The Heaton File

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

He Is The God Of Hope

The Lord created man and placed him in a beautiful garden with every blessing he would need to find happiness. Sin destroyed that paradise and man was estranged from God. Immediately man learned the nature of the One who formed him, instilled in him a heart of grace and gave man a beacon of light to carry him through the darkness of sin. In the midst of the pronouncements against the action of the serpent, the woman and the man, the Lord God tells man there is hope. He will not be destroyed or cast aside but the Lord will save man through the promise of a Seed that would come as Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Through every generation, the message of hope was carried by the people of God until the fullness of time when the Son of God was revealed to the world. The hope promised in the garden was not a wishful hope that only chance could make possible. It was not just an expectant hope where there is the possibility it may not come to pass. There was instilled in the lineage of man’s soul a certain hope that God would bring to man a promise of eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That hope was realized on the first day of the week following the crucifixion of a man from Nazareth when God raised Jesus from the dead. From the first day of man’s fall, the Lord had promised salvation through the Seed. That promise was never in jeopardy and the Lord never forgot His promise. The certainty of God’s love was expressed in the life of Jesus and fulfilled in His sacrifice on the cross so that all men could experience a living hope based upon the immutability of the counsel of God.

Every generation that has walked on the face of the earth has received the promise of God through the perfection of His word. He does not lie and every promise He made came to pass because God is truth. It was not until the revelation of the Christ the mystery hidden from time beginning was revealed and the grace of God was spread throughout the world. Nothing man could imagine or devise would create the promise of eternal life as clearly as the message of hope given by God. It was not a weak promise. The hope given by God was demonstrated by the love of His Son dying for all sin and bearing the iniquity of all men. Two thousand years removed from that great sacrifice the promise of eternal life shines as brightly as ever before. The hope for man today is not hidden in the shadows of broken promises. The Lord is the God of hope because His word is everlasting. Men fail God but God never fails man. Reading the Bible reveals the character of the unchanging nature of the eternal Father. His word came to pass whether for good or evil. He promised Noah that He would save him from the destruction of the world and eight souls were saved through hope. Noah did not build the ark based upon a maybe or good possibility the flood would come. He did all God commanded because he knew that hope rested on the absolute word of God. The judgment did come to pass upon the wicked and the grace of salvation came through the ark because God’s word was true. Example after example illustrates the sovereign message of hope bound in the character of a loving God.

The God of hope should fill the hearts of all those who believe in His word. Eternal life is not a maybe promise or a wishful thinking exercise in the remote possibility God is right. He is the God of hope and the child of God can be filled with all joy and peace knowing that everything promised by the Lord is an eternal guarantee. It requires a person to believe in the word of God and to trust in His promises. Abounding in hope is what changes the heart to live every day with the blessed assurance that all the things promised by the Lord will come to pass. The deluded milk of wishful thinking will never secure the soul of man to embrace an eternal hope. Only when the power of the Holy Spirit fills the heart, soul and mind of man to rest assured of the eternal promises of God will hope live fully in their lives. He is the God of hope because there is nothing greater to hope and no greater promise given by so great a God. Jesus Christ is the living representation of eternal life in the resurrection. Death is not to be feared. Life is not to be filled with the hope of this world as all things of this world will be destroyed. The only joy and peace a man can find are found in the God of hope who has promised eternal life to all those who believe in Him and abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. His word is true. He cannot lie. Hope in God and joy and peace will abound.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:17-20)

Filling The Family With The Spirit

The book of Ephesians is a grand treatise on the nature of the church. Paul illustrates in powerful tones of God’s grace the redeeming qualities of the riches of His mercy and love to allow a man to possess all spiritual blessings in the Son. As the apostle draws to a close his letter he weaves in the relationship of Christ and the church to the family and how each part represents the other concluding with various admonitions for the wives, husbands, children, and fathers. Before addressing the relationship of the home Paul establishes the kind of teaching that should pervade the home. It should never be lost on the student to take the text as a context and see how the author develops the theme. One of the important needs of the home is to fill the home with the Spirit of God. There are many things that can overwhelm the family with the pursuits of education, recreation, and societal expectations. The will of the Lord is for the parents to instill in their children the filling of the Spirit. Being drunk with wine shows a carefree and unrestrained kind of lifestyle that so many homes are following after. It does not necessarily suggest the actual drinking of wine but the lighthearted approach to life without God. While it is a shameful thing for parents to consume alcohol as a social drink what they are teaching their children is unrestrained behavior before the Lord. Walking in the light is having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness and this must begin at the home. Instead of filling the family character with the trappings of the world, the home should be a haven of the Holy Spirit. The aims and goals of the family must be centered upon the glorification of Jesus Christ rather than the dissipation of the worldly pursuits.

Paul uses a strong word to describe the wrong character of the home. He says the family should not follow after dissipation or debauchery which leads to wild living. The idea is the excess of life to the point of being more concerned about the things of the world instead of the eternal matters of faith. Parents can convince themselves that as long as they do not commit terrible sins they are doing well. What they often do not realize is that giving their children everything in life in a carnal way without a foundation of God is just as damaging. The will of the Lord is for the family to be filled with the Spirit – not the things of the world. The dissipations of life will teach children to enjoy the passing glories of this world with little or no knowledge of the Lord. Materialistic minded families do not think about God. Jesus described in the parable of the sower the greatest danger to producing good seed is the heart being choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. That is unwise for the family to allow.

Filling the home with the Spirit is done through psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in the heart to the Lord. There is precedence to use this passage in the worship service of the church but it begins in the home. Children should learn the praise of the Lord first in the home by parents who love to spend time in worshipping God in the home. The spirit of the home is filled with thanksgiving for all the blessings of God knowing that anything a family has comes from the hand of the Lord. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ is heard often in the home in praise, honor and the glory of His grace upon the family. Parents do well who build their homes on the praise of the Father teaching their children to sing and give thanks to the Lord God for all His eternal blessings. That is the will of the Lord for the family. It makes submission an easier task. Children are taught in the home the model of submitting to one another as they see their parents submitting to one another. Young ladies learn early the attribute of submitting to a husband because of the example of their mother. Young men are established in the principles of leadership when they see their fathers loving their mothers as Christ loved the church and leading with the Holy Spirit as their guide. It makes the task of children submitting to the father a lot easier when the home is filled with the Spirit. Understand what the will of the Lord is for the home. It must be filled with the Spirit.

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:3)

Trying To Escape The Presence Of The Lord

Jonah was a complicated man. He was one of the most effective preachers of his day but he was filled with conflicting feelings about those he had brought to repentance. Through the message of Jonah to the Gentile city of Nineveh, the inhabitants believed God, proclaimed a fast and sought the mercy of the Lord. Nineveh was an exceedingly great city covering a three-day journey to traverse. Jonah entered the city on the first day crying out to the citizens that in forty days Nineveh would be overthrown if they did not repent. From the king to the lowest member of society the people turned to the Lord and when God saw their works that they had turned from their evil way, the Lord relented from the disaster He had said He would bring upon them. Few men can claim the immense success of one man towards a whole city like Jonah. Sadly, the repentance of the people displeased Jonah exceedingly and he became angry. He lashed out at God for saving the city of Nineveh and in an angry prayer complained to the Lord for doing what Jonah feared would happen. The Jewish prophet had strong feelings about the citizens of Nineveh and how undeserving the city was for God’s mercy. This explained why in the beginning the prophet sought to flee from the presence of the Lord.

It was not lost on Jonah that trying to hide from God was impossible. After the Lord told him to go to Nineveh to preach to the city, Jonah refused to obey the command of the Lord and abdicated his responsibility. Jonah rose to flee not from the literal eyes of the Lord but rather from being before the Lord as a messenger of salvation to a Gentile city of uncircumcised, ungodly and underserving dogs. It would easy to assume Jonah was trying to go where God was not but the prophet would have known that was impossible. There was no place on earth a man could go the Creator was not already there, and Jonah knew that. What Jonah did not want to do was stand before the Lord and accept the work of preaching to Nineveh. He refused the command of the Lord and sought to run away from his God-given task that was very bitter for him to do. He complained to God the reason he ran away was that he knew the character of the Lord as a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness. The job of teaching the people of Nineveh was given to Jonah and in a bold move of personal rebellion, the prophet of God refused the command of God. Jonah was angry at God for saving the Gentiles of Nineveh. He would have no part of it. Taking a ship bound for Tarshish, the prophet left the job of preaching to someone else the Lord would find but it would not be him; or so he thought. God chose Jonah for a reason. Three days in the belly of a great fish changed Jonah’s mind about doing what God told him to do but it did not change his anger towards the city of Nineveh. In a remarkable paradox, Jonah was the right man for the right time and through his vehement preaching, the city turned to God. The Lord would spare the city and it was through the preaching of an angry prophet God’s work was done. Jonah tried to run away from the presence of the Lord because he wanted to run away from the obligation he had to preach to the city.

Throughout the history of God’s revelation to man, He has used many different kinds of men and women to accomplish His will. A man living in the Ur of Chaldees would become the father of a great nation and promised seed of the Christ. Through the slavery of a favored son, the Hebrews would find themselves in bondage to a cruel nation to be delivered by a Jewish boy with an Egyptian name accused of murder. Moses seemed to be the best answer to deliver the people but it would take forty years for the real Moses to be found near a burning bush. Samson was a complicated man with many vices that eventually brought about his untimely death yet he is listed among the faithful in the Hebrew letter. A shepherd boy of Israel would be the champion of the people when he killed the enemies champion with a single stone. David would be one of the greatest men of God and find himself accused of adultery, deceit, and murder. Amos was a prophet like Jonah who had a fierce personality decrying the luxuries of the people of Israel in comparison to Hosea the prophet who was told to marry a woman of the land who was unfaithful to him. Nehemiah was a cupbearer for a foreign king but through his courage rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in fifty-five days. Jesus gathered twelve unlikely men around Him to take the gospel to the whole world. Four were fishermen, one a hated tax collector, and another a zealot and one who became a traitor. What the Lord wanted each of the stories to represent is that He wants men to carry out His will through the character of who they were. Jonah tried to run away from the obligations put upon him by the Lord but the Lord needed him. The Lord wants me to do the best I can as a means to accomplish His will. He needs all men to carry out His work of teaching and sharing the good news of Christ. We should not be like Jonah and try to hide from our obligation. Everyone brings something to the table to serve the Lord. Do the best you can as the best you can do is serve the Lord.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that, He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all, He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

They Saw Jesus After He Died

Resurrection is not an easy concept to accept. It is not a trick of Hollywood or magic of the movies. Death is the most final thing imagined and when someone dies there is no coming back. Thinking it possible that a man would be dead for a number of days and then reappear alive and well is beyond anything the mind can grasp, understand or acknowledge with great fear. There would be legions of doubters failing to accept the possibility of life after death in the visible form. Science cannot explain it; morality will not grasp it and all the treasures of human wisdom fail to express the idea with any clarity. Resurrection is not possible but Jesus of Nazareth stood before a host of people just as real as He had been a week earlier. Everyone in Jerusalem had heard of the death of Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. They had hoped He was going to redeem Israel but the chief priests and rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death and crucified Him. Many stood beneath the cross and witnessed Jesus die and the soldier pierce His side with a spear. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (who had come to Jesus by night) had taken the body of the dead Jesus, wrapped it in linen and placed Him in the tomb of Joseph. They sealed the tomb with a large stone and a number of women witnessed the sealing of the tomb. Later, the Jews feared the disciples would steal the body asked for a Roman guard to be placed at the tomb and Pilate permitted it. Jesus was dead and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind the man from Nazareth was dead. And yet there He stood in front of them as alive as He had ever been before.

Paul’s letter to Corinth was written more than twenty years after the resurrection of Jesus. He was not with the original group of believers who knew Jesus and saw His miracles. Through the stories told by Peter and the apostles and many others, Paul learned of the short time Jesus appeared to His disciples before ascending to the Father. After His resurrection, the Lord spent forty days teaching the disciples of the coming Kingdom and work they were to engage in as the church was established. The Holy Spirit guided the mind of Paul to know of the events in the life of Jesus and His teaching. It was clear in the mind of Paul that Jesus had appeared to Peter, the twelve apostles as one body and then by a large number of disciples that he described as more than five hundred saints at one time. Many of that number were still living when Paul was in Ephesus writing to the Corinthians. James had seen the Lord and then Paul himself testified that he had seen the Lord as one born out of due time. There was no doubt Jesus was alive. This was not a sighting that could not be confirmed or testimony that could be easily disputed. The resurrection may be impossible in the mind of human wisdom but the divine revelation of God was clearly defined by the reality of a man who was dead standing alive before a large number of people. Nothing like this had ever been seen. There had been resurrections before but none would compare to this resurrection. Jesus was the Son of God.

Two thousand years has removed the distance between the faith of saints today and those blessed souls who peered into the eyes of Jesus following His resurrection. There are doubters today who deny the possibility of life after death. This is not any different than the forty days Jesus revealed Himself following the resurrection and the testimony of that generation that spent time with a resurrected man that had been crucified and placed in a secure tomb. If Jesus stood in the midst of men today He would receive the same treatment of contempt as men give Him as revealed through the holy word of God. The resurrection of Jesus is real today because He comes alive through the word of God. If a person will not accept the risen Lord in scripture they will not accept the risen Lord in the body. The first century was filled with many turning to the gospel of the risen Christ but most people in the first century denied the resurrection of Christ. Two thousand years will not change that. If a man will not accept the testimony of the fully revealed word of God that testifies to the love of God and the power of the resurrection revealed through the word, the heart would not accept the physical form of Jesus standing in their midst. Jesus did not show Himself to the whole world after the resurrection. He only appeared to the disciples. Believing in Jesus must come through the avenue of faith in the word of the Father. The resurrection is the proof Jesus is the Son of God. Without this belief, there will be no salvation.

Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms. And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was none left breathing. Then he burned Hazor with fire. So all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses. (Joshua 11:10-15)

They Left None Breathing

Abraham had been promised the land of Canaan but the promise was delayed because at the time of his dwelling in the land, the sinful nature of the people was not complete to the point of needing the divine wrath of God. The Lord made a covenant with Abraham that would be fulfilled through the nation of Israel that would come from his son of promise, Isaac. By the time Israel had left Egypt, spent forty years in the wilderness and stood before the Jordan River, the wickedness of the people of Canaan had become so full it was time for the Lord to exact His wrath upon them. Israel would be the tool God would use to carry out His judgment against a people that had become so depraved in their lives there remained no hope. The grace and mercy of the Lord are limited to a time when men desire Him and seek His will. When the hearts of men turn so completely away from the word of truth, God will bring judgment and condemnation. Like in the days of Noah, the thoughts and intents of the heart are only evil continually with no hope of repentance. The early world was completely destroyed save the eight souls in the ark because the world was that wicked, that depraved and that hopeless. God’s righteousness demanded judgment and it was meted out with His complete and overwhelming power. Israel enters the land of Canaan with marching orders to annihilate all the inhabitants of the land as a judgment from the Lord God upon their wickedness. The text graphically describes the complete and utter destruction of the ungodly people of the land. Joshua killed the king of Hazor with the sword. Every person in the city of Hazor was killed by the swords of the Israelites sparing no man, woman or child. They utterly destroyed every human being in the city and there was none left breathing. Then Joshua burned the city to the ground. This was repeated time and again as they came to each city, killing all the inhabitants taking the spoils of the city for their own. There was no one that was left alive.

Joshua was not acting like a mad man driven by some desperate desire to conquer land for his own. Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people to carry out this destruction and complete annihilation of the people of Canaan. The reason Moses instructed Joshua to destroy the people came from the word of the Lord. The Lord commanded Moses and Moses commanded Joshua and the son of Nun carried out the will of the Lord to kill all the people of the land. Ultimately the destruction of Canaan came from the voice of God against the nations that had become so wicked the Lord judged them fit for destruction. Sin is the burden of all men but when sin becomes so desperate in the lives of men, the Lord will bring His wrath upon them. God is full of love and His mercy is expressed in the richness of His grace. The destruction of Canaan was not a random act by an angry God bent on bring misery and pain to His creation. All of the things done by Joshua came from the word of the Lord because the iniquity of the Amorites was full – it was time for God’s judgment to be felt. Many generations had passed since the first promise to Abraham. The destruction of Canaan could not have taken place in the days of Abraham because it would have been an unrighteous act on the part of God. The Lord allowed man to destroy himself before the Lord destroyed him. God was not to blame for their deaths. They had fully rejected the Lord, lived in a world filled with debauchery and ungodliness to the point God had had enough and brought the sword of Israel against them. This was a divine judgment from a loving and compassionate God who brought His wrath upon those who disobeyed Him. There was none left breathing because that was the will of the Lord.

Grace and truth come through Jesus Christ but the wrath of God is still reserved for those who reject Him and fill their lives with the desires of the flesh and eye. Satan has convinced many that God is so loving He could never and would never punish anyone regardless of how they live and what they have done in life. Man is not the judge of men’s souls but there are clearly those who live in complete rejection of the love of God and yet so often are said to be dwelling in the bosom of the Lord because God could never send anyone to a place called Hell. Believing that God will never punish the disobedient is a common mistake for those who have not read the Bible and understood the nature of God’s righteousness, justice, and mercy. The iniquity of the Amorites was not full in the days of Abraham but the day came when the people were filled with so much wickedness the wrath of God destroyed them. Joshua killed all those people because that was the will of the Lord. Every man, woman, and child were killed as a society of evil people filled the land requiring the judgment of God to be placed upon them. They left none breathing according to the will of the Lord. Sadly there will be a day when all men will stand before the judgment bar of the Holy God of Heaven and He will punish the majority of his creation with eternal punishment. Jesus Christ taught the lesson of eternal perdition. There can be no doubt as the scriptures vividly describe the scene of a final judgment as blessing and cursing. For those who are righteous the reward of eternal glory will be enjoyed. To the people who chose to live apart from the will of God, there will be a place of torment unparalleled in the annals of man to consider. The Old Testament shows the character of God – his goodness and his severity.

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. (1 Corinthians 3:5-8)

God Gives The Increase

The church is filled with many people who are actively involved in teaching, preaching, sharing fellowship with others and working hard to build up and edify the body of Christ. Any congregation of God’s people would have noble hearts that are devoted to increasing the influence of the gospel in the community. These are special people because of their love for truth and willingness to give of themselves to the hearts of the lost. Paul and Apollos were great men in the early church that taught many people, through the preaching of the gospel saved many souls and helped to establish untold numbers of churches throughout the Roman Empire. The half has been told of their exhaustive work in establishing the early church as a force that is still being felt generations later. Paul’s exploits are preserved in scripture through the writings of Luke as the historian outlined the journeys of Paul in Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. Letters to many of the churches are given by the Holy Spirit as part of the divine canon that allows a man to know the mystery of the gospel and how to serve Christ. There is little doubt of the influence and presence of Paul the apostle in the first-century church but Paul the servant of the Lord realized that any work that was accomplished through his hands merely pointed men to the true purpose of his calling – Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Like Apollos, Paul was a great orator of truth and persuaded many souls with his powerful teaching and forceful messages. He could reason with kings and governors and the common man bound in a Roman prison or spiritually minded women by a riverside. There was no limit to what Paul could accomplish in teaching any man at any time in any place. Like his Lord, Paul knew the power of being a servant. When the day was done and the work was finished, all Paul could rest upon was the knowledge that if anything was accomplished it was because of the glory of God. He would plant the word in the hearts of men and Apollos would fortify his teaching with the same gospel but the increase would come from the power of the gospel finding its way into open and honest hearts. God gave the increase if there was an increase to be found. Paul and Apollos were nothing compared to the saving power of the Lord.

Paul and Apollos had something to brag about. They were movers and shakers in the early church. Men looked up to them, admired them and many considered them as eminent leaders in the early church. But this had no meaning to these humble men as they knew they were nothing compared to how the Lord God changed hearts. The work of teaching and preaching was a blessing for them to use for God’s glory and any effort they put forth was only answered by the grace of God to save men. They worked together to teach the same doctrine of a risen Christ but when the multitudes increased with disciples it was not something they could boast to other men of their own accomplishments. All of the efforts Paul and Apollos put forth to save souls came about because God was the one bringing the increase. As ministers or servants of the Lord, there was nothing they could appeal to for credit, acknowledgment or human praise in the work they did. Preaching was not about statistics but about sharing the gospel. Paul knew his place in the kingdom was a planter. Apollos was an efficient man who could nourish the teachings of Paul in the hearts of men, much like a man who waters a crop already established. If there was an increase in the work of Paul and Apollos, it would come from God. The focus was on the work of God not the work of man.

Pride can enter into the hearts of God’s servants who begin to think more of themselves and their efforts than the one giving the increase. Paul battled this pride and through a humble heart knew the best of his efforts would only be seen through the work of God in the hearts of men. The Lord will bless those who serve in His kingdom with any measure due them. Working in the kingdom is a wonderful blessing when seen through the eyes of Paul. What we do for the Lord is for His glory and His glory alone. If there are blessings, praise God. When the challenges come, give God the glory. All should look at the work of the Lord as serving as humble slaves to the King of Kings in the task given to each one of us. His work is done in His way with His reward given to those who serve His purpose. Whatever God has blessed a man or woman with should be used to the fullest extent of His blessing to share the gospel with others. Let God be glorified in all things.

Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him. But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound. (Acts 24:25-27)

Waiting On God’s Plan

The apostle Paul was a driven man. At first, he pursued the disciples of the Way intending to wipe them off the face of the earth. He shut up many in prison and casting his vote to have them executed Paul was fierce persecution against the church of the Lord. Through God’s grace, he was redeemed by the blood of the One he sought to destroy and became one of the preeminent workers in the kingdom of Christ. His labor was a tireless and exhausting series of trips to teach in every city, every synagogue and any place he would be allowed to speak. He stood before kings and nobles, shared the good news with women by a river bank and declared the saving power of Christ to all who would hear. His opponents tried vainly to destroy him. They sought to kill him on a number of occasions. Near the end of Luke’s account of the early church, Paul is in Caesarea for his safety awaiting judgment on the charges put before him after a tumult in Jerusalem where men were charged to kill him. The apostle was sent to Felix, governor of the region while the Jews prepared their case against Paul. After a short trial which resulted in no action being taken, Felix spent time with Paul reasoning about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come. No decision was forthcoming in the case of Paul as Felix thought he might be able to secure monies from the man from Tarsus. After two years Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus.

It must have been excruciating for Paul to languish in the Roman garrison of Caesarea with no certain plan for the future and the inability to continue on the trips he had begun earlier. Paul was a busy, busy man. Twenty-four months in Caesarea would have been suffocating to a man who was accustomed to the frantic pace of his previous three journeys throughout the Roman Empire. Luke tells us little of those days with the exception that Felix spent many hours with Paul to converse about the Way and Paul’s life story. Sadly, Paul could not persuade Felix to change his heart. The teachings of righteousness and self-control were directly in contradiction to the lifestyle of Felix who had married the wife of Azizus, king of Emesa. Felix and Bernice were in an unlawful marriage which was not uncharacteristic of the rulers of that day. Yet in the two years they spent together, Paul could not move the heart of Felix and he remained a prisoner. In part, Felix pleased the Jews by keeping Paul in prison and this was for selfish reasons. Felix was unpopular with the Jews and they threatened to accuse him before Caesar. He thought appeasing the Jews with his treatment of Paul would put him in favor with Rome but it did not. Paul was the pawn in the political maneuverings of the Roman and Jewish world. He spent two years away from his beloved work in traveling from city to city preaching and teaching the wonderful grace of Jesus Christ.

While Luke does not tell us about the events of those two years it would seem clear enough that Paul trusted in the will of the Lord to work for the good of the gospel. Paul would stand before the new governor Festus and King Agrippa and pour out his message of hope and grace but again to no avail. Appealing to Caesar, the apostle would begin a perilous journey to Rome where he would be imprisoned again, released and then arrested a final time before being beheaded for serving his King, Jesus Christ. In all of this Paul trusted in the plan of God. If he questioned why he stayed in Caesarea for two years is not known but would it have mattered to the apostle? It is certain among all those who came to see him and to whom he had contacted the mighty servant of the Lord used every opportunity to teach others the gospel of Christ. While in a Philippian jail he and Silas sang praises to the Lord and there can be no doubt this would be a constant pattern of Paul’s life. Life may not be clear now and there may need to be a two-year waiting period before the real work begins in our lives but when we trust in the plan of God He will make all things possible. The timetable of the Lord is so vastly different from our time and Paul patiently waited for the harvest of God’s blessings to bear fruit in his life. Trust in the will of the Lord and allow His grace to measure your days. Paul waited for two years because He knew his God would deliver him.

Better is a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of feasting with strife. (Proverbs 17:1)

The Value Of A Quiet Home

Finding peace in the home is the natural desire of all men. There is nothing more pleasing and longed for than to live in a place where there are contentment and security. When a baby is born an immediate need for safety is paramount as they cling to the mother desiring the happiness that comes from parental bonding. They will find their identity in the character of the home whether it is a place of chaos or a dwelling place of serenity and joy. The parents are the ones who decide how the blessings of a joyful home will be found. How the home is established will determine the outcome of the child’s happiness and the key is building the home on the foundation that will be lasting and true. Too often parents believe that happiness will come from the bounty of possessions rather than possessing the abundance of goodness. There is something to be said of homes that are filled with the riches of the world that spend their days filling the desires of the world into every part of life. James Cope used to say, “A dollar will not buy a baby’s smile.” Parents mistakenly believe if they give their children all the pleasures of life and the riches of the world they will be happy. The home is filled with the feasting of wealth and prosperity and oftentimes lacking joy because the hope is that contentment will come with the increase of stuff. Long ago the wise man declared that a house with little can have greater joy than a house with plenty that is filled with strife.

There is nothing wrong with riches but it is what the abundance of wealth will do to the family that brings the misery. The nature of riches can be that it turns the heart into a selfish desire for the exaltation of self. Pride is the second cousin to riches and it has an insidious manner of destroying the heart with the self-centered, pompous conceit that because one wears expensive clothes living in wealthy homes with expensive cars filling the garages that a person is of greater worth than others. There is fighting within the family because of arrogant pride. What happens is the home filled with all the blessing of life becomes a house of feasting that knows nothing but strife. Down the street and around the corner lives a family that is content with the dry morsels of life that enjoy the love and companionship of one another. Their lives are not fueled with the mad dash to keep up with the latest gadgetry or fashion or style. They share in their love for one another in a simple and humble abode of peace. There is great wisdom in seeing what the wise man says about what is important in life and what is not important in life. If only parents could learn the real worth of love is found in their hearts and not in their wallets. Children will be happier when they live in a home filled with the love of God instead of a love of things.

The central truth in the message of the wise man is to know that happiness comes when God is the center of the home. A home that is filled with feasting will be a place where the trappings of the world are central rather than a place where the dry morsel is common but God is exalted. The greatest mistake parents make with their children is to give them everything good thing in life but the most important part is left out. Filling the lives of children with the accumulation of worldly stuff will create a child that is worldly-minded. Teaching them to use the blessings of life to help others will create in them a love for the most important part of their life – a love for God. Every home is either a place of feasting or quietness. The feasting will only last for a while and create hearts that are selfish. A quiet home with a dry morsel is a place where children learn to serve God and know of His will. They will learn the lesson of servitude and sharing with others. Which home do you have? God grant me to be content with the dry morsels of life so that I can see you more clearly and serve others to your glory.

But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother in the day of his captivity; nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress. You should not have entered the gate of My people in the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped; nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress. For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head. For as you drank on My holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yes, they shall drink and swallow, and they shall be as though they had never been. (Obadiah 12-16)

Divine Retribution Will Always Come

Obadiah is the smallest book of the Old Testament with less than 700 words but it is packed with an enormous message of God’s wrath upon all those who trifle with His will and exalt themselves with pride. The central message is directed toward Edom and the misplaced confidence they had in their wisdom and geographical security that no one could defeat them. Edom had exalted itself in the day of Israel’s destruction with a haughty spirit gloating at the misfortune of the people of God. The vision of Obadiah declares the message of divine retribution upon the Edomites for believing they were more powerful than the Lord God and possessed greater wisdom. What made the actions of Edom so heinous was the nature of their relationship with Israel. Through Jacob and Esau, they were near kinsmen. When Israel wandered through the wilderness, Edom refused them passage threatening them with the sword. Throughout the period of judges and kings, Edom was subjugated and often rebelled against Israel. The prophet Amos also condemned the Edomites for their hatred of the Israelites. Because of their strategic advantage, Edom believed no one could defeat them. God reminds the rebellious Edomites that His wrath is eternal and their sin would not go unpunished. The Lord would bring their reward upon their own head for taking part in the destruction of His people and the exaltation they enjoyed in attacking His people would be measured back to them in full as if they never existed. History bears this out as the Nabataeans overrun the country and before Christ Edom became a nonexistent nation. The only remnant of Edom will be found in the Herodian dynasty which ruled during the life of Christ and the early church.

Pride is the most serious of man’s afflictions. It causes him to believe he is his own god and that there is no greater power than his own. Nations rise exalting their might and wisdom with great armies, weapons, and superior force and yet in time, this all comes to naught. Look at the history of the Roman Empire, the great empires of the East, Britain, Germany, Japan, ISIS, and even America. What nation can stand before the wrath of the Lord and who country can claim they can rule the world when the Lord has determined the boundaries of man’s habitation? There is nothing in the arsenal of man that can be greater than the word of God. When a nation turns away from God the wrath of the Lord is soon to follow. Obadiah is preserved in the Bible as a reminder that man does not rule his destiny in the prideful exaltation of self-will, self-wisdom and might through the sword. No nation, country or people are secure from the hand of the Lord if He chooses to exercise His will. The retribution of the Lord will always come against the nations that exalt themselves above the Lord God. Anything man does is insignificant compared to the mighty works of the Creator. Edom is no more because they trusted in themselves. All nations that exalt themselves will be brought low by the hand of the Lord.

The story of Obadiah is one for the individual who fills his heart with pride. There is nothing more amusing to angels to behold a proud man. What does man have to brag about or to boast? He is only a small speck on the canvas of a vast universe that he can never encircle, encompass or conquer. If space travel has taught man one lesson it is to remind him how great the Creator is and how small man is. Things in the heavens are not measured in feet, yards, and miles but light years that go beyond the imagination of man to comprehend. God is so great man is incapable of grasping His character. Pride will destroy the heart of a man when he exalts himself above the will of the Lord. When men fill themselves with their own self-worth they become fools and what always follows a fool is the will of the Lord being executed upon their hearts. It may not be in this life that man faces the wrath of God but all men will stand before the Lord in that great and final day. Great men and small men will be there. Rich and poor alike will all present themselves before the throne of God. All the despots that tried to rule the world will see the face of the only Ruler, Lord, and Judge. The day of the Lord is near upon all those who stand against the will of the Lord. Their deeds shall return on their own head.

By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:10-14)

He Offered One Sacrifice

The temple of Solomon was one of the wonders of the world. There was no place on earth as beautiful as the place where God came to dwell among men and to shine from the glistening marble of its edifice as the house of God. For many years the people of God had gathered around the tabernacle of meeting to worship but now the grandeur of the divine grace of the Lord stood as a memorial to the everlasting promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. From the days of early man, sacrifice was a part of the ritual of worship. The offerings of Cain, Abel, Abraham and the sacrifices inscribed on the pages of the Law of Moses all pointed to the will of the Lord turning the heart of men to the one truth that would one day be found in Jesus Christ. When Solomon dedicated the temple he offered 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep as a sacrifice. An incredible amount of animals in one single dedication can only be overshadowed by the thousands and thousands of animals sacrificed over the centuries of time. The Lord alone knows the number of bulls and goats given to honor Him. Every sacrifice was an attempt by man to appease the wrath of God. Instructed by the Lord to offer sacrifices, there was a divine emptiness to the blood shed by animals to atone for the sins of man. Man was made in the image of the Creator and animals possess no eternal spirit. Killing an animal for a sacrifice was no different than killing an animal to eat. When a man killed another man he committed murder because man was made in the image of God. Shedding man’s blood is abomination to the Lord as the nature of man is eternal. Taking the life of an animal does not bear the same guilt. For centuries, in accordance with the will of God, animal sacrifices begged the mercy of God to remove His wrath in granting forgiveness to man. The totality of man’s guilt would never be appeased until one sacrifice was made and that sacrifice had to be a man – not an animal.

Sanctification came to man through one sacrifice. It was not a bull, goat, sheep or animal but the body of Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High. The sacrifice did not have to be repeated because the purity of the sacrifice was eternally established by the life of one man who did not commit one sin in His entire life. Consider the implications of one sin and the outcome for the salvation of man from the wrath of God if Jesus had failed in one sin. There would be no hope because the sacrifice would have been blemished, tainted, stained, and polluted. Under the Law of Moses, the priest offered repeatedly the same sacrifices which could never take away sins because man continued to sin. There was no purity to the sacrifice either as the animal was not an eternal creature or the sinfulness of man destroyed the holiness demanded by God. Jesus, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, took away the wrath of God through His perfect, sinless and completely holy life. One offering removed the stain of sin because there was no stain of sin in the life of one man.

Jesus lived for nearly thirty-three years and never – not once – disobeyed the will of the Father. He was tempted in every kind of manner available in the arsenal of Satan. Throughout His life, Jesus battled the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. At the beginning of His ministry, Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness and tried to derail His work of the Father. This was not the first time the two of them had met on the battlefield of moral courage. When Jesus came of age as a young man Satan threw his battery of evil in front of Him every opportunity the devil could find. Satan knew who the son of Joseph and Mary was and He knew that as a man the Lord would bear the marks of humanity in its frailty. Jesus overcame every temptation because He knew the one sacrifice of His life would cleanse all men of their sin. As the nails of the Roman executioner pierced His flesh, Jesus knew His final hour had come. He could see the angry crowd gathering around Him shouting and cursing Him. His eyes glanced to His mother standing with the disciples and saw the eternal love in her heart. As the soldiers crucified Him, Jesus knew this one sacrifice would bring all men to the Father. There would no longer be a need for animal sacrifice. The blood that He shed on that day on that cross outside the city where Solomon had sacrificed so many animals would be the propitiation of the sins of those who came to the cross for salvation. When He bowed His head in death, the love of God burst forth from the heart of one man crucified between two thieves that would give His life so that all men could be saved. One life. One sacrifice. One gift. One hope. One Lord. One offering.