The Heaton File

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:10)

Ezra’s Three-Fold Plan

The destruction of Solomon’s Temple occurred in 586 B.C. when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and carried off the people. Seventy years passed according to the word of the Lord before the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland. The first captives to return to Jerusalem faced great hardship as the city was in ruin, with walls destroyed and the gates burned. It would take nearly twenty years to complete the second Temple under great persecution. Zerubbabel and Jeshua spearheaded the restoration along with the brethren, priests, and the Levites.

Ezra was a priest and skilled scribe in the Law of Moses who lived in Babylon at the time of the second temple’s building. About fifty-seven years after the temple’s completion, Ezra came to Jerusalem. He was on a mission for the Lord. The work of restoring worship and the teaching of the Law was paramount to the work of Ezra. With the blessing of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought papers of authority to establish himself and to bring silver and gold to buy bulls, rams, lambs, grain, and drink offerings to offer on the altar of the house of God. He prayed to the Lord for safety on his journey, refusing the escort of soldiers and horsemen from the king.

One of the first things Ezra faced when he arrived in Jerusalem was the intermarriage of the Jews with the people of the land. This distraught Ezra greatly, and he begged for the grace and mercy of God to forgive the people. While Ezra prayed to the Lord, the people gathered and wept bitterly for the transgression of the people to intermarry with the people of the land. A decree was made for the people to put away their pagan wives, and in solidarity, the pagan wives were put away.

The story of Ezra’s return to Jerusalem is one of faith, courage, devotion, and dedication to the word of God. How did this priest and scribe journey to Jerusalem without an armed escort from the king? Facing the many problems of the people, including the intermarriage with pagan wives, how could Ezra hope to affect change and bring the heart of the people back to the Lord? It all began before Ezra left Persia. The Holy Spirit says that Ezra prepared his heart to do three things: he would seek the Law of the Lord; he would do what the Law of the Lord said; and he would teach the people the Law of the Lord.

Faith begins in the heart, but faith without works is dead. Ezra had faith in God and prepared his heart to serve the Lord, but he had a huge task ahead of him. He had to seek the Law of the Lord to understand what God required of him. Faith comes from hearing the word of God. It does not come through osmosis and magically appear. A heart must be devoted to seeking, reading, and knowing what God’s word says. No one can know the word of God without opening the word of God. Ezra was a diligent seeker of what the Law of the Lord said.

Knowing the word of God was not enough. The second part of the ‘Ezra-Plan’ was to do what God said. Understanding the word of God will have no value if the heart is unwilling to practice what the law says. Whatever the Law of the Lord said to do, Ezra planned on doing it. When faced with the reality that many of God’s people had married pagan wives, Ezra sought the Law to know what to do. He read the Lord forbade the people to marry from other nations. After seeking the Law of the Lord and finding out what God required, Ezra did what the Lord said. He was not just a hearer of the word; he was a doer of the word of God. The people put away their foreign wives in accordance with the Law of the Lord. Ezra sought the word of the Lord and did what the Law of the Lord required.

Finally, as a priest and scribe, Ezra taught the people what the Law of the Lord said. The book of Nehemiah describes how Ezra took the Book of the Law of Moses and, in the presence of the people in the open square that was in the front of the Water Gate, Ezra read the word to the people from morning until midday. He read the book distinctly, gave the people the sense, and helped them understand the reading. Seeking the Law of the Lord and doing it also required teaching the people the Law. The people needed to know the statutes and ordinances of the Lord, and Ezra accomplished that.

Ezra lived five hundred years before the church began in Jerusalem at Pentecost. His three-fold plan is the foundation of the New Testament church. The people of God must seek the Law of the Lord, do it, and teach statutes and ordinances in the church. That is how the church grows. The lost are brought to Christ by disciples who prepare their hearts to teach the word. They show the word in action, and they show the word in practice. Prepare your heart. Seek the Law of the Lord. Do what the Law of the Lord says. Teach others the Law of the Lord. Thank you, Ezra.

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:1-3)

Abraham In The New Testament

Abram was seventy-five years old when God called him to go into a land of promise, which he would receive as an inheritance. Twenty-four years after the Lord called him, Abram’s name was changed to what he would be known by as Abraham. No single character is the central theme of the Old Testament than Abraham. God made three promises to Abraham. He promised to make of him a great nation, to give him land for his descendants, and through his blood, all nations of the earth would be blessed. The final promise is the Seed promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Abraham is also a central character of the New Testament. Eleven books include him in their story. The four gospels often record Abraham’s story, with Jesus mentioning the patriarch many times. Luke, Paul, James, and Peter refer to Abraham in their writings. Each story has a backdrop showing Abraham’s faith as a lesson for the Christian. The New Testament writers relied heavily on the story of Abraham to show the character of the child of God. Stephen uses Abraham in his defense before the Jews. Paul preached about Abraham throughout his journeys. Abraham was the foundation of Paul’s argument in Romans of justification. In the Galatians, Paul shows the promises of Abraham fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Writing to Hebrews, the author of the book reminds the Jewish Christian of the spiritual heritage of Abraham and his faith. James and Peter mention Abraham to the New Testament Christians as an example to follow.

A great storehouse of character building is found in the stories of the Old Testament. Abraham’s life is idyllic to understand the character of the New Testament Christian. He lived many thousands of years ago, but his faith shines through the vale of time as one who trusted in God for everything. Why would a seventy-five-year-old man leave his family at the urging of a voice? Where did faith come from to believe a man of one hundred years could produce a son with a woman ten years his junior? When God told Abraham to kill his only begotten son, Abraham did not waver. He immediately obeyed God’s voice to do something against everything he believed and what he believed to be an abomination to the One who demanded it. Faith moved Abraham to trust in the word of the Lord.

Paul argued in his letters about a problem that has plagued God’s people for generations. Men often equate salvation to works and believe they can do enough works to justify themselves before a righteous God. Abraham proves that being justified by the Law of Moses fails. He was justified apart from the law. Faith reigned in the heart of Abraham as he obeyed the word of the Lord. James would use the same example of Abraham to prove that a man is not saved by faith alone. God told Abraham to kill his son, and Abraham’s faith did not prove himself before God. He rose early the following morning and traveled three days to Moriah, where he took Isaac and offered him as a burnt offering before God. He believed and knew God would raise his slain son from the dead. Abraham was not allowed to kill Isaac as the angel of the Lord stayed his hand. Faith alone did not save Abraham, and God’s grace alone could not save him. Abraham was justified by faith and works.

It is impossible to be saved by faith alone. The grace of God alone cannot save a man. Abraham’s story shows the power of faith, the need for grace, and the works of his faith that justified him before God. No man can be saved unlike Abraham. If you want to know what to do to be saved, read the story of Abraham (Genesis 11-25). It will help you learn how to become a Christian and serve the Lord as a disciple of Christ.

And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. (2 Chronicles 11:16)

Setting The Heart To Seek The Lord

Following the death of Solomon, his son, Rehoboam, reigned in his place. The forty years of Solomon’s rule was a period of immense wealth and prosperity. Israel was at peace as God blessed His people. Rehoboam inherited a kingdom blessed beyond any nation on earth. Sadly, the cost of the prosperity of Solomon’s kingdom came at a cost to the people. After Solomon died, the people hoped Rehoboam would ease the burden of his father’s rule. Instead, Rehoboam made the burden greater, leading to a revolt led by Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Jeroboam had fled to Egypt after he revolted against Solomon. Because of Rehoboam’s harsh rule, ten tribes gave their allegiance to Jeroboam, and the northern kingdom was formed.

When Israel divided between the ten tribes in the north and Judah and Benjamin in the south, the priests and the Levites left their common lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem. Jeroboam created a false religion of convenience for the people of the north, but Rehoboam maintained control of the Temple built by his father. Jeroboam had rejected the priests and Levites who served according to the Law of Moses. He set up a different priesthood allowing anyone from any tribe to serve. Jeroboam set up two calves of gold in Bethel and Dan. He made shrines on the high places, changed the feast days, led the people to follow idols and other gods, and molded images. Jeroboam polluted the land with the wickedness of the nations around them.

As the northern tribes began to follow the idolatry of Jeroboam, there remained the faithful and true among the people of God. From all their territories, the priests and the Levites took their stand with Rehoboam. Leaving their ancestorial homes, the priests and Levites came to Judah and Jerusalem. Seeing the faith of the priests and Levites, many of the people set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, and they, too, left their ancestorial homes and families for Jerusalem. The first three years of the southern kingdom of Judah were a time when the people followed the way of David and Solomon. Judah was filled with people who set their hearts to seek the Lord.

Moving from their territorial lands of the north to Jerusalem was an incredible example of faith. When Joshua conquered the land more than four hundred years before, the land was divided by tribes for people to dwell. According to the Law of Moses, the tribal lands always remained in the family of the tribes. The people of the northern tribes had lived on their land for more than four hundred years, and they abandoned this land for the security of the faithful few in Jerusalem. They walked away from homes, gardens, burial plots, and family. Turning their backs on everything they knew for generations took great faith.

The Holy Spirit explains why the faithful left their homes in the north for Jerusalem. They had purposed in their hearts to seek the Lord. Their decisions were not based on which tribe they belonged to, where their homes were located, how many years they had toiled on the land, or the comfort of friends and neighbors. The multitudes that left their homes in the north set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel. Jeroboam was turning their land into a place of wickedness, and the faithful refused to bow their knee to Baal. Many faithful remained like the little maiden of Israel captured by Naaman, the Syrian. But these people set their hearts on doing what was right and paid a high price.

There is a spirit in the people who left their homes which is the core of the Christian life. The world is a dark and wicked place growing darker each day. What the Lord needs to see are the spirits of the faithful who are setting their hearts to seek the Lord God – regardless of the cost. There was no question where their loyalties belonged. No one could deny the faith of those who left their homes. What did their neighbors say when they heard they were leaving? Were they laughed at, mocked, and ridiculed for leaving their northern homes? It did not matter because they had set their hearts on seeking God.

I must set my heart to seek the Lord. Nothing else matters. If I lose my job because I have set my heart, praise God. When times of trouble arise, and I must make a decision, mine will be to set my heart on the Lord. If the Lord requires me to give up all I have and give to the poor to follow Him, I set my heart to seek the Lord. Nothing stands in the way of my seeking the Lord because my heart is set – period. Face to the wind. Courage in my heart. Standing fast with the Lord God Almighty. My heart is set.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. (Luke 5:4-7)

Fill Your Life With Jesus

Commercial fishing can be exasperating when the family’s livelihood depends upon success. From the beginning of the world, men have found ways to catch the creatures of rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans with great success. Four of the apostles of Jesus were commercial fishermen. One day when Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, casting a net into the sea. Nearby were James and John, mending their nets in their father’s boat. Peter and Andrew were in partnership with Zebedee, the father of James, and John, who also had hired men working for him. Calling the four men to His ministry, Peter, Andrew, James, and John became early disciples of the Lord and then called to be apostles.

Multitudes thronged to Jesus to hear Him teach about the Father. Coming to the Sea of Galilee, Jesus sat down in one of Simon Peter’s boats and taught the people. After Jesus taught the multitude, He told Peter to launch into the deep and let down his nets for a catch. The night before, the fishermen had toiled all night unsuccessfully, and Peter told Jesus of their empty nets. Obedient to the voice of Jesus, the fishermen launched into the deep to set their nets. What happened next astonished the seasoned fishermen.

As the nets were put into the sea, a great many fish filled the nets. There were so many fish the nets began to break. Calling to James and John, and the other fishermen, Peter struggled to bring the nets into the boat. The catch of fish was so large the boats were sinking. This was a miracle that stunned the fishermen. Peter recognized he was in the presence of deity. The night before, the fishermen worked all night without any fish. When Jesus came into the picture, their boats nearly sank for the weight of the abundance of fish.

The Holy Spirit records the miracles of Jesus to prove the man from Nazareth is the Son of God. When the fishermen saw the incredible catch of fish, they could see the power of God. There was a more subtle lesson that is taken from the efforts of the fishermen the night before and how things change when Jesus comes into the story. Fishing is a tedious and arduous job, often leading to empty nets, as the fishermen experienced that night. The labors of men are empty and fruitless when they try to fill their lives through their own wisdom. Men strive through the darkness of the night to find happiness, joy, satisfaction, and answers to life. As the morning breaks, they find empty nets without answers. All the strivings of men will be fruitless. It is not in man to know how to find real joy.

Lives change when Jesus is accepted into the will of man. Everything changes. What was an empty night of fishing becomes an overflowing catch of blessings. Jesus could have filled the nets with a few fish to satisfy the work of the fishermen, but the catch was so great the boats began to sink. The blessings of God do not come in small measure but overflowing. Putting the word of God into the heart does not make a man religious; it fills him with the glory and power of God. Intimately knowing the Jesus of scripture will change the life of the one who allows the blessings of God to flow through him.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who fish all night without Jesus and those who come to the Son of God for salvation and find blessings overflowing. The grace and mercy of God are not given in small portions. It breaks the boat. Trying to find happiness apart from God will always fail. Believing Jesus is the Son of God and asking for His power to work in your life will change everything. The blessings will overflow. And then eternity comes, and those blessings will never end. Who are you fishing with?

Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:10-11)

I Have Power

Pontius Pilate was Judaea’s sixth Roman procurator (governor), appointed in Tiberius Caesar’s 12th year (A.D. 25 or 26). As the procurator, Pilate acted as a collector of revenue and judge in cases arising under it. He also had full military and judicial authority in the region and, like many Roman leaders, carried out his authority ruthlessly. Pilate angered the Jews when he brought the Roman standards with the emperor’s image to Jerusalem. Tiberius made him remove them. In his palace in Jerusalem, Pilate hung gilt shields with the names of idol gods on them. When Pilate took the Corban revenue of the Jews to build an aqueduct, the Jews rioted. Pilate sent in soldiers with concealed daggers, killing many of the rioters. Jesus refers to an incident where Pilate killed many Galileans while they were conducting sacrifices.

The Jewish leadership sought to bring Jesus before the Roman authorities to have Him killed. When Judas agreed to betray Jesus, the Jews found their time. Jesus was arrested and brought before the Jewish Council and then to Pilate. They caused a riot to have Pilate declare Jesus guilty and sentence Him to death. After Pilate had his soldiers scourge Jesus and beat Him, Jesus came out wearing the purple robe the soldiers put on Him along with a crown of thorns so that Pilate could present Jesus to the crowd. Pilate thought that might satisfy the crowd because he had found no fault in Jesus. The governor became upset when the crowd shouted to Pilate that Jesus considered Himself to be the Son of God. He returns to Jesus, asking Him where He was from. Jesus did not answer. This angered Pilate, who screamed at Jesus that he had the power to release Him or kill Him.

Bloodied, beaten, barely able to stand, and weakened by the scourging, Jesus looked into the face of Pilate and told him he had no power but what was given to Him by God. The only reason the Son of God stood before Pilate, nearly beaten to death, was because God allowed this to be done. Jesus knew what He was suffering was the will of His Father. He endured all of the beatings, scourging, and crucifixion because He understood before time began this was His sacrifice. Pilate was nothing more than a pawn in the scheme of God’s redemptive plan to save the world, yet Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, thought he had all the power. He had nothing.

The angels of heaven must look down upon mankind with an eternal sense of dismay. Men will exalt themselves in pride because of the arrogant power they think they possess. Despots have risen over the eons of history, trying to conquer the world and, without exception – failed. The Roman Empire is the greatest manmade dominion to exist on the face of the earth, but it was only a part of the fullness of time to show the greatest power on earth – Jesus Christ. Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, the Japanese Empire, Saddam Hussein, and an endless list of leaders tried to rule the world and found the common denominator: death. All men who seek power fail.

God gives power and takes away power. He raises nations and brings them down. If God has a name for every star in the heavens and can hold the universe in the palm of His hand, what is man? Pilate stood before the Son of God, bragging about his power. When Pilate died, he came face to face with the One who had all power. You may not be the leader of a great country but if you think you have the power in your life, talk to Pilate. Refusing God does not make God go away. All men will stand before the only One with all the power and authority. And that person is not you or me.

Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. (Colossians 3:9-10)

The New Man

At the beginning of each year, resolutions are made to become a better person in the next year than one in the previous year. Much of this cultural awareness comes from the awareness of time, twelve months, and each passing year. December 31 and January 1 are never different in their composition than any other day, but the acuity of what these dates represent brings out renewed feelings of change and resolve. Losing weight and getting in shape is at the top of the resolutions list. What is a gym in January becomes a donut shop in February. Quitting bad habits, getting out of debt, and traveling are common themes for the new year.

Using the change of year as a motivation to improve life is a noble aspiration. Like losing weight, most have to do with the physical and temporary. Diets are quickly forgotten. The determined spirit of January 1 gives way to the rhythm of life in March and April. Life finds a steady path of doing what has always been done. In reality, few people make spiritual goals the priority of their lives. There are many good and noble resolutions, but they all focus on short-term goals that will all fade away. Establishing good habits in the relationship with God will have eternal consequences.

Paul wrote about having goals in life. He reminds the saints at Philippi to seek after the new man. As people of God seek the higher calling of Christ, the Christian changes his mind to be more like Christ. Many things need to be taken out of life. Starting a new year must begin with removing harmful things before any good things can succeed. Sexual immorality, desiring money and things of this world, anger, and filthy language are some of the traits Paul says need to be taken away. It will be impossible to fill the heart with the spirit of God if these things persist in life. Lying to one another is sinful and must be taken away. The first resolution is to get rid of those things that are harmful.

The new man in Christ renews himself in the Spirit of God. When those things that harm are taken away, the void must be filled with kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, and forgiveness (to name a few). A new man is someone who is new. What makes them new is the new things they put into their lives. Instead of the old ways of living, the Christian seeks to renew himself as a new man with new things to show the world the newness of Christ. This takes time to process all the wrong things and implant the good ones. Changing from old to new is not easy, but the rewards are eternal.

Seeking the things above will make a marriage better. Wives and husbands are becoming new in Christ. Children renew their spirits to be obedient to their parents. Fathers become a new man to guide the home in the covenant of godliness. Employees and employers are better at showing the world how the Christian is a new man. The world sees a bright light shining in a dark world. A new man prays a lot. They walk in wisdom, redeeming the time. Their speech is seasoned with grace. The new man is evident to all. If you want to have one single resolution for the new year, resolve to be a new man in Christ. The rewards will be found in your example before others and your faith before God. Be a new man.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Called According To His Purpose

The grace of God is an unfathomable blessing of divine love to a creature that merits nothing worthy of salvation. There is a complete absence of worth for what man has done against God. Everything man needed was provided for him without measure, and he turned his back on God and screamed in the face of the Divine with his rebellious heart. The hatred and anger of humanity became so great they joyfully murdered an innocent man who went about doing good. Jesus was a man who lived for more than thirty years in sinless perfection. He was not a good man – He was a perfect man. Because of the nature of sin, His countrymen had Him murdered by the Romans. God watched His Son die and did the greatest act of love known to man – He did nothing.

Before the creation of the world, the Father knew what the Son must do. Throughout the history of time, God’s plan began to unfold in its eternal beauty. Jesus dying on the cross accomplished something that God desired and longed for. The Father wanted to call His children to Himself, so His children could show the world His grace. Jesus being murdered by His kinsmen was not a mistake but a divine plan. Through the death of Jesus, God would call the faithful to Him and give them a purpose in life. The joy of the early church was found in the hearts of the disciples who experienced the message of hope found in Jesus Christ. Those who came to the gospel of Christ found their calling and purpose.

A Christian is called by God to be special. Through the adoption in Christ, a sinner can be cleansed and set before the Father as holy. All those who hear the word of the gospel and believe its message find a need to change their lives. With penitent hearts, men will confess the need for the blood of Jesus Christ and do whatever the Lord tells them to do. In the waters of baptism alone will the blood of Jesus wash away sins, and the lost sinner will become a saint of God. The calling of grace is completed in the Christian. By grace is a man saved through the obedience of the gospel.

There are two things the Christian must never forget about the grace of God. A Christian is a called being created for a purpose. To be called by God is to know that salvation comes from Him alone. The Lord calls people to come to Him. Most people hear the call and refuse to obey. Those who hear the call and obey have been called to a purpose. It is not the design of eternal salvation to save a man, and that is all. Man was created for God’s glory, and the Christian was created to show the glory of God’s grace. Christians are called and purposed.

When Christians realize God calls them, a weight of thankfulness and responsibility should come over them. There is much to be thankful for in the grace of God. But that grace should not become empty. A Christian is called out, called up, and called to God’s grace to show the Divine’s glory in their lives. Each day is a purposed life to show their calling. A life without purpose is a wasted life. Living for God with an eternal purpose is a life filled with hope, joy, love, forgiveness, and grace. Christians are called to live before the world as purpose-driven souls who have been saved by the grace of God. Remember your calling. Find your purpose. You were called for a purpose.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (Romans 8:26)

I Need Help

Prayer is the privilege of approaching the Almighty God and Father and seeking petitions from His storehouse of blessings. It is impossible to receive anything from the Lord with an arrogant or prideful heart. Asking for forgiveness will not be granted if a man is unwilling to forgive another. Prayer requires faith. Persistence is the jewel of prayer. God has opened the door of His divine presence, allowing His creation’s feeble attempts to speak with Him. Prayer is an incredible avenue of grace because everyone needs the blessings of God.

The challenge of prayer is how to speak to someone so infinitely great. How does an atomic size creature stand in the presence of the one who can hold the universe (known and unknown) in the palm of His hand? The wisdom of God is so vast He knows how much water exists on earth and the amount of dust in the world. God knows the hearts of every living being on the planet – at the same time. Before the world was created, God was. By the power of the spoken word, the Lord God formed the world and all that is in it. God sent His only beloved Son to show His power through miracles: healing all disease, casting out demons, raising the dead, walking on water, and coming out of the grave after three days, never to die again. This is the God a man seeks to pray before and ask anything!

Prayer is simple, but it is complex. God has given man the promises of His divine word, and men seek to petition the Lord from these promises. Prayer is pleading the promises of God. The Father will not grant what He has not promised. As man prepares to pray, he stands before the throne of the Almighty and seeks to find words to express his heart. Prayer cannot be accomplished by the will of man alone. Through grace, God has afforded the Holy Spirit to intercede for the frailties of the human spirit. Prayer demonstrates that man cannot save himself and desperately needs help.

The Holy Spirit is given to all who obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. He dwells in the child of God through the Father’s love to help His children speak to Him. When a man seeks to pray to the Father, the Holy Spirit helps to guide and focus the petitions to the Heavenly Father. How the manifestation of prayer is conducted before the Father is beyond the mind of man. Prayer is a reminder of the human spirit’s need for and dependence upon the Divine. The Holy Spirit reminds man he needs help in talking to God.

Learning to pray is a vital part of the Christian experience. A deep and personal prayer life comes from years of experience of seeking the will of God through a study of the word and a trust in the manner God answers prayer. Using prayer as a vending machine in a time of need is not prayer. A constant presence of prayer in the heart draws a man closer to the Father and helps him enjoy a greater relationship with the Holy Spirit. Prayer shows a man his need for help in matters eternal. One of the great blessings of being a child of God is who our Father is. He gave His Son to die for us. And He also gave us the Holy Spirit to help us. What a three-fold blessing of being a child of God. I need help. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul eyed David from that day forward. (1 Samuel 18:8-9)

The Poison Of Jealousy

Israel had the greatest army in the world, and it was under the leadership of King Saul. From the beginning of the nation at Mount Sinai, the army of Israel was victorious in almost all of its battles. Only one battle was lost during the wilderness wanderings, and then the travesty of Ai. Saul had a small army compared to the Philistines, but God was on the side of Israel. Nothing could stop the army of Israel.

The Philistines gathered their armies together to battle around the valley of Elah. Saul positioned his army before the great Philistine force in battle array. A champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath. He was a giant of a man in size and spirit. Every day for forty days, Goliath would stand before the army of Israel, spewing out curses and threats. Morning and evening, the Philistine challenged anyone in the army of Israel to fight him. When Saul and all of Israel heard about Goliath, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. No one had the courage to face Goliath.

A shepherd boy named David brought food to his brothers, who were among the frightened soldiers of Israel. When David heard the threats of Goliath, he wanted to know why someone had not killed the profaner of the Lord God. His brothers chastised him, and King Saul discouraged the young man not to face Goliath, for it was certain death. David went before Goliath in the name of the Lord and killed the great giant. Israel had a great victory that day at the hand of a shepherd boy who believed in the power of God.

After the defeat of Goliath, Saul enlisted David into his army and became one of the military leaders in the Israeli army. David went out wherever Saul sent him, having great success in his battles. The shepherd boy showed great wisdom in his fighting abilities, winning him many victories over the Philistines. When Saul set David over his men of war, it pleased the entire army and the people. Through the power of God, the Philistines were defeated through David’s leadership. As King of Israel, Saul should have enjoyed the victories gained by his young protégé, but there was a poison of jealousy that filled the heart of Saul.

When the army returned from its victories, the women came out of the cities singing of David’s victory over tens of thousands and Saul’s victories over thousands. Saul was very angry because the people ascribed tens of thousands to David but only thousands to the King. His heart became bitter. The poison of jealousy would drive the King to hate David. Saul would spend the rest of his life chasing David like a flea in the wilderness. His wrath was because David received more accolades than he did, and it infuriated him. Jealousy slowly began killing the heart of Saul.

The sad part of Saul’s jealousy was he could not see that thousands of God’s enemies were being defeated. Saul made a matter of numbers to be a matter of hatred. If David killed ten thousand and Saul killed one thousand, could not the King see that eleven thousand were defeated? Did it matter who received the credit? The truth came from the lips of Goliath when he defied the army of God. Goliath said, “Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul?” If Saul had dared to trust in God and fight the Philistines, Goliath would have realized the army belonged to the Lord God, not Saul. The jealousy of Saul destroyed him because he did not give glory to God.

It is easy to be consumed by jealousy. Preachers suffer from it, businessmen and women are consumed by it, and young people are pressured into conforming to the world to be accepted. God created man to show His glory in their lives in whatever abilities they have. The only man who was a perfect example of the glory of God was Jesus Christ, and He never was jealous of anyone. The Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus, and they killed him. Saul should have gloried in the life of David. Instead, he allowed jealousy to destroy his life and good name.

For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Argue With God, Not Man

The longest argument in the history of man is the history of man and the word of God. No debate can match the thousands of years of argumentation against and for what God says and what He does not say. The devil is the one who began the debate when he deceived Eve. In the days of Noah, all but eight argued against the word of God. Those who opposed the word of God died, and the eight righteous souls who accepted the word of God lived.

Noah preached to a world filled with wickedness. His preaching was based on righteousness, holiness, and the judgment to come. Moved by godly fear, Noah prepared an ark for the saving of his household. The rest of the world laughed and mocked him and denied the word of God. When the Lord shut the door of the ark, and the water came, everyone believed in the word of the Lord. Sadly, it was too late for those who perished, but they knew their argument with Noah was against God.

When Jesus came to earth, He testified to the word of His Father. He constantly reminded the people the words He spoke were not His own but from the One who had all power and authority. The miracles of Jesus affirmed He spoke in the Father’s name. When the Jewish leaders rejected the teaching of Jesus, the Lord reminded them they rejected not Him but the Father. Everything Jesus said was true because it was the word given to Him by His Father. Rejecting the teaching of Jesus was to reject the word of the Divine. Killing Jesus on the cross was the final demonstration of how far men will go to deny the word of God. But then Sunday came, and the world shuttered. The Word arose from the dead.

Through the divine providence of the Holy Spirit, the Bible has come into existence to guide men into all truth. The Bible’s purpose is to open God’s mind to the hearts of men. Contained with all of its pages, the Bible unfolds the plan of redemption promised in the garden of Eden and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The early church was established on the word of God. Letters and books form the canon of the new covenant written down so that men could read and understand the will of God. Paul commended the saints at Thessalonica because when the word was preached to them, they accepted it as the word of God, not the word of men. The Bereans may have been more noble than those at Thessalonica at one time, but there is no book of the Bereans preserved.

Religious division is rampant among those who profess to follow Christ. Multiple churches abound with different doctrines, practices, beliefs, and names. For some, unity is found in the diversity of churches, but this is against the prayer of Jesus, who sought for all men to be one. The reason religious division exists is that few men see the word of God as divine authority. They follow the words of men rather than what is plainly written in the Bible. God did not craft a book that is hard to understand and follow, yet human wisdom has denied the power of God’s word.

The only time there will be religious unity is when the Bible is accepted as the word of God. When men argue about the doctrines of the Bible, they must realize they are arguing against God. This is an argument that cannot be won. All the reasons and excuses were given in the days of Noah to view the coming flood as a myth. But those who saw God’s word as a myth, ‘mythed’ the boat and died. Let all men be liars, and God be true. His Word is His word. Deny His word and you die.