MEMORIAL DAY and THE SON
Monday – May 29, 2017
Greeting in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and welcome back to our Bible Study taken from the Book of Hebrews. Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember those that have fallen in America’s wars. Without these brave men and women you and I today could not enjoy the liberties given of God and enforced by our government. According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the celebration of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day due to the decorating of graves of those fallen in war. This practice started in 1868 to commemorate those who were fallen in the Civil War which was upward of 750,000, America’s most costly war in human life. American wars to date have required some 2,852,901 lives. Initially the north and the south remembered their fallen on different days however this was eventually merged and finally Memorial Day became a day to remember and honor all of America’s fallen. Somewhere along the way it became a common practice to decorate the graves of all that have gone before whether they fell in war or not. It seems to me that this expanded practice diminishes our commemoration of those who fell in service to our country. Now back to our Bible Study and let’s review our primary text in the Book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (KJV)
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
As you will recall I did a very superficial and brief primer last week on The Blood Covenant since it is featured so prominently in the Book of Hebrews. Then we dove right into our study of these wonderful Scriptures taking a brief look at Prophets then and now. Before sin, God spoke face to face with Adam. Since sin God has spoken to mankind through a multitude of Prophets. Now in the fullness of time God, these last days, the Father, has spoken to them (those alive at the time Jesus walked the earth) and to us through the Son. Today we recognize this speaking of the Son as the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The One we recognize as the Son today has always been speaking and speaks to this day.
The construct of Hebrews 1:2 saying; “Hath in these last days spoken” implies past tense, that is to say, He has spoken and has not spoken since. However the original Greek is not past tense but is ‘aorist active’ meaning that the speaking of the Son is independent of time, past, present, and future. God has sent many prophets into the earth and they were not respected, the condition of the ‘Church’ just grew worse and worse so He sent the Son thinking perhaps they would honor Him and of course we know the answer, they did not (read the parable in Matthew 21 starting at verse 33). Remember that Jesus is the Word.
John 1:1-3 (KJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:14 (KJV)
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Although the Prophets and Jesus may have spoken the Words into the earth, the thought for each Word originated with the Father, Jehovah God. The thoughts are the Father’s, the Words are spoken by Jesus, and the implementation of the thoughts once the Words are spoken is by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us in His ministry that He said only what He learned with the Father (He vocalized the thoughts of the Father). I suspect this is wonderful advice for each of us. You may think I have gotten off into irrelevant minutia however the strength of our foundation is minutia (based on a series of small things) and if the foundation is wrong (wrong ideas) the structure build upon that foundation will be faulty. One faulty idea or supposition can cause a whole structure to fall or not function properly. When you balance a check book if one check is recorded incorrectly the account will not balance, so in life.
Our lives are built upon what we believe, what we really believe, individual ideas (thoughts) and collections of related interlocking ideas. These thoughts that we treasure (foundational beliefs) lead to what we speak and what we do creating our individual worlds. Our current conditions (spirit, soul, and body) are not luck of the draw or happenstance, we have created it. One may exclaim that it is not their fault they are broke or sick but the Truth of the matter is that it is our fault, we and we alone determine the condition of our spirit, soul, and body. Have we chosen darkness (ideas of the devil) or have we chosen light (God’s ideas)? Thinking and talking about this tends to cause discomfort because it requires that we take responsibility for our thoughts, words, and actions. This directly refutes the idea that God is in everything and in control of everything. This is a doctrine of devils and is a huge reason for the failure of the Church in general and our individual lives in particular. We have not reverenced the Son but have reverenced a doctrine of devils.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
MAILING ADDRESS: 3 Rosswood Green Lane, Unit Two, Oakland, Maine 04963
