- araratchurch
- Apr 5, 2024
- 5 min read
“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.“
Luke 9:23-26 NKJV
Naaman was a mighty commander over the army of the king of Syria. But, he was also a leper. Now, the king of Syria sent a letter to the king of Israel, asking him to heal Naaman of his leprosy. Upon reading the request, the king of Israel became afraid, knowing that he did not have the power to heal a leper. The prophet Elisha, hearing about this, says that Naaman should be brought to him for his healing. However, the prophet’s instructions to Naaman went over like a lead balloon.
“Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.“
II Kings 5:9-12 NKJV
Notice that Naaman already had a picture in his mind of how the prophet would heal his leprosy: “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.”
So, when the prophet did not do as he had expected, when the prophet did not do things Naaman’s way, Naaman became enraged, and would have lost his opportunity to be healed, if not for his servants’ intervention.
“And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.“
II Kings 5:13-14 NKJV
When Naaman did things God’s way, he received the healing he desired.
Certainly, as the proverbial writer informs us, we all have our own idea of the right way, in terms of our being and doing.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.“
Proverbs 14:12 NKJV
If we hold tenaciously to our own way of being and doing, if we will not relinquish what we think is right to what God says is right, we will, at best, come short of all that God has for us, but, at worst, fall from following Jesus, losing everything.
Yesterday we talked about Peter’s denial of Jesus, and the fact that it came after he had failed to give heed to the various warnings from the Lord.
In order to better understand what might’ve happened, causing Peter to deny the Lord, let us take a look at an exchange between Peter and Jesus, when Jesus was being betrayed by Judas.
“When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.“
Luke 22:49-51 NKJV
We find out from John’s Gospel, that the disciple who cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, was Peter.
“Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?””
John 18:10-11 NKJV
Notice that in Luke’s account of this incident, the Lord scolds Peter, telling him to “Permit even this.”
Peter, who was the only disciple to get out of the boat to walk on the water with Jesus (Matthew 14, Mark 6, John 6), Peter, the one who wanted to build shrines to Moses and Elijah at the spot of the transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9, Mark 9, Matthew 17), Peter, who proclaimed Jesus to be the Christ, the son of the living God (Matthew 16, Mark 8, Luke 9), found it hard to not do things his own way. Peter was a man of action. But, you see, our idea of what kind of action is called for, may be far afield from what God wants.
In our opening scripture, we see Jesus explaining to His disciples the cost of discipleship. To follow Him, our way of being and doing, our agenda, our ideas and expectations, must be abandoned. To truly follow Him, we must take up our own cross, and do His will, His way.
We are discussing the Great Apostasy preceding the return of Jesus Christ. And, as we discussed earlier, this falling away has most certainly begun.
One of the reasons some people will fall away from following Christ is their unwillingness to do things God‘s way. At some point, our refusal to follow Him completely, will cause us to diverge from His path.
Thankfully, in the case of Peter, after denying Christ, he got back into alignment with what the Lord wanted. Not only that, he followed the Lord all the way to his own crucifixion. Yes, having been ordered to be crucified by Nero, Peter requested to be crucified upside down, feeling unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ.
Tomorrow we’ll talk more about avoiding being part of the Great Apostasy.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Apr 4, 2024
- 4 min read
“”But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.””
Luke 21:34-36 NKJV
Jesus was eating the Passover meal immediately preceding His betrayal and crucifixion. It was at this meal that Jesus instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper.
Indeed, it was also at this very meal, Jesus would reveal that He would be betrayed by one of them. That one would be Judas.
“Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.””
Matthew 26:21-25 NKJV
Jesus not only indicated what Judas would do, but that ALL of them would forsake Him.
“Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.””
Matthew 26:31-32 NKJV
Now, Peter would have none of this, vehemently objecting to the thought of him ever denying the Lord.
“Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.“
Matthew 26:33-35 NKJV
Again, in the garden, as Jesus was praying before His betrayal, He repeatedly warned His disciples to be alert, to be on guard, even warning Peter by name.
“Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.“
Matthew 26:38, 40-41, 45 NKJV
But even with all the warnings, Peter did deny Jesus.
“Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.“
Matthew 26:69-75 NKJV
It would appear that because Peter did not take seriously the warnings, he walked right into the trap of the enemy.
In our opening scripture, we see another time Jesus had warned the disciples concerning their need to be paying attention lest they fall into a trap.
The context of the opening scripture is that it was part of Jesus’ answer to the disciples when they asked Him about the timing of the things He had predicted.
“Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?””
Matthew 24:3 NKJV
Friend, we do well to heed this warning from Jesus in terms of staying on guard. We know that we are living in the Last Days before the return of Jesus Christ. As such, as discussed yesterday, we know that there will be a Great Apostasy. Tragically, many Christians will fall from faith and deny the Lord.
Now, our knee-jerk reaction may be that we would never do that. But, no one who has truly come to faith in Jesus would plan to deny Him. Peter didn’t “plan” to deny Him either. Something happened, causing Peter to be caught off guard.
We must not take our steadfastness for granted, assuming we would never fall into the category of those who fall away. Rather, we must heed the warnings provided in God’s word, so that we are not caught offguard.
We’ll talk more about this tomorrow
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Apr 3, 2024
- 2 min read
In preparation for our discussion over the next several days please read and meditate on the following scriptures:
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.“
II Thessalonians 2:1-4 NKJV
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.””
Matthew 13:19-23 NKJV
“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.“
Luke 9:23-26 NKJV
The word of God tells us that before the coming of our Lord, there will be a great falling away from the Church. I believe that we are already seeing the beginning of this Apostasy. Yes, for many Christians the Gospel has just become too “inconvenient.” In fact, whole denominations are slipping away from the Truth.
What’s going on? How can we avoid getting caught up in the flood of deception that will cause so many to turn from their steadfastness?
We’ll talk more about this in the coming days.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!