Gratitude and Grumbling (The scourge of self-pity)

Getting a lesson ready for Wed. night.  I thought it would just be on gratitude, but pretty soon my sin of self-pity came to the forefront and the result is below.

Gratitude and Grumbling (The scourge of self-pity)

Holy, Holy, Holy- Keith Green     Speakers      my mom

James 5:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Gratitude flows back to God.
Grumbling flows back to God.

2 Corinthians 7:12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.
When we limit the scope of our understanding of a situation to “how it affects me” we are blinded to all the other things that God is doing in the Body, through the situation, or in front of the devil and his angels.  Job is the prime example, what God was doing had very little to do with Job.  We can be sure that He loves us, but we also need to know that we are not the center of all things.

Numbers (the book of grumbling and complaining.)
Numbers 11:1  Now the people complained to the Lord about their troubles, and when he heard them, he became angry. Then fire from the Lord burned among the people at the edge of the camp. 2 The people cried out to Moses, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped burning. 3 So that place was called Taberah, because the Lord’s fire had burned among them.

11:10Moses heard every family crying as they stood in the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became very angry, and Moses got upset.

14:1That night all the people in the camp began crying loudly. 2 All the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron, and all the people said to them, “We wish we had died in Egypt or in this desert.

14:26-29  The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 27 “How long will these evil people complain about me? I have heard the grumbling and complaining of these Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says. I heard what you said, and as surely as I live, I will do those very things to you: 29 You will die in this desert. Every one of you who is twenty years old or older and who was counted with the people—all of you who complained against me—will die.

Gratitude is not based on circumstances.

Acts 5:40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.  41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Acts 16:22-25  22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

 David took his complaint to God, but also expressed trust in God.

Psalm 13:1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

THE SCOURGE OF SELF-PITY
The biggest killer of gratitude is self-pity.
Recognizing when self-pity is rising up.
How do we recognize self-pity? One way to recognize self-pity in ourselves is to closely examine our thoughts and words. When we do so, we are looking for these signs of self-pity: • Repeatedly telling or thinking about how someone wounded you
• Asking “why did this happen to me?”
• Having feelings of unfairness
• Making statements such as “I didn’t deserve…”
• Global statements such as “I will never succeed… I always fail…”
• Having first person focused thoughts “I, me, my”

5 Reasons Self-Pity Is a Sin:
1.  Self-pity implies that God exists to serve me. If I’m unhappy, then he isn’t serving me to my satisfaction.
2.  Self-pity implies that I, instead of God, know what will make me happy, fulfilled, content, and godly.
3.  Self-pity’s root is an ungrateful heart.
4.  Self-pity leads to murmuring, complaining, and an exalted sense of self.
5.  Self-pity is focused inwardly rather than outwardly.
The way out is the same as any other sin, confess, repent, receive God’s grace to walk in His ways.

Considering Elijah and Jeremiah.
Self-pity, the root of most grumbling.
What can we do to combat self-pity? I Kings 19:4-15
Elijah falls into self-pity right after a great victory, there are some lessons in ‘watching’ how God handles it.

 While pitying himself, Elijah asks for death, saying, "It is enough! Now LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!" His situation reveals several problems that can fatigue and erode our attitudes: He presumes the outcome, focuses on the problem and himself, and becomes physically exhausted. God provides the solutions to alleviate self-pity: Pray for God's help, rest, find a new focus and new expectations, repent of sins, and take obedient action. When Elijah crawls into his shell, God commands him to get up and get moving. He wants Elijah to choose godly action based on obedience rather than inaction based on his emotions. Genuine repentance and a clear view of our true condition, not a distorted one, fights self-pity.

Jeremiah 15:17-21 — The trap of self-pity
17 I never sat with the crowd
    as they laughed and had fun.
I sat by myself, because you were there,
    and you filled me with anger at the evil around me.
18 I don’t understand why my pain has no end.
    I don’t understand why my injury is not cured or healed.
Will you be like a brook that goes dry?
    Will you be like a spring that stops flowing?
19 So this is what the Lord says:
“If you change your heart and return to me, I will take you back.
    Then you may serve me.
And if you speak things that have worth,
    not useless words,
    then you may speak for me.
Let the people of Judah turn to you,
    but you must not change and be like them.
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to this people,
    as strong as a wall of bronze.
They will fight against you,
    but they will not defeat you,
because I am with you.  (VERDA)
    I will rescue you and save you,” says the Lord.
21 “I will save you from these wicked people
    and rescue you from these cruel people.”

Sometimes when following God gets hard, it becomes easy to complain.  “Why is this happening to me?  I don’t understand.  I thought that if I followed you, all would go well.  Why are you allowing this to happen?”
And that’s how Jeremiah felt.  He felt the sting of rejection and persecution from his own people.  As a result, he started to face doubts about what he was doing for God, saying,
Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?  Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?  (18)
In other words, “I’m suffering here.  Can’t you see?  Are you truly going to help me?  Or will you let me down like so many others have in the past?”

But once again, God doesn’t allow Jeremiah to wallow in his own self-pity.  Rather, he challenges him, saying,
Therefore this is what the Lord says:  “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.  Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.  I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the Lord.  “I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.”  (19-21)
Put simply, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself.  Walk away from your pity party so that I can use you.  Stop your complaining, and instead speak the words I give you.  These people around you would have you become like them, but you must not.  Instead, you must make them bend to you.  They may fight against you and persecute you, but they will not overcome you.  I will rescue you.  So take your eyes off of yourself, and put them on me where they belong.”
   Satan wants you to focus on yourself, because when you do, it’s impossible to focus on God or the people around you.

Let us not be people that focus on ourselves and our own troubles.  Rather, as the writer of Hebrews says,

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Behaviors that keep self-pity alive and well.
You tell others of the wrong that has been done to you because it elevates you and dismisses your behavior and focuses on others.  It’s a shift of blame.  You feel justified but never feel satisfied.

Many times unforgiveness is the key holding self pity in place.

Self pity often then leads to unforgiveness, anger and hatred, resentment, rebellion of all sorts, even a murderous and bitter broken heart.

  “Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out, into the open, into a spacious, free life.”  Romans 8:6 (MSG)

Terrible results of self-pity.
Self-pity stunts spiritual growth.   It stops you dead in your tracks.  It will bring you down and not let you move forward.  Pity holds on to the past. and drops an anchor in your life causing you to be battered by the storms of life unable to navigate free of other dangers.

Self-pity can also bring us into a sense of hopelessness. This is a belief that something that is greatly desired is unobtainable. Self-pity does this by diminishing our view of what God says about us, and our view of God and His character. It can create beliefs that God has let us down or will let us down (distrust in God), or that God is punishing us for some sin (because we are not forgiving ourselves). Hopeless people have a lack of assurance that God values what they offer Him, and that God will not respond in any way to their overtures. When asked, “If you were to ask God for something, do you really think He would hear you and answer you?” they respond, “I wish I could believe it, but to be honest I don’t feel that God is really interested in me
(or my problems).” There is a feeling of a lack of power or ability to effect the situation.

Self-pity leads us to blame others for our problems and not accept or acknowledge our own responsibility for problems. When we feel others are solely to blame for our problems it takes away our responsibility, and ability, to have any power to impact the problem; therefore keeping us stuck in our problems.

A stronghold of the enemy
Ultimately, self-pity is a tremendous stronghold for the enemy because it separates us from God by creating doubt in God’s goodness and sovereignty. It also separates us from others with self-centeredness, comparison, envy, and pride (a false mask we hide behind). It is an especially effective stronghold because many times it is not a readily apparent sin and is extremely difficult for the person stuck in self-pity to admit; again an issue of pride. Ask God to forgive you for misjudging His character, for doubting Him.

Self-pity becomes a form of manipulation that you might use to get things from other people.
 We cannot cope with life if we are feeling sorry for ourselves and not taking responsibility. The key word is dwelling. If we learn to feel our pain, understand it and learn from it, we will be in a better position to cope with life events. If we keep dwelling on self-pity we will never being in a position to be used by God.

Hope in God, Trust in God
The weapons that deliver the death blow to self-pity.
In contrast, hope is the confident expectation of something good. Having hope means to have trust and reliance. It is desire with expectation of obtaining what is desired or belief that it is obtainable. It is made up of three basic elements:
• Confidence     • Expectancy     • Security

Because hope is confident, secure, and expectant it creates in a person an inner attitude of openness toward God, towards other people and towards life. This is extremely important because we receive what we expect and we receive only what we are open to. When we do not have hope we are pessimistic, expecting the worst, therefore putting up protective barriers against life, against people, and against God. Then we wonder why we never seem to receive anything. Hope is the other side of faith. Faith means that I commit myself in trust to another. Hope means I expect that what I have offered, faith, a committed trust in another, will be responded to, thereby making me open to receive that response. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) The person who suffers from self-pity is often a person with a great deal of compassion; their focus is just off. When they are able to take their focus off of themselves they become tremendously effective in ministry because of their ability to truly relate to another person’s pain.

Thoughts to fight self-pity.
(1)I deserve worse
I should be screaming in agony in hell right now for my rebellion against God; instead, I’ve merely been criticized by someone.  I should be burning in torment, but I only have to replace my car engine.-
(2)I could be going through this trial apart from Christ
Millions of unbelievers suffer tragedies, disease, and evil at the hands of others apart from the love of Jesus.  They have no comfort from his Spirit, no hope for eternity, no God to help them.  They suffer here then slide into eternal destruction.  Though I may be hurting, my Good Shepherd will never forsake me.

 Remember that God is more concerned about our holiness than our happiness.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
  Remember that this world is not all there is. As we respond in faith to God, especially in the hard times, we are banking faith rewards in Heaven.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”(2 Corinthians 4:17).                 (The call and the key)

Zechariah Study #5 Chapter 3 Joshua the High Priest

Zechariah Bible Study #5
Joshua Before the Angel of Jehovah
Zechariah Chapter 3

Joshua, the High Priest

3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” 5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

6 And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.

The Branch

8 Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. 9 For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”   NASB

God continues His ‘good and comforting’ words through the prophet, with grace-filled words of a restored spiritual relationship between God and His people. The emphasis is on God’s choice.
The blessed fact is this, “the fulfillment of the exceeding great and precious promises in reference to Israel’s future, rests, not on their own merits or worthiness, but on the immutable purpose of Jehovah, who in His sovereign grace hath ‘chosen Jerusalem.’”David Baron
This vision depicts in a symbolic but graphic manner the inner salvation of Israel from sin and moral defilement, answering to their outward deliverance from captivity and oppression set forth in the preceeding three visions.
Jeremiah 3:22  “Return, O faithless sons,  I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;  For You are the Lord our God.”  What His eternal counsels have purposed, His grace and power shall yet accomplish in His people, and Israel shall yet be God’s instrument to shed abroad His blessings to the nations.

Zech. 3:1  The vision shows us Joshua, the High Priest, one of the 49,697 who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, standing before the Angel of Jehovah, a pre-incarnate Jesus, with Satan, at Joshua’s side acting as an adversary.
Joshua is a type and representative of the nation in this vision.  The language of the vision is at times talking about him as an individual and then it goes right into the city/nation.  The high priest is on trial and so is the nation; if rejected, they are rejected, if acquitted, they are accepted.
It is beyond our knowledge and the knowledge imparted to us by the Bible to understand how Satan is permitted in heaven as the ‘accuser of the brethren’ but there he is.  Satan brought sin into the world, he deceives and tempts men to sin, but when they fall, he turns to accuse them.
    We are a side issue in the mind of Satan.  His main goal is to try to frustrate the accomplishment of God’s merciful purposes for the world.

Zech 3:2  Here we see that in rebuking Satan about Joshua, the blessing is expanded to the city/nation. “The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem..”  Oh that we would see the blessedness of being chosen, of being a ‘brand plucked from the fire.’  Of being a vessel of wrath, given great mercy.  When Jehovah rebukes you, because His words are power, the rebuking, the suppression actually takes place as a result of the words.  Israel’s hope and safety and ours rests on the immutable character and faithfulness of the Everlasting, Unchangeable God.  The sole ground and motive is His own heart of love.  The ‘fire’ that they/we are plucked from indicates great suffering in punishment, but mercy prevented it from resulting in utter destruction.  Like the burning bush it burns, but is not consumed.  This is a deep truth - The bush must suffer by very reason of its being in a special sense the dwelling place of the Holy One, until all dross has been consumed; but, because of mercy, it can not be destroyed.

Zech 3:3  The Hebrew word for filthy is FILTHY, the strongest expression that can be given.  How can God receive worship from one so sinful, so morally defiled?  Praise be to God, Satan has the power to accuse, but not to condemn!!  The Judge is the Lord, Jesus.  Leviticus 26:44 “Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.”

Zech 3:4  To eliminate doubt that the filthy garments are symbolic of our sins, and the sins of Israel as a nation, the Lord says as He calls for the removal of the filthy garments,  “I have taken your iniquity away from you.”  Not only are our sins removed but, amazing grace, provides for new garments, festal robes.  This clothing indicates a reinstatement with God, for His purposes in the earth.  

Zech 3:5  The graciousness of Jehovah, leaves something ‘undone’ so that it can be called for by the intercession of the prophet.  This completes the dressing of the high priest.  God agrees to this request, indicating His acceptance of the newly clothed sinner.   Exodus 19:5,6 tells us that God was forming a “kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”  This is a picture of our conversion,  a stripping off of our filthy garments by God, and a giving of new garments from God.  The ‘robe of righteousness’ that we get as a result of our belief in Jesus, is our only ground of standing before God.  

Zech. 3:6  The free gift of ‘right standing with God’ results in a ‘higher call.’

It is good to remember that the words of God have power inherent in them.

So when He says, “Go and do this.” the power to go and do it is present in the command.  

Zech 3:7  The first part refers to our personal walk before God, and the second charge is to carry out our place in the Body.  For Joshua it would have been his call as high priest, and for the nation - to be a kingdom of priests.  His grace is available to us, the power in the Spirit to walk out our call, are both available.  Our obedience and faithfulness in these areas during our earthly sojourn, result in dwelling in heaven.  There is a promise of ‘authority’ in the life to come based on faithfulness in this life.  

Zech 3:8  Often in the Old Testament, men’s lives were symbolic.  We need to be aware of this also in our day, that God makes use of our lives, that others are watching our lives.  Things that happen to us are usually bigger than we know.  Our performance is on a bigger stage than we realize.  And now for the big announcement God is bringing forth His Servant the Branch.  Jesus, both Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke of Messiah as ‘the Branch.’  

Zech 3:9  By comparing scripture with scripture, we learn that Isaiah and David in the Psalms referred to the Messiah as a foundation stone/cornerstone.  The seven eyes refers to the omniscience of God.  He knows all, and has all the seven gifts of the Spirit.  The love that God has for us is ‘graven’ on the body of His Servant the branch.  Therefore, the marks of crucifixion are seen here, and in them we know that His omniscience is directed toward us in love.  I don’t want the government knowing everything about me, but when God does it is a comfort.  At the cross our iniquity was removed, but we did not appropriate it to our lives until we called on the name of Jesus to forgive us of our sins.  And in the same way, Israel as a called and chosen nation has total forgiveness available to them awaiting that ‘glorious day’ when as a nation they call upon the name of the Lord.  The day of Israel’s national repentance, the great day of Atonement.  God’s purposes are marching toward that day.  Leviticus 26:30  “for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord.”

Zech.  3:10  Here we have a beautiful picture of a true, deep, peaceful rest.  We are told that when the high priest completed all the ritual of the day of Atonement that there was a festival with songs and entertainment and universal gladness.  The garden of Eden, the original purpose of God, gives us a picture of this invitation to a relaxing meal on a perfect day.  

I have intentionally kept this short, because the great need of our time is to see this amazing truth of God.  He has removed our filthy garment, clothed us in His righteousness, surrounded us with His love and called us to join with Him in His mission. 

Not a program, but LIFE

Got a question from a dear friend, that sparked some good thoughts from God, I will share them here.

The question

So I struggle with my temper and I find myself a bit confused today.  I have a quote here from Gary Chapman that seemed to speak to me and sounded accurate.....  he says :

"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  It is NOT the fruit of self effort.  It is NOT a commitment to TRY to be like Jesus, rather, yielding our lives to the Holy Spirit so He can express the qualities of Jesus through us."

However, Colossions 3:8 says

"But now you must rid yourself of all things such as these; anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."

So yes I know Gary Chapman's quote is not scripture but it seems to make sense, it's not of my own effort but the scripture says "Now YOU MUST RID YOURSELF....."

Is it something I do or something God does???

The reply

yes it is something you do

yes it is something God does

Our desire to change, to "rid yourself", to "put off", flows from His work in us.  His victory is what enables us.  His Life is what gives us the desire.  The change in our hearts over time will be reflected in what proceeds from our lips.  

If we devise a plan to 'stop being angry.'   And that plan somehow worked, we would get the glory.  We would have accomplished it through the flesh.

If we overcome it through weakness, then He gets the glory.  In other words, "confess your faults to one another and you will be healed."  Admitting our inability to defeat anger, we throw ourselves on His mercy and grace, 

that great song we sing in church, 

"when I cannot stand, I'll fall on You, Holiness is Christ in me.", is some of the most amazing truth I have ever sung in a song not written by William Cowper, or Charles Wesley.

So Chapman is right, it is not through our own "self-effort" that we get fruit;  and Paul is right, the heart that is in love with Jesus, will be highly motivated to put off and rid itself of anything that does not please Him.  How it does that is the crux of the matter, 

not through a "program" but through "life."   

 In fact I would consider the "tender conscience" to be one of the greatest things that comes to us automatically as a result of being 'born again.'  And the 'tender conscience' is injured very easily when we KNOW that we need to apologize, ask forgiveness, or humble ourselves in someway in order to be reconciled to another and we choose NOT too.  At that very moment, we have justified our self, our action, or whatever and we have stepped out from under the covering of the grace of God.  SELF will look for ANY, and I mean ANY other way to overcome anger, that does not involve the humiliation of admitting sin.


Bonus thought at no extra cost....

The church is an organism primarily, not an organization.  The organization aspect is necessary, Paul would appoint elders and deacons, etc., but the organization should not be over-done.  It should serve the organism.  When the reverse starts to happen, the organization has grown too big.

Fear of the Lord benefits your children

In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence
and his children have a refuge.  Proverbs 14:26

Remember the definition of the fear of the Lord?


The Fear of the Lord, is the "willingness to justify God in all that He allows into your life."  Roy Hession

Trials, temptations, tribulations, suffering... ALL that He allows into your life!

Bowing to God, to His sovereignty,  being a man who by the grace of God, says, "Yes, Lord." without any reservations, without any, "but not that" gives an unspeakably great benefit to your family.  
As usual when our obedience, is at least in part, about the benefit that accrue to others.

God I trust You!

Mercy Conviction

“Since the fundamental nature of the Cross is that a man died for you in order that you
don’t have to, if you don’t then respond by giving this same substance of mercy, your
faith is dead. The evidence of your faith in the atonement is fundamentally shown by the
mercy you give.”   Stephen Holmes
ONE HOPE. ONE BOAST. April 20, 2013 Conference
Day 2, Session 2: Mercy And The Cross 5

This quote and my Pastor’s ending comment on our Wed. night teaching last night, have brought conviction to me.
He said, (paraphrasing) “Husbands, you must act quickly and decisively if your children disrespect their mother.  It is damaging to her, and to your marriage and to your kids if you do not.”
On more than one occasion, I have stood by silently while this happened and our family has reaped the whirlwind because of it.
Mercy Lord, is my only cry.

When God says, 'NO.'

Had a chance to teach on Wednesday night.  We broke up into "tiny" groups and discussed the first twelve scriptures.  That did not leave us time to review the other quotes, but it was well received and got us all thinking.



When God says, “No.”


The Greek word translated Mystery is used 27 times in the NT and means that which, being outside the unassisted natural apprehension, can be made known only by divine revelation.

Break up into ‘tiny’ groups and tackle these, but first stop and pray for revelation.

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. Heb. 5:8

1)    Psalm 136:10,15,17,18   God’s lovingkindness demonstrated in the death of His enemies.

2)    "Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins." / Psalm  25:18
         Break it into two halves and examine it.

3)     Hebrews 10:32-35   “accepted joyfully the seizure of your property”...   say what?

4)      Luke 24:25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the                prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to                                enter into His glory?”      A foundational principle of God is revealed.

5)      The purpose of the church and the wisdom of God revealed in 2 verses.   Eph. 3:10,11

6)       Lifting the veil of personal suffering... 2 Corin. 1:3-7  3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; 7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.

7)     Exposure, vulnerability... its all good.  James 5:16  “Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” AMP version

8)     What makes us steadfast and immovable?  1 Corin. 15:55-58

9)      What is the “therefore” referring to?   What makes the praise a sacrifice?
Hebrews 13:14-16
14 For here we have no permanent city, but we are looking for the one which is to come.
15 Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.
16 Do not forget or neglect to do kindness and good, to be generous and distribute and contribute to the needy [of the church as embodiment and proof of fellowship], for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

10)    Communion  1 Cor. 11:23-32  Can you put this section in your own words?  What is the purpose of communion?

11)    James 1:2-4  Familiar passage, but what is it really saying?  “2 Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.
3 Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.
4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”  AMP

12)    Parents do it with their kids and HE does it with us....Hebrews 12:5-7

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Self-pity and murmuring, will short circuit the work the God is trying to do in your life and since His purposes can not be ultimately thwarted, you will be looping around the mountain one more time!

Sentimental and shallow love must die in order to make room for true grace-filled resurrection unconditional love.

Disillusionment with others, and with self, and with God  are an essential part of the path of life.

The object of pursuit, in the wisdom, of God is the glory of God,  not the pursuit of happiness, not instant gratification.  Anyone who pursues the glory of God makes themselves a candidate not for happiness, but for suffering, but the ultimate end, is the glory of God and the ultimate reward is in the life to come.  “These all died, not having received the promises..."Hebrews 11:13
Our terminology is “ultimate gratification."   Art Katz Two Wisdoms (part 2)

Praise in the middle of affliction devastates the enemy.

Practical advice from Oswald Chambers...(January 30)
  Get into the habit of saying, "Speak, Lord," and life will become a romance. Every time circumstances press, say, "Speak, Lord"; make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline, it is meant to get me to the place of saying, "Speak, Lord."


This is the temper which sanctified affliction always begets, so that the prostrate soul dares no longer to impose terms on Jehovah, but yields itself to his sovereign discretion. There is peace in such a surrender, a peace which is altogether independent of any expected mitigation of the stroke. Wave after wave often goes over the child of God, before he is brought to this state of self-renunciation. Murmuring may for a time prevail, yet the Great Physician, who applies the painful remedy, cannot be baffled, and triumphs to his own glory, and the unspeakable benefit of the believer's soul.

Chastisement is useful, because it leads the believer to look for complete happiness in heaven only. He is the happy man who dwells most on the thoughts of heaven. Like Enoch — he walks with God. Like Job, he can say, "I know that my Redeemer lives," etc. Like David, he glories, "You will show me your salvation!" Like Paul, he triumphs, "For I am now ready to be offered," etc.

In every case of suffering, it is the prime wisdom of the Christian to fix his eyes upon the heavenly crown. In every other hope you may be disappointed, in this you cannot. Try as you may all other fountains for your solace, there is a time coming when you must be driven to this. Become familiar with meditation on heavenly glory! Daily contemplate that joyful deliverance from evil, that indissoluble and ecstatic union with the Lord Jesus Christ! Then, when death lays upon you his cold hand, you can say, "I am prepared for this hour. I have longed for this deliverance to meet my Lord in His house. I have lived in communion with the blessed Lord of heaven." "Lo, this is my God, I have waited for Him, and He will save me; this is the Lord, I have waited for Him; I will rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

Lastly, Charles Haddon Spurgeon
"And all the children of Israel murmured." / Numbers 14:2

There are murmurers amongst Christians now, as there were in the camp of
Israel of old. There are those who, when the rod falls, cry out against the
afflictive dispensation. They ask, "Why am I thus afflicted? What have I done
to be chastened in this manner?" A word with thee, O murmurer! Why shouldst
thou murmur against the dispensations of thy heavenly Father? Can he treat
thee more hardly than thou deservest? Consider what a rebel thou wast once,
but he has pardoned thee! Surely, if he in his wisdom sees fit now to chasten
thee, thou shouldst not complain. After all, art thou smitten as hardly as thy
sins deserve? Consider the corruption which is in thy breast, and then wilt
thou wonder that there needs so much of the rod to fetch it out? Weigh
thyself, and discern how much dross is mingled with thy gold; and dost thou
think the fire too hot to purge away so much dross as thou hast? Does not that
proud rebellious spirit of thine prove that thy heart is not thoroughly
sanctified? Are not those murmuring words contrary to the holy submissive
nature of God's children? Is not the correction needed? But if thou wilt
murmur against the chastening, take heed, for it will go hard with murmurers.
God always chastises his children twice, if they do not bear the first stroke
patiently. But know one thing--"He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the
children of men." All his corrections are sent in love, to purify thee, and to
draw thee nearer to himself. Surely it must help thee to bear the chastening
with resignation if thou art able to recognize thy Father's hand. For "whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If
ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons." "Murmur not as some
of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer."

Zechariah Study #4 Zechariah 2:1-13

Zechariah Bible Study #4
The Man With the Measuring Line
Zechariah 2:1-13

God’s Favor to Zion

2:1 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is and how long it is.” 3 And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, 4 and said to him, “Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. 5 For I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

6 “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord. 7 “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye. 9 For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me. 10 Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 12 The Lord will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.
13 “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”  NASB

Remember these visions are connected, they are “good words, comforting words.”  The measuring line speaks of a space being marked out to occupy in the condition of the restoration that God brings.  A plan is being made, arrangements are in the works.  The Master Builder is making preparations.
The vision starts with a man on a mission.  He has a measuring line in his hand.  If this is the same ‘man’ who was standing among the myrtle trees then it is a pre-appearance of Jesus.  He is set about on the symbolic act of measuring the city, come to find out, it is not nearly big enough for what God has planned.  Now the communication starts happening so fast it is hard to keep up with.  The message is so joyful, so marvelous, that the messenger is told to ‘run’ with it.  Jerusalem which is just starting to be re-populated and re-built will one day burst at the seams.
When God has His way, it is bigger than we could measure.  When God has His way the walls are over run.  The security the walls provided is now handled personally by God.  
Sadly there is an imitation of this time, that is man-made.  A 'peace’ that has the appearance of providing safety, when in actuality it is the ultimate set-up for destruction.                    Ezekiel 38:11“and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of un-walled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates,”   We have to be so aware of not wanting some “thing” so badly that we by-pass God and His ways to get it.  That is one of the great temptations/deceptions of the end times.
God sees the coming time of false safety and peace, the destruction that follows, and HIS time of true peace and safety.  Isaiah 49:19,20  ““For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who swallowed you will be far away.
20 “The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’”
Verse 4 - The addition of “and cattle" means that we cannot spiritualize this verse and say that it is not talking about a literal Jerusalem restored for the glory of God. As a wall of fire, He is a perfect defense for those within and a sure destruction for those without.  Jesus makes clear that this applies in the New Testament too, when He says, in Matthew 5:35 not to swear by “the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King."  In fact God guarantee’s that one day the name of Jerusalem will be changed to “The Lord is There" = Jehovah Shammah, Ezekiel 48:35.
Need to quote a paragraph from Baron.  “But has the purpose of God been frustrated by Israel’s unbelief, and will the exceeding great and precious promises in reference to the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom on this earth, with Jerusalem as its center, fail for evermore because the Jewish people has not kept the covenant committed to them?  Oh no; man’s unbelief and disobedience may, in accord with the foreknowledge and infinite wisdom of God, cause the delay and postponement of God’s predetermined counsel, which in this particular instance has been the occasion of salvation and blessing to untold million of Gentiles (Romans 11:11-15), but it can never frustrate it.”
Jesus came to confirm the promises made to the fathers (Romans 15:8)"For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers,.”  He did not come to annul or transfer the promises.  We have a taste of that outward protection and inward illumination in our walk with God presently, but there is ‘more to come’ in God’s ultimate fulfillment of the promise.
The vision of these promises prompts the prophet to speak strongly to the people who chose not to return to Jerusalem when given the opportunity.   Baron makes a good point here that although Babylon was physically to the east, they attacked from the North, so they are depicted as being called to return from the north, using the great caravan route.  The reason for the call is two-fold, 1) Look how amazing Jerusalem is going to be, and 2) look at the destruction that God is planning to bring to the nations.  This again is a call that was only partially answered, one day the promise is, God will gather those he has scattered.
Verses 8-12 give a picture of Messiah’s character and purpose, with regard to the nations and Israel.
A careful reading of these verses reveals a mystery, Jehovah is sent by Jehovah.  It is one thing to say, “The Lord our God is one God.”  It is quite another to humbly admit, that that one Lord, could have a ‘unity’ that is beyond our ability to comprehend.  The trinity, defies explanation by our finite minds, but it is truth revealed by God.
The best rendering of “after glory hath He sent Me” is “to vindicate and to display the glory of God.”  Glory is displayed in the judgments that are inflicted on the nations who have oppressed Israel, and glory is displayed in the mercy and grace shown to Israel in delivering them.  Lastly glory is displayed in the blessing that comes through Israel to the Gentile nations after Israel is restored and Mount Zion becomes the center of Messiah’s governmental rule of the nations.
God’s care for Israel as the apple of His eye has been spoken of since Deut. 32.  Even when they feel forsaken, and are under the rule of others, God continues to watch over them and to make note of the conduct of the nations toward them.
“And in this tender love and faithfulness of Jehovah to His unworthy Israel, you may see a picture of His unchangeable love and faithfulness to you also.”  David Baron
Psalm 17:8
“Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.”  This is not only our prayer, but our sure hope, in God.
This next verse speaks of the second coming of Jesus.  The mystery of the two comings, was not at all clear in the Hebrew scriptures.  When Jesus came and began to do miracles and be proclaimed as the Messiah, even John, who pointed Him out was caused to stumble because Jesus was not a conquering King raising Israel to great heights and subjecting their enemies.
The ancient Rabbis seeing the two apparently contradictory, descriptions of the Messiah, as a suffering servant and a conquering king, formulated a belief in two Messiahs.  Messiah ben Joseph, who should suffer and die; and a Messiah ben David, who should conquer and reign.  This dilemma is solved by one Messiah with two comings.  
Verse 10  This coming, the second coming of Jesus, will bring great rejoicing to those who are looking for His appearing, but at the same time great fear and wailing from those who do not.  One event bringing two very different reactions.  This one event is our “blessed hope."  Some say it can not be a blessed hope, if such destruction and tribulation accompany it, but indeed it can.
Glory comes to God both in the defeat of His enemies and in the salvation of His people.
Verse 11 speaks of the double blessing, as many nations come to God, and Israel has God dwelling in their midst.
Verse 12 is the only time in the Bible where we see the words “holy land.”  Again it emphasizes that this is not some ‘spiritual’ promise, but is dealing with an actual people in an actual land.  A people who have an actual promise from God that He will fulfill.
Verse 13 “Be silent.”  When God breaks into this world, flesh bows and is silent.
Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
I can’t say I fully understand it or could articulate it, but it is becoming more clear to me that our call as Christians is to individuals, and that the call of Israel during the 1,000 year reign of Christ, is to nations.  Of course our gentile call to the individual will affect the nation that we are in and the call of Israel to the nation will affect the individual