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Monday, April 21, 2014

Rain has a purpose

                                         RAIN HAS A PURPOSE


Endless sunny days
End in death
Rain has a purpose

Praying for constant sunshine
Is praying against God 
Rain has a purpose

Pray for rain
The right amount
The right time

Life depends on it

Revelation 12:11

Pet peeve alert.. We sang a song yesterday that had these words, "We have overcome, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony."
That is a 1/2 truth, because this is the whole verse...
Rev. 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

The church will be brought to a place of intimate knowledge of what it means to suffer and die, just like their Messiah, who said, "The servant is not greater than the Master."  
Oh for the day when the time of purifying the sons of Levi is upon us.  Mercy, Lord, prepare us Lord!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPIQk4pTeVg&feature=youtu.be

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Zechariah Chapter 10 Bible Study # 15

Zechariah Bible Study #15
Zechariah Chapter 10
What Israel's Shepherd-King Will Be And Do For His People

10:1 Ask rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—
The Lord who makes the storm clouds;
And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to 
each man.For the teraphim speak iniquity,
And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain.
Therefore 
the people wander like sheep,
They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
“My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats;
For the 
Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah,
And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
“From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg,
From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, 
all of them together.“They will be as mighty men,
Treading down 
the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, for the 
Lord will be with them;
And the riders on horses will be put to shame.
“I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph,
And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had not rejected them,
For I am the 
Lord their God and I will answer them.“Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine;
Indeed, their children will see 
it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.“I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as numerous as they were before.
“When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.
10 “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon
Until no 
room can be found for them.11 “And they will pass through the sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;
And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart.
12 “And I will strengthen them in the Lord,
And in His name they will walk,” declares the 
Lord.


David Baron sums up this section with this long sentence. “The blessed and prosperous condition of restored and converted Israel under the care and leadership of their true Shepherd-King.”
Verse 1 - “Ask rain” This is literal rain, needed for the life of man and beast in this dry land. It comes typically twice a year, the early and latter rain. God gives it and He can with hold it. He will give it, but He wants to be asked.
Verse 2 - “Teraphim” is an important word mentioned only 8 times in the Bible, it is a very specific kind of idolatry. An idol that speaks. An idol that 'gives answers' in response to questions. Ouija boards is the only thing that I can compare it to. The pattern is the people disobeyed God, He with held revelation and direction, instead of repenting, they would turn to 'other means' to obtain, direction, wisdom, revelation. I wonder if, some of what is called science, is actually a turning away from God to find answers that do not require us to bow to Him. The false speaking, visions, and dreams, are all to do one thing, provide “false comfort.” Our protection is to receive the “love of the truth.” Without receiving the love of the truth, refusing God's offer, brings a terrible consequence, God sends a deluding influence and people believe what is false.
(2 Thes. 2:11,12)
Verse 3 – Leadership is a huge responsibility and requires that we be praying for our leaders in the faith. God surveys this false comfort and a people wandering away from Him to false things and declares that He will come and be a good Shepherd and His first act will be to remove the false shepherds. Not only does He deliver them from false shepherds, but He also forms us into an army, ready for battle. The picture is actually that of a horse that the king rides off to execute His judgments.
Verse 4 – David Baron, a Hebrew and Old Testament expert calls this, “one of the richest Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament.” He spent about 10 pages just on this verse. Every time the NASB uses “them” in this verse, there is a note that says the word is literally, “him.” I have no idea why they decided to change it, but at least they put the notes in to alert us of the change. Since verse 3 references the 'house of Judah', that points us to the Messiah. There are 4 parts to this verse. The first is the 'cornerstone' referencing Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone forthe foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. This is the answer to the questions, “How does the Jew persist?” “How does the church continue?” Jesus is the foundation that the safety and stability of the building depends on. The fact that God can build His church out of frail, imperfect human materials, is a testimony to the greatness of the foundation stone. In Matthew 21:42 Jesus gave Himself this title.  Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,
The stone which the builders rejected,This became the chief corner stone;This came about from the Lord,And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
And the cornerstone becomes even more amazing when you consider that its purpose was to “unite the two walls at the corner.” The stone “faces both ways and is the bond of union between the two walls.” Eph. 2:14,15 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, Only God could write this story, that just becomes more and more evident as we study the scriptures.
The second thing mentioned in this verse is the “tent peg.” Baron sees this as the 'strong peg inside the oriental tent on which is hung all the valuables.' A nail in a sure place on which to hang our burdens. Also on this peg could be hung everything that the family considered valuable, the things they wanted all who entered to see and admire. Our hearts, our salvation we attribute to Him, we proclaim that He and He alone is holding us up.
There are 2 more phrases to be examined and both of them speak of the second coming of Jesus. The battle bow is seen in Isaiah 63:2-4 speak of a conquering executor of the judgment of God returning with blood on his garments. Revelation 19:11-16 repeat the same image. This is the age of mercy, but at the second coming that age is over.
The “every ruler” either means, all rulers combined into one ruler, or he that exercises all rule. Either way it is a comfort to the righteous and a terror to the wicked.
Verse 5 - Now we observe the transformation that comes under a people when the leadership improves, they go from being a wandering, disorganized flock to 'mighty men' winning battles because the Lord is on their side.
Verse 6 – The uniting of the divided kingdom is here pointed out by mentioning Judah and Joseph. Also it should be noted that the house of Joseph would have been in an even more hopeless condition because most of them had not returned at the time of Zechariah and were still in exile. They had been in exile 135 years longer having been conquered first. The “I will” and the “I have” statement are the most precious promises in the Bible because they speak of God acting upon us. The rejection of God is real, but it is temporary and designed to cause His people to cry out to Him.
Verse 7 – Again, God gets to the heart of a parent and says, not only will this bless you, but your children will continue in the blessing. Only He could make such a promise because each individual stands before God on his own.
Verse 8 – If any of us had ever lived in the Middle East or been privileged to see a shepherd and their sheep, this verse would come alive. When they pull a whistle out of their pocket and begin to play a tune that the flock knows, the flock comes from all corners and gathers together and move on. Soon after he begins playing, the lone shepherd, is surrounded by his flock who obediently answer the call. “For I have redeemed them” this gathering is from a good cause and for a good purpose. The Ezekiel resurrection of the dead, is one explanation for, they will be as numerous as they were before... I don't know, it could just mean with generations of peace their numbers will be growing again.
Verse 9 – This word for 'scatter' is sow. That means this scattering has good connotations. Hosea 2:23 I will sow her for Myself in the land.
I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion,
And I will say to those who were not My people,
You are My people!’
And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Again, the tremendous comfort of “and your children.”
Verse 10 – The promise is to gather them from the two lands most famous for holding them captive and to bring them into the very large plot of land that was originally promised, (approx. the size of France) and even that will not be enough to hold them all.
Verse 11 – God's faithfulness in the past, is meant to, encourage us about His faithfulness to us now. He has brought us through distress, He will bring us through distress. He dried up the Jordan, He will dry up the Nile. He has overcome the powers of Egypt and Assyria and He will again. Gentile world powers, will not continue in their dominance, God will rule from Jerusalem.
Verse 12 - Zechariah 10:12 And I will strengthen [Israel] in the Lord, and they shall walk up and down and glory in His name, says the Lord.  Amplified    We can take this promise for our lives, but we can not take it from them!   We can appropriate it, but we can not steal it.
It is THEIR promise, and we are not allowed to completely remove it from them.  God is big enough, to give the promise to them and then help us with it ALSO.  NOT, NOT, NOT, instead of.  
I'm telling you 60% or more of the church is willing to say, “The church gets the blessings, Jesus took the curse, All prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD. The nation of Israel is no different than any other nation. The Hebrew people are no different than any other people. They quote scripture and they make it sound so good. The church comes out smelling like a rose, Israel as a national entity is held in derision because of rejecting Jesus. Individual Jews who turn to Christ are in the church but there is no blessing left for the Jew and the nation of Israel. We must proclaim the truth. If God breaks His many, unconditional, “I will” promises about this people and this land, than He is not to be trusted. He is not faithful and true. If our interpretation of scripture insists on a tearing down of this people we have fallen into the trap of pride, set by God in
Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
The Deliverer will come from Zion,He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”27 This is My covenant with them,When I take away their sins.” Them is obviously Israel, Their is obviously Israel.
May God in His grace and mercy, remove the veil from those who can not see this.