By Odon Bulamba (summary only)
A mountain has great significance in the Christian life and we can learn a lot by observing a mountain. On earth the mountain has the highest peak, not even the tallest tree can compare to its magnitude and height. A mountain is high and full of majesty like our God.
There are different types of mountains, some are old or flat and don’t have peaks. There are also mountains that produce fire, which we call volcanoes. A mountain can represent Christian life. Some people who want to become old spiritually don’t have that peak; they are compared to this mountain because they stop growing in their Christian life. They are Christians but have lost that desire to grow up.
Secondly, there are Christians who want to reach a higher ground to get what they need for their spiritual lives. They grow up and everything comes together like a cone, and this cone represents the peak on a mountain.
The higher you climb on a mountain the colder it gets. The more you grow up in your spiritual life, the more you realize that your body becomes useless and the power of its flesh fades away.
Some mountains are awesome to view, but inside of these mountains are a burning fire, and when this fire comes out it can destroy anything in its path. We also have that category of Christian, they are Christians in front of people’s eyes but deep in their hearts sin boils, and when sin boils it will come out of their mouths and what they confess will destroy the souls of many people. Every Christian must know if he or she is a flat mountain, a volcano or a mountain with a peak.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Attitude to God's Word
God's Word is life(Mathew 4:4), we can't live only for our physical bodies. We have to think about our spirit as well and if we care about our spirit will feed it with the word of God.
God's Word protects from sin(Mathew 24:27), when we hear God's words and act on them we will be wise which is to fear God and when difficult times come we will be safe from temptation because we have a good foundation.
God's word helps us to overcome Satan(I John 2:14)
God's word protects us from judgement
(Hebrews 12:25), if you refuse God's word you won't escape the judgement
God's Word equals answered prayer(John 15:7), if God's Word abides in us then we can ask whatever we want and it will be done.
God's Word brings forth fruit(Mathew 13:1-23), if you understand the Word of God you will be fruitful.
God's Word builds us up and gives an inheritance
(Acts 20:32)
God's Word brings blessings
(James 1:21-25)
God's Word is a sword
(Eph 6:17), the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and it is this sword that we use to fight sin with, we use this sword to fight temptation, to fight doubts, to fight trials, to fight sickness, to fight laziness, to fight suffering, to fight anger, to fight despair.
God's Word gives wisdom and salvation(II Tim 3:14-17), therefore we need to use it to bring people to the kingdom of God
(I Pet 2:2), salvation is something that continues to grow and requires the Bible in order for that to happen
God's Word is proof of our salvation
(I John 2:5)
God's Word is inspired by God(II Tim 3:14-17)
God's Word is profitable
(II Timothy 3:14-17), for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training
God's Word equips us(II Tim 3:14-17)
God's Word leads to worship
(Rev 22:7,9,18,19)
We have to receive God's Word daily(Acts 17:11), we need to examine the Word with great eagerness and examine it daily
Before reading God's Word we must be clean
(James 1:21-25)
By Hayley Boud
God's Word protects from sin(Mathew 24:27), when we hear God's words and act on them we will be wise which is to fear God and when difficult times come we will be safe from temptation because we have a good foundation.
God's word helps us to overcome Satan(I John 2:14)
God's word protects us from judgement
(Hebrews 12:25), if you refuse God's word you won't escape the judgement
God's Word equals answered prayer(John 15:7), if God's Word abides in us then we can ask whatever we want and it will be done.
God's Word brings forth fruit(Mathew 13:1-23), if you understand the Word of God you will be fruitful.
God's Word builds us up and gives an inheritance
(Acts 20:32)
God's Word brings blessings
(James 1:21-25)
God's Word is a sword
(Eph 6:17), the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and it is this sword that we use to fight sin with, we use this sword to fight temptation, to fight doubts, to fight trials, to fight sickness, to fight laziness, to fight suffering, to fight anger, to fight despair.
God's Word gives wisdom and salvation(II Tim 3:14-17), therefore we need to use it to bring people to the kingdom of God
(I Pet 2:2), salvation is something that continues to grow and requires the Bible in order for that to happen
God's Word is proof of our salvation
(I John 2:5)
God's Word is inspired by God(II Tim 3:14-17)
God's Word is profitable
(II Timothy 3:14-17), for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training
God's Word equips us(II Tim 3:14-17)
God's Word leads to worship
(Rev 22:7,9,18,19)
We have to receive God's Word daily(Acts 17:11), we need to examine the Word with great eagerness and examine it daily
Before reading God's Word we must be clean
(James 1:21-25)
By Hayley Boud
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Ministry of a Prophet (Abraham - Part IV)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only)
5. God’s trials
God didn’t leave Abraham’s family. He continued to deal with the next generation. Isaac was born and was innocent all his life and God came and spoke with Abraham, “Abraham, I am preparing you, you must work for me, I am visiting you one more time. Abraham there is test at you door, give me this child, I love him, kill this child for Me, I love him.”
What parent would accept to kill his child? If your husband told you to kill your daughter would you accept or would you divorce? This is really difficult to accept to kill your child because of the love for your husband. This is what trials God brings to His servants. After the little trials, there are the great ones. Never forget that prophecy is first in the church, so to reach that level, we must go through really hard stages that we cannot do with our own strength. Abraham said, “okay, I accept it, I’ll give you my child.” Very early in the morning, Abraham got up, and said to his son, “Isaac wake up, Isaac, get up I must go with you”.
- “But dad, you didn’t tell me yesterday that we would go anywhere”.
- “Isaac, I am your father, wake up, let’s go!”
Isaac submitted completely, “This is my dad’s voice, I must humiliate myself and I must also follow what he is saying.” He accepted and he went. Abraham then took the wood and a donkey. As we know, the donkey is a very proud animal; it’s an animal that represents pride in the Bible along with the peacock.
Abraham chose this animal and put wood on it. Abraham left with his Christian personality, along with pride, his son Isaac, and some dry wood which had no life anymore. When they arrived near the mountain, on the first day he said to his servants, “Stay there, we want to carry on.” Abraham thought, “Everything is ready, I must now kill my child. For the love of God, I must kill my son.”
For God’s love, what have you offered your God? Some Christians only give five dollars for offering, and they regret it, “With these five dollars I could have brought a tube of sunscreen for the weather is hot today. No, I don’t want to give these five dollars this Sunday because tomorrow I need to buy stamps and send some letters.” If you are not able to give one dollar for the offering, do you believe you can give all your life to God? Giving your life to God means giving who you are and all what you have. If you are not able to give what you have, it will be more difficult to give who you are.
Abraham, the trust worthy man did not tell his wife about the sacrifice. So Sarah was at home and she didn’t know where he was. Imagine if Abraham had told Sarah about the sacrifice? What would have Sarah answered? This is how God always prepares his servants. He visits them personally, after that, he visits the whole family and then, He takes them away from their family. Everyone of us has been visited by God, and everyone of us has be called by God, and today we are one family in Jesus Christ; with all the Christians in the world we are one family. But at some stage, God will give us different tasks to reach other levels, and to reach these levels, we must trust God completely, work in unity and humiliate ourselves before everybody. We must also discern if this person I can see is from God or not; it means that we must have a spirit of discernment and discern what is from God and what is not from God. We must ask God to give us the desire to always run to Him. The Bible says that in the end time, many will come in the name of Jesus, do not go there, be careful! When a pastor or an evangelist is preaching, I must know is God’s presence is in this preaching or not, because I don’t want to be deceived by anyone who comes in Jesus’ name. Because what a soul is worth is more than what the whole earth is worth. So be careful not to lose your soul.
If you want God to prepare you to be a prophet just say to God I am ready, so give me the ability to obey everything you will say and that I may walk according to your will.
SUMMARY
- A prophet of God must obey God 100%
- A prophet of God must go through trials to prove they obey God 100%
- A prophet of God must humble themselves and work in unity with others
- A prophet of God must be trustworthy
For the full message please email: littlebethlehem@windowslive.com
5. God’s trials
God didn’t leave Abraham’s family. He continued to deal with the next generation. Isaac was born and was innocent all his life and God came and spoke with Abraham, “Abraham, I am preparing you, you must work for me, I am visiting you one more time. Abraham there is test at you door, give me this child, I love him, kill this child for Me, I love him.”
What parent would accept to kill his child? If your husband told you to kill your daughter would you accept or would you divorce? This is really difficult to accept to kill your child because of the love for your husband. This is what trials God brings to His servants. After the little trials, there are the great ones. Never forget that prophecy is first in the church, so to reach that level, we must go through really hard stages that we cannot do with our own strength. Abraham said, “okay, I accept it, I’ll give you my child.” Very early in the morning, Abraham got up, and said to his son, “Isaac wake up, Isaac, get up I must go with you”.
- “But dad, you didn’t tell me yesterday that we would go anywhere”.
- “Isaac, I am your father, wake up, let’s go!”
Isaac submitted completely, “This is my dad’s voice, I must humiliate myself and I must also follow what he is saying.” He accepted and he went. Abraham then took the wood and a donkey. As we know, the donkey is a very proud animal; it’s an animal that represents pride in the Bible along with the peacock.
Abraham chose this animal and put wood on it. Abraham left with his Christian personality, along with pride, his son Isaac, and some dry wood which had no life anymore. When they arrived near the mountain, on the first day he said to his servants, “Stay there, we want to carry on.” Abraham thought, “Everything is ready, I must now kill my child. For the love of God, I must kill my son.”
For God’s love, what have you offered your God? Some Christians only give five dollars for offering, and they regret it, “With these five dollars I could have brought a tube of sunscreen for the weather is hot today. No, I don’t want to give these five dollars this Sunday because tomorrow I need to buy stamps and send some letters.” If you are not able to give one dollar for the offering, do you believe you can give all your life to God? Giving your life to God means giving who you are and all what you have. If you are not able to give what you have, it will be more difficult to give who you are.
Abraham, the trust worthy man did not tell his wife about the sacrifice. So Sarah was at home and she didn’t know where he was. Imagine if Abraham had told Sarah about the sacrifice? What would have Sarah answered? This is how God always prepares his servants. He visits them personally, after that, he visits the whole family and then, He takes them away from their family. Everyone of us has been visited by God, and everyone of us has be called by God, and today we are one family in Jesus Christ; with all the Christians in the world we are one family. But at some stage, God will give us different tasks to reach other levels, and to reach these levels, we must trust God completely, work in unity and humiliate ourselves before everybody. We must also discern if this person I can see is from God or not; it means that we must have a spirit of discernment and discern what is from God and what is not from God. We must ask God to give us the desire to always run to Him. The Bible says that in the end time, many will come in the name of Jesus, do not go there, be careful! When a pastor or an evangelist is preaching, I must know is God’s presence is in this preaching or not, because I don’t want to be deceived by anyone who comes in Jesus’ name. Because what a soul is worth is more than what the whole earth is worth. So be careful not to lose your soul.
If you want God to prepare you to be a prophet just say to God I am ready, so give me the ability to obey everything you will say and that I may walk according to your will.
SUMMARY
- A prophet of God must obey God 100%
- A prophet of God must go through trials to prove they obey God 100%
- A prophet of God must humble themselves and work in unity with others
- A prophet of God must be trustworthy
For the full message please email: littlebethlehem@windowslive.com
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Ministry of a Prophet (Abraham - part III)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only)
4. God’s visit to Abraham’s family
The Bible says once God visited Abraham’s family, and there were three angels but one of them was God Himself. (Genesis 18) Abraham received the visitors but they didn’t come just to visit him. They came to visit the whole family in this far away country. Abraham had his eyes wide open and he knew God was in control of his whole life and because of this, he was able now to live according to God’s will. He would apply humility and he could also welcome visitors. When the angels came, the Bible says Abraham ran, he didn’t walk, he didn’t ask his wife to come and see who is coming, but boldly, he got up and ran to them, he ran to his goal. Many people would walk by, but Abraham didn’t was attracted to them like a magnet with a fridge. He saw something that attracted him and he did not wait, he jumped, and the Bible says that when he came by them, he worshiped. He kneeled down and worshiped with his face to the ground.
How many times are we attracted to God’s presence? How many times does God talk to us but we don’t feel any attraction? Sometimes, we are attracted but we put up obstacles in front of us, so we cannot reach our goal. People can say, “God talked to us today, I understood God’s Word very well.” But they still don’t meet Him, they didn’t submit and moreover, they didn’t see God’s presence in their lives. As a result, there is no change in their lives. How can you say, “I have to humiliate myself before God” if you’ve never seen this God or felt His presence in you? You’ll say, “Odon talks too much. I was taught another way, what he says is not true, I doubt this, this is a new denomination that has started, he just wants to attract us so that we’ll belong to him. The Bible says that at the end time, there will be many false teachers.”
Be careful, my brother and sister. Ask God and He will answer you. Most Christians today are attracted by cold war in Christianity. If you are Baptist, you cannot go to a Pentecostal church, and if your pastor sees you, you must explain why. “Brenda, I saw you going into a Presbyterian church, why did you go there?” If he likes you, he’ll say, “You weren’t at church last Sunday, where were you?” Then you have to explain your program to the pastor.
Jesus Christ is the truth and the truth shall set you free; if you can’t find the truth, ask God, “Is this a good way or not?” I have never studied theology, I don’t know anything, but with God’s glory and grace, I can share what little I have with you because I know that the time is very short and soon the Lord will be back. Most people are on the wide road. They are Christians, but they don’t know where they’re going. I am not here to fight your church or your denomination, it’s just an example.
Abraham was attracted by God and he said, “Lord, here I am!” He knew the Lord was coming to him, he didn’t hesitate, he just went straight to his goal, and the Bible says he invited them to his place. When he got home do you know what happened? What did Abraham tell his servants? He asked the servants to prepare a meal for them. He didn’t ask his visitor’s opinion. “Sylvie, do you want to eat?” In my country, if you ask someone, “Do you want to eat?” It means that the quantity of food you have is insufficient and you try to know whether the person will say no. If the person says no you’ll think ‘yes’. If you have something to give, give it, if you don’t have anything to give then just give some water, that’s enough. If you give a glass of water, you’ll get something. The Bible says in Matthew 10: 42.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
I’m not asking you for chocolate, I’m not asking you for Burger King, just a glass of water is enough and you will be rewarded for that. Abraham said, “Prepare a meal for our guests.” It means that for us, we must have some spiritual food for our guests. It means we must share God’s glory together. Usually, most Christians welcome their visitors with their photo albums and they say, “This is Jamie, he comes from Jamaica and this is his wife with their daughter; they are great friends.” So you are going to lose three hours looking at photos instead of reading the Bible. But the Bible has better photos than your album. Share these photos that are in the Bible. These are spiritual photos, pictures that don’t please the flesh but the spirit. If you don’t have this food, the Bible says just give a glass of water. Jesus Christ is the source of this living water. What did He say to the Samaritan? (John 4) “Give me this water and I’ll give you some living water.” Why don’t you give to your visitors this living water? You have it, but you don’t want to share it with the others.
Once, my brother and me were in a desert and we had a 5 litre container with water in it. To keep it cool, we would put some water outside the container. Drinking normal water is like drinking boiling water, and it is hard to drink. When a friend would come and say, “Give me a drink”, you’ll think, “There’s only enough for me. You have hands; you can also prepare fresh water at your place. When people will come, you’ll hide the ‘fridge’ and say, “We’ll keep our water to ourselves.”
Some Christians are like that, they don’t even want to share this water with others, “If I give this spiritual water you will know more and we will be equal spiritually.” Who told you that? Everything Jesus had, He would give it, and when you give, you receive more. If you never give, you never receive. Abraham gave something to eat and you know the story. When Sarah heard that a child will come, she laughed and also her husband laughed, but when people asked him, he said he didn’t laugh. Many times, God rebukes us through His servants, but we always say no. You can pretend you are saying something to Odon, ‘this is my situation’, but when you meet Michael or Oscar you will change your story, you’ll start using conditional, the things you were so sure of, you’ll change them, things that you have promised me, you don’t accomplish them. Most Christians fall into lie to prove they are good Christians, but God’s eyes see everywhere. Even though Sarah hid behind her tent, God’s eyes were on her. Sometimes people come to us and speak about incredible things and we just laugh. Someone can lie to me and I know he is lying. Sometimes, I can know your situation before you come to me to tell me your situation, and when you come to speak, I just listen and sometimes I feel in my heart that something hurts. Why do we belong to two different ‘Gods’? Why do we have two lovers in the same house? On what bed will you lay down, on the bed of lie or Jesus Christ’s bed? And God, one more time showed leniency about Sarah’s story because God is always slow to anger. Sarah didn’t ask for forgiveness, nor did Abraham, but God carried on with them, this is how merciful God is, this is how God loves us, this is how love can tolerate, but how many times we don’t tolerate?
SUMMARY
- A prophet of God must run to his/her goal
- A prophet must be attracted to Jesus Christ and remove any barriers
- A prophet must share the Word of God with others
- A prophet must not lie or make cover up stories
- A prophet must show forgiveness and tolerance to others
For the full message please email: Littlebethlehem@windowslive.com
4. God’s visit to Abraham’s family
The Bible says once God visited Abraham’s family, and there were three angels but one of them was God Himself. (Genesis 18) Abraham received the visitors but they didn’t come just to visit him. They came to visit the whole family in this far away country. Abraham had his eyes wide open and he knew God was in control of his whole life and because of this, he was able now to live according to God’s will. He would apply humility and he could also welcome visitors. When the angels came, the Bible says Abraham ran, he didn’t walk, he didn’t ask his wife to come and see who is coming, but boldly, he got up and ran to them, he ran to his goal. Many people would walk by, but Abraham didn’t was attracted to them like a magnet with a fridge. He saw something that attracted him and he did not wait, he jumped, and the Bible says that when he came by them, he worshiped. He kneeled down and worshiped with his face to the ground.
How many times are we attracted to God’s presence? How many times does God talk to us but we don’t feel any attraction? Sometimes, we are attracted but we put up obstacles in front of us, so we cannot reach our goal. People can say, “God talked to us today, I understood God’s Word very well.” But they still don’t meet Him, they didn’t submit and moreover, they didn’t see God’s presence in their lives. As a result, there is no change in their lives. How can you say, “I have to humiliate myself before God” if you’ve never seen this God or felt His presence in you? You’ll say, “Odon talks too much. I was taught another way, what he says is not true, I doubt this, this is a new denomination that has started, he just wants to attract us so that we’ll belong to him. The Bible says that at the end time, there will be many false teachers.”
Be careful, my brother and sister. Ask God and He will answer you. Most Christians today are attracted by cold war in Christianity. If you are Baptist, you cannot go to a Pentecostal church, and if your pastor sees you, you must explain why. “Brenda, I saw you going into a Presbyterian church, why did you go there?” If he likes you, he’ll say, “You weren’t at church last Sunday, where were you?” Then you have to explain your program to the pastor.
Jesus Christ is the truth and the truth shall set you free; if you can’t find the truth, ask God, “Is this a good way or not?” I have never studied theology, I don’t know anything, but with God’s glory and grace, I can share what little I have with you because I know that the time is very short and soon the Lord will be back. Most people are on the wide road. They are Christians, but they don’t know where they’re going. I am not here to fight your church or your denomination, it’s just an example.
Abraham was attracted by God and he said, “Lord, here I am!” He knew the Lord was coming to him, he didn’t hesitate, he just went straight to his goal, and the Bible says he invited them to his place. When he got home do you know what happened? What did Abraham tell his servants? He asked the servants to prepare a meal for them. He didn’t ask his visitor’s opinion. “Sylvie, do you want to eat?” In my country, if you ask someone, “Do you want to eat?” It means that the quantity of food you have is insufficient and you try to know whether the person will say no. If the person says no you’ll think ‘yes’. If you have something to give, give it, if you don’t have anything to give then just give some water, that’s enough. If you give a glass of water, you’ll get something. The Bible says in Matthew 10: 42.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
I’m not asking you for chocolate, I’m not asking you for Burger King, just a glass of water is enough and you will be rewarded for that. Abraham said, “Prepare a meal for our guests.” It means that for us, we must have some spiritual food for our guests. It means we must share God’s glory together. Usually, most Christians welcome their visitors with their photo albums and they say, “This is Jamie, he comes from Jamaica and this is his wife with their daughter; they are great friends.” So you are going to lose three hours looking at photos instead of reading the Bible. But the Bible has better photos than your album. Share these photos that are in the Bible. These are spiritual photos, pictures that don’t please the flesh but the spirit. If you don’t have this food, the Bible says just give a glass of water. Jesus Christ is the source of this living water. What did He say to the Samaritan? (John 4) “Give me this water and I’ll give you some living water.” Why don’t you give to your visitors this living water? You have it, but you don’t want to share it with the others.
Once, my brother and me were in a desert and we had a 5 litre container with water in it. To keep it cool, we would put some water outside the container. Drinking normal water is like drinking boiling water, and it is hard to drink. When a friend would come and say, “Give me a drink”, you’ll think, “There’s only enough for me. You have hands; you can also prepare fresh water at your place. When people will come, you’ll hide the ‘fridge’ and say, “We’ll keep our water to ourselves.”
Some Christians are like that, they don’t even want to share this water with others, “If I give this spiritual water you will know more and we will be equal spiritually.” Who told you that? Everything Jesus had, He would give it, and when you give, you receive more. If you never give, you never receive. Abraham gave something to eat and you know the story. When Sarah heard that a child will come, she laughed and also her husband laughed, but when people asked him, he said he didn’t laugh. Many times, God rebukes us through His servants, but we always say no. You can pretend you are saying something to Odon, ‘this is my situation’, but when you meet Michael or Oscar you will change your story, you’ll start using conditional, the things you were so sure of, you’ll change them, things that you have promised me, you don’t accomplish them. Most Christians fall into lie to prove they are good Christians, but God’s eyes see everywhere. Even though Sarah hid behind her tent, God’s eyes were on her. Sometimes people come to us and speak about incredible things and we just laugh. Someone can lie to me and I know he is lying. Sometimes, I can know your situation before you come to me to tell me your situation, and when you come to speak, I just listen and sometimes I feel in my heart that something hurts. Why do we belong to two different ‘Gods’? Why do we have two lovers in the same house? On what bed will you lay down, on the bed of lie or Jesus Christ’s bed? And God, one more time showed leniency about Sarah’s story because God is always slow to anger. Sarah didn’t ask for forgiveness, nor did Abraham, but God carried on with them, this is how merciful God is, this is how God loves us, this is how love can tolerate, but how many times we don’t tolerate?
SUMMARY
- A prophet of God must run to his/her goal
- A prophet must be attracted to Jesus Christ and remove any barriers
- A prophet must share the Word of God with others
- A prophet must not lie or make cover up stories
- A prophet must show forgiveness and tolerance to others
For the full message please email: Littlebethlehem@windowslive.com
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The Ministery of a Prophet (Abraham - Part II)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only)
3. The spiritual beauty
Remember what Jesus told His mother and brothers, “My brothers and my mother are those with whom I share the Word of God.” People can rubbish you, but because of Jesus Christ, you have accepted that your brothers and sisters, your parents are those with whom you share God’s Word. Because we are all God’s family, we are a holy family. Remember that Jesus came as a second Adam, and remember that Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” So it’s up to us to choose now.
When you are called by God to be a prophet, you must submit and turn your eyes to God.
Abraham left his country and stopped along the way because it was getting dark and he had to spend the night. He thought, “If these people see you with me, Sarah, they will condemn me or even kill me if they know that you are my wife” because the Bible says that Sarah was really beautiful both physically and spiritually.
So where is your spiritual beauty? Most Christians want to be pretty on the outside but inside their hearts, it is a mess. The Bible says that we must have beauty inside to attract our lover who is Jesus Christ. Most young men know how to attract young girls, likewise with young girls with their make up and other things, but they don’t know how to attract Jesus Christ with their spiritual beauty. Sarah had this beauty, not a beauty depending on make-up and not a beauty according to Isaiah 3:16-24.
16 ¶ Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: {wanton...: Heb. deceiving with their eyes} {mincing: or, tripping nicely}
17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. {discover: Heb. make naked}
18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, {cauls: or, networks}
19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, {chains: or, sweet balls} {mufflers: or, spangled ornaments}
20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, {tablets: Heb. houses of the soul}
21 The rings, and nose jewels,
22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
The verse 24 says that instead of beauty, there will be humiliation. One day, God will humiliate those who wear make-up on the outside but are spiritually ugly. God wants us to have spiritual beauty to please Him and attract Him.
Sarah was in that country and as the people said to the king “Someone beautiful has come” the king asked to have her. God didn’t let the king touch Sarah because God was jealous of Sarah for Sarah’s beauty attracted God too. Sarah’s personality attracted God too and so did Abraham’s personality. It’s like a wife who has two husbands. If one husband sees her with the other husband he will be jealous, a discussion or even a fight might follow while the woman keeps looking quietly; maybe one of them will lose some teeth during the fight because of the woman, because of her beauty, because of the love he has for this woman; and that’s what God did too.
God told the king “Don’t touch Sarah, if you touch Sara, you’ll be in trouble.” How many times has God told Satan “Don’t touch Hayley!” or “Don’t touch Brenda!”? “This is my wife and this is my beloved one!” Do you know how much God is jealous of you? Do you know that God loves you? Each Christian must know that God loves them, and God’s love is really great. If someone loves you, why wouldn’t you love them the same? Why wouldn’t you be faithful to your faithful husband? I cannot say that I love Jesus Christ a lot and I like drinking. I cannot say that I love Jesus Christ and I love lying. I cannot love Jesus Christ and be into sorcery, it’s not possible.
On that day, God did something, because the king humiliated himself and he knew how God loved this woman. He went to Abraham very early in the morning and said “Why did you lie to me, you knew she was your wife but you said she was your sister, why?” It was true that Sarah was Abraham’s sister, but the king was upset because a wife belongs to her husband. God asks us tonight, “What do you want to be called my sister, my wife, my brother or my husband?” Many Christians don’t know exactly where they are up to. When the situation is difficult, they change their version. Instead of admitting they belong to Christ they change their version:
For example, a pastor might not admit he is a pastor while he is with Muslims because he is afraid they will ask him questions that he will not be able to answer. A Christian might deny they are Christian so they can get a job in the pub.
This is what Abraham did! He tried to manage with the situation and he forgot that God was leading him. He forgot that God told him to leave where he was. He also forgot God is more powerful than this king. And that’s what happened the first time. The second time God gave the same test and Abraham made the same mistake. God watched Abraham and saw how much He loved Abraham. He said “Because I chose him, I must therefore fulfil what I have prepared for him.
SUMMARY
- A prophet must be spiritually beautiful
- A prophet must belong to God (the wife of God)
- A prophet must not be afraid to admit they belong to God
For the full message please email: littlebethlehem@windowslive.com
3. The spiritual beauty
Remember what Jesus told His mother and brothers, “My brothers and my mother are those with whom I share the Word of God.” People can rubbish you, but because of Jesus Christ, you have accepted that your brothers and sisters, your parents are those with whom you share God’s Word. Because we are all God’s family, we are a holy family. Remember that Jesus came as a second Adam, and remember that Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” So it’s up to us to choose now.
When you are called by God to be a prophet, you must submit and turn your eyes to God.
Abraham left his country and stopped along the way because it was getting dark and he had to spend the night. He thought, “If these people see you with me, Sarah, they will condemn me or even kill me if they know that you are my wife” because the Bible says that Sarah was really beautiful both physically and spiritually.
So where is your spiritual beauty? Most Christians want to be pretty on the outside but inside their hearts, it is a mess. The Bible says that we must have beauty inside to attract our lover who is Jesus Christ. Most young men know how to attract young girls, likewise with young girls with their make up and other things, but they don’t know how to attract Jesus Christ with their spiritual beauty. Sarah had this beauty, not a beauty depending on make-up and not a beauty according to Isaiah 3:16-24.
16 ¶ Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: {wanton...: Heb. deceiving with their eyes} {mincing: or, tripping nicely}
17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. {discover: Heb. make naked}
18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, {cauls: or, networks}
19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, {chains: or, sweet balls} {mufflers: or, spangled ornaments}
20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, {tablets: Heb. houses of the soul}
21 The rings, and nose jewels,
22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
The verse 24 says that instead of beauty, there will be humiliation. One day, God will humiliate those who wear make-up on the outside but are spiritually ugly. God wants us to have spiritual beauty to please Him and attract Him.
Sarah was in that country and as the people said to the king “Someone beautiful has come” the king asked to have her. God didn’t let the king touch Sarah because God was jealous of Sarah for Sarah’s beauty attracted God too. Sarah’s personality attracted God too and so did Abraham’s personality. It’s like a wife who has two husbands. If one husband sees her with the other husband he will be jealous, a discussion or even a fight might follow while the woman keeps looking quietly; maybe one of them will lose some teeth during the fight because of the woman, because of her beauty, because of the love he has for this woman; and that’s what God did too.
God told the king “Don’t touch Sarah, if you touch Sara, you’ll be in trouble.” How many times has God told Satan “Don’t touch Hayley!” or “Don’t touch Brenda!”? “This is my wife and this is my beloved one!” Do you know how much God is jealous of you? Do you know that God loves you? Each Christian must know that God loves them, and God’s love is really great. If someone loves you, why wouldn’t you love them the same? Why wouldn’t you be faithful to your faithful husband? I cannot say that I love Jesus Christ a lot and I like drinking. I cannot say that I love Jesus Christ and I love lying. I cannot love Jesus Christ and be into sorcery, it’s not possible.
On that day, God did something, because the king humiliated himself and he knew how God loved this woman. He went to Abraham very early in the morning and said “Why did you lie to me, you knew she was your wife but you said she was your sister, why?” It was true that Sarah was Abraham’s sister, but the king was upset because a wife belongs to her husband. God asks us tonight, “What do you want to be called my sister, my wife, my brother or my husband?” Many Christians don’t know exactly where they are up to. When the situation is difficult, they change their version. Instead of admitting they belong to Christ they change their version:
For example, a pastor might not admit he is a pastor while he is with Muslims because he is afraid they will ask him questions that he will not be able to answer. A Christian might deny they are Christian so they can get a job in the pub.
This is what Abraham did! He tried to manage with the situation and he forgot that God was leading him. He forgot that God told him to leave where he was. He also forgot God is more powerful than this king. And that’s what happened the first time. The second time God gave the same test and Abraham made the same mistake. God watched Abraham and saw how much He loved Abraham. He said “Because I chose him, I must therefore fulfil what I have prepared for him.
SUMMARY
- A prophet must be spiritually beautiful
- A prophet must belong to God (the wife of God)
- A prophet must not be afraid to admit they belong to God
For the full message please email: littlebethlehem@windowslive.com
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Ministery of a Prophet (Abraham - Part I)
By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 8th Dec, 2000)
1. Introduction to the ministery of prophecy
Abraham was someone like you and me, and he also had flesh like you and me. He was born from a mother and father, he had the same blood as you have, and he was also a servant of God like you. Abraham was called by God and he left his country were he use to live, and God said, “I will be with you wherever you go. Even if you have difficult times and problems, I will never leave you. So do not worry because people will talk about you, do not worry about the difficulties you’ll meet on your journey. Do not worry because of the rain that will drench you, and don’t worry about the burning sun and the absence of shade”. Jesus talks about worries too. His people have no right to be worried, and because we are the descendents of Abraham, we must walk as he did. This is an introduction to the ministry of prophecy.
2. Abraham’s call
God told Abraham, “I will bless you and all your descendants, and the name you have ‘Abram’ will be changed into ‘Abraham’.” This means that when God calls a prophet, the very first thing that happens is that the prophet will leave the place were he or she lives, and the prophet will go to a new place where God himself will lead him or her. For example, someone might be in New Zealand and has a prophesy that something that will happen two years later in the USA, and this person has never been to the States. This is how God works in order to move one person from where he or she is to reach another dimension and see things which are far ahead. It means that the prophet must leave his or her place where he or she is spiritually to reach another place. He or she is not allowed to use a map in order to organise his or her itinerary and what he or she needs to do. Only God can lead him or her.
Gen 12:1
1 ¶ Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
“So you must leave your parents, you must leave your descendants and you will go where I’ll show you.” I think nobody among us can go where he doesn’t know, nobody can say I am going somewhere but I don’t know where I am going. Most people, when they travel, know where they are going, they know they want to go there and do this and that, and they know what their goal is, unless this person is crazy. When a mad person wakes up in the morning; he or she doesn’t know where to go, they leave the house and on their way, they think, “I am going left”, then they can cross the road without taking care of the cars that are driving on it. When they’ve reach the left side, they change their minds and say, “I’m going right.” Everyone on their way will realise that this person is mad because the way they walk shows clearly that they don’t know where they are going.
When God called Abraham, Abraham didn’t discuss, he didn’t say, “ No, I must know where I am going”, but rather he accepted that God would lead him like someone who is mad or crazy. This is a sign of humility; to humiliate yourself 100% and accept that someone leads your life 100%. How many people today accept to humiliate themselves to that point? Even with our children today, we can say to them, “Go left”, and the child will say no, then they say, “Mum and dad, if you insist, I’ll call the police.” So you’ll see that things change, because even our children don’t accept to obey there parents. Those who defend the children’s rights will say, “This is a crime, you cannot tell a child what to do.” But God forced Abraham and the Bible says that Abraham left everything. The Bible doesn’t say that he told his mum and dad that he was going to travel, no, he just left.
How many times are we called by God to leave in order to work for Him but we don’t leave? This is the first sign of a prophet. By faith, Abraham accepted to leave because he knew that this God who talked to him was a powerful God. Amen.
So a prophet is someone who first of all must have faith.
Secondly, this person must know that they are not allowed to live in the physical and material world but must reach a certain spiritual depth. So for example, any time God reveals Steve a situation that is happening in France, he will leave everything that he is doing to go and see what is happening in France. His wife Marcia doesn’t have the right to know what Steve saw, his children don’t have the right to know what happened, unless God asks him to tell his wife and children. Abraham said, “I must go” and he left. He took his wife Sarah. She didn’t ask, “Where are you going, my husband?” but she followed him with submission.
Prophets’ wives, open widely your ears and your eyes to see where God leads you with your husband the prophet. Your only mission is to listen to God’s message, you cannot say to your husband, “It’s my right to go there with you because we are one, I must also know everything you know, I must know God’s revelations too and all God tells you. You are one body physically, but spiritually you might not be one.
SUMMARY
- A prophet of God must not worry but trust in God
- A prophet of God must be lead 100% by God in humility
- A prophet of God must have faith
- A prophet of God must not reveal to others where they are going (unless instructed by God)
For the full message please email: littlebethlehem@windowslive.com
1. Introduction to the ministery of prophecy
Abraham was someone like you and me, and he also had flesh like you and me. He was born from a mother and father, he had the same blood as you have, and he was also a servant of God like you. Abraham was called by God and he left his country were he use to live, and God said, “I will be with you wherever you go. Even if you have difficult times and problems, I will never leave you. So do not worry because people will talk about you, do not worry about the difficulties you’ll meet on your journey. Do not worry because of the rain that will drench you, and don’t worry about the burning sun and the absence of shade”. Jesus talks about worries too. His people have no right to be worried, and because we are the descendents of Abraham, we must walk as he did. This is an introduction to the ministry of prophecy.
2. Abraham’s call
God told Abraham, “I will bless you and all your descendants, and the name you have ‘Abram’ will be changed into ‘Abraham’.” This means that when God calls a prophet, the very first thing that happens is that the prophet will leave the place were he or she lives, and the prophet will go to a new place where God himself will lead him or her. For example, someone might be in New Zealand and has a prophesy that something that will happen two years later in the USA, and this person has never been to the States. This is how God works in order to move one person from where he or she is to reach another dimension and see things which are far ahead. It means that the prophet must leave his or her place where he or she is spiritually to reach another place. He or she is not allowed to use a map in order to organise his or her itinerary and what he or she needs to do. Only God can lead him or her.
Gen 12:1
1 ¶ Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
“So you must leave your parents, you must leave your descendants and you will go where I’ll show you.” I think nobody among us can go where he doesn’t know, nobody can say I am going somewhere but I don’t know where I am going. Most people, when they travel, know where they are going, they know they want to go there and do this and that, and they know what their goal is, unless this person is crazy. When a mad person wakes up in the morning; he or she doesn’t know where to go, they leave the house and on their way, they think, “I am going left”, then they can cross the road without taking care of the cars that are driving on it. When they’ve reach the left side, they change their minds and say, “I’m going right.” Everyone on their way will realise that this person is mad because the way they walk shows clearly that they don’t know where they are going.
When God called Abraham, Abraham didn’t discuss, he didn’t say, “ No, I must know where I am going”, but rather he accepted that God would lead him like someone who is mad or crazy. This is a sign of humility; to humiliate yourself 100% and accept that someone leads your life 100%. How many people today accept to humiliate themselves to that point? Even with our children today, we can say to them, “Go left”, and the child will say no, then they say, “Mum and dad, if you insist, I’ll call the police.” So you’ll see that things change, because even our children don’t accept to obey there parents. Those who defend the children’s rights will say, “This is a crime, you cannot tell a child what to do.” But God forced Abraham and the Bible says that Abraham left everything. The Bible doesn’t say that he told his mum and dad that he was going to travel, no, he just left.
How many times are we called by God to leave in order to work for Him but we don’t leave? This is the first sign of a prophet. By faith, Abraham accepted to leave because he knew that this God who talked to him was a powerful God. Amen.
So a prophet is someone who first of all must have faith.
Secondly, this person must know that they are not allowed to live in the physical and material world but must reach a certain spiritual depth. So for example, any time God reveals Steve a situation that is happening in France, he will leave everything that he is doing to go and see what is happening in France. His wife Marcia doesn’t have the right to know what Steve saw, his children don’t have the right to know what happened, unless God asks him to tell his wife and children. Abraham said, “I must go” and he left. He took his wife Sarah. She didn’t ask, “Where are you going, my husband?” but she followed him with submission.
Prophets’ wives, open widely your ears and your eyes to see where God leads you with your husband the prophet. Your only mission is to listen to God’s message, you cannot say to your husband, “It’s my right to go there with you because we are one, I must also know everything you know, I must know God’s revelations too and all God tells you. You are one body physically, but spiritually you might not be one.
SUMMARY
- A prophet of God must not worry but trust in God
- A prophet of God must be lead 100% by God in humility
- A prophet of God must have faith
- A prophet of God must not reveal to others where they are going (unless instructed by God)
For the full message please email: littlebethlehem@windowslive.com
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
SHOW US A SIGN
By Michael Bahjejian
Mat 16:1-4
1 ¶ Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';
3 "and in the morning, `It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
4 "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.
Here is a simple and well known passage in Matthew that seems quite easy to understand, but do we really understand what it means? Could we for example answer some of the following questions: What is the sign of Jonah? Why did the Pharisees and Sadducees want to test Jesus? Why didn’t Jesus show them a sign from heaven, and why did they especially ask for a sign from heaven?
The sign of Jonah
As you know, many amazing things happened in the book of Jonah (between Obadiah and Micah, it is not the easiest book to find). Which one from these amazing things do you think is the sign of Jonah? Is it the fish that swallowed Jonas in the middle of the stormy sea, spit him on the shore 3 days later, and by doing so saved his life? Is it Jonah's prayer of repentance and supplication in the belly of the fish? Is it his complete change of mind when he decided to go to Nineveh and warn their inhabitants of its coming destruction? Is it the rapid growth of the vine, followed by its immediate withering the next day? Is it Nineveh’s repentance of the entire population of Nineveh with its 120 000 people who were so far from knowing what’s good and what’s wrong that the Bible says that they couldn’t tell their right hand from their left? Or is it the whole book or history of Jonah?
If we consider that the definition of a sign is ‘a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent’, maybe that the sign of Jonah is none of all these things but just the manifestation of God’s goodness, something that deeply saddened Jonah who was looking for justice, a pre-view of God’s promise of salvation for the whole fallen world.
Mat 12:38-40 sheds some light on this passage.
38 ¶ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus makes it clear there that the sign of Jonas’ is a prophecy about Jesus’death and the three days He spent in Hades before His resurrection. And in Luk 11:29-30, Jesus calls Himself ‘a sign to his generation’, as Jonah was a sign for his one.
29 ¶ And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
30 "For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
Was it wrong to ask for a sign?
Obviously, Jesus was not happy with the request.
Mark 8:12 goes further:
The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” And he left them, and getting into the boat again he departed to the other side.
This Gospel doesn’t even mention the sign of Jonah. Jesus leaves without an answer. The Pharisees might have found it rude and could have accused Jesus of being in a bad mood. But we know that Jesus is not moody nor rude but that He knows the thoughts of the heart and the hidden intents of people; in that case, the Pharisees were not interested at anything else than accusing Him and in his wisdom, Jesus knew that it was better to keep silent. But there was more to all of this.
A sign from heaven
Imagine someone asking for something he or her has already been given. People would say, “Open your eyes, you’ve already got it!” And if they insist, wouldn’t they become annoyed with this person? Jesus was the sign already given by God to that generation and the many miracles that occur in chapter 14 and 15 of the book of Matthew attest that, with the many healings that occur, as well as both the multiplication of the food with the 5000 men and the 4000 men. What were they still looking for it? And why did they ask for a sign from heaven? Obviously, they had missed all these signs that made people believe in Him, believe in who He was saying He was. They had not rejoiced with the healed people or with the well fed crowd. And also, you just don’t ask for a sign, it is rude! You wait for it and when it’s there, it is the time to open your eyes, not to close them. It would be like asking someone if she or he is a Christian after that person has performed a miracle in the name of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be weird to answer yes or no? And that‘s exactly what the Pharisees and the Sadducees did. No wonder why Jesus compared them to a blind leading a blind. They didn’t want to see the signs and the sign they were asking for was Jesus himself. When Jesus refers them to the sign of Jonas, He meant, “If you’ve missed ‘the sign’, then go to the previous one!”
There is a sign from heaven mentioned in 1Thes 4:16, the Lord himself descending from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. However, this was not yet the time for this to happen, and it hasn’t happened yet, 2000 years after Jesus death and resurrection. This sign is for another time, another dispensation. Jesus had to suffer and to die first and be resurrected of the third day. There was an agonising hour to go through, a cup of sorrow to drink, a crown of thorn to wear, a door to go through to be called the good shepherd and not a thief and a robber. When Satan tempted Jesus after his fast or through Peter’s human advice later, he wanted to lead Jesus away from his purpose of going through the cross. Jesus had already rebuked them and here again, this wicked generation asks for a sign coming from heaven, a sign that is supposed to make them see and believe without the need to have faith. This generation was wicked because they didn’t understand the need for salvation and God’s plan of redemption. God‘s plan was, “If you believe, you’ll be saved’. Faith came first.
Today, we are the signs for this generation; the glory of God veiled for still a little time in a perishable body. Like Jesus, who came into the flesh and was born in a stable from a poor family, our Christian lives are lived in humility and sometimes humiliation but always by faith. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were expecting a Messiah dressed in heavenly glory, a Messiah who would have delivered them from the Roman occupation and oppression, a Messiah who wouldn’t have challenged their unbelief and exposed their wickedness. They didn’t want to deal with their sin problem that was also, by the way, the reason for their political problems because hey thought they were healthy and didn’t need a saviour.
Pharisees and Sadducees
Sadducees and Pharisees who requested the sign from heaven had never stopped testing and questioning Jesus. For example, they accused him of blasphemy when He forgave the sins of the paralytic, accused him of violating the Sabbath when He healed the dry hand, tested Him on the legitimacy of the tax to Caesar, and kept questioning Him on many topics. They wanted to find a reason to accuse him and eventually to kill him. The more they did so, the more numerous were the layers that hardened their hearts to the point that Jesus started speaking in parables to avoid being accused all the time. When Jesus was challenged, he would always send his accusers back to their hearts: “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out? If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And they had nothing to say. (Luke 14 5) The wrong understanding and use of the Law had destroyed the life itself in those who were supposed to teach it to the point that they did not recognise their God when Emmanuel, ‘God is with us’ came to live in their midst.
To be religious versus to be holy
In Mat 15:3-9, Jesus touches the heart of the problem of the religious authorities when He accuses the Pharisees and scribes to void the word of God that is holy for the sake of their tradition.
Jesus presents the word of God, ‘Honour your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death’. It is the word of God and it is a command. The tradition has changed it in “If a man says to his father or mother, ‘whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God’, he is not to ‘honour his father’ with it.”
Jesus means ‘Here is your tradition. It is not the word of God anymore. You’ve changed it. You’ve changed it because you are hypocrites. You pretend to honour me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me.’
What are the differences between these 2 commandments?
In the first one, the real word of God, the word God is not mentioned. It is like with the book of Esther where the word ‘God’ is never mentioned. However, it is mentioned in what Jesus calls a tradition. They added the word God to God’s commandment.
Also, the first one involves people, love and respect for people. The second one involves people and God, but it lacks love and respect for people. It looks more holy and religious but God’s aim is betrayed by it. Hypocrites look religious, but in their hearts, hypocrisy reigns when love is absent. God never dissociates the love for God and the love for human being, in that case, parents. For Him, the love for your neighbour has an equal value than the love for God as He considers the two commands as similar. When tested again about the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,’ this is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’ All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” Mat 22:37-40.
Conclusion
As Jonah was a sign for his generation and Jesus a sign for his generation, we are also today’s sign for our generation. And as we have been reminded this week in a 2 day course on Islam Sylvie and I attended, we are the only visible Bibles people around us can read. Whatever we do, whatever we are, let us be a light in this world of darkness, a sign that shows clearly to people the right direction towards the One who is the way, the truth and the life.
May God bless you.
Mat 16:1-4
1 ¶ Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';
3 "and in the morning, `It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
4 "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.
Here is a simple and well known passage in Matthew that seems quite easy to understand, but do we really understand what it means? Could we for example answer some of the following questions: What is the sign of Jonah? Why did the Pharisees and Sadducees want to test Jesus? Why didn’t Jesus show them a sign from heaven, and why did they especially ask for a sign from heaven?
The sign of Jonah
As you know, many amazing things happened in the book of Jonah (between Obadiah and Micah, it is not the easiest book to find). Which one from these amazing things do you think is the sign of Jonah? Is it the fish that swallowed Jonas in the middle of the stormy sea, spit him on the shore 3 days later, and by doing so saved his life? Is it Jonah's prayer of repentance and supplication in the belly of the fish? Is it his complete change of mind when he decided to go to Nineveh and warn their inhabitants of its coming destruction? Is it the rapid growth of the vine, followed by its immediate withering the next day? Is it Nineveh’s repentance of the entire population of Nineveh with its 120 000 people who were so far from knowing what’s good and what’s wrong that the Bible says that they couldn’t tell their right hand from their left? Or is it the whole book or history of Jonah?
If we consider that the definition of a sign is ‘a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent’, maybe that the sign of Jonah is none of all these things but just the manifestation of God’s goodness, something that deeply saddened Jonah who was looking for justice, a pre-view of God’s promise of salvation for the whole fallen world.
Mat 12:38-40 sheds some light on this passage.
38 ¶ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus makes it clear there that the sign of Jonas’ is a prophecy about Jesus’death and the three days He spent in Hades before His resurrection. And in Luk 11:29-30, Jesus calls Himself ‘a sign to his generation’, as Jonah was a sign for his one.
29 ¶ And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
30 "For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
Was it wrong to ask for a sign?
Obviously, Jesus was not happy with the request.
Mark 8:12 goes further:
The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” And he left them, and getting into the boat again he departed to the other side.
This Gospel doesn’t even mention the sign of Jonah. Jesus leaves without an answer. The Pharisees might have found it rude and could have accused Jesus of being in a bad mood. But we know that Jesus is not moody nor rude but that He knows the thoughts of the heart and the hidden intents of people; in that case, the Pharisees were not interested at anything else than accusing Him and in his wisdom, Jesus knew that it was better to keep silent. But there was more to all of this.
A sign from heaven
Imagine someone asking for something he or her has already been given. People would say, “Open your eyes, you’ve already got it!” And if they insist, wouldn’t they become annoyed with this person? Jesus was the sign already given by God to that generation and the many miracles that occur in chapter 14 and 15 of the book of Matthew attest that, with the many healings that occur, as well as both the multiplication of the food with the 5000 men and the 4000 men. What were they still looking for it? And why did they ask for a sign from heaven? Obviously, they had missed all these signs that made people believe in Him, believe in who He was saying He was. They had not rejoiced with the healed people or with the well fed crowd. And also, you just don’t ask for a sign, it is rude! You wait for it and when it’s there, it is the time to open your eyes, not to close them. It would be like asking someone if she or he is a Christian after that person has performed a miracle in the name of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be weird to answer yes or no? And that‘s exactly what the Pharisees and the Sadducees did. No wonder why Jesus compared them to a blind leading a blind. They didn’t want to see the signs and the sign they were asking for was Jesus himself. When Jesus refers them to the sign of Jonas, He meant, “If you’ve missed ‘the sign’, then go to the previous one!”
There is a sign from heaven mentioned in 1Thes 4:16, the Lord himself descending from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. However, this was not yet the time for this to happen, and it hasn’t happened yet, 2000 years after Jesus death and resurrection. This sign is for another time, another dispensation. Jesus had to suffer and to die first and be resurrected of the third day. There was an agonising hour to go through, a cup of sorrow to drink, a crown of thorn to wear, a door to go through to be called the good shepherd and not a thief and a robber. When Satan tempted Jesus after his fast or through Peter’s human advice later, he wanted to lead Jesus away from his purpose of going through the cross. Jesus had already rebuked them and here again, this wicked generation asks for a sign coming from heaven, a sign that is supposed to make them see and believe without the need to have faith. This generation was wicked because they didn’t understand the need for salvation and God’s plan of redemption. God‘s plan was, “If you believe, you’ll be saved’. Faith came first.
Today, we are the signs for this generation; the glory of God veiled for still a little time in a perishable body. Like Jesus, who came into the flesh and was born in a stable from a poor family, our Christian lives are lived in humility and sometimes humiliation but always by faith. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were expecting a Messiah dressed in heavenly glory, a Messiah who would have delivered them from the Roman occupation and oppression, a Messiah who wouldn’t have challenged their unbelief and exposed their wickedness. They didn’t want to deal with their sin problem that was also, by the way, the reason for their political problems because hey thought they were healthy and didn’t need a saviour.
Pharisees and Sadducees
Sadducees and Pharisees who requested the sign from heaven had never stopped testing and questioning Jesus. For example, they accused him of blasphemy when He forgave the sins of the paralytic, accused him of violating the Sabbath when He healed the dry hand, tested Him on the legitimacy of the tax to Caesar, and kept questioning Him on many topics. They wanted to find a reason to accuse him and eventually to kill him. The more they did so, the more numerous were the layers that hardened their hearts to the point that Jesus started speaking in parables to avoid being accused all the time. When Jesus was challenged, he would always send his accusers back to their hearts: “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out? If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And they had nothing to say. (Luke 14 5) The wrong understanding and use of the Law had destroyed the life itself in those who were supposed to teach it to the point that they did not recognise their God when Emmanuel, ‘God is with us’ came to live in their midst.
To be religious versus to be holy
In Mat 15:3-9, Jesus touches the heart of the problem of the religious authorities when He accuses the Pharisees and scribes to void the word of God that is holy for the sake of their tradition.
Jesus presents the word of God, ‘Honour your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death’. It is the word of God and it is a command. The tradition has changed it in “If a man says to his father or mother, ‘whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God’, he is not to ‘honour his father’ with it.”
Jesus means ‘Here is your tradition. It is not the word of God anymore. You’ve changed it. You’ve changed it because you are hypocrites. You pretend to honour me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me.’
What are the differences between these 2 commandments?
In the first one, the real word of God, the word God is not mentioned. It is like with the book of Esther where the word ‘God’ is never mentioned. However, it is mentioned in what Jesus calls a tradition. They added the word God to God’s commandment.
Also, the first one involves people, love and respect for people. The second one involves people and God, but it lacks love and respect for people. It looks more holy and religious but God’s aim is betrayed by it. Hypocrites look religious, but in their hearts, hypocrisy reigns when love is absent. God never dissociates the love for God and the love for human being, in that case, parents. For Him, the love for your neighbour has an equal value than the love for God as He considers the two commands as similar. When tested again about the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,’ this is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’ All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” Mat 22:37-40.
Conclusion
As Jonah was a sign for his generation and Jesus a sign for his generation, we are also today’s sign for our generation. And as we have been reminded this week in a 2 day course on Islam Sylvie and I attended, we are the only visible Bibles people around us can read. Whatever we do, whatever we are, let us be a light in this world of darkness, a sign that shows clearly to people the right direction towards the One who is the way, the truth and the life.
May God bless you.
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