Bible Study WELCOME TO AN IN DEPTH STUDY OF MATTHEW'S GOSPEL.

[reba]

Over my 69 years i have noticed that what 'my eyes' see with my spirit.. has changed.. God is so good He gives us what we need when we need it.. Always exactly on time.. Praise the Lord i am not the same Christian today as i was in 1967...
Personal story:
My paternal grandmother was blind from birth.. as a child she could see some light through the darkness...... She would often say the first face i will ever see will be Jesus..

 

[Chopper]

Over my 69 years i have noticed that what 'my eyes' see with my spirit.. has changed.. God is so good He gives us what we need when we need it.. Always exactly on time.. Praise the Lord i am not the same Christian today as i was in 1967...
Personal story:
My paternal grandmother was blind from birth.. as a child she could see some light through the darkness...... She would often say the first face i will ever see will be Jesus..

O my, that's got to be a hard life to live. Was she a Christian?

 

[reba]

YES My grandpa was a minister.. as was daddy... and christian grand parents on Mom's side also.. I have been blessed.. Some one would pump the street organ cause mom was too small to reach the peddles at the age of 4 or so.. mom would be singing at street meetings in San Jose and the rest of the bay area..

 

[Chopper]

YES My grandpa was a minister.. as was daddy... and christian grand parents on Mom's side also.. I have been blessed.. Some one would pump the street organ cause mom was too small to reach the peddles at the age of 4 or so.. mom would be singing at street meetings in San Jose and the rest of the bay area..

O my, I wish that I had similar memories. My Mother was the only one in my background that was saved. That generation in the State of Maine, didn't broadcast their spiritual position. My Mother was a born again Methodist. She believed that you don't "bother" others about your belief's. That all changed when I got saved and graduated from Bible College. She was so proud of me, and became very vocal about her "Born Again Preacher". My Dad got saved later on.

As far as I know, my "born again" experience started a whole new line of Believers in Christ Jesus. As a result of Jennie (first Wife) and me, there are now 16 adults who are saved and love the Lord. My Great Grandchildren have an excellent path to Christianity.

 

[reba]

 

[Chopper]

 

[Chopper]

August 14, 2016 Matthew 21:1-11 Our Lord Jesus weeps.

This morning during my devotions, intercessory prayers, & Bible studies, I read this morning devotion by George H. Morrison. I'm sorry it's so long but it blessed my heart and I'd like to pass it on to my Bible Study friends. (This is by permission by e-Sword.)

The Tears of Jesus
Jesus wept— Joh_11:35
He beheld the city, and wept over it— Luk_19:41
Only Two Occasions of Jesus Weeping Are Recorded
There are but two occasions in the Gospels on which we light upon our Savior weeping; only two instances in which we see His tears. It is true that in the Epistle to the Hebrews we have a glimpse into the inner life of Christ, and there we read that He made supplication with tears and strong crying unto God. But into that interior life of prayer when Father and Son had fellowship together, we cannot enter, for it is holy ground. The point to observe is that in His recorded life we only hear of the tears of Jesus twice; once at the grave of a man who was His friend: once when Jerusalem lay spread out before Him. And both, not in the earlier days of youth when the human heart is susceptible and quivering, but in the later season when the cross was near. Goethe confesses in his autobiography that as he grew older he lost the power of tears, and there are many men who, as experience gathers, are conscious of a hardening like that. But our Savior, to the last moment that He lived, was quick and quivering to joy and sorrow, and His recorded tears are near the end. Never was He so conscious of His joy as in the closing season of His ministry; never did He speak so much about it nor so single it out as His most precious legacy. And so with weeping, which in the human heart is so often the other side of joy—it is under the shadow of His last days that it is recorded.
Both Weepings Prompted Not by Suffering,but by Divine Compassion
I am going to speak on the differences between these two Weepings; but first I ask you to observe one feature in which the two are beautifully kin. There are tears in the world, bitter and scalding tears, which are wrung out by personal affliction; tears of anguish, of intense corporeal anguish; tears caused by cruelty or mockery. And the point to be ever observed is that our Lord, though He suffered intensely in all such ways as that, never, so far as we read, was moved to tears. He was laughed to scorn—He of the sensitive heart—yet it is not then we read that Jesus wept. He was spat upon and scourged and crucified; but it is not then we light upon Him weeping. And even in the garden of Gethsemane where great drops were falling to the ground, drops which would have looked like tears to any prying child among the olives, Scripture tells us, as with a note of warning lest we should misinterpret what was happening there, that they were not tears, but drops of sweat and blood. The tears of our Lord were not wrung out by suffering, however intense and cruel it might be. On the only two occasions when we read of them they are the tears of a divine compassion. And whenever one thinks of that, one is impressed again with the wonder of the figure of the Christ, so infinitely pitiful and tenderhearted; so unswervingly and magnificently brave.
The First Tears Were Shed for the Individual, the Second for Many
Now if we take these two occasions on which the weeping of Jesus is recorded, and if, having found their common element, we go on to note the points on which they differ, what is the difference that first would arrest you? Well, I shall tell you what first impresses me. It is that the former tears were shed for one, and the latter tears were shed for many. Jesus wept beside the grave of Lazarus, for one single solitary friend; for a man who had loved Him with a great devotion and given Him always a welcome in his home. There is no such human touch in all the Gospels, nothing that so betrays the heart of Christ, as to be simply told that Jesus wept when He went out to stand before the grave of Lazarus. Here is a heart that has known the power of friendship, that has known the infinite solace of the one; a heart more deeply moved when that one dies than by all the cruelties which men can hurl at Him. And then, having learned of His infinite compassion for those who have had one heart to love and lose, we read that Jesus wept over the city. Picture Jerusalem on that Sunday morning, densely crowded for the Passover. Every house was full and every street was thronged; there were tens of thousands gathered there. And when our Lord, turning the crest of Olivet, saw before Him that crowded city, then like a summer tempest came His tears. Tears for the one; tears for the twice ten thousand: how typical is that of the Redeemer! Never was there a compassion so discriminative, and never a compassion so inclusive. Our separate sorrows—He understands them all, and our hours of solitary anguish by the grave; but not less the problem of the crowd. There are men who are full of sympathy for personal sorrows, but have never heard the crying of the multitude. There are men who hear the crying of the multitude, but have never been broken-hearted at the tomb. Christ has room for all and room for each. He loves the world with a divine compassion. And yet there is no one here who cannot say, "He loved me, and gave Himself for me."

Page 1

 

[Chopper]

Page 2.

Tears Shed for Death and for Life
The next difference which impresses me is this—and it is a suggestive and profound distinction—it is that the former tears were shed for death, and the latter tears were shed for life. There was something in the death of Lazarus which made a profound impression upon Christ. He was troubled; He groaned in spirit; He wept. Often He had been face to face with death before, with death in some of its most tragic aspects. He had looked on the still, cold face of Jairus' daughter, and had seen the anguish of the widow of Nain. Yet it is only now, upon the road at Bethany, that we see the storm and passion of His soul when faced by the awful ravages of death. Nobody ever fathoms all that death means until its hand has knocked upon his door. It is when someone whom we have loved is taken that we understand its meaning and its misery. And Christ, being tempted like as we are, felt the anguish of it in His soul with intensity. Death had come home to Him—attacked Him at close quarters—carried one of the bastions of His being. How utterly cruel was the last great enemy. The Lord groaned in spirit and was troubled: a storm of passion swept across His soul. He wept for all that death had done and all that death was doing in the world. And so these tears of His are sacramental of all the sorrow of the aching heart when the place is empty, and the grave is tenanted, and the familiar voice is silent.
Now with that dark and dreary scene will you for a moment contrast the other scene? It is a city shimmering in beauty under the radiance of a Sunday morning. Children are playing in the marketplace; women are singing as they rock the cradle; men are at business and regiments are marching—there is movement and there is music everywhere. Friends are meeting who have not met for years for Passover was the great season of reunion, and eyes are bright and hearts are beating bravely in the gladness of these old ties reknit. Out on the Bethany road there had been death; here in the teeming city there was life; life in the crowd—life in the marching soldiery—life in the little children romping merrily; life everywhere, in the indistinguishable murmur which rises where there are ten thousand people who have waked in the sunshine of another morning to the traffic and the concourse of the day. It was all that which swept into the gaze of Christ, and it was that which swept into the heart of Christ that Sunday morning when from the brow of Olivet He looked across the valley to Jerusalem. As a lad of twelve He had looked, and looking wondered, with all the thrilling expectancy of boyhood. Now we read that He looked, and looking, wept. They were not tears for death, but tears for life; tears of divine compassion for the living; tears for the might-have-been—the vanity—the awful judgment that was yet to be; tears for the living who have gone astray and who are hungering for peace and have missed it and who have had their opportunity and failed. There is a sorrow for the dead which may be intense and very tragical. It may wither every flower across the meadow and take all the summer sunshine from the sky. But there is a sorrow deeper than sorrow for the dead—it is the sorrow for the living; and it is much to know that Jesus understood it. The bitterest sorrow has no grave to stand at, no sepulchre to adorn with opening flowers; the bitterest sorrow wears no garb of mourning, and receives no beautiful letters by the post. The bitterest sorrow does not spring from death; it springs from that mystery which we call life; and Jesus felt it to His depths. Thou who art mourning for the dead, for thee there is Jesus by the grave of Lazarus. Thou who art mourning for the living, for thee also is that same compassion. He understands it all. He shares it. Like a great tide it flowed upon Him once, when in the morning from the brow of Olivet, He looked upon Jerusalem and wept.
Tears Others Shared in and Tears None Could Understand
I close by pointing out one other difference that stands out very clearly in the Scripture. The former tears were such as others shared in; the latter were tears that no one understood. Read that chapter in the Gospel of John again, and you find that Christ was not alone in weeping. Martha and Mary were there, and they were weeping also, and the Jews who had known Lazarus and loved him. There was a kinship in a common sorrow there, a fellow feeling which united hearts, a sense of common loss and ache and loneliness. Now turn to the other scene, and what a difference! It is a pageantry of enthusiastic gladness. The cry goes ringing along the country road, "Hosanna to the Son of David." And it is amid these shouting voices of men beside themselves with wild enthusiasm that the Scripture tells us Jesus wept. At the grave of Lazarus many an eye was wet. Here every eye was dancing with excitement. No one was weeping here; nobody thought of weeping; it was the triumph of the Lord—Hosanna! And all alone, amid that welcoming tumult, in a grief which nobody could pierce or penetrate, the tears came welling from our Savior's eyes. In this our mortal life there are common griefs, touches of nature which make the whole world kin. But how endlessly true is the old saying of Scripture that the heart knoweth its own bitterness. And in those bitternesses which words can never utter and which lie too deep for any human help, what a comfort to know that our Savior understands! In all the common sorrows of humanity He is our Brother, and He weeps with us. He stands beside the grave of Lazarus still, clothed in the beauty of His resurrection. But in that lonely unutterable sorrow, which is the price and the penalty of personality, we may be sure He understands us also.

 

[brother Paul]

Lovely Chopper! Absolutely beautiful. Thanks! In my experience here in what seems like the liberal/skeptical/intellectual hub of America, so many miss the precious heart of God. Many only seem to see either cold calculated predetermined manipulations of an ever oppressive God or an imaginary invented tool to oppress the masses. These forums often provide a cool drink in the arid desert. Thanks again....

 

[Chopper]

Lovely Chopper! Absolutely beautiful. Thanks! In my experience here in what seems like the liberal/skeptical/intellectual hub of America, so many miss the precious heart of God. Many only seem to see either cold calculated predetermined manipulations of an ever oppressive God or an imaginary invented tool to oppress the masses. These forums often provide a cool drink in the arid desert. Thanks again....

Thank you my friend. I'm glad that you were blessed as I was, reading about the tears of our Savior Christ Jesus. I so much desire to be lost in a spiritual fellowship with our Master. At times, I wonder about the amount of time that Jesus spent alone with His Father on a nearby mountain in fellowship and prayer. I long for times like that. The several hours each morning that I spend with Elohim, never seem long enough before the duties of the day beckon my attention.

Massachusetts could be a twin to where you live, and my thoughts of the New Jerusalem where there will be a great reward for you and me who struggle to make any sense of our surroundings, produce a spiritual longing in our souls that speak of "even so Lord Jesus, come."

 

[brother Paul]

You guessed it...I live in a low income area between MIT and Harvard...but the Lord has given me much for the battle in love and knowledge

 

[Tony Hyman]

I hope you folks don't mind if I hop on this bus as well.I think I will sit next to Reba and copy her homework.Just Kidding!
As usual I was reading up on the reason why the aspect of Genealogy or Pedigree is laid out as it is in Matthew and Luke .It must be born in mind that Matthew was/is writing to a Jewish audience .A Jew convincing other Jews at that time that Christ is the promised Messiah as prophesied in the O.T.The writing of a persons pedigree was of utmost importance to a Jew almost like a CV today. William Barkley explains further"It might seem to a modern reader that Matthew chose an extraordinary way in which to begin his gospel...But to a Jew this was the most natural, way to begin the story of any man's life.The Jews were exceedingly interested in genealogies.Matthew calls this the book of the generation(biblos geneseos) of Jesus Christ.That to the Jews was a common phrase...This may seem to us an uninteresting passage , but to the Jew it would be a most impressive matter that the pedigree of Jesus could be traced back to Abraham."(Barclay .Gospel of Matthew Vol 1 p 2)
Another interesting aspect is the arrangement of the name list and its purpose "It is arranged in three groups of fourteen people each.It is on fact what is technically known as a mnemonic, that is to say a thing so arranged that it is easy to memoriize....the gospels were composed and written hundreds of years before ...a printed book...The Hebrews did not possess any separate signs for figures;the letters of the alphabet served for figures as well...A to mean 1...B to mean 2 and so on.Now the consonants of the name David in Hebrew are D W D.In Hebrew D stands for 4 and W stands for 6; therefore D W D stands for 4+6+4, which adds up to 14.This genealogy is meant to prove that Jesus was the son of David,and it is so arranged as to make it easy for people to memorize it , and carry it in their memories."(Ibid)
I cant see myself trying to memorize all these names and sums,so I will just have to miss the bus when genealogy classes crop up again.

 

[Chopper]

September 30, 2016 Matthew 21:12,13 Our Temples need the Lord's Cleansing.

I'm sorry folks for the long time between my sending these teachings. I've had a lot of physical & mental difficulties. I've had a bunch of tests run, some meds changed, and am doing much better now.

Rather than teach solely on Jesus' activities cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem, I thought this would be a good place for us to consider the Temple where the Holy Spirit resides presently. One of my Professors at Bible College once said, "God won't put sugar in a garbage can". That's funny but true! There's not one of us who doesn't need to pause and reflect on what our wonderful saving God sees when He looks into our hearts which is in the Holy of Holies of our hearts.

First of all, this verse of David in the Psalms is what I feel is needed to embark on this journey of cleansing our own Temples....
Psalm 139:23 "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

At this point, lets all take this weekend to pray, even fast, and commit to times of searching out sins in our lives, confession and repentance, and I'm quite sure that some of us will rejoice over a time of refreshing.

I'll return on Monday. Is it October already?

 

[brother Paul]

Thanks so much my brother...as I see each day the line being dawn between the sheep and the goats I am hard pressed to never forget the goatness of my own flesh and that those who thrive there know not what they do....Yes...a weekend of prayer and contemplation would be good (with thanksgiving)! I'm in...check back on Monday...

 

[Chopper]

Thanks so much my brother...as I see each day the line being dawn between the sheep and the goats I am hard pressed to never forget the goatness of my own flesh and that those who thrive there know not what they do....Yes...a weekend of prayer and contemplation would be good (with thanksgiving)! I'm in...check back on Monday...

Thank you so very much, my special friend Brother Paul. I'm very sure that my words were inspired by the Holy Spirit. I would not have thought to word it the way I did. He's up to something good.

 

[brother Paul]

All the time...and all the time, He's up to good....(LOL) be blessed!

 

[eddif]

Good to have you back.


Revelation 21:22 KJV
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

This is not to cause contention.

The physical temple had its day. What aspects are still with us, I do not totally know.

Revelation 3:20 places the potential for a real close personal relationship with the Spirit of God.

There is also a general relationship of his people.

Corinthians 6:11 KJV
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

As some sort of body part I just present these thoughts.

eddif

 

[Chopper]

Good morning my special Bible Study Friends. Thank you eddif, it's good to be back in the Study. For those of you who have been praying for me, I give you thanks in Jesus' Name. Thank you Brother Paul, for joining with me on this very important mission.

Our theme for this study is this Scripture....Psalm 139:23 "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

I would not ask you, my friends, to do something that I would not do. This morning, during my Bible study, devotions, and prayer, I believe that the Holy Spirit showed me that I had a lack of "The Fear of God". I was reminded of....Exodus 20:20 "And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not."

As a start of my study on the fear of God, this Scripture tells me that I should fear sinning against my Holy, Holy Heavenly Father. That's a good place to start my study....Has anyone else found something in your heart that you'd like to share? Remember, our discovery of sin, and our getting it right before God, just might encourage someone else to do the same.

See you all on Monday.

 

[smaller]

We fear God precisely because we are sinners. There is zero question or should be no question to any believer that we are factual sinners.

Will a search of our hearts find wickedness? Not even a legitimate question about that fact is there? Beyond any doubt, this is in the package of "us" all.

Romans 7:21
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

And this alone will cause us to quite rightfully fear God. Because we have reason to fear. I'd fear more of being a liar about this matter. Who do we think we're fooling by claiming otherwise? God? Ourselves?

Hebrews 4:13
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

The man in Luke 18, whom God heard and justified, was the man who was honest and exposed before his Maker:

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The short lesson on this is God really isn't interested in hearing from liars. He IS however interested in His Own Mercy. People who think they are not in "ever present" need of Mercy are perhaps not in need of God to start with.

God demands His Mercy.

So, what did MATTHEW record from Jesus about His Mercy?

Matthew 9:13
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Anyone who thinks they stand, righteous and justified before our Maker, knowing they have evil present with them, has no idea about God.

We all stand as sinners, with evil present with us. No person needs proof of this. All they have to do is to examine their own thoughts. They WILL find evil present with them. And this shows us our need of His Mercy. There is no other option available, but His Mercy. And who could ask for more than THAT?

Gods Mercy is a matter of Him, of His Eternal Value in giving His Mercy to us in Christ.

Will His Mercy lead us to conclude that we are not sinners in need of same? I'd think NOT. None of us would even be here without His Mercy. It is the power of evil that kills us, and the power His Mercy that raised us up from the dust to HOPE in same.

Psalm 32:10
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

Psalm 33:18
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

Yes, God scares the living hell out of me. Because I have evil present with me. So much so that my soul is shaken to it's core.

But in this penetrating deeply disturbing FEAR, He has given me the far more valuable, the HOPE of His Eternal Mercy, in Christ.

 

[Chopper]

Thank you my friend for this truthful instruction on fear of God. That has awakened a more urgent search into the depths of my heart for what doesn't like the searchlight of the Holy Spirit. For some reason, certain sins demand to be left alone. I believe that that stubborn sin must be found out and exposed, confessed and repented of. It is then that a holy praise and thanksgiving can be treasured by the Savior of my soul, and Him Glorified.