The Deep Things of God

165.05-19-12AboutJesus18.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

God promised to  give Abraham’s descendants a land that would be theirs. The Lord called Abraham and his father to go 1200 miles to the land He was going to give them. They went 600 miles to Haran in Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Terah, his father, became enamored with the pleasures of sin, remained there, and ended up as an idolater. God called again and this time Abraham took his family and flocks and went the last 600 miles to the land God had promised. It was 400 years later his descendants came from Egypt and possessed part of that land. King David, who lived 1000 years after Abraham, was able to subdue most the land. Because of their sins, Israel lost control of it  about 500 years after David’s reign. But God’s promise was a solemn covenant and when Christ comes again, the promise will be fully realized. I may die before Jesus  returns, but if I do, like the heroes of faith of Hebrews 11, I will die believing God will honor that promise.

164.05-12-12AboutJesus17.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

Abraham believed that whatever God told him was absolutely true—and he was to act on it immediately.  The directions God gave him included making a 600-mile trip on a donkey (maybe) and all the rest of his entourage on foot, driving livestock before them. Since God sent him on this journey, Abraham believed God would provide food, water and protect them from robbers. God did just that. When he arrived at his destination—Canaan—God promised to give the land to his descendents. Then God gave Abraham the ultimate test: offer up your only son Isaac as a  sacrifice to God. Is this the price of serving God? What was God thinking? What was Abraham thinking? This lesson discusses these questions.

163.05-05-12AboutJesus16.mp3

Why the elaborate Old Testament tabernacle/temple and rituals of worship? What did all this mean? Why didn’t God the Father send His Son, Jesus, in Abraham’s day, Moses’ day, or David’s day? Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5 tell us that Jesus came in “the fullness of time.” What does that mean? The book of Hebrews tells us clearly that Jesus not only died on behalf of contemporary sinners of His day, for future sinners, but also for Old Testament sinners who had faith in the word of God and obeyed it. This lesson has the answers to those several questions.

162.04-28-12AboutJesus15.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

Before looking at the anonymous New Testament book of Hebrews written before 200 AD, there are a couple of questions to consider. First question: Is the study of the Old Testament pertinent for us today? In light of the slaughter of thousands of  Canaanites by Israel under the leadership of Joshua as recorded in the Old Testament, are we right in asking this second question: Is the God of the Old Testament the same as the God of the New Testament? This lesson answers both those questions.

161.04-21-12AboutJesus14.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

The book written to the Hebrews by an unknown author and found in the New Testament  talks about the religious practices of the Israelites in the Old Testament. Their priests and high priest were all members of the tribe of Levi. The high priest met God in the Holy of Holies once a year. He took in blood from a sacrifice and asked that the sins of Israel be forgiven. The New Testament (or New Covenant) has a High Priest, too, He is from the tribe of Judah, the family that produced all the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah.  Christians are spoken of as “a royal priesthood” because Christians are given the same privileges as the Old Testament priests, that of being involved in divine worship. The Christian’s High Priest  stands before God the Father. His name is Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

160.04-14-12AboutJesus13.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

To approach God, one must have a high priest. In the Old Testament, priests were descendents of Levi. Jesus is our High Priest, but He was not  a descendent of Levi; He was of the tribe of Judah. How does that work? The author of the book of Hebrews explains that a priest in the Old Testament whom Abraham knew, paid tithes to, and was blessed by him was not a descendent of Levi either.  Actually, Levi’s father, Jacob, was not yet born! The author says that man, Melchizedek by name, was greater than Abraham because the one who blesses is greater than the one blessed. The author also explains that a new high priest can (and was) appointed by God apart from the descendents of Levi—like Melchizedek and Jesus. When God does this, He is signaling a new covenant.

159.04.07-12Easter-Sovereignty.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

How do you describe Good Friday? Wonderful (because  of what Jesus did for us)? Horrible (because of the pain Jesus suffered for us)? Horrible (because God the Father had to watch His Son die by crucifixion)? Was that a very bad day for God? Did God lay aside His sovereignty on that day? He had power to stop it, but He didn’t! Why not?

158.03-31-12AboutJesus12.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

Some may question why Jesus is called a High Priest when He is not a Levite. Only the Levites could be priests and the high priest was appointed from among their number. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah—the tribe of kings. Jesus is far superior to the priests descended from Levi. The writer notes that Melchizedek was king of Salem and a high priest of the “Lord Most High,” yet he lived long before Levi was born. He too was not a Levite yet Abraham recognized him as a fellow believer and gave him a tenth of all the spoils he had just gained in a war with an alliance of pagan kings. Melchizedek illustrates the role Jesus played and continues to play on behalf of sinners. This lesson is based on Hebrew 6 and 7.

157.03-24-12AboutJesus11.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

This study is about a document prepared for some Jewish Christians who, prior to 200 AD, were stuck at the starting gate. The anonymous author issues a warning to those stumbling over the elementary principles of the faith and sticking with the status quo of being a baby Christian. He then tenderly explains how to leave Christian babyhood behind and mature. The key to this process is faith. He explains that the greatest ‘hero of the faith’ is not Moses, but another Old Testament figure whom we all should emulate, Abraham.

156.03-17-12AboutJesus10.mp3 – click here for mp3 audio

Hebrews chapter six is a difficult chapter to understand. Are the people ‘saved’ the writer is talking about? Who is ‘saved’? When is a person ‘saved’? When I get  ‘saved,’ do I have the ‘whole package’ all at once? Listen to this lesson and hear the word ‘saved’ unpacked biblically. You’ll find the writer of the book of Hebrews is both concerned and tender in his presentation of truth.