Tag: I will be their God

51.w. Wilderness – 16.b. “Be Holy in all things”

 

 

Deu 23:14  Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

 Genesis 17:1     When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,

 2 Corinthians 6:16     What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

When our heart deep purpose is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do, our awareness of the presence of God becomes a beacon of light that reveals right from wrong, good from bad, holy from unholy, pure from impure, and that which pleases God from that which does not. 

How are we to know what is right, good, holy, pure, and pleases God? Being able to understand this and apply it in our lives is a life long maturing growth (being sanctified) in our knowledge and understanding of His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Neglecting time in His Word stops all growth and maturing. How are we to honor and glorify Jesus Christ if we do not know what pleases God and what does not? 

It all comes down to an intentional choice to honor and glorify Jesus ever second from when we awake to when we sleep. If this is our desire above all else we will cherish time in His Word, study it, and apply it.  We will hunger and thirst for it. We will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. We will be aware of God’s continual presence. We will grow and mature in our knowledge, understanding, and application of it in our lives. 

There is so much to distract us from living in the aware-presence of God. When our minds are being consumed by the mindless and meaningless is exactly what Satan wants. Satan wants to fill your life so full that God is all but forgotten throughout the day and he wants you to be satisfied like that. 

There are Christian radio stations that play heart felt music that worships and praises God. I think this is good but it does not and should not replace a single minute in God’s Word. There are stations that have various ministries proclaiming God’s Word. I think this is good and allows us to hear God’s Word proclaimed and explained. There are those who proclaim it and teach it well and those that fluff around the edges of holiness. However, having your own time in God’s Word will never be wasted. You will find that studying and reading God’s Word each day will have some connection to what you will hear being proclaimed through radio ministries. I once told a friend of mine, ‘it is good to hear what God is saying to and through these radio ministry pastors, however nothing is as good as having the Holy Spirit lead you into a new truth through your own time in His Word.” 

8.p. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Isaiah 65:17-19    “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.  But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.  I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.

2 Peter 3:13     But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

John 14:23    Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Ezekiel 37:27    My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

We hear people speak of heaven as the final resting place of those who die.  This is true for those who believe, (rely on, cling to, and trust in) repent, (acknowledge and turn away from their sinful nature) and by faith live with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength committed to obey, follow, and humbly serve to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all they think, do, and say.  What is not going to ring true is the thoughts of many who live shallow lives, giving no more than a passing thought, if that, about what it means to humbly serve, honor, follow, trust, and obey Jesus Christ each moment of every day.  Their hearts and minds, have been seduced by lies of this world into believing they are good enough and as such have done what is required to “deserve” eternal life in the “New Heaven and New Earth”.  They do not see that they have all but taken the “Mark of the Beast” in how they live, think, and follow the ways of this world.  They have adopted it into their make-believe “Christian” lives as what they believe it means is to be a “Christian”. There is no difference in their heart.  There is no desire and seeking to hear the whispers of God speak into and lead them through each day.  They may know of Him but they certainly do not know Him as savior, redeemer, and forgiver of their sins in a personal and heart and soul-deep way.  The New Heaven and New Earth are not prepared for these.  The New Heaven and New Earth are prepared for those who believe and anticipate it’s coming with expectant and rejoicing heart, mind, and soul.  It is prepared for those who long for the return of Jesus Christ with a humble, grateful, and thankful heart and an end to sin in both their heart and the world.

15. So that we are distinct

Exodus 33:14  And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

Numbers 14:14    They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people.

Exodus 19:5-6    Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;  and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

Deuteronomy 4:7    For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?

1 Kings 8:53     For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage,

2Corinthians 6:16  What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,  and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Proverbs 9:6     Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Acts 2:40    And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

My presence will go with you, so that we are distinct, treasured possession, separate, speak of the difference in the lives of those who live for God. 

His presence will be with them; “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love”, “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

His people will be distinct;  “I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” “declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” “ that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”