Lesson 1752

(Lesson 1752)(07-31-16) Luke 12:1-3

"In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."

In today's quote, Jesus warned His disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They gave an outward appearance of being a just and righteous lot, yet Jesus knew that inside their purpose was wholly selfish.

As any observing child of God knows, even today, the most prevalent problem with modern "Christianity" is the horrible lack of enthusiasm and blatant hypocrisy that can so easily be found in it. Today's "Christianity" has become the modern day Pharisees.

In Revelation 3:14-19, The Laodiceans were warned about their complacency and I believe that same warning applies to the "church" of today. "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."~

Lesson 1751

(Lesson 1751)(07-30-16) Luke 11:37-54

"And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him."

In today's lesson, Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the Hebrew elite, the Pharisees, lawyers, and scribes. He said that they presented themselves as clean righteous on the outside while they were full of wickedness and guile on the inside.

Much of "Christianity" today follows in the footsteps of those same scribes, lawyers, and Pharisees. They present themselves to the world as righteous, while on the inside they are corrupt, self serving and without the love of God in them. ~

Lesson 1750

(Lesson 1750)(07-29-16) Luke 11:29-36

"And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light."

In today's quote, Jesus again made it clear that we cannot serve both the principles of light and darkness at the same time. While assuring the Jews that there would be no sign, Jesus said in essence that, abandoning all else, we must rely entirely on our faith in Him.

Jesus made an example of the hypocrisy of His Jewish brethren and how, while giving the appearance of loving and honoring God, they had only worked to serve themselves.~

Lesson 1749

(Lesson 1749)(07-27-16) Luke 11:14-28

"And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."

In today's quote, when challenged as to what authority Jesus applied to cast out devils, Jesus demonstrated the logic that one cannot obey two masters and assured His doubters that it was by His faith in the hand of God that the miracles He performed were accomplished.

Jesus also left an example for us in today's quote by relating that we too are to serve only one Master. The words of the quote, in essence, tell us that we cannot put a part of our faith in earthly rituals such as water baptisms or communion suppers while putting another part of our faith in the soul cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. We must either believe that it is water baptism that saves us, or believe that it is the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ that saves us. We must either believe that it is our ability to live perfect lives that saves us, or , we must believe the it is the supreme sacrifice of the only perfect man to have ever lived that saves us. We cannot serve "two masters". We cannot put part of our faith in one thing and another part in something else.

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Romans 4:4-5)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)~

Lesson 1748

(Lesson 1748)(07-26-16) Luke 11:1-13

"And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

In today's lesson, Jesus instructed he apostles as to how they should pray. He then cited what would become known as "The Lord's Prayer".

Herein, Jesus made it clear that to a child of God everything is possible through faith and prayer. There can be no clearer promise than that made by Jesus in this quote. If we truly believe that Jesus is the virgin borne Son of God, and that the Father has given Him control of the entirety of all things, all we need to do is ask for what we want, and if that request is within the will of God, we WILL receive our desired answer.~

Lesson 1747

(Lesson 1747)(07-25-16) Luke 10:38-42

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Today's quote tells us how Jesus rebuked Martha for complaining because Mary, her sister, had been working in the ministry of Jesus while neglecting her duties at home. The point being that the work Jesus was about doing was far more important than ones duties at home.

We, the children of God, should never allow anything to stand between us and our service to the purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ.~

Lesson 1746

(Lesson 1746)(07-24-16) Luke 10:25-37

"And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."

In today's quote, when a certain young lawyer asked Jesus how he could attain eternal life, Jesus told him to fully obey the Law of Moses, to love God with all that he was and to love his neighbor as he loved himself. Then, in order to explain what the word neighbor meant, Jesus told him the parable of "The Good Samaritan". That parable demonstrated that everyone is the neighbor of those who believe in God.

What Jesus said to that young lawyer in today's lesson should not be misunderstood to be a means by which a lost soul can achieve salvation today. We must remember that Jesus was a Jew and in order to maintain perfection under the Law of Moses, Jesus was required to abide by the law until He had been offered up as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Until the death of Jesus, eternal live could only come after achieving perfection under the law. Therefore, Jesus was bound to tell that young lawyer to obey the Law.

As we now know, only after Jesus lived a perfect life, fulfilled the law and ascended back to heaven, are the lost able to achieve eternal salvation through the new law of grace through faith in the life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~