2 Corinthians 11:19-21

After accepting the gift of salvation we are no longer under bondage to any man. The truth of the grace He gives in Jesus Christ sets us free to be a willing love servant to the Creator. The Holy Spirit who is in all believers seeks to save the lost through our words and our actions. 

We need to share this Good News of the

 salvation He gives in Jesus 

Christ with the world that He so loves. 

Grace can never be earned because it is a gift of God through the death, burial and resurrection of the precious blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus. His Grace alone is sufficient to get us to our heavenly home.

The false apostles were boasting according to the flesh, that is, they measured themselves by their own standards rather than by God’s. 

Unfortunately, the Corinthians were listening to them thinking that they could earn eternal life though their own works and not through God’s grace.

2 Corinthians 11:19-21

¹⁹ For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise! ²⁰ For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face. ²¹ To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also.

¹⁰ We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 

1 Corinthians 4:10

⁴ And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), 

Galatians 2:4

⁹ But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 

Galatians 4:9

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 

Galatians 5:1

Luke 2:14

In Him, through Him in, in unity with the Holy Spirit we are saved.  Spread the Good News! Praise and glory to His name.

People are the objects of God’s goodwill. 

In ancient Judaism, this phrase described a limited group of people who were the objects of God’s special grace. 

In Christ the promise of peace and goodwill would come to all those who believe in God’s only Son.

Luke 2:14

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

³⁸ saying:“ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 

Luke 19:38

⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 

Ephesians 1:6

¹⁹“I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “And I will heal him.” 

Isaiah 57:19

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Romans 5:1

¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 

Ephesians 2:17

²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 

Colossians 1:20

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

John 3:16

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 

Ephesians 2:4

⁷ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

Ephesians 2:7

⁹ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 

1 John 4:9

Mark 3:20-21

There will always be those who thought they knew us and think that we have lost ourselves in our spirituality. Share His fruit and they will thank God for the change!

Stay strong in His joy and take comfort in the rest that only He can give us.

and on the 7th day God rested……. shouldn’t we?

Opposition to Jesus came not only from His enemies. 

Jesus’ own people, no doubt close friends and perhaps even relatives, heard of His teaching and assumed that He was out of His mind.

Mark 3:20-21

²⁰ Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. ²¹ But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

³¹ And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 

Mark 6:31

⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers ^wJames, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 

Matthew 13:55

⁸I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children; 

Psalm 69:8

³ Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. 

Mark 6:3

²⁰ And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” 

John 10:20

²⁴ Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!” 

Acts 26:24

¹³ For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 

2 Corinthians 5:13

Jermiah 49:12-13

The absolute truth is that God alone controls His world and His creation. 

It is His right alone to give life and His to take it away. No person is able to withstand His judgement and no person can take away His mercy. 

What is mere man that God cares for Him? His creation.

Jeremiah 49:12-13

¹² For thus says the Lord: “Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. ¹³ For I have sworn by Myself,” says the Lord, “that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

¹⁶For as you drank on My holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been. 

Obadiah 16

²³  I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. 

Isaiah 45:23

⁸ The Lord God has sworn by Himself, The Lord God of hosts says: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it.” 

Amos 6:8

63 Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?— “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” 

Isaiah 63:1

John 14:19-21

What were the commands of  Jesus? 

To love God above any person, place or thing and to love others and care about their well being as much as we care about our own. Even an unbeliever loves those who love him. We need to love all people just because they are God’s. 

We will be known as His by the love we show to others.

It is easy to say we believe His truth another to live it!

 Every person born came into existence by God and He loves them enough to have given the life of His only begotten Son in exchange for them…could you?

The world saw Jesus only in the flesh; the disciples would see Him in a spiritual sense.

As the believer lovingly obeys Christ’s commandments, he or she will experience a more intimate knowledge of Him through the Holy Spirit.

John 14:19-21

¹⁹ “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

¹⁰ For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 

Romans 5:10

⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 

1 John 2:5

Hosea 14:4-7

Let Your fruit be found in those who trust in You!

This affirmation of God’s watchful care stands in stark contrast to His judgment. The Lord anticipates a time when He would restore repentant Israel. 

Hosea 14:4-7

⁴ “I will heal their backsliding,

I will love them freely,

For My anger has turned away from him.

⁵ I will be like the dew to Israel;

He shall grow like the lily,

And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.

⁶ His branches shall spread;

His beauty shall be like an olive tree,

And his fragrance like Lebanon.

⁷ Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;

They shall be revived like grain,

And grow like a vine.

Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁷O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name’s sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You. 

Jeremiah 14:7

¹⁹Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead. 

Isaiah 26:19

⁸But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. 

Psalm 52:8

¹²Its leaves were lovely, Its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, And all flesh was fed from it. 

Daniel 4:12

⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 

Ephesians 1:6

Ezekiel 34:17-19

We are not to judge others, Christian or otherwise, it is His right alone! We are to judge our own actions.

 No person knows the whole story except God and He shows partiality to no man. We can be certain that the measure that we use to judge others is the measure that will be used to judge us!

The rams and goats were the leaders of Israel who had failed to lead properly. They had used their positions of power to their own advantage and to the disadvantage of the people.

Ezekiel 34:17-19

¹⁷ ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: 

“Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. ¹⁸ Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? ¹⁹ And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

³⁷ “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 

Ezekiel 20:37

“For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. 

Malachi 4:1

³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 

Matthew 25:32

HIStory…and He came and His own knew Him naught!

Matthew, as a Jew, unashamedly shapes his account about Jesus’ life so it is understood by a Jewish audience. His goal is to convince his peers that the King of kings has come. With this in mind, he uses terms and names that Jews will resonate with. By quoting more passages from the Old Testament than any other New Testament writer, he attempts to validate that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah. No less than 12 times Matthew presents Jesus as Israel’s Messianic King.

 Matthew 1:23 

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 

Isaiah 7:14

Matthew 2:2

 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

¹⁷“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. 

Numbers 24:17

³The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 

Isaiah 60:3

Matthew 2:6

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

²“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” 

Micah 5:2

Matthew 3:17 

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 

Isaiah 42:1

⁷ “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 

Psalm 2:7

Matthew 4:15-17

¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles:

¹⁶ The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,

And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death

Light has dawned.”

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. 

Isaiah 9:1

² The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. 

Isaiah 9:2

Matthew 21:5

⁵ “Tell the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

¹¹Indeed the Lord has proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’ ” 

Isaiah 62:11

⁹“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. 

Zechariah 9:9

Matthew 21:9

⁹ Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Hosanna in the highest!”

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. 

Psalm 118:26

Matthew 22:44

⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?

⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”

¹The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 

Psalm 110:1

Matthew 26:64

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

¹³ “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 

Daniel 7:13

Matthew 27:11

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”

Matthew 27:27-38

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. ²⁸ And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.

²⁹ When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

³² Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. ³³ And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, ³⁴ they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.

³⁵ Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

“They divided My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots.”

³⁶ Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. ³⁷ And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS

³He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 

Isaiah 53:3

⁶I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. 

Isaiah 50:6

⁷He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; ⁱHe was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 

Isaiah 53:7

²¹They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 

Psalm 69:21

¹⁸They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. 

Psalm 22:18

John 10:7-10

God gave His only Son, all man and all God, to the world as a gift. 

Our acceptance of Him determines our eternal life. Jesus laid down His deity to become for us the line in the sands of time that we can choose to accept or deny. There is no other way for man to be saved. 

Faith in Him… not religious laws… saves!

Jesus is the shepherd; here He is the door. Some shepherds lay down across the entry of the sheepfold at night to sleep. Wild beasts would be discouraged from entering, and sheep would not exit. Thus the shepherd was also the door. The thieves and robbers were the Pharisees. 

The thieves take life; the shepherd gives it.

John 10:7-10

⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 

John 14:6

¹⁸ For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 

Ephesians 2:18

Luke 15:17-24

We have access to God through the gift of salvation in Jesus. 

When you sin admit it to yourself and to God. Ask forgiveness from Him and accept His gracious mercy. Learn from your mistakes by asking the Holy Spirit to show you the way that pleases Him and then incorporate that lesson into your life to His glory.

Rejoice in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit of God.

The son expected nothing and relied completely on the mercy of his father. So it is with the sinner who repents. A sinner realizes that he or she brings nothing to and deserves nothing from God, but must rely completely on God’s mercy. The son’s confession of sin brought full restoration.

The total transformation of the prodigal son is summarized in the two contrasts of lost and found. Such a transformation is a reason to celebrate. It is also the reason Jesus chose to associate with the lost.

Luke 15:17-24

¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

²⁰ “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³ And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴ for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

¹⁰ And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 

2 Samuel 24:10

¹² Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever. 

Jeremiah 3:12

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

Ephesians 2:13

³² It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ” 

Luke 15:32

Malachi 2:4-6

In order to receive we must believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 

The Father’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ gives life, He lights the way so that the Holy Spirit can reveal His truth and His deity and we can be transformed. 

To God….. Father, Son and Holy Spirit be all glory!

The basic meaning of the word peace is fullness, completeness, things as they really ought to be 

holding God in reverential awe, responding properly to His wonder, and worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. 

Malachi 2:4-6

⁴ Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,

That My covenant with Levi may continue,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

⁵ “My covenant was with him, one of life and peace,

And I gave them to him that he might fear Me;

So he feared Me

And was reverent before My name.

⁶ The law of truth was in his mouth,

And injustice was not found on his lips.

He walked with Me in peace and equity,

And turned many away from iniquity.

¹² Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; 

Numbers 25:12

²⁵ “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 

Ezekiel 34:25

²⁰ let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. 

James 5:20

Daniel 5:17-21

If God is in control placing whomever He decides in places of power and allowing situations to occur to teach and correct us we had better start listening. 

The time is coming when the gift of teaching by Holy Spirit ends.

Daniel 5:17-21

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. ¹⁹ And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. ²⁰ But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. ²¹ Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses

⁵ ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. ⁶ And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. ⁷ So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. 

Jeremiah 27:5–7

³⁷ You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 

Daniel 2:37

¹⁷‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’ 

Daniel 4:17