AWAKE, ARISE, AND TRIUMPH
Tuesday – October 6, 2020, Tishrei 18, 5781
KEEP THEM FROM EVIL
Greetings dear friends and partners and welcome back to this wonderfully powerful Bible Study of the Book of John. Please take a moment and share this wonderful teachings with as many as possible to extend the reach of the Truth. I hope you all enjoy the fall pictures this week, some taken many years ago. Our God is so, so, very good dear ones. We do not have to guess about the will of God for us in any situation, it is in Scripture. We frequently see many opinions like with COVID-19 but there is but one Truth. The answer to every question regarding the Christian response to COVID-19 can be found in Scripture. We are not to run our lives partially based on Scripture and partially just however we want too. Last year on the 19th of April 2019 the Lord spoke (not an audible voice) and said that the day of woe was at hand. This came to me as I was giving attention to the following Scripture.
Isaiah 5:20-24 (KJV)
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
I think most of us intuitively know we don’t want any woe. The definition of woe includes grief, sorrow, misery, heavy calamity, and a curse. The “law of the LORD of hosts” is the same as saying the law of Christ which is love. Not only are they not walking in love (agape) but think little of the Word of God which includes thinking little of God. Now, let’s focus on our lesson for today reading the primary text aloud, yes, out loud.
John 17:14-19 (KJV)
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
As we return to our primary Bible text recall that Jesus is literally just a couple of hours from surrendering to the Cross and fulfilling His primary mission in the earth. Does the world hate a person because they heard a sermon or even several sermons? Simply put, no. So, what has happened here. They and hopefully we have not only heard the Word but received it, believed it, and acted upon it becoming more like Jesus and less like the world.
Although Jesus interacted with the world and Church, He was separate from the world, and so must we be separate. From Scripture we see that Jesus spent the vast majority of His time with the Father (prayer), preaching/teaching, ministering (healing etc.), and with His disciples. We see examples of Him eating with what we would call non-Christians but even then, the conversation was of the things of God. Seeing that our thoughts and words determine our present and future, whose words should they be? Words of the world or Words of God? That does not mean we go around quoting Scripture but it does mean that the meditations of our heart and the words of our mouth align with the Word of God.
In verse fifteen we find Jesus talking about us specifically. He tells His Father and our Father that He is not asking that we be taken out of the world but that we be kept from evil. Let me ask a question. How would God keep a freewill person (us) from evil? Does God forceable keep us from evil? No! Does God make the devil(s) stay away from us? No! What is our number one guard against evil coming into our lives? It is the Word of God received, believed, and acted upon. Mediate on these familiar verses as I wrap it up for today.
John 14:21 (KJV)
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Deuteronomy 28:15 (KJV)
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
James 4:7-8 (KJV)
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Lord willing, I will pick up right here tomorrow.
2 Chronicles 20:20b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name! Quit asking God to bless you, you are already blessed, you have the Blessing, give Him something to do by the words of your mouth. Once you know the will of God, decree the thing (Job 22:28, Isaiah 45:11, Mark 11:23). (The Blessing is the Holy Spirit) We have left God way to long with nothing to do in our lives.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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