Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Eternal Fire Protection – Part 1 – God’s Rest


Luke 9:59-60 says, And he said unto another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” Jesus said unto him, “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”

This week, Michael writes that the question is, "What's the cost of following Jesus?"  Most have not counted the cost, therefore they either have no idea or have the wrong idea. These people are represented by the rocky soil in the Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 parable, where the seed is the word of God and the rocky soil is those who receive the word but they have no depth of fertile ground.  Because they had no depth of soil, the seed sprouted but the sprout quickly withered when the sun came up.  When the roots are heated and cannot dig deep into the soil for coolness and rest from the sun, then the plant will be scorched and die.

In Hebrews, the only way to walk and enter into God's rest is by faith, and not by sight.  If we're walking by sight, we will never rest. True rest is only in the Lord God Almighty. Therefore according to Jeremiah, judge “righteously”, not according to what our eyes see and our ears hear. For that which is seen is “temporary”, but that which is unseen is “eternal”. To rest in God sometimes means that we will not be comfortable in the things of this material-focused world. Our comfort is in “the rest of the Holy Spirit” and not in the comfort of the flesh. God warned Israel in Deuteronomy, that when you enter the “Promised Land” and gain wealth, don't think that by your own strength you've been blessed. Remember that God has given it to you. Israel was driven from the land of promise because they never allowed the land to rest according to the Sabbath rest law that God designed. When Israel was led through the desert by the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, God sustained them.  God prepared the way before them. When Israel strayed from God's protection, they were outside of God's mercy, grace, and rest. This principle is true for us today. 

Jesus reminded his followers to count the cost and think of the consequences of their thoughts, words and actions before they actual happen. Look before you leap, so to speak. Following Him must be the priority in life ... live for Christ in your loving heart. Everything else we must "hate" in comparison to loving Jesus and following Him. Then our joy will be in the Lord and not on the things of this earth. No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God – Luke 9:62. Like Lot's wife who looked back longingly at Sodom and Gomorrah, those who are not committed to seek first God and his Kingdom will suffer destruction and loss.  

Let’s continue Michael’s message God’s Protection in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

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