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

After the death of the great king David in Israel, his son Solomon assumed the throne.  Solomon achieved much glory and splendor during his reign and there is no doubt this was a high peak in the history of Israel.  But Solomon’s ending, like that of his father was not so glorious.   To read the account of the events in the Old Testament book of Kings is interesting to be sure, but if God is merciful and grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation, we can realize much more from these accounts than just the great stories and historical events.   We can perceive that behind all, is a God that is on one hand full of mercy and forgiveness in grace.  But on the other hand He is righteous and holy in all His dealings with His people.  There is an encouragement in these stories but there was also a warning that should sober us to take great care in all of our doings.

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

Peter begins his second epistle with the matter of faith. In fact he addresses the epistle “to those who have been allotted faith”. Faith is an mysterious thing and often misunderstood by believers and unbelievers alike. Many people may be even most people think that faith is something that we need to some how produce or find in order to believe. But according to Peter, faith is something allotted to us. The apostle Paul made a similar point in Ephesians, “for by grace you have been saved through faith and this not of yourself it is the gift of God.”

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1 & 2 Kings (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

The books of the Old Testament can be viewed from differing perspectives.  On one hand we can think of the Old Testament as a compilations of interesting stories that convey certain moral and ethical teachings.  This is the common thought and it’s easy for the natural mind to grasp.  Another perspective takes a more intrinsic view.  And it is this view that compels us in this study called the life study of the Bible.

1 & 2 Kings contains many stories to be sure but they also convey the rich intrinsic significance of the entire Bible that which is centered on Christ, in His person and in His economy for the establishment of His kingdom.  Welcome to the life study of 1 & 2 Kings.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #29) – The Unique Work of the Processed Triune God

In 2 Samuel, the Lord through the Prophet Nathan prophesied to David the king, “Moreover Jehovah declares to you that Jehovah will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Properly understood, this passage constitutes one of the greatest prophecies in the entire Old Testament.

In Matthew in the New Testament, chapter 16, the Lord Jesus makes a similar prophecy to His disciples. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This passage equally constitutes one of the greatest prophecies in the New Testament as well. God’s desire to build a dwelling for Himself and for us, from the beginning of the Bible through to the very end.

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2 Peter (Program #1) – The Divine Provision (1)

It’s very interesting how Peter begins his two epistles.  The first one begins “Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ.” whereas he begins the second book “Simon Peter, a slave and a apostle of Jesus Christ.”  Simon, of course was Peter’s old name, his name before he came to the Lord Jesus.  Peter is his new name given to him directly by the Lord Himself.

In putting these two together, Peter is indicating something very marvelous about the entire book of of 2 Peter.  For this is the book showing us that under God’s ruling and under His government we see the Old Creation changed into the New Creation.  Simon fit perfectly in the Old Creation but he had to become Peter to make it in the New Creation.

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1 Peter (Program #27) – The Mighty Hand of God and Its Goal (2)

1 Peter is a book written with a specific view to God’s governmental dealing with His people.  It also lays out very clearly as God’s people we should expect sufferings and persecution from time to time in our Christian life.

But Peter did not just leave us with a sober realization that God will measure to us sufferings and trying circumstances in order to discipline us.  Actually the book opens with and concludes with grace.  In fact all throughout the book Peter encourages the believers with grace, not a superficial religious expression but marvelous expressions that convey to us four divine acts of grace to be our supply, our strength and our empowering, to be kept in perfect peace regardless of the outward situation we are faced with.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #28) – The History Concerning David (12)

Of all of the great figures in the Old Testament, none found more favor in the eyes of Jehovah than His beloved King David. David had a heart that matched God’s heart and therefore God was able to reveal the highest things to him. Yet in one critical area, David was weak and this weakness remains even today as a dark blemish on the light of one of God’s great servants.

Even in the divine record, the Holy Word, both in the New and Old Testament, God has reminded us of David’s fall. In 1 Kings 15:5, it says because David did what was upright in the side of Jehovah and did not turn aside from anything that He had commanded him all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

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1 Peter (Program #26) – The Mighty Hand of God and Its Goal (1)

The apostle Peter says “to gird yourself with humility toward one another because God resist the proud.”  Then he says “to be humble under the mighty hand of God.”   Well, humility is a striking virtue in a Christian and genuine humility bears an unmistakable fragrance, a sweet aroma of Christ being expressed in a person’s living.  False, religious humility also carries an identifiable fragrance as well, but not one that attracts and drives man to it.  Of course the greatest humility in the universe is that of the Lord Jesus Himself who humble Himself for our benefits, putting off His own glory and even becoming a slave for us.  God’s desire today is not for us to try to imitate such humility but rather to submit ourselves to His mighty hands, receiving Him not only as our Savior from sin but even as our humility.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #27) – God’s Intention to Build Himself in Christ into Us

In 2 Samuel, David, the king, opens his heart to the prophet Nathan. What he expressed was a deep and genuine desire to do something meaningful for God in response to all that God had done for him. The ark of the covenant for many years had been kept temporarily in private homes and families of the Israelites. David’s intention was to build a house for God, a permanent dwelling place for the ark and even for God Himself to dwell-in in Jerusalem.

But the Lord responded to David that it was not God who needed something to be built, rather it was David. Jehovah had already provided a magnificent palace for David to dwell in. But, what David lacked is what we lack. And, that is for the Lord to build His dwelling place within us.

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1 Peter (Program #25) – The Elders’ Shepherding and Its Reward (2)

We all know that Peter was first a disciple of the Lord Jesus.  A disciple is a follower, a learner.  Then Peter received the commission from the Lord and became chief among the apostles.  An apostle in the New Testament is a sent one.  It’s in this capacity that Peter is most often referred to.  But in addition to being a disciple and an apostle, Peter was also an elder of the church in Jerusalem.  It is in this status as an elder that Peter writes to the other elders in his first epistle.

Elders are the overseers of the church and as Paul also tells us, these are the leading ones who has been charged by the Lord with a solemn and sober responsibility to care for His most precious possessions, that is His people, the flock of God.  It’s in this charge that Peter brings the attention of all the elders past, present and future that their responsibility must extend even to the risk of their own lives.

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