I'm Following Jesus – Page 1720 – Mark 8:34 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.

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: Sunday, September 01, 2019
Chapters: Ezekiel 18-20
Message: Every Soul Belongs To God

Hello My Friend,

I just read an article about an actor that got baptized in the Jordan River, by a Catholic priest as he was walking through Israel on the path that Jesus took. You know, that is awesome, but what they did not say was if he had actually gotten saved, and since it was a Catholic priest it may be possible that he just got dunked in the water for nothing. I hope that this is not the case, but sadly, it does happen more often than we think, so many people have great faith in Jesus, but they are missing the one thing they need to be saved, Him. Remember, getting baptized does not save anyone, they need to come to Christ first, by admitting they are a sinner, understanding that the payment for sin is death and hell, believing that He died to make that payment for them, and confessing that He alone will save them by putting their faith and trust in Him alone. And I hope this is leading into the message today, if not, I just had to say it. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” – Matthew 7:22-23.

“and in thy name done many wonderful works?” Actually, what I just said does go well with today’s reading, in fact, the Scripture ties in perfectly with what God told Israel. The problem with many “Christians” is that they do not feel as thou the judgments written in the Old Testament apply to them. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Yes, God will deal with the children (family) of Israel (Jacob), for unbelievers rejecting Christ, but He will also deal with Israel as a whole, which are a mix of Jews and Gentiles (not related to Israel) who are not ignorant to the fact that He is God. Once Christ returns, all saved, born again believers will come together as one (John 10:7-16) while the rest of them will be judged. God is no respecter of persons, the same judgment handed to the Jews is the same judgment handed to the Gentiles. Every soul belongs to God and if that soul sins, it dies.

“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 18:4-9.

“he is just, he shall surely live,” Notice that it says, he shall surely live, and not his soul at this point. A saved soul, while the flesh has to deal with the consequence of sin, is clean and just before God and therefore, even though we sin and suffer in our flesh, our soul will live. And the reason why God mentions a menstruating woman is because it is very unclean to do things with a woman during that time. All those works, feeding the hungry, covering the naked, being kind to one another, abstaining from sin, these are all things that help us live a blessed life with God in the flesh, but they will not save our soul. If we do not know Christ as our Saviour then He will tell us to depart when we stand before Him because He does not know us. As God continues, He tells us how even the wicked can save their soul and prolong their lives.

“But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” – Ezekiel 18:21-24,29-30.

“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” God does not want to see any soul end up in hell, He does not rejoice when anyone He created gets cast into hell. And this is the difference between God and man, we would be quick to cast off anyone that we do not like because all we see is a person and how badly they have mistreated someone, all God sees is a soul that is bound for hell. We can cry that God is unfair when He saves someone who was wicked and does not save someone who was good, the truth is, He gives every single person an opportunity to know His Son. So, if that philanthropist who never accepted Christ as their Saviour cannot come humble themselves to say that they have sinned and need Jesus to save them then it is to their own loss.

“Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” – Galatians 3:21-24.

“verily righteousness should have been by the law.” There it is again, righteousness itself does not save one soul, which is why God sent Jesus in that through His righteousness and sinless death, all who receive Him will be justified by their faith alone. We have to see past our flesh and look at the state of a soul that does not have Christ, it is dead. It is God who gives the breath of life to our flesh, and that is the only thing keeping us alive, but once God takes that breath away we die. And that grief we feel about loved ones who have passed and are in hell ought to be the drive we need to tell all we know and see about Jesus while they are still have their breath. This is what God is telling the Jews to do, to lament over their captivity, and the ones who fled to Egypt and died. The mother of the princes is compared to a lioness, and they to young lions.

“Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.” – Ezekiel 19:1-6.

“Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost,” God gives everyone ample time to find His Son, but there does come a time when time does run out, and their hope is gone. You see, there is only one person who determines how long our life on earth will be, it could be one minute or one hundred years, and that is God. Now, a baby or child who knew no sin has nothing to worry about, they are already in heaven with Jesus, but the rest of us do, apart from Jesus, our soul will die, and God’s hope that we receive His Son is lost. “And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” – II Samuel 12:22-23.

“I shall go to him,” This was David, and he had confidence that he would see his son again when he died. We cannot do anything to help them once they die, all we have is today. If we can reach them and they believe then we have helped save a soul from hell, if they refuse to believe, then that is between them and God, and they will have to deal with the consequence of not listening to you. I imagine that Christ cries every time a soul gets cast into hell because they never accepted Him, and the sad truth is many will reject Him, including many, Jews. Now, as the Jews in Babylon hear Ezekiel speak these words many of them became uneasy and like many others who only seek God when they are in trouble, inquired of Him, what they did not expect to hear was that God wanted nothing to do with them.

“Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.” – Ezekiel 20:3,23-26.

“I will not be enquired of by you.” If people want to believe a false religion over God, then He will have nothing to do with them when they come crying to Him at judgment. He gives all a choice while they still have their breath in them to choose Christ, those who reject Him only have themselves to blame for doing so. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:7-8.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.” – Ezekiel 20:12.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your gift of salvation, I know that there is nothing more I can do apart from receiving Your Son that will save my soul, His finished work on the cross is all that is necessary for me to be righteous before You. Lord, I want the rest of my time on earth to be one of glory, one that not only pleases You, but brings others to You as well. Lead me and guide me, give me Your power to discern right from wrong in Your eyes to give me the knowledge to understand, Your wisdom to know how to handle situations, obstacles, and difficulties I face for my faith. Pour out Your mercy and grace upon me so that I may grow and remain closer to You at all times. Give me a heart with deep compassion for a lost, and the passion to tell all their fate. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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