Rightly dividing the Word entails study.
Revelation 7:9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
To God alone all glory belongs! In the unity of the triune Godhead we are formed as the Gentile Body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:5-8 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
God through the person of Holy Spirit gives us different teachers but the same message. Only through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus do we enter into the Body of Christ. How great are those who spread the gospel of peace to the world.
1 Corinthians 4:1-5 4 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
1 Corinthians 3:9-11 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit works through those of us who believe. Unless the seed is planted in the ground it never has a chance of producing a harvest. We plant the seed of faith and Holy Spirit causes it to grow. This results in believers showing His fruit in their lives. This is the will of God in His love for His creation. Only God can bring the increase but we can plant the seed of hope in Jesus. The resurrection of the Christ proves God’s power to raise us from the dead. The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus, the firstborn of the dead, will also raise us. Salvation is offered to ALL people who accept it by faith in Jesus.
Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Acts 15:15-17 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
16 ‘After this I will return
And will rebuild
the tabernacle of David,
which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up;
17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
Says the Lord who does all these things.’
Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, gave up His life in exchange for all of us who by faith place our lives in His hands. Carla
John hears the number in verse 4, whereas he sees the multitude in verse 9. He may be attempting to portray the surprising fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan, just as he heard about a lion and saw a lamb in 5:5–6. With palm branches is indicative of victory in royal and military processions, as demonstrated by its connection with white robes and salvation or victory in verse 10. The crowd praises God and the Lamb. Faithlife Study Bible
In addition to praising God and the Lamb for providing salvation, the great multitude, will later glorify God for judging Babylon (19:1–3) and will proclaim “the marriage of the Lamb” (19:6, 7). White robes may be the garments of overcoming believers (3:5, 18) or of martyrs (6:11). Palm branches were typically waved by crowds at victory celebrations (John 12:13). The NKJV Study Bible
Psalm 3:8
Salvation belongs to the LORD.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah
Revelation 19:1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!
Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
Leviticus 23:40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days
God's gift of unity to the nations is the promised and long-awaited Holy Spirit who filled believers at Pentecost. As the Holy Spirit filled Jesus' disciples and they proclaimed "the mighty works of God" (Acts 2:11), all who heard and believed were knit together as one family.
God's aim for His people is now redeemed and reinstituted through the Holy Spirit, spreading His fame and glory throughout the world. At Pentecost, the people didn't have to go up to the heavens because God (the Holy Spirit)came down! The peoples' ambition was no longer self-centered but God-ordered as they began to fulfill His plan for their lives, unto His glory. And perhaps the most redemptive aspect of Acts 2 is God's refusal to let ethnic distinction be lost or obliterated. Let's not lose sight of the truth that God embraces both diversity and unity among His people. After Babel, God promised Abraham "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). In Acts 2:8, the redemption of Babel is in the details of the words, "How is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?"
God through the Holy Spirit could have given the crowd common understanding through the national languages of the time (Greek or Aramaic), but instead He saw fit that the first time the nations heard the gospel, they heard it in the intimate context of their family languages.
Pentecost shows us that when we enter into the household of God through faith in Jesus, our cultural and ethnic background isn't obliterated but celebrated. And this isn't a new, novel idea; it's a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and a beautiful redemption of Babel. The multiethnic Church is a symbol of humanity's universal need for the gospel, and the Church is therefore responsible for sharing the gospel with all people. Through the Holy Spirit, the Church is now equipped and empowered for this task, modeled first and foremost through unity in the midst of diversity in Acts 2. First5
… I’ve been rereading a message (homily) from Pope Francis (Ash Wednesday of 2018) that has been just what I need today.
“We are subject to numerous temptations. Each of us knows the difficulties we have to face. And it is sad to note that, when faced with the ever-varying circumstances of our daily lives, there are voices raised that take advantage of pain and uncertainty; the only thing they aim to do is sow distrust. If the fruit of faith is charity – as Mother Teresa often used to say – then the fruit of distrust is apathy and resignation. Distrust, apathy and resignation: these are demons that deaden and paralyze the soul of a believing people.
Lent is the ideal time to unmask these and other temptations, to allow our hearts to beat once more in tune with the vibrant heart of Jesus. The whole of the Lenten season is imbued with this conviction, which we could say is echoed by three words offered to us in order to rekindle the heart of the believer: pause, see and return.
Pause a little, leave behind the unrest and commotion that fill the soul with bitter feelings which never get us anywhere. Pause from this compulsion to a fast-paced life that scatters, divides and ultimately destroys time with family, with friends, with children, with grandparents, and time as a gift… time with God.
Pause for a little while, refrain from the need to show off and be seen by all, to continually appear on the “noticeboard” that makes us forget the value of intimacy and recollection.
Pause for a little while, refrain from haughty looks, from fleeting and pejorative comments that arise from forgetting tenderness, compassion and reverence for the encounter with others, particularly those who are vulnerable, hurt and even immersed in sin and error.
Pause for a little while, refrain from the urge to want to control everything, know everything, destroy everything; this comes from overlooking gratitude for the gift of life and all the good we receive.
Pause for a little while, refrain from the deafening noise that weakens and confuses our hearing, that makes us forget the fruitful and creative power of silence.
Pause for a little while, refrain from the attitude which promotes sterile and unproductive thoughts that arise from isolation and self-pity, and that cause us to forget going out to encounter others to share their burdens and suffering.
Pause for a little while, refrain from the emptiness of everything that is instantaneous, momentary and fleeting, that deprives us of our roots, our ties, of the value of continuity and the awareness of our ongoing journey.
Pause in order to look and contemplate!
See the gestures that prevent the extinguishing of charity, that keep the flame of faith and hope alive. Look at faces alive with God’s tenderness and goodness working in our midst.
See the face of our families who continue striving, day by day, with great effort, in order to move forward in life, and who, despite many concerns and much hardship, are committed to making their homes a school of love.
See the faces of our children and young people filled with yearning for the future and hope, filled with “tomorrows” and opportunities that demand dedication and protection. Living shoots of love and life that always open up a path in the midst of our selfish and meagre calculations.
See our elderly whose faces are marked by the passage of time, faces that reveal the living memory of our people. Faces that reflect God’s wisdom at work.
See the faces of our sick people and the many who take care of them; faces which in their vulnerability and service remind us that the value of each person can never be reduced to a question of calculation or utility.
See the remorseful faces of so many who try to repair their errors and mistakes, and who from their misfortune and suffering fight to transform their situations and move forward.
See and contemplate the face of Crucified Love, who today from the cross continues to bring us hope, his hand held out to those who feel crucified, who experience in their lives the burden of failure, disappointment and heartbreak.
See and contemplate the real face of Christ crucified out of love for everyone, without exception. For everyone? Yes, for everyone. To see his face is an invitation filled with hope for this Lenten time, in order to defeat the demons of distrust, apathy and resignation. The face that invites us to cry out: “The Kingdom of God is possible!”
Pause, see and return. Return to the house of your Father. Return without fear to those outstretched, eager arms of your Father, who is rich in mercy (cf. Eph 2:4), who awaits you.
Return without fear, for this is the favourable time to come home, to the home of my Father and your Father (cf. Jn 20:17). It is the time for allowing one’s heart to be touched… Persisting on the path of evil only gives rise to disappointment and sadness. True life is something quite distinct and our heart indeed knows this. God does not tire, nor will he tire, of holding out his hand (cf. Misericordiae Vultus, 19).
Return without fear, to join in the celebration of those who are forgiven.
Return without fear, to experience the healing and reconciling tenderness of God. Let the Lord heal the wounds of sin and fulfil the prophecy made to our fathers: “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek 36: 26).
Pause, see and return!”
(Pope Francis, Basilica of Santa Sabina, Ash Wednesday, 14 February 2018, Holy Mass, Blessing and Imposition of the Ashes). Sabbath Moments
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