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ANGELS, THEY ARE REAL
God's Voice
John 12:28 'Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.'
JOHN 12:20-28
This is the third time recorded in the gospels that the Father spoke in an audible voice to or about Jesus (First, at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River and second, at the transfiguration of Jesus).
This verse makes it clear that it was a voice that the Father spoke in; however, there were different reports of the same event. Some people heard a voice and thought it was an angel who spoke. Others thought it was thunder.
This illustrates 'the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know...
God's New Creation
John 12:23 'And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.'
JOHN 12:20-23
Philip and Andrew had just brought word to Jesus that certain Greeks or Gentiles were seeking Him at the feast. He had ministered to other Gentiles, but this is the first time that the Gentiles came specifically to seek Him instead of what He could do. Apparently, this was an added signal to Jesus that His time had come and that He could no longer confine His ministry to only the Jews. Therefore, He made statements about His death and glorification, that would break down the middle wall of partition between the Jew and the Gentile.
There was a physical wall of partition that symbolized...
The Power Of Praise And Worship
Luke 19:39-40 'And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.'
LUKE 19:29-40
There is nothing wrong with praising God. It is encouraged and commanded thousands of times in the scriptures. The reason the Pharisees were so upset was because they didn't accept Jesus as God. Indeed, it would be blasphemy for Jesus to accept worship if He wasn't God. This is another confirmation of the deity of Christ.
Only Luke records this instance of the Pharisees' objection and Jesus' answer. This was the triumphant entry of Israel's King...
THE LAW
Worship From Your Heart
Mark 14:3 'And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.'
MARK 14:3-6
The spikenard was a fragrant plant, and its roots were used in Jesus' day to make an aromatic, costly perfume and ointment. The plant, itself, grows in the Himalaya mountains at an elevation of 11,000 to 17,000 feet. For centuries, it was used by Hindus as a medicine and perfume and was an actively traded commodity. Its great cost stemmed from that it had to be transported over 6,000 miles to reach Palestine, and depending on quality, it sold for as much as 400 denarii per pound (or...
Respond To God's Direction
Luke 19:26 'For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.'
What was it that this wicked servant didn't have that caused his master to take back the money he had given him? It wasn't the tangible money that he had been given. He had kept that laid up in a napkin and he still possessed it. What he was missing and what the other servant had that caused the lord to give this pound to him was faithfulness. Those who are faithful with what God has given them will be given more, and those who are wasteful will have what God has given them taken away and given to another.
Christians will one day stand before the Lord for the purpose of...