

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Scriptural Articles, The Eternity of God

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Maintaining Reverence: Guidelines for Church Conduct

Historically, churches have taught the importance of respect within the House of God. While some rules may have seemed overly strict, they were established with good intentions. Ecclesiastes 5:1 says, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.” Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Berean Strong’s Lexicon
yirah: Fear, reverence, awe

Original Word: יִרְאָה Part of Speech: Noun Feminine Transliteration: yirah Pronunciation: yee-RAH Phonetic Spelling: (yir-aw’) Definition: Fear, reverence, awe Meaning: fear, reverence

Word Origin: Derived from the root יָרֵא (yare), which means “to fear” or “to revere.”

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: – φόβος (phobos): Often translated as “fear” in the New Testament, it can carry a similar range of meanings, from terror to reverential awe, depending on the context (e.g., Philippians 2:12).

It is important to hold reverence for God, the creator of the universe. This means to have a high degree of respect for God.

Consider an instance illustrating the consequences of not holding God’s House in high regard. On one occasion, while in a church during a time designated for fellowship, I witnessed a young boy, approximately seven years old, striking and kicking another boy, who appeared to be around 12 or 13 years old. No one stopped the children. This behavior displayed a lack of respect for both God and the surrounding congregation, clearly not reflecting God’s love. John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Children should be taught appropriate behavior. By the age of five, most are capable of distinguishing between a playground and a place of worship. If they cannot, it may indicate an issue. Could it be that the parents are not effectively teaching their children? Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. This “Training” needs to start as early in a child’s life as possible.
We need to remember to be respectful in the House of God. This means no running (without a good reason), No yelling across the room, No roughhousing, No foul language, No disruptive behavior (distractive behavior). I think you can get the general idea. We are there for Prayer, Learning the Word of God, Godly Fellowship, and to Praise and Worship Jesus.

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The Unchanging Truth of Scripture

Culture should not be used to determine what the Bible, God’s Holy Word says. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever. He does not change. His standards of Holiness do not change.

Scripture must be allowed to say what it says whether we like it or not. My dad asked me a question several times in the years leading up to his death. He had noticed that the churches were changes their rules on dress, music, and many other things. He asked what happened, where they wrong then or are they wrong now. That is a wonderful question that needs an answer. Thankfully we have the answer. All we have to do is look at the Word of God without predetermined ideas. We have to let the Holy Spirit Guide us. John 16:13 says, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

However, as you are showed Truth by the Holy Spirit, you must stand firm. Culture is a worldly influence that is making great strides at entering the churches. Some rules possibly were wrong or enforced in the wrong way. However, the idea of letting everything slide does not work either. Someone has to stand up and be an example of how to live. Without faithful God-fearing people leading, guiding, teaching, and correcting the people will perish for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
 

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Qualifications for Pastors: A Biblical Guide

This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 1 Timothy 3:1-7

These scriptures explain the qualifications of someone who wants to be a pastor. Unfortunately, not all preachers understand the implications of these scriptures.

  • Blameless
  • husband of 1 wife
  • vigilant
  • sober
  • good Behavior
  • given to hospitality
  • a teacher
  • not a drunker
  • not greedy
  • patient
  • not a fighter
  • not covetous
  • if he has children, they are to be well behaved
  • not a new Christian

Many years ago, my dad was beginning to attend church regularly. That is until one fatefully Sunday. This Sunday my parents arrived to see the pastor and another man having a fist fight in the parking lot. My dad saw, exclaimed how bad that was, and left. He stopped going to church. He did not regularly attend church after that for many years. Thankfully, he did come back before passing.

Please, if you see a man, who claims to be a pastor, behaving badly don’t give up on God. God gave the rules on how to select a pastor. It is people who choose not to listen and obey. God gave these rules
for a reason. The preacher, in my dad’s case, had chosen to settle a disagreement by brawling. He completely ignored the part about not being a brawler. In addition, his behavior on that day was bad, not good.

Inspiring Family Stories That Uplift Your Spirit

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The Importance of Acquiring Knowledge from the Word of God

The prophet Hosa wrote these words of God, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of My law, where I reveal My will]. Because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.” in Hosa 4:6

This just as well could be said of us today. It is amazing how easy information can be share today. It is just as amazing how low the test scores in schools across America are. We have information readily available at our fingertips, yet still have no knowledge.

Just look around at the world around you and you will see such wickedness that should not be in a country that has sent out so many missionaries to other countries. This country was originally founded on principles from the Bible.

It is easy to see that most people haven’t a clue that they should be obeying anything from God’s Word. Just have faith seems to be the only knowledge that many have about God or his Word. Most are unaware that Jesus said, “ If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15. How can anyone keep Jesus’ commandments when they are not known, taught, or preached.

It is past time to wake up and realize that we have to read and study the Word of God for ourselves. I don’t mean speed read as is the custom of some many. The idea of reading the Bible in 1 year sounds great until the rubber meets the road. Unfortunately, there is no way to actually understand and learn what you are reading that fast.

So how should we get the knowledge that is lacking in us today? Try reading the Bible slowly making sure to understand each part before moving on to the next part. The Bible explains itself if you take the time to really study. The Old Testament tells what will happen. The New Testament is the fulfilling of the Old Testament. Every part of it is in complete agreement. The Word of God is alive. Let is speak to you. Don’t just take anyone’s’ word that it says anything. Investigate. Make sure that you are reading it in context. Many new doctrines have come from 1 person taking the scripture out of context. Most importantly Pray as you study the Bibe. Jesus promised that “..when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future]. 14 He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Because of this I said that He [the Spirit] will take from what is Mine and will reveal it to you.” John 16:13-15.

If we don’t wake up and get knowledge, we will be destroyed. I pray that everyone starts acquiring knowledge before we reap the rewards of the wicked.

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Bloopers From Church: Laughter in Faith

 

Grandpa told stories about bloopers that happened inside the church. Here are a couple of them.

  1. Announcement Blooper: The pastor was telling what was going on in the coming up week. He said, “A fun outing will be a taffy party. There will be a peter pulling at Brother Candy Smith’s house on Tuesday night.” A man in the back of the church stands up and says, “I don’t know about you, but I will be there.” This man’s nickname is Buck.
    The pastor was supposed to say, “There will be a candy pulling at Brother Peter Smith’s house on Tuesday night.
  2. Revival Blooper: One night in a revival the power of God was falling. Many people were being to stand up. Now this was a new church in the 1960’s. The pews were made of small, long slats. All over the church people were standing. On a certain pew a large lady, who was very well dressed and very well to do, was still sitting. Many people were sitting on this pew with her. Suddenly everyone but her stands up. The slats close. The Lady goes to yelling and waving her arms. The other people around her starts yelling, “Come on Sister, you are getting it.”
 
Exploring Family Stories of Faith and Life Lessons

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The Unexpected Kindness on a Cold Sunday Night

In the 1960’s Marcus and Ann started to church. They had two children, Paul who is 4 years old and Karen who is 6 months old. They lived about 50 miles from the church. One cold Sunday morning, they got up early and drove to church for Sunday school. Then they stayed until after church that night. Marcus drove a truck made in the 1940’s. It did not have a heater in it. It had been freezing all day. On the way home that night, Ann had the children wrapped up with homemade quilts. However, they were still very cold and crying. Marcus and Ann were freezing too. That is when Marcus said, “We are going to stop at that house up ahead.” Ann asked, “Do you know them?”. Marcus replied, “No, but I see smoke coming from there fireplace. We are going to stop there and get warm.” Therefore, they stop at the house. It was about 11 pm, but somehow the lights were still on. Everyone got out of the truck. Marcus went and knocked on the door. An old man and lady came to the door. The couple could plainly see that Marcus, Ann, and the children were freezing. Marcus explained that they did not have a heater and it was very cold. Surprisingly the old couple welcomed Marcus and his family to their home. At this time in the south, blacks and whites normally did not visit each other. The old couple was black and Marcus and his family was white. The old couple got Marcus, Ann, and Paul something warm to drink. They also made sure that Karen got warm. They warmed up the quilts before wrapping the children up in them. This story has been passed down in my family. No one remembers the name of the old couple, but I am sure that God knows their names. It was a miracle that they were still up at 11pm. I know that God blessed that couple because Jesus says, “ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:34-40).

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