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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 24 September 2023:
Ezekiel 26:1-6 — In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
This prophecy was written sometime around 600BC and the city was attacked and conquered as prophesized. It might not have been hard for people to imagine Tyre being taken in battle, but it would have been hard to predict the complete removal of the city. However, in 332 BC, Alexander the Great connected the island to the mainland coast by constructing a causeway during his siege of the city, demolishing the old city to reuse its cut stone.
God will control nations, control nature, control circumstances, and control history to reveal Himself to the world.
The nation that does not put God first and honor God as God will face the consequences of complete destruction.
Psalm 110:1 – The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Jesus used this verse to explain that David too waited for the Messiah, Jesus. David understood something about Jesus and looked forward to His coming. In Luke 20:41-44, Jesus uses Psalm 110 to reveal Himself as the Messiah.
Psalm 110:3 — Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.
Psalm 110:3 which is labeled “a Psalm of David” is actually a prophesy of the reign of Jesus Christ. In Luke 20, Jesus pointed out that this Psalm refers to him, his Sonship, and his Kingship — the Jews had missed the message of this Psalm. Jesus, who proclaimed “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…. The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel,” reminds every one of the words of Psalm 110 – “I make your enemies your footstool.”
As we have discussed in previous readings, God’s Elect will reign on earth with Jesus upon His return (1 Corinthians 6, Revelation 20), and Psalm 110:3 gives another clue as to how events will occur – “the dew of your youth will be yours.” This statement can also be interpreted, “your young men will come to you like dew.” This coincides with what is prophesied in Micah 5 concerning “the Ruler… born in Bethlehem” — “Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which delay not for a man nor wait for the children of man. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver. Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.” (Micah 5:7-9) These are the people who have diligently obeyed their King and have gone throughout the world, to every Nation, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all of God’s commands; advancing the Kingdom of God one heart at a time; preparing people across the globe for the return of Jesus; this is a global, spiritual insurgency, treading down and tearing to pieces the forces of darkness and the strongholds of evil.
The “Christian Soldier” is in a battle every day, but not a physical battle but rather a spiritual battle – “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:5, 6) We are to live as “Ambassadors for Christ” and as a “Kingdom of Priests” in the midst of the kingdoms of men, not in timidity but as lions, destroying strongholds through divine power and the authority of Christ. We have been given our mission orders by Jesus himself:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.
Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
one in hope and doctrine, one in charity.
Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
but the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail;
we have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.
Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng,
blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.
Glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King,
this through countless ages men and angels sing.
Psalm 110:4 — You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews reveal that this priesthood of Melchizedek points to Jesus.
Psalm 111:1 – Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Will you do this at church today?
Psalm 111:2 — Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
Those who delight in the LORD study Him. Your study reveals your love.
Psalm 111:10 — The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
This phrase is repeated several times in the Bible for a reason. God is the source of all wisdom; the world’s wisdom is foolishness to God. All wisdom is founded on the Sovereignty of God. Any so called “knowledge” that does not start with the fundamental truth of God’s Sovereignty and the reality of Jesus Christ is a deception and a lie, regardless of how good is sounds or how popular it is.
- 1 Corinthians 3:19 — For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.
- 2 Peter 2:1-3 — But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
- 2 Timothy 4:3-5 — For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
- Colossians 2:8 — See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
- Jude 1:4 — For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
- 1 Timothy 6:3 — If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.
- Galatians 1:6-9 — I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
- Romans 9:20 — But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”
Today, many say that science and faith are at odds. However, this is a false narrative; faith only conflicts with pseudoscience (to include humanist psychology) which is passed off today as science to suit the rebellious spirit of its proponents.
The word science comes from the Latin “scientia,” meaning “knowledge.” According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of science is “knowledge attained through study or practice,” or “knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world.” The Bible says that nature reveals the truth of God; so, true science will naturally point to the reality and truth of the Sovereignty of God. However, popular, secular-based pseudoscience (perhaps better considered political science) seeks to eliminate God, and therefore becomes, at its foundation, a destructive lie. Case in point: the theory of evolution taught in schools has its foundation in Charles Darwin’s publication “On the Origin of Species.” This publication refutes the reality of the Creator and the truth of His word. The lie of Darwinism has had tremendously destructive consequences which are better understood when we consider the complete title of his work: “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.” Darwin’s pseudoscience fueled the concept of “Favoured Races” which led to previously unimaginable atrocities in Nazi Germany and across the globe.
Where is godless pseudoscience taking us today? Where could we be today if we relied on honest science that accepts the truth of the Creator and Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made (John 1)? What wonderful things might we have discovered or created? What problems might we have solved, and what cures might we have found had we not worked so hard to keep God out of the equation? We can only speculate.
Are you prepared to counter pseudoscience with real science which is the true knowledge of God? And are you prepared to turn your knowledge into wisdom, which is knowledge rightly applied? Listen carefully for humanistic, godless philosophies which are now mainstream and have crept into even the church, and make the most of every opportunity to proclaim the Truth of Jesus Christ and His sufficiency.
Proverbs 24:10 – If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
You must develop strength before you need it. During hard times, you use the strength you had already developed. When the hard times come, it is often too late to build the strength you need.
Proverbs 24:11, 12 – Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?
If you remain silent, concealing your knowledge of ‘The Way, The Truth, and The Life, Jesus while those you know continue to walk in darkness, you will be held accountable by God.
Proverbs 24:19 – Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked…
Let God worry about the wicked while you focus on being faithful to Him, regardless of apparent outcomes. God knows what is going on and will judge the hearts of all people.
Proverbs 24:29 — Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
Do not chase after the poisonous snakes the bite you – the poison will just travel to your heart. Let God deal with those who offend you. Just continue to follow Jesus.
Proverbs 24:32 – Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.
God wants you to compare the actions of others to God’s word, consider the consequences of their actions, and learn from their actions, both good and bad.
Proverbs 24:11, 12 – Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?
These Proverbs cannot be repeated enough to Christians. Those without Jesus face terrible consequences on earth but, more importantly, eternal damnation. Christians can’t act like they are not responsible for those around them who are on the path of destruction. It is selfish to avoid uncomfortable conversations, keeping people from hearing the eternal truth they desperately need. Your enemies salvation should be of utmost importance to you.
Proverbs 24:32 – Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.
The truth of God’s word is revealed all around you as circumstances play out in the lives of others. One person observed that wisdom understands without experiencing. In other words, it is wise to avoid the mistakes of others by learning from the experiences of others without experiencing the same circumstances yourself. The Bible warns you on what you should do and shouldn’t do. Don’t put God’s word to the test. When others do, observe and learn even further.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) –24 September 2023: Today, study the works of the Lord that you may increase in your knowledge of Him, your trust in Him, your love for Him, your fidelity to Him, and your testimony of Him, all for His glory, your joy, and to the blessings of those who would come to know Him through your witness.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 