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The Promise That God’s Word Will Never Pass Away – Part 2
Saturday, September 28, 2024The Promise That God’s Word Will Never Pass Away – Part 2
Wade Webster
In the first installment of this study, we introduced God’s promise that His word would never pass away. Now, we want to consider the first of three things about this exceeding great and precious promise.
Is a Clear Promise
Jesus’ promise is a clear promise. He didn’t use fifty-dollar words or figurative language. There is nothing confusing or unclear about it; even a small child can understand what Jesus is promising. This clear promise is repeated many times and in many ways in Scripture. Consider these examples (emphasis added):
- “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever” (Ps. 12:6-7).
- “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether” (Ps. 19:7-9).
- “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Ps. 100:5).
- “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever” (Ps. 119:152; cf. 89-91).
- “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isa. 40:8; cf. 51:6, 8; 54:10).
- “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (1 Pet. 1:22-25)
Clearly,God did not want us to misunderstand this promise.. He stated it many times and in multiple ways.
The Promise That God’s Word Will Never Pass Away – Part 1
Saturday, September 21, 2024The Promise That God’s Word Will Never Pass Away – Part 1
Wade Webster
Jesus declared, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). What a promise! The background of this statement is the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was made of huge stones; some were forty feet by twelve feet by twelve feet. They weighed as much as one hundred tons. Yet Jesus said that the day was coming when one stone would not be left upon another (Matt. 24:2).
In contrast, the smallest stones or parts of God’s word would never be overturned. In the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus declared, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt. 5:18). The jot refers to iota, the ninth letter, which is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. The corresponding letter in Hebrew would be yod, the tenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet; it looks like an apostrophe. There are more than 66,420 of these letters in the Hebrew Scriptures. Tittle refers to “a little horn.” These small distinguishing marks would be the equivalent of dotting an i or crossing a t for us. Jesus was declaring that not even the smallest letter or tiniest part of a letter would pass from the law. The people described in the Bible had the greatest confidence in the Bible they held in their hands. Paul made an argument based on one letter. He based his argument on the fact that the word “seed” didn’t have an “s” on it. Jesus based an argument on the tense of a verb (Mark 12:18-27). Clearly, they had confidence in every jot and tittle of God’s word.I remember one of the first poems I heard quoted from the pulpit. I was a child, and the poem was “The Anvil” by Rudyard Kipling. No doubt, you have heard it.
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door,
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.
“How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter all these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he, and then, with twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."
And so, thought I, the anvil of God's Word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed—the hammers gone.
The message of the poem is clear: God’s word endures. I especially like the line, “The anvil wears the hammers out, you know." It sure does! Most things wax old and perish (Ps.. 102:25-26). Even the ground upon which we stand will one day be gone. However, God, His word, and His kingdom will remain. Our focus in this lesson is on the word of God. Consider the promise that God’s word will never pass away.
The Promise To Heal Our Land – Part 3
Saturday, September 14, 2024The Promise To Heal Our Land – Part 3
Wade Webster
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). In previous installments of this study, we considered the requirements and the recipients of this promise. As we conclude this study, we will consider the rewards of the promise.
The Rewards - “…Then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”
The “if…then” construction is very clear in this passage. It is crucial to understanding the promise that this passage contains. If we will respond as God has specified, He will respond as He has promised. He promises to do three things- hear, forgive, and heal.
- Hear - Sin keeps God from hearing/answering our prayers. Isaiah wrote, “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear” (Isa. 59:1-2). When we are willing to acknowledge our sins and abandon them, God will again hear our prayers.
- Forgive - God stands ready to forgive. He is abundant in pardon. We read, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You” (Psa. 86:5). No matter how great our sin may have been, He remembers it no more. Though they were as scarlet, they are now as white as snow. Through Isaiah, God declared, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor;Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;” (Isa. 1:16-19).
- Heal - Long before Jesus walked the earth healing all kinds of disease, God was pictured as a physician capable of healing man and matter. The fact that both the people and the land were sick with all manner of ailments was not a commentary on God’s inability to heal. It was a reflection on their refusal to repent and take the medicine that God prescribed. This point is made abundantly clear in the prophecy of Jeremiah. We read, “For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; Astonishment has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery For the health of the daughter of my people?” (Jer. 8:21-22). There was a physician- God. There was a balm - the word of God in the mouth of His prophets. They simply wouldn’t go to the doctor or take the medicine that He prescribed.
God is faithful (Deut. 7:9-11). He always keeps His promises (Num. 23:19; 1 Kings 8:56).
As we have noted before, Old Testament Israel and modern-day America are very different. Yet, it remains true that God is a Faithful Creator (1 Pet. 4:19). He watches over and cares for the whole creation. He rules in the kingdoms of men and gives power to the one that He wants (Dan. 4:17). However, the best parallel again is to the church. God has made exceedingly great and precious promises to us (2 Pet. 1:3-4). If we will humble ourselves before Him and seek Him, He will hear, forgive, and heal us. John wrote, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:7-10).
Although the promise under consideration in this lesson was to those who lived in the Old Testament, there are clearly lessons that we can learn from it and comfort and hope that we can draw from it (Rom. 15:4). God is every bit as ready and willing to heal our land today as He was theirs in the long ago. The problem then and now was not God. It was and is man.
The Promise To Heal Our Land – Part 2
Saturday, September 07, 2024The Promise To Heal Our Land – Part 2
Wade Webster
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). In the last part of this study, we noticed the requirements – humbling, praying, seeking, and turning. In this installment, we will notice the recipients..
The Recipients - “…My people, who are called by my name…”
God calls them His people. He chose them. They are called by His name. What a blessing it is to belong to God. What an honor it is to be called by His name. However, with these blessings, come serious responsibilities. Because we are so closely identified with God, our actions reflect upon Him. When we do right, our actions glorify God’s name. However, when we do wrong, our actions bring reproach on the name of God. As you know, God is very protective of His name. His name is great and He wants to keep it that way. Through Ezekiel, God declared, “Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes” (Ezek. 36:16-23).
As we noted earlier, there are key differences between Old Testament Israel and modern-day America. God did not put His name on our nation as He did upon Israel. However, our nation was founded upon Christian principles. Many of our founding fathers sought God’s blessings upon the nation that they were trying to build and they gave Him praise for victories won. We have been identified on the world’s stage as a Christian nation. Sadly, today this moniker is largely a reproach . Again, the greater parallel is between Old Testament Israel and the church. We wear the name of Christ (Acts 11:26). Our actions can bring glory or reproach upon the worthy name that we wear (Jam. 2:5). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of the glory that can be brought upon God by our good works. He declared, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mat. 5:14-16). Peter spoke of the reproach than can be brought upon the name of Christ if we don’t live holy lives. He wrote, “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter” (1 Pet. 4:14-16).
The Promise To Heal Our Land – Part 1
Saturday, August 31, 2024The Promise To Heal Our Land – Part 1
Wade Webster
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). What a promise! God would heal their land and forgive their sins. Sadly, Israel did not ultimately enjoy this promise because they did not meet its conditions. The land that God promised to heal looks little like a land flowing with milk and honey today (Lev. 20:24). It was at one time a land that abundantly met that description, and as this promise suggests could have been that way again; but rather, as a dry, desolate, war-torn land today, stands as a witness to the fact that they failed to lay hold on the promise that God made to them. Let’s examine this promise and what it declares for us today. Let’s make sure that we don’t come up short of the promises that God has made to us.
The Requirements - “If…humble…pray…seek…turn”
The word “if” generally signifies a condition that must be met. Sometimes, this word signifies a condition that has already been met and could better be translated as “since.” In our passage, the “if” is clearly a condition that must still be met rather than one that has already been met. Four conditions are enumerated in the text:
- They must humble themselves. As you know, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Peter declared, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Pet. 5:5-6; cf. Jam. 4:6). When Peter speaks of being clothed with humility, he is likely referring back to the occasion when Jesus girded himself with a towel and washed the disciple’s feet (John 13:1-17).
- They must pray to Him. God wants us to pray. He wants us to ask for what we need and want, including forgiveness. Those who ask receive. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Mat. 7:7-11). Those which don’t ask, don’t receive. James wrote, “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask” (Jam. 4:2).
- They must seek His face. God’s face is against those who do evil. The psalmist declared, “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psa. 34:11-19).
- They must turn from their wicked ways. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Through Ezekiel, God said, “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?” ’ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”(Ezek. 33:7-11).
God’s blessings were dependent on them meeting these four conditions.
Although there are clear differences between Old Testament Israel and America today, there are still some things that hold true. Righteousness still exalts and sin still reproaches. In Proverbs, Solomon wrote, “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people. The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, But his wrath is against him who causes shame” (Prov. 14:34-35). If we want God to have mercy upon us and to heal our land, we must humble ourselves and do His will.