Includes...
In Hebrews chapter 2 the subtitle of the chapter is "Warning to Pay Attention," and it says to pay attention to what you hear so that you don't drift away. Yesterday we talked about establishing the entrance and the exits by paying attention to what we are seeing and hearing along with our words and actions. What we hear is important because faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. What we hear can either build faith or cause us to drift away, so pay attention to what you are hearing consistently.
Later in Hebrews chapter 2 it tells us that Jesus is a faithful high priest who was tempted in every way and he can guide us through every temptation.
We recently crossed the midpoint of the year on God's calendar. Sometimes the middle of things can get a little messy but if you establish the beginning and the end of anything the middle will usually take care of itself. The Bible follows this pattern. It starts and ends well but it gets pretty messy in the middle.
The other day I was reading in Ezekiel 44 and verse 5 says...Give attention to the entrance to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary. When I looked this verse up in Hebrew it reads something like the following...
Establish in your heart the entrance and the exits.
I used to have a baseball coach in college who constantly preached that if the beginning and the end of the baseball swing were in the correct place then everything in the middle would usually work out. I didn't realize it at the time but this is a Biblical principle because Jesus is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega.
In Ezekiel, God is referring to the entrance a...
In May we been talking about strengthening or establishing the things that remain. To be established means to be fixed, immovable, steadfast, and permanently set in place.
We can be establishing God's steadfast love, the righteousness of Jesus, God's faithfulness, and the Sabbath rest found in Christ in our hearts. The more we establish these in our hearts the more steadfast and immovable we become in our own lives.
Hebrews chapter 1 says Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God. God is the source of beauty and Jesus is radiating God's glory. Later in the chapter it says his throne remains forever and he remains the same forever.
Another thing we can establish in our hearts is our positioning of being one with him. We are seated in heaven and we are on earth at the same time. This can be confusing but science is showing that it is possible to be in both places at the same time. The key is that you will get more of whichever yo...
We have been talking lately about becoming established in our hearts, which means to be steadfast, fixed, immovable, and set in place. There is a theme in the New Testament that God will establish us, and one of the things to be established in is God's faithfulness.
Our monthly message for the month of May was Wake Up! Strengthen the Things that Remain coming from Revelation chapter 3. Last night I was doing some research on the times the word established is used in the New Testament and it turns out the the word strengthen from Revelation 3 can also be translated as establish, to establish the things that remain.
There are several things that remain. For example, faith, hope, and love all remain and the greatest of these is love. We can get God's love, the righteousness of Jesus, and God's faithfulness established in our hearts. These are all things that remain forever.
An indicator that we are established in the faith is overflowing thanksgiving. Gratitude ...
The last few weeks I have been recording daily communion messages and as I have recorded more frequently God has shown up more. God has an unlimited inexhaustible supply of everything we need and the more we put it to work the more it flows.
Last week we talked about the idea of being established in love. In Ephesians 3 Paul prayed for the people to be rooted and established in love. To be established is to be firm, fixed, strong, steadfast, etc. A tree that is established is not impacted by a little drought, wind, or heat. It stands firm.
In Deuteronomy 7 God told the people he gave them a covenant of love. God has established his covenant with us. He has made the covenant commitment to steadfast unfailing love for us. But, we have a part to play in getting his covenant of love established in our hearts, which leads to us becoming more steadfast and immovable. In Psalm 112 it says when our hearts are established in God's love that we have no fear. Perfect love...
God has given us a covenant of steadfast love. He established it and made the covenant commitment to do good for us all the time, but it must be established in our hearts. To be established means to be firm, fixed, and steadfast. One of the best ways to get his steadfast love established in our hearts is by meditating on his word.
A great passage of scripture on being established in our hearts is found in Psalm 112:7-8
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.
When we understand God's steadfast unfailing love for us it drives out all fear and causes faith to rise up in us. Isaiah 60:1 AMP says...
“Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord]; for your light has come,
And the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you.
Jesus often told people to ari...
Proverbs 24:3-4 says
By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.
All throughout the Old Testament God said he would establish his covenant with the people and in Deuteronomy chapter 7 he calls it a covenant of love. In Ephesians 3 Paul prays that God's the people would be rooted and established in love.
To be established means to be firm, fixed, confirmed, standing up, or to arise. We are to be established in God's covenant of love with us, but we must understand the covenant and get it established in our hearts.
A covenant is like an agreement or contract. God has obligated himself in the New Covenant to steadfast, unconditional, unfailing love. His love and grace for us is not dependent on our actions, it is unconditional. To become established we must understand this, receive it, and let his love flow through us to others.
Our role in the covenant i...
Part of the prayer I pray every day is for God to increase our capacity to receive his purpose, grace, and all the good he has for us. Recently God has shown me that meditating his word is one of the biggest keys to increased capacity.
Meditating in his word helps it expand on the inside and get established in our hearts. Meditation helps us bridge the gap between the seed of God's promises and seeing them come to fruition or producing fruit in our lives.
To meditate in Hebrew is to ponder, imagine, recite, rehearse, go for a walk in nature, mutter, and to growl. As we ponder and mutter about God's promises over and over it helps us to break them down, get established in our hearts, and convert them into the proper actions. Meditation is a converter.
In Deuteronomy 7 God says he keeps his covenant of love to a thousand generations to those who love him. God has given us a New Covenant of love. God is keeping his covenant commitment to steadfast love for us and we are to remain in his love and let it flow through us to others.
Ezekiel 16 has a beautiful passage about how God shows his covenant love. He talks about how he cared for Israel, took care of them, and made them beautiful. God is the source of all beauty.
Here is the passage from Ezekiel 16...
4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.
6 “‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!
...
Pentecost was earlier this week and it was the midpoint of the year on God's calendar. It was the transition of the year where the two sides come together, which reminds us of our covenant with God. In Ephesians 3 the apostle Paul prayed for the people to be rooted and established in love, and in Deuteronomy 7 God said he gave the people a covenant of love. God has given us this covenant of love and this time of year is a reminder that we must be rooted and established in it. With trees they must grow a whole root system underneath the ground to support the tree and an established tree is one that is grown, fixed, immovable, and consistent.
This time of year is a reminder to be steadfast and fixed in our covenant of love with God. A covenant is a partnership or agreement where the two sides come together. Our covenant of love is to receive God's steadfast love and let it flow through us to others.
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