2 Peter (Program #10) – The Divine Government (3)

No doubt we have all heard and said that one day to the Lord is like a thousand years.   Actually, this is a rough quotation from 2 Peter 3, a chapter that speaks both of the Lord’s second coming and the righteous and just judgment that will occur at the time of His coming.  Of course, to us it seems as if the Lord has delayed His coming already for two thousand years, but to Him, it’s just a couple of days.  Actually Peter tells us that this delay is not motivated by the Lord’s indifference or because He is arbitrary about the timing, but rather because He is long-suffering  towards us.  That means He is mercifully granting us more time, more time to be mature and to be prepared for His coming so that none will unnecessarily perish.

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1 & 2 Kings (Program #9) – The Reign of Ahab Over Israel (2)

In the Old Testament history of Israel, God often resorted to miracles either to save His people Israel from a fierce enemy or to establish in the faith of the people that He, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob was the only true God.  Often these miracles were performed through the ministry of the prophets, such as Jeremiah or Isaiah or Elijah.  In fact, most people considering Elijah probably think first and foremost of him as man of great power and mighty miracles.  Yet he himself when he was threatened by the evil prophetess Jezebel was powerless to perform even the simplest of miracle to save himself.  Instead he ran away and hid himself.  Until Jehovah came to him not in a earthquake or in the wind or in the fire but rather the great and powerful God came to Elijah the way He most often comes to you and me; in a gentle and quiet voice.

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2 Peter (Program #9) – The Divine Government (2)

2 Peter chapter one is one of the most profound chapters in the New Testament.  It is full of solid, nourishing words conveying the central thought of the entire New Testament teaching.  In this chapter, Peter touches both life and truth as he speaks concerning the precious faith that we all have received.  He also strongly points us to the sure word of the Scripture.  But then in chapter two, he turned dramatically back to God’s governmental judgment, a major theme of his first epistle.  But here the righteous judgment of God that Peter described in great details is not general or vague but rather it is intensely focused on the false teachers who had begun to permeate the church and lead God’s people away from the very item that Peter had poured out in chapter one.

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1 & 2 Kings (Program #8) – The Reign of Ahab Over Israel (1)

In the Old Testament we find the record of the deeds of many of the great and powerful men of God.  Of all of these, perhaps none was more mighty and performs more miracles than the prophet Elijah.  In a way Elijah typifies and represents all of the prophets of the Old Testament, even appearing with Moses on the mount of transfiguration when the Lord Jesus revealed His glory to some of His disciples.

The first appearance of Elijah in the Bible is in 1 King 17, where he is called by Jehovah to confront the evil King Ahab, whose heart had been fully turned away from the God of Abraham to the idols of Jezebel, his wife.

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2 Peter (Program #8) – The Divine Government (1)

The apostle Peter had a strong reaction to the apostasy that were spreading into the church near the end of his life.   In fact he wrote his two epistles largely as an inoculation against the heretical teachings that were gradually corrupting the  faith of the saints.  Especially regarding the matter of the Lord’s second coming in glory.

In 2 Peter, he first gives an eye-witness account of seeing the Lord Jesus revealed in glory as a foreshadow of His promise return .   Then he points the believers to the word of God, specifically the Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ, as he says in chapter 1:19 “and we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;”   But after these two strong encouragements he goes on to speak of the coming judgment of the righteous God especially on those false teachers who were defiling the saints and leading them astray.

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1 & 2 Kings (Program #7) – The Divisions of the Kingdom of Israel

The Lord has committed much into the hands of His people.  For example, in the Old Testament, Israel bore the responsibility of maintaining Jehovah’s testimony on the earth.  One of the key factors that the Lord was very eager to maintain among His people was their oneness because their oneness reflects His oneness.  “The Lord is one”, the Old Testament people would declare and it is true.  So following the reign of Solomon, when the nation of Israel was split into two sections; a northern kingdom under the rule of Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant and a southern kingdom, under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son.  This was a grave matter to Jehovah.  So it should be also to us today.  As we consider and study the history of God’s move among His people, the testimony of the oneness of God’s people continues to be a vital matter to Him and it’s a matter that is far too often taken for granted by His people.

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2 Peter (Program #7) – The Divine Provision (7)

The book of 2 Peter continues the thought of his first epistle; God’s governmental judgment.  But it also stresses God’s divine provision for His people to enable them to live under such divine ruling.  The first chapter of 2 Peter describes this provision in its various aspects such as the divine power and all things pertaining to life and godliness, the divine promises and even partaking of the divine nature.

These provisions  are all on the side of life.  But Peter also details  provisions on the side of the divine truth.  First we have the testimonies of the apostles themselves who were actual eye-witnesses of the glory and majesty of Christ.  Second we have the prophetic word shining as a lamp in a dark place to enlighten us until the morning star rises in our hearts.

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1 & 2 Kings (Program #6) – The Reign of Solomon (5)

Solomon reigned during the height of the nation of Israel’s glory.  But he did not reign in life.  Romans 5:17 says “those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” We are continuing in our life study of 1 Kings today, but if you stay with us, we believe that you will hear a unique word about King Solomon and how it applies to us, the believers in Christ today.

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2 Peter (Program #6) – The Divine Provision (6)

Second Peter chapter one is one of the most weighty and profound passages in all of scripture. Phrase after phrase in these few verses convey the progression and development of the divine life as it germinates, matures and comes to full growth.

Along this long progression or path all of the attributes of God divine life become the virtues that developed and are ultimately expressed through us. Of course while God supplies the divine power according to Peter which enables us to escape the corruption of the world that work through lust and to become partakers of the divine nature, there are some basic conditions that we need to meet, such as having a full knowledge of all the divine things pertaining to life and godliness.  And in addition we need to add all diligence to co-operate with the divine power operating within us.  The result of  this marvelous development is that God is expressed through us and we in turn are supplied a rich and unshakable entrance into God’s kingdom.

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1 & 2 Kings (Program #5) – The Reign of Solomon (4)

Prayer is a popular subject among all the people of all faith on the earth today.   But what kind of prayer is God looking for?  Today we are continuing the life study from the Old Testament book of 1 Kings chapter 7 and 8 where we see the building of the temple and specifically the matter of worship to God and prayer.

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