King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Chapters: Psalms 121,123-125,128-130
Message: In Jesus’ Name
Hello My Friend,
I was watching a movie last night that was based on a true story, God intervened and brought a dying man peace when the children he gave up for adoption years ago would miraculously find each other and him. The man was an atheist, he must have repented and accepted Jesus as his Saviour because the movie pointed out that the daughter, who was a nurse, ministered to her patients, although never saying Jesus, only referring to Him as “Him”. That is how the “Christian” that does not want to offend anyone refers to Jesus, the only reason why true believers know they are referencing Jesus is because we know Jesus. However, to the world, “Him” could be any religious figure, Allah, Buddha, Mohammad, Confucius, or even Satan. Yes, believers of Satan pray to him, and let me tell you, if you are praying to any of these figures, then might as well be praying to Satan, because God only responds to what is said in His Son’s name. Jesus said, [John 16:24,26-27 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.]
[and I say not unto you,] Those who believe in and have received Jesus Christ as their Saviour pray directly to God Himself, but in the name of Jesus. Why? Besides the fact that He is our intercessor (Remember, before Christ’s passion, a priest would come in between God and the believer to present their offering), is also the fact that we are acknowledging that without Jesus we cannot stand before God, even repentance requires our intercessor. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are showing our full dependence on Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and that is when God pleasantly responds to us because we love His Son. David and all the rest of the God fearing men and women recorded in the Bible before Jesus came here in the flesh may not have known Him by the name of Jesus, but they did know Him as LORD. In fact, David prayed out to the LORD all day long.
[Psalms 121:1-3,7-8 A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.]
[The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth,] The very second that you believe in Jesus and ask Him to save you, it is Jesus who preserves you. The second you leave this earth from your fleshly body, You stand in the presence of Jesus Himself, and will be alive with Him for eternity, [II Corinthians 5:5-10 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.]
[For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;] This is exactly why we need to ask Jesus to save us before we take our last breath. We are by nature, sinners, and let me tell you, we do not need to be taught to sin, it just naturally comes to us from the second we are born. Just think of a toddler who has no idea what sin is, but tests their limit when they want something. And this is also why we need to come to Jesus daily as our intercessor, He is the one who pleads with our Father, the prayers that we pray in His name. Jesus is the name by whom we receive the mercies of God. Paul said, [I Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.] Well, David basically said the same thing.
[Psalms 123:1-4 A Song of degrees. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. 2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. 3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.]
[for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.] [Contempt; The state of being despised; shame, disgrace.] Until we have Christ in us, we are despised by God. Why? Our sin. God despises sin, it is what separates us from Him, and until we reconcile with Him, we are in a state of contempt. If it were not for Jesus, who took our contempt with Him to the cross, we would all be in hell, [Psalms 124:1-2,6-8 A Song of degrees of David. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; 2 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: 6 Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.]
[Our help is in the name of the LORD,] Jesus not only helped our soul escape hell, He helps us escape the snare of Satan, and our enemies. We may face many trials, tribulations, and some chastening because God wants us to be more than just sinners saved by grace, but when this part of our life is over, the second part is going to be all worth it, [Psalms 125 A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. 2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. 3 For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. 4 Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. 5 As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.]
[lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.] We cannot get saved and life the rest of our days on earth in sin, the suffering will be much worse. Why? We belong to Christ. Jesus said to the man that He healed at the pool of Bethesda, [John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.] This has nothing to do with our faith in Christ or the fact that we are saved by grace and as long as we keep believing in Christ. [Psalms 128:1-4 A Song of degrees. Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. 2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. 3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. 4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.]
[For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands:] There is one thing we must understand as Christians, God knows what we need, if we trust Him, and follow His Word, then He will show us what we need to do to get them. Lacking funds? Pray, trust God, ask it in the name of Jesus, and He will send you the funds you need when you need them. Need a job? Pray, trust God, ask it in the name of Jesus, and He will direct you to the place of employment. Want a spouse? Pray, trust God, ask it in the name of Jesus, and He will send you the love of your life. God hears every prayer of the saved because His Son is right there praying in the midst of us, [Matthew 18:19-20 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.]
How amazing is it that all we have to do is call on Jesus and He will help us in our time in need? Whether we grieve, cry, suffer, mourn, or remorse, we call on Jesus, and He will help us. Praise God! I have to tell you that as I read the horrible things that the Philistines had done to Saul’s body I felt this amazing amount of grief over Saul, he did not deserve that to be done to his body. Sadly, his faith did not stay with him until his last breath, and even though he had faith in God, he was too proud to repent. Then it came to my mind, after all these years, maybe this was not pride, perhaps the reason he did not repent was because he felt like he was beyond salvation. God will save anyone who humbles themselves, no one in hell will tell you, even the reprobates, that God sent them there, and if they could reach their loved ones that are still alive they would be begging them to repent. [Psalms 129:4,8 The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. 8 Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.]
[Neither do they which go by say,] The wicked will never see Christ they way we see Him, they will never call upon His name nor will they receive His blessing of eternal life. God gives us a choice in the way we live, many of His children have backslidden, gotten caught up in sin, and dangled there only by the hem of Jesus’ cloak. Here is the thing, our salvation keeps us hanging by that thread, and we will suffer if we are living in sin, but all we need to do is call out to Him, He will not only forgive us for getting caught up in the mess, He will deliver us from it as well. That is what salvation is all about, Praise God!
[Psalms 130 A Song of degrees. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. 7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.]
[If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities,] None of us are without sin, which is why we cannot save ourselves. And this is why we cannot get through one day without Christ. Our only hope in this life we are given comes through Jesus Christ who gives our souls eternal life through our faith in His death, burial, and resurrection. If God named every one of our iniquities we would be shocked and quite ashamed of ourselves because we would not be able to stand before Him and live. Only by the name of Jesus can we stand before God and live, and only by the name of Jesus can we even be saved, [Acts 4:10,12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.]
Jesus Christ Magnified: [Psalms 124:8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for giving Your life that I might live through You. You suffered through all the pain, the humiliation, the mocking, and the scourging. You hung there on the cross while You had every ability to not only come down, but send a legion of angels to assist You, but You remained there so that I could escape that. You gave me life the second I believed in You, but You gave me so much more than an escape from hell, You gave me eternal life, and that means You will always be with me. Lord, I know that You gave me a new life, and it gets renewed every day that I walk with You. Lead me and guide me, keep me in Your Word that I may keep learning and growing, and conforming into someone resembling You. I get it now, I understand how important it is to tell everyone about You, so, let me be a faithful witness, full of compassion for seeing all saved as You do. I ask You for Your mercies and grace, and forgiveness where I have failed You, Lord. And I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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