Honor – I'm Following Jesus

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: Monday, February 22, 2021
Chapters: Leviticus 26-27
Message: God’s Favor, Honor, & Respect

Hello My Friend,

I have said it before, and I will say it until the day that God brings me home, America is a mirror of Israel. When the pilgrims, who were devout Christians, left England in search of new land to escape the religious bondage they were under, they found America, a land that happened to be inhabited by the Indians. In case you did not know, Indians have their own form of religion in which people become spirits within animals. Think about it, as young as America is, it flourished and became a great nation in such a small amount of time because our founders were faithful to God. Now, as God becomes more desolate in this country, this country becomes more desolate of life itself, and each day that passes it is losing its liberty. This is a warning from Christ Himself.

[Mark 13:6-10 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. 9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. 10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.]

Many of these things are actually happening all over the world, not just here in America, if you know anything about the one world religion and government that will form before Christ returns, then all of this is starting to make a lot of sense. It is also very scary, but as Jesus said, [the gospel must first be published among all nations.], I do not believe that God is quite done with the world just yet as there are still some who are seeking Christ. As for America, He is giving us a warning that it is time to repent. I actually spent an hour and a half in prayer this morning for God to help me be more accountable, and give me the zeal and fear I once had that kept Him first and above all things in my life. Then He reminded me of where I was when He found me and with all my mishaps today, I am still His, and much better off than I was fifteen years ago. Which made me want to follow through with being more accountable even more. God promises us that if we are obedient, He will bless us, after all, we are His people, and He did give us a choice to follow Him, we were not forced to do so.

[Leviticus 26:1-4,9,11-12 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. 2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; 4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. 11 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.]

[neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land,] Does any of this sound familiar to you? There is a statue or some sort of image that people bow to and worship of every religion created by man, Catholic’s worship Mary, Muslims worship Mohammad, Hindus worship Buddha, the list goes on. [and my soul shall not abhor you.] And yes, God abhors all these things. There is only one image that we are to look to that God will accept, and that is the cross that Christ was hung to on Calvary, [Philippians 2:8-10 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;]

The things that are happening are not the result of God’s faithful, who are just as much a sinner and the lost, for they are repentant, and doing whatever they can to spread the Gospel until Christ returns. This is all a result of these fools who mimic their faith in God, proclaiming Christ and doing just the opposite of everything that He stands for, yet still expecting God to bless them. It does not work that way, when Christ sets us free through our faith in Him, He gives us liberty, He removes the bondage of sin that we were under. If we use that liberty to continue living in sin and or are bringing sin into His Church and justifying it under the cross, then we are making a mockery out of God and the cross that Christ bore for those very sins. God will judge every church, every religion, and every person who makes a mockery out of Him. He warns that the punishment for going against Him will be much more severe than had they never knew Him to begin with.

[Leviticus 26:13,18-22 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. 18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. 21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.]

[I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.] Again, God does not force Himself upon us, we come to Him willingly. Therefore, He expects us to follow through, and by following through, I do not mean that we comply to every command or face His wrath. Following through means fearing Him, being faithful to Him, confessing our sin, repenting when we do, seeking His will for our lives, and coming to Him for help in removing the things from our lives that cause us to sin. God reminds us that if anytime we come to Him, confessing our sin, He will forgive us, and remember the covenant He has with us.

[Leviticus 26:40,42,44-45 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; 42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. 45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.]

[If they shall confess their iniquity,] Do you understand why our faith in Christ alone keeps God from punishing us with hell? We are not saved by anything we do, but by the grace of God through our faith in His Son. Whenever we sin after we are saved, God remembers the covenant He made with us concerning His Son, and that is the only reason why we are able to stand before Him and live. Just thinking about what Christ did for us, He took our place on the cross, He paid the debt that we never could pay, and we would thank Him by willfully living in sin. We are to never use our salvation as a cloak for sin, [Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.]

Do you think God wants to see His people in so much pain? God really is not the one who brings the punishment, we do. First of all, God gives us ample warning, even before we are tempted, not to even go there. And if we do, He give us plenty of opportunities to come to Him for forgiveness. Our salvation does not keep us from suffering while we are here for sin, it does give us liberty to come to Him and when we do, then He will lessen the pain. When we choose Christ, we make a vow with Him, we promise to trust Him alone for our salvation and He promises to keep us out of hell. While salvation is in fact a free gift, we must understand that it was not free, Christ paid that price for us. And when we receive Christ as our Saviour we belong to God, and that is when our works count, God actually estimates us for what we devote to Him.

[Leviticus 27:2-8 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation. 3 And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. 5 And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 8 But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.]

[the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.] [Estimation; Calculation; computation; an opinion or judgment of the worth. Esteem; regard; favorable opinion; honor.] Because of our faith in Christ, we have God’s favor. Because of our faith in Christ, we have God’s respect. Because of our faith in Christ, we have God’s honor. Because of our faith in Christ, we are chosen, and we are ordained to not only preach the Gospel, but live the Gospel. We do not know the time when God tells Jesus that it is time to come and get His children, we have limited window right now, and can turn things around for a little while anyway. It is time that we all use our liberty to bring more to Christ by giving Him the same favor, respect, and honor that He deserves, [I Corinthians 7:20-24 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. 22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. 23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.]

Jesus Christ Magnified:[Leviticus 26:44-45 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. 45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.]

Today’s Prayer: God, It is because of the great love of Your Son, Jesus, and His obedience to take our every sin to the cross with Him when He gave His life for us that we can receive eternal life through our faith in Him. It is truly amazing, the love You have for me and every soul, when I was lost, broken, and without hope, You found me, took me in, accepted me, and made me one of Yours. Amen! Your mercy endures forever for those You have found favor with in receiving Your Son as their Saviour. We are now set free from the bondage that sin forever held us to. Even though I know I am free, and nothing I could ever do could change that, I know I am not always in Your will, and I know I mess up every day. Forgive me where I have failed You. Lord, search my heart, know my thoughts, see if there be any wickedness in me, and lead me in the way that is everlasting. Guide me in Your will and Your way, to live a life that will always bring favor, respect, and honor to You. I ask these tings in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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